curse

Chapter 12

Bai Bi had never been here before, maze-like intersections followed one after another, she shuttled under the plane tree according to the address Xiao Se gave her, and finally found the theater.

No one came in or out of the theater door, only a poor-quality performance poster was pasted. Bai Bi had painted similar posters. In her opinion, the one in front of her was really not very good, and the students from the Academy of Fine Arts did not. better than this one.The background of the pictorial is a khaki-colored desert, the sky is painted lead black and covered with many dark clouds and lightning.In the center of the picture, there is a painting of a woman who looks like a Xinjiang native, wearing a lot of jewelry on her head and wearing a gorgeous dress, but the woman's face is drawn like a heroine in a Japanese manga, with big eyes It's a little exaggerated, and the expression seems to be scary. Bai Bi thinks that such a scene can only attract middle school students.On the right side of the poster, there are a few words printed from top to bottom - Soul Break Loulan.

Loulan.It was Loulan again.Looking at these two words, Bai Bi felt a little uncomfortable.At the bottom of the poster, the performance date is printed, which is about 10 days away.She walked into the theater slowly, no one was watching the door, and walked for a while in the dark passage, until she pushed open the door of the theater and saw the lights on the stage in front of her.

The theater was not as big as she had imagined, it was a bit cramped, and there were a few people sitting scattered in the empty seats. I don't know if they were members of the theater troupe or just came to watch the rehearsal like her.She chose the darkest corner to sit down, and saw that the rehearsal on the stage was going on, but the lights were a bit dim, and there was no music. Even the stage background seemed to be only half completed, but the actors were all wearing costumes.There were several people standing on the stage, dressed in modest clothes, and in the middle was a rather beautiful chair, on which a man wearing a crown and a robe sat.There were many beards on the man's face, which turned into the image of a Xinjiang man with a big beard. It seemed that he should be a king.

Suddenly, a person sitting in the front row of the auditorium yelled: "This scene is too bad, you guys go down, and now start preparing for the third scene."

The stage in front of it went dark all of a sudden, and the curtain didn't end. There were only black figures dangling on the stage, and occasionally a few men yelled loudly in the darkness.Bai Bi could only see these things in front of her eyes, and while she was waiting in the dark, her mind was full of the photos of Lou Lan she saw that night.Finally, a beam of light lit up on the stage, and a woman sat quietly in the middle of the stage. Although she put on heavy makeup, Bai Bi could tell at a glance that it was Xiao Se.Xiao Se was wearing a red dress, which was very conspicuous. She looked at the audience with wide eyes, and then her eyes softened again.Then, she began her monologue:
"The night is hazy, everything is asleep, Loulan City is intoxicated in sleep, only the roses in the garden are quietly revealing their fragrance. Today, the prince of Khotan came here and sent a letter to invite me to meet here. I feel tense and excited at times. Prince Khotan is the most magical warrior in the desert. He has led the army to defeat the invasion of the powerful Rouran people. He is also the most famous poet in the Western Regions. He is proficient in history and geography, and can observe Astronomy and meteorology, he haunts the dreams of all women in the desert. However, I cannot let him see my face, I must cover my face, because the face of a Loulan woman cannot be easily seen by strangers. Prince, should I How can I express it to you?"

After speaking, she put a black veil on her face.Bai Bi felt that Xiao Se looked like an Arab woman on stage now.

Then, footsteps sounded on the stage, and Xiao Se said excitedly, "The prince is here."

However, it was not the prince who took the stage, but two warriors in full body armor.

Xiao Se panicked and shouted loudly: "Who are you?"

The two warriors ignored her and grabbed her arm, Xiao Se shouted: "I am the princess of Loulan, if you are rude to me, my father will definitely let you die without a place to bury you."

The two warriors said in unison: "Princess, I'm sorry, we came to take you back to the palace under the order of the king."

Xiao Se said: "Could it be because the father has accepted Rouran Khan's dowry, and he wants to marry me to Rouran?"

The two warriors didn't answer, they continued to hold her hand and dragged her to the backstage, Xiao Se shouted: "Father, father, why are you doing this to your daughter?"

Both Xiao Se and the two warriors disappeared on the stage, Bai Bi didn't expect Xiao Se to appear on the stage like this, only for a while to go down again.Then, another beam of light was lit on the stage, and the "Prince of Khotan" came on stage.The prince was dressed elegantly and looked around anxiously. He looked around and said, "I asked Princess Loulan to come out for a meeting, but there is no one here. Could it be that the princess is unwilling?"

At this time, a second beam of light was lit on the stage, and another figure appeared. It was another woman, wearing a very thin gauze skirt, which was tight-fitting, showing her slender figure almost perfectly. .Bai Bi looked at the woman on the stage, and suddenly felt a strange feeling in her heart. She was a little inexplicable why her heartbeat suddenly accelerated.The woman on the stage was also covered with a veil, so she couldn't see her face clearly, she could only see two beautiful eyes exposed above the veil, those eyes on the stage reminded Bai Bi of something.Her hair is loose, unlike Xiao Se just now, Xiao Se's head is covered with all kinds of decorations, while she has nothing, she looks like a folk woman.The woman walked across the stage slowly, with light steps, which seemed to be something that is not available in the world.In short, Bai Bi felt that the feeling on the stage at this moment was completely different from that just now, and that strange feeling was brought by the woman on the stage now.

When the prince saw the woman, he rushed up immediately, knelt down on one leg exaggeratedly, and said to her, "My dear princess, you are finally here."

The woman's eyes looked at him, and then she turned her head away, as if flustered.

The prince smiled apologetically: "Princess, please forgive my rudeness. It is my greatest luck to see Princess Loulan, the most brilliant pearl in the entire Western Region and the most beautiful woman in the world."

The woman still didn't speak, just shook her head.

The prince continued: "I'm sorry, I know that the honorable Princess Loulan doesn't bother to talk to me. Princess, you don't have to talk, just listen to me. The purpose of my coming to Loulan is to marry you back to Khotan. Let you live in the most beautiful palace in the world, with Tianzhu maids serving you, Khotan jade hanging on your chest, Persian poems and praises in your ears, and Central Plains silk decorations around you body. Please believe me, I guarantee it with my life, and I will give you a lifetime of happiness."

The woman looked at him, her eyes couldn't tell whether it was excitement or fear, she just shook her head and turned her back to the prince.

The prince also shook his head and said: "Princess, you must go back to rest. Well, I am leaving, but at this time tomorrow night, when the roses bloom quietly, I will come here again. Princess, if you want, Come and meet me tomorrow night, if you don’t want to, please forget me forever. I’m gone, bless you, my princess.” The prince lowered his head, bowed to her, and then slowly disappeared from the stage.

Now, the woman was left alone on the stage again, and all the light was concentrated on her alone, and there was darkness all around.She raised her head, looked straight ahead, and slowly pulled down her veil.

The light was so intense that her face was paled, the gaffer realized his mistake and softened the light a bit.The woman's face slowly emerged on the stage.

Bai Bi hid in the dark seat, quietly looking at the face on the stage.Yes, she is very beautiful, Bai Bi said secretly in her heart.

The melancholy eyes of the woman on the stage were so strange that she seemed to be looking farther away than the front. Her lips trembled a little, and finally she slowly read the first line: "The prince fell in love with the princess, not me."

Her language has a certain magical power, which immediately captured the hearts of all listeners. This simple line, coming out of her mouth, is like a Persian love poem of Robay.

Then, she turned her head to the side, her slender neck glowing like ceramics in the white light.When this light flickered in Bai Bi's sight, all the lights suddenly went out, and the stage was dark. After a while, the light came back on, but there was no one on the stage.

At this time Luo Zhou stood up, clapped his hands, and said loudly, "This paragraph is good, all right, let's stop here today."

The yellow lights in the theater came on again, Bai Bi looked around, and soon, she saw Xiao Se who had just finished removing her makeup.

"Bai Bi, you are finally here." Xiao Se called to her, and then she sat down beside Bai Bi and asked, "Bai Bi, tell me, how is my acting?"

"I don't understand, it's just too short."

Xiao Se said with some disappointment: "Yeah, the opening scene was a bit disappointing, but it will be fine in the next few scenes. Trust me, I am the real heroine."

"Xiao Se, where's the actress who only had one line?" Bai Bi finally couldn't help asking.

"She, who knows where it came from, I don't know, it seems that the director found it when he was recruiting actors." Xiao Se's words were full of sourness, Bai Bi could hear it, but she also I can understand that maybe every woman is born with jealousy. She had to admit that the woman standing on the stage just now felt much better than Xiao Se.

Bai Bi said to herself, "But, she's really good at acting, especially those eyes that can talk."

When she turned around, she saw Xiao Se's face was ugly, she realized that her words had irritated Xiao Se, so she apologized and said, "I'm sorry, Xiao Se, I didn't mean it."

Xiao Se said lightly: "Forget it, I know she is better than me in acting, the director also likes her, and even you like her. People are like this, don't mention it, I won't care."

"Because we are best friends." Bai Bi comforted her, "Shall we have dinner together today?"

Xiao Se shook her head and said, "I'm really sorry, I can't do it today. I've already made an appointment, and it's our director." After finishing speaking, she turned her eyes to Luo Zhou who was talking to someone in front.

Bai Bi also looked forward, there were two men standing in the front row, they were not very old, because their backs were facing each other, she couldn't see the faces of the two men clearly, but felt that the back of one of them was very familiar, which made her feel so familiar. His heart beat a little faster, and something flashed through his mind immediately, but it was quickly rejected, impossible, impossible.She turned her head again and looked at Xiao Se's eyes looking forward, she already understood Xiao Se's thoughts.

She said goodbye to Xiao Se, and walked into the dark passage alone.There was no one in the long passage, she could only hear the clear echo of her own footsteps.When she was about to walk out of the aisle, she heard another person's footsteps. That voice was mixed with her own footsteps, and it was difficult to distinguish, which made her feel a little uneasy.She turned her head, only to see a light figure approaching in the dim light.

With the help of the dim and flickering light, Bai Bi gradually saw the woman clearly. She was similar in stature to him, and she was dressed in white clothes, which formed a sharp contrast with the surrounding black background.It was her, the girl who performed on the stage just now, Bai Bi cast a kind look at her, so she stopped in front of Bai Bi who was walking across.Bai Bi looked into her eyes, although she was close at hand, it gave people a feeling that she was hard to get close to.Bai Bi felt that the pair of eyes he saw were familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before, so he couldn't help smiling at her, and the woman nodded politely.This encouraged Bai Bi's courage to speak: "You acted really well just now."

The corner of the girl's mouth curled up slightly, and Bai Bi felt that her smile could attract many men, so the girl said softly, "Thank you, but there is only one line."

"I think your line is very good, even better than all other lines. The screenwriter must have put a lot of effort into this line."

"That line was my own thought."

Bai Bi didn't expect that the actress in front of her could write her own lines, which is really unusual. She said enviously, "You are really talented. My name is Bai Bi, and I am Xiao Se's friend."

"Well, you are Xiao Se's friend, she is a very good actress. My name is Lanyue, blue blue, the moon of the moon." She said calmly.

"Blue Moon? Blue Moon, what a beautiful name."

They walked to the gate of the theater, and the natural light shone on Lanyue's face, making her more radiant.Lan Yue looked back at the performance poster, smiled contemptuously and said, "This poster is really poorly drawn."

"Yes, I will draw a poster for you in a few days." Bai Bi blurted out.

"Are you a painter?"

"Not to mention, I just make a living by painting."

She smiled at Bai Bi, and said, "It's nice to meet you, I have something else to do, so I'm leaving first, goodbye."

She walked to the other side of the road and quickly disappeared into the trees.

Bai Bi continued to stand at the entrance of the theater, she looked at the time, it was still early in the evening, she had nothing to do, and she didn't want to go back too early, she just stared blankly at the direction where Lan Yue was going.

"Bai Bi."

Someone called her, and it was a man's voice, she turned around suspiciously, and saw Ye Xiao.

It was him again, seeing his face and thinking of Jiang He, this made Bai Bi a little embarrassed, she didn't have time to think about it, she just said flatly: "Officer Ye, why are you here?"

"I've already told you, don't call me a police officer, just call me Ye Xiao."

Bai Bi looked at him suspiciously, and after a long time, she finally said what was in her heart: "I'm sorry, Ye Xiao, I don't know if I should ask you a question."

"Just ask."

"Are you doubting me?" She approached Ye Xiao and said softly.

"What did you say?"

"Why do you go wherever I go? From the Institute of Archaeology to this theater, you can be seen everywhere. I don't think it's such a coincidence. Are you also here to watch the rehearsal? You are following me. You Do you think I have something to do with Jiang He's death? Or, in your eyes, I am the real suspect?" She was a little excited and couldn't control herself, it was a deep sense of grievance, which never It started on the day of Jiang He's funeral, and has been accumulating continuously until now. Finally, she could no longer suppress it, and breaking out was the only choice.

Ye Xiao was stunned, he didn't expect Bai Bi to say that, so he sighed lightly and said: "I have a friend, a very good friend, his name is Luo Zhou, he is currently working as a screenwriter and concurrently in a theater troupe. Director, right now, he is rehearsing a historical drama in this theater, which is the "Soul of Loulan" printed on this poster. Today is my rest day, I came to see my friend rehearse the play, this is completely my personal matter If you don't believe me, I can go in with you and ask him if what I'm telling is the truth."

Bai Bi was a little ashamed, she thought of the two men in the front row of the theater she saw just now, one of them reminded her of Jiang He, and it turned out to be Ye Xiao.Maybe she has suffered many incredible things these days, and she is always in a state of suspicion. She said softly, "I'm sorry, Ye Xiao."

"It's okay, why are you here?"

"It's really a coincidence that, like you, I also have a very good friend who plays a role in this play."

"So coincidentally, which role is your friend playing?"

"That's the princess."

"Oh, her, Luo Zhou doesn't seem very satisfied with her. Ah, I'm sorry."

"It's nothing."

Bai Bi didn't want to stand in front of him anymore, looking at his face made her a little unbearable, she saw a taxi with no passengers passing by on the road, she waved it casually, and then hurriedly said to Ye Xiao Say goodbye and get in the car.

Ye Xiao watched her walk away in the taxi, and suddenly felt a sense of loss in his heart.When he turned his head, he saw Luo Zhou and Xiao Se walked out of the theater together, they also took a taxi and headed towards the downtown area.

He was the only one left at the entrance of the theater. A cool breeze of early autumn blew by, and a coolness suddenly penetrated into his back.

(End of this chapter)