Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At the Above Immortal Realm.
A figure suddenly opened his eyes in an endless field somewhere.
He looked shocked and in disbelief.
“My divine consciousness was wiped out. How powerful.”
He had a hoarse voice. Then, he slowly lifted his finger.
Ripples appeared in front of him. It was like a Water Mirror. Visuals started to appear in the mirror.
It played visuals of what Yao Mengji and the others experienced. The visuals stopped when the Xuan Water Bracelet dropped to the ground.
“Zither?”
He was weirded out. “Very few are good at music, not since the eldritch eras. What does he want to do? I shall wait and see. I mustn’t be the only one who wants to find out.”
…
At the Immortal Realm.
Yao Mengji and the others took a deep breath simultaneously. They felt the rhythm of their heartbeats and were genuinely grateful.
They did not expect to still be alive.
Longevous Qingfeng gulped. He asked in a trembling and respectful voice, “That zither, was that the expert playing it?”
“Duh!”
Yao Mengji rolled his eyes. He regarded, “Do you even need to ask? Who else could be that powerful aside from the expert?”
“Awe—Awesome.” Longevous Qingfeng was beyond shocked.
He knew that the expert could bring out treasures anytime he wanted, but he did not know how powerful he was. Until… He witnessed it first-hand.
What a dangerous situation. It was unimaginable unless you experienced it yourself. The expert played a song from afar and managed to turn the battle around. Even powerful beings in the Above Immortal Realm could not fight back.
Terrifying, horrifying!
If the expert appeared in front of him, he could not make promises that he would not bow down and worship the expert. No way, he would not be able to control himself.
“I’m so cool. I lucked out and got to know a bigshot like that.”
“Alright, stop it.” Gu Xirou spoke. She looked serious. “Think about what the scrawny elder said. The expert saved the entire realm.”
“Yeah. Truthfully, if it wasn’t for the expert, I would’ve been dead multiple times by now.”
Yao Mengji was in awe. Then, he said, “I finally know what the expert’s up to. I have to work harder for the expert. My cultivation isn’t anything much, but if I can die for the expert, I would have no regrets!”
The Holy Emperor said in an emotional voice, “He reconnected the bridge to immortality, and he increased the Luck of the Humans. What majestic achievements. To be able to work for the expert is my lifetime, wait, no, it is the greatest honor of several lifetimes!”
“Did you all forget? The expert’s going against Fate. He’s opposing powerful forces!”
Gu Xirou sounded heavy. She fell into deep thought and asked, “So, do you all still think that the expert pretends to be an ordinary man out of personal preference?”
“You mean… The expert’s doing it for another reason?”
Yao Mengji raised his eyebrows and fell into deep thought, too. “It’s indeed not a good choice to gain exposure for going against Fate. The expert pretends to be an ordinary man because he planned to. I guess that it might be because he wants his schemes to not be exposed! Of course, I think…more or less. It’s his weird hobby.”
The Holy Emperor nodded, “Bigshots love to be chess masters. They would speak with their chess skills. Most bigshots stay hidden. If you think about it, it makes sense that the expert pretends to be an ordinary man.”
“Who cares what the reason is? In conclusion, we have to play along with the expert! We are chess pieces. All we need to do is obey and listen to the expert’s orders. Since the expert’s going against Fate, we shall go against it alongside him fearlessly!” summarized Longevous Qingfeng.
“True.” Yao Mengji nodded. Then, he said, “Alright, everyone. Stop talking, we’ve got to hurry back.”
Everyone looked at the Xuan Water Bracelet. They did not need to think much about it, and they also could not be greedy. They immediately came to an agreed conclusion, “This Xuan Water Bracelet belongs to the expert. We should bring it back to him.”
At the yard.
Qin Manyun felt as if her emotions were being played like the zither. She felt like she was trekking up a mountain. Then, she felt like she was swimming freely in the water. It was as if she lost her consciousness.
Blackie was lying down next to Li Nianfan. His ears were moving to the music.
Dragin was still asleep on the other side of the yard. She snored and slept more soundly to the music.
“Done.” Li Nianfan smiled. He would not avoid a daily show-off session. So, he asked, “Lady Manyun, what do you think?”
Qin Manyun immediately snapped out of it. She said without thinking twice, “It’s nice. This song belongs to Heaven. I could never. May I know what song this is?”
“Haha, that’s too much of a compliment, Lady Manyun,” laughed Li Nianfan. Then, he replied, “This song is… ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’!”
Qin Manyun said genuinely, “What a suitable name. ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’. It’s a totally different style from ‘Ambush’ but they’re both nice, both legendary songs.”
Li Nianfan smiled and asked, “Do you want to learn it? I can teach you.”
Qin Manyun instantly blushed. She asked in a trembling voice, “Re—really?”
“Lady Manyun, you’re good at playing the zither. It’s just a song. Why not?” Li Nianfan stood up and yawned. “It’s late. I’m going back to sleep. I’ll teach you the song tomorrow morning.”
Qin Manyun immediately stood up. She respectfully watched Li Nianfan head back. “Goodnight, Mr. Li.”
Creak.
The door was shut.
Qin Manyun was still in the yard. She nervously waited.
Her Master stopped playing the zither. She was unsure how they were.
Suddenly, five figures swooped in and landed in the yard.
Yao Mengji excitedly asked, “Manyun, the expert played the zither, right?”
“Yes.” Qin Manyun nodded and asked, “Master, ancestor, are you alright?”
“Haha, we weren’t. But thankfully, the expert saved us so of course, we’re alright,” laughed Yao Mengji. He asked out of admiration, “Where’s the expert?”
“After Mr. Li played the zither, he went back to sleep.”
Yao Mengji immediately did a shushing gesture. He said in a low voice, “We have to be quiet. Don’t disturb the expert.
Then, everyone noticed the zither in the yard.
The zither was still the same. However, it had a weird aura. When they looked at zither, it was as if they could hear echoes of that song.
Gi Xirou was shocked. She asked in a trembling voice, “Manyun, this is your zither. Did the expert use your zither to play?”
Qin Manyun nodded.
“Incredible, incredible!”
Gu Xirou hurriedly walked over and reached out. She wanted to touch the zither but the zither suddenly made a deafening noise by her ear. She jolted as if she just touched electricity. She hurriedly pulled her hand back.
“Leftover Wisdom. Is this what they call Leftover Wisdom? Who would’ve thought I’d be able to witness it? And to own it,” mumbled Gu Xirou. She looked at that zither as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
“The zither was played by the expert. It went from a normal item to a Spiritual Treasure.” Yao Mengji sounded awestruck. “Also, it has the leftover notes from the expert. It can help cultivation in zither!”
Was this the power of the expert?
Miracles were created casually for him.
Gu Xirou bowed at the zither. “From now on, this zither is the treasure of the Linxian Palace. It shall be worshipped for generations!”
Qin Manyun suddenly added, “The expert said the name of that song was ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’. He’s going to give it to me tomorrow morning.”
“What?”
Gasp—
Yao Mengji instantly rolled his eyes and fainted on the spot. “Holy Emperor, Longevous Qingfeng. Quick, hold me. I’m about to faint from happiness.”
“Hold you?!” Longevous Qingfeng was tearing up from jealousy. “We risked our lives together. How come you’re the only one who has benefits? I at least want an orange!”
Yao Mengji boasted smugly, “What do you know? The ancestor and I spent the most effort. You two barely helped. We were treated differently, of course.”
“The expert knows what he’s doing. Stop arguing, we don’t want to disturb the expert,” said Gu Xirou.
Everyone knew when to stop. So, they left.
The next morning.
Sunlight shined into the yard. It chased the chilly night away and warmed up the place.
Li Nianfan walked out of the yard. He looked over and was taken aback. He said in a surprised tone, “Nanan?”
Nanan quietly stood there with tears in her eyes. She rushed toward him and cried, “Brother Nianfan!”
“What happened?” Li Nianfan felt how upset Nanan was. He looked at everyone questioningly.
The Holy Emperor coughed and immediately stepped forward to say, “Um, Mr. Li, the little girl that those people wanted to capture was Nanan. Thankfully, we found out and saved her.”
Li Nianfan frowned. “Really? Where are those people?”
The Holy Emperor continued, “It’s a misunderstanding. We’ve already dealt with it. They were regretful and they were too ashamed to come over.”
Li Nianfan sighed softly. He saluted them, “Thanks, everyone. You must’ve spent a lot of effort.”
Those people were very bossy, they would not be reasonable. Thankfully, he had an Immortal on his side. They probably dealt with it.
“Oh yeah, here’s the music sheet for ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’. If you don’t mind, you can have it,” said Li Nianfan as he took out the music sheet.
“No, of course, I don’t mind at all! Thanks, Mr. Li.”
Yao Mengji felt his heart race. He was incredibly emotional. He accepted the music sheet tremblingly.
“Alright, Nanan. Good girl, stop crying. You’re alright now,” comforted Li Nianfan. He asked, “Where’s your Master?”
Nanan burst out crying. She wept and sobbed. “Master’s dead.”
She held it in for a long, long while. She finally had the chance to speak about it so she could not stop crying.
Li Nianfan went silent. He did not try to talk her out of anything. He let her cry and express her emotions.
He thought of that old lady. They only met once but she had left a huge impression. It had only been a few months before she was gone.
They said cultivators could not help it. They were all the more dangerous in the Immortal Realm.
