The third day of the twelfth lunar month. The first day the remade "Temple of the Spiritual Official" was staged.

Opera fans filed into the Changle Theater. Tickets were about two jiao, with three classes of seating: scattered seats, orchestra seats, and official seats. The scattered seats were the cheapest; official seats naturally cost more. In addition, there were sales of tea, snacks, and other items, all of which contributed to the theater's income.

Not all the tickets for the four-hundred-seat venue were sold, but because the place was small and the advertising was exaggerated, it had drawn in some customers. The theater looked about seventy to eighty percent full, so it didn't seem too shabby.

Fans who didn't go to the theater were also discussing it. After all, it was an old theater and an old actor. Besides discussing the play itself, they were also talking about the future fate of both.

Some were already sighing about it in advance.

Zhang Dinghu arrived rather early. He was an old fan of Ying Xiaonong and an editor for "Jinsheng Theater Magazine." As a drama critic who often wrote reviews, he was also what was known as an actor's champion, as most who wrote reviews did so to promote actors.

Back when Ying Xiaonong's box office appeal was at its peak, he would perform at several venues in one day. Zhang Dinghu would watch him at one theater and then follow him to the next for the following performance.

But later, after Ying Xiaonong signed a contract to perform exclusively at one theater, Zhang Dinghu watched him and always felt something was off. And in the last two years, Ying Xiaonong himself had gradually appeared on stage less and less.

But at least he had "loved" him before. When Ying Xiaonong came to save the Changle Theater this time, Zhang Dinghu had previously bought tickets and brought his whole family to show support. Now that they were launching version 2.0, Zhang Dinghu, having nothing else to do, also invited a friend and bought tickets to enter.

The gentleman accompanying him had some complaints. He had wanted to go to the Jinsheng Theater today to see the new adaptation of "Touring the Ten Halls." He had heard it had as many as fifty backdrops, including hell scenes drawn with Western oil painting techniques, which were very realistic and could frighten children to tears.

"If you ask me, even with changes, it won't run for more than a few shows. Their boss went to Hushang to learn, but he was unwilling to spend money, so he only learned superficial tricks. That's why the play failed!" Such was his friend's logic. If he were in the middle of the argument, he would have sided with the troupe and Ying Xiaonong.

Another point was that he knew Zhang Dinghu was an old fan of Ying Xiaonong. Although he felt Ying Xiaonong's performance was average, he would never say it in front of Zhang Dinghu and could only pin the blame on Xu Xinyue.

In reality, many fans like him thought to themselves that if the atmosphere wasn't lively, it must be because the actor's ticket-selling ability wasn't good enough...

Zhang Dinghu said nothing. In his heart, he wasn't optimistic either; he was just treating it as supporting Ying Xiaonong.

The two entered the theater and let out a soft "Eh" of surprise. They saw that the stage had been expanded significantly. The stage opening was at least four to five zhang wide, and the apron was huge, extending towards the audience. To achieve this, some seats had even been removed.

New rows of lights, quite numerous, had been installed at the stage opening, front stage, proscenium valance, and other places.

"Whoa, Xu Xinyue must have bet his entire fortune on this."

The two sat down and waited peacefully for the play to begin.

During this time, vendors came by selling tea and snacks. Zhang Dinghu disliked the theater's tea and always brought his own.

Zhang Dinghu casually glanced around and saw the playbill posted inside the hall. It was identical to the posters outside. His eyes unintentionally fell on the content, but he was captivated by the calligraphy and praised, "Fine calligraphy. My dear friend, look quickly."

His friend glanced over and also nodded, saying, "Interesting. It has a natural, elegant charm, and upon closer look, even a touch of a painter's sensibility!"

Zhang Dinghu nodded frequently. "Indeed! I was just wondering how to describe it. This calligrapher must also be able to paint."

—This was all written by Ji Shuangyu. If he had heard this, he would have laughed out loud. As a director, he certainly had to draw storyboards.

The "Temple of the Spiritual Official" that Ying Xiaonong was to perform today was originally a Dagu ballad. A playwright had adapted it into Bangzi opera, and Ying Xiaonong had in turn adapted it into a Peking opera. Xu Xinyue had added various mechanisms and scenery, turning it into a play with special effects.

The protagonist of "Temple of the Spiritual Official" was Spiritual Official Wang, played by Ying Xiaonong in a painted-face role. This deity was a guardian god in Daoism, the head of the five hundred spiritual officials, who oversaw good and evil in the human world and could command thunder and fire to exorcise evil and cure diseases.

The story was about Spiritual Official Wang vanquishing demons. A practitioner in the human world was audacious enough to deceive the heavens. He stayed in the Lingguan Temple and deliberately revealed various signs to make Spiritual Official Wang believe he was the reincarnation of his master, Daoist Sa, undergoing a trial. His Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils turned out to be mere decorations.

Spiritual Official Wang appeared and interacted with this practitioner, using his magic to help him. But because Spiritual Official Wang was rather simple-minded, he sometimes messed things up, creating comedic moments.

However, by helping the swindler, he indirectly caused innocent people to suffer. Fortunately, in the end, Spiritual Official Wang finally saw through the deception, fought a great battle with him, and personally went to the underworld to have the victims' souls returned. He punished the wicked and promoted the good, leading to a grand finale where good is rewarded with good and evil with evil.

It was just such a lighthearted and lively play, and compared to those with fairies doing stripteases, it could be called an upright and proper production.

The theater was originally very noisy. As the front curtain opened, the previously bright strip lights suddenly began to dim, and the crowd quieted down.

Lights had always switched on and off in an instant. The lighting at the Changle Theater, however, actually faded out gradually. It wasn't abrupt at all and created a great atmosphere, making people unable to help but focus their eyes on the stage.

Zhang Dinghu said to himself that ghost and deity plays were always boisterous. They were lively, yes, but after seeing so many, he always felt they lacked a certain elegant artistry.

This small change, however, made him find it rather interesting, and he wondered how the lights were controlled.

When the front curtain was fully drawn, everyone was stunned by the scene on stage!

There were none of the familiar, packed-to-the-brim Western-style scenery flats.

A plain "white wall" was adorned with the shadows of a few bamboo branches. In the middle was a moon gate, through which the corner of an eave could be glimpsed. Several creatively draped gauze curtains were painted with window lattices, which, along with the light and shadows, divided the space in a more three-dimensional way.

Well-arranged and primarily using gauze curtains, a few sparse set pieces formed a corner of a Chinese-style temple, recognizable at a glance.

This is... this is...

Zhang Dinghu heard his friend beside him exclaim in a low voice: "This is the Huaxia style!"

He shuddered as if struck by enlightenment. That's right, this set was filled with a rich Huaxia color.

The set was sparse, but it was embellished just right, containing substance within emptiness and possessing a pure charm that reminded one of traditional Huaxia painting and calligraphy.

Such a clean scene would make Zhang Dinghu think of elegant Western mythological plays, but looking at the stage, it was all the Xieyi beauty of Huaxia. This, even more than the earlier lighting, excited Zhang Dinghu.

He also appreciated magnificent sets, but it wasn't until he saw "Temple of the Spiritual Official" today that he suddenly felt that "all the sets I've seen before were incongruous creations."

Although it was the first time the audience had seen such a set, no one voiced any objection, only looks of admiration.

Next was the orchestra. The musicians, having received a generous gift from Ying Xiaonong, played with great effort. The lead drummer struck the tanggu drum rapidly, his wrist strength immense, the beats rolling like thunder, setting the stage for Spiritual Official Wang's entrance.

When Ying Xiaonong came on stage in his costume of golden armor and a red robe, he stood with a majestic presence. The lights changed, and the surroundings were cast in a faint, golden, dim light, with only the Spiritual Official shining brightly, making it seem as if he were the only one in heaven and earth.

Spiritual Official Wang's eyes shot out brilliant rays, as if they were truly Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. A genuine clap of thunder sounded from the wings, accompanied by several flashes of lightning that lit up the stage. Then, the Spiritual Official opened his mouth and recited a line in a rhymed monologue: "Drunkenly I command the thunder and mists of the celestial court, my timeless, fiery spirit draped in a red robe!"

This was the introductory verse often recited upon a character's entrance. As the saying goes, "singing is hard, but delivering the intro is harder," which describes how reciting the verse depends heavily on the actor's skill.

Ying Xiaonong's delivery was full of twists and turns, rich in flavor, and brimming with spirit. With just two lines of verse, he presented a living, awe-inspiring, great Spiritual Official of the Heavens, arriving on wind and thunder!

With such an opening, the audience went wild, and shouts of "Bravo!" rang out continuously.

Brilliant!

—It was unknown how the Changle Theater had managed to create a golden light. It was also creatively done; the surrounding areas were dark, with only a single beam of light on Ying Xiaonong, naturally drawing everyone's eyes. The thunder was the finishing touch, befitting his status as a deity of the Thunder Ministry.

Zhang Dinghu naturally also shouted his approval. In his opinion, the success of the opening was not only due to Ying Xiaonong's voice being in top form and the excellent coordination with the orchestra, but the lighting had also played a huge role in building up the atmosphere.

If Ying Xiaonong had possessed such splendor before, how could he have fallen out of fashion? Seeing his appearance today, which had all the presence of his peak popularity, Zhang Dinghu, this old fan, couldn't help but feel moved.

The previous version of "Lingguan Temple" had a much livelier opening, with many extras forming formations and a full-color painted backdrop of a heavenly palace scene.

But it was nowhere near as successful as today's entrance, with Ying Xiaonong alone and a simple backdrop. It had a sense of returning to original simplicity—simple scenery, rich flavor!

The other audience members didn't think as deeply as Zhang Dinghu. Their thoughts were much simpler and more direct: for some reason, the moment this Spiritual Official came on stage, he was especially majestic and glorious, making them want to cheer from the bottom of their hearts, their excitement hard to suppress for a long time.

The stage looked beautiful too. It was a stunning kind of beauty, but one that didn't make you focus on the set itself. Instead, it guided your focus onto the actors, enhancing their presence.

......

At this moment, in the wings, a hanged ghost was squatting and adjusting the lights.

This hanged ghost had his face painted white, and his long tongue was held in his hand, not yet stuck to his face.

It was none other than the multi-tasking Ji Shuangyu...

Due to technical reasons, each row of stage lights had to be adjusted separately. Besides him, a stagehand from the troupe was also helping, following the procedures he had instructed.

Stage lighting was definitely a powerful tool for shaping characters and creating an environmental atmosphere. The spotlight on Spiritual Official Wang, for instance, was very successful. Although it had never appeared on stage before, everyone accepted it well.

To create the lighting effects, he had also asked someone to modify the lighting equipment. For effects that couldn't be achieved with existing equipment or funds, like the shimmering golden light, he placed colored paper in front of the spotlights and used fabric for reflection.

Later, when lights of other colors were needed, they would switch to blue paper or green paper, which was very much in line with Xu Xinyue's frugal spirit.

As for the thunder, someone was on the side shaking a piece of plywood to create the sound. The lightning was simulated by shining a high-wattage lamp onto a reflective object.

These were all quite basic stage designs, considered novel at this time, but not too outrageous. When used properly, they could produce an effect a hundred times more powerful!

Furthermore, Ji Shuangyu himself, wanting to earn more for more work, would also have to go on stage to play a hanged ghost during the final scene where Spiritual Official Wang enters the underworld, earning some extra money as an extra...

Ji Shuangyu: 'To think that back then, so many people tried to persuade me to appear on stage, and I refused. Now, for the sake of a meal, I have to go on stage to play a hanged ghost. I'm so poor, waaah...'

The actors sitting on trunks backstage waiting for their turn heard the sobbing coming from somewhere, and their scalps tingled. Today's performance was a ghost and deity play; could it be that they had attracted something unclean! What bad luck, what bad luck! They quickly got up and offered another stick of incense to the patriarch.

......

Back in the audience, Zhang Dinghu and the other spectators became more and more engrossed.

The scenery also changed with the scenes, cleverly utilizing those few gauze curtains to make changes silently.

Still, no Western-style scenery was used. The wide stage was adorned with simple set pieces.

If one wanted spectacle, there was that too. For example, the lighting atmosphere and the sounds of wind and thunder. When Spiritual Official Wang performed magic, there was responsive thunder and fire. Paired with Ying Xiaonong's martial arts skills, it was as if the Spiritual Official himself had descended. The light patterns were diverse, changing with the scenes and atmosphere.

Even his friend, who had been so eager to see the realistic hell-scape set, leaned forward, wishing he could get a closer look.

—Of course, the mechanism was controlled by Ji Shuangyu on the side, with the hanged ghost's tongue hanging out. He would flip the switch at the right time, blowing the fuse that connected the backstage to the front stage. Or it was the use of realgar, red phosphorus, potassium chlorate, and other ingredients to create explosive and smoky effects, the commotion of which was very intimidating.

The moment they saw the spectacle, the audience cheered wildly. Spiritual Official Wang was perfectly portrayed in form and spirit, and with another clap of thunder, everyone became deeply immersed in the play. The noise was so loud it threatened to lift the roof off the theater.

Zhang Dinghu's friend stared without blinking, having completely forgotten about the "Touring the Ten Halls" he had originally wanted to see.

What made Zhang Dinghu chuckle to himself even more was that this gentleman had weak kidneys and always had to find an opportunity to relieve himself during a play, at least once, and sometimes as many as three or four times.

Today's continuous performance of "Temple of the Spiritual Official" was long, and Zhang Dinghu noticed his friend clutching his lower abdomen several times, yet he didn't move an inch, unwilling to miss a single exciting moment.

Even Ying Xiaonong himself felt more and more invigorated as he sang. How long had it been since he had sung so comfortably! How long had it been since the audience had been so engaged, cheering so wildly!

Ying Xiaonong felt as if a breath that had been stifled in his heart, along with all the frustration he had endured these past days, was all released. It was truly exhilarating!

He had also wondered if his singing skills had truly declined, or if it was just that the Pear Garden circle turned over quickly and his time was up. Today was the best proof that he was still as sharp as ever.

Looking at the whole theater, it was only about sixty or seventy percent full at the beginning. But throughout the performance, people were continuously drawn in by the incredibly realistic sound of thunder and the earth-shaking cheers from inside. By the second half, not only was every seat filled, but extra seats had been added as well.

Xu Xinyue, watching from the wings, was overjoyed. The cheers filled the theater, and the atmosphere was as heated as that for any famous actor.

He rubbed his hands and said, "Does this mean we can perform for a few more days?"

Ji Shuangyu flicked the fake tongue in his hand. Usually, hanged ghosts had tongues painted on their faces. He and the stagehand had tinkered and made a new, more realistic prop.

He asked, "Boss, in the best-case scenario, how many days can we perform?"

Xu Xinyue hesitated for a moment, then fantasized, "Do you think this play could run for seven consecutive days? Nowadays in Jingcheng, the most popular plays only run for about half a month."

In Hushang, a new play could run for many days upon release, but that wasn't the case in Jingcheng, where they usually ran for only three or four days. A famous actor's play might run consecutively for seven days at most. A half-month run was already something learned from Hushang.

Xu Xinyue was counting on this hit to restore the theater's reputation and then stage more plays in a virtuous cycle. He didn't dare to dream too big, hoping for one play to have a very long run.

Ji Shuangyu clicked his tongue in pity. It was a shame for a play that took so much effort to stage to run for only a few days at a time.

"Boss, the tickets are sold out again," someone from the box office came to report.

The theater was already packed to the brim, with people crammed into every gap. No more tickets could be sold; not another penny could be squeezed out.

Xu Xinyue only regretted that his ancestors hadn't bought a larger plot of land and had built such a small theater. He glared at the box office clerk: "Go open the main gate for me! We can still sell a few more standing-room tickets for those watching from the entrance! Anyone without a ticket is not allowed to crowd around!"

Ji Shuangyu: "..."

...This little cheapskate is really something else!

......

Not until he had finished watching the entire performance of "Temple of the Spiritual Official" did Zhang Dinghu finally sort out his thoughts and understand where that feeling of "the moment I saw 'Lingguan', all my past impressions felt wrong" came from, and why this play had received non-stop cheers from beginning to end.

Considering today's Huaxia national opera, it borrowed from Western theater, using realistically painted scenery as backdrops, and mechanisms were all the rage.

The set for this play, using just a piece of gauze, a beam of light, a single tile, could create a magnificent scene, a character, a grand hall, full of artistic conception.

The person who designed this set was like a master landscape architect, deeply versed in the essence of Huaxia gardens, which conceal the profound and reveal the shallow.

Against such a simple and beautiful backdrop, the mechanisms at the climax of the play were even more stunning, realistically portraying the mythological characters without a trace of artificiality, making the plot more tense and moving.

The previous mechanical sets would have made Ying Xiaonong tense, forcing him to cooperate with them carefully.

The current mechanical sets transformed Ying Xiaonong into a living Spiritual Official Wang, restoring the spirit of his peak and making this play complete and perfect.

While others were still fumbling to figure out what kind of mechanisms were more spectacular and could better rival Western theatrical scenery, this production of "Temple of the Spiritual Official" had already given Zhang Dinghu a completely different kind of enjoyment: a classical aesthetic taste unique to Huaxia.

Zhang Dinghu thought that while the clean elegance of Western mythological plays was admirable, in comparison, it was not as suitable as this.

—Although Western scenery flats were vivid, realistic, wonderful, and moving, this combination of the virtual and the real was more in tune with the style of Huaxia opera. Just as on stage, when a character performs the "treading a horse" motion, the audience knows they are riding a horse; a push and pull of the hands signifies a door opening and closing.

The so-called "With three to five steps, one travels the world; with seven or eight people, a million-strong army is represented," a vast universe within a small space, the passage of time with a turn of the body. The Huaxia audience, having been immersed in this since childhood, could understand it without explanation.

Because of this, today's audience accepted all the stage designs well and became very immersed in the play.

As long as they were Huaxia people, they could naturally appreciate this kind of Xieyi-style scenery.

They had always listened for the meaning beyond the strings, looked for the scenery beyond the painting, and savored the sentiment beyond the poem—a beauty that is absolutely alike, yet absolutely unlike!

Zhang Dinghu was truly curious as to how the Changle Theater, the Hanxi Troupe, and Ying Xiaonong had quietly created such a technically mature work of art. Without a doubt, Ying Xiaonong would once again become the most popular and highest-grossing painted-face role actor.

He returned home, immediately spread out paper and ink, and began writing an article for the new issue of "Jinsheng Theater Magazine." He drafted a review full of the highest praise, with the headline:

Review of Changle Theater's "Temple of the Spiritual Official"—Adding Splendor to the Spiritual Official, Pioneering Xieyi Scenery in Traditional Opera; Embodying Huaxia's Elegance, Arranging a Heavenly Palace Garden on a Humble Stage.

Author has something to say:

Lingdang'er will appear tomorrow. His nickname is Lingdang'er because Baoduo refers to the large bells under the eaves of Buddhist halls and pagodas, not small bells. He's not small anywhere, he's big! A big bell!