That Guy Has Arrived

More than half a month passed after that.

During this period, the selection and competition for the Grand Ceremony had reached a fever pitch. This was especially true for the orchestras vying for the Inner Melody qualification; the dormitories were filled with people trying to improve their tone and practicing their scores 24 hours a day.

Rest and sleep seemed to have left these people's bodies. Only when they could no longer hold on would they collapse from unconsciousness. Occasionally, some would even die suddenly as a result. He Wei Ni Ya had witnessed several such cases, where people would collapse in the snow halfway through their walk and never get up again.

Whether it was truly a sudden death, He Wei Ni Ya didn't know.

For He Wei Ni Ya, the past two weeks have been exceptionally easy. She has spent most of her time living a simple life, going back and forth between her dormitory, classroom, and library.

The atmosphere of the Grand Ceremony did not affect her at all; she seemed to be the only student in the academy attending classes normally.

Of course, calm does not mean complacency.

Because every two days, He Wei Ni Ya would go to that little house to have afternoon tea with Ulysses.

This afternoon tea didn't have any special meaning; it was just casual chatting and teaching.

For He Wei Ni Ya, this was naturally a very dangerous act, but it was also something that had to be done.

This was an invitation extended to her by Ulysses, and in this academy, no student would ever refuse Ulysses.

Therefore, He Wei Ni Ya always puts in her best effort to keep the appointment, trying to avoid the extreme situation that happened last time when Bai Wei had to take action.

However, after the first time, Ulysses did not make any further attempts to test He Wei Ni Ya. Each time, he held the cane in his hand, looked at He Wei Ni Ya gently, and explained something to He Wei Ni Ya.

He treated He Wei Ni Ya as his student.

No, not just a student, I should say granddaughter.

Because he not only explained knowledge and musical scores to He Wei Ni Ya, but also kindly inquired about He Wei Ni Ya's living conditions, and every time he would prepare a lot of snacks for He Wei Ni Ya to taste, and let her take away any leftovers.

His kindness and gentleness make it hard to believe that he is the most powerful player in this academy.

A crisp sound of glass colliding.

Ulysses put down the teacup.

He Wei Ni Ya closed her notebook, knowing it meant the day's lessons were over.

Then it was time for casual conversation.

"I heard that you've finalized your program," Ulysses said gently, looking at He Wei Ni Ya. "It's 'Joy,' isn't it?"

He Wei Ni Ya nodded.

"It really is this one," Ulysses said with a smile. "If I remember correctly, this is the first Seven Sound Divine Song by the famous composer Lin De Na, which was intended to record the joy and delight of ignorant people when they first come into contact with the melody."

"You're not mistaken, it is this one." He Wei Ni Ya asked with great admiration, "Headmaster, do you remember every single Seven Sound Song?"

"Of course," Ulysses said. "Isn't this something to be remembered?"

He Wei Ni Ya said with a pained expression, "I just can't remember it."

"Hehe, you just can't remember it now, but you'll remember it sooner or later." Ulysses said with a smile, "Because you have realized the value of music and melody, and know that it is a gift from God, then you will remember it sooner or later. And this memory is different from that of the Rhine. It is the longing from the bottom of your heart that drives you to remember them."

He Wei Ni Ya asked curiously, "Rhine?"

"Yes, there is a book called the '《Rhine Covenant》' in the Rhine, which contains more than 500,000 words," Ulysses said. "And one of the requirements for their clergy is that they must memorize this book in order to be accepted into the clergy."

He Wei Ni Ya was even more surprised. "More than 500,000 words... can anyone really memorize that?"

"Of course, but that's because that scripture contains the Rhine God's Power," Ulysses said. "Once you've read and understood it, you'll never forget it for the rest of your life. It's like the Rhine God has left an imprint on your heart."

"... I can't believe such a thing exists."

"Yes, this world is very big," Ulysses said, stroking his beard. "But what I want to ask is, do you think those Rhine God who memorize the scriptures are truly devout?"

He Wei Ni Ya thought for a moment and said, "Let's say they did memorize it; after all, it's over 500,000 words."

"Hehe." Ulysses chuckled and shook his head. "Is that what you think? Unfortunately, in my opinion, that's not it. True piety doesn't need any power to bind you; you just unconsciously want to do it. It's like how I can memorize all the Seven Sound Song. It's not because any power binds me, but because I yearn for that power, yearn for the blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon our desolate world."

"Have you ever thought that without God, there would be no music in this world?"

How monotonous would a world without music be?

"Just look at the Rhine. Their books are a cold collection of 500,000 words, while our books... are countless immortal hymns."

"So they need to require their clergy to memorize scriptures and understand their own God, while we only need to keep pursuing that beautiful music to gradually approach the Great Lord."

He Wei Ni Ya gradually revealed a longing expression. "Hearing you say that, it's as if the Lord is right beside us."

"Of course," Ulysses said with a smile. "The Lord is always with us, and music is the bridge that connects us with the Lord."

After speaking at length, Ulysses finally showed signs of fatigue.

If Bai Wei hadn't repeatedly reminded He Wei Ni Ya that Ulysses was a dangerous person, then from every angle, Ulysses would have seemed like an perfectly normal old man.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Ulysses took a couple of breaths to calm his expression and then said gently, "You'll probably be even busier from now on, after all, there's only a little over a month left. It's good that the theme has been finalized, so let's work hard for it from now on. I'm looking forward to your performance at the Grand Ceremony."

Ulysses' words were clearly an invitation to leave, and He Wei Ni Ya wisely got up to say goodbye.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw Anita waiting outside. Judging from the snow that had fallen on her head and shoulders, she had obviously been waiting for quite a while.

He Wei Ni Ya immediately greeted her, "Sister Anita."

Anita nodded. "I'll take you."

Okay~

He Wei Ni Ya then followed Anita onto the Mountainside Path.

This has been the case all along. After Ulysses adopted He Wei Ni Ya his granddaughter, He Wei Ni Ya naturally became closer to Anita, who had been taking care of Ulysses. So, it was only natural that she started calling Anita" sister".

Anita did not refuse, and would even pick her up from the dormitory to the cabin every day, and then send her back from the cabin.

Through this back-and-forth, He Wei Ni Ya gained a deeper understanding of Anita.

"Sister Anita, I have a question for you," He Wei Ni Ya spoke first.

Anita glanced at He Wei Ni Ya: "You want to ask me why I haven't joined the band yet, right?"

"Yes," He Wei Ni Ya nodded repeatedly. "Most of the roster for the Inner Melody Orchestra has already been finalized. Aren't you worried?"

"There's no rush," Anita said with a faint smile. "I won't miss the Grand Ceremony."

Seeing that Anita was unwilling to continue, He Wei Ni Ya could only nod, saying "I see~" while pretending not to care and kicking the snow under her feet.

Anita glanced at He Wei Ni Ya's playful gesture, then suddenly asked, "He Wei Ni Ya, how's your relationship with Ka Lun Chu Ke?"

"Mr. Ka Lun?" He Wei Ni Ya appeared somewhat surprised when Anita suddenly mentioned Ka Lun, but she was already concerned. "I think we have a pretty good relationship."

"How good is it?"

"Uh," He Wei Ni Ya tilted her head, "It's alright, I guess."

"I see."

Anita nodded, said nothing more, and continued walking forward.

...that's all?

He Wei Ni Ya was very confused and didn't understand what Anita meant.

Just as she was about to ask a question, Anita, who was walking ahead, suddenly said, "You shouldn't mate with him."

Such blunt words startled He Wei Ni Ya, causing her to slip. If Anita hadn't caught her in time, she would have definitely fallen hard.

"What, what are you saying?!" He Wei Ni Ya was completely bewildered.

"I'm being very serious," Anita said. "Don't mate with him; he has health problems."

He Wei Ni Ya was about to say, "How could I do that kind of thing with him?", but she realized that Anita's point was the second half of her sentence.

"You mean his..."

"Yes," Anita said. "The sores on his face are contagious, and if you get too close to him, you could easily get infected."

So that's why you reminded me?

He Wei Ni Ya said, "Whether I'm there or not, I could never do that kind of thing with him. But... is his sore really that serious? Can't even the Primordial Family cure it?"

"No." Anita shook her head. "It's curable, but he won't."

He Wei Ni Ya was even more surprised. "No? Why is that?"

"Because the condition for healing is that he will permanently lose the notes," Anita said calmly. "His sores are essentially formed after the notes mutated, so what is damaged are his notes. To heal him, the entire note pattern must be destroyed, but he is unwilling to do so."

"...Is that so?" He Wei Ni Ya murmured. "Then Mr. Ka Lun is truly pitiful."

"Heh... Pitiful?" Anita chuckled and shook her head. "You probably won't think that way for long."

Will you stop thinking that way soon?

He Wei Ni Ya was about to ask more questions, but Anita had already stopped, because they had already walked the mountain path to the end.

"He Wei Ni Ya, under no circumstances should you have anything to do with him." Anita gazed at He Wei Ni Ya. "Your music cannot be corrupted by him, for you are a gift to the Lord, and you cannot have any filth on you."

In He Wei Ni Ya's memory, this was the first time Anita had spoken to her in such a serious tone.

This prompted her to subconsciously reply, "I understand."

Upon hearing this answer, Anita nodded, said "Come find me if you have any questions," and then turned and left.

He Wei Ni Ya watched Anita's departing figure, lost in thought.

What caused Anita's sudden reminder?

Why did she think she would have a relationship with Ka Lun?

She said she would soon stop thinking that way, but what was it?

So, can't you just explain things clearly? Why are you such a riddle-maker again?

He Wei Ni Ya sighed softly to herself.

She then glanced at the sky, turned around, and headed towards the teaching building to participate in today's drill.

Upon arriving at the classroom, He Wei Ni Ya found that most people were already there, except for Finnis.

Because of Anita's reminder, He Wei Ni Ya gave Ka Lun a special look.

Ka Lun remained silent in the corner as usual. In fact, he had been behaving himself for almost a month, not causing any trouble as He Wei Ni Ya had initially imagined.

So why did Anita remind her?

Especially at this point in time.

He Wei Ni Ya began to ponder again, and then she quickly realized that something was amiss.

It's not Ka Lun who's acting strange, it's... Molly.

She turned to look at Molly, who was sitting blankly in her seat, seemingly lost in thought.

That makes it even stranger.

Normally, Molly would have already been fawning over her, since she ultimately chose a piece that favored Molly, allowing her to stay in the orchestra. So, Molly had been practically worshipping He Wei Ni Ya during this time; how could she possibly remain indifferent like she was today?

What's going on here?

Just then, Finnis pushed open the door and entered.

He Wei Ni Ya glanced over instinctively, and then noticed that Finnis's complexion... was also quite bad.

What on earth is going on?!

He Wei Ni Ya felt that something big had suddenly happened, but she was the only one who knew nothing about it.

Fortunately, there was one last thing that Finnis didn't intend to hide from her.

"Today's drill is canceled," Finnis said directly to everyone, then turned to He Wei Ni Ya, "He Wei Ni Ya, come out with me for a moment."

He Wei Ni Ya knew something big was about to happen, so she immediately followed him out.

As soon as they stepped outside, Finnis said it bluntly.

"That guy is here."

He Wei Ni Ya was taken aback. "That guy?"

"Hmm." Finnis's face was grim. "Three Mountain Guardian were killed last night."

He Wei Ni Ya's mouth dropped open slightly. "You mean..."

"Yes."

Finnis spoke slowly.

"That guy named Xi Ze has already entered the One Academy."

He Wei Ni Ya was stunned.