The Branches of the Li Clan

Music brushed past that final trailing note.

Like a courting phoenix, it was the final flutter of wings.

Li Xueyi slowly raised her gaze, looking into Lin Xiaosu's eyes.

Lin Xiaosu applauded in praise. "My lady's magic-hand heavenly tones truly deserve the saying: 'This tune belongs only in heaven; how rarely is it heard in the mortal world!'"

Li Xueyi was overjoyed in her heart, her eyes lighting up. "Really?"

"From the depths of my heart!"

Jiu'er chuckled. "Young master, won't you match a tune?"

Match a tune?

What did that mean?

Was it a response to her "Phoenix Seeks Phoenix"?

A response to her tune? Or a response to the meaning within her tune?

Lin Xiaosu pondered for a long moment. "I am utterly clueless about stringed instruments, and I have no way to respond with a zither... Do you happen to carry a flute with you?"

"A flute?" Jiu'er shook her head slightly. "Is the young master proficient in the flute?"

"It cannot be considered proficient, merely a smattering of knowledge..." Lin Xiaosu said. "I've heard that the people of the Ancestral Hall are formidable at flute-playing and flute-making, so I guessed that you should also carry one with you."

This casual remark was spoken in an offhand manner.

However, Lin Xiaosu paid deep attention to the answer.

The Temple possessed a strange flute.

It could command Inner-Earth Beasts. Once the flute sounded, the Earthfall Army formed and swept outward, leaving the Tiger Army wiped out to the last man.

That was the deepest image in his memory.

He wanted to know what roots this Beast-Subduing Art actually had within the Li Clan.

Li Xueyi furrowed her brows slightly. "Flute-playing and flute-making arts are formidable? I... How is it I know of no one who excels at the