Flute Under the Moon

Night had fallen completely, yet Lin Yichen discovered that Spirit Hall did not seem as glamorous as it appeared on the surface.

The back mountain remained a secluded and tranquil place.

It was probably where the disciples came to rest after training.

There was even a pool at its center, with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums planted around it. It had a certain charm.

"Bibi Dong has such refined tastes."

It formed a stark contrast with the solemnity at the front.

The moon hung high in the sky as Lin Yichen wandered here alone.

It was the heart of winter, and a layer of frost had gradually formed on the branches.

A thought struck Lin Yichen. Such a refreshing place was naturally perfect for cultivating one's sentiments.

So... he slowly walked toward the bamboo grove.

The moonlight grew sparse as Lin Yichen slowly got to work beneath it...

Before long, a bamboo flute appeared in his hand.

Lin Yichen looked at the bamboo flute, gently stroked it, and nodded, humming, "Mm~."

Clearly, he was quite satisfied with his work.

Rabbits were naturally agile. With a slight exertion of force, he leaped onto the tip of a bamboo stalk and slowly began to play.

Playing the flute beneath the moon, dressed in white robes, he truly had the air of an exiled immortal.

Unfortunately, he did not know how to wield a sword.

Lin Yichen infused soul power into the flute, adding a trace of soul power to its winding, melodious tune.

Moreover, due to the special nature of his mutated martial soul, the Lunar Jade Rabbit, his abilities leaned somewhat toward support.

Thus, flute music imbued with Guanghan soul power could also aid the cultivation of certain soul masters with "yin" attributes, increasing their cultivation.

But Lin Yichen did not know about this effect yet.

So, he had no idea whom this flute melody would attract.

In other words...

"Who is playing here? How elegant."

A woman's voice rang out, carrying a hint of anticipation and drowsiness.

"I'm a newcomer who just joined Spirit Hall. My name is Lin Yichen."

Lin Yichen responded when he heard the voice.

He looked down and saw that someone had appeared beside the pool beneath the bamboo grove at some point.

The moonlight happened to fall upon her. Her dark purple hair spilled over her shoulders, left untied.

She wore a loose white nightgown, its collar slightly open to reveal a patch of fair skin. Clearly, the flute had drawn her out from her room.

"Lin Yichen? Teacher mentioned you. She said a genius would be joining Spirit Hall. I assume Teacher has already met you. My name is Hu Liena."

Hu Liena?

The Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall?

"Your Highness, the Holy Maiden?"

Hu Liena was clearly startled upon hearing that, but she immediately burst into laughter, swaying like a flower in the wind, utterly captivating.

Only then did Lin Yichen get a clear look at her. She possessed peerless beauty, a face capable of toppling kingdoms.

Though traces of youthfulness still lingered on her face, her overall temperament was mature and seductive.

"I'm not the Holy Maiden yet. Teacher hasn't appointed one."

So the Holy Maiden had not been appointed yet at this time.

Lin Yichen muttered inwardly, but did not dwell on it.

What did appointing a Holy Maiden have to do with him?

It was not as if they could appoint him as the Holy Maiden.

"May I ask what brought Senior Sister here? Did you really come just to listen to your junior brother play the flute?"

Hu Liena suddenly realized that her hearty laughter just now had been somewhat improper. She patted her chest and gave a light cough.

"You guessed right. I came to listen to the flute. I thought it sounded nice."

Hu Liena sat down on a rock by the pool and patted the spot beside her.

"Don't stand there. Sit down and chat with me. Play another tune."

Lin Yichen did not sit beside her. Instead, he sat on another rock opposite her, separated by the pool. Moonlight stretched a silver-white reflection across the water's surface.

He raised the bamboo flute to his lips once more. This time, he played an exceptionally soft and slow melody, its notes drifting through the bamboo grove and forming an ethereal echo.

As Hu Liena listened, she closed her eyes.

She had only said it casually, but the moment the flute music entered her ears, the demon fox martial soul within her began to stir slightly.

The speed at which soul power circulated through her meridians was indeed a little faster than usual.

Her martial soul was yin-aligned. A demon fox was a hunter of the night, yet Lin Yichen's flute music had unexpectedly formed a marvelous resonance with her own soul power.

But beyond that resonance, there was an even subtler effect.

Lin Yichen's Guanghan soul power mixed with the flute melody, wrapping around her meridians like icy threads. Her breathing unconsciously slowed, and she relaxed considerably.

Hu Liena was entranced by the music, truly entranced.

Under the influence of the flute, she gradually lay down on the rock.

Lin Yichen found it rather strange. I obviously didn't release any bewitching aura. How did this happen?

The flute music stopped.

Hu Liena opened her eyes and found Lin Yichen watching her, the bamboo flute resting across his knees, a trace of surprise glinting in his silver pupils.

She suddenly realized that the posture she had taken with her eyes closed was far too relaxed.

Relaxing so completely in front of a man she had known for less than fifteen minutes—normally, she was only like this around her brother.

"Your flute... sounds very nice. And it seems to have affected my martial soul. It feels as though... my soul power is circulating more smoothly."

Lin Yichen did not speak. He lowered his head and thought carefully.

Could his soul power flow along with the sound of the flute?

And then happen to resonate with Hu Liena's martial soul?

Besides, Hu Liena seemed not to know much about him. Perhaps Bibi Dong had not told her about what happened today.

"Her Holiness the Pope accepted me as her disciple today. Did you know?"

Rather than answering her question, Lin Yichen brought up what had happened that day.

Hu Liena was slightly stunned when she heard this, then nodded.

"I heard you're eighteen? I'm fifteen. By age, you're older than me, but by the order in which we became disciples, you have to call me Senior Sister."

Lin Yichen did not argue. He merely smiled faintly.

Because Bibi Dong had also said that Nana was his Senior Sister.

That night, the two chatted happily, with no trace of sleepiness.

"Lin Yichen, where is your home? How did you become a Soul Emperor at eighteen? You're only three years older than me, but your cultivation is more than twenty ranks higher."

Before him, Hu Liena was no different from a child. It seemed the prestige of this "Senior Sister" was somewhat lacking.

But Lin Yichen did not know that, aside from her brother Xie Yue, Hu Liena normally treated everyone else coldly.

That included Yan, her simp.

"Home? My home was a small house on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. It was destroyed by soul beasts when I was ten."

"My parents' marriage was not accepted by the world, so they lived in seclusion."

"My parents were gone in the year I awakened my martial soul at six. I was just an unaffiliated cultivator, growing up on my own."

"Perhaps it was because of the Star Dou Great Forest. The soul power there was much denser than it is here, so maybe my cultivation was faster."

A flawless lie!

Ordinary people would never think to verify it, and even if they did, they would find no holes in it.

Hu Liena felt a slight pang of sympathy, perhaps simply because she pitied her new junior brother.

Even though she was younger than him.

"It's all right, Junior Brother. From now on, Spirit Hall is your home, and we are your family!"

Hu Liena comforted him gently, not showing the slightest trace of wariness.

Yet Lin Yichen truly did feel somewhat lost as he gazed northward.

Perhaps the moonlight in that distant world was shining there as well.

Having crossed through a hundred thousand years, he truly did not know whether his homeland remained the same.

A breeze swept past, making the plum tree beside them sway. Several plum blossoms slowly drifted down, stirring the heart.

The Qiang flute blew down the plum blossoms, leaving one unable to tell foreign land from home...