You Want Different Music?

This place was merely Zither Room behind the main music hall, not Ju Yunxiu's residence. The two Time Stop talking, and Qin Yi followed Ju Yunxiu to the palace behind.

Only then did I realize that Qiu Niu's statement, "The palace is very large, but few people live there," was not an understatement.

The palaces weren't necessarily large, about the same size as those of ordinary people. The main "largeness" was in the size of the buildings, because some areas were inhabited by giants.

But there were very few people living there. I didn't see any maids or guards coming and going. It was empty and not very populated. Occasionally, I could see a Conch Girl playing a flute inside, or people from other ethnic groups playing musical instruments. The whole palace was more like a small Music Club settlement than a palace for living.

Qiu Niu doesn't need anyone to serve or care for it, nor does it need anyone to guard it. The manpower required by the Imperial Palace is extremely small, as is commonly believed.

Walking along the palace paths, one is surrounded by the sounds of string and wind instruments, as well as the grand and majestic Yellow Bell Great Lyu, creating a place where music reigns supreme.

Ju Yunxiu said in a low voice, "I know you're wary of Qiu Niu, but it really doesn't seem like a bad person. Although 'Music as the Voice of the Heart' is unreliable, it can still serve as a reference. Its music is grand and open-minded, making it hard for it to be a scheming and calculating person."

Qin Yi said, "I believe he's not a bad person, but a leader's starting point for doing things isn't necessarily judged by good or bad. For example, the sacrifice of a subordinate might be just a number in the eyes of a leader, but in the heart of that person's relatives and friends, it's everything. The more magnanimous a leader is, the more wary I am of this kind of thing."

Ju Yunxiu nodded. "I understand what you mean."

Qin Yi held her hand and said in a low voice, "I'm just afraid that your literary tendencies will kick in and you'll be too trusting of people."

Ju Yunxiu smiled and said, "No matter who I believe, you are the person I believe most. I'm not afraid of it hearing it—if you say it's bad, then I'll think it's bad."

Qin Yi's heart melted at her words, and he gripped her hand even tighter. But after hearing her words, he realized he might have been being a bit paranoid; there was no need to suspect his neighbor of stealing his axe, it only made him seem petty.

After all, Qiu Niu hasn't shown any problems so far. He might be thinking about Jianmu, and his intention isn't to harm anyone. If he's afraid of being taken advantage of, he just needs to be more careful.

The two strolled hand in hand through the palace, the air filled with the pleasant fragrance of the Breath of Jian Mu, making for a very comfortable walk. Faint music drifted around them, adding to the romantic ambiance under the night sky.

Qin Yi said in a low voice, "I've been thinking it was a pity you didn't come since I got here. It's good that you've been here all along."

Ju Yunxiu laughed, "My arrival in the Great Wilderness wasn't aimless. Rather than saying Qiu Niu came to find me, it's more accurate to say I knocked on the door with music, all for the same Jianmu tree and for the Qing Cha. I've made this clear to Qiu Niu. But you... do you have something to ask of the Jianmu tree?"

Qin Yi nodded slightly. "I want the Jian Mu Fruit, but given the current situation, that might be a bit difficult."

"So you actually want to help the Jianmu tree revive? If it's really only six or seven fruits, you have almost no hope of obtaining them; nine might be a better chance?"

"Yes..." Qin Yi didn't mince words, "If it's nine, I might be able to trade one for something. But with six or seven, there's no chance at all."

"In other words, you and Qiu Niu share the same goal in this matter, so you can try to have a deeper conversation with it. You can directly propose your terms of exchange to it."

"Hmm, we can give it a try." Qin Yi had thought so too. Wasn't that why he had tried to get close to Qiu Niu through music?

As they talked, they arrived at Ju Yunxiu's residence, a vast palace with artificial hills and pavilions outside. The garden was a riot of color, stretching as far as the eye could see. Qing Cha was in the garden with her dog, catching butterflies. The dog opened its mouth to bite, but Qing Cha tapped it, and the dog covered its head, pouting and remaining silent.

Like a leader of children disciplining a kid, Qing Cha put her hands on her hips and said, "You don't catch butterflies by biting them with your mouth, you catch them like this!"

As he spoke, he opened his arms and ran over, swooping down to pounce on a butterfly.

The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew away.

Qing Cha lay prone in the flower bushes, crying loudly from the thorns.

Dog: "..."

It turned its head stiffly, looked at Qin Yi Ju Yunxiu standing outside, and said with a twitch of its lips, "Qin Yi..."

Qin Yi suppressed a laugh, "Huh?"

"I'm wondering if staying by your side for another two years will turn me into an idiot."

"Aren't you one now?"

The dog bared its teeth.

Qin Yi a defensive stance.

The dog didn't pounce on anyone to bite. Instead, it pulled Qing Cha up and said helplessly, "Thinking about too many trivial things is exhausting. It's better this way. No wonder that guy likes to be a cute Little Ghost."

Qin Yi thought to himself that Gouzi might also have some ideas, but he just didn't want to say more in Qiu Niu's territory.

Ju Yunxiu entered the pavilion beside the garden, where a tea set was laid out on a stone table. Ju Yunxiu sat down to brew tea and said with a smile, "Please sit down, Senior Taotie, would you like to sit as well?"

The dog shook its head. "I'd rather go catch butterflies with Qing Cha."

Qing Cha pulled it along, saying happily, "Ball Ball, let's go over there. There are crickets to play with over there."

Qin Yi watched the two go off happily and laughed, "It feels like no matter where Senior Sister lives, as long as she has Qing Cha by her side, it's the same wherever she is."

Ju Yunxiu shook her head and said softly, "It's not my hometown after all."

Qin Yi asked, "Senior Sister went to the Great Wilderness for Cloud Wandering; how is your cultivation now?"

Ju Yunxiu said, "The Zither and Painting are interconnected. My zither music was already at the Qian Yuan Third Layer."

"That's fast." Qin Yi was somewhat amazed. This speed was even faster than his own progress to the sixth level of the Huiyang realm. The cultivation of the Qianyuan realm was very difficult, and the energy required was incomparable.

Ju Yunxiu said, "Our new path is different from conventional understanding. It relies on enlightenment and knowledge, which is much more important than rote cultivation. However, this progress is still far from what Jianmu needs. It seems that for music to have a certain impact on Jianmu, it will take at least until the late Qian Yuan stage."

"The Jianmu tree bore fruit in less than a year?"

"Yes, it might be around the same time as the opening of Kunlun Void. After Kunlun Void, Jianmu will bear fruit." Ju Yunxiu sighed, "I feel like I don't even have enough time to improve."

Qin Yi couldn't help but ask, "Logically, Qiu Niu's music should be better than yours, so why isn't it as good?"

"There are two aspects," Ju Yunxiu said. "First, it is not a practitioner of the Way of Music. It is Demon Cultivator who is interested in Qin music, which is closer to your nature. Therefore, the degree to which it can evoke a resonance between heaven and earth through Qin music is not as great as mine. On the contrary, if it surrounds the Qin with the Spirit of Music, the amplification it provides to me is more beneficial than if it plays it itself."

"I see..."

"Secondly, its music stops there and cannot be improved." Ju Yunxiu sighed. "The Way of Music is to express one's will through sound and to convey one's emotions through music. If one is without heart and emotion, one will certainly not be able to bring out the true essence of music. And it... lacks a sense of self, which means it is missing a very important emotional understanding, which makes it impossible for it to ever align with the Way of Music."

"Asexuality has such drawbacks?" Qin Yi said speechlessly, "No wonder it said that only you are on the road, and it can't do it on its own."

"Yes, this is a limitation imposed by nature, and there's nothing we can do about it." Ju Yunxiu said with some regret, "It's really a pity. It's the life that loves music the most. In this respect, even I am not as good as it. I love more things than it, but I'm not as dedicated as it is. I feel a little ashamed."

"Why feel ashamed? You are human, not the Spirit of Music. How can human emotions and interests be so singular? This is the difficulty in expressing gains and losses."

"Yes." Ju Yunxiu smiled and said, "The saying that humans are the most intelligent of all beings is very evident in this matter."

Qin Yi thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Experiencing different musical instruments and styles of music is beneficial to Senior Sister's cultivation? You should have said so earlier."

Ju Yunxiu, recalling his comics, asked curiously, "What kind of mischievous idea are you up to now?"

Qin Yi suddenly reached out and conjured a saxophone out of thin air. "Senior Sister, would you like to hear me play a tune?"

Before Ju Yunxiu could speak, a gentle breeze blew by, and a fat, dragon-headed snake coiled around in front of the saxophone, saying, "Brother, I want to hear it!"

Qin Yi was speechless. Sister Niu, even my ancestors for eighteen generations are not as old as you, okay?