Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 390 - 27 The 16 Heavenly Demon Dance

Chapter 390: Chapter 27: The 16 Heavenly Demon Dance

Chapter 390: Chapter 27: The 16 Heavenly Demon Dance

The girls, with bells jingling on their bodies, danced to the sounds of pipas and leather drums. The beauty of their movements wasn’t outstanding, but the extent of exposed skin was considerable—their ankles, waists, hips, and smoothly arched backs reflected flashes of pale, creamy skin, filled with a primal allure of seduction.

At the fishing port, where men were accustomed to toiling away, their eyes went wide as they watched, incessantly swallowing their saliva.

This seemed to be a troupe passing through the port, with a total of thirty to fifty people performing in front of and behind the stage, plying their art along the harbor. At this time, there were many similar troupes, mostly showing tricks like fire-breathing, the Golden Spear Throat Lock, or knife-throwing.

But to attract a crowd, nothing worked better than scantily clad, enticing young girls.

Just like the troupe now…

Li Yan took the wine gourd from his waist, and took swigs from it, occasionally exchanging a few words with Cha Xiaodao. The dance on stage grew increasingly voluptuous and wild. Cao Yongchang, hearing the noise, peered out of the carriage, and upon seeing the scene on stage, his eyes widened. He wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth and let out an astonished “Oh.”

Suddenly, the delicate girls swirled about like scattered camellia petals, their skirts spinning and merging together on the stage.

The pipa music abruptly shifted—intense and flamboyant. The girls collapsed together into a pile, resembling a delicate, pale blossom.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong~

The sound of the drums and bells conjured images of sweat hitting the ground. A soft hand emerged from the “flower bud,” and the young dancing girls began to sing:

“Celestial maidens gently descend from the clear azure sky, revealing faces blushed with coyness.

Cut the moon to adorn their ears, let the smoke tint their buns, half-shrouding their faces.

Their Chu-style features lean slowly against the drifting clouds, spilling wine from the Dragon Head, oblivious to dawn’s arrival…”

The “flower bud” formed by the girls slowly blossomed with the song, and in the middle, a dancer in a red silk dress began to spin, her beaded fringe and tassels scattering. Her bare arched feet tiptoed on the ground, and she revealed a striking face, crowned with black hair, like a deity among men.

With the melodious music, the petals, and the sound of conch shells, everything arrived at once.

The beautiful dancer twirled a red silk flower ball between two fingers while her gaze lingered over Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao.

She looked at Cha Xiaodao first.

Dressed in a blue robe, with two grease-stained leather sleeves, she appeared wearied, resting her arms on her knees, holding a skewer of game meat in her hand, grinding her back teeth up and down.

At a glance, she seemed like a carefree vagabond, but the two gleaming short blades at her waist briefly lowered her gaze.

Then, her eyes turned toward Li Yan.

Black chain mail, leather armguards, thick eyebrows, a high nose, a stubble-covered chin, and a Zhu-red Sword Box on his back—seen from afar, he possessed an air of unyielding majesty.

His eyes were half-closed, and his expression was indiscernible as he stared in the direction of the stage, pouring the wine from the gourd into his mouth in large swigs.

The dancer smiled faintly, and the silk flower ball described a beautiful arc in mid-air, sailing over many outstretched, eager hands to land in Li Yan’s embrace.

“Oh my!”

A wave of frustrated sighs and teeth-gritting ensued.

“I’ve been waiting for days, and this newcomer gets the prize!” someone cursed resentfully, mumbling as they left.

As the show concluded and the crowd dispersed, many looked enviously toward Li Yan’s carriage, drifting away in small groups. Before long, the space in front of the stage was empty.

The dancing girl cast a hopeful glance at the carriage where Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao were, blushed, and then slipped behind the curtains.

A girl who had just been energetically dancing on stage approached Li Yan with light steps, bowed gracefully, her chest marked with beads of sweat, carrying the fragrance of a young girl. She asked, “May I inquire where you are from, sir?”

Upon closer inspection, the girl had a fair complexion, a high-bridged nose, and amber-tinted eyes, with obvious features of a foreigner.

“Guangning.”

Li Yan set down his wine gourd and handed the flower ball back to the girl: “Here’s your belonging.”

The girl did not take it, but kept her earnest gaze fixed on Li Yan, “Would you honor us with your presence inside the tent?”

Her slender finger pointed at a red gauze tent beside the stage, clearly the temporary dwelling of the performers.

Li Yan, without declining, said with a smile, “If you want me there, there ought to be a good reason, right?”

The young girl exclaimed in surprise, “Sir, is this your first time here?”

“Indeed, it is.”

The girl clapped her hands, “Sir, you really are in luck.”

“I would like to hear more.”

“My elder sister was originally the emperor’s teacher in the former dynasty, a descendant of the great Mage Sasig Gongba Siba, and from a young age, she mastered the Heavenly Demon Dance, a secret dance of the Yuan court. The dance performed on stage earlier was just some superficial fluff not worth seeing. To witness the Heavenly Demon Dance is not something every Tom, Dick, or Harry can appreciate—only honored guests who catch my sister’s eye may toss up a flower ball… If sir is interested, you are welcome to come into our tent, my sisters and I will definitely not skimp on our talents.”

As the girl spoke, her eyes sparkled with allure, making those who looked at her heart itch with desire.

Cao Yongchang had been listening for a while and slowly shook his head, finding fault as he said, “In all the stages in the world, nine and a half out of ten claim that they perform the lost Sixteen Heavenly Demon Dance, yet when push comes to shove, it’s nothing but a wheeze used by ordinary singing prostitutes looking for business. After all these years, no one has seen the real Sixteen Heavenly Demon Dance… even the Divine Emperor himself hasn’t laid eyes on it. Yet here you are, trying to bamboozle us.”

Cha Xiaodao asked, “What is this Sixteen Heavenly Demon Dance?”

Just as Cao Yongchang was about to answer his nephew, the barbarian girl performed another bow:

“During Emperor Yuanshun’s reign, there were foreign monks who offered sixteen dancing girls, who performed the Heavenly Demon Dance before the Emperor’s chariot. Yuanshun, without restraint, sought pleasures day and night with the dancers, and ultimately the Great Yuan Empire fell to pieces, crumbling to dust. Today’s scholars despise it, considering the ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ an omen of national doom.”

She sighed, “This world is indeed a world dominated by men on horseback; however, when disaster strikes, it’s always the women who get blamed. The Heavenly Demon Dance is nothing but a form of entertainment, how could it bear the weight of a nation’s downfall? Now, my sisters and I ply our trade in the market, but we do not wish to cheapen this dance and offer it for a substantial price. It is meant for the enjoyment of one person alone.”

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She looked at Li Yan, “As for whether it’s real or fake, sir will know once you try.”

Li Yan slowly shook his head, “I don’t have that much money. Besides, why should one carry a burden just for watching a dance?”

The girl chuckled softly, perching herself lightly on the armrest of the horse carriage, leaning close to Li Yan’s chest, her trembling bosom almost pressing against him.

“To the commoners without destiny, even a thousand pieces of gold can’t buy a glimpse. But for the one who catches the flower ball and feels not satisfied after the viewing, not a penny will be taken. As for why it’s performed in private, that’s what sir does not know—the benefits of the Sixteen Heavenly Demon Dance…”

Listening, Cha Xiaodao gritted his teeth in frustration, thinking that starting a fight was his job—why couldn’t he get involved in something like this?

Li Yan laughed heartily upon hearing this and hopped off the carriage, “Well then, please show the way, miss.”

“Right this way, sir.”

The girl replied, a surge of barely suppressed excitement in her heart.

Li Yan walked ahead while the girl followed.

That Double Blade Man was too much trouble, not even the Chang family head could handle him. Even if they managed to entice him into the Sixteen Heavenly Demon Dance, the chances of success would likely be no more than forty percent; the immediate task was to deal with this government official. If they could get their hands on the flag, they’d make their escape right away.

Feeling a sense of triumph, the girl couldn’t help but sneak a glance, greedily eyeing the Sword Box on Li Yan’s back.

“What are you looking at?”

Li Yan did not turn his head as he spoke.

The girl was startled, unable to think of a response, “I…”

Suddenly, Li Yan turned around, his eyes rippling with deep black eddies, exuding a bone-chilling coldness.

Thump.

The girl felt as if she had been struck by the thunder of a heavenly judgment and fell to the ground, feeling a chill in her lower abdomen.

“How could the lady be so careless?”

Li Yan reached out his hand, his brows gradually relaxing, yet in his eyes, the beautiful damsel was nothing but a withered skeleton with faint glimmers in its eye sockets.

“I…”

The girl was helped up by Li Yan, still not quite recovered from the shock.

“Come with me, come with me.”

Li Yan grabbed her wrist and marched straight into the tent.

Despite the Rouge Den and all its licentious allure lying ahead, Li Yan moved with determined strides, evoking images of lyrics from Peking operas.

“Seeing the dark void ahead, it must be the lair of thieves…”