Su He was stunned and asked, "What?"
She tilted her head and looked at Li Mu. "Wife?"
"Bah!"
He was too excited just now and made a mistake. Li Mu's face turned red and he quickly said, "I'm sorry, I called you wrongly. Miss Su, Sister Su, please!"
Su He glanced at him and continued, "Illusion is a spell to bewitch people. Not only can it be used to bewitch others, but it can also be used to bewitch oneself …"
Bewitching people was a type of ghost spell. In the ghost stories on the market, there were often scenes of scholars being bewitched by female ghosts and sucked dry their Yang energy and blood essence.
The difference was that Li Mu was bewitching himself.
He knew the story of Liang Zhu. As long as he hypnotized himself and told himself that he was Liang Shan Bo, he could naturally immerse himself in Liang Zhu's situation and become the character itself, not just a simple performance.
Li Mu used the method Su He taught him. After failing several times, he finally found the trick and could easily enter the plot.
"Thank you, Sister Su …" Li Mu clasped his fist and said, "When I condense the third soul, I will thank you properly."
"Bah!"
Su He spat and asked, "The third soul is the Sparrow Yin. After you condense the Sparrow Yin, how are you going to thank me?"
"Of course it's to cook!"
Li Mu realized the loophole in his words and quickly explained, "Next time, what do you want to eat? Just tell me, I will definitely bring it for you …"
Su He rolled her eyes at him and said with some regret, "I really want to see how you act on the stage. Unfortunately …"
"Unfortunately what?" Li Mu said in surprise, "You can go and watch. I will save a good seat for you."
Su He was already a ghost cultivator and not a low-level ghost. Even if she wandered in the human world, as long as she didn't take the initiative to harm people, the government wouldn't provoke her.
"I won't go." Su He faintly smiled and gave her a meaningful look. She said, "I hope you can quickly condense the Sparrow's Yin and become a true man who can support the heavens and earth …"
Li Mu packed up the food box and said, "Then I'm leaving. I'll come to see you another day."
"Wait." Su He suddenly called out to him.
"Is there anything else?" Li Mu turned around and asked.
Su He smiled sweetly at him and said, "You gave me Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and called me your wife. If you really have any thoughts about me, why don't I help you become a ghost cultivator? Then you can..."
Li Mu knew that she was teasing him out of habit, so he said indifferently, "If one day I really die and my soul doesn't disperse, I'll come to Clearwater Bay to accompany you …"
Every time he came to Su He's place, he would gain something. Li Mu decided to come here more often in the future.
On his way back from Clearwater Bay, he saw Liu Hanyan pacing back and forth in front of the gate.
Liu Hanyan looked at the food box in his hand and asked in confusion, "Where did you go?"
Li Mu said, "I went to visit a friend."
Liu Hanyan didn't ask any more questions. She said, "It's good that you're back. Let's continue practicing. The sooner we finish practicing, the sooner we can go on stage. The sooner you can escape from danger …"
Liu Hanyan seemed to be even more anxious than him about condensing the soul. Li Mu went home and changed his clothes, then practiced with her in the courtyard.
Liu Hanyan quickly entered the role of Zhu Yingtai. She held his hand and turned her head to the side. She said sadly, "Brother Liang, Yingtai can't marry you in this life. We can only wait for the next life to be together!"
Li Mu used the Art of Charm on himself and turned into Liang Shanbo. He covered his mouth and coughed a few times. He said sadly, "The world is ruthless, the world is rude. So be it. The sedan will carry your Ma family home. The autumn wind will send me to the Yellow Springs …"
Liu Hanyan looked at Li Mu in a daze. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
It wasn't that she forgot her lines. It was just that in one night, Li Mu's acting had changed dramatically. Before, his lines were still a bit stiff and his performance was a bit exaggerated. But now, his lines were smooth and his movements were skillful. He was even better than those old masters who had decades of experience. Liu Hanyan almost thought that he was Liang Shanbo.
Li Mu finally got into the mood, but he was interrupted by Liu Hanyan's pause. He came out of the Art of Charm and asked her, "What's wrong?"
Liu Hanyan looked up at him and said in surprise, "It's only been one night. How did you improve so much?"
Li Mu said, "Maybe last night, I realized the essence of acting."
Liu Hanyan was puzzled. "What is it?"
"Real." Li Mu explained, "When I'm not acting Liang Shanbo, I'm showing the real Liang Shanbo in front of everyone. There's no trace of acting. Naturally, it won't make people feel stiff."
"Everyone knows this, but it's not that easy to do." Liu Hanyan looked at him with an inexplicable gaze. She said, "Li Mu, you're really a genius. It's a pity that you're not an actor …"
Li Mu's dream was to become a real man, not an actor. He shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about this. Let's continue …"
…
The people of Yangqiu County didn't have many entertainment activities on a daily basis.
Those who had read books and knew a few words, when they were bored, they could read all kinds of stories and novels to comfort their hearts. Most people could only drink tea, listen to stories or songs. Only those who lived a luxurious life were willing to spend a few more copper coins to go to the opera house to listen to opera.
A group of guests walked in from outside the Yunyan Pavilion's opera house.
The opera house released a new play today called "Transforming into a Butterfly". Because the story of "Transforming into a Butterfly" had been popular in the teahouse for a while, and later in the bookstore, most of the people of Yangqiu County had heard about it from others even if they hadn't read it.
Before releasing "Transforming into a Butterfly", the opera house had done publicity a few days in advance. Many people who had heard the story of "Transforming into a Butterfly" had bought tickets a few days in advance, waiting to see the first performance of the new play.
"Two pitiful people. Why didn't they have a good ending?"
"That Ma Family is really a good-for-nothing. They're always trying to break up a couple!"
"Liang Zhu transforms into a butterfly. It makes my heart ache …"
…
Even though they already knew the content of the story, the feelings generated from hearing it and seeing it were completely different. The actors acted out this poignant love story vividly, incisively and vividly …
When they saw Uncle Shanbo die of illness, Yingtai jump into the grave on the way to her wedding, and the two turn into butterflies and fly away, their hearts were filled with deep sorrow. Some of the more emotional onlookers even shed tears.
The curtains slowly pulled down, and the first performance of "Transforming into a Butterfly" came to an end.
The audience sat below the stage. They were infected by the poignant sadness and shed tears of sadness.
Li Mu stood on the stage, absorbing the endless sadness. He couldn't stop smiling.
His idea was right. If he told the story of "Liang Zhu" purely as a story, he wouldn't be able to absorb other people's sadness.
However, if he transformed into Uncle Liang himself and used his superb acting skills to let the audience put themselves in the situation and think that he was Uncle Liang himself, he would naturally be able to absorb other people's emotions.
Appropriately guiding other people's emotions was cultivation. Excessive plundering was harvesting. After countless experiments, Li Mu had found a balance. He could ensure that he didn't cause any harm to those people's bodies when he needed it.
This way, as the number of guests increased, he would only need ten days at most to accumulate enough sadness to condense the Sparrow Shade in one fell swoop.
"Transforming into a Butterfly" was a popular story in Yangqiu County. After Yunyan Pavilion moved it to the stage, guests flocked to it. Even though Yunyan Pavilion arranged two performances a day, it couldn't satisfy all the guests' needs.
It wasn't until ten days later when most people had watched "Transforming into a Butterfly" once or even twice that the number of guests in the theater gradually decreased.
…
Early morning.
Li Mu sprung up from the bed and subconsciously reached into the quilt.
At this moment, he had the urge to cry.
In these ten days, he had asked for leave from Li Qing and performed two performances a day with Liu Hanyan, absorbing the emotions of hundreds and thousands of people. It took him ten whole days to collect enough sadness and successfully condense the third soul last night.
The third soul that Li Mu had been longing for for a long time.
This morning, he once again regained his dignity as a man.
The depression that had accumulated in his heart for the past two months was swept away. Li Mu opened the courtyard door and felt that the world had become much more beautiful.
Creak …
The courtyard door next to him opened and Liu Hanyan walked out with a basin of water. When she saw Li Mu, she was clearly stunned. Then she asked in surprise, "Why are you up so early today?"
Li Mu let out a long sigh and said, "I can wake up in the morning from now on …"
"Isn't it just waking up one day early? Why are you so proud?"
Liu Hanyan glanced at him and suddenly said, "Right, the soul that was born from sadness seems to be called the Sparrow Shade. It sounds very strange. What does this soul do?"
Li Mu waved his hand and said, "You're a girl. Why are you asking so much …"
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