Zither Emperor

Ye Yin Zhu smiled and said, “Actually, it’s more important to listen to yourself and your heart than it is to play. Grandfather Qin told me that the guqin has, altogether, seven rules: rule one, follow the way of good morality; rule two, sense the supernatural; rule three, have pleasing social etiquette; rule four, possess clear introspection of the heart; rule five, modulate the acoustics; rule six, move elegantly; rule seven, impart virtuous teachings. With the virtues of the zither embedded in the zither art early on, the heart is proper, thus the heartstrings can then, and only then, harmonize with the strings of the zither. If not, it is impossible to play a beautiful zither song.”

Sura sincerely replied, “It seems that there really is no useless vocation, only useless people! I see that you are truly the last hope of the Divine Music mages. I just heard you upstairs telling Anya that you had something to do when you returned to college. What do you have to do?”

Ye Yin Zhu muttered to himself irresolutely, “I want to go and find Hai Yang.”

Sura laughed, giggling and spluttering, before he said, “Why are you trying to find her? Wasn’t embracing her yesterday enough!”

Ye Yin Zhu’s face reddened, and he said with slight anger, “I didn’t do that on purpose yesterday. I want to try and find Hai Yang because of her face.”

Sura blanked out, staring at Ye Yin Zhu with astonishment. “Because of her face? Hai Yang is already quite pitiful. It’s better if you do not hit a person who is down. In fact, if her face hadn’t suffered such scarring, she would assuredly be a stunning, beautiful woman.”

Ye Yin Zhu unhappily exclaimed, “Am I someone who hits a person who is down? Besides, a person’s beauty or ugliness is not absolute. If a girl is very pretty, but her heart is no good, it is the same as being an ugly woman.”

Sura’s face slightly changed as he said, “Then what are you trying to find Hai Yang for?”

Ye Yin Zhu said, “I want to see if I can try to help treat her. I can see that her current psyche and outward appearance is ice-cold. A very big reason is because of her scarred face. A girl hiding her disfigurement is definitely suffering greatly. Her face should be a creation of the divine. Perhaps, there is still a chance to restore it.”

Sura stared at Ye Yin Zhu, dumbfounded. “You’re saying you can treat it? Even the most powerful Light Mage couldn’t cure Hai Yang’s face! Did you know this? Hai Yang belongs to the last of the three major clans — the Ancelotti Clan. Her grandfather is the other Violet Star Dragon Cavalry Commander of the Milan Empire, Imperial Marshal Seedorf. Marshal Seedorf has two sons, and Hai Yang’s father is his eldest son, married to the ninth youngest sister of the current Emperor of the Milan Empire—Berlusconi. They only have one daughter. In other words, Hai Yang is relatives with the emperor. Granted, because of her appearance, she isn’t highly valued in the clan, but the best doctor was unconditionally invited to treat her. I deem that you won’t have any chance of success. You won’t because yesterday you embraced her and want to pay her back.”

Ye Yin Zhu exclaimed lightly, “During the competition yesterday, I saw her face and wanted to attempt to heal it. My healing method is extremely different from others. If there is even the slightest chance of success, you shouldn’t give up! Otherwise, how can she live a life of pain?

Sura stared deeply at Ye Yin Zhu and said, “Yin Zhu, you are the most foolish idiot I have ever seen, but an adorable idiot nonetheless. I’ll go with you; plus, it’s not proper if there’s one man and one woman together alone.

✶

When they returned to the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts, the sky was already dark. The two of them returned to their dormitory to eat a simple dinner. Then they walked towards the Divine Music division’s student dormitory. Ye Yin Zhu and Sura didn’t know where Hai Yang lived; only the Divine Music division students, apart from Ye Yin Zhu who lived in the Mixed District, all lived together, so they were very easy to find.

“Yi, isn’t this Yin Zhu? Why have you come?” Ye Yin Zhu and Sura arrived at the Divine Music division’s student dormitory district and came across Xue Ling. Xue Ling’s current attire was a long nightgown. She was combing her long hair in front of the door to the villa dormitory. It seemed that she was preparing for bed.

“I came to look for Senior Hai Yang. Xue Ling, do you know where she lives?”

Xue Ling happily laughed and said, “You know more about Senior Hai Yang, even fainting into her arms. Don’t tell me that you like her. I don’t want to help you and act as a go-between!”

Ye Yin Zhu’s face was red, somewhat embarrassed, as he didn’t know how to respond properly. Xue Ling looked at his embarrassed appearance and couldn’t help but laugh even more. “You deserve to be called our Divine Music division’s first small shotacon. Yin Zhu, you aren’t still a virgin, right?”

To the side, Sura rolled his eyes and darkly thought within his heart, ‘This female student of the Divine Music division is, indeed, very unrestrained.’

“This… Xue Ling, do you know where Senior Hai Yang lives? I really have business with her,” Ye Yin Zhu asked, avoiding the awkward topic as he still didn’t know how to respond to it. The redness on his face extended to the tips of his ears.

Xue Ling smiled and said, “Yes; I’ll stop teasing you. Follow this path and go straight inside. Senior Hai Yang’s dorm room is the furthest in. She doesn’t get along very well with others and doesn’t speak very much; I truly can’t see why you like her.”

“I, I don’t,” Ye Yin Zhu hastily defended himself. He looked at Xue Ling’s fake smile andhonestly had nothing else to say. He hurriedly followed the path Xue Ling pointed out and looked as though he was fleeing. Looking at his departing back, Xue Ling couldn’t help but laugh heartily at the top of her lungs. She wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of the fact that Sura was still besides Ye Yin Zhu.

Following the path until he caught sight of the small white villa the furthest in, the blush on Ye Yin Zhu’s face had completely disappeared. Sura seemed to like looking at Ye Yin Zhu’s blushing appearance very much, smiling during the entire walk without saying a word.

Ye Yin Zhu walked to the front door of the villa and knocked gently. “Senior Hai Yang, are you there?”

After a short while, the door opened, allowing an unforgettable, remarkably beautiful face to appear in front of Ye Yin Zhu. It wasn’t Hai Yang—it was actually the most beautiful woman of the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts, Xiang Luan.

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other blankly, then the two of them spoke in unison, “Why are you here?”

This was still the first time Ye Yin Zhu saw Xiang Luan up close. At this moment, she was wearing a long pink skirt because the weather was already somewhat cold. The long skirt was very conservative and covered every inch of her skin. Her big, lilac eyes displayed a trace of wildness as she looked at Ye Yin Zhu. Long, strawberry blonde hair hung over her left shoulder, covering her abundant left breast.

‘Don’t tell me that Xue Ling tricked me? Isn’t this supposed to be Hai Yang’s dorm?’ Ye Yin Zhu suspiciously thought.

“Ye Yin Zhu, did you come here seeking Hai Yang?” Xiang Luan took the lead and broke the awkwardness.

“Oh, yes—yes, that’s right.” Ye Yin Zhu hurriedly agreed and probingly asked, “Is this Senior Hai Yang’s dorm?”

Xiang Luan smiled lightly and replied, “You came early. Hai Yang is upstairs. I’ll go call her down.” As she spoke, she stepped to the side of the door and permitted Ye Yin Zhu and Sura to enter the villa. Afterwards, she headed upstairs.

The villa’s interior was decorated in clear hues of cool blue, resembling the cold aura Hai Yang emitted. It was decorated very simply. By merely entering, they could feel the faintly cool air.

Sura whispered, “It is truly a waste for your Senior Hai Yang to cultivate as a Divine Music mage. I think it would be more appropriate for her to cultivate in the Dark Magic division.”

Ye Yin Zhu currently felt his heart violently pulse. He didn’t know why, but everytime he saw Xiang Luan, this reaction arose. Even he didn’t dare to look at Xiang Luan’s perfectly delicate face.

A few moments later, Hai Yang walked downstairs with Xiang Luan. She wore a long, elegant skirt like Xiang Luan, except hers was white. Her black hair indistinctly hung down to her shoulders. There was no difference between her current and usual appearance. The moment she saw Ye Yin Zhu, her expression became a little strange, a faint blush rising on the exposed half of her face. Clearly, she was recalling what had happened yesterday evening.

Looking at Hai Yang, Ye Yin Zhu’s heart was still somewhat irregular. With what happened yesterday evening, in addition to Xue Ling’s earlier teasing, he couldn’t prevent a peculiar feeling rising in his heart. His face was once more red.

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