Break a leg, Yin Yu!

Extra ~ The Shadow Play Theatre

It was late night in Puqi Shrine, and Hua Cheng was lying down leisurely on the straw mat, his arms folded behind his head, wearing only white inner robes, while Xie Lian was tidying up a few things here and there just before bedtime.

"Gege, that's enough, come to bed already", he called.

"Coming", Xie Lian replied, "Let me just blow the cand – ", but before he finished talking, he did a little startled jump. Hua Cheng naturally noticed his reaction and asked, "What was that?"

"Did you see it? Some... colour lights flashing on the wall!"

Hua Cheng smiled, "Gege, you're sleepy, your eyes are playing tricks on you. Come".

"Alright", he said, but as he drew breath to blow out the candle, he saw it again. And this time Hua Cheng saw it too: a flicker of red and white lights against Puqi Shrine's wooden walls!

"There! Something run behind the altar table", he said.

"What can it be, I don't feel any presence or murderous intent", Hua Cheng replied.

"Neither do I, but still – ", Xie Lian was saying, when, as quick as lightning, Ruoye shot, fishing something from behind the altar table! It was struggling madly and screeching, and both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng looked at it, puzzled and fascinated.

It looked like a little translucent man, wearing red robes – this explained the flash of red light – and a crooked ponytail, his tiny voice cursing and threatening them nonstop.

It said, "Are you tired of living?", and "I'll cut you down with my cursed blade of misfortune", and also kept calling them "You useless trash". He was strangely familiar!

"You got a lot of attitude for someone who's captive", Hua Cheng snorted.

Suddenly, another little man, this one white, run from behind the altar table, waving his hands and screaming, "Please please don't hurt San Lang, don't – "

"Gege, go and hide! I'll deal with these useless trash", the little man in red replied.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were speechless: the little man in red calling the one in white 'Gege', and the one in white calling him 'San Lang', dressed as a cultivator, with a straw hat on his back! This couldn't be just a coincidence, but then, what did that mean?

"Don't you dare to lay a finger on His Highness the Crown Prince!", he threatened them, "I'm actually Crimson Rain Sought Flower, I'm all-knowing, all-powerful and fearless!"

Hua Cheng snorted again, "That's enough. A little demon like you to dream he's me, fine, but for this other one to pretend he's Gege... that's – ", his deathly spirit butterflies started to raise from his vambraces, ready to attack the two little men!

Xie Lian held his wrist, "San Lang, wait! I know what they are", he said with a smile, commanding Ruoye to place 'San Lang' down on the floor, while 'Xie Lian' run to him and they both held hands, looking extremely worried about each other – they were just too cute!

"You do?", Hua Cheng replied, the butterflies sinking back on the vambraces.

"They're shadow play puppets", Xie Lian said, "I've seen a few of these shadow plays when I was a crown prince back in XianLe. I used to enjoy it a lot", and here he couldn't help but smile fondly.

"Shadow play?", Hua Cheng asked, as he of course had never seen such a thing before.

"These articulated puppets are made of translucent leather and painted on bright colours, that's why they cast the colourful shadow we saw at first", Xie Lian explained, "The puppets are held between a light and a translucent screen, and a talented puppeteer can make them walk, dance, fight, do all kinds of storytelling".