"Yes. I showed a talent for singing from a young age, and the Family has always trained me in that direction."
Qi Tianque said. He didn't object to the Family's approach. Given the Family's circumstances at the time, he hadn't had a choice, and being able to make use of his talent had been a blessing amid misfortune.
"Oh, since Tianque has a performance too, why don't you team up with him for it, Wanmeng? What do you think?"
The moment Qingzhu finished speaking, Wanmeng's cheeks turned bright red. Qi Tianque turned to look at her. "Huh? You have a performance too, Sister Wanmeng? So that means you went to have an outfit custom-made today!"
Qingzhu's eyes lit up. A custom-made outfit? Wanmeng hadn't mentioned that to her.
"Wanmeng, have you already had the outfit made? Let me see, let me see!"
"Uh... well... um..."
"Oh, come on, dear Wanmeng. Your performance needs a pianist anyway, and Tianque's right here. Why don't you two perform it together for us? Think of it as an early rehearsal. You wouldn't want Lord Arbiter of Life to see you fumbling through stiff dance moves, would you?"
Qingzhu smiled teasingly. Strange as it was, her words struck a chord with Wanmeng.
That's right. What if I embarrass myself and Lord Arbiter of Life doesn't like it? Looks like I do need to rehearse.
"I-I'm not doing it for any of those other reasons. I'm worried that if I embarrass myself, I'll lose face as the Master Diviner. Yes, that's it."
Xiahou Chan rested his chin in his hand and watched the two with a smile. Although Qingzhu was his superior in rank, in his eyes, she was a dependable little sister.
And Wanmeng was the little sister who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, with a bit of a tsundere streak.
In the end, after Qingzhu's "kind persuasion," Wanmeng went home to change. When Xiahou Chan saw her leave, he gave Qingzhu a thumbs-up.
Wanmeng usually wore her Divination Commission uniform, and her other casual clothes were just long pants and long sleeves. But her performance this time was a dance, so Xiahou Chan was very curious what Wanmeng would look like in a long dress.
But as a man, he couldn't very well ask, so the task had fallen to Qingzhu. Sure enough, Qingzhu had lived up to expectations, and Wanmeng had ultimately succumbed to her silver tongue.
Seeing Xiahou Chan's gesture, Qingzhu put her hands on her hips. "Keep it down, keep it down. Just a routine job."
"Sister Qingzhu, what if Sister Wanmeng catches on and realizes you were tricking her?"
Qi Tianque leaned over and asked curiously. The smile on Qingzhu's face stiffened for a moment before she pressed a hand on his head. "Kids shouldn't talk so much. Talk too much and you'll get into trouble."
Qingzhu "fiercely" pinched Qi Tianque's cheek. Feeling a slight sting, he played along and cried out, "Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! Sister Qingzhu, I was wrong!"
Fifteen minutes later
A flash of red entered the courtyard. With her breathtaking face and shapely figure, the blush on her cheeks stood out against her long, silver-white hair. In that moment, everything in the courtyard paled before her.
"W-why are you looking at me like that? Does this outfit look strange?"
The three snapped out of their shock, and Xiahou Chan, as the eldest, was the first to reassure her.
"No, no, no, it looks good. Really good. I just didn't expect our usually prim and proper Lord Diviner to look like this in a dress."
Xiahou Chan had never imagined she would look this good, even though he had prepared himself for it. After all, Wanmeng's beauty was plain to see. She was already stunning, so she surely wouldn't look bad in a dress. He just hadn't expected her to look this good.
"Wanmeng, you look absolutely gorgeous! You look so good in a dress, so why don't you ever wear one? If you went out in a dress, you'd attract a whole crowd of admirers!"
Qingzhu considered herself a beauty too, but she looked down at her own clothes, then at Wanmeng. Hmm... a woman who can't see her toes when she looks down is a peerless beauty. I'm so jealous. What do I do?
She had a chest too, but not enough to hide her toes when she looked down. Wanmeng's, on the other hand... Damn it, what do I do about this sudden jealousy?
"Sister Wanmeng, you look absolutely amazing! None of the singers from the Iris Family I've seen are as beautiful as you!"
Wanmeng's face grew even redder as she listened to their praise. "Ahem, a-all right. Weren't we going to rehearse? Tianque, you'll accompany me. Here's the sheet music."
Wanmeng handed the sheet music to Qi Tianque, while Xiahou Chan carried the piano out of the house and gently set it down in the courtyard.
Qi Tianque looked over the sheet music, humming the tune softly. After a moment, he nodded. "Mm, I'm ready, Sister Wanmeng."
Wanmeng nodded and stood on the other side of the piano. Qi Tianque sat down on the bench, while Qingzhu and Xiahou Chan brought over two chairs and sat quietly five meters away as the audience.
"Ding~"
The keys were pressed, and a melodious piano tune rang out. Wanmeng raised one hand toward the sky. The sky had darkened at some point, and the white moon seemed to rest in her palm. Her long, silver-white hair looked even more sacred in the moonlight.
Qingzhu and Xiahou Chan watched, dumbstruck. Qi Tianque and Wanmeng seemed immersed in a world of their own, undisturbed by anything around them.
Above the courtyard, Ayinai stood quietly, holding a cube in her hand-a cube that constantly changed shape.
"This thing seems better suited as a gift for this little fellow."
Ayinai kept her eyes on Qi Tianque. She had originally intended to give the thing in her hand to Qingzhu. Of her two Emanators, Xiahou Chan already had a weapon she had given him, but Qingzhu still used a weapon forged from ordinary metal.
The blacksmith of the Xianzhou Daiyu: "? Ordinary metal? This weapon was forged from the toughest material on the market, aside from the crystal walls of Qlipoth the Preservation! What? You say Lord Arbiter of Life was the one who said that?
"Oh, then Lord Arbiter of Life was quite right. This material is indeed an ordinary thing. How could a material that melts so easily be used to forge a weapon for Lord Helmsman?"
But now, she had found a little fellow better suited to it. A Halovian genius-he truly lived up to the name.
Ayinai didn't go down, remaining where she was above them. Once Qi Tianque's performance neared its end, she left.
The cube, meanwhile, dimmed its glow and floated above Qi Tianque's head.
The music ended, and the dance stopped. The moment the two of them came to a halt, the cube above Qi Tianque's head burst into light and plunged into the piano.
Before the four's astonished eyes, the piano made from Purifying Tree wood turned gold and white, with green stripes decorating it. Musical notes danced on every key, and the entire piano gave off a noble aura. Hidden beneath that nobility, however, was a keen killing intent-but the moment Qi Tianque placed his hand on it, the killing intent vanished without a trace.
"Is this... from Lord Arbiter of Life? For me?"
Only Lord Arbiter of Life could perform such a miracle. Qingzhu and Xiahou Chan nodded. As Emanators of an Aeon, they had indeed sensed Ayinai's presence, confirming that she had just been there.