There was once a longing
A thousand thoughts had already raced through his mind, but he had no choice but to comply. He held the purple bamboo flute with the Heavenly Secret Token hanging from its handle over his shoulder and handed it to his back, saying, "Please use it, senior."
The man released his shoulder, took the purple bamboo flute in his hand, glanced at it, and smiled, "So it's the flute of An Shihe, the 'Master of Flute'. Well, I'll make do with it."
The musicians in front had already left one after another. The man behind him said softly, "Wait here for a moment. I will perform this show for you and then return it to you." With a flick of his sleeve, Xiao Chang'an immediately felt several acupoints on his body being sealed, rendering him unable to speak or move.
The man turned around and looked at him with a smile.
Xiao Chang'an met the man's gaze and was greatly alarmed. The man's eyes seemed to possess an unfathomable magic, as if they could deeply attract people, and yet there was a strange and intense emotion in the depths of his eyes, which were as deep as a cold pool.
This man seems to be a born artist. All his passion and fervor seem to be deeply suppressed in his heart, but they will inadvertently reveal a hint of it in his eyes.
These mysterious and passionate eyes were hidden beneath a mask with an ancient and intricate pattern, resembling a black bird.
With just one glance, Xiao Chang'an was so stunned that he couldn't utter a single word, even in his heart.
The man chuckled, his tall and imposing figure disappearing into the light of the front hall as he followed the other musicians.
Xiao Chang'an's vision was plunged into darkness once more. He listened anxiously to the music coming from the front hall.
In theory, after Gu Yi plays the zither, his xiao (vertical flute) should begin, taking over the next melody.
As the sound of a flute suddenly rose in the front hall, Xiao Chang'an's heart clenched.
The powerful and melodious music could only be produced by someone who had studied this art for decades.
The person who just took his place on stage—what was he trying to do?
Thinking that A Qiu was currently on the stage, Xiao Chang'an's anxiety and irritability intensified. However, the more anxious he became, the less able he was to break through the opponent's restrictions. That person's moves were unfathomable, and his techniques were extremely strange.
As soon as the sound of the flute began, Gu Yi also keenly looked toward the seat of the musicians in the hall.
But he suddenly realized that in order to achieve the state of not looking at women and focusing on sound, he had covered his eyes with a white silk cloth and could not see anything.
He snapped out of his reverie, focused his mind, and tried to capture the rhythm and spirit of the flute player in his heart.
As soon as A Qiu finished her first move, "Gazing at the Moon," she was startled by the sudden sound of the flute.
Even if she were reduced to ashes, she would still recognize whose flute that was.
Master has arrived.
Wan Qiqing, the master of Lanling Hall, the headquarters of assassins under heaven, and the legendary number one martial artist in the North and South, was currently mixed in with the musicians, playing the flute and dancing for this piece from the previous dynasty, "Bai Zhu".
It wasn't just Aki who changed color among the geisha.
Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi waited in the shadows beside the hall, as they would not appear until the third act.
When she heard the sound of the flute, Lady Sun suddenly rubbed her ears and then her eyes, straining to look at the side where the musician was sitting.
Was she hallucinating?
But the sound of the flute rang vividly in my ears, just as it had many years ago, with a deep and unwavering affection.
Sometimes it dips, sometimes it rises; it changes constantly and is unpredictable.
She was familiar with Xiao Chang'an's flute, a young eunuch, and they had practiced together countless times. Xiao Chang'an's flute playing was also very moving; for someone of his seniority, it was already outstanding and at its peak.
However, compared to the sound of the flute now playing, it is still several levels below.
It is a state of mind that has been brooding for a long time, the tempering of time, and the sighs of a past life full of vicissitudes and twists and turns.
The past has faded into the mists of time, and the stage is no longer graced with the presence of old friends.
This is a lost art from the Southern Dynasties, a unique starting style of the great Huan court's Xiao king.
The real and the illusory intertwine, creating unpredictable changes.
Only that person, and only that person in the decades of modern Chinese folk music, could use the sound of the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute) to create this kind of artistic conception, "the mountains and rivers seem to block the way, but then a village appears amidst the willows and flowers," leisurely and carefree, yet captivating and endlessly memorable.
Shi Changqing, a musician from the previous Xianshao Academy, was known as the "Fairy of the Flute" and also as the "King of the White-Robed Xiao".
Just as the sound of the flute was about to fade away, a young girl's clear and melodious chanting, like the sound of silver bells, suddenly rang out in the hall.
When I first met my beloved, our hearts were as one.
The voice was as beautiful as a nightingale's song, echoing from all directions of the Jixian Palace. Every word was clear and distinct, filled with a sense of languid charm and infatuation.
As A-Qiu was dancing, she heard this voice and was deeply shaken.
The dancers in the troupe, along with Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi on the same side, shared the same mixed feelings of surprise and delight. However, having all received professional training in dancers' expressions, they did not let their joy show excessively on their faces.
Zhongli Wuyan, the guardian angel of the dance club over the years, has arrived.
At that time, at the Siyue Temple, Sun Neiren invited her to participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival performance of "Bai Zhu" featuring three generations of people—old, middle-aged, and young—on the same stage. However, she declined, citing a vow that she could not appear in front of others.
But she had promised that she would definitely be present when the "White Silk" dance was performed. Ah Qiu then thought that she might be among the musicians or mingling in the audience.
But unexpectedly, she participated in the performance of "White Silk" with her own voice.
Senior Zhongli kept her promise and did not forget Sun Neiren's wish for three generations to perform on the same stage. Even though she could no longer appear on stage in her own name, she still came.
Master Wanqiqing seemed to have noticed that Aqiu was distracted by his arrival, and the originally strange and unpredictable sound of the flute gradually slowed down and softened, as if to soothe her.
When Gu Yi heard Zhongli Wuyan's recitation, his expression froze slightly, and even he, who was usually calm and collected, couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile.
There are quite a few experts involved in Bai Zhu's participation this time.
His hands vibrated the strings of his instrument, and in rhythm with Zhongli Wuyan's recitation, he plucked out the next notes of "Midnight Song".
"The silk threads are unraveled on the loom, yet how can they not be made into a pair?"
When I first started wanting to get to know you, I hoped that our hearts would be the same.
Holding the warp and weft threads on the loom, wanting to weave cloth, but often getting distracted and confused, the cloth woven is never a complete piece.
The gentle sound of the flute became filled with deep emotion and melancholy.
Aki, the leading figure in the troupe, entered a state of deep concentration, slowly stepping out with graceful movements, her sleeves fluttering as she paced back and forth, appearing lost in thought.
Her gaze, full of tender affection, slowly swept across the room from left to right. Almost all the guests in the seats were moved by her seemingly affectionate yet reproachful, dreamlike and gentle eyes.
A-Qiu didn't see anyone.
The saying goes, "Seeing without seeing, hearing without hearing." What she gazed upon was the white silk dance realm within her own heart.
Ah Xiu, the young girl who created the White Silk Dance, what profound, unspoken love did she harbor? This secret, like the silk of a silkworm, gradually took shape, binding her day by day, becoming a beautiful yet heavy burden on her heart.
Who can love someone without getting hurt?
The first seat to the right of Emperor Xie Lang was occupied by Crown Prince Xie Tiao.
When A-Qiu's gaze swept over him, he was finally stunned by the beauty of that look and temporarily snapped out of his despondency that night, returning her a deep glance in return.
At this moment, Xie Tiao finally forgot briefly about Shangguan Yuqi, who sat diagonally opposite him in white robes as white as snow.
Who can think without singing? Who can go hungry without eating? As the sun sets, I lean against the door, filled with sorrow and longing.
A young woman experiencing her first stirrings of love, overwhelmed by longing, may forget to eat and sleep, spending her days leaning against the door, gazing into the distance. Her only worry and doubt is this: does that person also long for her as she longs for him?
Although Gu Yi was blind, the memory of the day he accompanied A Qiu to practice resurfaced in his mind. A Qiu gave him a tender glance, and the music flowing from his hands unconsciously became soft and bright.
Looking back now, he only finds it funny, yet also feels a unique warmth.
He didn't know what he was panicking about at that time. He knew perfectly well that A Qiu was just imitating the dance, performing the expressions and charm that should be present in this dance segment.
The sound of the flute, however, became mournful and melodious, filled with a poignant sadness that could break one's soul. One could sense that the flutist possessed a profound and desolate sorrow, hidden within the music.
Gu Yi didn't need to listen any longer; he had already figured out whose flute it was.
When he first met A Qiu, who was to be selected, at the Music Bureau, he saw her name in the register of musicians.
At that time, A Qiulu's identity was that of a former musician of Xianshao Academy and the daughter of Shi Changqing.
Gu Yi had never paid much attention to palace musicians in the past, but Shi Changqing was truly a person who could not be forgotten at first sight.
He wore a black bird mask and flowing white robes. And the music he played, whether it was the Qiang flute or the xiao, possessed a profound and unparalleled emotional depth and captivating power.
Gu Yi plucked his fingers and played the zither, letting the music flow gently between his fingers. But in his heart, he was certain of one thing.
Shi Changqing has arrived.
It is unknown what his purpose is or what he intends to achieve, but this former master of state affairs has already infiltrated the palace.
"My heart is already saddened before the zither and lute are even tuned, and I try my best to hold back my tears even when I am wearing fine silk. I want to dance and look at my beloved, but I am always in doubt as I am about to turn away."
Zhongli Wuyan's voice was clear and gentle, like that of a young girl, yet it carried a sorrowful and plaintive quality.
What she was expressing was the deep-seated, lifelong love and longing of the geisha.
Lady Sun strained her eyes, trying to see where the musicians were sitting and standing in the hall.
The dancers were in bright, shining light, while the musicians were hidden in the shadows, to show the distinction between the main and secondary figures.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see if that familiar tall figure was in the crowd.
Shi Changqing, the Prince Xiao of the Southern Dynasties, is the person who, in the dead of night, would think of in these decades.
No one in the entire Music Bureau had ever seen his true face back then, yet he occupied the minds of an entire era.
Actually, at this point, whether we see it or not, what does it really matter?
She knew that he had indeed come.
How fortunate I am to hear Changqing's flute music again in my lifetime.
"Peach blossoms float on the water in the spring breeze, their dancing sleeves swaying in the sunlight. The cranes linger and turn, their beauty captivating, and you sing to welcome them with unwavering devotion."
A Qiu remembered what Gu Yi had said back then.
"If you want to know what my mood is, just listen to my music; there's no need to look at me. And if I want to know if you are in the right rhythm of singing and dancing, I can tell by the flow of your energy and the rhythm of your breathing; there's no need to see your beauty."
It doesn't matter who composed the music—whether it's her master, Gu Yi, or Senior Zhong Li. At this moment, "White Silk" belongs solely to her era.
What is love? What is hate? The past is gone and has faded into smoke, but the deep love that remains in songs, poems, and dances is commemorated and passed down by later generations.
Some loves are destined to be restrained, and it's difficult to have both.
As she lingered, gazing intently at each person in the hall, everyone felt as if she were looking at them. Each person could sense the unspoken deep affection and restrained love within her.
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