Chapter 30

"A, are you talking about the Qinglianshu?"

"Ah! Yes! That's it. Can't I get just one bottle? My son, though he's a bit embarrassed, has passed the provincial examination and now has to take the metropolitan examination. I heard it was so good. Of course, I don't expect him to achieve anything extraordinary in the metropolitan examination just because he uses it..."

It means, don't worry, my son won't be good enough to threaten your son's performance, so could you please tell me where to get it?

Jian Yanzhao narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"Is there anything I can't give you? But now, there's no more of it. Have you heard about it? It was made by my sworn brother's granddaughter..."

Before the head clerk could say anything, Jian Yanzhao quickly added,

"And even if there were, it's not cheap..."

"How much money is it to us?"

It's a legendary elixir that can make someone top the imperial examination; it can't be cheap!

Jian Yanzhao showed two finger joints.

"A small bottle like this costs one tael of silver."

The head clerk did some quick mental calculations.

Compared to the money he handled in the market, it was a small amount, but it was still enough to hire a servant for a whole month.

"But now, someone else has already asked for it and is willing to pay two taels of silver..."

"I'll give you three taels of silver. How about that? No, how about four taels for two bottles?"

"Hmm."

Jian Yanzhao fell silent for a moment and tilted his head, and the head clerk quickly leaned in and smiled.

"Oh, you said it was made with great care by your niece? How could it be produced in large quantities? Four taels for one bottle is enough. Absolutely."

"I'll talk to my sworn brother, but don't get your hopes up too high."

Jian Yanzhao replied with a subtle smile. The head clerk also drew a similar subtle smile. Their conversation soon shifted to the celebration for Jian Weixue, who had topped the provincial examination.

* * *

Squeak!

"It worked! A sound came out... Oh!"

Until now, Lian had only been able to produce a hissing sound with the flute, but this time, she managed to produce a strong note and jumped up, only to stagger from lack of breath.

Beside her, the white cat Bai Lian, who had been napping in Huailun's arms, leaped up to support Lian's legs.

At the same time, Huailun held Lian's left arm, and Dan Muxian, who had been sitting opposite, quickly got up to support her right arm.

Lian, leaning on them for a moment, panted and then looked at Dan Muxian with a joyful face.

"Uncle, Uncle! Did you hear it?"

"Of course, of course. I heard it. To be able to produce a sound already, you must have a special talent!"

Dan Muxian said with a proud and serious expression.

Lian felt a bit embarrassed for a moment. Huailun, stroking Bai Lian who had returned to his arms, smiled knowingly.

It was good to be happy about making a sound, but hearing that it was a special talent in front of everyone made her feel embarrassed.

"Ah, no. Hmm. It's not a talent... I just managed to make a sound."

"How difficult it is to produce a sound. This is really impressive! Soon, you might even be able to play a duet with me."

"No, that's really not possible."

Lian firmly denied it, but it seemed that Dan Muxian didn't hear her at all.

Dan Muxian gave her a warm cup of tea to help her catch her breath and then said he would go get a yuliangpu (a musical score) with easy pieces and left the room.

"Ah... Uncle..."

Lian's plaintive voice calling out to Dan Muxian dispersed into the air. Huailun, who had been sitting quietly beside her, chuckled.

"Isn't it said that next year, Xiang Suolan will be reborn in Hangzhou, causing a commotion?"

Xiang Suolan was a master of sound, capable of deciding life and death with a single flute performance. He is said to have transcended the mortal world.

But when Lian didn't respond, Huailun, who had made the joke, looked embarrassed.

"No, that's not what the deputy head is saying..."

However, Lian wasn't responding because she was thinking about something else.

"Lun, do you want to learn the flute? Or the pipa? Pipa! How about the pipa?"

Didn't emotional cultivation through music education start when one was young?

Now, Lian was aiming for that. It wasn't just about her learning the flute. She had lived for about twenty years and only seen her own blood, but this was different! Still, it would be different if she started from a young age.

'Different... right?'

Huailun quickly pulled his hand away.

"Really, sister."

"If you don't like the pipa, how about the qixianqin?"

Huailun, still sitting, subtly moved backward.

"I'm confident in listening to you play."

"Are you really not interested? Think about it. Wouldn't it be fun to play a duet? I'll play the flute, and you can play the pipa."

"But isn't the deputy head the best pipa player in the world? You two can play together."

"Then the qixianqin."

"It might hurt my fingertips."

Lian briefly pressed her forehead. It was a bit hard to accept that this boy, who now said he didn't want to play the qin because it might hurt his fingers, had once risen to the position of young master in the Majiao Sect.

'Maybe not? Or is it a good thing? That a boy who used to be like that now says he doesn't want to play the qin because it might hurt his fingers.'

"Did you ask Bia if she wants to learn anything?"

"She's still a baby, her fingers aren't fully developed yet."

"No, she's grown enough... in other ways."

Huailun said with a look of disbelief. Lian moved her hands to gauge the size of the qixianqin and the pipa and nodded.

"I should tell Bia to learn the pipa."

Just as Huailun was about to burst out laughing, Zheng Ying and the chief steward, Jiang Li, came running from a distance with pale faces.

Lian, sensing the change in the atmosphere, got up from her seat.

"Little Master! Little Master. You should go to Yueling Hall right away."

"What happened?"

While Zheng Ying was putting Lian's coat on her shoulders, Huailun looked up and gazed into the distance. The boy's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Sister, it seems we have a visitor."

* * *

"At the Jin Family Manor?"

Jiang Li stood silently with a stoic face, but Zheng Ying looked somewhat worried. Lian unfolded the letter handed to her by Dan Muxian.

"Hmm... So, the eldest son of the Jin Family Manor, Jin Zongxia, is asking for my guidance? From me?"

"Technically, from the Danmu Clan..."

But now, the only person of his generation in the clan is Lian. Lian, lost in thought, pouted her lower lip.

To be honest, the Jin Family Manor was almost like an enemy to her father.

If the Jin Family Manor hadn't insisted on a duel with Dan Muxian at that time, her father might still be alive...

Dan Muxian, who had fought the head of the Jin Family Manor, died in that duel.

Lian clenched the letter firmly in both hands, her brows furrowed.

In the past, there was no such thing. The Jin Family Manor and the Danmu Clan had an ambiguous relationship, like enemies who pretended not to know each other.

"Well, I have to do it."

"But, Little Master..."

Jiang Li trailed off. Jin Zongxia, the eldest son of the Jin Family Manor, is about to turn ten.

Naturally, the wealthy head of the Jin Family Manor had raised him with great care, feeding him all kinds of elixirs, and he was already a well-known talented boy in the area.

How could Dan Muxian, who had only recently recovered from illness and learned the clan's sword techniques, possibly match him?

"Since I can't refuse anyway. There's no one in the clan who can handle him."

In a prestigious martial arts family, the only excuses for avoiding a duel would be an earthquake, a flood, or a locust invasion. So, she had to do it. Just like her father did.

'Quite a clever move, actually?'

Dan Muxian had achieved enlightenment!

The former top martial artist, who had saved the martial world, had recovered from his injuries and reached a new level. Now, the Danmu Clan was on the path to its promised revival.

No one would dare to challenge Dan Muxian, who had achieved enlightenment, but what about the eldest grandson, who had been in seclusion and whose face no one in Hangzhou had seen?

He might have thought it was worth a try to challenge her.

"Can you do it?"

Dan Muxian, with his hand in his sleeve, asked quietly.

Lian thought that Dan Muxian's eyes seemed to be laughing mischievously.

Since the day Dan Muxian achieved enlightenment, a strange bond had formed between the two of them, a bond of shared secrets.

"I can do it."

"Then it's settled. Send a letter to set the date."

Jiang Li, looking worriedly at Lian, got up to write the reply.

Meanwhile, Lian's eyes were fixed on the letter. The characters overlapped, but she could still read them. The very words that had brought her from the future underworld to here were telling her:

[You can practice with a wooden sword.]