Chapter 88: Sword Dance

The little rainy one interviewed everyone one by one.

Even the only capable of howling was included, the fierce dragon, the ugly carving serpent, and the rest.

All except Sadako.

It was not that she was afraid; rather, the female ghost was rather resistant to facing the camera.

She preferred to crawl out of it.

After placing a pointed hat on her head, Sadako gave the little rainy one a smile that was both gentle and chill, then drifted to the open space before the bonfire.

It was her turn to perform.

The little rainy one aimed the camera that way and watched with wide-eyed curiosity.

To her slight surprise, Sadako on stage was not as icy, dreadful, or ghastly as she had imagined.

She wore a white kimono. Though her face remained deathly pale and inhuman, and her eyes were cold and emotionless, her dancing possessed an indescribable grace.

"There is something of the old imperial style in it," said the Master of Peach Blossom Island softly.

The little rainy one opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing.

She did not understand it well enough, and was afraid of making a fool of herself by speaking carelessly.

There were quite a few experts and professors lurking among the audience, and they loved nothing more than picking her apart.

Tilting her head slightly, she looked at the comments in the livestream.

The lady in question is pretty cute.

Cute? I think she is average.

Not bad figure. Those legs could be enjoyed for years.

Is she wearing traditional imperial dress?

It is a kimono. The little lady is dancing a very famous one from our island nation...

A little foreign devil has appeared!

Wait, could the little lady be...

A girl from the island nation brought here by Brother Lang for entertainment?

Seeing that the others were starting to steer the conversation in a suggestive direction, the little rainy one hurriedly said, "Everyone, don't guess wildly. Be careful she doesn't crawl out of your television sets tonight and come looking for you."

"That's right, she's Sadako-chan. Cute, isn't she?"

As soon as she said it, even she could not help shivering.

How could a ghost possibly be cute?

Even though she could now clear the horror haunted house, she was still often frightened by Sadako.

Mysterious and elusive, that phrase was simply too damn fitting.

Sadako's performance ended.

Thunderous applause...

Bumblebee turned the volume up to create the sound effect of applause.

Then the Master of Peach Blossom Island went up, and one mournful flute tune made hearts ache and break.

Hong Qigong showed the crowd his unique stunt of breathing fire and swallowing swords.

This beggar gang chief had once earned a living performing on the streets in his youth, so such tricks were child’s play to him.

Zhou Botong's performance was even more varied.

He liked anything fun, let alone magic tricks and the like.

Even the beasts, buried in their food with heads down, found it most amusing.

As for Guo Jing and Huang Rong...

They sang opera.

Qiao Mian did not know much about opera. He only felt that the scene was far too subversive of their usual image.

He took the lead and clapped encouragingly.

The Master of Peach Blossom Island lowered his head to drink, saying nothing.

The little rainy one held back laughter as she watched the madness unfold in the livestream room.

The eerie atmosphere was softened somewhat when Little Dragon Girl began to dance with her sword.

Or perhaps it should not be called swordplay, but sword dancing.

She wore ancient dress, her movements graceful and flowing, as if a fairy had descended from heaven.

Qiao Mian watched, a little dazed.

Especially when Little Dragon Girl turned her head and smiled back at him, his composure wavered.

What man could refuse such a beautiful young woman?

He shifted his gaze toward the distant forest.

The trees were lush and abundant, of many kinds, each one spreading its canopy like a green umbrella.

Even if he were determined to hang himself from one tree, he still had to choose carefully.

For now, he would let nature take its course.

When he looked back at Little Dragon Girl, his expression was once again as still as an ancient well.

After quite some time, the performances drew near their end.

Bumblebee stood beside the blazing bonfire and shouted, "Everyone, our program has ended. Shouldn't we welcome Mr. Qiao to put on a performance too?"

The little rainy one cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Mr. Qiao, one more!"

Seeing no reaction from the others, she kept calling, "Mr. Qiao, one more!"

Drift was the first to join in. "Mr. Qiao, one more!"

Seeing that Qiao Mian had not explicitly refused, the others grew bolder.

In just over ten seconds, a thunderous chant of "Mr. Qiao, one more!" rose all around the bonfire.

The beasts of King Kong's group also leaped up and howled.

The livestream barrage was likewise filled with "Mr. Qiao, one more!"

Qiao Mian quietly savored the atmosphere.

Smiling, he rose into the air with the aid of the protective barrier and stood above the bonfire.

Flames raged all around him, making his face flicker darkly in the firelight.

Yet his body remained unharmed, like a demon lord descended from the flames.

Little Dragon Girl's eyes glimmered with brilliance.

The little rainy one was dazzled and entranced.

Guo Jing and the others exchanged glances, each showing a look of anticipation and fanatic devotion.

Could this be a deity? Would we too have such a day one day?

Wang Lang wore a solemn expression and clenched his fists.

The beasts were howling wildly.

The various Transformers fixed their gaze on Qiao Mian, guessing what he intended to perform.

"Everyone," Qiao Mian said softly, his voice reaching every ear, "as for a performance, I have not prepared one."

Bumblebee led the booing.

Qiao Mian gave it a half-smiling, half-not-smiling glance.

Bumblebee was not the least bit intimidated.

It had long since figured out that Qiao Mian was not the sort of person who could not take a joke.

"However," Qiao Mian deliberately drew out the words, pausing for several seconds before continuing, "for this bonfire party, I have prepared a lottery gift for everyone."

With a wave of his hand, a huge prize wheel appeared before the crowd.

Seeing the items on the wheel, everyone first chattered among themselves for a moment, and then their expressions slowly changed.

The wheel had sixteen sections, each marked with gaming currency in varying amounts.

The largest prize was one hundred thousand game coins, with only one section for it.

Next came fifty thousand game coins, with two sections.

Then twenty thousand game coins, with five sections.

The remaining eight were all ten thousand game coins.

Everyone's monthly salary was only around one hundred game coins, and even the worst prize here was ten thousand game coins, a windfall that would take them more than nine years of hard work to earn.

Mr. Qiao was truly a great benefactor!

Guo Jing was so agitated he nearly bowed down toward Qiao Mian.

Aside from a few beasts that showed little reaction, everyone else was overjoyed.

Several of the Transformers sent each other mental transmissions.

"At last, the debt is about to be paid off."

"If I can get more money, I want to buy a copy of Nine Swords of Dugu."

"I heard Mr. Qiao say there are some treasures not displayed in the shop that can be requested from him..."

"If nothing else, maybe we should buy another Spark Source."

"We'll have to be lucky enough first."

...

The little rainy one was initially delighted like everyone else, but then she noticed that the prize wheel had only sixteen sections. She immediately realized there was nothing for her among them, and her face fell with disappointment.

Though she knew this was only as it should be and that she ought not to hope for too much, her heart still felt sour.

Wang Lang was likewise disappointed, but after thinking it over, he suddenly revealed a look of wild joy.

He quietly slipped to the side, preparing to make a phone call.

But just as he took out his phone, it rang first.

He lowered his head to glance at the incoming number, then quickly answered.