Underworld Player

The fourth shop was called Rainfall Pavilion.

It seemed completely different than the previous three shops. Even the name gave little indication of what kind of challenge it might hold.

Also unlike the previous three shops, the entity in charge of the Pavilion looked almost normal—emphasis on "almost"—she was a nubile young lady dressed in traditional Chinese clothing with long, raven-black hair down to her waist.

While the other shops had looked like normal rooms on the inside, this one looked less like a typical shop and more like a peaceful, quiet bamboo grove, albeit one where the plants looked sickly and yellow instead of the normal vibrant green. The ground in this space seemed to be earth, unlike the sticky, squishy stuff outside, but bore the same unsettling, reddish hue...

Bai Zhi could not help thinking that the place was the perfect location for a ghost movie.

As he stepped deeper into the bamboo grove, Bai Zhi spotted the ghostly girl sitting amongst the tall stalks, gently running her fingers along a zither*. She had stopped plucking when he entered, but the lingering reverberations of the final notes echoed around him.

From behind her instrument, the girl raised her eyes slowly to look at him. In an unusually airy voice, she said, "Sire, the test of the Rainfall Pavilion doth musicality be. If thine tune canst best the sound of mine own zither, 'tis but meet to name thee the victor.

"You got any instruments here that I know how to play?"

Bai Zhi quirked an eyebrow as he scanned the modestly-sized bamboo grove.

"Any instrument that thou desireth, sire, shall thee find at hand," said the girl, fixing him with a placid gaze. "One need only give it form in the mind's eye."

"Oh..."

Bai Zhi gave it a shot and focused his imagination. Looking down, he found that an erhu** had materialized from out of nowhere in his hands, and he turned his attention eagerly to the ghostly girl.

"If winning means besting the sound of your zither, what happens if I fail to do so?"

Based on his experiences at each shop so far, every one of these places was a deadly minefield. Getting caught by the clown at the Funhouse maze meant certain death, while losing in the Riddle Room meant getting turned into puppets. Even the seemingly innocent Art's Pawnshop was also a deadly challenge in its own way.

Reasoning along those lines, Bai Zhi was sure that the penalty for failing the challenge in the Rainfall Pavilion was far from pleasant. However, what the girl said next defied all his expectations.

"Should thou fall short, sire, thou may show thyself out."

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The girl placed her ghostly hands on her zither and lowered her eyes once more.

"The rules, such as they are, mandate that I deceive thee not, sire. Rest easy."

"Interesting. So, how do we do this? Exactly how do we decide what counts as a win? Is it just who makes a louder noise?"

Bai Zhi's eyes darted to a corner as he seemed struck by a sudden thought, then he looked around quickly for a seat. Not finding one, he reached into his Inventory and brought out a little wooden stool, as well as a pair of sunglasses, which he immediately put on. He now looked exactly like a typical blind, erhu-playing street musician.

"Naturally, 'tis the house that decrees by what measure the contest is won," said the girl.

She swept her eyes over the erhu, but her expression remained calm as a lake.

"Being that thy choice of instrument art made, all that remains is for thee to throw down the gauntlet, at thy pleasure, sire."

"Hmm? I never said I was dead set on playing the erhu—if it's a musical contest, I have to go with the instrument I know best. I used to help out in the village for any big events like weddings and funerals, so how about... this."

Bai Zhi massaged his temples while he gave it some thought, then the erhu in his hands disappeared, soon replaced by a thin woodwind that flared at the end like a trumpet—the black sheep of all instruments, the suona***.

"Alrighty then, let's begin." Without waiting for a response from the girl, Bai Zhi started playing a tune on his own.

It was true that, growing up, he had often attended the funerals in his village. He was familiar with not only the suona, but the sheng, the gong, hand cymbals, pengling bells^, and other instruments that were played at such events, so much so that he earned the nickname "Little Prince of Many Instruments".

Brimming with confidence, he would go on to apply for a spot on a TV show featuring musicians. With his skillful performances, he made it past the initial screenings and was set to go on stage. After ceremoniously laying out all the ensemble of instruments^^ that he was so proud of playing, he got ready to show off his symphony... and the crowd turned on him in a second.

The show had been a live broadcast.

Those who had the luck to find themselves in the audience that fateful day, as well as those who had tuned in to watch, would not soon forget the grim, chilling air on that stage, watched by millions, as the mournful sounds of the funeral dirge began to play while the people rioted in indignation...

Five minutes later, as the suona's sonorous notes faded away, so did the twang of the zither.

As the girl opened her eyes to find Bai Zhi still sitting before her in one piece, she seemed to bite her tongue, and her lips tightened.

Once he put down the suona, Bai Zhi reached into his ear and removed the cotton balls that he had secretly stuffed inside earlier. He had to wiggle his finger about for a little before he could pull them out, as they were quite tightly packed.

After all that, Bai Zhi made a big show of extending a hand out toward the girl.

"Well, pay up then."

She stared at the pair of cotton balls in Bai Zhi's other hand, then sighed weakly. "...How didst thou come to know?"

Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? You mean how I knew the sound of your zither could kill me? Or how I knew I was sure to win?"

"Both in equal measure." The girl nodded placidly. "For 'twas not from any careless slip of tongue, nor false word of mine."

"Yeah, you didn't outright lie—you can't, since the house rules don't allow it—but what you can do is be misleading. It was true that I may show myself out if I lost, provided I was still able to do so."

Bai Zhi smirked and stood up, packing the stool back into his Inventory as he did.

"By the way, I've never once trusted your kind."

* Also known as "qin", a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument.

** A Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument.

*** A double-reeded traditional Chinese musical instrument.

^ Sheng: A Chinese mouth-blown polyphonic free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes.

Gong: Flat, circular metal disc that is typically struck with a mallet.

Hand cymbals: Cymbals held by ribbon or leather straps and played by crashing them together

Pengling bells: A pair of small cup-shaped copper or brass bells connected by a string.

^^ All the instruments listed are usually only played together in the context of a funeral, implying that Bai Zhi is playing at the audience's funeral. It is offensive at best, and could be seen as a malicious curse.