It was the fifteenth day since he had arrived at the Golden Aspect Sect.
It was also the day of his departure.
That morning, the sound of a pipa drifted out of Wind Lotus Retreat.
When the piece ended, Yunqi applauded. "Jiangnan, your mastery of music is certainly impressive."
Jiang Nanjing had carefully selected "Wang Hui's Farewell-to-Teacher Song." Its melody was clear and lilting, its string tones delicate. At times, the low notes murmured like sobs, as though grieving over parting; at others, the high notes rang brightly like laughter, as though rejoicing at having mastered an art.
Yunqi sighed. "Far better than your other skills."
Jiangnan was so embarrassed that he could not raise his head.
Yunqi changed the subject. "That was 'Wang Hui's Farewell-to-Teacher Song,' wasn't it? My mother is also skilled at the pipa, but my father prefers the zither, so she often accompanies him on the se. I seldom hear her play the pipa."
Jiangnan replied, "So your father and mother are both great masters of music."
Yunqi waved a hand. "Hardly masters. They merely cultivate their spirits in their spare time."
Then, as though remembering something, he asked, "What piece did you use when you attacked the Thin Daoist that day? I'd never heard it before. It sounded utterly fierce, like a bird of prey battling across the vast sky. It was unfamiliar to me."
Jiangnan answered, "It was 'Sea-Eagle Seizing the Swan Song,' a northern piece from the former Yuan dynasty."
Yunqi nodded. That explained it.
Nanjing looked at the pipa in his hands and said:
"I actually prefer the zither too, but the zither places greater emphasis on intent than technique, making it much harder to cultivate with. That is why I usually rely on the pipa to protect myself."
Seeing that the soundboard of his pipa had a rich yellow hue, the color of apricot flesh and the texture of ivory, Yunqi asked, "What material is your soundboard made of?"
"Ivory-jade yellow sandalwood, from Qiongzhou Island. Sandalwood is firm and dense, well suited to music, and has beautiful grain, so it is also called musical wood. Paulownia shares these qualities, which is why most famous pipas, zithers, and se zithers under heaven are made from sandalwood or paulownia."
Yunqi nodded. He knew all this as well.
"But I have heard of a famous zither that is made from neither sandalwood nor paulownia, yet ranks among the ten great zithers. Have you heard of it, benefactor?"
Yunqi shook his head.
"There is a famous zither-making lineage in Shu, the Lei clan, whose zither craftsmanship has been renowned throughout the world since the Sui and Tang dynasties. Their instruments are called Lei Zithers, and stand in a class of their own.
"The Lei clan has made zithers for generations, producing more than ten celebrated masters. Among today's ten great zithers, the Nine Heavens Ringed with Jade, the Great Sage's Legacy, the Flying Spring, White Waterfall, the Withered Wood, Dragon's Cry, and the Colorful Phoenix Singing at Qi are all Lei Zithers.
"Most famous zithers are made from paulownia, but among the Lei clan was an immortal craftsman who rose to fame during the High Tang. He was Master Lei Wei, also respectfully known as Immortal Lei.
"Immortal Lei never confined his zither-making to a single mold. He often had marvelous, unusual ideas, which earned him the title of immortal craftsman, and the zithers he made were called Immortal-grade Zithers. Of the ten great zithers today, four have been verified as his work. Other famous zithers said to have been made by him either remain unverified or are attributed to him on flimsy grounds, so they cannot be counted for now.
"The Nine Heavens Ringed with Jade, the Great Sage's Legacy, and the Colorful Phoenix Singing at Qi that I just mentioned are all Immortal-grade Zithers. But besides these three, another of the ten great zithers was made by Immortal Lei, and is hailed as a rare treasure even among immortal instruments."
As he spoke, Jiang Nanjing seemed to become immersed in the tale, recounting it in a gentle, flowing voice:
"It was during the High Tang, when Immortal Lei's fame had spread throughout the world. Master Lei had a close friend, a dragonkin Green Chi-Dragon. One winter, heavy snow sealed the mountains, and Immortal Lei and the Green Chi-Dragon drank and sang heartily there. Naturally, as Immortal Lei's close friend, the Green Chi-Dragon was also a great master of music. After getting drunk, the dragon asked Immortal Lei to make a zither.
"Immortal Lei readily agreed. They were drinking in a pine forest at the time, so he picked up his axe and wandered through that sea of trees and snowy wilderness. Whenever he saw a pine with an ancient, unusual shape, he stopped beneath it to listen to the wind blowing through its branches.
"Choosing in this fashion, he found an ancient pine that gave forth a lingering, melodious sound in the wind, as though weeping and telling its sorrows. He used the material at hand, felling the pine to make a zither.
"The finished zither was in the Fuxi Style, and he named it 'Heavenly Wind Over Pine and Snow.'"
Jiang Nanjing swayed his head, as though he himself stood in that snowy mountain pine forest.
Yunqi's heart, however, reeled!
It was Heavenly Wind Over Pine and Snow!
Within Three Pure Ones Mountain, in Pine Green Lake, the young Green Chi-Dragon had held an ancient zither with four seal-script characters inscribed on its underside-Heavenly Wind Over Pine and Snow!
That Green Chi-Dragon was young, and could not possibly have been Immortal Lei's close friend. How had it come to Three Pure Ones Mountain? What connection was there between Immortal Lei's Green Chi-Dragon friend and the young dragon in Pine Green Lake? And where was that friend now?
Though his heart surged, Yunqi remained calm and unruffled on the surface. He asked with apparent curiosity, "Heavenly Wind Over Pine and Snow is so extraordinary. I would dearly love to hear its immortal music. Do you know when it last appeared and was played?"
Jiang Nanjing shook his head. "Heavenly Wind Over Pine and Snow has not appeared for a very long time. But I heard that sixty years ago, a great battle took place in Shu, when the Daoist sects there joined forces to hunt down a Green Chi-Dragon. I don't know whether that was the owner of Heavenly Wind Over Pine and Snow."
Yunqi's heart shook again, but all he said was,
"I see."
After the performance and their brief conversation, two burly servants of the Jiang family carried a wooden chest into the retreat.
The servants opened the chest.
Yunqi glanced inside. Instead of the nail snails he had originally wanted, the chest was packed with stacks of talisman arrow blanks, their shafts hollow and their casings free of restrictions!
Yunqi looked at Jiang Nanjing.
Jiang Nanjing was a little nervous. "You may not know this, benefactor, but my family trades in talisman arrows. The Little Coiled-Ear Nail Snails you wanted have almost no use besides making talisman arrows, so we naturally guessed your intentions. Please rest assured. Our business may be small, but providing these things amounts to no more than a single hair from nine oxen. This is hardly an expensive gift. We only ask that you neither disdain it nor take offense."
Yunqi let out a long breath through his nose, truly at a loss for words. With the Golden Aspect Sect so lavish, did the "gold" in its name refer to metal among the five elements, or gold as money?!
And to think I even took apart the Thin Daoist's talisman arrows and worked Autumn Water into my plans. Everything was ready, lacking only the magical snails, yet they went ahead and prepared it all for me.
It was like putting endless thought into preparing a lavish feast, only to find oneself short of salt. Yet when one went to borrow some, the other party proved so generous that they brought over an entire table of dishes instead!
The feeling was peculiar indeed.
Yunqi bowed with clasped hands in thanks, then circulated his magical power and drew the wooden chest toward him. As it approached the Cave Stone on his wrist, the chest suddenly vanished, as though falling into some unknown space.
"I have imposed on you quite a bit these past few days. I shall take my leave now."
Yunqi spoke to Nanjing.
Nanjing nodded and led Yunqi outside.
At Bright Light Hall's lakeside ferry landing, Jiang Yanxing, Jiang Yuexing and his wife, and Daoist Manifest Tranquility were all present.
Yunqi bowed to each of them in farewell, then summoned the Dragon Chariot.
Jiang Yanxing stepped forward and offered him an object-a jade slip.
"Since you insist that we not escort you, Daoist, please be sure to accept this. It is a Lake Territory Map of Poyang Lake, recording the boundaries of the various sects and powerful lineages, as well as marking secret realms and dangerous places. As an outstanding disciple of Three Pure Ones Mountain, you naturally need not fear challenges from sects or lineages, but there are certain secret realms where you would still be better off not risking yourself. Please do accept it."
Yunqi accepted it, feeling that the Golden Aspect Sect truly had its exceptional strengths to have maintained its foothold on Poyang Lake to this day.
After putting away the jade slip and bidding everyone farewell, Yunqi stepped onto the Dragon Chariot and rode the clouds south. He had originally intended to travel west to the Southern Wastes, so naturally he would now head south to where he had been before continuing west.
Poyang Lake was vast beyond compare. He had arrived carried upon the wind by a second-realm expert, but now he was returning alone on a cloud. With all the twists and turns along the way, the journey actually took eight to ten hours.
Yunqi returned to the place where Jiang Nanjing had encountered the Thin Daoist. Seeing no one around, he put away his cloud conveyance and plunged headfirst into the lake.
Here is the first chapter. Please vote and recommend the story, and feel free to leave comments and messages!
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