The young people were gathering, and the old men and women could hardly force their way in. Not only was the age gap too great, but the difference in cultivation was enormous as well. If they sat together by force, no one would feel at ease.
Next, it was naturally Star Peak's prodigy, Hua Yunfei, who received Jiang Ming and Ji Haoyue.
The senior figures automatically ignored Jiang Ming's current sinister, demonic appearance. Who knew what it was? Perhaps it was merely an outward façade.
So long as Jiang Ming did not commit massacres of innocents or throw the world into chaos, they had no reason to provoke a Buddhist prodigy whose backing and origins were both unfathomable. They even suspected that this Dharma Master Sanzang had left the Western Desert to travel the world with a protector secretly following him.
"Is Xiao Nannan asleep?"
Hua Yunfei asked through a gentle voice transmission.
"Mm-hmm, she's asleep."
Jiang Ming looked at Xiao Nannan with an indulgent expression, though there was also some worry in his eyes. He was certain that once Xiao Nannan woke up, she would no longer recognize him. She might even slip into the Void and fly away the very next moment.
It was all that damned system's fault. How wonderful would it have been if it had bound the Ruthless Empress of the Desolate Forbidden Land? She had been one of his most beloved paper-thin wives in his previous life. Yet it had failed. One red thread had split into three, and the system had taken everything upon itself, refusing to even spare Xiao Nannan.
Forget it. What was the point of complaining?
The system had brought him far too much trouble, far too many debts of affection. Looking at his current appearance as a great demon overflowing with demonic aura, if he had not shown off too excessively in the Taixuan Sect, someone might already have wanted to uphold justice by slaying demons.
Ji Haoyue thought of his own younger sister and revealed a gentle smile as well. Ji Ziyue was his full-blooded younger sister. His father had more than a hundred confidantes, and the first rule of the Desolate Ancient Families was that they did not raise useless people. Even if your talent was poor, even if you could not cultivate, then you were to marry more wives and have more children.
For example, Ji Haoyue's father's talent was inferior to that of his eldest uncle, who was now the head of the Ji Family.
However, thanks to Ji Haoyue's Divine Body and Ji Ziyue's special physique, his parents' status within the family had long since risen. They were finally no longer as awkwardly placed as before, neither high nor low.
Speaking of Desolate Ancient Families, the Jiang Family was much the same. Jiang Ming's branch had been left behind after their great-grandfather departed from the Jiang Family.
The Jiang Family's internal struggles over power were severe, because it simply did not have a young ancestor like the Ji Family's Ji Zi to serve as its foundation. Its internal strength was badly hollowed out.
Moreover, there were talented Jiang Family disciples who had betrayed the family and gone off to become great bandits.
And the White-Clad God King had disappeared.
The unpredictability of the world had already sent the Desolate Ancient Jiang Family into decline.
That was why, later on, the Jiang Family searched for the direct bloodline members who had left the family. They traced them to Clearwind Town and found Jiang Tingting and Jiang Bo.
So long as they did not become completely corrupt, Desolate Ancient Families placed immense importance on nurturing their younger prodigies, as well as their descendants and bloodlines. The glory bestowed by one's ancestors still needed descendants capable of preserving it.
Furthermore, the Ji Family was different. All the living old monsters knew one thing: the Ji Family's young ancestor was still alive. He was the son of the Void Great Emperor.
"I'll arrange a room for her to rest in."
Hua Yunfei spoke again and led them to a small green bamboo cabin not far away. The cabin was antique and elegant, woven from carefully crafted bamboo, and suited for calming the mind and meditating.
"Mm, then let her sleep here for a while."
Jiang Ming carefully laid Nannan down on the bed.
Hua Yunfei handed over a small pink quilt. Jiang Ming nodded and tucked her in.
The Taixuan Sect had children too, so there was no shortage of such things.
"Come on, let's go outside. I promised to play a tune for Brother Yunfei. In a moment, I shall ask Brother Haoyue to appreciate it with us as well."
The three left the cabin. Jiang Ming smiled brightly and spoke with easy, unrestrained confidence.
"Good. Then I'll listen with eager ears."
Ji Haoyue immediately cupped his hands in salute.
There were soundproof Formation Patterns around the cabin, so Nannan would not be disturbed. However, the moment she woke up, she would trigger the formation, and all three of them would sense it.
The three sat down by a cliff two hundred meters away. Servants had already laid out spiritual fruits, spiritual wine, and spiritual tea there.
Hua Yunfei lightly waved his hand, and the ancient zither that had originally rested on a bluestone atop the old cliff floated directly toward Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming did not stand on ceremony. He reached out and caught the ancient zither in his hand. Then he picked up a small jar of wine from beside him and tipped his head back for a long drink. The wine poured continuously into his mouth until the jar was empty.
"Good wine. A thousand cups are too few when drinking with a kindred spirit; half a sentence is too much when words do not align.
"A tune to laugh proudly at the world, for you two."
In his previous life, Jiang Ming had been a Great Grandmaster in the Music Dao. He had played the zither and drunk tea with Nü Yuan, sharing life together in bliss. Sadly, good times did not last, and the past was too painful to revisit.
The bright moon over the vast sea brought tears to pearls; warm sunlight over Lantian made jade give off smoke.
Such feelings could only become memories to be recalled; yet at the time, he had already been lost in a daze.
If he had another chance, he would certainly do better. He would not let anyone be hurt.
[The Smiling, Proud Wanderer Tune (Zither and Flute Ensemble Version) VIP Master Recording, Hu Weili, "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" Lü Songxian TV Drama Insert Song]
"A soaring song intoxicates and saddens the heart; how many return after laughing proudly through the martial world? Ask not where heroes are born. To meet a kindred spirit is life's greatest beauty."
Jiang Ming lightly stroked the zither and laughed as he spoke.
A few clear notes rang from the zither, each one entering the ears and stirring the heartstrings.
The zither notes rang out with force, one after another. There was no elegance to them, only soaring heroism, the tender heart beneath an unrestrained wanderer's bold spirit, winding and turning a hundred times over.
After hearing it just once, Hua Yunfei's heart stirred. With a lift of his hand, a jade flute appeared in his grasp. In his life, he loved the Music Dao most, though he also knew a little about playing the flute.
With his understanding of musical principles, he could tell that the tune was incomplete. It required flute accompaniment.
"Haha, Brother Yunfei truly is a kindred spirit. This ancient tune does indeed require a flute accompaniment. Ideally, it should be performed by a man and a woman. Sadly, true listeners are hard to find. When the strings break, who will hear them?"
Jiang Ming laughed heartily.
Hua Yunfei truly came to like Jiang Ming as a friend. In truth, he had only wanted to be an ordinary boy who played the zither, appreciating himself in solitude amid lofty mountains and flowing waters. Unfortunately, when he was five years old, the Ruthless Lineage had come seeking an heir, and he had been chosen.
From then on, he had become two-faced, openly and secretly, constantly growing stronger and gaining many opportunities, such as the ancient heavenly technique Phoenix Tribulation. Yet he had also become increasingly unable to control his own fate.
A little fish might still have a chance to slip through the net. Once it became a big fish, it could only wait to be slaughtered.
Unless it had the ability to achieve Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate and transform directly into a True Dragon.
The seven-stringed zither's notes were peaceful and upright, accompanied by the clear, tranquil flute. The music was winding and beautiful, stirring the soul, as though the zither and flute were asking and answering one another.
The zither notes gradually rose in pitch, while the flute slowly sank lower. Yet the low flute notes did not cease, like wisps of silk drifting in the wind, continuous and unending. Yin and yang, a man's iron-blooded loyal heart and a woman's tender, chivalrous soul.
Though the jade zither carried ringing notes and seemed to contain the intent of slaughter, beneath the flute's refined, winding narration, hardened steel was transformed into soft silk wrapped around the fingers.
The zither and flute sang in harmony, and the zither notes also gained gentleness. The two sounds rose and fell, then suddenly changed. Though the zither and flute became endlessly intricate and varied, every note remained measured and resonant, pleasing to the ear and moving to the heart...
The flute was melodious and crisp, like a clear moon and gentle breeze, representing progress, sunlight, and goodness. The zither was deep and rich, ancient and grand, representing experience, the vicissitudes of life, and great enlightenment. They complemented one another as yin and yang. It was not killing music like the Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song, nor the music of the immortal path. Yet after prosperity faded and the song ended, after people scattered, it contained a realm of Dao Heart amid the ordinary.
"Gold scales are never meant for a pond; once they encounter wind and clouds, they transform into dragons.
"Brother Yunfei, the great road stretches long and far. Though the path is blocked and long, if you keep walking, you will arrive. If you never cease moving forward, the future is worth looking forward to."
Jiang Ming withdrew his hand from the zither and gently stroked its strings as he looked at Hua Yunfei. That had truly felt wonderful. Unable to resist, he offered a word of guidance.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, Nine Heavens Divine Light descended where Nannan was sleeping, like the legendary light of Jieyin, the light of ascension.