A Melody of Homesickness

White as snow, the jade felt warm and smooth to the touch.

Su Mo gently stroked the jade flute, memories of his past life filling his eyes.

He had studied, graduated, and worked, scraping by in misery at the bottom of society. He had fought, pressed on, and struggled, only to discover that no matter what he did, he could find nothing to believe in. Lost and bewildered, he had nevertheless lived on with stubborn strength...

Fate seemed to have given Su Mo another chance, but had denied him the right to choose.

Defiance, helplessness, compromise, acceptance, and anticipation-the passage through those emotions formed a famous four-character saying from his past life.

"Well, I'm already here..."

He emerged from his daze, as though he had suddenly let go of a few things.

His gaze cleared, and half his drunkenness faded.

Can I still play...? Su Mo smiled and held the jade flute sideways to his lips.

Let me get a feel for it first... Su Mo pondered briefly. "Back in my past life, what was the first tune I learned when I took up the flute?"

Oh... I think it was... Two Tigers!

Luo Yin was utterly puzzled. "Surely it couldn't have been dropped somewhere?"

Looking embarrassed, Gu Yu said guiltily, "The Heart Flute is a spirit artifact. Have you ever heard of a spirit artifact getting dropped somewhere?"

"True... the Heart Flute is a spirit artifact. How could it be lost? It seems it doesn't wish to help me break through. Perhaps we simply aren't destined for each other." Luo Yin sounded sorrowful and aggrieved. Here came the side effects of the Music Dao: pouring emotion into her zither music day after day had made her feelings more sensitive than those of ordinary people, leaving her prone to grieving for the world, wallowing in self-pity, and drowning in melancholy.

Gu Yu rolled his eyes and waved impatiently. "You woman, there you go again... the Heart Flute has only just awakened its intelligence, and it's terribly mischievous. It must have come across something interesting on the way and slipped off."

Luo Yin turned back and gently stroked the Ink Zither... My Ink Zither is still the best, so obedient and sensible!

"I'm the one who should have a headache. I still don't know how I'm going to explain this to my teacher when I return to the academy." Gu Yu pinched the bridge of his nose, looking miserable. "Let's hope it heads back to the academy on its own once it's had enough fun."

"At worst, I'll find another chance to steal it out for you..."

"Mm-hmm." Luo Yin was deeply touched.

As they spoke, both suddenly froze and turned toward the pavilion window.

A flute melody drifted in from somewhere not far beyond the window.

The flute sounded playful and lively, its tune skipping along like children romping together.

It's the Heart Flute... Luo Yin and Gu Yu exchanged a glance.

The Heart Flute's voice was lilting and full of spiritual vitality. Its tone was clean and pure, without a trace of impurity. To these two experts, a single listen was enough to recognize the spirit artifact known as the Heart Flute. More importantly... the Heart Flute had just gone missing.

"What nonsense is this person playing?" Gu Yu frowned in distaste. He was about to rise and check on the Heart Flute when Luo Yin caught his sleeve.

"Wait..."

Gu Yu looked at Luo Yin as she held him back, his face full of confusion.

"Don't you think this tune is interesting?" Luo Yin narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, actually listening closely. She had never heard such a peculiar melody.

Su Mo was playing the legendary kindergarten tune from his past life: Two Tigers. An essential practice piece for beginners learning all sorts of instruments, its melody was simple and lively, playful and charming.

"Who's being so mischievous...?" Luo Yin smiled radiantly. "This is clearly a nursery rhyme for children at play. Playing it on the Heart Flute... really is... fitting!"

Gu Yu stared speechlessly at his close friend.

He was just about to tease her when he heard the flute melody fade away.

A new tune rose, no longer playful but graceful and beautiful-a melody Gu Yu had never heard before.

Luo Yin and Gu Yu looked at each other as they listened, both stunned.

I can no longer tell whether I'm mourning those days or the people who were part of them... Su Mo's lips trembled slightly as he closed his eyes and played.

Then let a melody from those days bid farewell to the dreams of that time!

Old Dream... was the piece Su Mo had performed in a competition during his school days in his past life, winning the championship in an interschool contest with it. It was the perfect embodiment of that period.

Old Dream... longing for the past, longing for dreams, and longing for home.

Offering remembrance, answering with farewell...

In February, many scholars and poets gathered at Riverboat Pavilion in Capital City, solely because Master Luo Yin, the reincarnation of the Music God, often played her zither there.

Anyone fortunate enough to hear Master Luo perform a piece would have something to boast about in conversation.

Some even traveled a thousand miles just to hear Master Luo play.

Master Luo had originally performed only occasionally, but lately she had been playing every day. Rumor had it that she pursued enlightenment through music, and her cultivation had now stalled. Presumably, she hoped to gather her zither intent through daily performances and break through in one stroke.

Thus, visitors streamed into Riverboat Pavilion every day: scholars, warriors, powerful officials, and dignitaries... whoever they were, all possessed considerable wealth.

Having just listened to Master Luo perform, everyone inside seemed to have wandered beyond the heavens in spirit, each absorbed in their own thoughts and yearning for more.

"Truly worthy of being the Music God's reincarnation. This piece alone is enough to establish Master Luo as the foremost practitioner of the Music Dao under heaven," a wealthy merchant said, shaking his head with a soft sigh.

"That's nothing. I heard someone from the palace came to listen the other day, and after returning, the music haunted their waking thoughts and dreams day and night. If not for the constraints of their position, they would surely linger here every day as well," said an official of unknown standing beside him, curling his lip.

"Indeed, indeed!" someone nearby agreed.

"Such music belongs only in heaven; how often can mortal ears hear it?"

"Today's performance is over. I suppose she won't play again until tomorrow. I'll have to come back then."

A wealthy visitor from out of town spoke lavishly, regretting only that he had not heard enough.

Just then...

A flute melody suddenly drifted in from outside the pavilion, startling everyone. Their expressions turned exceedingly odd, chiefly because both the circumstances and the tune were strange.

The strange thing about the circumstances was that someone actually dared play a flute outside Master Luo's door. They were simply inviting humiliation.

The strange thing about the melody was that none of them had ever heard it before. Playful and merry, it sounded like children romping about, or as though someone were deliberately using such a tune to tease Master Luo.

Before anyone could react, the playful flute melody faded, and another tune rose.

This new piece was an exquisitely beautiful melody that none of them had heard either.

Its notes flowed without pause, its voice lilting, its melody fresh and unfamiliar. It was like a youth leaving home, finding detachment in middle age, then looking back in old age only to encounter another youth departing from his homeland. This

flute piece was unlike ordinary melodies, with their delicate twists and turns. Instead, it seemed to establish a school of its own, expressing the heart directly.

Music understood the human heart; whatever a performer thought or felt would unknowingly reveal itself through the meaning within the melody.

Someone's eyes widened as though they had discovered a new continent.

"I just saw someone from the academy go upstairs in the pavilion," someone said softly.

"So it's him..." someone said, understanding dawning.

"Who is he?" asked someone who did not know.

"Master Luo's intimate friend. His skill in the Music Dao may fall short of hers, but he is still a musical prodigy seen only once in a century," someone explained.

"Then this flute music..." someone said uncertainly.

"It must be that sword cultivator from the academy," someone declared.

Who else would dare joke around with Master Luo like this, and who else could play such a piece?

Someone felt a chill against their neck. That man had a fearsome reputation...