Peerless Talent

"It's Martial Uncle Yue..." Several disciples exchanged glances. To everyone's surprise, Yue Qianchou, who was supposed to be punished with hard labor, should have ended up like the other miners. But now, Yue Qianchou was dressed immaculately, his mouth still glistening with oil, reeking of alcohol, and with several fresh flowers tucked into his hair. He looked like he had just woken up, clearly living a very comfortable life.

"Martial Uncle Liu!" Yue Qianchou saw it was Liu Wanqian, not Wu Baoru, and walked over with a smile to pay his respects. The flowers in his hair swayed with his movements, looking particularly conspicuous. The disciples couldn't help but suppress their laughter. Gao Shiping, standing nearby, said with a wry smile, "Junior Brother, take those flowers out of your hair!"

"Oh!" Yue Qianchou touched his head and realized the flowers he'd put in before sleeping were still there. He pulled them out with an embarrassed laugh and threw them away. Then, he walked up to Liu Wanqian with a dejected face and said, "Martial Uncle Liu, please ask for me! When can I go back? This place is truly unbearable, I really can't take it anymore."

Liu Wanqian snorted, "Can't take it? I haven't seen you sleeping soundly in broad daylight on Qingguang Mountain either?" As he spoke, his eyes coldly fixed on Gao Shiping, and he asked, "Doesn't he have to do hard labor? Did the disciplinary disciples not tell you when they sent him here?"

"This disciple wouldn't dare!" Gao Shiping mentally cursed Yue Qianchou's entire ancestry and quickly replied, "Junior Brother Yue works the same as all the miners, and his daily quota is always met. If Martial Uncle doesn't believe me, he can check the account books managed by the other disciplinary supervisors."

Liu Wanqian naturally didn't believe it. He had been in Qingguang Sect for so many years and knew a thing or two about the Spirit Stone mine. He hadn't heard of many newcomers who could meet their quotas every day. He summoned the disciple in charge of the mining accounts and, after reviewing them, Liu Wanqian had nothing more to say.

At this moment, Shi Xiaotian, who had been sleeping, heard the commotion and also came out. Upon seeing everyone, he stood there, not daring to move.

Yue Qianchou paid no mind to that. He spotted Qu Ping'er and couldn't help but recall the sight of her fair, tender skin when she had taken off her clothes that day. His gaze couldn't help but linger on her curves.

He was the center of attention at this moment, and Qu Ping'er was naturally watching him. Seeing him shamelessly looking at inappropriate places, her face flushed. She thought to herself angrily, This person is clearly a peerless talent, so why does he always act like a scoundrel to hide his true nature? Does he think I don't know? Ever since she learned that Yue Qianchou had written those two songs, she had assumed he was deliberately putting on a carefree, dissolute act.

"Pfft!" A beautiful, lively disciple next to Qu Ping'er suddenly giggled. Her laughter immediately drew everyone's attention. Yue Qianchou praised her inwardly. Although she wasn't as beautiful as the Immortal Sister, she was still a charming girl. Not bad! Not bad!

Liu Wanqian frowned and softly chided, "Xia'er!" But the pretty disciple seemed not to fear him at all. She pouted and said, "Grandfather! I just saw Senior Sister Qu Ping'er blushing because Martial Uncle Yue was staring at her, so I couldn't help but laugh!" It turned out this person was Liu Wanqian's own granddaughter, Liu Xia'er.

Her words caused everyone's gazes to snap towards the two of them. Qu Ping'er blushed and lightly pinched Liu Xia'er.

"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Yue Qianchou said with a sheepish smile, then suddenly paused, staring at Qu Ping'er in astonishment. "You are Qu Ping'er?"

Qu Ping'er nodded gently. Liu Xia'er giggled, "What? You've heard of my Senior Sister's name! The two songs Senior Sister composed are famous throughout Qingguang Sect, you know!"

Seeing the topic had shifted, Gao Shiping, who was eager for it, chimed in with surprise, "So you are Junior Nephew Qu Ping'er? I've heard of Junior Nephew's fame here too. I wonder when I'll have the chance to hear Junior Nephew sing those two songs."

Hearing this, even Liu Wanqian sighed, "That's not an exaggeration. Qu Ping'er can truly be considered the peerless beauty of our Qingguang Sect, and the two songs she composed are truly masterpieces of the world!"

"Two songs?" Yue Qianchou looked suspiciously at Gao Shiping, then at Qu Ping'er. He seemed to recall that she could sing "White Fox," but what was the other one?

Liu Xia'er, with her hands clasped behind her back, stared at Yue Qianchou and circled him twice, as if looking at an ancient relic. She shook her head, "It seems Martial Uncle is truly unworldly. Haven't you heard of our Qingguang Sect's 'Thousand Year Eternal Love'? This song is now circulating throughout the entire Cultivation World!"

"Thousand Year Eternal Love?" Yue Qianchou murmured, then shook his head, indicating he hadn't heard of it.

Qu Ping'er's face was so red she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. She kept pulling at Liu Xia'er, trying to stop her from speaking, but the latter said boastfully, "Hey! Martial Uncle, you haven't even heard of this? Then have you heard of 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream'?"

"What did you say?" Yue Qianchou exclaimed in surprise.

"Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream, haven't you heard of it?" Liu Xia'er pouted and repeated, her expression conveying utter contempt for Yue Qianchou.

Now Yue Qianchou was 100% certain his songs had been plagiarized. What was strange was how "Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream" had also spread. Even if he claimed he sang it now, no one here would believe him, no matter how much they were beaten. Forget it! Forget it! Yue Qianchou glanced at Qu Ping'er with a desolate look, guessing she probably didn't know he was the singer either! He couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly, "It seems I am indeed unworldly."

"Hmph! You are," Liu Xia'er added with a glare.

Damn it! Yue Qianchou felt like spitting blood. He looked up at the sky speechlessly.

"Everyone, listen to me," Qu Ping'er called out, her face red as she stepped forward. "I've said it many times that I didn't compose these two songs, but no one believes me. Actually... actually, Martial Uncle Yue composed them."

"What?"

"It was him?"

"No way?"

"Say that again!"

Everyone present was stunned, thinking they had misheard. They all looked at Yue Qianchou, who still had oil stains around his mouth after eating, wondering if someone with his appearance could possibly compose such songs. Not to mention them, even Yue Qianchou himself couldn't believe it. What he couldn't believe was how Qu Ping'er knew it was him!

"Senior Sister Qu, did you just say those two songs were composed by Martial Uncle Yue? Did I hear you correctly?" Liu Xia'er's eyes widened, and she glared at Yue Qianchou, "Are you telling the truth?"

With eyes like they could devour him, Yue Qianchou felt a sense of impending doom and decided he absolutely couldn't admit it. He hastily waved his hands, "How could that be? Junior Nephew Qu, please don't joke. Someone like me doesn't even know how to sing, so how could I compose songs?"

Everyone felt his reasoning made sense and looked back at Qu Ping'er, wondering why she would say that.

"Alas! Martial Uncle has always been low-key, hiding his cultivation and his peerless talent in the same way. I know Martial Uncle doesn't like to show off, so when people asked me, I didn't mention Martial Uncle. As a result, everyone thought I composed these two songs, which is truly helpless. Now that Martial Uncle is here, does Martial Uncle expect Qu Ping'er to lie in public? In the forbidden stone cave, Martial Uncle composed each word and melody step by step, creating such astonishingly brilliant music that Qu Ping'er witnessed firsthand. How could she be wrong? Does Martial Uncle still intend to deny it?" Qu Ping'er said dreamily.

"Ah!" Yue Qianchou exclaimed in surprise, "You heard the songs I sang in the forbidden stone cave? How is that possible? I only taught the white fox, and there was no one else..." He suddenly realized he had let slip a secret.

"Ah!" everyone cried out in shock, looking at Yue Qianchou in disbelief. If they couldn't tell who was lying now, they would be complete idiots. Qu Ping'er smiled charmingly, "Martial Uncle, please don't blame me for eavesdropping. I truly heard it by accident, but Martial Uncle's heavenly music captivated me, and I couldn't move an inch. After listening, I quietly memorized it and began to sing it. I didn't expect other senior and junior sisters to hear it and spread it. I hope Martial Uncle will forgive me!"

"So that's how it is, no wonder!" Yue Qianchou murmured, then suddenly said, "But I didn't compose anything called 'Thousand Year Eternal Love'!"

"'I am a fox who has cultivated for a thousand years,' Martial Uncle, don't you remember? I heard it from the woman in the stone pavilion and don't know what name you gave it. The song title 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream' alone is so evocative. Only Martial Uncle could come up with such a name. Ping'er wouldn't dare to arbitrarily name Martial Uncle's heavenly music. That so-called 'Thousand Year Eternal Love' was just what the senior and junior sisters named it themselves. Now, I would like to ask Martial Uncle to tell me the song title. Ping'er would be eternally grateful." Qu Ping'er said softly, bowing.

The gesture made Yue Qianchou's heart pound, reminding him of the scene where her clothes were shed that day. He thought to himself, Since I've been discovered, I might as well act refined in front of this beauty! So, he gently placed his hands behind his back, turned to gaze at the sky, and sighed, his voice hoarse as he slowly said, "Alas! Alas! I didn't expect to be discovered. I accidentally heard about the origin of the woman in the stone cave from my Master. When I saw her, I was moved and composed a song for her. The title of the song doesn't have any special meaning. At that time, I named it 'White Fox.' As for the second song, seeing her so melancholic every day, I wanted to comfort her and encourage her to be more optimistic, so I composed 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream' for her. Junior Nephew Qu, do you have any other questions?"

His sudden change in demeanor and behavior, a complete 360-degree turn, was indeed hard for everyone to accept.

Qu Ping'er shook her head and said softly, "White Fox, so it was called White Fox. It's elegant and natural, and it perfectly captures the essence of the entire song. It's truly a good name, far superior to that vulgar 'Thousand Year Eternal Love.' Martial Uncle's talent is astonishing, and Ping'er greatly admires it. I just wonder when I will have the chance to hear Martial Uncle's unparalleled masterpiece again?"

Damn it! Even this works. Yue Qianchou was speechless and could only wave his hand with his back turned to her.

As for these artistic matters, few others seemed to understand. After hearing Qu Ping'er's explanation, it was as if it were true. The way they looked at Yue Qianchou was now one of awe, as if he were a towering mountain. Although he only showed them his back, everyone was stunned into silence.

Oh my god! Boss is truly amazing! Shi Xiaotian looked at his boss with admiration. Gao Shiping felt the same. Even Liu Wanqian took a long time to recover and said, "The woman in the forbidden stone cave you mentioned, could she be the fox spirit imprisoned in the pavilion?" Qu Ping'er nodded.

Except for the three of them, everyone else here didn't know about the fox spirit. Liu Xia'er immediately pestered Qu Ping'er to explain, and Qu Ping'er slowly recounted a beautiful and moving love story. The female disciples listening were brought to tears.

Seeing his granddaughter crying profusely, Liu Wanqian suddenly came to his senses, remembered the mission he was here for, and his expression turned grim. He coldly shouted, "Yue Qianchou, come with me. I have something to ask you."

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