Chapter 1 Ending?

So,

it's over?

Zhou Ze, his face hidden beneath the lion's head,

frowned slightly.

I was going to refuse,

but I just started having fun,

and you're already calling "cut?"

Boss Zhou suddenly realized that he was actually a little unsatisfied.

But,

it's best to quit while you're ahead.

Zhou Ze jumped down from the plum blossom piles, and Lao Zhang followed.

The lion was discarded; upon landing, Zhou Ze's leg twitched, and the heavy lion was kicked away, landing next to the other two lions.

If that Iron Dummy knew I was actually using a zombie body to play lion dance, I wonder if he'd explode with anger?

He should still be sleeping, it seems he hasn't woken up.

"Fate brings us together; please, have some tea."

Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang went to sit down together.

The groups at the nearby tables immediately offered friendly smiles; these people were relatively pure, respecting skill and acknowledging true ability.

That's right,

in this day and age,

it's hard to persist in this line of work without that bit of purity. It's not a matter of earning more or less; how many families are willing to let their children persist in practicing kung fu from a young age just to perform this lion dance?

To Zhou Ze's surprise, no one came to try and network, asking where he was from, where he was employed, or how much he charged for performances.

This saved Zhou Ze a lot of trouble, as he was just an imposter.

Sitting here, drinking tea for over an hour, two more groups of mourners arrived, one with a northern accent and the other sounding like they were from the southwest.

This made Zhou Ze very strange,

in the lion dance world,

is there such a thing as a Lion King's reputation?

All these lion dance performers gathering together from all over the country, just to attend the funeral of an old senior?

Around midnight, the tea was cleared away, and the kitchen started a fire to cook.

It was Lü Yaozu's son, with a few people his age preparing; they should be Lü Yaozu's disciples. They were making noodles, plain noodles, sprinkled with scallions, with a condiment dish per table, containing vinegar and chili, for people to add as they pleased.

Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang silently drank a bottle of Bian Hua oral solution and slowly started eating.

Before long,

the whole courtyard was filled with the "slurp" of people eating noodles.

Everyone ate quickly, being trained practitioners with great appetites and eating speed.

After they finished eating, the hosts cleared away the dishes and brought a pot of tea to each table.

Finally,

they were getting down to business.

Lü Yaozu's son, Lü Chengwen, stood in the center of the courtyard, first cupping his hands to the dozens of guests,

and said:

"Everyone knows about this matter. The Lion King Competition is going to be held in Tong City, and my father valued this event very much.

My father dedicated his life to lion dance, always dreaming of promoting this traditional Chinese culture and making more Chinese people like and love this art.

Actually,

these years,

everyone's lives should be better than before, right?"

Many people in the audience smiled, without being humble or polite.

Life was indeed very difficult before, almost to the point of losing their livelihood, but in recent years, life had become more prosperous day by day. There were more performances, more red envelopes, and which of those present hadn't taken on a dozen disciples back in their hometown?

Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang exchanged glances,

Lion King Competition?

Very similar to the movie plot,

just wondering if there will be high-tech lions from the Eight-Nation Alliance,

of course,

that's just wishful thinking.

"Originally, this Lion King Competition was initiated by my father's efforts, and the prize money for this competition is one million."

A million in prize money is a lot.

But those present weren't too excited; their current income meant that a million wasn't a particularly large sum. With a year or two of hard work, who couldn't earn that?

The reason they gathered here was actually for another matter, and the passing of Elder Lü Yaozu just happened to coincide with this.

"My father often said to me and my fellow disciples, the way of the lion dance is about a Lion King's unyielding spirit!

Don't bow your head, don't be obsequious. We are lion dancers, but we must live as if we are true lions!

The organizer's meaning is very simple: during the competition, not only do we have to throw the matches, but we also have to act as shills after the competition, admitting that their predetermined champion and runner-up are superior!

My father was so angered when he heard this news that he collapsed and has now passed away.

As his son, and as the heir of Tong City's Lion Gate, I can only express my position and declare an attitude here.

This kind of dark secret,

we, Tong City's Lion Gate,

will never cooperate!"

"That's right, damn it, we won't cooperate!"

"Damn it, who wants to play their dark secret game!"

"Let's compete with real skills, let's compare with real ability, and they still want to play behind-the-scenes rules? Bah, this competition organized by outsiders is a stain on our entire industry!"

Everyone was furious,

Even Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang waved their arms,

shouting, "Oppose, oppose, resolutely oppose!"

Then they put down their arms and continued to slack off.

"I think you all should have received invitations, right? We still have to go, but we have to follow our conscience!

Whoever wins the championship must rely on real skills,

without personal gain,

without personal grudges!

Now is a very open era, and also an era that values science, but I still hope that everyone will join me in reaffirming the spirit of the lion dancer under the witness of the lion's head!"

Everyone immediately began to swear oaths to the lion's head,

each speaking loudly and clearly,

the atmosphere was very enthusiastic,

making people feel a bit excited,

Anyone who didn't know better would think the Triads were gathering here, shouting about overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty.

"This Lü Chengwen has good eloquence." Lao Zhang whispered in Zhou Ze's ear, "So, the Lion King's anger, is it directed at the organizers of this event?"

Because they wanted to play dirty, the Lion King got angry?

Zhou Ze didn't answer, just continued listening.

Soon,

the enthusiastic oath-taking session ended.

Everyone began to say goodbye in turn.

Actually, this was just a matter of getting on the same page, shouting a few slogans, but the specific operation methods weren't mentioned, probably for fear of leaks.

Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang also got up, preparing to leave with the crowd.

When Lü Chengwen shook hands with Zhou Ze, he was a little surprised and said:

"Brother, are you going to participate in this competition? I didn't see you on the list of participants."

"We're just here to pay our respects to Elder Lü."

"Thank you both for your kindness."

Lü Chengwen bowed to Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang.

Afterwards,

Zhou Ze and Lao Zhang walked out of the gate. After getting into the car, Lao Zhang didn't rush to start the engine, but said with some doubt:

"The day after tomorrow? It's already past midnight, so that's tomorrow's temple fair."

Elder Lü Yaozu's words before going to hell still echoed in his ears: The Lion King is angry, many people will die.

"Things aren't that simple."

Zhou Ze put down the back of the seat, almost half-lying down; he still preferred this state and posture.

"That Lü Chengwen, his words and actions are too good, he's obviously not on the same level as those mourners, this kind of person is like Lawyer An.

When there are benefits, he'll go for them, and he'll be very eager, but he'll put on a very refined appearance in front of people.

On the contrary, those guests just now seemed to have more martial world camaraderie and fewer tricks."

"I'll go back and check the information about this competition later, anyway, our police station will definitely send police force there to maintain order that day."

"Then go ahead and investigate."

Zhou Ze looked up,

rubbing his neck.

Seeing this, Lao Zhang reached out to help Zhou Ze rub it; they often did this when they were staking out, rubbing each other.

"No, no, no..."

Zhou Ze immediately refused.

"Don't be polite, it's okay."

"It's not politeness, it's disgust."

"............" Lao Zhang.

He's used to Yingying massaging him, and now you want your rough hands to pinch him? He's really not used to it.

"Are we going back now?"

"Go back to do what?"

Zhou Ze shook his head, "I'll go back in and take another look later; there's definitely something wrong with this family. I don't believe in any Lion King's anger, there must be other reasons."

"Then go together?"

"One jump and you hit the roof, you're going to follow and make trouble?"

"Uh..."

"Go back and find a deserted place, practice more, see how much potential you have, and get used to it."

"Okay, I got it."

"Alright, the people inside who should come out should all be out by now, I'll go back in and take a look."

After speaking,

Zhou Ze got out of the car,

this time not through the main gate,

directly dashed to the position of the wall in a stride,

after jumping up, he grabbed and rubbed with his fingernails, and flipped over the wall, landing silently.

Zhou Ze had even climbed Tong City Prison before, so this little bit of trespassing on private property was really just a piece of cake.

He heard that in the United States, if you're caught trespassing on private property, the owner can shoot you dead without saying anything, but try that in China?

Slowly bypassing the small western-style building, Zhou Ze walked towards the row of single-story houses behind.

In the hall of the single-story house, there was a young girl sitting there, wearing sackcloth, burning paper money.

She should be Lü Yaozu's granddaughter.

Zhou Ze didn't plan to disturb her, intending to bypass her and first check Lü Yaozu's body.

There must be something strange here. The lion's roar he heard before should have been caused by something else, but it's unlikely to be the real Lion King.

It's the same principle as the people on the shore praising the Sea God, who is actually just a sea snake.

Who knew that at this time, Lü Yaozu's son, Lü Chengwen, walked over here. Zhou Ze could only step back and hide himself in the darkness.

Lü Chengwen seemed very affectionate to the girl who was burning paper, the father-daughter relationship should be good, hugging her shoulders, as if comforting her not to be too sad.

The girl was still crying,

falling into Lü Chengwen's arms,

Lü Chengwen stroked her hair,

comforting her:

"It's okay, it's okay, don't be too sad, you'll hurt your body, I'll feel bad,

you know?

Mom."