Harmony of Qin and Se

"Cough, cough..."

Ning Caichen clutched his throat, coughing violently. Hearing An Yang's gritted words, he couldn't help but feel a fresh wave of fear and quickly shut his mouth.

Just then, a miserable scream rang out from outside, followed by the sound of the main hall doors being blasted open.

An Yang knew that the Xia Hou Swordsman, who had been dueling Yan Chixia just moments ago, had already met his end. No matter how high your martial arts, if you couldn't resist Nie Xiaoqian's allure, death was the only outcome. And that sound of the doors opening—it must be Yan Chixia leaving!

Ning Caichen grew even more terrified, his eyes full of panic. He looked to An Yang for help and whispered, "An... Brother An Yang, what's happening?"

An Yang said coldly, "Someone's dead!"

Ning Caichen shuddered again, a chill running down his neck. Thinking that if he were discovered, he'd meet the same fate, he felt a wave of lingering fear and deep gratitude toward An Yang for pulling him back just now. "Thank you, Brother An Yang. Thank you for saving my life!"

An Yang snorted coldly and continued, "Remember, if you dare disobey me again, I'll kill you!"

Ning Caichen didn't mind his rudeness at all and just nodded frantically. "Of course, of course. I'll go to sleep right now. I won't let your good intentions go to waste, Brother An Yang."

"I hope you mean what you say. Don't blame me for being harsh otherwise."

With that, An Yang turned and left.

Ning Caichen stared at his retreating back, sighing inwardly—

Brother An Yang really is a good man.

Who said the road to Guo Bei County was full of bandits? Sure, the last debt collector was killed on the way, but I've run into a good person. Heaven must be watching over me!

Well, he's a bit rough around the edges, though.

"Bang."

When the door closed, Ning Caichen quickly blew out the candle, huddled in a corner, and didn't dare move. Everything outside looked like a shadow coming to take his life, and his fear only grew.

An Yang returned to his room, fanned away the dust in front of him, looked up at the ceiling's crawlspace, frowned, and said nothing.

He remembered that up there should be many dried corpses—people drained of their essence by the Thousand-Year Tree Demon. He wasn't sure if it was this room or every room, but it didn't matter. These dried corpses wouldn't wake easily without the stimulus of fresh blood.

Suddenly, a faint, ethereal singing drifted in from outside. The voice was soft and pleasant, accompanied by the crisp, lingering notes of a zither. The melody wound and twisted, echoing without end, carrying an irresistible allure that tugged at the soul.

An Yang opened his eyes, pushed open the door, and stepped out. First, he went next door to warn Ning Caichen not to leave, then stood by the railing and looked into the distance. On the lake far ahead sat a small pavilion, brightly lit with sheer curtains. A woman seemed to be seated inside, her hands strumming a zither as she sang alone.

Nie Xiaoqian!

An Yang shook his head, returned to his room, and closed the door. For now, he could at most say he wasn't afraid of Nie Xiaoqian, but he still didn't want to provoke her willingly. After all, what he needed to do was the exact opposite of her wishes—one could even call them adversaries.

Stopping Ning Caichen from meeting Nie Xiaoqian and Yan Chixia was also to make his own task easier, reducing one obstacle and preventing Ning Caichen from persuading Yan Chixia to help Nie Xiaoqian reincarnate.

At least for now, Yan Chixia had a better relationship with him.

Not long after, his door was knocked on again.

"This scholar really doesn't know what's good for him!"

An Yang frowned, his face darkening. He got up, walked to the door, and opened it, only to find a woman in white ancient attire. He was momentarily stunned.

"Xiaoqian!"

Nie Xiaoqian was also taken aback. "Brother An Yang, why haven't you left yet? Didn't I tell you to get out of here?"

An Yang paused for a moment, then said, "It rained outside during the day today, and besides, I... I said I'd play a tune for you, so I stayed."

Nie Xiaoqian was deeply moved. She seemed to want to speak but held back, finally saying, "Brother An Yang, you're an upright gentleman, but you... why must you do this?"

An Yang didn't answer. Instead, he pretended to look around and said, "Oh, by the way, Miss Xiaoqian, what are you doing out here in this desolate place?"

"I..."

Nie Xiaoqian found it hard to speak. Could she tell An Yang she was here to seduce men so the Thousand-Year Tree Demon could drain their essence? In the end, she had to change the subject, looking at him with pity. "You should leave quickly. Don't stay here any longer!"

An Yang didn't seem to care. "How can I do that? I thought about it last night, and that piece really is better suited for a xiao—its desolate, lingering tone brings out the mood. Miss Xiaoqian, do you happen to have a xiao with you? Let me play it for you!"

Nie Xiaoqian said, "No, I have to go. Take care of yourself tonight, and you must leave tomorrow."

An Yang pushed open the door and looked down. "I just saw someone playing the zither in the Lake Heart Pavilion. That must have been you, Miss Xiaoqian. How about we play together, zither and xiao in harmony?"

Nie Xiaoqian's face showed difficulty. She herself was here to seduce men, yet now that she'd met a good person, she couldn't bear to harm him. She could only refuse in every way.

"No need. There's a murderer living downstairs. If he hears us, he'll come up and kill us both."

An Yang's eye twitched. He never expected that the very line Nie Xiaoqian had used in the original story to trick the scholar Ning Caichen would now be used on him!

"Don't be afraid, Xiaoqian. Brother Yan is my friend; he won't hurt you. If you're still scared, how about I tell you stories tonight?"

Nie Xiaoqian stared at him blankly, truly taking him for an ignorant scholar. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "Alright then. I'll go get my zither, but the xiao is at my home. You'll have to wait a bit. If that murderer comes up, I'll leave."

An Yang nodded and smiled. "Xiaoqian, hurry back. The night is short."

Nie Xiaoqian lowered her head with a shy blush, quickly opened the door, and left. In no time at all, she returned, carrying a black antique zither in her arms and a xiao.

An Yang continued to play the fool, feigning surprise. "That fast?"

Nie Xiaoqian's beautiful eyes flickered. "Oh, there's a shortcut from my home to here, so I got back quickly."

Given the distance from the back mountain to here, and from here to the lake, this excuse would probably only fool a naive scholar like Ning Caichen. Still, An Yang chose to believe it. He took the xiao and said, "So that's how it is."

Nie Xiaoqian nodded but kept a wary eye on Yan Chixia, letting out a soft "mm," like a murmured sigh.

Soon, the sound of the xiao rose, and the zither joined in harmony.

Since graduating from university, reality had worn away his youthful exuberance, leaving behind none of his former dreams or sensibilities. An Yang had long since accepted himself as an ordinary man—he truly didn't like musical instruments, especially the xiao, which sounded so unpleasant just to name.

But amid the mournful, piercing sound of the xiao, he watched Nie Xiaoqian before him, lost in self-pity, her brows and eyes full of emotion, and couldn't help recalling the original plot of A Chinese Ghost Story.

In the original story, Nie Xiaoqian was lonely and despondent, forced every day to do things she didn't want to do, until a scholar named Ning Caichen appeared, effortlessly touching her heart, making her fall in love in just a few days.

Thinking of this, An Yang felt a sudden clarity. His hand trembled, and the xiao sound came to an abrupt halt!

Without realizing it, he had taken Ning Caichen's place!

But Ning Caichen had won Nie Xiaoqian over with a series of kind acts, while he had done it with just a simple painting, a flute melody, and an unfinished story...

Oh, and a short speech. But he had watched A Chinese Ghost Story many times and knew the personalities of the three characters inside out—just like with Yan Chixia—every word of that speech struck straight into Nie Xiaoqian's heart.

Nie Xiaoqian pressed her hands on the strings of her qin and asked softly, "Why did you stop all of a sudden?"

An Yang shook his head. "Nothing."

He raised the xiao, but his eyes flickered restlessly.

This was a woman with a tragic background and an even more tragic life, a woman who would risk everything, even annihilation, for love, a pitiable woman, one with a heartbreaking inner beauty and a stunning exterior.

He had considered directly summoning Yan Chixia, or getting the Diamond Sutra from him to blast Nie Xiaoqian into oblivion, completing the task in the simplest, most efficient way. But now, how could he bring himself to do it!

The xiao was already long and drawn out, now even more sorrowful.

Forget it, forget it. Let the innocent remain innocent, let the wretched remain wretched. He would still choose the best way to complete the task, only taking that step as a last resort. Besides, he wanted to gain more benefits from this world, and finishing the task too quickly would work against that.

In the main hall of Lanruo Temple, Yan Chixia opened his eyes, listened for a moment, and furrowed his brow.

"That qin sound doesn't seem to be from the back mountain—it's from upstairs. And there's a xiao too. Could it be Brother An Yang?"

"Brother An Yang is bold indeed, playing music with a female ghost. But he won't fall for temptation, will he?"

A moment later, the Xuanyuan Divine Sword suddenly shot out of its sheath—

"No, I have to go up and check!"

An Yang had just set down his xiao, and Nie Xiaoqian had just lifted her hands from the qin strings, leaving a faint tremolo echoing in the room, when a shout came from below—

"Hey, you female ghost, get the hell down here!"

Nie Xiaoqian's expression changed!

An Yang turned to look at the door. When he looked back, the room was empty. The dim candlelight flickered, and the left window was open, swaying.

He hurried over, closed that window, then ran to the right side and opened that one, waiting for Yan Chixia's arrival.

Bang.

The door was thrown open. Yan Chixia immediately spotted the open window on the right side of the room and was about to give chase, but An Yang grabbed him.

"Brother Yan, why did you come up?"

Yan Chixia turned, his eyes sharp, and said loudly, "That demoness has lingered so long—she must be plotting something. I was afraid you couldn't resist temptation!"

An Yang said, "It's fine. Trust me, I can handle it. Brother Yan, you should go back."

Yan Chixia squinted and said, "No. These demons and monsters have already ignored my presence, harming people right under my nose. I have to give them a warning!"

With that, he dashed to the open window in one stride and leaped down!