Chapter 60: The Yin Hall Gathering (Part 5)

Fortunately, this Republican era drama was an original script, so they didn’t need to go through great trouble to find the original author. The next day, Ren Dong made one phone call and summoned the screenwriter.

The screenwriter was a man who looked relatively young, sporting a very distinctive mushroom haircut, wearing a striped shirt and a pair of black-framed glasses. He fit Chen Jiu’s stereotypical image of a screenwriter perfectly.

The group sat talking in a teahouse near the filming set. It was a weekday afternoon with sparse customer traffic, the atmosphere quiet and very suitable for conversation.

Mushroom Head let out a huge yawn, greeted them in a half-dead manner, then sat blankly, seeming to directly enter power-saving mode.

Ren Dong touched his own nose and explained to Chen Jiu: “He’s just like this, very easy to run out of battery. But Little Boss Chen, ask whatever you want to ask. He can hear you.”

“Understood.” Chen Jiu looked at Mushroom Head and got straight to the point: “Teacher Screenwriter, I heard this script has a real-life prototype. But when I searched for relevant information online, I didn’t find any valuable clues. So I had to come hear from you personally about the true ending of the male and female lead prototypes.”

Mushroom Head was silent for a very long time, so long that Chen Jiu thought he had fallen asleep with his eyes open, before he straightened up a bit, pushed his glasses up with his index finger, and finally spoke: “You mean the version I adapted isn’t real enough? Director Ren, was this your idea?”

“No no no, we certainly don’t mean that.” Ren Dong hadn’t expected Mushroom Head to interpret it this way, and said amusedly: “Something has been happening at the set recently. Little Master Chen is someone I specially invited to help resolve these matters. For the sake of your creative flow and your sleep quality, I suggest you don’t ask too many details. Just cooperate with her and answer whatever she asks.”

“Alright, since you put it that way…” Mushroom Head slowly turned his head around, his eyes finally focusing, meeting Chen Jiu’s gaze: “Of course you can’t find the ins and outs of this story online. This is a story passed down orally through several generations of my family ancestors. I personally prefer this kind of story that has some historical authenticity but isn’t too cruel.”

Chen Jiu worked hard to maintain her smile, nodding patiently to show she was all ears.

Mushroom Head was very satisfied with her sincere attitude. He took a sip of tea and continued: “In the original story, that huadan singing girl didn’t come to a good end. But I sympathize with this character, so I gave her a fairly decent ending.”

Chen Jiu asked: “She died?”

“Yes.” Mushroom Head felt upon hearing this that this girl’s thought process was on the same wavelength as his own. His interest rose slightly, and his attitude was clearly less perfunctory than before: “Originally she died at the male lead’s hands. But if that were the case, wouldn’t the male lead become an utterly irredeemable villain? Such a male lead isn’t very popular with the market. So influenced by various factors, I made a small modification to the middle process.”

Ren Dong expressed agreement on this point: “Indeed, market considerations should be taken into account.”

After all, this industry was also a form of business. All factors should serve the return on investment.

“I’d like to hear the details of how the male lead killed her.” Chen Jiu, afraid he would skip over this part after finishing, proactively said.

Mushroom Head’s eyes lit up: “Oh? So you’re interested in this type of script. Actually, I still have suspense and crime investigation scripts that haven’t been sold yet. If you…”

“Oh no no, I’m just interested in the details of this particular story.” Chen Jiu’s smile was about to crack, as she struggled to maintain her gentle and polite persona.

Mushroom Head understood, let out a regretful “oh,” and continued: “Actually it wasn’t that difficult. You know, men and women already have physiological differences to begin with. Not to mention one was a delicate, willow-in-the-wind actress, and the other was a warlord who had been fighting for years. For the male lead to strangle this girl would be as easy as turning over his palm. Sigh, actually if she hadn’t clung to him so desperately, and threatened to make their affair known throughout the entire town, the male lead probably wouldn’t have killed her in a moment of impulse.”

Chen Jiu sneered inwardly, but on the surface remained noncommittal.

“After this girl died, the male lead to cover up the evidence of his crime, buried her beneath the foundation of the new house he was preparing to build. Then he spread rumors, falsely claiming she had eloped with a country bumpkin.” Mushroom Head shook his head and sighed: “This man slept with her and wouldn’t acknowledge it, then killed her to protect his own reputation. After her death, he further sullied her reputation. This was no different from killing her a second time.”

Chen Jiu looked at him, thinking to herself: you actually know all this? What is there worth adapting in such a story? Just because it has a Republican era setting?

Ren Dong seemed to see through her confusion and proactively interjected: “If Republican era elements weren’t trending recently, he wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to pick up a ready-made story to adapt.”

Chen Jiu nodded and asked again: “In the current version, the wusheng doesn’t have many scenes. Did he have his own separate story line in the original version?”

“Yes.” Mushroom Head sighed: “If everything were filmed according to the original version, then this Republican era romantic love story would completely become a horror thriller. This wusheng had secretly loved the huadan for many years. He knew the huadan’s disappearance must be related to the male lead, and she was most likely dead. So he decided to pretend to be the huadan’s returned spirit, to trick the male lead once and see if he would be frightened into telling the truth.”

When Chen Jiu heard this, she couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her lip: “Director Ren, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but why do I feel that this original story would be much more exciting filmed than your current version?”

Ren Dong let out a bitter laugh and waved his hand. This wasn’t something they could film either.

“Indeed, otherwise it wouldn’t have been passed down for several generations, reaching my ears.” Mushroom Head also smiled. This expression was very rare on his face, so even an ordinary smile looked somewhat unfamiliar: “The wusheng’s plan was successfully carried out. As expected, he tricked out the truth. He learned that the girl he loved was buried right beneath the foundation of this land. The fire of rage quickly burned away his reason. He wanted to kill the male lead to avenge the huadan. But how could the male lead be easily subdued by him? The wusheng gave his all, but the male lead only received minor injuries, while the wusheng had one of his legs broken.”

“This clue does match up again.” Chen Jiu showed a look of sudden realization: “So that’s how it was.”

“No one dared to help him anymore. The wusheng was almost expelled from the opera troupe by the troupe leader, who said he had brought disaster upon himself and nearly got the entire troupe killed.” Mushroom Head spoke with such immersion that he himself became somewhat entranced: “How he hated. He hated everyone. Those who hurt him, those who killed the huadan, those who wouldn’t help him, he hated them all. Including the female lead who had caused the male lead to lose his head over lust, he hated her too. So in the end, he set fire to the entire new house, burning it clean. The male and female leads both died in this great fire. Some in the opera troupe perished there, while others fortunately escaped… The wusheng also perished in this great fire, dying together with these people he hated.”

“Speaking of which, it’s quite a coincidence. The location where the production team built the actual set, going back several hundred years, was precisely an architectural complex destroyed by a great fire. At that time, I had a fierce discussion with Director Ren. In the end, everyone had a meeting and settled on this place.”

So they had deliberately chosen this location? Then they couldn’t blame the production team for the frequent strange occurrences. They had brought it upon themselves.

Chen Jiu silently criticized in her heart. After pondering for a moment, she summarized: “If we put it that way, the wusheng also got his wish fulfilled.”

But if he had already gotten his wish fulfilled, why would he linger in this ruined building that had already turned to ashes, unwilling to leave for so long? Was it only to accompany the huadan?

“Among everyone in this story, the most innocent is probably the female lead.” Ren Dong listened with deep emotion and offered this evaluation.

Mushroom Head, however, seemed very satisfied with this viewpoint he had raised. He deliberately shook his finger in a profound manner and said: “She’s not innocent at all. She’s the biggest twist in this story.”

Ren Dong also became interested: “How so?”

Mushroom Head strung along their appetites before saying: “It was the female lead who came up with the foolish idea to bury the huadan’s corpse in the foundation. She had her own little schemes, also working hard to pave the way for her own future wealth and security. But no matter how much they calculated, they still didn’t calculate that there would still be a devoted lover in this world. The wusheng was willing to abandon his own life to avenge the huadan.”

A fleeting thought suddenly flashed through Chen Jiu’s mind, but she didn’t catch it in time.

Ren Dong couldn’t help but say: “Good heavens, does a script like this even need to be adapted? Why don’t we simply film a parallel world, pull in some small-scale investment, and just film according to the first script! At that time, you can still be the lead!”

Mushroom Head became cautious at this point: “Director Ren, how small scale? You wouldn’t even try to skimp on my wages, would you? I’m still in a lawsuit with the previous production team. I really can’t afford to take the loss.”

“What are you saying!”

The two of them made a racket. Chen Jiu concentrated on her own thoughts, and finally in the next instant, she sorted it out.

The lingering ghosts on the stage weren’t just those two. When the male and female leads and others in the opera troupe died, shouldn’t there be one or two who were unwilling to accept it? In Yu Xiao’s dream of yin peach blossoms, who exactly could it be?

…

Night fell. During the intermission, Ren Dong was drinking tea when he heard Chen Jiu describe a theory about not being able to catch wolves without sacrificing children. He nearly sprayed tea out of his nostrils.

“No no no, Little Boss Chen. It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that the male and female lead actors are both mortals of flesh and blood. Even if they’re willing themselves, their management companies won’t be willing.” Ren Dong said with difficulty: “If anything happens to them, I might as well stop working in this industry and go home to farm.”

Chen Jiu was also in a difficult position. That male ghost was coming specifically for the female lead played by Yu Xiao. With the huadan, she could openly disguise herself with opera makeup. But now the bait had become the female lead. She couldn’t possibly go get plastic surgery, could she?

Unexpectedly, Yu Xiao had been hiding behind the two of them eavesdropping. Hearing this, she suddenly popped her head out, slapping both hands on their shoulders left and right: “I can do it! I also want to resolve these strange matters soon!”

Her sudden shout scared Ren Dong so much that he launched straight up from his director’s chair.

Translation Notes:

huadan: A type of female role in Chinese opera, typically portraying young, lively, or coquettish women. One of the main dan (female) role categories.

wusheng: A type of male role in Chinese opera specializing in martial arts and acrobatic fighting. The “sheng” refers to male roles generally.