Echoes of the Past (I)

"This place is so dilapidated, is my sister really here?" Yangyang's tone was full of deep doubt.

"Who knows? Maybe there's something else out there inside," Xiao Ling said, stroking his chin.

When he saw this place, he had a slight doubt that he had really gone to the wrong place, but after thinking about it carefully, there was no big problem. Since it was a kidnapping scene, the more remote the location, the better. But the problem was that this dilapidated old house was not only deserted, but also in disrepair, looking like it would collapse with a gust of wind.

"Wait a minute, Xiao Yu, let me probe their strength first."

Yangyang clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and felt every rustle of grass and wind in this area.

"Hmm... I'm sure, my sister really did disappear here, but her frequency stopped at the doorway." Yangyang told Xiao Ling everything she had discovered, "It's like she vanished into thin air."

"A living person can't just disappear into thin air, let alone Sister Suisui," Xiao Ling deduced. "Unless... there's a mysterious realm here that shouldn't exist."

"... Sonoro!"

"Hey, that's right, really smart." Xiao Ling snapped her fingers. "Now it's my turn."

Xiao Ling walked up to Yangyang and activated his ability. His golden eyes shone brightly, like molten gold.

A moment later, Xiao Ling blinked, and his golden eyes dimmed.

"I'm sure there's a Sonoro inside, but the workmanship is quite rough. I estimate this space will collapse on its own by tomorrow morning at the latest," Xiao Ling deduced. "As for the entrance, I reckon we should be teleported inside once we push that door open."

"But why would something like this be here...?"

Sonoro is a unique product of the planet Solaris, a separate quadrant independent of the main world. However, this is the real world, so the existence of such a thing here seems illogical.

Xiao Ling thought that this was most likely the work of a certain fox fairy sister who loved to watch the drama unfold, since only she could do something like this.

"Whatever the situation, let's go in and explore first." Xiao Ling strode towards the creaking door. "At least we need to make sure this Sonoro doesn't pose a threat to the real world."

Now, after countless times of merging and combining with the girls, his physical strength is sufficient to deal with threats from Solaris. Even if a few Tacet Discord suddenly appear, he can easily handle them.

"Okay." Yangyang followed closely behind Xiao Ling to the door.

"By the way, let me warn you first, this teleportation channel is very unstable. We might get separated once we go in," Xiao Ling warned beforehand.

"I'm fine, but Xiao Yu, you..." Yangyang's eyes revealed deep worry.

"It's alright, I can protect myself now," Xiao Ling said confidently with a smile. "Get ready, three, two, one!"

The two pushed open the old wooden door side by side, then stepped into thin air, and a violent sense of weightlessness and endless darkness quickly enveloped them.

After an unknown amount of time, in the boundless darkness, Xiao Ling saw a beam of light at the end.

"Looks like that's the end..."

He dared not be negligent and immediately got into position to land gracefully.

Then...

Plop!

Very well, a perfect zero score. Hajiling, you're fired.

"I'm so powerful, but I've had a bad start..." Xiao Ling had fallen face-first into the mud, struggled to get up and began to look around.

"No, where did you get this for me?"

He was standing in the courtyard of a family's house. The surrounding buildings were simple and elegant, clearly belonging to a scholarly family. From time to time, the sounds of string and wind instruments and reciting poetry could be heard.

"Red beans grow in the south, how many branches will sprout in spring? I wish you would gather more, for this is the most poignant symbol of longing..." Ah, what sorrowful verses...

The voice was very young, yet it felt incredibly familiar to Xiao Ling, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"Yangyang, so you're here! I've been looking for you for so long!" another girl's voice, though still somewhat mature, said.

Wait, Yangyang?

Xiao Ling suddenly realized that if he wasn't mistaken, he had traveled back to when Yangyang and Suisui children, and this was their family's courtyard.

But then again, since I've arrived here like an alien, will they notice...?

"Hey? Sis! When did that person get there?!"

Okay, they can see it.

"Who are you?!" Suisui immediately became alert upon seeing Xiao Ling out of nowhere, instantly shielding the curious Yangyang behind her. "State your name, or I'll call for help!"

666, is this an identity crisis right from the start...?

Just as Xiao Ling was racking her brains to come up with a reasonable explanation, a strong male voice broke the tense atmosphere.

"Yangyang, Suisui, what's all this commotion?"

A middle-aged man with a straight posture strode into the courtyard and faced the three people inside. His long robe was neat and crisp, and he was holding a book in his hand, so he must have been reading in the study.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the father the Yang Sui sisters were talking about, the one who raised many famous officials.

"Oh? It seems we have an uninvited guest in our home." Upon seeing Xiao Ling, the schoolteacher did not immediately react, but instead prepared to test the waters.

"Young master, your attire doesn't suit this area, yet you've appeared so abruptly in my courtyard. Could it be that you harbor ill intentions?"

"Sir, you misunderstand. I only came here by chance and had no ill intentions. I hope you will be lenient and not blame me for my overstepping."

"If you hope I'll make an exception for you, you might as well introduce yourself, so as to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings between us."

After a moment of quick thinking, Xiao Ling smiled politely, raised his hands in a bow, and said, "Junior Xiao Ling greets sir. As for my identity, well... I should be considered a street singer, right?"

"A street singer? Perhaps you're also skilled in music?"

"Not really, but I know a little bit of folk songs from all over the country."

"I see," the schoolteacher nodded. "In that case, why don't you give a performance right here and let me see how you, a street singer, can move people with your voice?"

Wow, I dug my own hole and jumped right in...

Xiao Ling sighed inwardly. Things had come to this point; he had no choice but to resort to that one move!

So he cleared his throat and began to sing "The Tale of the Azure Plume".

Although his singing voice isn't exactly beautiful, as long as he conveys the emotions effectively, he'll be more or less sure of passing the identity test.

Upon hearing Tale of the Azure Plume, the schoolteacher's pupils dilated in shock, and even the hand holding the book began to tremble.

The fact that this long-lost folk song is being sung again by this strangely dressed boy is enough to show that he is no ordinary person!