Hidden Dragon Temple.
After dinner, Zhou Wuji had intended to return to his room to cultivate, but Wuming dragged him out for a walk.
The Daoist temple stood on the southern slope of Huamei Mountain. Emerald bamboo covered the sun-facing hillside, and a grove of osmanthus trees grew at the temple's western corner.
It was October, and snowy-white osmanthus blossoms covered the trees. Whenever the wind stirred, their rich fragrance flowed throughout the temple and clung to everyone's clothes.
Wuming had already wandered through the osmanthus grove several times. When Zhou Wuji finally returned, she hurriedly grabbed him to take another stroll with her.
The half-moon had only just risen. Beneath its faint light, the grove was rather dim. At a glance, the profusion of blossoms resembled snow drifting across the sky, while the branches, leaves, and trunks remained unseen, lending the scene a charm of its own.
Wandering through the flowering grove beside Wuming, Zhou Wuji felt that the delicate fragrance emanating from the beauty at his side far surpassed the scent of osmanthus.
What a pity, he thought. Their Daoist robes had sleeves so wide that holding hands was rather inconvenient.
After walking for a while, Wuming found a protruding boulder and sat down. Her sparkling eyes rested on Zhou Wuji as she asked softly, "Senior brother, do you like the flute? Shall I play you a tune?"
"Of course." Seeing that a beauty wanted to show off her talents, Zhou Wuji naturally welcomed it wholeheartedly.
Wuming's cheeks flushed slightly. This was the first time she had offered to play for someone, and she felt both delighted and shy.
She took a seven-holed jade flute from her sleeve. Polished from fine white jade, it had a warm, lustrous texture and measured exactly one foot long.
Although Zhou Wuji knew little about such things, he could tell that this jade flute was worth quite a bit.
Someone who carried three Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talismans really was a child of a wealthy family.
Just then, a shaft of moonlight fell through the blossoms and leaves, shining directly on Wuming's blue lapels and jade flute.
Beneath the gentle moonlight, the jade flute had a soft, mellow sheen, yet it could not compare to the supple red lips playing it.
Wuming had no idea what Zhou Wuji was thinking. Holding the jade flute, she began to play.
The lilting, clear, lovely notes were like a bird flying joyfully through the woods, now soaring high, now circling low.
They were also like a young maiden dancing lightly among the trees, her graceful, charming figure so weightless and nimble.
Although Zhou Wuji knew little about music, he could hear the joy and exuberance in the flute's notes.
Does Wuming really see me as her sweetheart? Or am I hearing it wrong?
He might have misheard the flute, but he could not have mistaken the tenderness and brightness flowing through Wuming's eyes.
When the tune ended, Wuming held her jade flute and looked at Zhou Wuji, her bright eyes full of expectation. She was clearly waiting for his appraisal.
Zhou Wuji applauded softly in admiration. "I don't understand music, but I felt as though a bird were darting through the woods before soaring straight into the heavens. It was lively and joyous, yet lofty, exquisite, and clear."
"You truly understand music, senior brother. This piece, 'Partridges in Flight,' expresses the joy of birds flying freely..."
Seeing that Zhou Wuji really understood, Wuming was overjoyed. Her jade flute had truly found someone who understood its music!
Zhou Wuji recited softly, "A grove of pale blossoms charmed the clear light; rich osmanthus fragrance steeped the bones. Worthy of the Mystic Maiden playing her jade flute, the moon floated in the southern sky, shining on blue robes."
Since childhood, Wuming had studied Daoist texts and had only a passing familiarity with poetry.
She could not tell whether the poem was good or bad. She could only roughly understand that Senior Brother Wuji was praising her as resembling the Mystic Maiden and looking beautiful while playing her jade flute.
Zhou Wuji had cobbled the poem together at random, too. Ever since his awakening, the memories of his previous life had grown increasingly clear.
There had been the internet in his previous life, and he had seen and heard far too many things. Whenever he wished, he could call up those memories.
This poem was one such example.
He had tested her last time and confirmed that Wuming, too, had only a half-filled bottle's worth of knowledge.
Those who understood could not be fooled, while those who did not would find it uninteresting.
Wuming half understood and half did not, which also made her the easiest to fool.
Sure enough, Wuming was deeply touched and delighted. She felt that Senior Brother Wuji understood both music and her, and had even composed a poem especially for her!
Her eyes shone as she gazed straight at Zhou Wuji, brimming with admiration and affection.
But then she lowered her eyes again and said softly, somewhat ashamed, "You're so talented, senior brother, while I don't understand anything. All I can do is play a little tune and fiddle with flying needles..."
"I didn't compose the poem. It was recorded in a text, and I merely borrowed it."
Something suddenly occurred to Zhou Wuji. He said, "I still don't know how to play the flute. Could you teach me, junior sister?"
"You want to learn, senior brother? Of course, of course."
Wuming was very willing to teach Zhou Wuji things. She enjoyed this sort of intimate interaction, and she also liked his terrifying gift for grasping several things from a single example. She felt that as long as her senior brother wanted to learn something, there was nothing he could not master.
"For the seven holes, you do this. Three fingers on each hand cover the holes, and you shape your mouth like this, leaving an opening to blow through..."
Wuming had Zhou Wuji sit down and stood before him, guiding his hands as she taught him.
With so little distance between them and such intimate contact, Wuming's heart could not help racing as she explained the secrets of playing. Her face burned fiercely, too.
Zhou Wuji held the flute as though about to play, but looking at Wuming right before his eyes, at her cheeks so lovely they seemed ready to drip, he could not help saying, "Junior sister, you're truly beautiful."
Delighted, shy, and flustered all at once, Wuming did not know what to say or do and stood frozen.
Zhou Wuji did not stand on ceremony. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. It felt very nice...
Only then did Wuming awaken as though from a dream. Her face turned scarlet, and her heart grew even more flustered. Hastily covering her face, she turned and ran.
"Hey..." Zhou Wuji's heart jolted. Why is she running so fast? Is she going to tell on me?
Then he relaxed again. In this world, surely it would not come to that. Wuming was not that sort of person, either!
Wuming's soft, timid voice drifted back from afar. "It's too late, senior brother. I'm going back to do my daily practice..."
Somewhat amused, Zhou Wuji replied, "See you tomorrow."
Hearing the laughter in Zhou Wuji's voice, Wuming sighed with relief as well. Having run off just like that, she had truly feared her senior brother would be angry with her.
After fiddling with the jade flute beneath the pear blossoms for a while, Zhou Wuji could already play a rough tune.
The first requirement for playing the flute was good breath control. Of course, one did not blow directly into the hole, but against its edge instead, producing what was called an edge tone.
Controlling his breath posed no difficulty whatsoever for Zhou Wuji, who had already advanced to the seventh rank.
Next came nimble fingering that could coordinate with the breath.
Using his perfected Heavenly Pivot Hand to cover flute holes could not have been simpler.
But playing the flute also required an understanding of melody and rhythm, as well as many techniques for directing the breath.
Zhou Wuji found it easy to get started, but reaching Wuming's level immediately would still be rather difficult.
Only after fiddling with the flute for a while did Zhou Wuji stand up. He glanced at the boulder. More than half of it was buried underground, and altogether it measured a full five feet square.
When sword practice tired him out in the past, he had often rested on this rock.
Now, he suddenly felt that the rock was rather regularly shaped. He activated the Five Yin Pouch, and five Yin Spirits turned into black gauze that covered the boulder. In an instant, it vanished without a trace, leaving a pit more than two feet deep in the ground.
After putting away the rock, Zhou Wuji leisurely took out some Ice Silkworm Silk and strung several lines through the osmanthus grove.
He chose spots close to the temple's courtyard wall, stringing the lines three inches above the ground.
If anyone tried to approach the temple through the grove at night, they would trip over the lines.
Not only that, Zhou Wuji also strung several lines in the rear courtyard and the bamboo grove to the east.
With Wuzheng having fished the people of Old Cang Village out, Wu Di would inevitably know that the situation had changed.
There was no telling what the fellow might do, or whether Zhang Xinhu might take a desperate risk.
Even a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist would find it almost impossible to spot Ice Silkworm Silk stretched across the ground in a dark grove.
So long as it caught someone for a moment, it would make an unusual sound. He should be able to hear it.
Of course, a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist could release and withdraw their force at will, so the lines might not prove useful.
In any case, making some preparations in advance was always a good thing.
At the very least, he could flee in this direction when escaping, and the lines might then serve a purpose.
Returning to his room, Zhou Wuji completed his routine practice and opened the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment. Looking at the fate weight of three taels and six mace recorded there, he hesitated.
This was the fate weight left behind by the seventh-rank Devil Cultivator from the Yin Yang Dao, the highest he had obtained.
The other two attendants' fate weights were only a little over two taels, not worth mentioning.
All the way back, Zhou Wuji had been pondering how to use this fate weight.
In terms of his needs, he naturally wanted to improve his swordsmanship or the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture.
If he could truly raise his swordsmanship to the realm of transformation, then together with his True Qi after advancing to the seventh rank and the Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talismans, he should be able to kill Zhang Xinhu head-on.
However, he felt that this fate weight was not substantial enough to raise the realm of his swordsmanship or the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture.
He could improve his other spells, but there was little value in doing so.
After pondering for a while, Zhou Wuji decided to keep this fate weight for now. Once he obtained another of similar weight, he would be able to improve his swordsmanship.
After waking from meditation, he did not close his eyes again. Instead, fully dressed and holding his sword, he sat quietly on his meditation cushion.
In fact, he had not slept the previous night either, sleeping for four hours in the afternoon instead.
Judging by the time, the experts from the lower temple should be arriving soon.
For these next few days, he would sleep with his eyes open and stay carefully on guard. Preparedness warded off trouble!
As Zhou Wuji sat in meditation, his consciousness was clear and empty, hovering between sleep and wakefulness.
In his hazy state, Zhou Wuji heard a muffled thud, immediately rousing him from meditation.