In the theater, Li Xuanying and Guo Kang sat side by side, watching the drama performance in the center of the square.

This large-scale open-air theater was newly built in the city when Marshal Zhang Gongliang triumphed last time.

Since the beginning of the classical era, the style of this type of theater has not changed much. The stage is a semicircle, with rounded edges and dozens of rising seats around it.

The horizontal edge of the stage is set up with special walls and columns to facilitate the scenery. There are also special machinery and doors, so as to display various stage effects. Behind and on both sides of the stage, there is also a row of houses that are used for various tasks such as makeup, resting, and changing scenes and props.

The Greeks of the classical era studied this kind of theater in depth, and philosophers, mathematicians and architects carried out a lot of research and practice, and summed up many experiences and laws. In the theater, the clever design allows the audience in the back row to hear the lines clearly; The distance between the stage and the seats is also carefully arranged to ensure that the visual effect is not compromised.

In the Eastern Roman era, there was a decline in theatre – and of course, the decline was relative. In Greece and Italy, the tradition of folk theater still exists, and at the official level, literati theater has also emerged.

As the Italian region became more prosperous, the local drama gradually overshadowed the Greeks. After the Purple Horde stabilized the situation, the Greeks, who had been plagued by various wars for a long time, were not to be outdone, picking up this old tradition and borrowing from Italian operas and the scriptures brought by the Purple Horde to form various new genres.

In fact, because of the accident that occurred when controlling the capital for the first time, the high-level of the Purple Horde even rejected drama. Even so, over the decades, this type of art flourished, and the upper echelons of the khanate could only accept it. It can only be said that the cultural foundation is thick, but it is different.

When Guo Kang saw this, he couldn't help but sigh for the Greeks' dedication to it - this architecture and script can be called the crystallization of the wisdom of the Greeks, and it is no wonder that Li Xuanying likes it here.

Now, the theater is playing the new drama series "The Invincible Sun vs. the Goddess of the Night". On stage, several actors who play the role of goddesses are chanting loudly. And Guo Kang took the line booklet handed out when he entered, and he was looking at the plot.

After sending Zhu Wenkui and his entourage home, Guo Kang found Li Xuanying. As a result, he didn't talk much about business, so he was dragged here by him.

Fortunately, this matter is not too urgent. Li Xuanying insisted that the new play was very interesting, so he followed.

Now the actor in the center of the stage wears a mask to indicate his identity. According to the introduction of the booklet, he is playing the role of Nyx, the goddess of the night who has a prominent position in Greek mythology. However, the costume of the goddess is not the black dress recorded in the "Theogony", nor is it the classical robe commonly found on the statue, but the dress of a Greek noblewoman in recent times.

I only heard her sing in a joking voice: "My son is becoming more and more disobedient, this is the heavenly realm soldiers will support him; When the scorching sun hangs in the sky, how can the mourning family be stopped by dispersing the night? ”

"Daughters—" she sang, "I have all thought about it, how can I stop it?" ”

As she spoke, she took a few steps back, giving way to the center of the stage.

"Did you explain the background setting in the previous episodes?" Guo Kang asked Li Xuanying in a low voice: "I haven't seen it, I don't know yet." ”

"Isn't this play recently released by the church, I thought you all knew the script." Li Xuanying was a little surprised.

"I told Master Wang the idea of a serial, and the others were all made by himself." Guo Kang said truthfully: "I really don't know. ”

"He's going to do this?" Li Xuanying was surprised for a while.

"Of course. The costume and lines of the little county lord were also designed by him. Guo Kang told him

"It's a pity that Master Wang didn't become a playwright." Li Xuanying shook her head and said with emotion.

As he spoke, another masked character stepped forward and sang, "I've done my best, and I've been hiding and forbearing." But the brotherhood was as strong as gold, and I seemed stupid, full of tricks. ”

"Mother—" the goddess also sang, "what can I do about it! ”

With that, she also took a few steps back and left the center of the field.

"This is a recap of the story from the previous episode." Li Xuanying took the opportunity to introduce Guo Kang: "The main goddess at the beginning is the great god Nix, who symbolizes concepts such as darkness, fate, death, and pain. The Orpheus setting is used here, believing that she is the adoptive mother that Zeus respects. ”

After Zeus grew up, Nyx still regarded himself as an elder and did not want to give up the power he had acquired. So, she and her daughters around her all day long, planning various conspiracies to try to maintain her position. ”

"Although Zeus has divine powers and is quite intelligent, he has a violent temperament and is obsessed with women, which often leads to the indifference between right and wrong. Therefore, the 'invincible sun' and his followers routinely advised him to work hard so that the three worlds of heaven, man, and underworld could be in harmony. ”

Therefore, Empress Dowager Ni and the goddesses around her are quite dissatisfied with them, and often devise various tricks to try to persecute them. But each time, they were able to defuse various conspiracies with virtues such as justice, solidarity and fraternity. To put it simply, it's a battle between light and darkness. ”

"This is the classical era, representing the goddess of deception, Apate, and the main villain of the previous part. She tried to trick the Invincible Sun into entering the Dark Realm and imprisoning the Light. But the sun and his friends unite and bravely kill all the monsters in their path, break through the ambush, and return to the heavenly realm. The opening paragraph is the continuation of this story. ”

"Stuff everything up." Guo Kangle said hehehe: "This mix and match style is indeed like Master Wang's handwriting. ”

sighed with emotion, and the performance on stage continued.

As the goddess of deception recedes, another character, also dressed as a Greek noblewoman, takes center stage.

"I, Eris, the god of discord, would like to solve my mother's problems." She sang loudly: "My sister didn't succeed because many of his helpers helped; However, the more hearts there are, the more difficult it is to align, and it is up to me to make a little tricks. ”

"The Trojan controversy began with me, and the chaos of the world came out of itself. Who in the Three Realms can be jealous? With my cup of wine, he will be able to make a warrior and die a warrior! ”

"This is an allusion to the story of the golden apple." Li Xuanying was afraid that Guo Kang would not know, so he introduced him: "It is said that before the Trojan War, Eris took out two golden apples and caused the three goddesses to fight, which led to the later war ......"

"You're confused, aren't you?" Guo Kang was puzzled: "This is an apple, not a peach." ”

"Oh yes." Li Xuanying reacted immediately: "You're right, I'm mistaken." In short, this is a classical story of the Greeks, so I did not go into details. ”

"Hey, but I think this myth is still conservative." He shook his head: "I have always felt that the normal development is that these Greek gods did not hesitate to promise various priesthoods and statuses in order to grab an apple, and found other gods to fight on their behalf. In the end, everyone was served by Heavenly Father. In this way, it is more in line with the style of the Greeks. ”

Guo Kang thought about it, but he couldn't refute it.

Next to the stage, the singing team began to sing in unison. In a burst of flattery, the goddess of discord took out a jar of wine and introduced:

"This is the best wine in the Three Realms, and I will give it to the bravest warriors as a reward for breaking through the Dark Realm. Warriors love force, seek fame, and will definitely fight. ”

"It's much more convenient to start when the time comes." She laughed exaggeratedly.

"Boom, my sister is really smart." The other characters also expressed their approval in strange tones.

"Truly, we must seize the opportunity this time." Empress Dowager Ni also smiled strangely and said: "Evil Kaqaya! ”

"My daughter is here!" A goddess stepped forward.

"Philotheus of Lust!"

"I'm here~" The other goddess also responded delicately.

"You go to help Eris, after the deed is done, the mourning family will have another reward!" Empress Dowager Ni ordered.

The two of them obeyed, and a black curtain fell from the wall behind them, and the goddesses laughed and disappeared behind the scenes. The audience burst into laughter.

Immediately afterwards, the mechanical booms on both sides of the stage hung a white curtain in front of them. The crew entered from the rooms on either side and began to change the sets and stage props neatly.

"How? This new drama feels pretty good, right? Li Xuanying turned her head and asked Guo Kang.

"It's just that there are a little too many elements...... Guo Kang said, "It really doesn't matter if it's so straightforward insinuation?" ”

"Everyone doesn't care, who cares about this." Li Xuanying didn't seem to care much: "Don't say anything else, Master Wang is really good at doing this, I don't know where to find these playwrights, this kind of script can be made." ”

"Are they patriarchs, and they want to preach?" Guo Kang is not too strange: "They used to make nursery rhymes or something, and now they learn to write scripts, which is also a normal development." ”

Li Xuanying thought about it and felt that it seemed to make sense. After all, these market entertainment is indeed the best way to publicize, but everyone didn't pay much attention to it before.

As he spoke, the second act began.

A group of strong men wearing legion armor walked onto the stage. The narrator begins to cooperate with the actors' movements, introducing everyone that these are famous heroes of the past generations. "This also rubbed Valhalla." Guo Kang was a little dumbfounded.

"I feel pretty good, no one believes in these pagans anymore anyway." "The Greeks have always been very fond of using these gods as metaphors and symbols in literature. Because I don't believe much now, the literary effect may be even better. ”

"I see." Guo Kang nodded.

The narrator goes on to say that these people are gathering in the palace of the just and brave sun, and they are all day long, ready to fight evil and support Olympus.

The actors also performed in pairs and wielded weapons, dancing vigorously to the rhythm of the music.

"Although it is a comedy, it is not as high as tragedy and drama, but the arrangement is also very detailed." Li Xuanying, an old drama fan, commented: "This kind of dance is much more suitable than the general glamorous sounds in daily comedies, and it can reflect the identity of the characters at a glance." ”

"That's right." Guo Kang complained: "No wonder the Queen Mother is afraid of them. These heroes, at first glance, often go up to Mount Olympus to find Zeus Khan to discuss their interests. ”

Soon, a large man in a red robe with a phoenix-winged helmet and a sun painted on his robe walked onto the stage. Empress Dowager Ni walked out of the field from the other side in small steps.

The two stood still, and the "Invincible Sun" turned sideways, half facing the audience, half facing the Empress Dowager Ni, and singing:

"The sun god sat on Mount Olympus, and the queen mother listened carefully—"

The audience immediately cheered together.

The actor singing skills of the sun god are obviously very solid, and Guo Kang, a layman, can hear that his voice is strong and full of confidence. He paused for a moment, let the cheers pass, and continued:

"I remember the day of the spring equinox, and I talked to you in the courtroom;

Speaking of returning to politics, you look uncertain, I expect that your mind must have been fascinated by power! ”

The audience applauded in unison again, and Li Xuanying applauded.

I only heard the "Sun God" slightly increase the pace and asked:

"Now that the gods of the court have come to admonish you, why don't you listen and bully your loyal ministers?"

He arched his hand and warned loudly: "It is right for me to persuade the Queen Mother to give way to the sky, and I can't regret it when the disaster comes!" ”

"Okay—" The audience's emotions were also clearly mobilized.

However, Empress Dowager Ni also quickly ridiculed each other and sang in a fast rhythm:

"I was, you are, honest and faithful; Who can think, but take the lead, rampant and bad family.

Between the Three Realms, there is a program, and all gods must obey; Do you know that filial piety does not exist, and the way of heaven does not exist? ”

"Good!" The crowd did not hesitate and applauded again.

"Do the Greeks also understand the filial piety of Tsunasang?" Guo Kang muttered quietly.

"Then you have to ask Master Wang." Li Xuanying applauded and said, "But it doesn't matter, everyone is happy to listen to the play." It's called ...... Exert a subtle influence on? Anyway, both sides are satisfied. ”

"That's okay, this villain's lines are not bad." Guo Kang said.

"Well, the Queen Mother is actually a very interesting character, and a lot of laughs in the play are on her, so the audience actually likes to see it." Li Xuanying explained.

Guo Kang nodded and continued to look at the stage.

After the Queen Mother finished singing the lines, the sun god turned around, faced the audience, and said what she thought in her heart:

"The Queen Mother is scheming, and she doesn't know what tricks she has. We must not be caught and lose our righteous name. It's up to her to come up with her tricks this time. ”

So, after some steps and actions that showed tangled feelings, the Queen Mother and the heroes left the scene one after another.

The goddess of discord walked around the stage with a wine jar, showing that she was in a hurry, and then disappeared behind the scenes. Instead, Philotes, the goddess of desire, walked out first and immediately entangled the sun.

"Oh, my love!" She praised loudly and tried to get closer: "Is your face so resolute to sink me, an infatuated goddess?" ”

"How can there be love between us?" The sun immediately rebuked: "My expression and demeanor are used to cheer up my warriors in a dangerous situation!" ”

"No, my lover!" The goddess again exclaimed aloud: "Is it that your body is so large that I am fascinated by this weak goddess?" ”

"How can there be true love between us?" The sun also rebuked: "My muscles and muscles are used to reassure my warriors in times of danger!" ”

After being repulsed twice, Philotes immediately changed his face and cursed: "You unknown fellow, sooner or later you will pay the price for your arrogance!" Now the danger of fate is looming over you, and I am the only one who can help you. From me, I will let you escape from the judgment of my sister Laxis. ”

"Who can interfere with fate, who can judge the future? If your fate is already sealed, how can you change it? The sun retorted, "You're just a bunch of swindlers who steal your name." Go away! When fate comes, I will greet it personally. ”

Philotes flicked his robe and left the stage in hatred amid the chorus's aria.

(End of chapter)