Chapter 245: After All, She Couldn

The first song to go viral was Qin Yun's "Bronze Drum Soul," which spread like a virus and instantly dominated TikTok's trending list.

Only afterward did the Bronze Drum Array ritual of the White-Bai Bai Ku Yao in Jiaping Village gain attention.

But the prerequisite was still the song's popularity, which brought the White-Bai Bai Ku Yao of Jiaping Village into the public eye for the first time. Qin Yun wasn't worried about whether Jiaping Village could handle this flood of traffic.

Jiaping Village was small, just a few households; it didn't need great wealth—so long as every family had a livelihood and a steady income, that was enough. So after consulting with the clan elders, they settled on holding the Bronze Drum Array ritual once a week.

Otherwise, if too many people came too often, what was meant to be good might turn bad.

Every household in Jiaping Village knew how to make wax-resist dyeing, indigo dyeing, and could craft bronze drums, spinning tops, and other inherited artifacts. After the promotion began, everyone worked full force to produce these crafts, determined to ensure visitors left satisfied and happy.

Though the finished products didn't demand the same painstaking effort as usual, they were still made with heartfelt care.

After inspecting them, Qin Yun met again with the clan elders to set prices. Once everything was ready, Jiaping Village welcomed its first wave of tourists.

……

"No way, Brother Qin is still here? Pure luck, haha, check out my selfie with him."

"Finally met Brother Qin's girlfriend—so beautiful, my future girlfriend must meet this standard."

"Upstairs, are you here for Brother Qin or his girlfriend? Didn't he just beat you to death?"

"The Bronze Drum Array ritual was mind-blowing—the live experience was incredible."

"You absolutely must visit Jiaping Village and experience pure joy and awe."

"Oh no, the Jiaping Village elder has been popping up in my phone for a week now—I can't scroll without seeing him."

"Hahaha, same here. Every time I see it, I watch it again, then the Algorithm keeps pushing it to me, so I keep watching."

"6666!"

Praise poured in. After the first wave of tourists posted their reviews, Jiaping Village went completely viral.

The Bronze Drum Array ritual propelled Jiaping Village to nationwide fame.

Other White-Bai Bai Ku Yao groups saw this and wanted to copy it, but Qin Yun's statement shut down all those ideas immediately.

It was this statement that made everyone realize the song had actually been written by him.

【"Bronze Drum Soul" was an accidental creation of mine, inspired after witnessing the Bronze Drum Array ritual of the White-Bai Bai Ku Yao in Jiaping Village. I am donating the copyright of this song to the White-Bai Bai Ku Yao of Jiaping Village. Any public performance of this song must contact the clan elder—Lan Qi—for authorization. Unauthorized use is illegal.】

"Holy shit, Brother Qin wrote this?"

"Damn, I'm numb—tell me this song with such strong ethnic flavor was written by Brother Qin?"

"Brother Qin, you can even write songs?"

"When you're speechless, you really are speechless."

"He's off the charts—Brother Qin writing songs is more shocking than him diving ten thousand meters into the Blackthroat Abyss."

"He's literary enough to write songs, martial enough to fly through heaven and earth—I wonder what he can't do."

Not just netizens—even Qin Yun's friends all sent him "?"

Even a few entertainment industry friends came curiously asking what was going on. Chen He even shamelessly asked him for a song—absurd.

But all this was just trivia; Qin Yun didn't pay it much mind. Writing songs was fine as a one-off, but if he had to pour his heart into it seriously, he truly wasn't interested.

For the past two days, Qin Yun had quietly accompanied Su Huan, staying out of the public eye, simply sitting quietly beside Lan Duo, accompanying this poor little girl through the final stage of her life.

Lan Duo's condition worsened day by day; yesterday she fainted twice, today she slipped into unconsciousness three times.

Like a wildflower just beginning to bloom in the mountains, before it could fully face the wind and rain, it had already begun to wither, dry up, its last flicker of life trembling, ready to vanish at any moment.

Watching Lan Duo, barely clinging to life on the hospital bed, Su Huan's eyes were red from crying, her face soaked in tears. Though they had only known each other for a few short days, the sorrow and pity in her heart felt profoundly real.

She was only thirteen, never truly seen the world's splendor, never had the chance to grow up, yet she was being snatched away so abruptly.

Lan Duo's grandparents had also grown gaunt and worn these past days, their faces heavy with unrelenting grief. Nothing hurts more than a dead heart—the two elders had already buried their son and daughter-in-law, and now they had to watch their only granddaughter slip away.

Two consecutive heartbreaks of burying a child crushed the two elderly hearts, nearly crushing their breath from them.

"Mmm…"

A soft moan broke the silence in the room.

Lan Duo slowly woke, struggling to lift her eyelids, her gaze drifting slowly over the faces gathered beside her bed—her grandparents, Brother Qin, Sister Su Huan.

Seeing the familiar, heartbroken faces, her fear of death lessened.

"Grandpa… Grandma…"

"My Duo Duo, Grandma's here, Grandma's with you…"

Lan Duo's grandmother burst into tears, gripping her granddaughter's frail little hand tightly.

Beside her, the grandfather turned away, quietly wiping away the tears rolling down his cheeks, his face filled with sorrow, his chest heaving as he forced himself to hold back sobs.

Su Huan, eyes red, leaned against Qin Yun, throat tight with bitterness.

"After I'm gone… don't be too sad… I'm going to find Mom and Dad… we'll finally be a family again."

The grandmother wept uncontrollably, trembling as she replied: "Grandma knows… Grandma knows…"

Lan Duo's gaze held a childlike longing: "Grandma… can you sing 'Bronze Drum Dum-Dum' to me again?"

"Yes… Grandma will sing, Grandma will sing it for my Duo Duo right now."

The elder choked back her sobs, lowered her voice, and softly hummed.

Bronze drum dum-dum, beat and beat,

Green Yao mountains sway and sway.

Leaf flutes make the birds laugh,

Children chase the sun and run.

……

The gentle, familiar lullaby slowly curled around the hospital bed, seeping gently into Lan Duo's heart.

She listened quietly, her eyelids slowly drooping, her eyes closing. With her grandmother's low hum, her small thoughts grew empty, sinking slowly into stillness.

……

The mountains rejoice, the waters rejoice,

We are all good little children of Yao Mountain!

At the moment the song ended, Grandma Lan Duo suddenly felt the thin little hand in her palm gently loosen.

A faint breath slowly dispersed.

At thirteen years old, her brief and pitiful life ended quietly, surrounded by loved ones and cradled by the tenderness of a lullaby.

"Duo Duo! My Duo Duo!"

The long-suppressed grief collapsed instantly; the grandfather and grandmother could no longer hold back, bursting into heart-wrenching sobs.

Su Huan buried her face in Qin Yun's arms, unable to suppress her tears any longer, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she wept.

Even Qin Yun, at this moment, had red eyes, silent warm tears sliding down his cheeks.

And at that same moment, in Jiaping Village, the lively and rhythmic "Tonggu Yao Soul" suddenly rang out, the second week's White-Bai Bai Ku Yao Copper Drum Ceremony beginning as scheduled.

Outside, the mountain wind roared, drums and music thundered, songs rang out joyfully across Yao Mountain; inside, sobs echoed, the scene filled with sorrow, life and death separated.

One joy, one grief; one outside, one inside.

Lan Duo fulfilled her mission, yet ultimately could not endure her own fate.

……

"Grandfather, Grandmother, if you need help, please call me."

After the funeral, Qin Yun and Su Huan chose to depart.

Lan Duo's grandfather and grandmother embraced the two, blessed them, and finally, under the farewell of village elders, Luo Shigen, Meng Jiumei, and several other villagers, they quietly left Jiaping Village.

Before leaving, the village elder spoke privately to Qin Yun, saying the clan would record Lan Duo's story.

Qin Yun was comforted by this; the greatest credit for Jiaping Village's future prosperity did not belong to him, nor to the village elder, nor even to the villagers, but to that small, emaciated girl—Lan Duo.

Without Lan Duo's private message, none of what followed would have been possible.