Chapter 54 (1/2)

Halfway through the performance, the girl’s string plucking patterns changed from a folk song into an iron horse on a frozen river. The sound of the sanxian suddenly became distant yet close at the same time, going fast and slow, while her fingering technique was dazzling. Soon, the tune revealed a simple desolation and intensity, but it was able to ignite the deepest blood in people’s hearts.

—[I’m on my knees in front of this master… Although I don’t understand the sanxian, but these finger techniques are something an uncoordinated person like me could never learn]

—[Music can really convey emotions without words. You can really hear the magnificence of the wind and rain shaking the mountains and rivers during tumultuous times. Folk music forever!]

—[Whenever I see people say that the shamisen is the westernized version of the sanxian, I get really angry. Musical instruments shouldn’t have a hierarchy to distinguish between high and low. Plus, the shamisen evolved from our sanxian. This sister’s impromptu performance is the best slap in the face!]

After the climax, the sound of the sanxian changed again. The frequency gradually began to slow into a soothing little tune. It strongly contrasted with the previous melody, but it was not so abrupt that it felt unnatural.

When the last note fell, everyone in the pavilion was shocked. The comments in the stream were reduced to an all-time low since the show began.

A longing for more.

This was everyone’s thought at the time.

Until—

Shi Sui’s applause was the first to sound.

It wasn’t that kind of shallow, surface applause, but a genuine appreciation from the heart.

They say that talented men are mesmerizing, so what does that make of talented women?

Yan Zhenhua followed in applause, becoming more and more satisfied with this ‘future daughter-in-law’. “Good good good, it almost makes me want to buy a rocking chair and some tea.”

Yan Nai, who was living half a wavelength behind everyone, unfortunately did not beat Shi Sui to applauding first. He also wasn’t as good at praising people as his father was. It took him a long time to utter, “Sister, your sanxian skills are just as good as your cooking skills!”

Yan Zhenhua did not praise him often, so he hadn’t accumulated any vocabulary in the field of flattery. It already churned at his stomach to utter such a phrase.

Xiang Yi smiled, but she did not take the praise to heart.

While she had been traveling through the universe, she had seen way too many masters. There were even people in these fairytale universes that practiced Taoism out of sheer joy.

In addition, she hadn’t played in such a long time that her hands felt foreign.

She felt that she was only of average skill, and this was just for entertainment—not enough to perform on an actual stage.