Chapter 599: Baifeng's Small Wish

To Baifeng, the melody was not overly complex; it sounded more like an imitation of the sounds in the natural world. Still, it was clearly a complete piece of music, and with the crackling of the bonfire as accompaniment, the music seemed even more melodious.

Everyone in the clearing was listening quietly. For the people of the entire Huaxia, the music they had heard was nothing more than drums and Baifeng's unpleasant singing voice; this was the first time they had heard such a musical piece.

Once the piece ended, Baifeng took the lead, and then everyone began to offer enthusiastic applause, which left the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe somewhat at a loss. When the applause gradually died down, Baifeng explained, "This is our Huaxia way of showing appreciation: clapping. As long as something is good, we are willing to praise it through applause and cheers."

Count Qibo also smiled and thanked everyone.

Afterward, Baifeng asked Qibo, "Is the instrument you used called a Flute?"

Qibo nodded, "You know of this? Then, can you play it?"

Baifeng smiled and shook his head, "No. I have seen many, many different instruments, but I cannot play a single one. Oh, I can play one, and that is the Drum."

Qibo was curious, "Many, many kinds? For example?"

Baifeng pointed at the Bone Flute in Qibo's hand and said, "A flute, though the ones I have seen were made of bamboo. There are also bamboo pipes, as well as the Zither, the Se, and the Bell. Right, we do have bells, but because I cannot tune them to an accurate pitch, they can only serve as a tool to remind us of the time."

"Bamboo?" Qibo looked at the Bone Flute in his hand, still somewhat puzzled. After a moment of thought, he handed it to Baifeng to look at, "Take a look, how is this flute of mine different from the ones you have seen?"

Baifeng did not take it, as he knew absolutely nothing about these instruments, but he was also very curious about what instruments existed in this era.

Qibo explained to him, "I have never heard of the ones you mentioned. I have only seen the flute, the Xun, the He, and the drum. Perhaps other tribes have them. Where did you see yours, and how are they played?"

Baifeng gave a sheepish smile, "That is not important, because even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to find them. However, I would like to ask, does your Xuanyuan Tribe have many people who can use instruments and understand music?"

Xuanyuan spoke frankly, as this was not something that needed to be hidden; sacrificial rites required music, and the prosperity of music could further demonstrate the strength of a tribe.

"There are over a hundred people who can use various instruments."

Baifeng gasped. Why couldn't he find even one? Suddenly, Baifeng had an idea, "Xuanyuan, could our people go to your Xuanyuan Tribe to learn instruments?"

Xuanyuan was somewhat surprised, "Ah? Doesn't your Huaxia have them? Why do you need to learn?"

Baifeng did not feel embarrassed, "They only know how to play the drum. If no one teaches us, our Huaxia will always only know how to play the drum. Music is such a wonderful thing; people always like it, right?"

Xuanyuan stared at Baifeng for a long time. He did not quite believe that Baifeng was this simple, but he truly could not think of anything unreasonable about this request.

Seeing that Xuanyuan was hesitant, Baifeng directly laid out his conditions, "Although I do not know how to play, I know what those instruments look like. If your people have good enough skills, it is entirely possible for them to craft them. Likewise, I also understand methods for recording music, which can allow a piece of music to be passed down and preserved through text or drawings, and it also makes learning much easier."

Before Xuanyuan could ask in detail, Zhishou asked first, "What do you mean by the recording method you mentioned?"

Baifeng followed the direction of the voice and found Zhishou. Zhishou looked a bit tipsy now. Baifeng thought that since Zhishou came from Kongtong Mountain, he might also understand music theory, so he said, "Let me ask first, how many fixed notes does your music have now?"

Zhishou said, "Five."

Qibo, however, said, "Seven."

"Hmm?" Faced with two different answers, Baifeng was still somewhat shocked. He guessed it should be five, because the theory of the five tones had always been fixed; it made no sense for there to be seven now.

Qibo also noticed Baifeng's surprise, so he explained, "Only the Bone Flute has seven; the others all have five tones."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Baifeng suddenly became interested in the Bone Flute. Although he had refused Qibo earlier, he could not help himself now, "Can I take a look at your flute?"

Qibo was not stingy and handed it to Baifeng.

Baifeng took it and looked it over, then guessed it was likely the leg bone of some bird—very long and thin—and judging by the feel of it now, it must have been used for a very long time.

As for the specific shape and the holes, based on his memory of the five-yuan toy bamboo flutes he once had, they were about the same. At the same time, there was indeed a membrane where the membrane hole was. In the end, Baifeng held back and did not put it to his mouth to blow, because he felt that would be very impolite, even though he did not know what Qibo would think.

Baifeng handed the flute back to Qibo with both hands and pointed to the membrane, asking, "What kind of membrane is this?"

Based on this question, Qibo knew that Baifeng must understand something, otherwise he wouldn't have discovered the crux of the matter so quickly. He explained, "Bamboo membrane; it is everywhere."

Baifeng thought for a moment and said, "You could try a reed membrane; the reed membrane should be better."

Qibo was stunned, then said "Good."

Seeing that Baifeng had led the topic astray again, Zhishou had to continue pressing him. Baifeng answered seriously, "What I know works for both five and seven tones, but for these instruments, five tones are more suitable. Do your five tones have corresponding names?"

Zhishou and Qibo played at the same time and said with some confusion, "They do not. Should they all have names?"

"Oh, I shouldn't say names, I should say designations. From high to low, the tones are divided into Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu. These five tones can be represented by these five characters, drawing out corresponding simple symbols, and then recorded. In this way, even if one is not familiar with a piece of music, one can know what note to play next. Or, if one suddenly thinks of a good melody and plays it for the first time, after recording it, one won't forget it when playing it again, right?"

Zhishou clapped in admiration, "Good idea! How about this: I know how to play the flute, the He, and the Xun. As long as you are willing to teach me this method of yours, I can teach you how to play the instruments."

Xuanyuan looked at Zhishou in disbelief, but he immediately calmed down. Zhishou was just a Sage from Kongtong and not a member of their Xuanyuan Tribe; he was here to help the Xuanyuan Tribe, but if he was willing to make a deal with others, he could not interfere.

Upon hearing this, Baifeng was also happy and immediately agreed; this could be considered fulfilling a small wish of his.

"That is absolutely no problem. However, it won't be me learning; I am too busy every day. I will select tribesmen suitable for this to learn from you. Whether you stay in Huaxia or go to the Xuanyuan Tribe, it is no problem at all."