"What is this instrument called?" Yuan asked after seeing the instrument that resembled a guitar.
"This instrument is called a pipa," Fei Yuyan quickly responded.
'A pipa, huh… I wonder if it functions similar to the guitar…' Yuan wondered to himself as they wandered around the room, admiring the beautifully crafted instruments inside the display case.
After spending a couple of minutes in the pipa room, they went to another room.
"This instrument resembles a violin…" Yuan mumbled after seeing this mallet-shaped instrument with a thin handle, and there was even a bow beside it exactly like a violin.
"I have never heard of a 'violin' but this instrument is called an erhu. You place it on your thighs and use that bow to play the strings." Fei Yuyan briefly explained to him.
"I see…" Yuan nodded.
Sometime later, they left the room with erhu and entered the last room in the building.
"Do you recognize these instruments, Disciple Yuan?" Fei Yuyan asked him in a sarcastic voice inside the room filled with nothing but zithers.
Yuan smiled and played along with her, "I don't know, but they seem very familiar."
"Anyway, look at this zither over here." Fei Yuyan then pointed at the zither in one of the display cases and continued, "This is a Heaven-grade zither made from Ice Jade, a very rare material, and rumor has it that it was once owned by the Zither Goddess. The name of this zither is Eternal Imprisonment."
"Zither Goddess? What kind of person is this Zither Goddess?" Yuan asked, feeling more interested in the individual than the zither.
"The number one zither expert in this world. If the Zither Goddess claims to be the second-best zither player in this world, nobody would dare to claim first. There are even legends of the Zither Goddess creating life and stars with her zither music."
"Creating life with music? I cannot imagine such a thing…" Yuan shook his head.
"That's just a legend, but if the Zither Goddess is real, I'd love to meet someone like her." Fei Yuyan sighed with a longing feeling in her eyes.
"Perhaps Yuan might become the Zither God one day," Xuan Wuhan suddenly said in a joking tone.
"The Zither God?" Fei Yuyan looked at Yuan with a weird expression on her face, mostly because she was trying to imagine Yuan as the Zither God, but alas, she could not put together such an image no matter how much she tried.
"Anyway, let's continue looking around. After we finish seeing these rooms, we can take a look at their store and see if there's anything to buy." Fei Yuyan said.
They returned to looking at zither a moment later while Fei Yuyan gave Yuan brief history lessons on almost all of the zithers there.
If Fei Yuyan changed her disciple uniforms to one of the uniforms in this place, the guests would never realize it.
Sometime later, Fei Yuyan brought them out of the zither room before taking them to this massive courtyard behind the store.
Inside the courtyard, there were about a dozen display cases placed in an orderly fashion, and inside these display cases were instruments with a price tag.
Yuan approached one of these display cases that was showcasing a black-colored dizi.
[Black Sparrow Flute]
[Grade: Earth]
[Quality: High]
[Description: A bamboo flute made of black bamboo found in the Black Sparrow Forest]
[Price: 5,000,000 gold coins or 500 spirit stones]
"F-Five million gold?!" Yuan's jaw dropped slightly after seeing the price tag.
"Wow, it's pretty cheap, especially since it's a high-quality Earth-grade treasure." Fei Yuyan appeared behind Yuan and said.
"This is cheap?" Yuan raised his eyebrows, and he asked a moment later, "By the way, what are spirit stones?"
"Spirit stones are a major cultivation resource for Cultivators, and not only can they be used as currency but a single one of them is worth about 10,000 gold coins. However, people still prefer trading with gold coins since they'd rather use spirit stones to improve their cultivation." Fei Yuyan explained to him.
"I see…" Yuan nodded.
"If this was a zither, I would've probably bought it, but alas… I don't play the dizi…" Fei Yuyan shook her head at the Black Sparrow Flute before walking to the next display case that was showcasing another high-quality Earth-grade treasure— a red-colored pipa with a price tag of 8 million gold coins or 800 spirit stones.
A few minutes later, Fei Yuyan sighed loudly, "How unfortunate. There's not a single zither instrument being sold today. The last time I was here, there were 3 of them being sold!"
"Is this everything to see in this place? Where should we go next? There's still plenty of time." Xuan Wuhan said.
"Who said we're done here? There's still one more place in this store that I want to show you, especially Disciple Yuan." Fei Yuyan said while looking at Yuan with a mysterious smile on her face.
"Come with me!" she said before walking off on her own.
Seeing this, Yuan quickly followed her, and the others followed him.
A couple of minutes later, they arrive at this mysterious and silent place with two guards standing beside this door that emitted an ominous feeling, both of them peak Spirit Warriors.
"Where are we? I don't think we're supposed to be here!" Xuan Wuhan said to Fei Yuyan.
"Of course this is not a place for the public. Only those who'd place top ten in the previous zither competition can come here, and since I'd placed 7th, I am allowed to go inside. However, I can only bring one person along with me, and I'll be bringing Disciple Yuan."
"Eh? That's not fair." Xuan Wuhan immediately complained.
"If you can play the zither even half as decent as Disciple Yuan, I might consider bringing you inside later. Otherwise, it'd be just a waste of my time, and effort," Fei Yuyan shook her head.
"You…" Xuan Wuhan narrowed her eyes at Fei Yuyan, but alas, she couldn't play the zither at all.
Fei Yuyan no longer paid attention to Xuan Wuhan and turned to look at Yuan.
"Follow me," she said to him.


Yuan was born with an incurable illness that left him blind at a young age and crippled a few years later, rendering everything below his head useless. Deemed hopeless and irredeemable, his parents quickly gave up on him, and the world ignored him.

In this dark and still world, his younger sister became his sole reason for living.

Watch as this young man reaches for the apex as a genius in Cultivation Online, the newest VRMMORPG, becoming a legendary figure in both worlds.

---------------------
My other novels: Dual Cultivation/ Hero's Carnage

It was nothing different from that night Xu Rouguang came back so late during the celebration of Emodao's death. Severed Glacier felt so guilty of shocking Xu Rouguang to the point that he was wailing like a ghost again. The night Bingxing told him the truth, he cried himself to sleep. Today, it seemed to be happening again.
Worse was that Xu Rouguang might need another few centuries to stop.
The last time Xu Rouguang was functioning well was the night Bingxing came to him. Today, he just managed to get out of bed and even outside the barracks. How cruel could it be for him to be seeing this again after so much pain had been dislodged from his entirety?
However, Severed Glacier knew that all that could stop Xu Rouguang from trying to kill himself was finding Emodao. When Severed Glacier begged to be entertained by Nuwa, Sovereign Cosmos hinted him that Emodao might not actually be in the Abyss. That was why Severed Glacier didn't want Xu Rouguang to jump in even if he managed to find a way to wreck Abyss open.
What he didn't expect was to see Emodao in a very bad state. Even if Severed Glacier wanted to wait off the death, he had a feeling that he might not find Emodao's reincarnation again. He had to act fast... even if it meant tearing Xu Rouguang's heart open some more.
...
Xu Rouguang and Severed Glacier were sitting at a corner of the room. The general was done crying for today and was still conscious, which surprised Severed Glacier. So he explained what he had done... what he had begged Sovereign Cosmos to let him do.
The general was right to think that the game was so suspicious; however, he didn't know Severed Glacier found Emodao. In any case, he understood the servant's intentions. Xu Rouguang would be too excited if he just told him directly. Heh, if Severed Glacier didn't know Xu Rouguang so much, what was he even doing in those hundreds of thousands of years that they were together?
"What do you plan to do now?" Severed Glacier had to know what happens next. It didn't matter what Xu Rouguang wished to do; the servant would still help him. Even if he had to die for betraying the goddess, he would do it for Xu Rouguang.
Though right now, he didn't know he was truly capable of doing so.
"Nothing really," Xu Rouguang just murmured. What was he supposed to do? Could he make sure Emodao would live normally? It's not like he could make Emodao love him again just because he did something now. Then, he suddenly shot his eyes up and stared at Severed Glacier. "How did you find him? Did you cover your tracks?"
"Do you really want to listen to my narrative?" Severed Glacier pouted. This master of his slept intermittently in the past centuries; did he want to hear what happened all throughout that time? Severed Glacier did start looking for ways ever since he heard what Bingxing told Xu Rouguang after all. "As for the second question, of course, I did. Else, why would it be only you that was with him by then?"
"Good. You can't let other people find him. You can't let anyone else... be it one of us... or one of them."
"Uhm, why is that? Don't you think Emodao wanted to be found by his sentinels?"
Xu Rouguang shook his head. "Emodao is serving a sentence... five hundred thousand years. If the goddess finds out someone found him, he would have to start again. I got a privilege from the probation officer. I can see him just until he... just until he dies in eight years." He buried his head again. "I can't let anyone stop him from being free... that's the least I could do...
"I don't want him to be burdened by the demonkind again. I lost him because of them, and I'm not losing him again in the same fashion." Xu Rouguang clenched his jaws. "Make sure you erase everything that would lead to Emodao, do you understand?"
He lifted his face again, and the elusive smile curled his lips again. "That's... what I plan to have you do now. As for me..." He then summoned a zither from his spatial ring. It looked old, but Xu Rouguang still perused it like it was of sentimental value. "I will accompany him whenever I can. I might not be there for eight years straight, but I won't let him feel lonely again..."
Strum. An ugly note came from the old, out-of-tune zither. In an instant, Xu Rouguang's face scrunched up in an ugly, disgusted expression. "Or tune the zither first."
Severed Glacier stifled his laughter. He then reached out and rubbed his hand on Xu Rouguang's cheek, attracting the latter's gaze. The servant smiled at him warmly. "I missed you so much, Rou'er."
However, Xu Rouguang only snorted as he went back to tuning the zither.
...
If someone would tell Sovereign Cosmos that Xu Rouguang started taking up high-credit missions again, he would probably be displeased for getting lied at. However, he could see the deathless general being all over the place again. Since they were only cleaning up the remnants of the demonkind, he didn't need to be directing the Imperial Army. Same with Xu Rouguang who was de-facto Deputy.
Slowly, Xu Rouguang was earning credits again, but it never caught up with the top generals of the first battalion. He didn't really care about that. The only thing he wanted from those high-credit missions was the range of the mission grounds. As long as those missions encompassed the human settlements, he would accept them all.
The reason for this was for the others not to wonder why he was lurking in human settlements. He went to a lot of other human settlements to throw off theorists. If anything, Xu Rouguang could just say he got bored in sleeping so he wanted to stretch his legs again. As for the high-credit missions, he was the Deputy; of course, he'd take solo high-credit missions.
Once in a while, he would visit Emodao and play the zither for him. Even if Emodao didn't understand why this man would come, he still appreciated the music. It was hard to stay hungry, weak, and angry for a very long time. As long as this man came to sing, he didn't have to go through the pain in his heart anymore.
Perhaps it was because Emodao's body could remember the songs Xu Rouguang would sing to him. The general knew that they met because of his singing, and so he would sing to Emodao as much as possible. Moreover, if it wasn't zither that would cause him to remember, it might be the flute or the lute. Xu Rouguang was a song deity who once chose the arts; he could play fourteen different instruments and sing a thousand songs.
After he killed demon kings trying to rise up, he would be singing the whole day for Emodao. Often, Xu Rouguang would be in a daze while thinking which songs to sing to his Emodao. Even if he was fighting, he was still thinking of Emodao. More often than that, the demon kings caught uttering Emodao's name as if they were better than him... would be instantly killed in the most painful manner. Xu Rouguang had no time to play with fools.
"Why exactly do you come back here, ah?" Emodao laughed out as he felt that Xu Rouguang had returned. How wouldn't he when the wind would suddenly get so warm and soothing, unlike the freezing ones that would sting his exposed flesh? "What do you want from me?"
"I just want you to be happy; is that okay?" Xu Rouguang giggled before sitting down next to him. He took out a pear-shaped guitar and began strumming.
"Why would I be happy?"
Xu Rouguang's hand shook, making an ugly note on his guitar. The general only resumed playing after a few seconds. "I don't know; this is the most I can do. I can't touch you, Emodao. Else, you might be..."
Emodao chuckled as he tried to move his neck to a better position. Xu Rouguang noticed, and so he paused for a while to help him adjust his body. The moment Xu Rouguang felt the warm flesh and the dried blood, he immediately felt like crying. He could heal him... but why wasn't he allowed to do it?
"See? You can touch me just the same."
"Emodao, that's not what I meant—"
"So warm."
Xu Rouguang froze. He then immediately kept his guitar and scooted closer to the demon next to him. His arms then wrapped around Emodao, and he embraced Emodao lovingly. Emodao didn't say anything anymore, but he really wished he could put a name on this weird person.
"Who are you? Why are you willing to hold me?"
"If I say my name, I wouldn't be mysterious anymore." Xu Rouguang giggled again even if he was crying in his heart.
Their days soon became like this... until such a time that Xu Rouguang came back from a long-haul mission. Seven demon kings banded together, and he was forced to participate. When he got to their meeting place, he didn't see Emodao anymore. He only saw a mound of earth somewhere underneath the shack. There was also a paper stuck on the pillar where Emodao normally sat.
A few words were written on it, probably written by Qin Jingjing.
'He waited for you.'

A love story hidden in the depths of despair and forsaken memories…

Lai Mingjie is a hot and well-sought bachelor in the city, the sole heir of one of the country's most powerful and influential men. However, he has a secret: he used to be the most prolific demon king in history!

In his plight of trying to end his suffering, he runs into the amnesiac Xu Rouguang. This man cannot remember anything else about his life... but that he loves Lai Mingjie. Who would have thought that this man is actually the demon king's wife... and executioner?!

With the promises of freedom and a new life together, the two of them works on recovering whatever they can to rebuild the destiny that they have placed onto themselves—and what they have shattered all the same.

How strong can they be in their crossed paths filled with pain, death, and separation… now that they are together again?

[Disclaimer and Warnings:]
This story is a work of fiction, and similarities to any living or dead person are purely coincidental. May contain triggers. 

Chapters will become locked when you reach Chapter 68. Please don't tell me you weren't warned. 

Follow me on IG @droopdroopghost and on Facebook (droopyghostofficial)

Cover art is by reialdark66 (pixiv)

"ANONG nangyayari?" takang tanong ni Chiles pagkarating niya sa school at maraming taong nanonood sa may field at pagkita niya ay kumakanta ang lalake ng 'A place only you can go' ng  Need To Breathe, gamit ang gitara. Sa harap ng mga bata dahil sa charity event na ginagawa ng school tuwing last days ng November, bago mag December, parang early Christmas narin daw ng school iyon sa mga bata sa ampunan.
	"Nag-volunteer kasi si Ash na magperform, kasi nga medjo bored na daw ang mga bata sa story telling, kaya yan." Sagot ni Ruan doon. Sila ang mga naatasang umasisa sa mga bata kaya naroon sila, maging si Chiles ngunit na-late lang siya ng dating. 
	"At dahil ngayon lang naman yan nagging active sa mga ganitong event ng school, lahat ng students maging mga faculty ang staff ay nagulat at the same time natuwa sa kanya, kaya yan… nagmukhang concert. Pangatlo na ata niyang kanta yan." Wika naman ni Kassy.
	"He's a good singer din pala? Not bad, though halatang hindi siya gaano sa guitar." Wika pa ni Ruan.
	"Piano kasi ang nilalaro niyan at hindi guitar, ngayon ko nga lang yang nakitang tumogtog ng ganyan eh." Wika naman ni Chiles.
	"Nice, improving and pagbabago Chiles ah, buti nakumbinsi mong bumalik yan?" tanong pa ni Kassy.
	"Hindi ko nga yan nakausap ng matino kagabe eh, tiyaka kusa yang bumalik, walang pumulit o kumumbinsi. Mabuti naman at naisipan niyang ituloy ang pag-aaral niya." Sagot naman ni Chiles.
	"Oo nga eh, sayang ang isang sem, may isang taon pa naman siya at graduate na rin sana." Wika naman ni Ruan.
	Habang pinapanood nila ang lalake ay nasaktong napatingin ito sa banda nila at tumitig kay Chiles kaya napatingin ito sa dalawang kasamang babae na parang di napapansin. Umiwas nalang siya ng tingin at kunwaring inasikaso ang batang pinakamalapit sa kanya. Malakas na palakpakan ang umalingawngaw sa field matapos itong kumanta dahil maraming students din ang nanood ditto.
	"Ahm Chiles, iwan ka na muna namin ha. Tutulong lang kami sa pag-aayos ng meryenda ng mga bata dun," paalam ni Kassy ditto at hinila na ang pinsan palayo sa kanya na pinagtaka niya.
	"Ahm…" singit ng isang lalake kaya napatingala siya mula sa pagkakaupo sa tabi ng isang bata. "Charlestine, can we talk?" tanong nito na nagkakamot pa ng batok at parang nahihiya.
	"Kuya, ang galling niyo po kanina." Puri ng batang katabi ni Chiles.
	"Thank you," sagot lang nito sa bata na nakangiti.
	"Girlfriend niyo po ba si ate?" tanong pa nito sabay turo kay Chiles.
	"Hah? Hindi, magkaibigan lang kami." Sagot naman agad ni Chiles.
	"Ahm, pwede ko bang mahirap saglit ang ate mo?" tanong nito sa bata na sunod-sunod na tumango kaya wala nang nagawa si Chiles kundi ang sundan ito sa parting medjo malayo sa kinaroroonan ng event.
	"May problema ba?" tanong ni Chiles sa lalake.
	"Wala, I just want to say sorry about last night." Wika na ng lalake. Napakunot lang ang noo ni Chiles ditto. "About dun sa pagsigaw ko and dun narin sa pagbibiro ko ng ganun." Tuloy pa ng lalake.
	"Wala iyon, ang importante, balik ka na ulit sa dati, pumapasok ka na ulit at nakuha mo na yung mga binawi ng dad mo sayo." Wika nalang ni Chiles.
	"Thank you," wika pa ng lalake ditto at ngumiti ng pagak. "So, we're okay now?" tanong pa nito.
	"Okay naman tayo eh, ikaw lang naman itong nag-iisip ng kung ano." Sagot pa ni Chiles ditto at bahagyang ngumiti.
	"Sorry ulit and thank you narin." Wika na ni Ash at ngumiti na ng totoo.
	"So pwede na tayong bumalik doon? Baka kasi mapansin ng mga teachers na bigla tayong nawala eh." Tanong na ni Chiles ditto.
	"Okay," sagot nito kaya naglakad na sila pabalik sa pinanggalingan kanina.

"WHY do I sense that there is something fishy between the two of them?" tanong ni Ruan kay Kassy habang tumutulong sila sa pagbibigay ng meryenda sa mga bata.
	Ang dalawa kasi ay umaasisa sa mga batang pumipila at hinatatid sa kanilang upuan para di nito matapon ang pagkaing hawak. Parehong nakangiti kasi sina Chiles at Ash habang ginagawa iyon at pag nagkakatinginan ay nagngingitian pa.
	"Hindi lang ikaw couz, even me." Wika naman ni Kassy ditto.
	"You think Ash would court her and that he's serious?" tanong pa ni Ruan.
	"Kung magkataon man, dapat lang na magseryoso ang lalakeng iyan noh. Naku wag na wag niyang isama si Chiles sa mga linoloko niya dahil hindi lang kami ni Hazie ang babatok o bubugbog diyan sa lalakeng iyan. Marami tayo sa barkada, at sisiguraduhin natin na magiging miserable ang buhay niya." Wika pa ni Kassy.
	"Wow, sobra naman yung miserable. Pwendeng torture muna?" biro pa ni Ruan ditto.
	"Ewan ko sayo," wika nalang ni Kassy sa pinsan.
	"But wait, I heard Blake and Jayzer are okay now, is it true?" tanong pa ni Ruan ditto.
	"Yun din ang sabi ni Zither, lumabas nga daw sila as family kahapon, they even took pictures as family sa studio ni Zither para daw palalakihin at ididisplay sa pinapagawang bahay ni Jayzer." Wika pa ni Kassy.
	"Talaga naman si Jayzer noh? Naghahanda na talaga. Mabuti naman at nagising din si Blake, kawawa kasi si Jayzer noon eh." Wika pa ni Ruan.
	"Tama ka diyan couz, pero may dahilan naman si Blake kung bakit siya nagkaganun, and what's important now is that they are both okay, one step closer for mission to be accomplish." Wika pa ni Kassy.
	"Yup," sang-ayon nalang ni Ruan at tinuloy nalang ang pagbibigay ng pagkain sa mga bata.


"CHEESE cake," masayang wika ni Blake nang bigyan siya ni Jayzer ng binake nitong cake na talagang ineffort pang gayahin ang recipe ng tita Julie niya.
	"Para ka talagang daga, mahilig sa cheese." Wika naman ni Jayzer at ginulo ang buhok ng babae.
	"Eeeh, naman eh." Wika lang nito at nakapout na inayos ang buhok.
	Nasa ibang barkada ang kambal kasama ang anak nila Sandy at Renz at nasa may garden sila. Kompleto na ang barkada maliban kay Piero na busy sa inaasikasong thesis at si Chiles na sumama sa outing ng family ni Ash.
	"Uy kayong dalawa, tama na muna yang kachizyhan niyo, dinadaig niyo pa yang cake… ako na ang ang magdala ng meryenda dun, kanina pa kayo hinihintay. Tama bang magdate ditto sa kusina?" singit ni Hazie sa dalawa.
	"Akala ko ba may family outing ang best friend mo? Ba't di ka kasama?" tanong ni Blake ditto.
	"Busy ako sa boutique, tiyaka haggang bukas pa sila doon. Ayaw ko ring mailing yung dalawa pag meron ako doon, hayaan na natin sila kasi moment nila yun." Paliwanag naman ni Hazie.
	"Sila pwedeng mag-moment, tapos kami ditto, hindi?" tanong naman ni Jayzer na parang bata.
	"Wala naman akong sinabi, ang sabi ko lang bago maglandian, ipunta na muna ang meryenda doon at baka kung magutom ang mga baby-sitter niyo ay sugurin kayo ditto sa kusina at mas kukulitin kayo." Sagot pa ni Hazie.
	"Hazie, si Chiles ba at Ash tinototohanan na ang pagpapanggap na lovers? Narinig kong sabi ni Kassy at Ruan na komportable na raw ang dalawang iyon sa isa't-isa ah?" tanong pa ni Blake.
	"Hopefully," sagot lang nito.
	"Eto na yung cake, at yung juice." Wika na ni Jayzer at binigay kay Hazie ang pagkaing nasa tray.
	Saktong day-off din ng nanny ng bata kaya wala ito at yung isa pang katulong ay sinamahan ang ginang na namalengke.
	"Thanks, sige na, tuloy niyo na ang date niyo diyan." Wika pa ni Hazie at kumindat pa bago umalis.
	"Baliw, anong date ka diyan?" tanggi lang ni Blake ditto.
	"Dali na ma, kainin mo na yang cake." Wika pa ni Jazyer kaya napatingin ulit siya ditto.
	"Ma?" takang-tanong niya.
	"Oo, lahat kasi sila may endearment, sina Eman at Kassy 'hon' ang tawagan, sina Jawe at Hazie 'babe' naman, sina Renz at Sandy 'Mee' at 'Dee', sina Rhed at Amiel - Mine, sina Ethan at Keith - Natz, sina Kane at Ayah naman 'Loves', sina Kenzo at Ruan 'Melove', tapos sina Zither at Blue ay 'wify' at 'hubby'. Eh naisip ko na total mommy and daddy narin naman tayo, edi mama at papa nalang ang tawagan natin, nabasa ko kasi sa isang libro na mas magandang ganun raw ang tawagan ng mag-asawa para hindi ma-confuse ang mga bata sa kung anong tinatawag natin sa isa't-isa." Paliwanag pa nito.
	"At talagang inisa-isa pa yung tawagan ng barkada ah," natatawang wika nalang ni Blake.
	"Okay lang naman kung ayaw mo." wika na ni Jayzer at nagpout.
	"Sus, tampo agad?" biro pa nito. "Oh sige na… okay na sa akin PAPA." wika na nito kaya napangiti ang lalake ditto.
	"Subuan na kita," wika pa nito at siya na ang kumutsara ng cake para isubo ditto.
	"Mmm, ang sarap, lasang-lasa yung cheese." Masayang wika ni Blake.
	"Siyempre naman, this cake is especially for you, marami akong linagay na cheese." Wika pa ni Jayzer at kumindat dito.
	"Teka, specially for me eh binigay mo nga sa kanila yung cake?" tanong niya.
	"Ma naman, nakita mo bang may bawas yung binigay kong cake sa kanila? Siyempre iba yun, iba itong sayo." Wika pa ni Jayzer at linabas ang isang cake na may bawas na. Natuwa naman bigla si Blake ditto at biglang yinakap ang lalake.

"Oh, asan na yung dalawa na dapat magdadala niyan?" samantala ay tanong ni Blue kay Hazie habang hawak si Casey, ang anak nila Sandy at Renz na 10 months na.
	"Hayaan niyo na at ngayon lang magsosolo ang dalawang yun na di kasama ang kambal. Ngayon lang mararanasan ang maging magkasintahan." Wika naman ni Kassy.
	"Hayun, nagde-date nga sa kusina kaya iniwan ko na." sagot na ni Hazie.
	"Naku, ngayon pa nagpaka-teengare kung kelan may mga anak na." wika naman ni Ayah.
	"Loves, hayaan mo na sila… eh mas inuna pa nilang magkaroon ng baby kesa ang magkarelasyon eh." Wika naman ni Kane ditto.
	"Just don't mind them, guys. Mabuti nga at nagkaayos na silang dalawa para sa ikakaayos ng lahat at para sa mga bata." Wika naman ni Zither.
	"Kaya nga tinatapos ko na yung mga bagong designs ko ngayon kasi I'm sure magiging busy ako sa paggawa ng gown niya at gown natin. I'm sure na sa simbahan na ang tuloy ng dalawang yan." Wika naman ni Hazie sa kanila.
	"Wag mong masyadong pagurin ang sarili mo Babe, uso ang magpahinga." Singit naman ni Jawe kay Hazie na concern sa kasintahan.
	"Don't worry babe, everything is under control." Wika naman ni Hazie ditto at ngumiti.
	"Natz, ba't tahimik ka ata?" tanong naman ni Ethan kay Keith na tahimik ngang kumakain ng cake sa tabi niya.
	"Oo nga Dachi, hindi ka naimik diyan since noong dumating tayo ditto?" tanong naman ni Zither.
	"Wala, para kasing kinakabahan ako na hindi." Sagot lang niya.
	"Hah? Bakit may sakit ka ba Natz?" alalang tanong naman agad ni Ethan at sinapo ang noo nito.
	"Wala wag ka ngang OA Natz," sita nito sa lalake. "Feeling ko lang kasi may darating na problem, ewan ko, di ako kampante sa mga nangyayari." Wika niya.
	"Baka stressed ka lang sa school Keith," wika naman ni Ayah ditto.
	"Siguro nga, ewan." Wika lang nito. "In fairness ang sarap nitong cake, saan niyo ba nabili ito?" tanong pa ni Keith.
	"Iyan ata yung bi-nake ni Jayzer kagabe kasi hindi alam nila manang kung anong gagawin sa harinang natira sa cabinet kaya yun, nagbake nalang siya." sagot ni Blue.
	"Marunong siya? Wow ah, ang swerte ni Blake." Wika naman ni Ruan.
	"Marunong din naman ako Melove, gusto mo ipagluto kita ng paborito mo?" singit naman ni Kenzo.
	"Binida agad ang sarili?" natatawang wika pa ni Ruan kay Kenzo. "Anyways, ikaw ang bahala,"
	"At talagang cheese flavor ang ginawa? Baka para kay Blake lang ito?" Sita naman ni Zither sa cake.
	"Hindi, may iba ata sa kanya, may kinakain na siya kanina eh." Sagot ni Hazie.
	"Grabe sa cheese ang isang yun noh? Daig pa ang daga. Tama bang iyon ang ipaglihi sa mga bata? Buti di nagging mukhang daga ang kambal." Wika pa ni Eman.
	"Hon, wala namang scientific explanation ang paglilihi sa itsura ng bata noh? Nasa development yan at sa genes." Sita ni Kassy sa kasintahan.
	"Kung sa bagay, teka… saan nga pala pumunta si Piero?" tanong pa ni Eman sa iba.
	"May tinatapos na thesis or case study ata. Tiyaka ang alam ko may linalakad yung papers para sa pagtutuloy niya ng mag-aaral niya sa Seatle." Sagot ni Zither.
	"Aalis siya ng bansa?" tanong naman ni Kane.
	"Oo, para ata ituloy yung pag-aaral niya doon para maging ganap siyang doctor." Sagot pa ni Zither.
	"Ba't di niya sinabi sa amin? Mga ilang taon naman siya doon?" tanong pa ni Blue.
	"Hindi na muna ata niya sinabi sa inyo kasi ayaw niyang pagalitan niyo siya at maunsami pa ang plano niya. Mga 3 hanggang 4 na taon ata siya doon, tatapusin lahat. Doon narin kukuha ng lisensiya." Sagot pa ni Zither.
	"Ang tagal naman niya dun? Pano kung that time eh kinasal na ang isa sa atin? Edi di siya nakadalo?" tanong naman ni Ethan.
	"Ewan," kibit-balikat nalang na sagot ni Zither.

Childhood Lovers ni Blake si Jayzer na naging kilalang celebrity sa Korea. Muli niya itong nakita noong dumalaw siya sa rancho ng pinsan ni Kassy na si Ruan. Kasalukuyang nagbabakasyon pala doon ang grupo ng lalake. Akala niya ay hindi na niya ito muling makikita, pero nang pinagbigyan niya ang kanyang tiya na mag-aral sa Korea ay hindi niya inaasahang kakilala pala ng mga ito ang pamilya ng lalake. She accepted the fact that she can no longer hide or avoid him. Ang laso ay dumating ang mas malaking problema sa buhay niya. When something happened that she knew, magpapabago sa buhay niya.

Will she be able to get through it... Alone?

Time passed and Long Chen started by accident, he read a bit and the pillar under him shrank. Basically they had to answer correctly or the pillar would shrink. If it went to the ground that person would be eliminated.
Everyone laughed at Long Chen and a teacher pointed at him saying "This is a Teacher? Just a young kid pretending!" Cross stood up and shouted "OI! Old fart! Come down from that pillar and I'll give you a good beating! What Teacher? You've already got a foot in the grave! If I was learning under you, I would be too distracted about whether or not you'll collapse and die the next second to listen to a word that you were saying!"
The arena suddenly burst into laughter and the old man almost spit out blood. Cross said quickly "Aiya! Old man, don't spit out blood, you might really die!" The old man heard him and spat out a mouthful of blood as the crowd burst into uproarious laughter.
Bai Shishi's mother looked at Cross and pursed her lips in amusement. Mu Qingyun said quietly "Fifth brother, so many people are looking at you..." Cross said heroically "If such a small number of people made me scared, where would I get the cheek to curse the heavens themselves?"
A voice shouted "Enough! Quiet down! Boy, keep your comments to yourself." Cross replied "Hmph! I'll speak when I want to, thank you very much!" as he sat down, the voice sounded like it choked on something and everybody sucked in a cold breath of air.
The Sermon continued and Long Chen crushed the other competitors as he answered every question perfectly. The audience started cheering, Cross smirked and stood up saying "Everyone follow me! When my hands go up you put yours up and then come down. It's like a wave! Okay? Let's go."
He waved his hands up and the rest of the people started doing the same. The crowd was doing the wave and started getting excited, this was too handsome! Cross burst out laughing and continued the wave as the entire crowd continued.
Bai Shishi was stunned, this works too?
Long Chen quickly rose and became the champion. The Altar even gave him a reward! The Conference wasn't over yet as Long Chen had to answer questions from the crowd. He answered all their questions and quickly left.
Cross walked back to the residence and nestled into the tree in front of the residence, watching the people go by. He felt really calm in the trees, he took out a guitar. That's right, a guitar. It was an acoustic guitar that he made to see if it was the same as the zither here.
He propped his back against the tree trunk and hung a leg off the thick branch with his other leg bent and on the branch. He strummed the strings and tuned the guitar to his liking before he started playing it. 
A beautiful melody came from his guitar and flooded the area as Cross started singing happily. His voice was magnetic and attractive, luring in the women who were walking on the streets. Soon enough, there was a big crowd in front of the Lingxiao Academy residence as Cross continued to play the guitar with his eyes closed, swaying to the rhythm.
Bai Shishi showed up with another woman and they looked at Cross in bewilderment. The woman slapped Bai Shishi's arm and said quickly "Who is that!?" Bai Shishi gave her a hopeless look and said "A big asshole." the girl said happily "Yay!"

The others came out and looked at Cross in disbelief. Luo Bing said "Third and Fifth brother... Is there anything they can't do?" Bai Xiaole said excitedly "Of course not! My bosses are the best in the world!"
Cross finished the song and opened his eyes before being startled, why are there so many people here? Was he doing a concert? The women shouted "Ahh! Play more!" Cross was stunned and looked at the Lingxiao disciples who also wanted to hear more.
He scratched his neck and said "How about something different? I don't even know if this works here..." everybody was confused and the tree made a wooden platform. Cross put his guitar to the side on a stand and pulled out a metal box, a wire, and another guitar...
He chuckled and pulled in the Electric guitar into the amp, before saying "En. This will probably be the first time you hear something like this. Bear with me. It's better with more instruments but I'll make it work alone."
Bai Shishi said "What is that?" Cross grinned and said "Electric Guitar, little Rock. Hehehe." everyone was confused and Cross strummed the strings quickly, letting out a 'Waooowww' everyone watching was startled.
Cross chuckled and tweaked the strings before moving his hand quickly, playing an upbeat and fast paced song he remember from a long time ago. The music was loud and got people excited, they had never heard something like this before!
Cross' fingers moved like magic across the strings, he were going so fast that they left shadows where they were before. What Zither? This is Rock and Roll, baby! The crowd started cheering and jumping around as Cross smiled and continued playing, feeling like it was becoming a concert.
Long Chen came out and looked at Cross with a smirk. Cross was in his own world, playing the Electric Guitar like a hero. The music was magical and made people want to jump and dance, Cross stopped and smiled while the people cheered crazily.
Someone shouted "What is that garbage! You suck!" Cross sneered and looked at the man before saying "Did you think Music was just for show? Moron, let this daddy show you something spectacular today!" He lifted his hand high and said "See you in hell, idiot." before strumming the strings.
The man's head exploded like a watermelon and everybody was shocked, Cross laughed and continued with another song, shredding the guitar as the Amp blasted the waves of music. All the people who criticized him exploded into coins and had holographic numbers appear over their heads.
+100
+1000
Cross grinned and got into it, nodding his head as he played. He looked down and winked at the girls, some of the girls in the crowd fainted with hearts in their eyes. Cross whistled and more instruments appeared with Cross clones as they started playing. Drums appeared, a bass, a microphone.
It turned into a full blown concert. There were even, somehow, spotlights and smoke. The crowd grew and they started cheering even louder. Cross got Bai Shishi's cousin, the woman with her, to the stage and threw her in front of the mic before imparting the lyrics to the song.
He winked at her and stepped back to play the guitar as she started singing, not afraid of the crowd watching. The girl's name was Lu Mingxuan, she was great. She started singing "Hello again, friend of a friend. I knew you well..."
She grabbed the mic off the stand and paced on the stage with seductive steps as she kept singing.
Now there weren't just women, but men coming as well. Cross continued to play the guitar and looked at Lu Mingxuan, she looked at him and smiled. She walked over and ran her finger on his chest as she sang and circled around him.
Cross was loving every second of it as he played, while Lu Mingxuan sang "Send you my love on the wire~ Lifts you up every time~..." she returned to the front.
Bai Shishi's face was black and Long Chen laughed, before talking to Luo Bing's cousins that came.
A while later
The performance ended and all the instruments disappeared. Cross smiled and went into the residence, not bothering with the crowd's cheers. Lu Mingxuan skipped after him with a big smile, that was the most fun she had ever had in her life! Cross smirked and left the door open, she walked in and he closed it.
Bai Shishi was beyond angry and stomped off after them. Long Chen chuckled and 3 days passed like this.
The group appeared in the area where the competition will take place. Bai Shishi was standing in between Cross and Lu Mingxuan with an angry face. Who would've thought that when she kicked the door in Cross and Lu Mingxuan were kissing? She was directly subjected to that and since then she has been separating them. There wasn't a second she wasn't with Lu Mingxuan.
Cross rubbed his nose in amusement, he kinda liked Lu Mingxuan. After the performance they did he felt like she was really good. He maybe indulged a bit too much, but he did what he wanted. Since he had Lu Mingxuan, she would never escape.
He already decided it, his decision wouldn't change. He looked over and winked at Lu Mingxuan, she blew him a kiss and Bai Shishi tore up the flying kiss in anger. 
A strange smell wafted towards them and Lu Mingxuan frowned saying "Ugh, not this guy." Long Chen looked over and said "Who's that guy?" Cross looked over and said "Another gigolo?" Lu Mingxuan said "His name is Jiang Wuji. He's the Grandson of the Leader of Huadie Sect. All the resources are focused on him. We met him coming here and he angered me so we fought but his moves were too insidious so I ran away."
She looked over at Cross and said "This guy, I'm sure he came for me. You have to protect me." Cross chuckled and said "Little Rock can protect you, this guy... I'm afraid he's about to have a bad day if he even looks at Shishi." he shook his head and added "I can smell him from here, a true gigolo through and through."
Lu Mingxuan pursed her lips and Jiang Wuji walked over, surrounded by women in heavy makeup. He looked at Lu Mingxuan and smiled "Miss Lu, when we met last time, I thought you and I were predestined! Unexpectedly, you've brought me so many beautiful things! It seems my Childe Wuji is very lucky."
Cross looked at Long Chen and said "Childe Wuji?" Long Chen shook his head and said "I don't know either. I think he's talking about himself." Cross replied "In the third person? What a weirdo..." Lu Mingxuan grabbed Cross arm and pressed it between her breasts as she said "This is my man. Who are you compared to him? You and me, we're not suitable."
Jiang Wuji frowned and said "This nobody, he's not even strong." Lu Mingxuan sneered "He's plenty strong, he can go for 100 rounds without a break." Cross was amused, this girl.. so dirty. But that was good! Made things interesting.
A woman grabbed Jiang Wuji's arm and said "Only 100 rounds? What a waste." Cross frowned and shook Lu Mingxuan off as he said "Oi... Slut. Do you dare to speak to me like this again? I dare you. Even if the gigolo's ancestor came back from the grave you would still die." he was getting angry as he added "Come, come, speak slut! Let's see if your white faced man whore dares to stop me!"
The woman trembled in fear but still said "You're a-" Cross slapped her into a blood mist before shooting his hand out and grabbing Jiang Wuji by the neck. He lifted him up and said "You're very good, eh? Young master of the whatever sect? How many people just like you have I killed?"
Jiang Wuji was choking and Cross turned him around as he said "You see all these woman, yeah?" he punched out and obliterated them all, dying the ground red with their blood. He wiped his hand on Jiang Wuji's robe as he said "If I see you again, you'll join them." he threw him into the blood and kicked him flying as he said "Get out of my sight, trash."
An old man said "What happened here?" Cross said "Some gigolo came to ask me if I could join his gigolo union. It was truly disgusting, is the Kyushu convention truly housing filth like this? If that's the case then I guess, I'll just leave. This kind of disgusting dog barks at people and makes them uncomfortable, someone should keep it on a leash."
The old man pointed at the blood and Cross said "Sorry, my wife's time of the month, she forgot her sanitary pads." Lu Mingxuan's face turned red and she pinched his waist in both extreme anger and embarrassment. The old man coughed awkwardly and Cross added "Do you have any sanitary pads? I wouldn't want something like this to happen again. You know each drop of blood from her makes my heartache, so much blood like this, I'm afraid I might kill some people by accident. It would be a big shame, you know. I'm a very tolerant person."
The old man left without saying anything, if he stayed any longer he might just cough up blood from this shameless bastard, taking about sanitary pads!
~~Advertisement-Chan~~
https://splurgdstudio.com

Cross is the last of his kind, an extinct species wiped out long ago. Blessed with a strange power, he shall make a name for himself and make everybody remember the Blood Elves once more!

https://www.pat reon.com/MonkeyGodking

(BTW I suck at writing these! Just read it if you're interested!)

Yan Liqiang remained silent for the whole time as he listened from the side. He waited until Lu Beixin was done playing the song, then clapped his hands.
"Beixin, I didn't expect you would be able to play a zither this well…!"
Lu Beixin pouted, then turned her head to the side and ignored Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang chuckled at the sight of Lu Beixin huffing in anger. He walked over but said nothing. Instead, he moved his hands over the zither.
Dring… Dring… Dring…
At first, Yan Liqiang was merely making noises. Slowly, the noises turned into a melody. In actuality, Yan Liqiang didn't know how to play the zither but he played guitar in his previous life. Since both of them were quite similar, he was able to make some disjointed melody after watching Lu Beixin play just now.
Lu Beixin was unperturbed at first, but a moment later, her ears pricked up involuntarily. When Yan Liqiang was halfway into his song, she couldn't help but turn around to gape at him. "What song is this? How come I've never heard of it?"
"This is a song I made for you. It has never existed in this world, so naturally you wouldn't have heard it!" Yan Liqiang smiled.
"Liar!" Lu Beixin continued pouting, but her eyes followed Yan Liqiang's every hand movement. The way she tried to secretly remember the melody of the song was extremely adorable.
"Why would I lie to you?" Yan Liqiang continued gliding his hands over the zither. Although it was only a simple melody made by playing with two fingers, it was undeniably beautiful. "The style of this song is different than the Song of Pear Blossom you were playing just now. Listen to it carefully…"
"Did you really make a song for me?" Lu Beixin's expression wavered.
"Of course!"
"What is it called?"
"The Dream of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies…" [1]
"Can you write it down?" Lu Beixin's great interest in this song made her temporarily forget her anger toward Yan Liqiang. She just wanted Yan Liqiang to write down the music score for her.
"There's no need for music scores because I'm here. I'll just hum and you'll play. You'll surely memorize it after playing twice..." Yan Liqiang went behind Lu Beixin, then placed his hands on her delicate shoulders and turned her around without even waiting for her response. "Come, give it a try…"
"Then you'll have to slow down a little in case I get left behind…" Lu Beixin took a deep breath and placed her hands on the zither.
"Sure!" After saying that, Yan Liqiang started humming gently. Lu Beixin listened, then moved her fingers to copy the melody. Her rendition was much more powerful than the one Yan Liqiang played with only two fingers.
Yan Liqiang only had to hum once and Lu Beixin managed to catch up. By the second hum, she already managed to memorize the song and could play it all by herself. By the third time, Yan Liqiang suddenly placed his hand on Lu Beixin's. "I'll teach you a skill. Once you master it, you will be able to play ten times better than before. It will surely make you an unparalleled zither player in the Great Han Empire…"
"Liar. No such thing exists in the world…!" Lu Beixin didn't believe Yan Liqiang as she thought he was merely trying to pacify her. Even so, her heart was dripping in honey and half of the jealousy she felt earlier had dissipated.
"I'm not lying to you. You press here and I'll press here. We'll play it together. You can listen to it and tell me what you think…"
Two strings vibrated one after another. Driiingg… The lingering note caused Lu Beixin to lift her eyebrows. "This is…"
"Another one. Put your hand here this time and I'll put mine here. We'll play together and you can listen to it again…"
Driiiiiiiingggggg… The note lingered even longer this time. After trying a few more times, Lu Beixin's eyes started to shine as she finally understood the marvel in the sounds. She spun her head around to look at Yan Liqiang. "What… What is this called?"
"This zither technique is known as the art of harmony. I have created this for you, Beixin…" An extremely godlike expression suddenly appeared on Yan Liqiang's face.
Yan Liqiang had heard various musical performances in the Great Han Empire. It was sad to say that he realized the musicians in this world seemed to be oblivious about chords and harmony. Every instrument was basically played in unison.
To Lu Beixin who loved playing the zither, Yan Liqiang's words were like a force which pushed open the doors to a whole new world.
Lu Beixin looked at Yan Liqiang, her eyes filled with emotions.
It had been a long while since Lu Beixin and Yan Liqiang had left. Neither of them came back. Old Master Lu was starting to get worried and sent a servant to check on the situation. He knew Lu Beixin was upset after hearing some rumors about Yan Liqiang. A short while later, the servant returned with news, "Lord Yan and the Lady are playing the zither by the pond in the rear courtyard!"
"Both of them are playing the zither?" Old Master Lu was slightly taken aback.
"Yes, I saw Lord Yan and the Lady playing the zither together in the pavilion by the pond from afar. The sounds were extremely pleasant to my ears!" The servant looked like he was still enjoying the music from his memory.
Old Master Lu and Lu Peien exchanged looks, then burst out laughing. They knew why Lu Beixin was upset, but things like that were probably nothing to a man of Yan Liqiang's caliber. Both of them didn't think it was a big deal either. The main cause was still because of Lu Beixin's status to Yan Liqiang. Besides, Yan Liqiang could be considered amazing for only getting involved in a bit of a scandal by now. If he hadn't gotten involved in any, Old Master Lu was going to start wondering if Yan Liqiang had some problems himself and he would be worried about leaving his daughter in his hands.
"Alright, you are dismissed. Tell the others not to disturb them…" Old Master Lu ordered with a smile.
Of course, Yan Liqiang knew why Lu Beixin was throwing a tantrum today but an explanation wasn't necessary. Lu Beixin had grown up in an influential clan. Her elders, brothers, and even Old Master Lu had several wives. Her elder sisters were also married and all her brother-in-laws had at least a wife and a mistress. This was an unwritten rule of this world — a capable man was allowed to marry as many women as he pleased.
Lu Beixin was exposed to this culture since young, so she should've been mentally prepared since long ago to readily accept it. This was the benefit of marrying a lady from an influential clan; they had seen a lot of things. Although she had some temper, it wasn't really a big problem for Yan Liqiang.
With such a beauty playing a zither in front of him, Yan Liqiang couldn't help but be enchanted by every movement she made. He stood closely behind her as he taught her how to play the chords. From a higher view, Yan Liqiang could see her long silky hair, ample chest, slim waist, and round rear. Her long sleeves fluttered in the gentle breeze that carried the soothing fragrance of her body. As Yan Liqiang admired the sight before him, he eventually found his own hands sliding down from the collar of her dress, starting to misbehave...
Lu Beixin, who was learning how to play the chords, gritted her teeth as she tried to stop herself from making any sounds. Her body trembled and her hands faltered. Yan Liqiang's actions slowly grew bolder. Lu Beixin could feel her ears, neck, and cheeks starting to burn up. By now, her tempo was completely disrupted and she couldn't carry on playing. She snapped her hand around and bit Yan Liqiang's arm. "You meanie!"
"They've grown larger compared to last time!" Yan Liqiang whispered to her.
"You're still saying that…?!" Lu Beixin clenched her jaw in embarrassment. "Knock it off…! S-Someone will see us!"
Yan Liqiang pulled out one of his hands to pick up the plectrum Lu Beixin used to play the zither and sent it flying. The plectrum hit the peg of the bamboo curtain at the side of the pavilion, then changed its course from the impact and hit the peg of another bamboo curtain before returning to its original position on the table. This swiftly lowered both bamboo curtains with a loud noise. If there was a martial expert around, he would surely be gasping in amazement at Yan Liqiang's skills in handling hidden weapons.
"No one will be able to see now…" Yan Liqiang's wolf-like voice rang out from the pavilion. "Here, let me teach you another way to fiddle with an instrument…"
Thirty minutes later, hurried footsteps were heard rushing toward the pavilion. Instead of coming into the pavilion, the person stopped about twenty meters away and spoke.
"Lord Yan, the Law Enforcement Office from the Qiyun Protectorate's Office sent someone to the Lu Residence. They have urgent news!"
A few seconds later, Yan Liqiang feigned a calm voice. "Alright, you are dismissed!"
The messenger quickly left...
A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang parted the bamboo curtains and came out from the pavilion with a devilish smile on his face, then strode quickly to the front courtyard...
A few moments after Yan Liqiang left, Lu Beixin came out from the pavilion too with a flushed face and slightly disheveled hair. She straightened clothes and hair, threw a glance in the direction where Yan Liqiang went then stomped back to her own courtyard...
The Law Enforcement Office indeed had an important agenda with Yan Liqiang — they finally found clues regarding Xue Cao's missing case…


The most precious things in the world are priceless. Ordinary men tend to turn a blind eye to this fact. Apart from the treasured air, sunlight, and familial love, there is still one more thing that’s extremely valuable. It’s right beside you and can be easily obtained. But... I wonder whether you can see it?

When he arrived at the supermarket, Su Yang took out the piece of paper that he had written down the ingredients he needed and read through it again.
'Compared to before, the ingredients used to make the recipe this time seems a little special.
'Not only does this item not need any +1 items, the end product is supposed to be a second hand guitar. Not only that, it's supposed to be a… model guitar.'
That's right. The special item was a guitar, but Su Yang was going to be building a guitar model.
Su Yang was stunned when he saw the introduction to the recipe.
'This is too perfunctory!
'This special item might just be a crude product.
'But since it's a free recipe, I suppose there's no harm in accepting it. What's the worst that can happen? I could get another new special item next monday which is just in 3 days time which is wonderful.'
With that in mind, he stopped complaining. As he shopped in the supermarket, he bought what he needed. [Cylindrical Plastic Wrap], [Rubber Band], [Duct Tape], [Double-sided Tape], [Wrapping Paper] etc…
After getting everything he needed, Su Yang even used his [Verbal Canon] skill to coax the supermarket's cashier to give him a cardboard box.
Su Yang paid the bill and returned home with the stuff.
When he reached home, Su Yang brought the stuff into the virtual space and placed it on the dining table.
'The production process this time is relatively simple. There's no need to go to the courtyard.'
He casually rewatched the production video. After confirming that there was no problem, he clicked [Produce].
As Su Yang clicked on [Produce], some light noises were heard in the dining room, followed by a series of tools that appeared on the dining table.
Su Yang placed the video just above of his vision and officially started the process.
He first folded the box and then tied it with duct tape a few times.
Then, he used a compass to draw a large circle on the box before using his knife to carve out the circle along the drawn lines.
After removing the circle, he picked up the electric drill and made 4 small holes at the bottom of the circle.
After everything was done, he stuck the cylindrical plastic wrap into the box and sealed it. Then, he picked up the spray paint and sprayed the shell and the cylindrical plastic wrap with paint.
In the end, Su Yang cut the rubber band and made it into a zither string. He tied it to the cardboard box and fixed it with a stapler. Thus, a simple guitar model was done.
Su Yang looked at the weird guitar model in his hand and the rows of green ticks that were displayed on the system. He felt that he was being mocked…
'I managed to pass just like that?
'The system has no limits anymore.
'However, since the system has already determined that it's done, I can't be bothered to argue. It's better than having to do it again!' Hence, he simply clicked [Submit].
As he clicked [Submit], everything on the table, including Su Yang's guitar model, disappeared. Even the paint stains on the table disappeared.
'I guess I can save myself from having to clean up now.'
Moments later, a small, palm-sized crystal guitar appeared out of thin air.
Su Yang wanted to catch it reflexively, but he stopped just as he was about to catch it. He suddenly remembered, 'I should not touch these items casually since it might have some negative abilities.'
While he was pondering, the crystal guitar fell onto the floor with a loud crack, then... it shattered with shards flying everywhere.
Su Yang was speechless.
'It broke?
'Just like that?
'That's just absurd!'
Su Yang looked at the broken pieces on the floor and was speechless. 'Can this special item still be used?
'I haven't had such an experience before!
'Should I patch it up?'
Su Yang squatted on the floor, looking worried.
After hesitating for a while, Su Yang decided, 'Forget it, I'll just leave it like that for now. I'll wait and see if I can get the system's evaluation before planning what to do next.
'Normally, the system's evaluation would appear within a few minutes. If it has not appeared after 10 minutes, that means that the special item is broken. In that case, I'll just sweep it off and bin it or keep it as a supplementary material for the next special item.
Lying on the sofa, Su Yang summoned the virtual interface and browsed through the news aimlessly. He was thinking about what he could do to kill some time.
Before he could read the news, he suddenly received a WeChat message.
'What? A WeChat message?
'I wonder which little cutie is it this time?'
As Su Yang thought about it, he opened WeChat and quietly retracted the statement "little cutie" because… it was actually the genius, Li Runze who was looking for him.
Li Runze texted, 'Here.'
'I suppose he's a genius for a reason. He sent a one word message as though he knew that I'd definitely be "here".
Su Yang replied with the same word, 'Yes.'
Li Runze replied, 'I'm going back to school.'
Su Yang was confused.
'He's back to school now? There's still half a month before school starts. Why's he back so early?'
Su Yang asked, 'Is something the matter?'
Li Runze replied, 'The professor wants me to help with an experiment.'
Su Yang replied, 'Artificial intelligence related?'
Li Runze replied. 'Yes.'
The genius was so aloof that Su Yang did not know how to reply anymore. Through those monotonous sentences, Su Yang could even imagine the expressionless face he had. Su Yang thought that he was the one who had taken the initiative to chat with the genius.
He probed, 'Then… shall we have a meal together someday?'
Li Runze replied, 'Okay.'
Su Yang was speechless.
'I really am taking the initiative to chat with him…'
Li Runze sent another message, 'When?'
'This is really his style of talking.'
Su Yang replied, 'How about next weekend? I have something on over the weekdays.'
Li Runze replied again, 'Okay.'
After the conversation ended, Su Yang felt that…'I've just lost a meal for no reason and I've even taken the initiative to chat with someone…
'Li Runze was the one who had looked for me first! Why did it seem like it was the other way around? Also… why have I offered to treat him to a meal?'
Su Yang was puzzled.
Just as he was wondering who it was that actually had the [Verbal Canon] ability, the crystal guitar that fell onto the ground slowly started to glow.
The shattered pieces glowed simultaneously to form a web of light. Then, it rose into the air and slowly gathered to form a crystal guitar.
Su Yang did not notice everything that had happened. When he noticed the abnormality from the corner of his eye, he turned around and saw that the crystal guitar had returned to normal.
'What? Didn't it shatter just now? How is it patched up already?"
Su Yang walked over and opened the system. The interface of the crystal guitar popped up.
[Special Item: The Masked Guitar Master's Second Hand Guitar]
Ability: By placing this guitar onto other guitars, the two will merge together. The appearance of the guitar will not change, but they will become a world class guitar. When used, Proficiency +1, Vocal +2, Performance +2, Emotion +3.
Restriction 1: All effects +1 again on rainy days.
Restriction 2: User has to wear a mask before using this ability.
Restriction 3: Increasing its abilities will not trigger any additional effects.
Note: I'm really sad, playing Chopin in the rain. Written by the Masked Guitar Master.
'Well, this item seems interesting.'
Su Yang, who had always thought that the crystal guitar was completely useless, immediately went against his words. 'This guitar seems to be very useful. It might even be a godlike item if used correctly.'
Su Yang already had the basic ability to play the guitar plus an additional effect, [Elementary Talent: Voice Specialty].
However, ever since he had been a little popular for just a while, he has not used it again.
This was because he felt that the ability was too low levelled for him to excel. He might have gained some popularity if he used it in school, but there were many others who were much better than him on the Internet.
However, things were different now. 'With this special item, my guitar singing ability would become +1, which would be an intermediate ability and I've seen how impressive intermediate abilities are.
'If I used it on a rainy day, my abilities would gain another +1. That should directly enable me to have high-level abilities!
'I've never had this kind of ability before.
'Maybe… I might get to have a different experience?
'Not to mention, this guitar has more additional effects, Vocal +2, Performance +2, Emotion +3.
'Although I don't know how effective these+2 and +3 effects are, they shouldn't be too bad.
'After all, [Squid that didn't like to dive] has similar effects. However, they were all +10. Based on how Chu Xia used it in the past, +10 should be the highest point one could achieve.
'That means, the +2 ,+3 effects would become +3 and +4 on rainy days, it should become very useful by then.'
At that thought, Su Yang felt that he should try this new special item.
He hurried to the study to take out the cheap guitar that he had bought for 300 yuan earlier. He had not used it since the first time he played it.
Previously, he did not have the concept of good or bad guitar, but ever since he sang with the wandering guitarist, he felt that his cheap guitar was as good as the sound it made…
'Except for the sound, it's basically a piece of firewood…
'However, this guitar can finally be used again!'
With that thought in mind, Su Yang took out the guitar and brought it to the living room. He then picked up the crystal guitar from the floor and placed it on the guitar.
Suddenly, the crystal guitar lit up and Su Yang closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes, the crystal guitar had disappeared, and the cheap guitar before him did not look any different. However, Su Yang could feel. 'The guitar seems to have… changed.'
'I don't feel pitiful for the crystal guitar to be merged with my cheap guitar since the crystal guitar can be removed whenever I want later.
'Besides… The crystal guitar's ability is to turn an ordinary guitar into a world class guitar. Even if I did merge it with a good guitar, the effect doesn't change. So… it doesn't really make a difference which guitar I use to merge it with.'
After figuring out the situation, Su Yang wanted to play the guitar.
However, at that moment, he suddenly remembered the new function after the system+2, [Achievement System].
'In the [Achievement System], there seems to be an [Achievement] that requires me to gain 100,000 fans on the internet through my own guitar performance video.
'The Brick's cooldown time is almost up. Could I use this new item to complete this achievement and obtain a bronze point?'
At that thought, Su Yang turned on the [Achievement System]…


Su Yang was an average university student in Shanghai when he received a system that allowed him to add points to things. The point system provided him with missions and by clearing them, he would gain points. 
Add a point into an object, the object will receive a special ability; add a point into a plant, the plant will come alive; add points on himself, he will get talents or superpowers.
With the mysterious point system in hand, Su Yang aimed to become rich and alter his fate. On his path towards success, he encountered many interesting matters and people, including famous actresses and business tycoons. Fueled by determination, Su Yang set his sight on adding points into all things to help him achieve his goal. 


Inside a luxurious box of the Westland KTV…
Tang Xiu sat cross-legged in front of a zither. His hands gently caressed and stroked the zither made of the best quality Yellow Rosewood material. The zither’s body was shining with a delicate ornate carving and meticulous workmanship. It also had its seven strings already deployed properly.
The zither was highly regarded in Chinese culture and considered as the noblest instrument. There was even a saying that, “wherever the gentleman is seated, there must be a zither to the left and books to the right” [1]. It was also included as the first in the Four Arts of Chinese culture: which were the zither, Go, calligraphy and painting; as most of the refined scholars also regarded it as the most elegant representative of all.
Previously…
Tang Xiu also had a zither. It was one of the top-notch immortal devices in the Immortal World. Its wooden body was made of Phoenix tree with strings made of the tendons of the Five Clawed Golden Dragon. After which, it was nourished with the blood essence of certain Supremes in the Immortal World for nearly ten thousand years; and was also tempered within the Nine Dark Ice Pool and Earthly Fire Source for a few hundreds of years. Even if it were ordinary Immortals, they would be able to kill high-level celestial beings if they could get their hands on the zither.
“Tang Xiu, can you really play the zither?”
Cheng Yannan came over in front of the zither as she asked with a curious expression on her beautiful face.
Tang Xiu came back from the recollection of his memories and said softly, “Ah, I did learn some before.”
A trace of doubt and contempt was revealed on Cheng Yannan’s eyes as she said with a smile, “It’s alright. Even if you can’t play and sing well with the instrument, we won’t laugh at you.”
Yuan Chuling also followed the noise and said, “Yep, we won’t mock you, Eldest Brother. Absolutely! Besides, you’ll still be regarded as a multi-talented person even if your play isn’t good enough. It’s just kinda a pity that you don’t play guitar, though. Else, you could’ve been able to charm those eye-catching and elegant pretty chicks.”
"Pfft…"
“Hehehe..."
"Hahaha…"
Cheng Yannan, Xia Wanfen, and Li Xiaoqian were amused and burst into laughter by Yuan Chuling’s comments.
Then, the door to the box was pushed open from the outside.
“Well, well, all of you look very happy. Any happy things you’re talking about?”
Chen Xiaofen smiled and looked at the five people inside the room. There was also a bit of scrutiny in her eyes as her sight finally fell on Tang Xiu who sat cross-legged.
Xia Wanfen approached to greet as she said with a smile, “Aunt Chen, we were talking about Tang Xiu’s skill with the zither! But well, he’s acting modestly even to us…”
“Is that Tang Xiu whom you told me about? Well, he’s quite young. Nowadays, the people who can play the zither are getting fewer, it’s much scarcer for boys. Come here, I’ll introduce you to some people. These three are my good sisters. They’re teachers from the Regal Classical Music Academy in the provincial capital.” Chen Xiaofen said with a faint smile.
“How do you do teachers!”
The three girls along with Yuan Chuling greeted them.
Tang Xiu didn’t get up. He just nodded slightly toward Chen Xiaofen while his eyes only swept over Huang Jie and the other two women. Tonight, he was just out to have some leisure and entertainment; he was quite reluctant to join in the fun with strangers. However, Chen Xiaofen was the Proprietress of this KTV, and it would be rude if he refused.
 _“I should leave as fast as possible.”_ Tang Xiu thought.
Upon seeing Tang Xiu’s attitude, Huang Jie and the two others slightly knitted their brows. They were accustomed to having students treating them with respectful manners. And they felt Tang Xiu wasn’t pleasant to the eyes after seeing such indifferent manner from him. However, Tang Xiu was but only a passer-by in their eyes, while they were only here just to join in on the fun.
The three then sat on the other side of the sofa. Huang Jie glanced at Tang Xiu before she called out to Chen Xiaofen, “Haven’t you said that some people will play an instrument and sing in your KTV? How haven’t you started now? We sisters are musicians ourselves, so we can give some pointers to these students.”
Upon hearing the words of her sisters with some flavor of mockery and teasing in it, Chen Xiaofen was secretly amused inside. She also felt that Tang Xiu’s indifferent attitude was quite inappropriate. At the moment, she too could feel the dissatisfaction from her sisters as they prepared to give some lessons to Tang Xiu, which was probably to bring him down a notch.
In other departments, perhaps these sisters of hers couldn’t teach Tang Xiu. But in the music department, they were absolutely the ones with the authority to do that at the moment.
Cheng Yannan, Yuan Chuling and the other two also understood the meaning behind Huang Jie’s words as they turned around to look at Tang Xiu.
However, Tang Xiu still wore his indifferent expression. But in the end, he didn’t look at Huang Jie and the other two women, even once. Along with the quiet atmosphere inside the box, he looked down to face the zither in front of him.
“Ding…”
A clear zither’s sound came out as his slender fingers fiddled with its string.
In the next moment…
The flashing radiance in his eyes disappeared as he closed them. With his right hand on the strings and his left one forming the chord, the tips of his fingers moved in an unusual fingering style. His right hand moved on the strings; picking, releasing, scraping, beating, plucking, rubbing, locking… while his left hand moved up and down; advancing and returning back, moving back and repeating, reciting and scratching, fomenting and bending his finger, pulling, strapping, clawing, knocking, drawing, hooking; as his fingers continued fiddling with the strings.
Within the haziness of the mood…
All of Tang Xiu’s fingers stroke the zither, giving off the charming rhyme as though running water. From the zither, desolate and dreary symphony came out, leaving the flavor of trembling autumn wind behind. The rhythm was slow, and yet, it gave off the feeling of melancholic and desolateness.
A few seconds after the zither’s sound came out, Huang Jie who was feeling quite the antipathy toward Tang Xiu was shocked. The Proprietress of the KTV—Chen Xiaofen’s body turned stiff, as though being struck with electricity; while the eyes of the other two teachers of the Regal Classics Music Academy, were contracted. Their eyes were locked on Tang Xiu and didn’t move, even a bit.
It was a soul-touching symphony. The four of them had high attainments in the musical department and were specialists in the field. The mellow melody of the zither stirred up their hearts with the feeling of anxiousness as it pulled them in into the world filled with melancholic autumn wind and fallen leaves everywhere.
The feeling of yearning…
Of homesickness…
And the longing to see his own parents…
They were as though seeing themselves drifting, floating along with the current and traveling far away from home; as they were standing at the end of a narrow-winding path in the late autumn, looking into the distance from a higher ground toward the direction of their hometown. They were as if good, well-behaved children who looked at a certain place with their hearts filled with filial-piety. And yet, the desolate world forced them to turn direction; while they were worrying about their warm, caring mothers in their hometown.
  _"The autumn rain is falling with the missing of the beloved one, worrying about the son in the remembrance…_
A deep and low hoarse voice, along with the symphony of the zither lingered around. There was no towering and abrupt feeling within as everything harmoniously blended into one, creating a kind of sorrowful atmosphere as though the air was gradually filled with a floating, greenish black mist.
 _ “The journey to immortality is never-ending, with an undecided will and faltering…_
The scene changed as if they were now seeing a vast path that led to an extremely high mountain summit. A young man with an Immortal sword stood there, struggling to advance forward; and yet, stopped advancing for each step forward as he turned his head, looking at a certain distance from the high place.
  _“To the sky, I looked up and asked; to the earth, I looked down and talked; as ten thousands of years unhindered I walked. The Underworld of Hades I trampled on; The Highest of the Heavens I stamped on; for the path to the Gate of Heaven, I bitterly sought to knock on. The regrets inside the soul linger, longing for the wish so difficult to appear, for returning back to those moments I deeply desire…_
For a moment…
Huang Jie, Chen Xiaofen, and the other women’s hearts trembled. It was as if they were inside a dreamland; within the embodiment of the Yellow Springs of the Underworld, with the Supreme Immortals of the Ninth Heaven above them. Painfully, they were seeking the path to Heaven’s door, only wanting to find a beacon light and be able to find the path that led home.
The sadness and the sorrows, the sufferings and the longings…
Hundreds ups and downs turned into thousands of anxiety and worries as the feelings lingered inside their souls. Along down their cheeks, two lines of tears flowed down and wetted their front clothes.
Yuan Chuling was shaken; while Cheng Yannan, Xia Wanfen and Li Xiaoqian, were as though struck with goosebumps. As though being hypnotized and dazed, they listened to the zither music that was gradually getting faster from slow, and from the slow play to the stormy one. They listened to Tang Xiu’s singing from the beginning of the deep and hoarse voice to the venting-like screaming roar.
Sitting in front of the zither, Tang Xiu’s fingers that fiddled with the strings were getting faster and faster. It was as though he returned back to the time when he was playing the zither in the Immortal World. His feelings and emotions were blended into it. The emotions of the arduous and difficult Immortal Path and the longing feeling to be with the parents were the most vivid emotions that blended into his zither play.
Gradually, the sound of the zither subsided along with the passing time…
Tang Xiu slowly raised his head and slowly opened his eyes, as a trace of warm, sparkling and translucent tears dripped down from the corner of his eyes. His blurred sight gradually became clear. As he saw the people inside the box with each and every one of them had tears streaming down their faces, his heart was filled with happiness.
Yes, he felt happy inside!
He was once a Supreme in the Immortal World. However, if he were to be given choices, he’d rather choose to give up such an aloof and remote standing, as well as abandon his heaven-shaking strength. He’d rather turn back into an ordinary person and return to his mother’s side. Helping and accompanying her, serving her before she went to bed when she grew older, taking care of her in her aged time, and arranging a proper burial after she died.
After a long while...
Chen Xiaofen finally sobered up from the world made of the zither music. With her blurred vision, she watched Tang Xiu who was not only with tears but also slightly smiling. Her heart suddenly throbbed. The zither music touched her, as each and every tone within held her heart captivated. Never had she thought that such a wonderful zither play would exist in the world. It was as though filled with mesmerizing charm, and she couldn’t help but immerse herself within.
She looked at him, but nothing came up as how to express her feeling. Of countless words she could say, eventually manifested into only two words: “Thank you!”
After Huang Jie came out of the aftereffect of the music, she looked at Chen Xiaofen who was looking at her with a somewhat angry expression. She turned around toward Tang Xiu—albeit reluctantly; as a deep sense of shame made her almost find a hole to hide.
A moment ago, she was boasting that she would give some pointers to Tang Xiu. However, within just a blink of an eye, Tang Xiu’s zither play subdued her. She was a professional musician as well as a specialist in the field. A Music Academy’s teacher who should’ve acted by example. And as a teacher, she actually judged a zither Grandmaster with contempt. Such a narrow-minded thought was something she deeply regretted.
“I’m really sorry!”
Huang Jie walked forward for a few steps as she faced Tang Xiu and apologized with a deep bow.
At this moment…
The other people inside the box also sobered up as though they were just woken up from a dream. They looked at Tang Xiu with a shocked expression as if they were coming across something inconceivable.
“Eldest Brother, you’re…”
Yuan Chuling’s lips wiggled a few times. His voice stopped in his throat, as even he didn’t realize that his attitude toward Tang Xiu became more respectful. It was a kind of respectful gesture and expression from the manifestation of worship that came from the heart.
The tears from Cheng Yannan, Xia Wanfen, and Li Xiaoqian’s faces had already disappeared. But it was as though their tears had washed their eyes as it turned particularly bright at the moment. Previously, they were also full of contempt, doubting Tang Xiu’s skill in playing the zither because they had never listened to his zither play before.
At this time, they looked at Tang Xiu as if they were looking at an Emperor or a superstar.
“This song must be belonged to heaven. Where would one be able to hear it in the human world?”
One of the teachers of the Regal Classical Music Academy looked at Tang Xiu with a complex expression as she said with a deep sigh.
Tang Xiu stood up slowly and said with a tranquil expression, “It’s quite late, I should go back home now.”
"No!"
Chen Xiaofen and Huang Jie called out at the same time.
After they said it, the two women realized that they were losing their manners and quickly wiped the tears from their eyes.
Huang Jie stood in front of Tang Xiu as she carefully looked at him and said with a sincere expression, “Your name is Tang Xiu, a student from Star City First High School, correct? Are you going to attend the College Entrance Test soon?”
"Yes!"
Tang Xiu nodded.
Huang Jie hastily responded, “You don’t need to take the College Entrance Test. Just directly come to our Regal Classical Music Academy! My husband is a Vice President there and he has a special quota privilege to invite some students. You don’t need to take any tests, just come to our Regal Classical Music Academy and you can directly study there. I can vouch and guarantee for you, and it absolutely won’t be a problem…”
* * *
Notes:
[0] A Chinese ancient zither is called Guqin. I chose to translate it to zither not ancient zither or guqin for the sake of localization and simplicity, even though I know that a Guqin is kinda different than a zither…
[1] Well, the paragraph kinda makes me ponder for quite a while. But I came up with such a line that wherever a gentleman was seated there must have a zither to the left and the books to the right; even though the raws said that there was no reason for a gentleman to remove the zither and lute for no reason…”. It’s much closer to the meaning than the literal translation.
[2] This is one hell of a chapter… The feeling and the nuances… the lyrics… don’t ask me how I came up with such a rhyme for the song’s lyrics, though… took me 3 hours for the lyric alone.


A supreme expert in the Immortal World had died, and a strand of his soul returned to its original body on Earth. Tang Xiu discovered with amazement that ten thousand years passed in the Immortal World, yet only a single year passed on Earth.

The music test was conducted in the late afternoon in the Imperial garden. They had set up an outdoor venue in a wide open space surrounded by flowers all around, with a pavilion in the center of it, there was a small platform set some distance away in front of the pavilion for the performances. 
In the pavilion, there was a table set with snacks and tea with two seats where the emperor and the empress dowager sat. While at the two sides of the platform, tables settings placed around for the officials. After the table settings for the officials, there were rows of table settings were the candidates were sat directly facing the pavilion.
 The performances today were divided into four instrumental categories; Konghou, zither, erhu, and the pipa. It seemed that the candidates had only chosen these four instruments and so to make it easier to set the stage, the performances will proceed by instruments in the order of erhu, pipa, konghou and zither. 
The erhu and pipa were instruments that were played on the lap, so the performers only required a stool, while the konghou and zither were provided with a pillow to sit on and a low table for the instrument.
**(Konghou is basically an ancient Chinese harp. Erhu is basically a 2-stringed violin (played on the lap though) and the pipa is basically a guitar)**
 Lei Xing was in a good mood, she was leisurely enjoying the snacks and tea as she listened to the relaxing erhu music. 
The atmosphere was perfect, you could hear the faint sound of streaming water in a distance, the air carried a wonderful fragrance of flowers, birds happily softly chirping, the cool summer breeze and warm late afternoon sun shining down.
{...See, with some good food and good music, this garden is even more enjoyable, I could stay like this forever...the person who arranged this has good vision...Now if we could just get rid of all these people, then it'd be truly perfect...}
Lei Xing had chosen to perform the zither, not because she is skilled in it, she has never even touched one before. 
She chose it for one simple reason: it's easy...or at least easier than the rest. She had seen it played in several historical dramas, and frankly half of those times, the music lacked any steady rhythm to her, and the notes sounded random.
{...Isn't it just sitting there looking dignified, plucking a string every 2-4 seconds?... I can do that...inspiration will come...}
 After going through lovely performances of the erhu, pipa, and kongzhou, it was finally time for the zither performances, which was the category with the most candidates, there were 10 of them who chose to play it. The performances were going in order of how they were sat and Lei Xing was first. 
She got up and approached the platform and took her seat in front of the table with the zither.
{...I can't tell if this is good or bad...}
 She grazed her fingers over the strings, took a deep breath and began to play, copying the mannerisms of the characters she had seen in historical dramas.
{...It sounds okay...I think?...}
 Lei Xing got more confident as she listened to her music and her movements became more confident, it seemed she was creating a rhythm, in her mind.
Of course, this was in her mind only, the spectators were completely lost on her tune, which seemed to be all over the place. 
When she finished, she looked up to find the spectators looking at her blankly. She stood up and bowed and was ready to head down.
 "What piece is this?" The empress dowager suddenly asked.
{...What piece?! I don't know...What do you mean what piece? Why am I getting questioned, when everybody else just got a "Very good, you can go."?!...You can keep the "very good" just give me a "you can go" ...please?...}
 Lei Xing was annoyed, she stalled for a bit and said, "It is called fluttering heart."
"Fluttering heart? I have not heard of it before...who is the composer?"
{...Composer?! -_-)'...}
 Lei Xing bowed her head respectfully and said, "I composed it myself."
"Ahh..."
{...Can I go now? -_-)...}
 Some of the ministers started whispering and Lei Xing could hear some of their words, they weren't exactly trying to be quiet.
"No wonder the piece seemed to be all over the place, you composed it yourself." One of the ministers said.
"A piece can only be a reflection of its composer's soul." Another minister said while shaking his head.
{...Are these people turning me into a joke?...}
 Lei Xing took a deep breath, "A piece reflects what it is intended to, this piece was intended to portray a fluttering heart. I am sure everyone here have all experienced their heart fluttering for one reason or another, either be it for love, anger, war, excitement, or pain...and I am sure at that time, your hearts beat all over the place as well."
 They all fell silent.
"It takes considerable skill to be able to portray so well something as complicated as emotions." Prince Yi calmly spoke up.
Lei Xing looked in his direction with raised eyebrows. He smiled at her and lifted his teacup to her.
{...Skill, yeah sure...What's up with this guy now?...}
 Lei Xing was not the only one confused at his sudden praise, the onlookers were also dumbfounded as he had been criticizing her the last two rounds and now to suddenly compliment her, especially to compliment this. 
The ministers were baffled and some started whispering again. Lei Xing was even more annoyed in her heart.
{...Can you all shut up? It seems this atmosphere made them feel too relaxed...}
 "That's enough." The empress dowager said, "Prince Yi's words make sense, portraying human emotions through art is not an easy feat. Since this piece is quite novel and quite contentious...Lady Yin, why don't you play something else to properly showcase your skills?"
{...Play something else?! O_O)...}
 Lei Xing felt panicked and quickly looked down, slightly frowned, then bowed, "Alright." She slowly went back and calmly sat down, while her mind was frantic on the inside. She placed her hands on the strings.
{...Play something else? I didn't have anything in the first place...*sigh* This is going to be so embarrassing...}
 Lei Xing took a deep breath, braced herself and raised her hands and plucked a string.
 "Stop." Lei Xing froze and looked up. The emperor calmly took a sip of his tea, glanced at her and then looked towards the dowager, "It is unfair to allow her to play a second piece. Each candidate has been allowed only one performance so far, there should be no exception."
 "That is true, I was enjoying their performances so much, I almost forgot that this is still a competition." The dowager said with a laugh. "Fairness must be upheld, you can go down."
Lei Xing relaxed and wanted to laugh in relief, but restrained herself. She got up, bowed and walked back to her seat. She looked down and closed her eyes to calm herself down.
{...I was saved...you can kill a person, but you must not humiliate them. Even in failure, one must maintain their dignity...I have never been so grateful to rule sticklers before...}
 Lei Xing was a bit rattled, she was almost cornered. She felt grateful to the emperor for his strict adherence to the rules and even felt the urge to give him a standing ovation when he spoke up.
Her heart was beating faster and her palms were a bit sweaty, she was truly nervous just now. She really could not think of any way she would have been able to save herself from embarrassment if she had truly been made to play another piece.
After a while of listening to the soothing music, she started to calm down a bit, although she still felt uncomfortable.
{...I can't wait for this to be over...}
 Lei Xing was absentminded the rest of the performances and was very grateful to leave once they were done. She quickly went into her room and fell on the bed, she was worn out, those few moments of anxiety really drained her.
{...Just two more days...}
 Tomorrow was the last test and Lei Xing was not worried at all about the literary competition. Out of all the tests, this one was the one she was least worried about.
Given the way the other tests were structured, they will most likely be asked to compose something, rather than to regurgitate something...she had always been good at literature, she had even won some awards for compositions in high school.
Although it's been a while since she composed anything, almost ten years actually, she still had the confidence that she could glide through this without any problems, at least without it almost being a train wreck like today was. 
Lei Xing gradually fell asleep while thinking.
{...Just two more days...Just two more...}


When Lei Xing gave herself a luxurious cruise as a graduation present, she expected to have plenty of well-deserved rest and relaxation with an ocean view before jumpstarting her career. What she did not expect was to be the unlucky person who would fall overboard to a miserable watery death… or so she thought. 

To her astonishment, she opened her eyes to find herself in an ancient setting, a different body, and a new life as the eldest daughter of a high court official.

{...Okay, at least I'm rich...I can still live happily and freely, it's still a golden opportunity at a second life. I can live it well~...maybe go traveling, start a business, or something…It definitely could be worse...}

To Lei Xing’s horror, her new host was scheduled to enter the palace to compete in the concubine selection for the new Emperor. 

{...What?! I am definitely not interested! Of all places, it’s that viper pit! I’m not built for any Royal BS or harem fights. Please keep your scheming lives to yourselves and leave me the hell out of it, NOT INTERESTED!!!... Can I not go, please? T_T)...No? Nevermind then, failure is always an option... Failure is the only possible outcome. Bring it on! Hahahaha…}

While Lei Xing was making plans on how to skip out of town, fate was also very busy working out its own plans for her, mapping out its own course for her life behind the scenes... Poking holes in her plans to her confusion and outrage. 

"...Little chicken, as long as I'm alive you won't die."

"Nonsense, if anyone is going to cause my death, it would be you!!"

***

"Do you really feel nothing after all this time?" He asked as he looked at her with searching eyes, trying to see into her soul...

"...Who...would..." she mumbled under her breath...

***

"That stupid old man, I'm going to end him when I find him...You better hide well!!"


|||~~~~~~~~~~~|||

Author's Note~~

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the read as you go along! Please VOTE and COMMENT as you read along and I will be sure to respond~~ 

Thank you again and HAPPY READING!

~~And if you have the wonderful urge to ever buy me a coffee. Here are the gateways and some love~

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