Righteousness and pure love, yet you ask me to spread demons throughout the world?

Page 122

Having just been called a lackey by this boy, he couldn't say anything more. He just thought that once this boy lost, he would definitely beat this scoundrel to a pulp and teach him a lesson.

Xue Yanxiang stroked her moon zither, suppressing her anger, but quickly entered a state of deep musical understanding, coldly watching the young man.

She was a member of a prominent family and wouldn't be easily provoked. Since this young man was trying to hone his skills at the last minute, she would wait and see what he could achieve.

Fu Hai finished reading the entire book "Hu Zhong" and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad!" He picked up the entire sheet music and tidied it up on the table.

Xue Yanxiang saw the two large, elegant characters on the sheet music in his hand and said calmly, "Is the piece you wish to play, young master, perhaps also one of the Eight Great Celestial Melodies, 'Gouzhong'?"

Fu Hai smiled broadly and said, "I've never played it in its entirety before, so I had to improvise. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Master Xue."

He was telling the truth and hadn't thought too much about it.

The crowd below whispered among themselves again: "The 'Hu Zhong'?"

"Is 'Hu Zhong' one of the Eight Great Immortal Sounds, just like the boundless and romantic 'Yi Er'?"

"Even a talented woman like Cen would find it difficult to perfectly play a celestial melody like 'The Bell Tolls.' Can he really play it?"

"They're not just playing it, they're learning a new one! Hehe!"

"Fengwu Pavilion really just picked someone randomly to get by. If they lose, they'll say they just learned it and weren't prepared, right?"

Xue Yanxiang lightly pressed a string on the zither, then suddenly said, "While the art of playing the zither is an elegant pursuit, since we're competing on the same stage today, why not add some more challenges to further enhance the enjoyment?"

Fu Hai looked at the other party: "Master Xue, what other bargaining chips would you like to add?"

Xue Yanxiang said, "Both 'Gouzhong' and 'Yier' are among the Eight Great Immortal Sounds. It is quite a remarkable story in the world of qin music that they can appear together at the Qiwu Terrace in Fengwu Pavilion."

"Previously, neither Master Feng nor Miss Cen played 'The Bell of the Huzhong,' presumably because they felt they lacked sufficient research and mastery of this celestial music."

"Since you dare to perform this celestial music on stage, you must be full of confidence and certain of victory. In that case, why don't we add another element? Let's wager on our respective scores of 'Gu Zhong' and 'Yi Er'. If I lose, I will offer 'Yi Er'; if you lose, you will send me 'Gu Zhong'?"

Cen Qiong, sitting in the audience, and the female musicians of Fengwu Pavilion all paled.

They never expected that Xue Yanxiang would wager on their two great celestial musical pieces, "Hu Zhong" and "Yi Er."

"The Bell" is the signature piece of the Phoenix Dance Pavilion. It would not be played lightly unless the fate of the entire Phoenix Dance Pavilion was at stake.

If Fengwu Pavilion were to lose "The Bell Tolls" to Xue Yanxiang here, it wouldn't just mean closing down.

That would be too simple, and would be a great disgrace that will surely be recorded in history.

It's important to understand that this gamble involves far more than just the score for the Celestial Melody.

The art of craftsmanship involves not only skill but also the passing down of traditions.

The score for "Hu Zhong" has always been there. If Xue Yanxiang only coveted the score, she could easily have stolen it by deceiving and swindling some extraordinary people in the martial arts world.

However, even if she obtained the sheet music and learned it, she would not be able to play it in public under those circumstances.

Even if one practices to the highest level, without a lineage to pass it on, using it on stage will only earn the contempt of scholars and writers throughout the world.

Such celestial music has its origins and lineage recorded in history.

However, if Xue Yanxiang wins the musical score in public during the Qin (musical instrument) competition between Fengwu Pavilion and Mihuang Pavilion, this achievement will also be recorded.

Centuries later, the Anjun Fengwu Pavilion itself may not still exist, but this humiliation will continue to be mentioned along with the origins and development of the "Huzhong" (a type of ancient Chinese musical instrument).

From then on, whenever Xue Yanxiang and her disciples who inherited the art of the qin played "Ku Zhong," they would become a laughing stock in the qin community and be mentioned by others.

Fu Hai didn't know much about the art of the qin (a seven-stringed zither). He had only heard about the fact that one couldn't play famous pieces without a clear lineage of teachers and students when he last came here.

A master of the qin (a seven-stringed zither) with a lineage of teachers and students is called a "famous teacher" or "master".

A musician without a lineage is considered a "woman of the night" or a "street performer."

He only truly understood this matter after hearing Cen Qiong and her sister mention it last time.

But because he had already come to understand this to some extent, he knew that he could not easily agree to this bet.

This gamble wasn't just about the sheet music; losing it meant giving away the right to use "Huzhong" directly to the other party, allowing them to publicly inherit this celestial music.

He looked down at Cen Qiong in the audience and saw that she was pale, knowing that his understanding this time was correct.

This side only paused for a moment.

Behind Xue Yanxiang, the woman in green and the woman in pink had already begun their pursuit: "Now that you've stepped onto the stage, don't you even have this much confidence?"

"As the last talented scholar to appear, surely he doesn't even have this much courage?"

"Is the Phoenix Dance Pavilion really a joke? Each performer is worse than the last, treating everyone here like monkeys?"

Led by them, the female students from Mihuang Tower immediately joined in the jeering: "If you don't have the ability, you might as well get off the stage." "Looks all prim and proper, but you think you're really that capable." "They're already scared before the competition has even started? That's hilarious." "Oh dear, this Young Master Bihai, is he really just putting on airs, and has he even lost all sense of shame?"

Of course they knew that their behavior at this moment was very sycophantic.

But if these lackeys don't play their proper role at crucial moments, what's the point of the lady keeping them around?

Immediately, they launched various sarcastic and mocking attacks, making the most of their necessary role.

Fu Hai was young after all. In his previous life, when he read online novels, he thought such clichéd plots were too formulaic.

Being there in person, facing this scene of taunts and mockery, I realized just how disgusting it was.

That's fucking disgusting!

What's even more disgusting is that you know they're doing it on purpose, but you still feel utterly disgusted.

Although it was disgusting, he knew he absolutely couldn't be easily provoked.

After all, this "Huzhong" is not our own property, so how can we just use it to gamble with others?

Just as I was about to explicitly refuse...?

Chapter 216 "The Bell of the Crow" VS "X2"! You've put in the effort, but I'm cheating?

"Since Master Xue wants to gamble, our Phoenix Dance Pavilion will play along to the end."

But Feng Nihong floated out and resolutely said, "If we lose, then we will offer up the score of 'Gu Zhong' and close Fengwu Pavilion from now on. Fengwu Pavilion will also never play 'Gu Zhong' again."

"If Master Xue loses, then take out the score of 'Yi Er' and never play 'Yi Er' again. Leave An County immediately and never come back."

Fu Hai looked at Feng Ni Hong: "Master Feng..."

Feng Nihong said to him, "Young Master Fu, just do your best. Since this is a bet I have accepted, you don't need to take it to heart, whether you win or lose."

She was completely going all out.

As the owner of the venue, she had previously failed to resist Xue Yanxiang's seductive music and had stripped and danced provocatively on stage.

She has completely lost face. Regardless of whether she lost "The Bell" or not, her reputation is ruined.

The space opposite Fengwu Pavilion was forced to be given to Xue Yanxiang. Three years later, Fengwu Pavilion was too ashamed to open again, which meant that its reputation and fortune were completely ruined.

Let's just put "The Bell" on the table right here as well.

If she wins, she will obtain "Xi Er," one of the Eight Great Immortal Musics. Even if she just lost face, everyone will only remember the Phoenix Dance Pavilion's great victory at the end.

If she loses, she'll be too ashamed to show her face anyway. After the museum closes, she can just find a place to hang herself tonight. With the forced transfer of the "Gu Zhong" tradition, at least centuries later, people will still call her a virtuous woman, not just a shameful clown.

Seeing Feng Nihong's impulsiveness, Cen Qiong exclaimed in surprise, "Master..."

Feng Nihong waved her hand and said, "No need to say anything more, my mind is made up."

Seeing that Feng Nihong had spoken personally, Xue Yanxiang didn't allow her to back out any longer and immediately smiled and said, "In that case, it's a deal."

"If I lose, I will immediately present 'Xi Er' and the people of Mi Huang Lou will never play this celestial music again. We will also leave the city immediately and never set foot in Anjun County again."

The crowd erupted in cheers as they watched the stakes escalate further.

The atmosphere at Qiwutai immediately became heated.

The Mihuanglou side was all smiles. Some of the clever ones had already realized that the other side didn't actually have much confidence in the young man; it was just a desperate gamble.

Those on the Phoenix Dance Pavilion looked at each other, all feeling dejected, wondering how things would end after the final song.

Lady Langyue sat below the stage, sighing inwardly.

She knew that Feng Nihong was placing her last hope on the young manager of the Dragon Claw Inn.

Rather, since they had already made a fool of themselves in public and lost face, if they couldn't turn the tide, even if the Phoenix Dance Hall was destroyed, they wouldn't have the face to live any longer.

Xue Yanxiang turned to look at the young man opposite her and said with a smile, "In that case, I'll see what this talented young man is capable of. I hope he won't disappoint everyone."

With her extensive experience in the martial arts world, she could tell from Cen Qiong's panic at Feng Ni Hong's final decision that Cen Qiong didn't actually have much confidence in this young man.

of course.

Even disregarding Cen Qiong's reaction, she didn't believe that such a novice teenager could truly surpass her, who had been immersed in music for many years, in terms of piano skills.

It seems that today we will not only completely destroy the Phoenix Dance Hall, but also suppress the entire Anjun Qin Road.

They will also receive "Hu Zhong", one of the eight great celestial music pieces.

A smile was already spreading across her face, as she looked forward to the great harvest to come.

Fu Hai felt that he was under a lot of pressure.

Although he was essentially just doing his job for money, relying on the friendship of one hundred taels of silver, he did his best. Feng Nihong had staked everything on this, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Even so, the weight of this responsibility suddenly falling on my shoulders is still quite overwhelming.

Oh well, I've only done my best anyway.

He spread out the "Huzhong" in front of him and faced it with a solemn expression.

As he and Xue Yanxiang confronted each other, the audience gradually quieted down.

Phoenix Dance Pavilion has been driven to the brink of despair; one step back would mean the end of the cliff.

The tense atmosphere made everyone at the Phoenix Dance Pavilion hold their breath and dare not even breathe loudly.

The strings of the moon lute resonate. ●

The sound of the setting sun.

"Yi Er" and "Gou Zhong" were played at the same time. Before long, the whole audience sometimes felt like they were striking a chime and sometimes like they were ringing a bell.

Unlike the last one.

In the previous performance, Xue Yanxiang's seductive voice permeated the entire venue, and Cen Qiong's "Peach Blossom" was also omnipresent and never stopped.