Wandering Gods of Day and Night-Chapter 36 - 33 Snow Temple

36: Chapter 33 Snow Temple

36 -33 Snow Temple

Zhou Xuan carefully observed his own eyes in the rearview mirror, but didn’t notice too much of a change.

The eye sockets were well-defined, the whites of his eyes were white, the pupils dark, and looking closely, there was a hint of clarity.

There was no change in the curvature of the outer corners of his eyes.

“Sure, they’re pretty, but it’s not that exaggerated…” Zhou Xuan wondered if he had gotten used to his own handsomeness from looking in the mirror too often, whereas Li Shuangyi and Liu Jiaotian didn’t pay much attention to him usually.

Perhaps that occasional earnest glance simply left them dazzled.

“I guess I’ve been looking at myself in the mirror too much and inflicted aesthetic fatigue on myself~~”

Originally, he wouldn’t have minded basking in his own beauty, but Zhou Xuan had one good trait—he liked to ponder aimlessly on his own.

Delving deeper into his thoughts, he felt the idea of “aesthetic fatigue” was far-fetched.

What did Liu Jiaotian look like?

He was the premiere beauty of Ping Shui Prefecture, a performer whose singing could mesmerize and lead astray the male audience.

Li Shuangyi came from a background of martial artists, naturally he was a handsome man.

Martial artists, unlike seasoned actors or comic characters, needed to meet high standards for physical appearance, especially in terms of a commanding gaze and the demeanor of a great general.

The slightest imperfection in facial features would see one immediately eliminated by the picky masters of a troupe.

Returning to the subject of beauty, the criterion for judging beauty for normal people is always based on themselves.

Meeting someone just a bit more handsome or beautiful would elicit a casual, “Not bad looking, quite okay,” but they would reserve heartfelt praise like “truly handsome, truly beautiful, truly good-looking” for those significantly more attractive than themselves.

Even with his vanity, Zhou Xuan was nowhere near narcissistic enough to think his looks had surpassed Liu Jiaotian and Li Shuangyi by a long shot.

And yet, those two were as if they were intoxicated and obsessed, staring at Zhou Xuan’s eyes, lavishing praise on their beauty.

A bizarre occurrence often heralds something strange.

Zhou Xuan finished his pancake in a couple of bites, took a horse stance, and using his index finger and thumb, stretched open his upper and lower eyelids, his eyeballs nearly pressing up against the rearview mirror as he peered intently.

When his eyes became sore after looking as if he’d stared at a searchlight for ten minutes, with burst blood vessels in the whites of his eyes, he started to see something unusual.

Snow was falling inside his eyes.

Though he was clearly looking at the rearview mirror, inside his eyes he could see an ancient temple.

The temple doors were firmly shut, and there was a covered corridor at the entrance; naturally, there were adorned beams and painted columns, jade stairs, and bright pillars.

All arranged within Zhou Xuan’s eyes, the sight seemed formidable.

The snow, like cotton flocking, flitted about, seeming to veil the sternness of the temple, as if reluctant for Zhou Xuan to see the true nature of the temple structure.

Gradually, the snow thickened, and as it piled up, the temple doors became indistinct through the snow, as if a beauty’s partially obscured face behind her pipa.

“Beautiful, too beautiful.” Enchanted, Zhou Xuan was fixated on the snow scene, having forgotten about the surrounding reality.

The snow grew even thicker, covering the temple completely.

Sky and ground, people and temple, the corridor and columns, all were enveloped in white.

At that point, the things in Zhou Xuan’s eyes returned to normal.

Zhou Xuan finally snapped out of his daze.

Only then did he realize that what Liu Jiaotian and Li Shuangyi were praising was not his eyes, but the snow and temple within them!

“Not good, snow in July, have I become Dou’e?” Zhou Xuan mocked himself.

…

The car started, and he headed towards Zhou Family’s Troupe.

When Zhou Xuan first started driving, he was a bit preoccupied, repeatedly glancing at the rearview mirror when checking the road conditions, hopeful to see if his eyes would once again witness the snow.

But halfway there, the snow did not appear again.

“The snow that could be seen in my eyes must be somewhat related to my ability to see impurities today.”

Zhou Xuan was just guessing, but since the snow did not reappear, he didn’t bother with it and focused on driving.

Just a moment ago, when he was lost in thoughts, he almost hit an old lady crossing the road.

…

Zhou Xuan could never have imagined that in Ping Shui Prefecture, where the number of cars was so limited, there would still be traffic jams.

And the jam was completely gridlocked.

On Taiping Road, all around Zhou Xuan were cars, with the occasional rickshaw weaving through, and plenty of pedestrians, as if they never ended.

Crossing a street, winding through another, with no end in sight.

“Third Senior Brother, why are there so many people around here?”

“Oh, Taiping Prefecture has lots of entertainment – theaters, cinemas, nightclubs, dance halls – they’re all open for business now.

All the high-profile figures are out and about, naturally causing a traffic jam.

Just a short distance ahead, there’s a famous night market.

Most of the people crossing the road are headed there.”

Uh,

Rush hour!

Just wait.

Zhou Xuan, seeing that the traffic wasn’t moving at all, simply closed his eyes to rest.

Although he couldn’t sleep, rejuvenating his spirit was good too; he was really exhausted today.

But before he could even close his eyes, Li Shuangyi started teaching Tong Douzi about acting.

In fact, Li Shuangyi had been teaching all along the way, sometimes instructing in how to use the voice for singing in operas, sometimes teaching Tong Douzi how to gesture and move.

His teaching was meticulous and patient, and his tone gentle, which was quite rare among the acting coaches in Ping Shui Prefecture.

Other masters who taught acting believed only in one truth – a good disciple comes from strict discipline!

Disciple afraid of splitting their legs in pain?

Just beat them with a stick, and they’ll be fine.

Singing out of tune?

Beat them with a stick, and they’ll be fine.

There isn’t an issue that can’t be solved with a beating,

If there is,

then administer another beating!

The masters believed that without a harsh punishment, there would be no long-lasting memory, and memory was crucial for acting in operas.

As such, many of the acting masters in theater troupes would set up a contract with the parents when taking on apprentices.

In the contract, there’d often be a clause – for private truancy, unruliness, or non-compliance, even death will not be taken into account!

Li Shuangyi’s teaching style was as gentle as a loving mother, quite the oddball.

Zhou Xuan liked this kind of oddball, if only he wasn’t driving!

Li Shuangyi was just too naggy, like Tang Sanzang from the legends, mumbling all the way, his mouth never stopped.

At first, Zhou Xuan found it amusing, but as time wore on, he only found it noisy.

And now, the noise continued.

Zhou Xuan had barely closed his eyes for a moment when Li Shuangyi rolled down the car window and pointed to a fashionably dressed dancer in a short skirt with shiny sequins and said,

“Douzi, look at that dancer sister’s legs.

Her thighs are robust, certainly containing strength, related to her occupation.

She uses her legs all year round, but not properly; she exerts too much force when stomping, leading to overly muscular and less flexible muscles.

You must not do that in the future.

When an opera actor uses their legs, they need to apply force with finesse to keep their movements graceful…”

Zhou Xuan: “…”

Third Senior Brother, you surely have a variety of teaching methods, but you should also be kind-hearted.

Can’t you see someone is resting here?

Tong Douzi was listening with great interest, and Li Shuangyi was so engrossed in teaching that they both even forgot there was a Zhou Xuan in the car.

“Douzi, did you see that old lady selling cigarettes on the street?

Listen to her cries, she’s using her natural voice, which is not only strenuous but also easily strains the throat.

Remember, you need to learn to use a falsetto voice, the throat…”

Tong Douzi was looking forward to the rest of his master’s teachings, but Li Shuangyi stopped at the word “throat” as if recalling some unpleasant memory.

His complexion turned ugly at first, and then suddenly he stared straight ahead, fixated.

“Third Senior Brother decided not to continue?

Despite the noise in the back seat, Zhou Xuan, having good manners, did not want to reprimand either of them.

After all, they were diligently learning.

Is there anything wrong with trying hard?

It should be encouraged!

Now that Li Shuangyi had suddenly stopped talking, Zhou Xuan became curious to see what had happened behind him.

He looked back but didn’t notice anything except Li Shuangyi glaring at him furiously!

The rage in that gaze was far from ordinary – as intense as if one had stolen his wife or killed his father.

“Third Senior Brother, why are you glaring at me?” Zhou Xuan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, no, no, nothing.”

Li Shuangyi realized that he had lost his composure and quickly took back his resentful glare.

For the rest of the way back to Zhou Family’s Troupe, Li Shuangyi was as cold as ice and did not speak another word.

“Third Senior Brother, could it be that you had a personal grievance with the original master?” Zhou Xuan, gripping the steering wheel, murmured secretly: “Seems like it’s not a small matter, probably a significant feud.”

He planned to go home and continue reading the original master’s diary, as he had been too busy to read it these past few days…