After having a full meal and resting for a while, and having slept for the whole day, Wang Li is now in good spirits and speaks with full energy.
This "The Legend of the White Deer" is completely exclusive to him, Wang Li, and he has only told it in private occasions in the capital and some prefecture-level cities. It is not the kind of story that people are familiar with, and he can confirm that there are no other storytellers who mix in with the guests to "steal the story."
Therefore, this story is something you will never hear from other storytellers, and the response is always good every time this story is told. In addition, this story is indeed "taught by gods in dreams", so Wang Li is particularly confident at this moment.
"Shua~"
Opening the paper fan in his hand, Wang Li calmly picked up the wake-up stick and slammed it heavily on the table.
"Pah~"
After a crisp sound, the woman next to him plucked the instrument in her hand, and the chords of the zither, pipa and harp began to sound. Wang Li's voice at this moment had a slightly hazy feeling.
"It is said that during the Shuncheng period, in a remote county town in my Great Zhen Dynasty, there was a scholar named Zhou..."
Wang Li is really good at storytelling. The combination of chord music and his outstanding ventriloquism skills creates an immersive feeling for the audience. He imitates the scholar's spirit, the voices of the elders in the family, and even the charming laughter of a woman perfectly.
The guests originally thought that it was a story about taking an imperial examination to seek fame and fortune. After all, the young master of the Gao family had passed the imperial examination, so this kind of story was very appropriate. However, as the story progressed, it was as if layer by layer of thin gauze curtains were being unravelled, and the mythological nature of the story began to gradually reveal itself.
Ji Yuan was listening intently and occasionally looked around, noticing that all the guests, near and far, in front, behind, and around him, were serious and nervous, and almost no one was eating or drinking.
He had heard some storytellers tell stories before, and some of them were quite good, at least able to attract someone like him, but storytellers as good as Wang Li were rare.
Objectively speaking, Wang Li's skills are even more sophisticated now than when he was at the New Year's Eve banquet at Prince Jin's Mansion. Obviously, in addition to Ji Yuan's story of using objects to convey the spirit, Wang Li's own talent is also the key to his progress.
“Wooo ...
The eerie and hollow sound of a deer calling came from behind the screen. All the guests clutched their trouser legs and clenched their fists. Many of them felt their scalps tingling and got goose bumps. They all knew that this was an evil cry.
The sound of a deer that Wang Li imitated made it seem as if there was no one behind the screen, but a deer monster.
“Pah…” “Pah…” “Pah…”
Several windows were blown open by the wind.
“Hoooo… woooo…”
At night, a cool breeze blew in through the windows on the second floor of Zotye Building, making everyone feel even colder.
The Gao family's servants hurriedly closed the windows again, but the emotions aroused by the story did not subside.
If there wasn't a lampshade inside that cast some shadows on the screen, what they would see was still the gentleman holding a paper fan, and some people might have been frightened to the point of standing up.
Ji Yuan's eyes were indifferent. Wang Li's speech was very good, but the "plot" seemed to have changed. His eyes swept towards the window.
As a cool breeze blew by, a woman in white clothes and light makeup appeared on the empty seat at a table, looking in the direction of the screen.
"Interesting, there is no divine light but there is incense burning around, could it be that she is a goddess?"
Ji Yuan remained calm, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Pah~"
The wake-up stick was smashed down and everyone was awakened.
"If you want to know what happened next, please listen to the details after a cup of tea!"
After Wang Li said this, many people relaxed and Master Gao immediately stood up and said.
"Everyone, eat some food and drink some wine first. The new dishes haven't been touched yet. Come on, everyone, eat first, eat first!"
Just now, most people were too engrossed in listening to the story and had no time to eat. Now that the storytelling came to an end, everyone started eating and drinking again, but many of them were still discussing the storytelling while eating.
Ji Yuan did the same. He picked up the newly served boiled glutinous rice meat with chopsticks, picked up a piece, dipped it in the dipping sauce on the side, and put it in his mouth to savor the flavor.
"Oh my, this storyteller who is famous in the capital city is indeed extraordinary!"
"That's right, that's right. I got goosebumps just now."
"You too? Me too!" "Oh, what a coincidence."
"Mr. Wang's ventriloquism skills are really amazing. I've seen ventriloquists once or twice before, but none of them were as good as him."
"Well, there is also "The Legend of the White Deer". This story is so good but I have never heard of it. Is it really created by Mr. Wang?"
Hearing this, a young man at Ji Yuan's table seemed very excited.
"He said it was taught by a god in a dream. I also heard that Mr. Wang Li traveled around looking for all kinds of miraculous stories. He is also a strange man."
Ji Yuan was just eating the food and agreeing with what someone was saying nearby. He would look over the screen from time to time and from the shadow cast by the light from the inside, he could see that Wang Li was also taking this opportunity to drink tea to quench his thirst. A woman who had just been playing the pipa stood up and fanned him with a fan.
Wang Li behind the screen also tried to rest at this moment. He closed his eyes after drinking tea. After about half a quarter of an hour, he opened his eyes and bowed to express his gratitude to the woman next to him.
"Thank you very much, young lady. You should take a rest for a while, as you still need to play the pipa later."
"Um!"
The woman put down her fan, walked out from behind the screen and sat back in her seat. Immediately, her companion started talking to her about something, pointing at the screen and laughing.
As time passed, Ji Yuan could clearly feel that the guests' minds were no longer on the food, because Wang Li was about to start speaking again. Looking at the woman in white who came with the wind, she was in a similar state.
Ji Yuan was the only one at the table where he was eating. The dishes at Zhongtai Tower were really delicious. He had mostly been eating simple meals over the years, and changing his taste occasionally was truly intoxicating.
"Pah~"
After a clap of the wake-up stick, Wang Li stood up and threw away the paper fan, and his powerful voice rang out again. At this moment, no one in the room was eating anymore, and all of them listened attentively.
"Last time I mentioned that Miss Bai was actually a white deer that turned into a spirit. She transformed into a young lady and appeared in front of Master Zhou..."
Wang Li began to narrate again, because at this time the story had progressed to a certain stage. There were fewer stories about scholars studying hard to seek official positions, and more mythological elements and more mysterious love stories.
There are ghosts, monsters, and even some dangers during the period. Some plots are ups and downs after being designed by Wang Li.
Ji Yuan could not help but sigh in his heart that Wang Li was a talented person. It was obvious that Zhou Shusheng, whose yang energy was weak due to the evil spirit, encountered a ghost while walking on the road at night, but Wang Li added and changed it into a thrilling and magical story, with evil ghosts and wizards appearing together, and Lady White Deer saving her husband...
Even Ji Yuan felt as if he was watching a TV series in his previous life, not to mention all the guests, who were already fascinated by it.
When it came to the part where Bai Lu followed her old husband into the netherworld to pray to the City God and had her soul extracted and imprisoned, most of the female guests were in tears.
"Since then, Lady White Deer has imprisoned herself in the underworld, living with Master Zhou in the underworld. Every year on the anniversary of Master Zhou's death, Lady White Deer is whipped in the underworld. True love is the hardest to find in the world, and the love between a human and a demon is forever, which makes people sigh..."
When Wang Li said this, he gently pressed down the wake-up stick, making a dull sound.
“Wooo ...
The faint sound of a deer calling came again from behind the screen.
The guests outside still felt an electric shock when they heard it, but the fear was much less and the outburst of emotions was stronger.
Many people subconsciously rubbed their arms and thighs, and got goose bumps at the end of this story.
“Pah pah pah pah…” “Wonderful!”
"Well said, very well said!"
“Pah pah pah pah…” “Yes, yes, it’s wonderful, wonderful~!”
"Mr. Wang is truly a man of talent!"
"Yes, that's very well said."
…
The guests applauded and praised the storyteller Wang Li for his superb skills.
The story had four chapters in total, and after nearly two hours of reading, the two screens were taken away by the servants, revealing Wang Li, whose face was still sweating.
Mr. Gao and Mr. Gao also stood up and bowed to express their gratitude.
"Thank you Mr. Wang for the midnight witty remarks. Thank you very much, sir."
Wang Li quickly stood up to return the greeting, speaking many humble words.
Ji Yuan was also clapping, but his attention was naturally more focused on the window. He saw the woman looking at Wang Li with cold eyes and waving her long sleeves.
“Woo… Woo…”
Some of the windows that had been closed before were blown open again. The wind was stronger and more evil than before. Much of the wind seemed to turn and swirl into some lampshades, causing the flames to shake violently.
There was a flickering feeling in the Zhongtai Building. Some guests were disturbed by the strange changes. The Gao family ordered the servants to close the windows but found that many of them could not be closed.
The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the candles in the lampshades were going out one after another.
“Ah…” “What happened!?”
"Master..."
Everyone was a little panicked, and Wang Li felt shaky and dazed in the center of the hall...
But in the next moment, all the wind stopped, and the windows that had been impossible to close before suddenly lost their resistance, causing several servants who were closing the windows to stumble and bump into the windows.
The woman in white looked around and out the window in surprise, and waved her hands but found no response from anyone around her.
"Ah… "
Ji Yuan chuckled, and his index finger left the table. He wrote the word "Ding Feng" on the edge of the cup with a stain of yellow wine.