"Oh? Let me see."
Sure enough, Shang Qingzheng stopped dwelling on what had happened earlier and leaned her head closer in curiosity.
Jiang Yang quickly laid the scroll on the desk and slowly unrolled it, saying with a smile:
"This is the Phoenix-Approaching Score, a musical score I discovered by chance. I know nothing about music theory, so I thought I would bring it for you to look at."
"A musical score!"
Shang Qingzheng exclaimed in surprise. From its appearance, she had assumed it was a painting, never imagining it would be a musical score. She then turned her gaze to the scroll on the desk.
The materials used for the score were exquisite. Once unfurled, it revealed pale purple patterns at its four corners and densely inscribed arcane characters across its surface. In the hand, it felt soft as brocade, yet exceptionally resilient.
The way the score was written differed from records of cultivation methods and spells, carrying the flavor of cultivators from ancient times. Most of it consisted of mysterious symbols, circles and dots that made the viewer's head spin.
"Uh..."
Jiang Yang gave up after a couple of glances. Every discipline had its specialists, and this clearly was not a field he ought to venture into.
Shang Qingzheng stole a couple of glances at Jiang Yang, then lowered her head, secretly amused, and explained:
"The Musical Dao has different schools, too. In high antiquity, it was still in its infancy. Back then, they believed it 'could only be grasped in the heart, not conveyed in words,' so they left no written records. All that has survived to this day are ancient sounds like hums and chants..."
As she spoke, she tapped the scroll on the desk and said:
"This scroll was clearly composed during Middle Antiquity. The