Enchanted Sound
Gongyi Xiu should also have been one of the first people to notice the unusual sound of the xiao (vertical flute).
Because the jade flute "Snow Dragon's Roar" at his waist was also passed down from Wanqi Qingzhen. He had been studying music with his master for longer than A Qiu, so he should be more familiar with his master's flute playing.
But he was completely unaware that his master was in trouble.
Because, as the subtle fragrance of "Summer Dreams and Memories" permeated the hall, he was already immersed in the river of memories.
Despite being at a palace banquet before the emperor, with bright lights and flickering candlelight, the dancers moved gracefully and swayed in the breeze.
The figure behind the screen was tall and slender, like a bamboo or a pine tree reflected on the silk screen.
But there is another version of myself from my youth, lying supine in a boat on a midsummer night, using my arm as a pillow, gazing at the starry sky.
As the boat passed by, the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs could be heard from time to time, coming through the reeds.
From the depths of the water, the sweet and refreshing fragrance of lotus blossoms occasionally seeped into the boat.
"Shao'an, what kind of person do you want to be in the future?"
The figure in front of him was a young man in a blue robe and jade belt, sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest. He was unbound and his long hair cascaded down his back, giving him a free and easy appearance.
The voice sounds familiar.
It feels like I just heard it not long ago.
"I will take up my three-foot sword, sweep away the dust from the world, end the current division between North and South, and unify the world!"
His voice was strong and confident as he answered.
The boy in the blue shirt seemed to chuckle softly, but it wasn't a mocking laugh; rather, it was a laugh full of confidence and appreciation for him.
"Then I will prepare horses and stirrups for you, procure provisions, and provide food for the people."
The boy's outstretched hand was long and fair, stretching across the night.
At that time, he was called Shao'an. Without hesitation, he reached out and gave the other person a heavy high five.
The continuous flames made his eyes red.
The gate beam of this century-old family collapsed in the flames.
In the courtyard of the ancestral hall, kneeling on the ground in shackles were familiar and dear faces of his blood relatives.
Those faces of relatives, which were once full of spirit and charm, are now filled with desolation and gloom.
A steady, strong hand reached out from behind and covered his eyes.
He was about to shout when the other man firmly covered his mouth with his other hand.
"Come with me, staying here will only lead to your death."
"Conquerors only need slaves, not integrity. All integrity will be broken one by one."
"And my leniency will preserve this vestige of integrity for the gentry of the Central Plains."
He heard his own heart-wrenching cries and the man who was carrying him away laughing heartily. All of this eventually solidified into a blood-red, fiery scene of national ruin and family destruction in his memory.
When he woke up the next day, he was already dressed in white and stood in front of Songxue Hall in the dim morning light, waiting to perform the apprenticeship ceremony.
Everything in the past is like a distant nightmare that can no longer be remembered, forgotten on that night north of the Yangtze River.
He received a new name: Gongyi Xiu.
This is his rebirth.
What have I forgotten?
Ah Qiu thought with a headache. What people most want to forget is naturally the thing they least want to face.
The first thing that came into view was a large snake, slithering closer in the darkness.
It had a single horn on its head and looked down at her, who was unable to move.
This world is so silent that there is not a sound, not a trace of life.
She remembered that the world wasn't like this until yesterday.
She was held in her aunt's arms, watching the first rays of light on the palace rooftop and the magnificent clouds filling the sky countless times.
Many beautiful women, dressed in brocade and silk, would sit in twos and threes under trees and by rocks, holding zithers, pipa, zheng, and ruan, playing with cats and dogs, singing and playing the sheng, staying up all night.
She once thought this place was a heavenly palace, filled with endless youth, music, and beauty.
But isn't what I'm in right now hell?
Just a wall separates hell from heaven. What did she do wrong?
The embrace of the one who drove away the great serpent is reassuring.
His aura was light and lingering, like the red of frost-covered maple leaves, or the crispness of bamboo in the snow. It was the slightly bitter fragrance of grass and leaves, yet also carried the calm and mellow tone of wood.
However, it was in this warm embrace that she witnessed a horrific scene that she would never forget.
The raging fire licked at the carved beams and painted rafters of the palace. A woman in plain clothes with long hair hung from the beam, her gorgeous palace dress embroidered with phoenixes and her gold and jade headdress scattered on the ground.
She was a complete stranger to the woman, but upon witnessing this scene, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
The heart is filled with an indescribable sorrow and pain.
The person holding her simply wrapped their arms around her silently, holding her even tighter.
He said softly, "I'm sorry, I only intended to bring you to see her once."
But I never expected that you, at such a young age, would witness this scene.
"She wasn't a good mother, but she was still a good woman."
Fire again, endless and relentless, trying to conceal the flames of countless crimes committed in every war, burning from one end of the palace to the other.
This time it was a raging inferno, filled with the bones of countless palace servants and their resentful, unseeing eyes.
Someone dressed in black with a black cloak rushed over with a sword, but they were separated from her by the sea of fire and could not get close.
She reached out her hand to him. A whooshing sound came from behind her.
Amid his angry shouts, she was lifted up by the waist and held tightly in his arms, as if she had obtained a rare treasure.
The man held her in his arms and said leisurely, "She is the daughter of an old friend of mine. I will not harm her, nor will I hurt her. I will even teach her unparalleled skills. My friend, you are in dire straits yourself right now. You should deal with the chaotic army behind you first!"
His figure, which was about to leap across the sea of fire, suddenly froze.
Holding her captive in that man's arms, she looked back, tears streaming down her face.
Did he give her away to someone else?
His figure, sword in hand and back turned, receded further and further into the distance until it became a blur in my vision.
The sounds of soldiers shouting and weapons clashing were heard all around, but they were all intercepted by the sword strike that unleashed a torrent of wind and thunder.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried out in a sorrowful voice, "Master!"
The person above her didn't say anything, but simply patted her head gently.
She immediately felt drowsy and sleepy.
He could still hear the man say softly and firmly, "From now on, I am your master."
A clear, melodious note from the zither shattered the illusion.
A Qiu's body trembled slightly as she saw Gu Yi sitting on the ground, plucking the strings with his right hand.
All sounds originate from the human heart.
Gu Yi had already used his internal strength to strike the string and produce that resounding sound.
Like a grand, resonant bell, or a lion's roar, yet not domineering. Profound and upright, yet impossible to ignore.
It is the purest, unadorned royal voice – the Gong tone.
After that shout, most of the martial arts masters present regained their senses.
Gongyi Xiu was also startled to realize that the problem was with his master's flute playing, which had led everyone into the demonic realm.
But perhaps the one most deeply entrenched in demonic possession is the master himself.
His heart jumped, and he nervously looked toward the band of musicians behind A Qiu.
Gu Yi played three notes in quick succession, each one stronger than the last.
As the music played, A Qiu gracefully unfurled her white sleeves, her gaze lingering on the horizon. Her eyes, initially filled with melancholy, suddenly brightened, sparkling with extraordinary brilliance.
She did not have Gu Yi's firm Dao heart, nor did she have Gongyi Xiu's profound understanding of her master.
But she had a gut feeling that she must have been tricked by someone.
Her assassin king instincts compelled her to unleash a powerful nature that would inevitably confront them.
I don't care whether that person is my master or not.
At this moment, the sound of the flute suddenly changed.
The original poem "Midnight Song" depicts a woman's longing for her lover, conveying a sense of tenderness and lingering sighs. It primarily portrays the moon rising in the sky, the loom continuing its work, and the woman's endless melancholy as she wanders aimlessly in the middle of the night.
But immediately after Gu Yiqin played the flute, the sound transformed into a soaring, high-pitched roar, like a dragon's cry that could split clouds and rocks, or a waterfall cascading down three thousand feet.
It was like a fierce lion or tiger waking up in the middle of the night from a dream, suddenly rubbing its claws and roaring, shaking the mountains and forests.
Let alone a woman's longing at night, even a general's suicide on the battlefield might not be as heroic and tragic.
Moreover, this is a section that is not present in the original song at all.
It was a wild and ingenious idea spontaneously created by the flute player.
Yet it blends seamlessly with the original song.
But all the geishas were involuntarily stunned.
The musicians too.
This was something that appeared out of nowhere. Nobody knew how to deal with it.
Xue Hongbi muttered, "What's wrong with this eunuch Xiao? He actually remembered the wrong tune at this crucial moment."
Sun's wife's expression changed several times, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Xue Hongbi continued, "It's common for people to make mistakes on the spot; he should be able to correct it in a sentence or two."
At this point, it was less a matter of confident anticipation and more a matter of wishful thinking and prayer.
Although she was the former head of the dance troupe, she still couldn't tell that the person playing the flute was not Xiao Chang'an, which shows how carefree she was.
Sun's wife's face was as pale as paper.
The thing I feared most still happened.
Shi Changqing, I never imagined we would meet under these circumstances.
It should have been expected that Shi Changqing's special trip was not to stay quietly in the musicians' troupe and dutifully arrange this piece for them.
It is common for dancers and musicians to make mistakes on stage, and their partners will try their best to cover for them so that the audience will not notice.
But it is absolutely not applicable to the current situation.
What kind of person was Shi Changqing? He looked down on high-ranking officials and all powerful figures, and was willful and unrestrained. For him, there was only one thing called "the truth of art." And this truth far surpassed all occasions, rules, and the life and death of others.
If he is allowed to continue performing, tonight's "White Silk" will become his solo stage.
And these young geisha, caught in a dilemma, will become a huge joke.
Despite the support of the two exceptional talents, "Shaoshi Qin" and "Qianjin Xiang," the dance troupe's attempt to revive the famous piece "Bai Zhu" from the previous dynasty after nearly twenty years of obscurity was still a complete and utter failure.
Because of the sudden appearance of this former dynasty's top player.
Sun's eyes were red to the point of bleeding, and her five fingers clenched into her fists inside her sleeves. A feeling that was hard to tell whether it was sadness or anger gradually spread throughout her body.
Shi Changqing, as proud and talented as you are, have you ever cared about the life and death of a mortal like me?
Although Gongyi Xiu was unaware that this was an impromptu piece by his master, he was the first to notice the strange bewilderment of the dancers and musicians.
Hearing just one more sentence made him gasp.
The words of my master still echoed in my ears: "The dance of 'White Silk' is extremely elegant and moving, a rare masterpiece of music and dance. I would like to go to the palace to see it when the time comes."
"While I'm at it, I'll go and meet that Gu Yi."
Gu Yi broke his master's demonic sound with the sound of his Dao Heart, effectively saving his master from the brink of demonic possession. However, given his master's arrogance and pride, he would never accept this favor, but would only consider himself to have lost this battle.
At this moment, he no longer concealed himself and openly provoked Gu Yi with the sound of his flute, forcing Gu Yi to fight him with the sound of his zither.
Otherwise, after finishing this song, he would probably have to publicly commit murder.
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