1 Did the Music Move Your Cold Heart?

A soul-stirring music wove gently through the screen, pouring onto the open floor below.

Men and women hummed in satisfaction. Young and old grinned in delight. Though dressed in flimsy and rough clothing, those present on the first floor shared a similar feeling of being at peace.

On the second floor of the shop, separated by paper screens from the eyes of the common mass, a gathering of nobles and honored personages were seated loosely apart from each other. Despite the jewelries and high-end fabric on their bodies, they all shared the feeling of admiration, their expressions as if bewitched by a fox.

After all, who else could give birth to such exquisite and captivating music? Only a beauty who appreciates the arts; one who was elegant and naturally charming. One who was skilled yet was indifferent to worldly desires.

Seated on the raised platform was the object of everyone's attention and admiration. The person was truly a beauty to behold. From the fine strands of inky black hair, to the slender figure that seemed to hide a surprising amount of power, down to the fingers that gracefully played with the strings--the only thing that marred the almost immortal beauty was the thin, white fabric across her eyes, symbolizing the absence of sight.

The people could only sigh. It was as they say, "One cannot have everything."

The sound of applause could be heard from the whole building as the performance came to an end. Every individual, rich and poor alike, thanked the gods for the chance to witness such an exquisite show of talent by an equally exquisite beauty.

The performer rose in one fluid motion and bowed her thanks. With numerous admiring gazes focused on her, she strode for the back rooms.

As if coming out from a daze, the people turned to those seated beside them and started engaging the other in conversation. Peals of laughter resounded as children played and the old reminisced of songs of yore.

Amidst the light, happy atmosphere, a young man clothed in dark blue leaned against the wall with a lazy smile adorned on his face. Not far from him, groups of ladies in attractive clothing huddled together, occasionally sending loving gazes to the man in blue.

"It seems I have been blessed by Lady Luck. Beautiful music and gorgeous women…isn't this what they would call 'heaven'?" Turning towards the group, he showed a charming, lopsided smile and addressed them. "Wouldn't you agree, ladies?"

Cheeks turning a dark shade of red, the ladies hurriedly withdrew their gaze from the man, trying to calm their wild heartbeats. But after a while, they couldn't help but look back at him and what met their searching gaze was the playful expression on his face, his eyes still locked onto them. And that only made the ladies more embarrassed as they quickly looked away once more, discreetly trying to hide their blushing faces.

"Heh." The man chuckled lightly to himself, moving his gaze towards the hallway where the musician disappeared. He was not averse to beauty, so he especially admired such a talented young lady who was perfectly imperfect. But he wasn't affected much. After all, beauty fades with time. He recovered his gaze and turned back to the people present.

--_--_--_--_--_

Night.

The full majesty of the moon was exposed grandly, its gentle light shining down upon an open space of land. Surrounding this space was a wide expanse of trees and shrubs, seeming as if to protect the open space from being sullied by chaos.

In the middle of this open space was a slender figure in gray. Ink-black hair sprawled over her back and the gray robe that she wore was a contrast to the verdant grass as she sat down and positioned the zither on her legs.

The figure seemed like the performer of divine music with enchanting features from the shop. The only difference was the absence of the white cloth that was wrapped around her eyes.

Slowly, music filled the wide stretch of land, bringing the story of a young man's heart yearning for home; a tale of longing and despair at the reality that he could not go back. There was simply no way for him to. He was stuck; forced to live his life in a different land until death claims his soul once more.

The man in blue who accidentally stumbled upon this space of land remained hidden in the shadows. He had wanted to approach the familiar figure earlier on but when the music started, he simply leaned on a tree and closed his eyes, allowing the soulful music to lay rest in his heart.

As the melody drifted to an end, he raised his head and a flash flickered through his deep, sea blue eyes.

Plastering a smile on his face, he moved towards the figure. As he drew nearer, he saw the ink-black strands of hair that framed her delicate face, confirming his suspicions that it was indeed the renowned musician from this morning.

It was only when he was beside her that he could clearly see those once covered eyes now open, gazing with an unknown emotion at the grand moon.

Leveraging from the moonlight, he peered closer and gazed upon her face, trying to look closely at those cold, obsidian eyes.

"Ah. You're not blind, after all," he remarked in passing, noticing too late that he had destroyed the almost magical silence that filled the air.

The musician calmly withdrew her gaze from the moon and briefly glanced at the intruder, resting her gaze on the wild grass near her feet.

Not getting any reaction, the man's eyebrows rose. He asked, "Does it not bother you that your secret has been exposed to a stranger?"

The only thing that met his curiosity was silence. He pursed his lips. "Or was it not originally a secret?"

"….."

Harshly ignored by the other, he huffed and reluctantly sat down by her side. Feeding his curiosity, he concentrated his gaze on her face, trying to uncover the secret of those eyes. Soon, he grew bored of staring at her cold face, so he started bothering her.

"Hey. Why do you cover your eyes in public when your eyesight is perfectly fine?"

"Do you have some strange illness that only allows you to see at night?"

"Don't tell me…... Are you mute?"

"Strange. You're already mute but you want to be blind as well?"

"..."

Getting tired of talking to himself, the man laid down on the bed of grass, placing his hands under his head.

His stare eventually reached the majestic yet lonely moon, suddenly remembering the desires of his heart…

Relieved that a certain someone had stopped bothering her, the musician resumed her piece, calling forth buried sentiments from the roots of the earth.

The two who were different in many ways and was only acquainted recently, surprisingly shared a moment of peace and stillness. However, the thoughts that passed through each mind was hidden from the other. The only witnesses of the rare phenomenon were the soulful melody, the verdant plant life, and the overlooking moon.