Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix! (Tips Requested! Thanks to the First Protector: Stupid Idiot, for the Reward!)

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Li Hongzheng solemnly stepped aside!

He believed that the dead deserved respect, and no one would dare joke around before the coffin.

He also wanted to believe that this young man, whose presence was even more distinctive than his own, could play Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

Li Hongzheng said in a low voice:

"Whatever your identity, since you intend to play Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, you have my respect!"

Seeing this,

Su Chen gave a slight nod, then walked straight toward the mourning hall!

One step forward,

signified Li Hongzheng's acknowledgment!

Two steps forward,

everyone from the Li Family Band before the mourning hall rose to their feet!

The crowd stared wide-eyed at what was happening, still unable to react.

Three steps forward,

at last, the elders in the mourning hall were the first to realize what this meant!

Elder Bai hurriedly dragged his trembling body into the mourning hall, his face flushed as he shouted outside:

"Filial sons and daughters, chief mourners!

Perform the ceremony of receiving the master!!"

His hoarse voice was filled with irrepressible excitement!

That weathered smoker's voice, paired with the rasp in his throat, carried a solemn sense of ritual!

Everyone's expressions changed!

Li Hongzheng clenched his fists as well, staring intently at Su Chen as he walked step by step toward the mourning hall!

The last time he had witnessed such a scene and heard Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix had been decades ago!

This long-lost piece, Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,

had always been a regret in his heart!

An Eight-stage funeral procession, led by suonas, playing Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, was the highest ceremony for welcoming a master!

Four stages called for a respectful bow,

eight stages called for kneeling by relatives,

and with Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, all guests performed three kowtows and kneeling rites!

When they heard the call for the master's ceremony, everyone present finally realized something!

This young man was about to play that long-lost piece, Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

Many elderly people stood up excitedly, their eyes fixed on Su Chen, terrified of missing even the slightest detail!

This piece had been lost for far too long. The only people who had personally witnessed a performance of Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix were elders like Elder Bai, whose hair had already turned white.

The younger people grew excited and expectant as well. They hurriedly widened their eyes, afraid of missing the piece the older generation had talked about all their lives!

Today, they would finally see it!

In the mourning hall, several villagers carried in a Grand Tutor's Chair from somewhere.

The chair was broad and imposing, its ancient backrest and armrests forming an enclosing screen!

It was an old antique too. It had been kept at the school since back then and had never been moved away.

Now,

it stood beside the coffin, waiting for Su Chen to take his seat!

Su Chen slowly stepped forward, accepted several incense sticks, and gave Tang Ying's memorial portrait a deep bow!

Then, he offered the incense!

Under everyone's gaze, he steadily sat down in the Grand Tutor's Chair!

Among antique furniture, it was the only piece named after an official rank. Its symbolic meaning was extraordinary, and it naturally carried an overbearing presence.

Yet when Su Chen sat in it, there was nothing jarring about it at all. Instead, it felt as though the Grand Tutor's Chair had always been meant for him!

His aura spread naturally, and paired with the Grand Tutor's Chair, he looked every bit like a grandmaster!

At that moment,

Elder Bai, standing in the mourning hall, flushed even redder with excitement. Gathering all his strength, he practically roared toward the outside:

"Bow!!~"

Thud!

Juan'er, who had still been somewhat dazed at the entrance of the mourning hall, heard that imposing shout and immediately went weak in the knees, dropping to the ground!

For some reason, tears had already begun swirling in her eyes.

Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

Guests had arrived, and all must kneel in reverence!

Everyone finally understood!

Outside the mourning hall, on the nearby hillside,

nearly a thousand of Principal Tang's former students realized what was happening and, one after another, knelt toward the mourning hall!

Figures clothed in white rapidly dropped to their knees in waves, row after row. The sea of white that had filled their vision moments ago now folded down like rolling waves!

Some confused youths and children remained standing among the crowd, only to be pulled down to kneel by adults around them, who were likewise dressed in mourning clothes.

Nearly a thousand people in white mourning robes and mourning caps knelt one after another, covering half the hillside!

The magnificent sight across the mountaintop stirred the elders in the mourning hall so deeply that tears streamed down their faces!

Clouded tears ran along their wrinkles!

Decades had passed!

The sight of filial descendants kneeling across an entire mountain had appeared once again!

The scene from back then seemed to perfectly overlap with the scene before them today.

Rough old hands wiped away tears, and their vision gradually cleared.

Everything was the same.

Only the suona master had changed!

But,

no matter what, it was still the same piece and the same devotion to craftsmanship.

The same Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

The sight before him struck Su Chen deeply as well.

The suona in his hands seemed to grow a little heavier at that moment.

Outside the mourning hall, Li Hongzheng stood to one side, his eyes fixed firmly on Su Chen.

Unlike everyone else, who had been moved by the meaning behind Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

He felt more excitement and gratification.

Excitement that there was still a suona master capable of playing Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix;

gratification that Huayi Town still had someone worthy of Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

And

anticipation for the piece itself!

The suona had seven holes in front and one in back, eight in total;

Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix had eight sections, corresponding to its variations.

A grand narrative piece made up of dozens of bird calls and eight short melodies!

Suddenly, that hoarse yet sorrowful voice rang out from the mourning hall once more:

Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,

to respectfully send off the departed!

As the words fell, the entire funeral sank into deathly silence!

Everyone kneeling on the ground held their breath in anticipation!

Li Hongzheng unconsciously straightened his back and stood with his hands behind him.

As he looked at Su Chen, he seemed to recall his blind master from years ago.

"When the suona sounds, the hundred birds become kings,"

he murmured softly.

The moment his words ended,

a mournful, low note sounded from the bell of Su Chen's suona as he sat in the Grand Tutor's Chair!

Unlike the usual lofty, piercing sound of the suona, this tone was exceptionally low and steady!

The delicate sound was as fine as a thread, yet it reached people's hearts most deeply!

Everyone quieted down and listened to that threadlike sound.

It seemed as if heaven and earth had fallen silent with it.

Outside the mourning hall,

the people kneeling on the ground stretched across the entire hillside like accumulated snow!

That faint sound was like a melody playing upon the tips of their hearts, drawing forth memories of Principal Tang. Mournful notes flowed endlessly from within every heart.

A mountain breeze swept over, stirring the funeral banners around the school until they rustled loudly.

Juan'er, kneeling at the entrance of the mourning hall, burst into tears, which fell endlessly like rain.

A mournful melody flowed continuously through her heart!

It seemed like the loneliness of eighteen years of persistence, the sigh of wishes left unfulfilled, and the guilt she had felt toward her family while alive.

Principal Tang, revered by everyone as a person of great virtue, was an aunt Juan'er had only met a few times because they had been separated by thousands of miles, leaving them terribly unfamiliar with each other.

Yet now, as she listened to this piece,

Juan'er felt as though she had been incomparably close to her, as if they had spent many years together.

Her tears could not stop sliding down her face. Her knees pressed tightly against the ground as a lump caught in her throat, and she struggled to suppress her sobs!

Beside her, the two children kneeling next to her saw their mother crying bitterly. Grief welled up in them too, and they began to cry along with her~

In the distance,

everyone kneeling on the ground slowly straightened their backs and looked toward the mourning hall.

At the end of their gazes, no one knew whether they saw the black-handled, dark-gold-belled suona or the solemn-faced young man.

Or perhaps Principal Tang, resting forever within the coffin.

After several decades,

Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix rang through Huayi Town once again!

Li Hongzheng's eyes reddened.

There had once been a saying in town:

if Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix could be played at someone's funeral, it was an honor that glorified their ancestors.

A single piece was worth a thousand gold!

This piece,

truly could not be bought.

Though the melody sounded gentle, it was actually filled with countless changes.

The techniques it used were complex and varied.

Most crucially,

this melody stirred everyone's emotions and made them weep for Principal Tang.

That was where its wonder and brilliance lay!

A moment later,

the sound of the suona suddenly changed!

The notes became mournful and soaring, its momentum shooting into the heavens in an instant!

It was immensely piercing, as though it could shake one's very soul!

Within the sorrowful yet soaring melody, there was an added force of new life.

As the melody gradually settled, birdlike calls began to ring out continuously. Large and small, each different kind of bird call came vividly to life!

At times, there was a mournful and plaintive cry; at others, a slightly cheerful one.

In only a few turns of the melody, the changing bird calls had already reached dozens of variations!

Countless elders were shocked by this!

Li Hongzheng unconsciously raised his head, even suspecting that birds had flown over!

His blind master had once said:

when Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix was played to perfection, according to legend, it would summon the birds of that season!

He looked up.

There was not a single bird in the sky~

At once,

he let out a self-mocking sigh.

It was already astonishing enough that this young man could play Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.

How could he ask for perfection?

His blind master had said so too,

it was only a legend,

and could not be taken seriously!

The melody at his ears, the sorrow in his heart.

At this moment, the atmosphere seemed to grow even more somber.

Suddenly,

when his gaze inadvertently fell upon a tree branch not far away,

his expression immediately froze.

Then,

his face changed dramatically, and his pupils trembled!!

PS:

Wahaha, you bosses are so generous!

My god.

Since I started writing, this was also this book's first Protector!

Idiot!

I humbly accept the boss's reward! I'm moved to tears!

Welcome a new Helmsman: Little Monk's reward! So nice!

Thanks to Zhenxiang~Duck, The End of All Songs, Hao Mingchen, Greedy Wolf, and Banished—five bosses—for their rewards and monthly tickets!

You bosses are so generous; may your wealth flow in endlessly!!!

Thanks as well to the other readers for your rewards, recommendation tickets, and monthly tickets!