Chapter 508 An Unexpected Change!
As Li Yundong had chosen Legend of the White Snake, he turned to Su Chan and the others and said with a smile, "He addressed me by name and asked me to sing a song. I can't leave after choosing it, can I? I'll finish listening to it at the very least."
Zi Yuan smiled and said, "Well, it's rare to hear such a high-level Pingtan. This girl must have learned it since childhood, and I've no idea which famous teacher she was apprenticed to."
"Why did she become a disciple of the Xuan Pavilion Sect again?" Zhou Qinqi asked.
"All the sects are now secretly expanding their strength," Zi Yuan said. "Zhengyi School is busy gathering the side branches of the faction. Quanzhen Dragon Sect is busy collecting ancient books and magic scattered throughout the Cultivation World. As for Gezao Sect, they are trying their best to make money to develop their believers. Although there are not many masters in this year's Taoist Assembly, in the cultivation world, Gezao Sect is the richest. Moreover, they have the most disciples. It can be said that they are brimming with talented members."
Su Chan couldn't help sighing. "Yundong, when will we be able to sell medicine? It'll be good for us to make money and buy a big garden."
Li Yundong glared at her, pretended to be angry, scratched the tip of her nose with his fingertip, and whispered with a smile, "You damned girl, you are so greedy! We used to live only in a small rental apartment, but didn't we also have happy hearts there? Later on, we lived in a bigger place. Weren't you very happy there? Later, we changed into a large composite house. Now you, little girl, have your eye on a garden! Do you think I'm running a real estate business?"
Su Chan grabbed his arm and said with a coquettish smile, "I'm just kidding! As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy even if I'm on the streets. If I can't be with you, every day will seem like a year to me even if I lived in the Imperial Palace."
Li Yundong couldn't help laughing. He tweaked the tip of the little girl's smooth, pale nose and said with a smile, "You're a smooth talker! But no matter how useless I am, I won't let you live on the streets, okay?"
Su Chan nodded with a smile and said, "Yes! You are my great hero!"
Li Yundong couldn't help but think of the time when the two of them had been at their lowest. Su Chan had once shouted at Rong Guo, the landlord's wife and his lustful lover, saying that he would definitely become a great hero in the future. Thinking about the scene on that day and the scene in front of him now, Li Yundong really felt as if he was in a different world.
He smiled gently and caressed the girl's hair tenderly, saying with crinkled eyes, "You little loon, what kind of a great hero am I?"
However, Su Chan said seriously, "How are you not a hero? No one here could have beaten the Japanese. You alone beat them away and won glory for the Chinese cultivation world. Isn't that heroic?"
Zhou Qin also nodded and looked at him with admiration, saying, "That's right. If it weren't for you, Master, who turned the tide, we would have lost face this time!"
He shook his head and said with a smile, "I just got lucky. There are countless masters in our Divine Land. Even if we lost today, we could have won again tomorrow. The Japanese cultivation world has a natural and stable cultivation environment. Especially this time, they were well prepared, so we were caught off-guard. After all, they have a small population and a small territory, and their cultivation world began in the Tang Dynasty. Our cultivation world can be traced back to the time of Peng Zu and Lao Zi, two thousand years earlier than theirs!"
He then sighed and continued, "Although our cultivation world has suffered all kinds of setbacks and has been weak until now, it has been passed down for thousands of years. As the saying goes, a starving camel is bigger than a horse. In terms of foundation and talent, the Japanese cultivation world can't compare with ours. They can win for a while, but they can't win for a lifetime!"
Zi Yuan also nodded and said, "Yes, as far as I know, most of the experts from the Orthodox Path this time are experts from the younger generation. The only one who represents the older generation is Zhang Ling, and her spells must be earth-shattering when she fights. If she had fought just now, she might not have lost to Tachibana Wakako. It's just that in this downtown area, not a tenth of her power can be used, so she had a lot of concerns and didn't go up. Moreover, it's not only Zhengyi School, the Quanzhen Dragon Sect, Qingcheng Sect, Jinshan Sect, and other sects' cultivators are very powerful, but most of them cultivate in seclusion and almost never venture into the world."
Li Yundong nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, old institutions die hard. What's more, there are a lot of talents in the cultivation world now. I believe it won't be long before a few great cultivators appear."
When Li Yundong said this, he looked at Zhou Qin. Obviously, he was encouraging and praising her.
Zhou Qin's heart warmed and she nodded vigorously. Beside her, Ruan Hongling smiled and said, "Li Yundong, you've even praised yourself, haven't you? After this Taoist assembly, you'll also be considered a great cultivator, right? Zi Yuan Shijie, don't you think so?"
Zi Yuan smiled and replied, "In terms of fighting strength and reputation, Li Yundong is indeed well-trained."
He waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Don't flatter me. I haven't even reached the Jinshen phase, so how would I dare to call myself a Great Cultivator? A person who has reached the Jinshen phase is the real Indestructible Body with Yang Spirit. No magic treasure in the world can kill them. Only such a cultivator can be a Great Cultivator. I'm still far from being one!"
Su Chan said seriously, "Yundong, you will definitely become a great cultivator, and your speed will be very fast! Think about it, how long have you been cultivating? You are already so powerful now!"
"To reach the Jinshen phase, you must have the help of Diyuan Jindan," he replied, his eyes shining. "Without great opportunities, one can't cultivate it."
As they spoke, Song Yuqiao adjusted the strings of her instrument. She coughed softly, cleared her throat, and began to sing softly.
When everyone heard her voice, they immediately quieted down. For a moment, the small building was silent save for her singing. Everyone looked at Song Yuqiao with bright, shining eyes and held their breath.
Song Yuqiao's five fingers gently closed, and her rhombus-shaped little red lips gently parted. She sang in a soft, melodious voice, "The West Lake is back today, and the past is painful. The wind, rain, and thunder are on the same boat. It's rare to see Xu Hanwen. It's rare for an official to have a good relationship, and it's unusual to be respectful to each other. A good flower encounters the ruthless rain, and the bright moon watches from a distance. Now the flowers have fallen, and the moon is obscured. It's unbearable to recall old feelings. I hate monks who interfere in the affairs of other people and separate the mandarin ducks from the monks of Fahai..."
Song Yuqiao's voice was soft but clear, charming but bright. A moment ago, she had been shy, but when she began singing, she suddenly forgot all her shyness. Her expression was sad and her eyes were full of sorrow. Even if she didn't understand the lyrics, she could grasp the emotional essence in an instant.
Li Yundong could see that Song Yuqiao had chosen part of the Legend of the White Snake. He couldn't help laughing and saying, "What a coincidence. I have Fahai's burning thumb pot in my hand. I think it was this burning thumb pot that defeated the white snake, and now it's in my hand. Who do you think I will deal with?"
Su Chan pulled a face at Li Yundong and said with a smile, "Well, don't come to deal with me!"
Li Yundong laughed, leaned over to Su Chan, and whispered, "Little girl, if you don't listen to me, I will make you obedient!"
Su Chan's ears turned red. She giggled and said, "You're so annoying!"
The two of them talked intimately, acting as if there was no one around them. On the stage, Song Yuqiao finished her show. At this time, the people upstairs started cheering loudly.
Some cultivators who yelled loudly, "That's right, that's right. It's just that that song is too sad. Let's sing something happy!"
After Song Yuqiao finished singing, she became extremely shy again. She lowered her head and whispered, "Well, I'll go in and change my clothes before coming back out..."
As she spoke, she gently took a few steps and headed towards the back door.
The crowd laughed and said, "This little girl is not young, but she is quite pretentious. She even needs to go in and change her clothes after singing a single song!"
After a while, Song Yuqiao returned. Everyone could see that she hadn't changed her appearance much, but she was now wearing a set of gold hairpin jewelry on her head. There was a bright flower tied to the hairpin, which was colorful and made with all kinds of colors. It looked bright and dazzling. Moreover, when she walked over gracefully, there was a fragrance wafting from her body, making the audience feel intoxicated.
She sat down with the pipa in her arms. After a while, she said, "Everyone wants to listen to a cheerful song, but I have only learned one cheerful one, and the master who taught me to sing it told me that if I want to sing this song, I have to worship her first before I may do so."
Everyone in the cultivation world respected their masters above all else, so when they heard this, they became respectful and said one after another, "Ah, a filial disciple!"
"It's rare, really rare!"
After Song Yuqiao got up, she said apologetically to Wan Zhenyuan, "Master Wan, I'm really sorry. May I burn a stick of incense?"
Wan Zhenyuan had never heard Song Yuqiao mention this before. Although he felt a bit strange about it, he did not think about it too deeply. He smiled and said, "Of course."
Song Yuqiao stood up again, walked to the back hall with a censer in her hands, and walked in. Everyone could see that there were three incense sticks on the censer, from which tendrils of green smoke were curling, emitting a pleasant fragrance.
Song Yuqiao bowed to the censer, and then sat back in her seat. She gently plucked the strings with her fingers and began to chant softly, "The clothes are beautiful, and the spring breeze is strong. If I hadn't seen you on the top of the jade mountain, I would have met you at the foot of the moon. A drop of red dew is fragrant, and the rain breaks through the clouds. Who is similar to you in the Han Palace? Poor Feiyan relies on her new makeup. The famous flowers love each other, and the emperor looks at her with a smile. The spring breeze is full of hatred, and the North of the Agarwood Pavilion is leaning toward the south."
Li Yundong didn't seem happy at all when he heard her singing this, as if she were a resentful woman in her boudoir.
He couldn't help but wonder, "What kind of song is this? Why doesn't it sound cheerful at all?"
Zi Yuan's face was also full of doubt. "This is 'Warbler Worships the Moon'. It's a strange choice. This song is very bitter. How could it be cheerful?"
Not only did Li Yundong and Zi Yuan feel off, but the cultivators upstairs were also very surprised. They asked one after another, "Hey, why are you so happy over such a sad song? Little girl, are you singing the wrong song?"
Wan Zhenyuan couldn't help frowning. "Little Qiao, what are you doing?"
Song Yuqiao lowered her head and did not speak, but suddenly a cold woman's voice came from not far away. "Aren't you happy? But I feel very happy!"
Everyone looked over and saw a beautiful woman standing at the back door and looking at them all with a sneer on her face.
Li Yundong, Su Chan, and the others were shocked as soon as they saw the woman. Su Chan asked in surprise, "Isn't that Zhuang Yating Shibo? Why is she here?"