"Then do you have time to teach me?" Pei Ye smiled. "I can pay tuition... ten taels."
Qu Xin looked up. "I can play the zither."
Li Piaoqing said, "Deduct one tael."
Changsun Jue's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Young Hero Pei Ye wants to learn the zither?... There's no need for tuition."
He looked a little embarrassed.
"Yes, there's a sword technique I need to practice. Director Qiu said I'd best learn the zither first, master three pieces, and then learn the sword technique."
Changsun Jue was quite interested. "Which three?"
"'Guangling,' 'Yu's Assembly at Tushan,' and 'Lord of Water and Clouds,'" Pei Ye said. "Can you play them, Fellow Student Changsun?"
"..."
"What is it?"
The young man smiled helplessly. "Fellow Student Pei, you really are formidable at everything you do... I don't even have the scores for those pieces. Even if I did, I couldn't learn them myself, much less teach you."
He thought for a moment. "To play pieces like those well, you'll have to find a genuine Grandmaster of Musical Arts, Fellow Student Pei."
The Divine Capital shouldn't lack grandmasters of musical arts... but asking one to teach me would certainly cost more than ten taels. Pei Ye smiled. "All right, I'll keep looking."
Then the green-clad figure leaning against the table beside him with a smile gave him a tug. Pei Ye cupped his fist. "Piaoqing and I will be leaving, then. We still have things to do this afternoon."
"Goodbye, Young Hero Pei."
"Goodbye, President Younger Li."
Pei Ye and the girl in the green skirt descended the stairs. Everyone in the building had been sent away, leaving it empty and quiet.
The sunlight outside was no longer so bright either, softening as it sank. As they stepped outside, even the sounds from