"Pffft!"
Elisa looked down at the snow that reached her calves. It had piled up so thickly in just one night. What if it kept snowing for half a month? Would it bury the entire Sedona City?
"Puh puh puh... What am I thinking?" Elisa shook her head, brushing away the strange thoughts.
She looked up at the gloomy sky, the vast snowflakes falling as if the heavens were venting their frustration. If it weren't for the greased paper umbrella shielding her from the snow, her entire body would probably be covered in snow by now.
"Whoo whoo..."
Elisa exhaled a puff of warm air and then took a step forward. Yesterday, Miss Nicole had invited her to the castle to help pick vegetables, and she had been so excited that she couldn't sleep all night. Soon, she would finally see how winter vegetables were grown.
Despite the heavy snow, she was determined to go to the castle, not just because it was the plan but also because of the mysterious winter vegetable cultivation.
Fifteen minutes later, Elisa arrived at the castle. After explaining the situation, she followed the maid and arrived at the study room.
"Bang bang bang!"
Elisa stood outside the door, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. It was her first time coming to the study room.
"Come in!" Soon, Lucas's voice came from inside.
Creek!
The door opened, and Elisa stood frozen, staring at everything in the study room. She wondered if she had stumbled into the treasure vault of some kingdom.
There was a row of glittering glass bottles filled with white and dark red liquids; and those huge ceramic jars, with their sky-blue patterns, were so eye-catching!
Uh! In the corner of the study room, what was that red object with a golden faceplate? Its eyes were hollow, yet it gave off a peculiar, extraordinary aura. Could it be a mannequin?
"Huh? Elisa, what are you doing here?"
Lucas looked up, noticing the surprised Elisa. He had been teaching Helen how to adapt a classic scene from Journey to the West.
"Miss Nicole asked me to come and help pick vegetables," Elisa quickly replied, her curious green eyes still fixated on the "mannequin."
"Braving the heavy snow to come here, you're really thoughtful."
Lucas followed her gaze and saw the Iron Man suit. He smiled and said, "This is a full-body armor, one of the treasures that protect this study room!"
"Armor?" Elisa was astonished. Could armor really be this exquisite? It seemed even more beautiful and special than the golden armor she had seen the King of Siacan wear.
"Young master, hurry up, what do we do next?" Annie tugged at Lucas and shouted, "How does this Tang Seng get up the mountain and remove the yellow cloth?"
"Alright!" Lucas chuckled bitterly, then lowered his head again and explained, "Here, we need to add a few more lines to flesh out the characters. Sun Wukong's rebellious nature needs to come through, and Tang Seng's compassion should be evident in his words..."
There are three most important things in shadow puppetry. First, the "shadow people" in the puppetry—those moving characters. Then, there's the musical accompaniment and chorus, and the shadow controller. Finally, there's the story itself, full of life and depth. With these three main elements, hiding behind a white cloth and using lighting, one can "tell ancient stories in one breath."
What Lucas was teaching now was adapting Journey to the West into something more suitable for this era, something more easily accepted. After all, it had to be narrated, so it needed to be simplified, with plenty of dialogue to develop the characters.
After all, in shadow puppetry, you can't express too many emotional changes in the characters themselves—it all relies on the skill of controlling the "shadow people" and the storyteller's eloquence.
"..." Elisa stood there, stunned. Was she just supposed to stand there like an idiot? She opened her mouth to ask where Nicole was, but seeing how seriously Lucas and the others were working, she didn't have the heart to interrupt.
"Young master, I don't want to play Tang Seng. I want to play Sun Wukong!" Annie looked up and said.
"Tang Seng suits you perfectly!" Mina shook her cat ears and chuckled, "You're a chatterbox, just like him. Plus, Tang Seng is the master, you know."
"No, I want to play Sun Wukong! Let Mina play Tang Seng!" Annie shook her head and called out.
"Uh..." Lucas rolled his eyes. This was just a role assignment, not an actual performance. Sun Wukong and Tang Seng with female voices? Was this a female version of Journey to the West in shadow puppetry?
What were they doing, discussing it so passionately? Elisa couldn't resist her curiosity and gently stepped forward, coming behind Lucas and the others, her gaze falling on the script.
As soon as she looked, Elisa was deeply captivated. The dialogue between the characters drew her in, and with the narration at the beginning, she found herself engrossed…
"My lord, how should this part be revised?" Helen pointed to the scene where Sun Wukong is about to strike Tang Seng.
"This is where the Bodhisattva appears. Helen, you'll play this part. Your voice should sound pure and ethereal. Also, when Tang Seng tricks Sun Wukong into wearing the golden headband, his tone should feel a little unnatural..." Lucas explained, occasionally taking the pen from Helen and adding notes under the dialogue to guide the expression of emotions.
And so, over the course of half an hour, they managed to complete the script for one scene, just a small section of the story.
"Alright, now let's practice it," Lucas clapped his hands.
"Ah? Now?" Annie was dumbfounded. They had just received the script, and they were already going to rehearse?
"It's just the dialogue part," Lucas rolled his eyes. They weren't performing the shadow puppetry yet. The "shadow people" weren't ready, and he still needed to bring them from Earth. Most importantly, he didn't even know how to control them. He would need to go back to Earth, watch some videos to learn, and gather the small drums for the performance.
"How... should we do this?" Annie was a bit stunned; this was her first time performing.
"Annie, lie on the table and pretend to be trapped under the Five Elements Mountain," Mina said, holding back her laughter.
"Huh?" Annie shot a glare at Mina. That cat girl was up to no good again.
"This could work," Lucas nodded thoughtfully, resting his chin in his hand.
"Uh..." Annie reluctantly lay on the desk, arching her back with her fox tail flicking back and forth.
"Hey? Why is there a monkey here?" Mina instantly got into character, tugging at the fox-eared girl's ears and teasing, "Did you get caught stealing something? Why do you look like a fox?"
"..." The room fell silent. What kind of lines were these? This was supposed to be Tang Seng? It sounded more like a thug.
"Ahhh... Damn you, bald monk! Let me bite you!" Annie yelled in frustration. The cat-eared girl was clearly just messing with her.
"Hey! You troublesome monkey, don't be reckless!" Mina placed a hand on the fox-eared girl's head, then raised her hand and slapped Annie's ass.
"Damn it, damn it..."
"..." Lucas slapped his forehead. What was this? Where was Tang Seng's compassion? Why did it feel like a thug instead? Sun Wukong's rebellious nature was definitely coming through, but why was he the one getting bullied by Tang Seng?
"Hehehehe..." Elisa and Helen were both laughing so hard they bent over, it was just too funny.
The first scene of the otherworld version: Tang Seng subdues Sun Wukong!
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