In an ancient town at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Shen Yan's troupe made a living by performing shadow puppet shows. What was different was that his plays could suppress evil spirits in the town. Ah Xi is a shadow puppet spirit awakened by Shen Yan from the relics of his ancestors. It is attached to a beautifully carved niche shadow puppet. Only Shen Yan can hear his voice. When Shen Yan sang the lyrics, Ah Xi would turn into a ghost and control the shadow puppets. The two worked together tacitly to suppress the troubles caused by ghosts and monsters again and again. When getting along, Shen Yan often expressed his concerns to the shadow puppets, and Axi would also use the shadow puppets to make playful movements such as tilting his head and cupping his hands in response. But the task of suppressing ghosts is inherently contrary to yin and yang. Every time the spell is cast, Axi's spirit body will become lighter, and Shen Yan's eyes will become cloudier. Later, a plague broke out in the town, and the resentment condensed into a once-in-a-century ghost. Only the shadow puppet spirit and the ghost could die together to resolve it. Ah Xi did not give Shen Yan a chance to choose. After performing the last performance of "Farewell My Concubine" on the stage, when Shen Yan reached the climax of her song, she controlled the shadow puppets to attack the ghost. When the evil ghost dissipated, the shadow puppets turned into ashes, and Shen Yan's world fell completely into darkness. From then on, he blindly guarded the empty theater troupe, humming old plays in front of the empty curtain every day, until one day he passed away suddenly on the stage, still holding a broken shadow puppet wood piece in his hand.
Purpose: Using shadow puppetry and supernatural bonds as a carrier, it celebrates pure protection and fateful sacrifice across yin and yang.