Dance and Music

Some time later.

Hua Shuya sat dejectedly in the pavilion, lowering her head in silence as though she had been wronged. Her cheeks were flushed bright red.

Of course, that blush had been pelted into her by fruit pits.

This left Lin Tianlu, seated opposite her, feeling rather awkward. For a moment, he had no idea how to comfort her.

After all, every single fruit pit in that half-basket had struck the bull's-eye. The girl had not dodged even one.

The accuracy was so astonishing that he had nearly thought the girl was deliberately using her footwork to ram herself into those fruit pits. She had been absurdly precise.

"..."

After another brief silence, Lin Tianlu cleared his throat. "Actually, Miss Hua needn't feel so disheartened. This footwork is just like your family's sword technique—both require painstaking practice. Expecting to apply it in actual combat right away would indeed be asking too much."

Hua Shuya shook her head.

"Senior, I'm not upset. I'm just pondering something."

"Oh?"

She had been seriously considering why she had been unable to dodge even a single fruit pit.

Was the footwork too slow? Or were her reactions too sluggish?

It seemed neither was the case.

Thinking back carefully, she realized that the angles at which Senior had thrown the fruit pits had been extraordinarily tricky. They had seemed to be tossed casually, yet every single one had flown with pinpoint accuracy toward one of her weak points.

The movement of her eyes, the placement of her feet, the bending and twisting of her waist and spine... Every link seemed to have been restrained, throwing her body's balance out of alignment and causing her to take a wrong step.

She closed her eyes again, and the directions in which the fruit pits had shot flashed through her mind.

Observing them closely, she saw that their trajectories had woven together into a seamless web of heaven and earth, covering every direction in which she might dodge.

Yet after savoring it slowly, she detected a thread of life within that flawlessly calculated formation. Her thoughts immediately surged like a spring!

After remaining silent for a while, she abruptly opened her eyes as though struck by a sudden flash of insight, then stepped forward and vaulted into the air.

"Hm?"

Watching the girl perform her footwork in the courtyard once more, Lin Tianlu admired her curiously for a while before quickly nodding in praise.

"Not a small improvement."

Her steps had become much smoother and more natural. She was no longer merely following the text and mechanically going through the motions.

The footwork itself had begun to resemble a dance of gauzy silk, with rosy robes and moonlit drapery. Her graceful figure was truly a feast for the eyes.

"The difference really is huge."

Lin Tianlu could not help sighing inwardly.

When performed by this woman, Soaring Dragon Phantom Step was like a graceful dance, dazzlingly beautiful. Just in terms of spectacle, it had risen to an entirely different level.

As for his own...

It had improved a little. Barely.

Perhaps he had gone from elderly disco to a shuffle dance?

He had only just grasped the mental formulas and mastered the five stages. Not only had he failed to produce any cool special effects, but he darted around like a ghost, scaring people half to death.

This is outrageous. Can men not stand tall anymore? Why does even footwork and qinggong discriminate against men?

"Is Miss Hua... dancing?"

A gentle voice sounded beside him. Lin Tianlu hurriedly put aside his wild thoughts and turned his head, only to see Mao Ruoyu entering the pavilion with a look of astonishment.

"What a beautiful dance. Miss Hua's figure is truly enviable."

Lin Tianlu picked up the manual beside him and chuckled. "Madam Mao, if you like it, why not give it a try?"

An alluring blush spread across Mao Ruoyu's charming face. She smiled faintly and shook her head. "This old wife will pass. With all that twisting and leaping, these frail bones of mine would probably fall apart on the spot. Besides... my dancing would hardly be as graceful and enchanting as Miss Hua's."

"Madam, you're being far too modest."

Lin Tianlu smiled.

After all, with the voluptuous, sensual figure of the beautiful married woman before him, if she truly began dancing and striking poses, she would probably make anyone's eyes spin.

Mao Ruoyu merely smiled demurely, then soon placed the box of pastries she was holding onto the stone table. "Sir, please have some pastries I made first. They only came out of the oven a short while ago and are still steaming hot."

"Thank you, Madam Mao." Lin Tianlu tried pinching up a piece and putting it into his mouth. He immediately praised it. "These pastries are truly excellent today."

Now that's the flavor!

"I'm glad you like them." Mao Ruoyu nodded in satisfaction, secretly giving a sly smile.

After all, she had added some Heart-Enchanting Pastry ingredients again—but naturally, they had been diluted more than tenfold, leaving behind only a hint of flavor and texture, solely to please the man before her.

She no longer dared to act recklessly. Besides... she no longer wished to treat him with malice.

"Madam, why don't you sit down and rest for a while?" Lin Tianlu smiled warmly and waved her over. "You've been busy looking after us all this time. I feel truly apologetic."

"Then I'll take your advice, Sir."

Mao Ruoyu smoothed her long skirt and sat down beside him, her face blooming like a peach blossom. There seemed to be a hint of intimacy in her beautiful eyes. "Sir, have you studied music for many years?"

"Music?"

Lin Tianlu froze for a moment, then took the jade flute from his robe. "Do you mean this? I'm ashamed to say that I only know how to play a few simple notes and remember one or two uncomplicated melodies."

"Why be modest? Your attainments have truly astonished me." Mao Ruoyu waved her hands repeatedly. Recalling what had happened the previous night, a look of yearning appeared on her face. "Though the melody was simple and plain, its winding notes were unforgettable, as though they carried a tender mood and sent one drifting into a dream. Besides, last night..."

She lightly blinked her moist eyes and shyly clenched the front of her robe. Crimson clouds rose across her charming face. "I somehow fell asleep in a daze, and even had to trouble you to carry me back home. It was truly mortifying."

"I touched your person without permission. I hope you'll forgive me." Lin Tianlu smiled awkwardly. "It was just that it was cold outside. If you caught a chill after spending the entire night sleeping alone..."

"I understand your intentions, Sir."

Why does the atmosphere suddenly feel a little strange?

Lin Tianlu coughed twice and deliberately changed the subject. "Madam, you seem quite interested in music?"

"Yes." Mao Ruoyu gently stroked the hair over her chest and murmured wistfully. "My family was poor when I was young. I never had a full meal, nor did I ever get to study the classics. The only thing I had was the occasional chance to hear an old man in the countryside play a tune. From a young age, I yearned for it. I only wanted a flute of my own, so that when I grew up, I could sit in the mountains and play to my heart's content."

"When I grew a little older, I secretly went and learned a little about music. Unfortunately, my talent was mediocre, and I couldn't play anything particularly pleasant."

Her eyes were full of remembrance, and her voice was gentle. "But playing a few notes in my spare time lets me remember my late parents. So many memories from childhood are impossible to forget."

"I was too forward. I never imagined this flute held such meaning for you." Lin Tianlu straightened slightly and cupped his hands. "If you like it, you can take my jade flute and play a couple of pieces."

As he spoke, he handed the flute over without hesitation.

"Sir, this—"

"Madam, there's no need to stand on ceremony."

"...Yes."

Mao Ruoyu carefully accepted the jade flute and lightly caressed it with her fingertips, a trace of wistfulness and melancholy in her eyes.

Lin Tianlu hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Madam. I cleaned this jade flute thoroughly yesterday. The repairs weren't perfect, though, so it may leak air a little and produce some off-key notes."

"It doesn't matter. I'll only give it a try... Please forgive my poor showing." Mao Ruoyu lightly pressed her vermilion lips together, lowered her brows, raised the flute, and began to play with elegant composure.

The clear, melodious music echoed beside their ears, and Lin Tianlu could not help showing a trace of surprise.

She plays rather beautifully... Wait!

This flute isn't leaking air?

Only after the gentle flute melody had drifted to its end did Mao Ruoyu lower the jade flute and raise her head with a faint smile, as though entirely satisfied.

Although the flute music could not be called exceptionally beautiful and lacked the mastery of a true expert, it was precisely good enough for her.

"Sir, this flute still... Huh?"

She lightly blinked her beautiful eyes and asked in surprise, "Sir, what is it?"

"Nothing."

Lin Tianlu sighed with a helpless, amused expression. "I just suddenly realized that I really don't have much musical talent."

So the flute wasn't the problem.

I was the problem.

Mao Ruoyu burst into helpless laughter and casually handed the flute back. "Sir, you're being far too modest. With my little skill, how could I compare to you..."

But at that moment, her voice suddenly stopped.

Lin Tianlu had just reached out to take the jade flute when his expression turned faintly startled. The beautiful married woman beside him had suddenly flushed crimson.

"Madam?"

"Ah... No, no, it's nothing!"

Mao Ruoyu hurriedly withdrew her right hand and shifted her body, her entire face scarlet.

Lin Tianlu asked worriedly, "Could you be feeling unwell?"

"My health is perfectly fine. It's just that... my qi and blood are a little too vigorous." Mao Ruoyu gave two awkward laughs.

The moment she finished speaking, thin trickles of blood began to flow from her nose, dripping onto the clothing over her chest and spreading into a dazzling red blossom.

"..."

Lin Tianlu froze when he saw it.

Hadn't the physician diagnosed her just two days ago with weak vitality and shortness of breath? How had her qi and blood suddenly become vigorous enough to cause a nosebleed?

Could this qi really lurch wildly up and down like that?

Try searching for the author's name if you can't find the book title. Perhaps it was simply renamed!

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