This time, everyone’s schedules aligned, and while recording the second episode, they quickly urged Qi Shejiang to continue his last solo crosstalk. “I thought about this long ago. Everyone will be spending money again this time.” Qi Shejiang cupped his hands and took a clapper from his bag. Qi Shejiang was unexpectedly touched and carefully accepted it. Knowing he might need to perform another segment, he brought it along. Seeing this, everyone exclaimed, “Good job, you’re quite prepared! But I also brought some cash! Thank goodness!” This time, there were still some villagers present, and it was quite lively. Qi Shejiang didn’t have a microphone, but raising his voice, his clear sound traveled far. “Lonely rivers and mountains move with wine, frost-laden moonlit night offers no sleep. Mud men tell ghost stories, don’t discuss rights and wrongs in between!” Once the opening rhyme was recited and the clapper struck, the atmosphere became solemn! Although it was for entertainment in the program, it still set the tone, as he was accustomed to it.
Having left off halfway last time, Qi Shejiang continued, first briefly summarizing the previous plot for those who hadn’t heard it, then proceeded: “The county magistrate had never encountered such a rogue as Yang Haoshan. Yang Haoshan was proficient in all forms of wine and games, and on leisurely days, he would watch cat performances.
“Everyone, this cat performance group is composed of young girls; he’s seen so much that even if he can’t compose poetry, he can chant. But Yang Haoshan has lost all restraint; the county magistrate had never seen such reckless playboys, who prided themselves as cultured men, and witnessing his proper wife like this, he was so frightened that he rolled out of bed, repeatedly begging for mercy.”
Here, Qi Shejiang employed the county magistrate’s dialect to plead for mercy, then mimicked the feminine tone of Yang Haoshan. The audience laughed as they heard how the magistrate was frightened out of his wits by Yang Haoshan’s abandon.
“Yang Haoshan had been long suppressed; you think about it, he spent all day learning to be a woman. Now he was full of vigor, jumping off the bed and flipping the county magistrate over, both rolling and tumbling on the floor.”
“Fortunately, a savior arrived; a servant reported from outside that there was a fire in the county granary, where there were still several thousand stone of official grain inside, a serious matter, so he hurriedly pushed the door open to escape. Yang Haoshan continued to curse, ‘Old turtle, don’t run; now you can’t afford to play anymore!’ “The servant outside was dumbfounded! Seeing the master covering his face with his sleeve, he fled in panic. He contemplated for a while and then resolutely decided to be considerate, softly saying: ‘Master, I have a secret recipe here; whoever uses it will know…’” Qi Shejiang paused slightly, allowing time for laughter, and coincidentally imitated the magistrate’s astonished expression before rebuking the servant. From that moment on, it seemed Yang Haoshan had an awakening; he realized he had come to exact revenge on King Yama’s orders, so why be afraid? In the magistrate’s house, it was as if a whale opened its mouth, and a sea turtle ran rampant, stirring up a storm. The magistrate’s household was in disarray, gradually catching on to the situation, so he went to summon a yin-yang master to come take a look. But Yang Haoshan, being from a lowly background, wasn’t afraid of those swindlers; instead, he made a fool of them.
Fortunately, someone suggested to the magistrate to take his wife to the temple, then feign official business to return and leave her there for a while so he could have some peace and quiet. The magistrate was overjoyed and immediately used the excuse of performing rituals for his ancestors to take Yang Haoshan to a temple on the outskirts of the city.
Meanwhile, the Zhao family had a scholarly young master named Zhao Sheng who was also staying at the temple to review his studies.
While wandering in the temple, Yang Haoshan spotted Zhao Sheng and saw this as an opportunity to take revenge. He tricked Zhao Sheng into the Zen room.
“Zhao Sheng, unaware and unsuspecting, took the tea and started drinking. Yang Haoshan, however, coldly laughed, standing behind him, and secretly pulled out a hairpin about a palm long, raising it high.”
“Just in time! The county magistrate had received news and had already reached outside the room, quickly kicking the door open; before he even arrived, his voice had already sounded, exclaiming: ‘In broad daylight, what are you doing here!’”
“Smack!
Qi Shejiang struck the clapper, stopping the story there. Only then did everyone seem to wake from a dream. “What? Is that it?”
“Are you kidding me? Can this still work? It’s over, I won’t be here next time!” It’s truly infuriating, how can it end here? Yang Haoshan wants to deal with Zhao Sheng, but the county magistrate thinks he’s going outside the bounds of propriety. This is a crucial moment in the story; how can it just stop here! Qi Shejiang innocently said, “But the director told me that if we’re going to say it, we can only say it once.” Everyone else: “……” They stared at the director, who retreated a few steps back, hiding inside the room. …… Filled with extreme dissatisfaction, everyone could only play Truth or Dare together.
Zhang Yue also had bad luck, drawing a dare on the second round. Looking at the sinister grins of the crowd, he stepped back and said, “That’s enough!” At this moment, Zhou Dong loudly declared, “I propose that Old Zhang sings!” Zhang Yue relaxed his expression a little, good buddy! The others were also somewhat dissatisfied; getting a band’s lead singer to sing isn’t much of a dare. The next moment, Zhou Dong chuckled and said, “Old Zhang can sing ‘He Bi Xiang’.” Everyone fell silent for a moment, then erupted in screams and cheers.
This was a big revelation; who would have thought that Zhang Yue secretly learned to sing ‘He Bi Xiang’! Zhang Yue’s voice was drowned out: “I can’t sing!” “Good, you can sing ‘He Bi Xiang’. Looks like it’s a love-hate relationship, huh?” The other guests relentlessly teased, not taking Zhang Yue’s defense seriously at all. If he dies one day, it’s definitely because his teammates betrayed him. Qi Shejiang eagerly said, “Do you want to sing? I’ll accompany you.” Pushed to the forefront, Zhang Yue gritted his teeth and said, “…I really am not familiar with it.” Someone handed over a phone, “Here, I found the lyrics and score.” Zhang Yue’s face darkened. Qi Shejiang, on the other hand, was quite relaxed, holding the sanxian and comfortably mastering the rhythm, “Let’s do half of it. I’ll sing a couple of lines, then you come in from the second verse.” As Zhang Yue wore a black face, when Qi Shejiang finished singing four lines of the “zi di shu,” he finally covered his forehead and began: “Bright eyes, misty like smoke, seem familiar and cherished. If not for the light silk hiding your face, you smile as the first immortal of Penglai.” ‘He Bi Xiang’ is written from the perspectives of the male and female leads.
