Just a Coincidence

"No way—he actually managed to continue it too?"

Mo Jingyu was a little dazed, feeling that it did not quite seem real.

More importantly, the other party had not been much slower than him.

Did that not mean his strength was about the same as a minor cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining?

Mo Jingyu's brows knitted tightly, and he found this a little hard to accept.

At the side, Li Jun's expression was very calm.

In truth, he had finished continuing the zither score long ago.

He simply had not wanted to stand out too much, so he had kept waiting for Mo Jingyu to finish.

Originally, he had even been wondering whether this would drag on all night. Fortunately, the latter had completed it while stepping on the tail of the setting sun.

"Oh? The two of you are actually evenly matched."

Hai Qingdong was slightly surprised.

"Ranran, hurry and try it out."

Su Jingyan rose to his feet, his gaze flicking toward Li Jun.

Although the latter had finished the so-called continuation right after Mo Jingyu, he had observed him earlier. During the later period, this Li Jun had not played the zither properly at all.

"As expected, he's a jianghu swindler. And he still dared to act so pretentious in front of me! When I get back, I'll look into his roots. Later, I'll definitely deal with him harshly!"

Su Jingyan had already decided that once he returned tonight, he would investigate this person.

When the time came, he would just casually slap a charge on him and take him down outright.

"Thank you both for your hard work. These are the finest delicacies of our Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Please take a short rest first."

Luo Qingran excitedly took the zither scores the two of them had continued, then handed them to Hai Qingdong.

"Teacher, please take a look. Are they feasible?"

Hai Qingdong accepted them and first glanced at Mo Jingyu's.

"Master Mo is worthy of being a master of music. This zither score is very thoughtful, and the meridians involved are also very ingenious."

Hai Qingdong praised him. This Mo Jingyu was worthy of being an expert skilled in music; from the score alone, one could tell that the other party had put real thought into it.

He then looked at Li Jun's copy, and his brows immediately drew together.

"What is it, Teacher? Is it strange?"

When Luo Qingran saw her teacher's expression, she immediately took Li Jun's score.

"Huh? It can be continued like this?"

She looked at Li Jun's score.

Unlike Mo Jingyu's, Li Jun's score appeared somewhat disorderly.

He had not completed the original flow of the meridians. Instead, he had pointed out several acupoints and linked them together with some very obscure meridians.

One was neat and uniform; the other was wild cursive, free and unrestrained.

The two had taken completely different paths. The difference could be called enormous.

"Ranran, is the difference very big?"

Su Jingyan and Mo Jingyu also walked forward, looking together at Li Jun's zither score.

With just one look, the two of them could not hold back.

"No, what the hell is this continuation supposed to be? You didn't just write this nonsense at random, did you?"

Su Jingyan laughed in anger. Originally, he had still been worried that this Li Jun might truly have some ability.

But now he was certain. The other party was nothing but a jianghu swindler.

"This young friend's thinking is very unique. This Mo has cultivated music for seventy years, yet truly has never seen such a peculiar zither score. Today, I suppose I have broadened my horizons."

He stroked his beard, his face full of spring breeze, and the worry from just now instantly dispersed.

Luo Qingran looked at the zither score, then looked at Li Jun.

The latter stood straight, his expression as usual, unmoved.

"Teacher, what do you think?"

Hai Qingdong took the zither score and slowly said, "These meridians are very obscure. As for these acupoints, I have never heard of them before, so I dare not evaluate them."

"Elder Hai, you're still speaking too tactfully. Let me ask one thing: for any cultivation method, recklessly connecting acupoints is an extremely risky matter. This is common knowledge in cultivation."

"This fellow actually pointed out these few acupoints in the zither score he continued. Is that reasonable? If she cultivated this, wouldn't it cripple Ranran's hands?"

Su Jingyan drew his long saber, the tip pointing straight at Li Jun. "Kid, out of respect for Ranran, I didn't argue with you earlier. But judging from this zither score, I have ample reason to suspect your identity."

"Who exactly are you? What is your purpose in approaching Ranran?"

"Put the saber down! This is the Myriad Treasures Pavilion!"

Luo Qingran pressed his long saber down, her pretty face faintly cold.

"Ranran, even now, you still..."

"All right, all right. Young Prefecture Master, don't get worked up. Why don't we first hear how this young friend explains it?"

Hai Qingdong looked at Li Jun, smiling. "Young friend, would you be willing to clear up my confusion?"

Everyone looked toward Li Jun as well, wanting to know what he was thinking.

"Senior Hai, Eldest Miss, this zither score has extraordinary origins. With my strength alone, it would truly be difficult to complete it. The section I continued was based on the length of the original, where I tried to identify several key nodes, striving to strike a balance between restoring the original's power as much as possible and ensuring my own safety."

Li Jun cupped his fists and spoke frankly.

"Heh, you all heard that, right? This guy didn't complete it at all, yet he's still acting like a dead duck with a hard beak!"

Su Jingyan was so angered by Li Jun's words that he laughed. He had seen people put on airs before, but never someone who put them on this hard.

Luo Qingran looked at the zither score and tried circulating her spiritual power according to Li Jun's score.

"Ranran, hand this man over to me. I'll definitely dig up his background for you, and when the time comes..."

"Stop talking."

Luo Qingran cut Su Jingyan off.

With a beckon of her hand, she took out an ancient zither and sat down on the spot.

Melodious zither notes rang out, like high mountains and flowing waters, making one's heart yearn toward them.

"Hm?"

Hai Qingdong frowned, sensing something slightly unusual.

Mo Jingyu, off to the side, was also frowning. For some reason, he felt this piece seemed to flow even more smoothly than his.

Luo Qingran's eyes grew brighter and brighter, then the music came to an abrupt halt.

"Eh? Girl, why aren't you continuing?" Hai Qingdong asked, puzzled.

"Teacher, could you verify Senior Mo's score?" Luo Qingran asked.

"Naturally. I'll give it a try."

Hai Qingdong took the score and tried playing it.

The zither's sound wound gracefully, like a fresh breeze brushing the face, every note entering the ear.

Mo Jingyu nodded. Yes, that was exactly the feeling.

However, just as everyone was immersed in that beautiful sound, Hai Qingdong's string suddenly snapped.

"Teacher!" Luo Qingran cried out in alarm.

"No harm done."

Hai Qingdong rested a hand on the zither strings and shook his head. "What a pity, Master Mo. Though your score is good, it will cause a conflict."

Luo Qingran's eyes lit up, then she sighed, her face filled with regret.

"Ah, even Master Mo failed. It seems I am destined to meet this score but not meant to have it."

She looked at Su Jingyan and said, "Young Master Su, no matter what, I'm still very grateful to you. Another day, I'll treat you to a meal. And I also thank Master Mo."

Luo Qingran looked utterly dejected, then issued the order to see the guests out.

Although the latter still wanted to say something, Luo Qingran's attitude was firm.

Hai Qingdong, off to the side, also seemed to think of something. Smiling, he pulled Su Jingyan and the other man along, saying he happened to be free today and wanted to go pay a visit to the City Lord.

"Fine, fine. Ranran, don't lose heart. I'll find you another good score. And don't let that kid go. When I get back, I'll have people..."

Before he could finish, Hai Qingdong had already smilingly escorted him out of the courtyard.

The courtyard soon quieted down.

Luo Qingran drew in a deep breath and turned to look at Li Jun.

"Li Jun, hurry and tell me, how did you do it? I tried this score, and it really works! Your line of thought is simply divine!"

At this moment, Luo Qingran could no longer suppress the excitement in her heart!

The reason she had not continued playing just now, and had even signaled her teacher to hurry and send Su Jingyan away, was because she wanted to know how Li Jun had done it.

Li Jun cupped his hands slightly. "As long as Eldest Miss is satisfied. As for how I did it, I can only say it was a coincidence."