Chapter 1646 - 1491: Yin Yang Inn 47 (4000 Words)_3
Chapter 1646: Chapter 1491: Yin Yang Inn 47 (4000 Words)_3
In fact, to say that they truly love puppet shows might be an exaggeration, but because the Emperor likes them, they must follow suit and keep up with the Emperor’s interests.
Due to the admiration from these people, puppet shows gradually became popular across the country, and puppet show performers suddenly increased, sprouting up like bamboo shoots after a rain.
Thus, the habit of watching puppet shows spread from the Imperial Palace to official families, then from official families to wealthy families, and eventually from wealthy families to the common people. Everyone fell in love with watching puppet shows.
Puppet shows do not require much space; a few people and a small stage can start a performance, so puppeteers often perform for money in bustling places like markets.
Qi Shuangshuang noticed a connection among these disappeared victims: they all shared a common interest in puppet shows.
Moreover, these people had watched puppet shows before their incidents, and most importantly, it seemed that they all watched the shows at the same traveling theater troupe.
There are performers known as wandering artists; they do not have a fixed troupe but travel from place to place with their theater gear.
Every time they arrive in a new place, they set up a large stage and conduct performances lasting several days.
Although this method of performance lacks a fixed home, because there are many performers and the acts are brilliant, large crowds gather wherever they go, making quite a profit.
If there are any wealthy families in the area who fancy them, they might even pay separately to have them perform at their homes, which is very profitable whenever they visit a new place.
However, the downside is they must constantly wander since the spending power of the common people is limited; such a troupe coming occasionally is a novelty the common people are willing to spend on.
If they were to stay permanently, local troupes would fear the impact on their own business and might not be accommodating, plus the common people may not spend as much on a permanent troupe.
The common people are willing to spend money on a lively show occasionally, like during New Year celebrations, but they are not likely to spend extravagantly at all times for a performance.
Previously, when Qi Shuangshuang was examining clues, she often overlooked the suspicious point about puppet shows.
Because this fondness for puppet shows was too common; everyone from eighty-year-old elders to toddlers liked watching them.
And since puppet show performances are ubiquitous, enjoying them is hardly a distinguishing characteristic, which is why Qi Shuangshuang deliberately or accidentally ignored this point initially.
Sometimes clues hide within ordinary habits, making them hard to detect, even when they are right in front of you.
The reason Qi Shuangshuang connected the clues was that these people’s puppet shows were all related to a certain traveling theater troupe.
This traveling theater troupe not only performs puppet shows but also includes real human operatic acts that require singing, speaking, acting, and acrobatics, as well as animal shows, and both puppet and shadow plays.
Though shadow plays are no longer the Emperor’s favorites, he still watches them occasionally as he enjoyed them for a long time.
Because shadow plays, like puppet shows, are simple and don’t take up space, the common people developed a liking for them alongside puppet shows.
Performers from this roaming troupe would occasionally leave the troupe to perform puppet shows individually in markets for those unwilling to spend to see the whole troupe.
Qi Shuangshuang only realized after reviewing many times that these victims had all seen puppet shows from this troupe.
Some of these people invited this traveling troupe to their homes to watch puppet shows, while others saw the puppet shows at the troupe itself.
Others saw this troupe’s puppet shows at outdoor markets and busy streets; anyway, all the deceased were related to the puppet shows performed by this troupe.
More importantly, the previously seemingly disconnected death locations of these victims perfectly align with the troupe’s performance route.
This also explains why the distances between the victims were so vast and why their identities were so varied.
Only such a traveling troupe can have the chance to interact with people from so many different social classes and span across numerous State Mansions to victimize them.
Finding this commonality, everything almost unraveled; now all we need to do is find this theater troupe and see what hidden mysteries exist within.
Qi Shuangshuang is almost certain that the culprit must be within this theater troupe, and even more certain it is within the puppet performance troupe.