novelraw Chapter 1210 579: I Don't Like It
Chapter 1210 579: I Don't Like It
Qin Huai reached out to wipe away the tears at the corner of his eyes, staring as if to open his eyes wide. In fact, it was simply to keep the tears from easily flowing out.
Even his sniffle was very quiet, so much so that it had no effect at all. He could only sniff again immediately after the first one. This sheepish action of correcting a mistake felt naive, but it was the only thing Qin Huai could do in this situation.
He also wanted to appear cheerful, to squeeze out a sincere smile, to use his master-level lie to say something nice, to talk with Luo Jun about his future plans for grave sweeping, but he couldn't do it.
At this moment, he just wanted to cry.
Uncontrollably wanted to cry.
The damn tears kept swirling in his eyes, and no matter how wide he opened them, they were about to fall.
Luo Jun looked at Qin Huai somewhat speechlessly, and said: "I told you to come and stand in front of me, why are you standing so far away? Do you think I can kill you with a breath of fire?"
"I would rather you could kill me with one breath of fire right now," Qin Huai said softly.
Luo Jun rolled his eyes in exasperation: "I know what you are hoping for, you are hoping that I might enlighten in the last second before my passing, tribulation crossing successful, and this story ends with a happy ending. Is it me who watched too many TV dramas, or is it you?"
"Do you realize it's considered cliché if TV dramas have such endings now?"
Qin Huai continued softly, "Cliché ones attract more viewers."
"I'm about to breathe my last, and you're intent on arguing with me, aren't you?"
Qin Huai fell silent.
Luo Jun took a deep breath, his expression grew a bit complex, paused, and said, "I know you want me to succeed in crossing the tribulation."
"You saw my three memories, you are the one most aware of the reasons for my failure in crossing the tribulation. I know you might not understand until now why we spirits get stuck in something and cannot move on, but it's our choice."
"I chose to fail the crossing trial, it was my decision 60 years ago, and I do not regret it."
"I also know you have many questions after viewing the memories but did not dare to ask in the end. Do you know why I asked Zhou Hu to set up a stage for opera in a vacant lot in the countryside for me?"
Qin Huai said nothing, just quietly listened.
"When I first arrived in the human world, like most spirits, I initially stayed in a remote village, observing the lifestyle of the villagers while learning the so-called human rules. The peasants' dawn-to-dusk routine was utterly uninteresting to me, and just as I pondered whether to move elsewhere, the father of the largest landlord in the village passed away."
"He was called a landlord, but he was in reality just a common man barely above subsistence. According to local custom, his father, who died at 70, had a joyful funeral with opera performances and a banquet. This landlord had little money but wanted to maintain such grandeur, fearing being scorned as unfilial, so he hired a rural amateur troupe to perform for three days."
"That was the first time I saw Liu Tao."
"Technically, that kind of occasion should not feature 'Liang Zhu,' but it was the best piece their troupe had, and the landlord hadn't paid much, so quality wasn't a concern."
"Honestly, their 'Liang Zhu' at that time was really bad."
"Their stature wasn't fitting, their singing was lacking, even the makeup was poor, and the costumes were faded and ill-fitting, seeming like they'd trip the wearer in two steps."
"But I really liked the story of Liang Zhu."
"The Liu Family Troupe's version of Liang Zhu was altered, emphasizing at the end that Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai transformed into two yellow butterflies. The first time I watched it, at that scene, two yellow butterflies indeed flew out from behind the stage."
"Two small yellow butterflies, only about as large as a newborn's fist."
"One of the butterflies landed on my shoulder."
"Since then, I have been very fond of this story, firmly believing in its content. In the years that followed, I traveled to many cities, Beiping, Shanghai, Xing City, Jinmen, Jinling... Wherever I went, I watched operas, saw many versions of 'Liang Zhu,' yet none would emphasize the transformation into yellow butterflies anymore, and none featured butterflies actually fluttering out from behind the stage at that moment."
At this point, Luo Jun chuckled.
"Later, after I married Liu Tao and moved to Shan City, once when watching 'Liang Zhu' again, Liu Tao secretly told me that those butterflies were a trick by Master Liu."
"The Liu Family Troupe's calling card was 'Liang Zhu', but the singing was lacking, so they took a different approach. Before each performance, Master Liu would catch butterflies everywhere, and whatever color he caught, became the color in the lyrics, it's just that yellow butterflies were most common in that countryside, so the lyrics often mentioned two yellow butterflies."
"Actually, Liu Tao had told me the truth back then, but I didn't listen to her words seriously."
"I had many opportunities to succeed."
"I should have realized long ago, that the world is not like what's described in novels and operas. With the real world right before my eyes, living among real people every day, yet I refused to listen carefully to what they said or observe what they did."
"I clearly know why I failed to cross the tribulation, just like you, Qin Huai, clearly know why I failed. Arrogance is my original sin, and I must bear the consequences of my arrogance, even if I am still very arrogant to this day."