Several Guqin Pieces Played at Night, Quietly Stirring a Beauty's Heart

Heaven Dou City was not as prosperous as Spirit City, but it was far livelier with the bustle of everyday life, especially now, by the lamplit lake at night.

As if to wish Xue Ye's enthronement ceremony a successful conclusion in advance, a great many people had gathered in Heaven Dou City that night, presenting a picture of harmony and merriment.

"Martial uncle, martial uncle, I want a sugar figure!" Bibi Dong said excitedly, pointing at a vendor selling them. She already had plenty of snacks in her hands, and she even had a cat mask perched on her head.

This was her first time seeing such a lively scene, however, and her curiosity was running high. Even when she ran about in the middle of the road, people merely smiled instead of scolding her, making her feel fully immersed in the festivities.

Qian Xunling's expression remained placid, but he said, "Keep eating and you'll grow as fat as a pig. I don't want to carry a pig on my back when we go home."

Bibi Dong stopped, her little face falling. Even the snacks in her hands no longer seemed appetizing. But she looked carefully at herself and shook her head. "Little Spider isn't fat. I won't turn into a pig."

Qian Xunling smiled. "Then go ahead and eat."

"Hmph, fine, I won't." Bibi Dong stopped walking, sulking a little. Just then, several young women, as lovely as orioles and swallows, shyly approached her. One of them crouched down with a sugar figure in her hand and said softly, "Hello, little girl. Here, this is for you."

"Hm?" Bibi Dong looked at her nervously, unsure what to do.

The young man in front of her studied Bibi Dong closely and exclaimed, "What an adorable little girl! You'll definitely be beautiful when you grow up."

"Th... thank you. You're all very beautiful too." Bibi Dong's little face flushed at the compliment. The woman in front of her placed the sugar figure in her hand and asked softly, "Little girl, could you ask your older brother if he'd like some company?"

"You..." In an instant, Bibi Dong understood what the pretty women had in mind. The blush on her little face turned an ashen green, and she immediately returned the sugar figure to the young woman. "My martial uncle only needs me to keep him company. He doesn't need you."

With that, Bibi Dong ran back to Qian Xunling's side. "Martial uncle, let's go somewhere else."

Qian Xunling glanced at the young women and nodded to them. Their hearts fluttered, but Bibi Dong pulled him along. "Martial uncle, we should go."

"I know, I know," Qian Xunling said, at a loss for words.

"Children really are possessive," Qian Xunling remarked. Bibi Dong did not argue. She glanced back and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the women had not followed.

Just then, however, she noticed that her martial uncle had stopped. He was looking at a boat moored in the middle of the water. A large crowd, including quite a few Soul Masters, had gathered around it, listening in rapture to the music being played aboard.

The sound was infused with Soul Power, amplifying it so that everyone by the lake could hear.

"Brother Hao, how about I go up and play a piece too?" Just then, a young woman's voice came from beside Qian Xunling and Bibi Dong.

Qian Xunling turned and saw a blue-haired young woman in plain blue clothes. She had a tranquil bearing and was gazing tenderly at a young man. His looks were ordinary, but he appeared steady and mature.

A slightly older man stood beside them. Smiling at the young woman, he said, "Yuehua, go on. Brother Hao and I are both looking forward to hearing you play."

The silent young man nodded as well. "Mm."

Yuehua? Brother Hao?

Qian Xunling looked at the three of them impassively. Could it really be such a coincidence?

Tang Yuehua turned and saw Qian Xunling. His handsome features surprised her for a moment. Then she gave him a courteous nod and walked toward the boat.

Tang Hao and Tang Xiao also glanced at Qian Xunling.

But they quickly looked away. They seemed unconcerned by his appearance; instead, their whole demeanor conveyed an arrogance toward commoners.

The people nearby seemed to recognize Tang Hao and Tang Xiao and hurriedly moved aside, leaving a space around them. On the boat, Tang Yuehua was respectfully given the central position for the performance. Everyone else was cleared away, a guzheng was brought over, and she prepared to play.

Bibi Dong was a little afraid of Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, but the dismissive looks they gave her martial uncle made her very uncomfortable. She noticed, however, that her martial uncle paid them no mind and was already looking toward the boat.

"Yuehua's Martial Soul is flawed, so she's only been able to occupy herself with music since she was little. She's been gifted at it from a young age. It's sure to sound wonderful," Tang Xiao said with a smile.

Tang Hao nodded. "It should be."

Tang Yuehua plucked the strings with her slender, jade-like hands. The guzheng's gentle notes, elegant and tranquil like the woman herself, spread along the entire lakeshore with the aid of her Soul Power, soothing the hidden hurts and resentments in everyone's hearts.

For those few short minutes, not a stray sound could be heard. Everyone savored the music, which far surpassed what had been played on the boat earlier, until the notes gradually settled into stillness.

Tang Xiao was the first to applaud. "Wonderful!" he shouted.

At his shout, the people on the lakeshore also broke into applause.

Qian Xunling raised his hands and applauded as well. "Very good, very good."

Bibi Dong also thought it was good, but she did not clap.

After the performance, Tang Yuehua hurried off the boat and smiled at Tang Hao. "Brother Hao, did it sound good?"

Tang Hao smiled and nodded. "It did."

"Little Spider, your martial uncle is going to play a piece too. Come along," Qian Xunling said with a smile. He straightened up and strode toward the boat. Bibi Dong nodded and followed him.

Tang Yuehua had only just come down when someone else went up.

Most of the crowd turned their eyes to Qian Xunling.

They were all first struck by his looks, then began to murmur among themselves. It was not only Soul Masters who looked down on commoners; commoners also held deep contempt for one another, as if commoners were beneath everyone else in every respect.

Qian Xunling had concealed all his Soul Power and was no different from an ordinary person.

Tang Xiao said, "Yuehua, let's go."

Tang Yuehua looked at the boat, then at Tang Hao, and nodded. "Let's go."

But before they had taken two steps, the sound of an instrument unlike the guzheng or any other they had heard before came from the boat. The waves of sound were far louder than when Tang Yuehua had played, brimming with boundless confidence.

Tang Yuehua stopped and looked back. "He's so confident! And what instrument is that?"

On the boat, Qian Xunling carefully played a less-than-perfect guqin. He had left everything from the past in Spirit City, and he had slowly carved the guqin before him over the past two months.

He had intended to wait until he had perfected it before showing it to the world, but the mood tonight was just right. It was time to offer a piece in return and bring the evening to a perfect close.

Qian Xunling said, "This piece is called 'Wild Wine.'"

With a sweep of Qian Xunling's fingertips, lively, carefree notes, tinged with wild abandon and leisure, surged outward like the rushing waves of a river, bearing layer upon layer of hidden force.

Unlike Tang Yuehua, who had played with nervous anticipation, Qian Xunling sought only the mood of the piece. In moments, the entire lakeshore, places where the music could be heard and places where it could not, was enveloped in that mood.

The music carried Qian Xunling's carefree, unrestrained spirit, the character of a wanderer as radiant as the moon and stars. The men on the shore listened, enthralled, while the women felt their hearts and bodies stir. It touched every heart.

Young Bibi Dong gazed, spellbound, at her martial uncle, who was absorbed in playing. She too had lost herself in it. She did not understand what emotion this was; she only knew that the martial uncle before her seemed to be an entire world.

The piece ended.

"Hm?"

The men and women on the shore looked toward the boat in surprise.

"Why did it stop?"

Tang Yuehua pressed both hands to her chest and murmured, "I've only just come back to my senses, and the piece is already over."

Beyond that feeling, her eyes had filled with curiosity. She looked toward the boat, a little eager to go aboard and ask what piece he had just played. Perhaps she could discuss it with him for a long time.

Tang Xiao and Tang Hao looked at each other, both wearing expressions of disbelief. Tang Hao asked in puzzlement, "What just happened? I actually lost myself in a piece of music?"

"I didn't expect it either," Tang Xiao said, concealing his embarrassment.

They looked back and found that it was not just them. Everyone who had heard the music, Soul Masters included, stood there in much the same state, bewildered.

Just then, a man near the boat shouted, "Another piece! Another piece!"

The others heard him. Unlike the applause that had followed Tang Yuehua's performance, they all began shouting, "Another piece!"

Tang Yuehua slowly walked toward the boat. Only then did she see that Qian Xunling had already risen and was ready to leave. He heard their calls but had no intention of paying them any mind and prepared to depart.

Bibi Dong's eyes shone, however, and she put on an adorable act. "Martial uncle, play another piece. Martial uncle~"

"Who did you learn that from?" Qian Xunling asked, rolling his eyes.

Bibi Dong did not know either. It was as if she had unlocked it automatically. In any case, she wanted to hear more, so she continued acting cute. "Martial uncle~ I'll be good and listen to you from now on. Just play one more piece~ Your playing is really amazing, martial uncle~ Little Spider likes it best~"

Qian Xunling looked at the others who were gazing at him with the same pleading looks. "All right, I'll grant your wish this once."

Qian Xunling sat back down in his original place and said, "The next piece is called 'Three Variations on the Plum Blossom.'"