Duet

Guided by memory, he found the future Siguo Cliff and rested inside the cave. The Mount Hua Sword Debate was tomorrow.

Hong Qigong, along with Guo Jing and Huang Rong, had also been led here by him.

Along the way, they even ran into Li Mochou, who had just arrived.

Li Mochou had completed her mission and returned to Jueqing Valley, where she saw the letter left behind by Wang Ming telling her to come to Mount Hua to find him.

Inside the cave, the men sat around in a circle, chatting with one another about Jianghu anecdotes and scenery along the road.

Mochou and Huang Rong were cooking.

Well, to be accurate, Huang Rong was cooking while Li Mochou did chores.

Guo Jing originally wanted to go help his Rong'er cook, but Huang Rong pushed him away and told him to come over here.

Wang Ming understood instantly: Huang Rong wanted her Jinggege to learn more things.

Looking at the people present, this Mount Hua Sword Debate was likely to end with a strong start and a weak finish.

Qiu Qianren possessed the strongest fighting intent, got besieged by everyone, and eventually became a monk.

Duan Zhixing, the Southern Emperor, had become a monk and lacked much desire to vie for supremacy.

Zhou Botong was tangled up in a mountain of trouble with Ying Gu and had no time to care about being The First Under Heaven.

In that case, the only ones truly capable of fighting this time were the Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, and Northern Beggar. Wang Ming also found this outcome rather dull.

Yet upon careful thought, it was not surprising. The first Mount Hua Sword Debate had the Nine Yin Manual as a prize, so everyone gave it their all.

This time was fine, and so was the one twenty years later; they were basically just going through the motions, with the several grandmasters hardly fighting at all.

After the group finished eating, they rested in the cave.

Around dusk, Huang Yaoshi arrived fashionably late, following the marks left by Huang Rong to find the Siguo Cliff cave.

This also livened up the cave.

It was mainly Guo Jing and Huang Rong officially confirming their relationship and reporting the news to Huang Yaoshi.

Upon hearing this news at the time, Huang Yaoshi's expression shifted back and forth several times before he finally agreed.

What else could he do if he disagreed? When had parents ever won a battle against their children?

Brother Wang, last time I am truly indebted to you for sending someone to inform me and sparing my late wife from the risk of being disturbed. Huang expresses his gratitude here, Huang Yaoshi said immediately upon seeing Wang Ming, walking over to thank him.

Island Master Huang is too polite. It was merely a fortuitous meeting, so please don't take it to heart, Wang Ming said.

The martial arts we exchanged last time left Huang deeply inspired upon returning, and today I happen to ask Brother Wang to critique them, Huang Yaoshi said.

Dad, tomorrow is the Mount Hua Sword Debate. Let's not resort to fighting today, Huang Rong ran over and stopped the two of them.

Huang Rong had secretly asked Hong Qigong; for some reason, this Mister Wang's martial arts had already reached the level of the Five Greats.

Fighting now after a long journey would be unfavorable for Huang Yaoshi, and she wanted to let her dad adjust his state before trading blows with Wang Ming.

Wang Ming did not mind and agreed immediately, but seeing that Huang Yaoshi had even taken out his jade flute, it would be boring not to do something.

Mochou! Bring me my zither. Wang Ming called out to Li Mochou, asking her to hand him the seven-stringed zither she had brought.

Yes, Master! Li Mochou turned to retrieve the zither.

Meanwhile, Wang Ming walked over to a flat section of the cave wall and used a sword infused with his inner qi to carve characters onto the stone wall.

Everyone was drawn over by the commotion, though Guo Jing and Hong Qigong lost interest shortly after, as they could not understand it.

After the time it took to brew half a cup of tea, Wang Ming finally finished writing.

He walked over and sat down by the seven-stringed zither that Li Mochou had set up.

Island Master Huang, years ago I accidentally acquired this musical score and always wanted to play it. Unfortunately, I never managed to find someone capable of playing a duet with me. I wonder if Island Master Huang might fulfill this wish of Wang Ming's today.

The score he had written down was naturally that of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. With Wang Ming's nature of stripping feathers from a passing goose, how could he not have asked Linghu Chong to let him take a look?

As for when Wang Ming had learned to play the zither?

He was already nearing sixty years of age; could he really not have spared a moment to learn something that cultivated one's character and sentiment?

Wang Ming was not lying either: ever since acquiring the zither score, he truly had wanted to find someone to play it with.

Huang Yaoshi silently perused the score on the stone wall. He was a man of diverse talents, and after glancing at the score a few times, he had already memorized it.

After tentatively playing along a few times on his flute, he was already able to complete the entire piece flawlessly.

Listening to the ringing zither sounds carrying over, the group realized that Wang Ming had already begun to play.

Huang Rong and Guo Jing exchanged a glance, both thinking: I never imagined there could be such a beautiful tune.

The zither music continued to flow, exceptionally elegant, and after a moment, several soft flute notes blended into the zither's melody.

The zither's tone was upright and peaceful, and coupled with the serene cave flute, it was even more moving. The zither melody and flute sound seemed to engage in a question and answer, gradually drawing closer together.

Hearing the suddenly erupted zither and flute duet, Hong Qigong—though he did not understand music—knew what sounded good. He immediately found a stone stool to sit on, popped open the stopper of the gourd he carried, and drank wine while listening to the tune, feeling exceptionally content.

He heard the zither music gradually grow high and clear, while the flute sound slowly grew lower. Yet the flute sound remained low without breaking, drifting like a gossamer thread in the wind, but continuing endlessly, further heightening the stirring and haunting sensation.

At a cliff in the distance of Siguo Cliff, a man was pondering some difficult problem, his hair thoroughly disheveled by his exasperation.

This person was none other than Ouyang Feng the Western Venom. He was here pondering the crucial joints upon the Nine Yin Manual. He felt that this Nine Yin Manual was truly profound, and its enhancement to his strength was extremely obvious; it was just that whenever he used this martial art, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

He actually did not know that what he practiced was the Fake Nine Yin Manual.

Had he not been naturally gifted with extraordinary talent and supreme martial arts attainment, forcibly managing to puzzle his way through this chaotic Fake Nine Yin Manual, anyone else would have undoubtedly suffered a deviation in their cultivation and dropped dead on the spot.

Suddenly, the resonant sound of zither and flute clearly reached his ears.

Ouyang Feng was instantly astonished: Judging by the sound, it is very far from me, yet it can carry over this clearly. The two people playing possess formidable internal energy.

Suddenly he heard the zither emit a sharp clang, carrying an intent of battle and slaughter, yet the flute sound remained gentle, graceful, and winding.

After a while, the zither music also turned gentle, the two notes rising and falling abruptly. Suddenly, the zither melody and flute sound changed drastically, sounding as if seven or eight zithers and seven or eight cave flutes were playing music all at once. Although the zither and flute sounds were infinitely complex and shifting, every single note was still modulated with distinct rises and falls, pleasing to the ear and touching to the heart.

Guo Jing felt his blood rushing and could not help standing up. After listening for a little longer, the zither and flute sounds changed once more. The flute sound took over the main melody while the seven-stringed zither provided merely a tinkling accompaniment, but the flute sound grew higher and higher.

Suddenly, with a sharp, urgent twang, the zither music stopped instantly, and the flute sound ceased along with it.

Haha... Brother Wang, this tune is truly extraordinary. Having heard this tune, this trip to the Mount Hua Sword Debate has not been in vain for me, Huang Yaoshi laughed heartily as he finished playing.

What is the name of this tune? Which master composed it? Huang Yaoshi asked again.

The name of this tune is "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". It was composed by Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang. One of these two men was an elder of the Demonic Cult, while the other was a master of the orthodox path. Setting aside the distinction between righteousness and evil, they became friends and soulmates, jointly creating this piece of music.

Oh! Then I am even more interested. I wonder where one might find them. Huang Yaoshi was the very last person to care about such things, or else he would not have been called the Eastern Heretic.

These two men died long ago. Wang Ming could only stall Huang Yaoshi with this, though when he obtained the score, they were indeed dead.

That is truly a regret, not being able to have a good exchange with the two musical grandmasters, Huang Yaoshi could not help saying with regret.

Afterwards, everyone found places to rest within the cave, exchanging no further words.