Heaven and Earth Unite

Shuiyun Yayun.

Its classical architectural style and elegant décor, combined with the owner's love of music and musical instruments, had made the shop somewhat famous around Xia'er University after only a few months in business.

Today, the instrument shop standing beside the main street had not opened for business, yet the melodious music drifting out from time to time still made passersby stop in their tracks.

With his qin on his back, Baili Qingfeng paused slightly when he arrived outside and saw the sign announcing that the shop was temporarily closed.

Before he could decide whether to go in, a dignified woman in a qipao spotted him and came out to greet him. "Mr. Baili, you're here. Please come in. The boss and Miss Gu have been waiting for you for quite some time."

"They've arrived?"

Baili Qingfeng glanced at the time. It was not yet ten.

In his impression, instrument shops usually opened rather late.

"They have."

The woman gestured courteously for Baili Qingfeng to enter, then led him into the shop.

From the second floor came waves of instrumental music from time to time. Occasionally, he could also hear people talking. The number of speakers...

There were more than three.

Just as Baili Qingfeng was about to go upstairs, Yun Shengyan, the owner of Shuiyun Yayun, came down ahead of him and said with an apologetic smile, "Mr. Baili, as it happens, three of my friends are visiting. After learning about you, they wanted to hear one of your compositions. If that would be presumptuous, I'll have the three of them come down first..."

The qin Baili Qingfeng carried had been a free gift from Yun Shengyan. She had simply given him something worth over a thousand yuan, and since he was indebted to her, it would be awkward for him to refuse.

"It's fine."

Baili Qingfeng added, "The qin piece was something I heard elsewhere as well. It wasn't composed by me personally."

"Mr. Baili, you're too modest."

Yun Shengyan smiled as she spoke.

She had gone back and investigated carefully. The piece Baili Qingfeng had performed with Gu Lingying last time had never appeared anywhere before. Thus, she took his explanation as nothing more than a young man's modesty.

He was capable, talented, sunny and handsome—and so modest and low-key...

Yun Shengyan found herself admiring Baili Qingfeng more and more.

"Come. Miss Gu and Miss Qin arrived an hour and a half ago. They're just waiting for you."

Yun Shengyan gestured courteously and led Baili Qingfeng upstairs.

Upstairs, besides Gu Lingying and Qin Lanshan, three others—a man and two women—were waiting.

The man among the three looked to be around forty. He possessed the majesty of someone who had spent many years in a position of authority. One of the women had an elegant bearing comparable to Yun Shengyan's, while the other was somewhat older, around forty or fifty, and was suffused with the aura of classical literature.

"Little Brother Qingfeng, you're here."

At the sight of Baili Qingfeng, Qin Lanshan stood up cheerfully.

"Senior Qingfeng."

Gu Lingying also rose with a smile to greet him.

"Junior Gu, Junior Qin."

Baili Qingfeng nodded to the two of them.

Yun Shengyan smiled and said, "Mr. Baili, Miss Gu, make yourselves at home. Don't mind us. The four of us are merely ordinary listeners today."

Seeing that Yun Shengyan had no intention of introducing the three people, Baili Qingfeng did not rudely ask.

"Little Brother Qingfeng, do you have a new piece today?"

Qin Lanshan asked eagerly. At the end, she seemed to realize that composing a new piece was no easy task and hurriedly changed her words. "Or you two could play that Smiling, Proud Wanderer Song from last time again. It was truly beautiful. It had both an open-hearted freedom in the face of life and the leisurely spirit of heaven and earth found in mountains and waters. Among all the pieces I've heard over the years, it deserves to rank first."

"I do have another one."

As he spoke, Baili Qingfeng took out the score he had prepared long ago and handed it to Gu Lingying.

"You really do."

Gu Lingying took the score with pleasant surprise.

Yun Shengyan and the others seated to one side were somewhat tempted, seemingly wanting to see what famous piece it was. But as adults, they were able to control themselves well, so they continued sitting quietly nearby, waiting for the final performance by Baili Qingfeng and Gu Lingying.

"The artistic conception of this piece... seems even more profound than that of the Smiling, Proud Wanderer Song."

Gu Lingying spoke as she studied the score and gradually began trying it out.

"Little Brother Qingfeng is amazing."

After Qin Lanshan saw the score clearly, she looked at Baili Qingfeng with admiration.

Baili Qingfeng smiled, set his qin straight, and adjusted its tone.

"Very young."

The four adults said nothing and made no sound to disturb the two talented young people before them. Instead, they chatted through their phones.

The middle-aged man sent the message.

"This Baili Qingfeng is even younger than I imagined."

"A second-year university student. Naturally, he can't be very old. But his bearing is quite composed, far stronger than that of ordinary students."

Yun Shengyan replied, a faint smile appearing on her face.

"It seems you think highly of him. Then... let's wait and see whether he truly possesses the ability you praise, whether he can perform soul-stirring music together with this young lady, and whether our morning spent waiting here will prove worthwhile."

The middle-aged man sent another reply.

"Lingying has begun testing the notes. Teacher Gao Qiao, you're an expert in classical melodies. Can you tell what piece they're going to perform from these beats?"

Another woman around Yun Shengyan's age asked.

"I can't tell."

The person addressed as Teacher Gao Qiao was the oldest woman present. She pondered slightly. "This is a piece I've never heard before. Even if I've only heard a few scattered beats, I can still sense that this piece will give people much to anticipate..."

"It should have been composed by Baili Qingfeng. He's merely being modest."

Yun Shengyan smiled. "Just wait for Lingying and Qingfeng to present you with an auditory feast."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Gao Qiao sent the message.

Gu Lingying's musical attainments were extremely high. Last time, she had mastered the Smiling, Proud Wanderer Song in half an hour, and this time she took only a little longer.

"Senior Qingfeng, I'm ready."

Gu Lingying spoke.

With three elders waiting there, she felt embarrassed about making them wait.

"Please."

"Senior Qingfeng, please."

As she spoke, Gu Lingying raised her xiao to her lips and held it just before her mouth.

A melodious xiao tune rang out at once.

"Woo..."

A clear, ethereal, and grand sound surged toward them.

In an instant, the four seated listeners were drawn in by the xiao music. Against their will, it led them into an empty, profound realm of lofty mountains and long-running waters.

"Ding, ding..."

The faint, lingering sound of the qin accompanied the xiao, adding a touch of grandeur to its ethereal quality and gradually elevating the piece into something noble, weathered, and majestic.

Though it was merely a new composition, under the two musicians' superb skill, it flowed like drifting clouds and running water, smooth and exhilarating.

At certain crucial points, the two would often meet each other's eyes. A glance, a nod, a slight lowering of the brows, or a faint smile was enough for them to understand one another's thoughts, naturally blending the xiao and qin into perfect harmony.

The four listeners gradually closed their eyes, completely immersed in the music.

Vast and boundless, the mountains rise in majesty; the sun and moon shine, scattering light in myriad patterns. Strings and pipes resonate as the one who keeps the beat sings; drifting clouds and running water, the heart needs little more.

Seeking the Great Way to still the weapons, transcending all things and casting off the mortal coil; seeking a kindred spirit is truly difficult—only heaven and earth can unite...

At that moment, all sound seemed to vanish.

No one present needed to imagine what the piece was trying to express. All they had to do was listen quietly, listen...

Listen to the grandeur carried within the power of the music, listen to the nobility carried within it, listen to the secluded emptiness carried within it—to lose themselves in it, to be moved by it, to shed tears for it, until...

It ascended into the realm of "heaven and earth were born with me, and all things and I were one."

Several minutes later, the xiao and qin gradually faded away amid the lingering melody.

The piece came to an end.

The four people who had listened to the qin-and-xiao duet remained immersed in the emotion brought by the ancient piece, silent for a long, long time.

After a while, the middle-aged man sighed. "The lingering echoes truly surround us, leaving the heart refreshed and the spirit clear. To hear this piece is the greatest fortune. I ought to raise a cup to Tai Bai."

The other woman seemed still deeply trapped in the piece's artistic conception, murmuring, "Jade shattered on Kunlun Mountain, phoenixes cried; hibiscus wept dew, fragrant orchids laughed. Before the twelve gates, the cold light melted; twenty-three strings stirred the Purple Emperor."

"To hear this piece has made the journey worthwhile."

Gao Qiao sighed from the bottom of her heart.

Yun Shengyan gradually returned from the beautiful artistic conception brought by the piece. Looking at the three people, she smiled. "I didn't deceive you, did I? There really is a musical prodigy here."

The three nodded deeply in agreement.

"Junior Gu, your xiao skills have improved again."

Baili Qingfeng smiled.

"It's because Senior Qingfeng accompanied me so well."

Gu Lingying replied with a smile.

She glanced at the score and asked, "What is the name of this piece?"

"Heaven and Earth Unite."

(The CCTV version of the Smiling, Proud Wanderer interlude, "Heaven and Earth Unite." If you're interested, I recommend giving it a listen. Why did I write this chapter? Because Chengfeng is revising the outline.)