Peerless Talent

"It's Martial Uncle Yue..." The disciples looked at one another. This was far beyond everyone's expectations. By all rights, Yue Qianchou had been punished and sent here for hard labor; his fate should have been no different from those miners. Yet now, Yue Qianchou was smartly dressed, his lips still gleaming with unwashed grease, reeking of alcohol, with several fresh flowers tucked into his hair. He looked as though he had just awakened from a nap—clearly, he had been living quite comfortably.

"Martial Uncle Liu!" Seeing that it was Liu Wanqian rather than Wu Baoru, Yue Qianchou smiled and stepped forward to bow. The flowers atop his head swayed and trembled with every step, making them especially conspicuous. Several disciples could barely hold back their laughter. Beside him, Gao Shiping said, neither knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Junior Brother, take those flowers off your head!"

"Oh!" Yue Qianchou touched his head and discovered that the flowers he had tucked there before sleeping were still perched atop it. With an embarrassed smile, he pulled them out and tossed them away. Then he walked up to Liu Wanqian with a mournful face. "Martial Uncle Liu, please ask for me! When can I go back? This truly isn't a place for people to stay. I really can't take it anymore."

Liu Wanqian snorted. "Can't take it anymore? I don't seem to recall seeing anyone on Qingguang Mountain eating their fill and sleeping in broad daylight." As he spoke, his eyes turned coldly toward Gao Shiping. "Doesn't he need to do hard labor? When the law enforcement disciples sent him here, did they not tell you?"

"This disciple wouldn't dare!" In his heart, Gao Shiping had already cursed Yue Qianchou's ancestors through eighteen generations. He hurriedly answered, "Junior Brother Yue works exactly like every other miner. He exceeds his assigned quota every day. If Martial Uncle does not believe it, you may inspect the ledgers overseen by the other supervising disciples."

Naturally, Liu Wanqian did not believe him. Having spent so many years in the Qingguang Sect, he knew something of the Spirit Stone mine's conditions. He had never heard of many newcomers being able to exceed their quotas every day. He summoned the disciple in charge of the mining ledgers, and after reviewing the records, Liu Wanqian had nothing more to say.

Shi Xiaotian, who had been asleep, heard the commotion and ran out as well. The moment he saw everyone, he stood there without daring to move.

Yue Qianchou paid no attention to any of that. He spotted Qu Ping'er and could not help recalling the fair, tender sight of her taking off her clothes that day. His gaze could not help drifting over the curves where it should not have lingered.

He was the center of attention at the moment, so naturally Qu Ping'er was watching him too. Seeing him brazenly staring where he should not, her face flushed crimson. Irritated, she thought, This man is clearly a peerless talent, so why does he always put on such a lewd act to conceal his true nature? Does he think I do not know? Ever since learning that those two songs had been written by Yue Qianchou, she had believed he deliberately acted wild and unrestrained.

"Pfft!" A pretty female disciple beside Qu Ping'er, who had a strange and impish air about her, suddenly laughed. At once, everyone's attention was drawn to her. Yue Qianchou secretly praised her. Though she was a little less beautiful than Immortal sister, she was still a fresh and lovely girl. Not bad! Not bad!

Liu Wanqian frowned and barked, "Xia'er!" Yet the pretty female disciple seemed entirely unafraid of him. Pouting, she said, "Grandfather! I only laughed because Senior Sister Qu Ping'er turned red from Martial Uncle Yue staring at her!" This girl was Liu Wanqian's own granddaughter, Liu Xia'er.

The moment she said that, everyone's gazes swooshed toward the pair. Qu Ping'er's face reddened, and she lightly pinched Liu Xia'er.

"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Yue Qianchou gave an awkward laugh, then suddenly froze. Staring at Qu Ping'er in astonishment, he asked, "You're Qu Ping'er?"

Qu Ping'er nodded lightly. Liu Xia'er giggled. "What? Have you heard of my senior sister's great name? The two songs my senior sister wrote are famous throughout the entire Qingguang Sect!"

Seeing the topic shift, Gao Shiping could not have wished for more. He followed along in surprise. "So you are Junior Nephew Qu Ping'er? I have heard of Junior Nephew's great name even here. I wonder when I might have the chance to hear Junior Nephew sing those two songs."

At this, even Liu Wanqian sighed. "That is no exaggeration. Qu Ping'er can truly be considered a peerless beauty of our Qingguang Sect. The two songs she wrote are truly songs without equal beneath heaven!"

"Two songs?" Yue Qianchou looked suspiciously from Gao Shiping to Qu Ping'er. It seemed he had heard that the latter could sing "White Fox," but what was the other one?

Liu Xia'er clasped her hands behind her back and circled Yue Qianchou twice, studying him as though he were some ancient relic. She shook her head. "It seems Martial Uncle truly is isolated and ignorant. Have you never heard our Qingguang Sect's 'Thousand Year Eternal Love'? That song is now spreading throughout the entire Cultivation World!"

"Thousand Year Eternal Love?" Yue Qianchou muttered, then shook his head to indicate that he had never heard it.

Qu Ping'er was blushing so hard that she wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. She kept tugging at Liu Xia'er to stop her from speaking, but Liu Xia'er smugly said, "Hey! Martial Uncle, if you have not even heard that, then have you heard 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream'?"

"What did you say?" Yue Qianchou suddenly cried out strangely.

"Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream. Haven't you heard it?" Liu Xia'er repeated with a pout, her expression practically looking down on Yue Qianchou from one end of the world to the other.

Yue Qianchou was now one hundred percent certain that the songs he had sung had been plagiarized. What puzzled him was when Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream had spread as well. Even if he claimed now that he had sung it, they probably would not believe him even if they were beaten to death. Forget it! Forget it! Yue Qianchou cast a bleak glance at Qu Ping'er. She probably does not even know that I sang them! He could not help shaking his head with a bitter smile. "It seems I truly am isolated and ignorant."

"Hmph! You were to begin with." Liu Xia'er rolled her eyes at him and added.

Damn it! I'm coughing blood! Yue Qianchou looked speechlessly up at the heavens.

"Everyone, listen to me." Qu Ping'er called out. Blushing, she stepped forward and said, "I have said many times that I did not write those two songs, but none of you believed me. Actually... actually, Martial Uncle Yue wrote them."

"What?"

"He did?"

"No way?"

"Say that again!"

Everyone present was stunned, all wondering whether they had heard wrong. Their gazes all fell upon Yue Qianchou, whose mouth was still greasy from eating meat. Could someone with his bear-like appearance write songs like that? Forget them—even Yue Qianchou himself could scarcely believe it. What he could not believe was how Qu Ping'er knew he had written them.

"Senior Sister Qu, did you just say those two songs were written by Martial Uncle Yue? I did not hear wrong?" Liu Xia'er widened her eyes, then glared at Yue Qianchou. "Tell us, is it true?"

With pairs of eyes fixed on him as though they wanted to devour him alive, Yue Qianchou immediately sensed danger. He decided he could not admit it even if beaten to death, hurriedly waving his hands. "How could that be? Niece Disciple Qu, do not joke around. Someone like me cannot even sing. How could I possibly write songs?"

Everyone felt that his words made sense. They turned back to Qu Ping'er, not knowing why she would say such a thing.

"Alas! Martial Uncle has always kept a low profile. He hid his cultivation the same way he hid his peerless talent. I know Martial Uncle is not someone who enjoys showing off, so when people asked me, I did not reveal Martial Uncle's name. In the end, everyone assumed I had written those two songs, leaving me utterly helpless. Now that Martial Uncle stands before us, would Martial Uncle have Qu Ping'er lie in public? In the stone cave of the forbidden grounds, Martial Uncle formed a word with each step and a song in ten steps. Qu Ping'er witnessed such heaven-shaking verses with her own eyes—how could she possibly be mistaken? Does Martial Uncle still wish to deny it?" Qu Ping'er said dreamily.

"Ah!" Yue Qianchou said in astonishment. "You heard the songs I sang in the stone cave of the forbidden grounds too? How is that possible? When I taught the fox spirit, she was clearly the only one there..." The moment he said this, he suddenly came to his senses and realized he had let the cat out of the bag.

"Ah!" Everyone cried out. They all looked at Yue Qianchou in disbelief. If they still could not tell who was lying now, they truly would be idiots. Qu Ping'er smiled sweetly. "Martial Uncle, please do not blame me for eavesdropping. I truly heard it by accident. But the heavenly music Martial Uncle created rooted Ping'er's feet to the spot. Afterward, I silently memorized it and sang it, never expecting the other senior sisters and junior sisters to hear it and spread it far and wide. I hope Martial Uncle can forgive me!"

"So that is how it was. No wonder," Yue Qianchou muttered. Then he suddenly said, "But I never wrote anything called Thousand Year Eternal Love!"

"I am a fox who has cultivated for a thousand years—does Martial Uncle not remember? I heard it from the woman in the stone pavilion. I did not know what name Martial Uncle had given it, and since 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream' alone makes one yearn for it merely by hearing the title, only Martial Uncle could have devised such a name. Ping'er did not dare presumptuously name Martial Uncle's heavenly music. That so-called Thousand Year Eternal Love was merely a name given by the senior sisters and junior sisters themselves. Now, Ping'er asks Martial Uncle to tell us the song's title, and she would be endlessly grateful." Qu Ping'er gave a graceful bow.

That movement made Yue Qianchou's little heart pound wildly. He could not help remembering the scene of her clothes falling away that day. Since I have been found out, I might as well put on a refined act before a beauty! Thus, he lightly clasped his hands behind his back, turned to gaze into the distant sky, and let out a long sigh. In a hoarse voice, he slowly said, "Forget it! Forget it! I never expected to be discovered after all. I had merely heard my master mention the origins of the woman in the stone cave. When I saw her, emotion stirred within me, and I wrote a song for her. The title has no other meaning—it was called 'White Fox.' As for the second song, seeing her gloomy all day long, I wished to comfort her and persuade her to open her heart. Thus, I wrote 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream' for her. Niece Disciple Qu, do you have any other questions?"

His words and behavior had suddenly made a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, leaving everyone unable to take it in at once.

Qu Ping'er shook her head and said softly, "White Fox. So it was simply called White Fox. Elegant and unpretentious, it also adds the finishing touch that brings the whole song to life. It is truly an excellent title, far superior to the vulgar Thousand Year Eternal Love. Martial Uncle's talent is heaven-shaking, and Ping'er admires you beyond measure. I only wonder when, in what year and month, we might hear another masterpiece from Martial Uncle?"

Damn it! That worked too? Yue Qianchou truly had nothing to say, so he could only wave a hand behind his back.

As for matters of art, few of the others seemed to understand much. But hearing Qu Ping'er put it this way, they felt it truly did sound right. When they looked at Yue Qianchou again, it was as though they gazed up at towering mountains. Though all he left them was his back, everyone stood there dumbfounded.

My heavens! Boss really is amazing! Shi Xiaotian gazed at his boss in worship. Gao Shiping was the same. Even Liu Wanqian took a long while to recover before saying, "Could the woman you mentioned in that stone cave of the forbidden grounds be the fox spirit imprisoned in the pavilion?" Qu Ping'er nodded.

Aside from those three, no one else here knew anything about the fox spirit. Liu Xia'er immediately pestered Qu Ping'er to ask what had happened, and Qu Ping'er slowly told another tragic and beautiful love story. The female disciples wept until tears streamed down their faces.

Seeing his granddaughter crying her eyes out, Liu Wanqian immediately woke up to himself and remembered why he had come. His face darkened as he shouted coldly, "Yue Qianchou, come with me. I have questions for you."