The good zither Lu Zheng spoke of was, of course, Si Lingxi's Wuhuang Zither.
Made from millennium-old paulownia wood gathered from Phoenix Mountain, strung with cold ice jade silkworm silk from the southern frontier, blended with the finest of the five metals, and crafted by an unparalleled zither maker of the Previous Dynasty.
Paulownia wood, matched with a phoenix.
Not only was it a peerless magical treasure, it was also a famous zither passed down through the ages. Its performance effect utterly crushed the Phoenix Tail Zither in Lu Zheng's hands.
Of course, whether a zither was good also depended on whose hands held it. No matter how fine the instrument, in an ordinary person's hands it would sound like a donkey braying; yet even a standard-issue Yao Zither could be played by Lu Zheng into an entrancing realm of artistic conception.
Still, having a good zither made playing more comfortable for a master of the zither path.
Lu Zheng had played the Wuhuang Zither before, which was why, upon passing this zither shop, he had thought to get himself another one.
Only...
Once one had seen the vast sea, no other water would do; except for Mount Wu's clouds, no other clouds counted as clouds. After playing the Wuhuang Zither, playing the Phoenix Tail Zither was one thing—after all, it had once been his little sweetheart—but for some Dragon Tone he had never even seen to expect Lu Zheng's favor was simply asking too much.
"Zhongjing, Ouyang Ku..."
Lu Zheng blinked. It seemed that next time he had the leisure to visit Zhongjing, he could ask Ouyang Ku to make him a zither.
Lu Zheng had never considered that the other man might refuse.
That was not because of Si Lingxi, but because Lu Zheng's own zither skills were