Chapter 785: Kill the Jinyiwei on Sight
Although the special effects thrilled the audience, a somber atmosphere settled over the entire cinema as the movie ended.
The Battle of Dalinghe ultimately resulted in a crushing defeat for the Ming army. Zu Dashou surrendered, and He Kegang, loyal to the Ming, was killed by Zu Dashou. The common people in the city were all consumed as food by the Ming soldiers.
After the protagonist of the film fought his way out of the encirclement with He Kegang's body on his back, he returned to the interior, masked his face, and began training a militia, preparing to save the Ming Dynasty with his own strength.
Such a plot was truly heartbreaking, bringing tears to many eyes.
A small merchant, who hadn't managed to get a ticket, was still lingering outside the cinema. Seeing the first batch of viewers emerge, all with tear tracks on their faces, he was utterly bewildered. "What's wrong? What happened to you all? Was the movie not good? Why are you all crying?"
A worker, weeping, replied, "It was amazing, but... too tragic. Boohoo! The common people, all... eaten as military rations."
The small merchant gasped in shock: "!!!"
"General He Kegang, loyal to the Ming, was killed by that scoundrel Zu Dashou."
"Zu Dashou is so evil."
"Boohoo! That man is truly evil; he's responsible for all the wickedness in the world!"
The small merchant: "..."
The more they talked, the more eager the small merchant became to see the movie. But with all tickets sold out for the day, he had no choice but to wait until tomorrow. With the Village Chief overseeing the situation, he dared not try to buy tickets at an inflated price, so he grudgingly accepted his fate.
At that moment, the first showing ended, and the cleaners began tidying up. After a brief break, the second showing would begin. Audience members for the second show gradually arrived at the grand theater entrance, brushing past those leaving the first.
Suddenly, a viewer pointed at the incoming crowd for the second showing and exclaimed, "Ah, everyone look! It's Instructor He!"
At his shout, a large crowd turned their heads to look.
Cheng Xu was walking with a few militia soldiers, chatting and laughing. His face was covered by a mask, looking exactly like the masked protagonist in the movie.
A "clever" audience member suddenly realized something. "Could this movie be telling Instructor He's story?"
"Oh! Very likely!"
"Right, right, it must be Instructor He! Isn't he masked and organizing a militia?"
The audience members leaving the first showing swarmed around Cheng Xu with a roar.
"Instructor He! So you were from the border army!"
"Instructor He, was it you who carried He Kegang's body and fought your way out of the encirclement?"
"You're my idol! Please sign an autograph for me!"
A colossal question mark seemed to appear above Cheng Xu's head.
"Instructor He, you're a true master who keeps his skills hidden."
"Instructor He, I love you! I want to bear your children!"
Cheng Xu began to panic. "What on earth are you talking about?"
An inconsiderate child actually reached out and tugged at his mask, and quite quickly at that, pulling it down halfway.
In that instant, Cheng Xu imagined more than a dozen great-grandmothers, dressed in Jinyiwei uniforms, soaring out of the crowd, revealing terrifying smiles and saying, "My dear grandchild, come, come... follow your great-grandmas down to the underworld..."
Cheng Xu broke out in a cold sweat from fright, clapped his hands over his face, pressing down his mask, and fled in disarray. "Don't come closer! Don't touch my mask!"
The child's parent grabbed the child by the scruff and gave him a good thrashing. "You ill-behaved child! Can you just pull off Instructor He's mask like that? He's a border army deserter; if his face is exposed, the Jinyiwei will come knocking!"
Cheng Xu sweated profusely. "What utter nonsense is this? When did I become a border army deserter? The Jinyiwei coming for me? Ugh, please don't even mention those three words. I hate hearing them."
The child's parent quickly composed himself. "Right, right, I spoke out of turn. How could Instructor He, a border army hero, be called a deserter? I should slap myself!"
Cheng Xu: "???"
The audience members unanimously declared, "Instructor He is a true hero! Don't worry, the Jinyiwei can't reach Gao Family Village itself. We'll beat any Jinyiwei we see to death!"
Cheng Xu cried, "Argh, argh, argh, argh! What are you all talking about? Don't just kill any Jinyiwei you see! Kill one, and a whole group will come. Kill a group, and even more will come!"
The audience members from the first showing said, "Alright, we won't say anything to anyone. We'll help Instructor He keep this secret."
Cheng Xu yelled, "Hey! Hey, hey! Someone tell me what on earth is happening?"
No one told him! The audience from the first showing, after giving Cheng Xu countless admiring glances, left.
The second showing began...
This time, Cheng Xu also took a seat in the movie theater and watched the movie seriously.
Like the other audience members, he marveled at the beautiful visuals, the bullet time, the violent aesthetics, and the slow-motion shots... these all greatly opened the eyes of a man from the past like him.
Later, seeing the soldiers resort to cannibalism, He Kegang killed, and Zu Dashou surrender, he became deeply saddened. It wasn't until the very last shot of the movie that he saw it.
The protagonist took a mask and covered his face...
Cheng Xu's heart gave a lurch, and he finally understood why the audience from the first showing had been acting so strangely. "Ah? This..."
Several audience members in the seats next to him almost simultaneously turned their heads to look at him.
Then, almost everyone else turned their heads too, all at once, to stare at him.
Cheng Xu exclaimed, "No, no! Let me explain!"
"Instructor He, no need to explain! We already understand!"
"Yes, yes, we'll keep your secret."
Cheng Xu sweated profusely. "What secret, for crying out loud! This movie is showing many times a day, and it's playing simultaneously in Gao Family Village and Puzhou City. How many people will watch this every day? How can you keep it a secret? Can it even be kept a secret?"
Everyone shouted, "Then we'll beat the Jinyiwei to death! Kill them! Kill every single one!"
Cheng Xu cried, "Calm down! Calm down! The Battle of Dalinghe happened two years ago, but I, He Jiu, have been in Gao Family Village for six or seven years now, six or seven years! It doesn't match the plot at all!"
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh? Ah, so that's how it is."
Cheng Xu sighed in relief. "It's good that you understand. This is a fictional story; it's just a coincidental plot arrangement that has nothing to do with me, truly, absolutely nothing."
Everyone said, "So the Battle of Dalinghe happened six or seven years ago! The imperial court actually lied to us, saying it happened only two years ago!"
Cheng Xu yelled, "Can you please respect the facts!"
Everyone replied, "Please let the facts respect the movie!"
Cheng Xu cried, "Aaaargh!"
The militia soldiers said, "We always knew Instructor He was very capable, but we never expected him to be *this* capable."
"From now on, we will certainly listen to you and never anger you again."
Cheng Xu gazed upwards at the sky, utterly speechless.
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