Kapitel 77: Chapter 77: Offer the Daughter First, Receive the Silver Later

As soon as the words were spoken, guards stepped forward to snuff out the surplus candles, and the hall instantly turned dim, making the ethereal shadows behind the white cloth progressively clearer.

"Dong dong dong... clang!"

A lively beat of drums followed by a resounding gong, the shadows behind the white cloth bustled with various poses, resembling a shadow play.

The actors were all hidden behind the cloth, never showing their true forms; their silhouettes were projected onto the white fabric. From this moment on, the grand play of the night officially began.

Shortly afterward, a shadow stepped out to the rhythm of the gong and drum, waving its sleeves and raising its voice. Its first words immediately captivated Yang Xiao and his two companions.

"On the sixth day of the ninth month of the Gengyin Year, amidst a thunderous storm at night, the twenty-seven of us were invited by Lord Han to his residence, to present at the waterside pavilion... a beheading play!"