Yan Lingwei's heart tightened. She instinctively drew her neck in slightly, only to see that Chen Duan had merely plucked a withered leaf that had somehow fallen into her cloud-like hair.
"The Way of Melody is nothing more than a pastime for me when I have nothing else to do. It is like the drifting clouds at the edge of the sky—beautiful, but not what I seek."
Chen Duan casually crushed the withered leaf between his fingers and looked at her calmly.
"Besides, do you know that when I brought you out of the Floating Fragrance Tower, my original purpose wasn't to listen to music, but for the sake of martial cultivation?"
"For the sake of martial cultivation?" Confusion filled Yan Lingwei's beautiful eyes. Hugging her beloved pipa, she looked even more delicate.
"Lord, forgive this servant's dullness."
She was merely a female musician. What connection could she possibly have with martial cultivation?
Chen Duan extended a finger and lightly plucked the pipa string. A meaningful smile touched the corners of his lips.
"When you truly 'understand' it one day, perhaps you'll naturally comprehend."
He had already asked about the pipa's origins. Yan Lingwei knew very little, only that it had been left behind by her mother as a final keepsake.
Even her identity as a noble of the Previous Dynasty was shrouded in mist. As far as her memories went, she seemed to have endured a great deal of wandering and displacement from a young age, living a down-and-out life.
"I'm about to leave Yingcheng. If you run into trouble in the future, you can seek Ah Huang's help, or return directly to the Floating Fragrance Tower. For my sake, they should look after you to some extent."
Yan Lingwei was still immersed in the deeper meaning of his earlier words. Upon suddenly hearing this, she froze and instinctively asked,
"How long will Lord be gone?"
"My return date is undecided." Chen Duan waved his hand, his tone carefree.
"Take good care of yourself."
With that, he did not linger and returned to his own courtyard.
Yan Lingwei hurried to the courtyard gate, only to happen to see Chen Duan already stepping out from within.
A large wooden case had appeared on his back, and he headed straight toward the end of Changjie.
Chen Duan's departure was so swift and decisive that Yan Lingwei did not recover for a moment.
The man who had been discussing the Way of Melody with her only moments ago had already shouldered his luggage and embarked on a long journey.
He left as soon as he said he would, as though everything here was nothing more than insignificant scenery along the road, incapable of stirring even the slightest reluctance in him.
Watching that retreating figure grow farther away, Yan Lingwei leaned against the doorframe, suddenly feeling somewhat lost and forlorn.
Until now, Chen Duan was the only person who had heard that hidden meaning within her pipa music.
A soulmate in this world was already difficult to find, yet he had to leave in such a hurry.
She stood by the door for a long while before letting out a faint sigh and slowly closing the courtyard gate.
However, just as she turned around—
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking came again.
A spark of anticipation flashed through Yan Lingwei's heart, and she hurriedly opened the door.
However...
It was Ah Huang.
Ah Huang wore a Yellow Weasel mask and held up a sheet of paper. The writing on it was crooked and clumsy: "Master ordered me to watch over you. If anything happens, come find me."
Yan Lingwei nodded. Disappointment mingled with a touch of gratitude in her heart. "Mm. Thank you, Ah Huang."
After Ah Huang left, she sat down again.
Miao Cuilan was still humming a little tune as she cooked in the kitchen, unaware that Chen Duan had already departed.
Yan Lingwei looked at the pipa in her arms and recalled Chen Duan's words once more.
"When I truly understand it one day, I'll understand...?"
As her thoughts wound around her heart, her fingertips began plucking the strings unconsciously, quietly pouring out the faint sorrow hidden in a young woman's heart.
"Brother Chen! Over here!"
From far away, Wu Sheng could be seen waving vigorously.
The corners of Chen Duan's lips lifted slightly. He walked over, casually handed the wooden case on his back to a coachman, and then climbed directly into the carriage.
The moment he entered, the carriage sank noticeably.
The carriage interior was utterly different from its plain exterior. Thick, exquisite carpets covered the floor, the surroundings were wrapped in patterned silk, and fresh fruit and candied treats sat on the low table.
This was a convoy arranged by the Floating Fragrance Tower. When it came to creature comforts, naturally, everything was held to the highest standard.
Besides Wu Sheng, Le Buxiu was also inside, currently pinching a piece of candied fruit and putting it into his mouth.
Wu Sheng greeted him with a smile. "I didn't expect Brother Chen's destination this time to be the same as ours. What a coincidence."
His tone was warm, but a trace of calculation flickered through his eyes, and his thoughts were complicated.
Chen Duan was also going to Jianggu Mountain?
Was he going to compete for that thing as well?
If so, with Chen Duan alone as a Four Refinements Martial Master, he would probably accomplish little—unless he had another force supporting him from behind, with allies already sent ahead to scout the area, just as the Medicine Valley had arranged.
This concerned a sect mission, so Wu Sheng could not directly probe him. If Chen Duan's target really was the Desire Flower, then they would be potential competitors.
Compared with Wu Sheng's secret speculation, Le Buxiu at the side appeared calm and composed.
He knew considerably more than Wu Sheng. He knew that Chen Duan's purpose was not the Desire Flower, but clues about the descendants of the Kong Family.
Those descendants had attached themselves to the Gu Tribe to evade the Imperial Court's purge. Since they were also in the vicinity of Jianggu Mountain, Chen Duan's destination happened to overlap with theirs.
However, Le Buxiu had no intention of exposing this for now. Watching Wu Sheng's tense expression as he secretly turned the matter over in his mind was rather amusing.
With the intelligence network provided by Le Buxiu, Chen Duan had already learned the general whereabouts of the Kong Family's descendants in Jianggu Mountain. In the end, the clue to the tombs in Kongling Village would still come down to the Kong Family.
Chuzhou was vast, and Jianggu Mountain lay on the border of Chuzhou. This journey would be another long trek.
Although Chen Duan had been traveling everywhere lately, treating it all as a chance to witness the sights of the world,
always relying on himself to rush about like this would ultimately consume a great deal of time.
As he mastered more and more cultivation techniques, time seemed increasingly insufficient.
Perhaps in the future, he would consider cultivating a force of his own, like Le Buxiu, to gather resources and gather intelligence, leaving himself more time to focus on martial cultivation.
Of course, he had to keep the fundamentals in hand. The purpose of establishing a force was to better serve martial cultivation. He absolutely could not put the cart before the horse and end up burdened by mundane affairs.
This was only an initial idea. The specifics would have to wait until he broke through to a higher realm and possessed enough strength to command awe before he could make long-term plans.
The Fifth Level realm was merely the top combat strength displayed openly. To truly establish a foothold in this world for the long term, there had to be a master at the Break Apex level holding down the fort.
Rumble~
Accompanied by the rolling of the wheels, the convoy began to move forward.
Recalling the days he had spent in Yingcheng, Chen Duan's impression was actually nothing special.
The outside world all said that Chuzhou was chaotic, but within Yingcheng, there was an unusually stable atmosphere. Its order was at least much better than that of Qingzhou Prefecture.
There were not many major forces within the city whose names carried weight. Aside from the Floating Fragrance Tower, whose fame for beauty had spread far and wide, the other factions all seemed rather low-key.
According to Le Buxiu, a mysterious master seemed to be living in seclusion somewhere within Yingcheng.
Once anyone dared to stir up trouble in the city and cause a major disturbance that affected the entire city, that master would intervene and quell the incident with thunderous methods.
Of course, this intervention seemed limited to "major disturbances." As for the darkness lurking in the shadows of secluded corners, so long as it did not affect the greater situation, it was naturally left to run its course.
However, this was merely a rumor that had circulated for many years, and different people saw wisdom differently.
After all, no one had ever personally seen that master.
Indeed, no one in Yingcheng had truly dared to run wild for many years.
Before you continue