“Watching husband under the tree shed his bones and turn to smoke, I could only plant yellow earth for you before the grave.”

When that person recited these two lines from the play, he spoke vividly and dramatically.

He even repeated them several times in succession.

Still not satisfied!

As if closing his eyes, he could see the ghost bride on stage in theatrical costume, waving her water sleeves while singing.

That scene echoed in his mind for a long time.

“What a tragic story!”

“Isn’t it?”

Tragic, yet not beautifully tragic.

Those Da Lin people spoke with infatuation and passion.

A man at the neighboring table asked: “What play are you talking about? Is it really that good?”

This question immediately opened up the conversation between the two tables!

The Da Lin man who had just recited the lines said to him: “You probably haven’t been to Yiwu yet. When you get there, you must go listen to a play by the Zhao Family Troupe. I guarantee you’ll be as infatuated with that play as I am.”

This person didn’t use the words “like”—instead he used “infatuated.”

“That’s really strange. Plays nowadays are all terribly bad.”

“But the play I’m talking about is excellent.”

“Really? Tell us in detail—what makes it so good?”

“The play’s name is ‘Ghost Bride Buries Her Husband’!”

“Ghost Bride Buries Her Husband”?

As soon as this name was spoken, it immediately drew the curiosity of people around.

Someone said: “Ghost Bride Buries Her Husband? That name is truly eerie. It sounds like it’s about ghosts and monsters.”

The Da Lin man said: “Not only is the name eerie—the entire play is very eerie.”

“Oh? Continue.”

That person shifted his body to sit a bit more comfortably, picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip, cleared his throat—very much with the posture of settling in for a long talk.

People from the entire first-floor hall also gathered around.

Preparing to hear where exactly this play was so eerie.

Even Ji Yunshu became somewhat interested!

“Ghost Bride Buries Her Husband”—this name had a somewhat tragically beautiful feeling to it.

She perked up her ears and looked in that direction, but could only see people standing in a circle. She couldn’t see the person about to “tell the story” at all. She only heard the voice from inside: “The opening of this play depicts a scene of a woman and her husband bowing in marriage. The stage is very lively, and the two are deeply in love, almost entwined night after night. The man tills the fields, the woman weaves cloth—their days are harmonious and happy. Who knew that when the man went out once, he would run into a young lady from a wealthy household. They happened to catch each other’s eyes, and from then on frequently engaged in private pleasure together. For the woman and money, the man finally hardened his heart and pushed his own wife into a well bottom, brutally murdering her. After that, he married that wealthy young lady. Once he entered the gates of wealth and nobility, it was like a carp leaping through the dragon gate! Who could have predicted that his wife’s wisp of soul would not dissipate? She actually became a ghost bride at the well bottom. After entering the mortal world, she wore a stranger’s skin to find her husband and collect the debt. Her husband, lusting after her new beautiful skin, carried on illicit affairs with the ghost bride night after night behind the wealthy young lady’s back. Until one night the wealthy young lady discovered them, the ghost bride induced the man to kill the wealthy young lady and push her into the same dry well where she had died. The man thought he could be with the ghost bride from then on. How could he know that the ghost bride would tear off the human skin from her face right in front of him, revealing her original terrifying appearance! Her husband fainted on the spot from fright. The ghost bride, while crying, peeled off her husband’s skin and flesh alive, peeling until only a pile of white bones remained.”

That person spoke vividly and dramatically!

Listening made everyone’s backs grow cold.

They felt it was terrifyingly eerie.

As if they could already imagine that scene.

After quite a while, people began asking impatiently: “What happened next? What happened after that? What became of the ghost bride? After her husband became a pile of white bones? Did he also become a ghost?”

That person cleared his throat and continued: “After that! The ghost bride buried that pile of her husband’s white bones under a large tree. She also sat daily beside that grave, crying while singing, which led to those final two lines ‘Watching husband under the tree shed his bones and turn to smoke, I could only plant yellow earth for you before the grave.’ That story is truly tragic. Hearing me tell it like this, you probably can’t feel it deeply. You still must go see it in person to understand—absolutely cannot miss it!”

When speaking, he still carried a few sighs.

If only he could see it one more time—what great fortune that would be!

However—

After listening, everyone fell into a stretch of silence.

Not knowing what to say?

Also not knowing how to say it?

Deeply immersed in this story.

Until—

The waiter brought over several plates of dishes, shouting loudly: “Coming, coming, the guests’ dishes are here.”

Heading toward where Ji Yunshu and the others were sitting.

Everyone’s gazes all looked over here.

They seemed very dissatisfied that the waiter had broken the silence with his voice.

The waiter also froze for a moment.

After silently setting down the dishes in his hands, he hurried away.

Then someone said: “Tragically beautiful it may be, but that man brought disaster upon himself and cannot live—he deserved that ending.”

“The most pitiable is still that ghost bride. Not only was she betrayed by her own husband, she was also pushed into the well bottom.”

“So as they say, one reaps what one sows! If it were me, why stop at just peeling that man’s skin? He should have his bones ground to dust and scattered.”

“Exactly!”

…

Someone said: “When it comes down to it, it’s just a play—it’s not real. What are you all so worked up about?”

The Da Lin man who had told the story said: “Though this story is fake, the story touches people’s hearts! Everyone who has seen it calls it excellent. Right now tickets are hard to come by!”

“Who wrote this play?”

“Not clear—only know it’s a play from the famous Zhao Family Troupe in Yiwu!”

Everyone was curious.

Some merchants who were going to Yiwu to do business all said they would go watch it when the time came!

Ji Yunshu finished listening to that story and softly recited two lines: “Watching husband under the tree shed his bones and turn to smoke, I could only plant yellow earth for you before the grave.”

She seemed able to imagine the dan role actor on stage wearing terrifying makeup, sitting beside the grave under the large tree, crying while scooping up yellow earth with her hands.

Truly incomparably tragic and beautiful!

Jingrong picked up a piece of meat for her: “Eat something first, rest well tonight.”

She came back to her senses and nodded: “Mm.”

Bai Yin said: “It’s just a play—what’s there to see? I really don’t understand those people.”

Jingrong said: “Watching plays is like watching life—you wouldn’t understand!”

“I only know that it’s all not real!”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

Hmm?

Bai Yin furrowed his brows: “Do you really believe what they just said is true? That there really is some heartless scoundrel? And really is some ghost bride? There are no ghosts, spirits, or monsters in this world—it’s all fake. The person who wrote the play is just a lunatic.”

Bai Yin only believed the blade’s edge was real. Those refined and elegant plays were always nonsense in his eyes.

Not worth believing!

Jingrong smiled slightly and said nothing.

That night, everyone stayed at the inn for one night, then set out for Yiwu the next day.

As for Ji Yunshu, she shed her women’s clothing and changed into men’s attire.

To facilitate matters!

Originally last night, Jingrong’s group—the men handsome, the women beautiful—had already been very eye-catching.

But this morning when they left the inn, that woman from last night was nowhere to be seen. The waiter was baffled.