Chapter 675: Lullaby

"No, it's just that my mother hasn't consented to let me take you as master and go to the Leshan Sect Sect Sect Sect Sect to learn skills; are you now preparing to seize me outright?"

Wang Ping'an watched Feng Yanrong, and his mind flickered; on her beautifully white‑jade‑like finger, an extraordinary ring glimmered with a faint light, and an ancient zither materialized in the air—the same zither Feng Yanrong had used in their recent duel, which she had snatched up with one hand and was about to pluck the strings. He was startled and thought to himself:

"Shouldn't you have persuaded my mother first? Could it be that my talent as a Musician Path is too great, and you're afraid an accident might occur, knowing you may not be able to convince my mother, so you plan to forcefully seize me?"

Thinking of that, Wang Ping'an almost wanted to set down the Jade Flute he was still playing, command the Paper Person he had hidden nearby to leap out and stop Feng Yanrong from acting. It wasn't that he feared Feng Yanrong would snatch him away; what he feared was that, although Feng Yanrong would not harm his mother, the collateral damage of the battle would inevitably affect his mother.

Who says the Musician Path profession, despite being his first encounter, from the fight with Feng Yanrong made him clearly realize that Musician Path practitioners mostly cause area damage; his mother is an ordinary person, and even if Feng Yanrong does not act intentionally, the collateral damage cannot be controlled.

Let the battle's aftereffects harm his mother!

However.

Just as Wang Ping'an prepared to act and stop Feng Yanrong, his peripheral vision caught Xuanqing Daozhang reacting the fastest, clearly before Feng Yanrong even drew the ancient zither, not yet knowing what she would do, perhaps hadn't even considered that she might commit a violent seizure; his master Xuanqing Daozhang immediately…

…instead of forming a magical barrier around himself, he swiftly enveloped himself and his mother with a mana shield, creating a barrier as solid as copper walls and iron fortifications, protecting their safety.

By his keen eyesight, he judged that the strength of the mana shield his master currently projected around him and his mother, even a Golden Core cultivator's full‑force strike might not be enough to shatter it.

One can see how earnest his master is!

"Kumu Daozhang, don't worry. I brought out this ancient zither not to harm anyone, nor to commit a violent seizure. Our Leshan Sect Sect Sect Sect Sect is, after all, a prestigious orthodox school; doing such a thing would disgrace the founding master!"

Feng Yanrong glanced at Xuanqing Daozhang's actions, smiled, and wasn't angry. The jianghu is treacherous; someone as cautious as Xuanqing Daozhang is the most normal response. If those who, because she is a Leshan Sect Sect Sect Sect disciple, act magnanimously and disregard her, completely unconcerned that she might endanger lives, nine out of ten would not live many years.

It's not that she's not a good person, but among prestigious orthodox disciples, not all are good; inevitably there are beasts worse than pigs and dogs, who do selfish harmful deeds.

"Prestigious orthodox school?"

Xuanqing Daozhang also smiled, but his smile was purely mocking, as if he had heard a colossal joke. Having roamed the jianghu for years, he had encountered all sorts of people, including some prestigious orthodox schools; among them, one cannot say all are bad—most are good—but inevitably some riffraff mix in, for his amusement:

"Fellow Daoist Feng, since you don't intend to harm us, why did you take out this ancient zither? I know that the instruments of Leshan Sect Sect Sect Sect disciples are top‑tier magical artifacts, weapons of offense; don't tell me you intend to play a melody for us to hear?"

Back then, during his travels, he not only heard about how some prestigious orthodox disciples harm lives, doing deeds even worse than Evil Cultivators—no, one cannot say worse than Evil Cultivators, since Evil Cultivators often cross lines; they merely performed misdeeds comparable to Evil Cultivators, and killing comrades is commonplace.

Not to mention, he himself had experienced that if he hadn't been fortunate and long‑lived, he might have perished at the hands of so‑called prestigious orthodox disciples back then.

"Kumu Daozhang, you're right; I brought out this ancient zither to play a piece, but not for you to hear!" Feng Yanrong looked at the fleeting mocking glint in Xuanqing Daozhang's eyes, knowing he might be aware of certain so‑called prestigious orthodox misdeeds; she had little goodwill toward those schools, didn't care much, she could only control herself, not others—she might not even be able to control a Leshan Sect Sect Sect Sect disciple, let alone other prestigious orthodox disciples.

Not only Xuanqing Daozhang, but even she, when she first heard of certain so‑called prestigious orthodox misdeeds, likewise looked down upon them.

It's just that.

Such matters need not be discussed with Xuanqing Daozhang!

She paused.

Feng Yanrong seemed to recall something; her peripheral glance, while others weren't paying attention, casually swept a nondescript spot, quickly withdrawn without being noticed; her gaze finally settled entirely on Wang Ping'an, her face and eyes filled with unmistakable fiery intent, and she said:

"I intend to play a piece for this child to hear, to see this child's talent on the Musician Path, and also to make Xuanqing Daozhang and this lady clearly understand that this child training with me at Leshan Sect Sect Sect Sect is the best destiny!"

With that, she finished speaking.

Ding! Ding! Ding!!!

Feng Yanrong gave neither Xuanqing Daozhang nor Liu Dongzhu a chance to respond, and directly plucked the strings; a beautiful prelude of a melody gradually emerged, and just as the music was about to reach Wang Ping'an's ears, it was blocked by the mana shield surrounding him, causing him to be secretly startled; he hadn't expected Xuanqing Daozhang's skill to be so high that even an ordinary mana shield could block the sound.

This is something many cultivators find difficult to achieve!

Feng Yanrong said, "Kumu Daozhang, could you open your shield so that my piece can reach Wang Ping'an's ears?"

This novel you to

"No problem!"

Xuanqing Daozhang had already discerned which piece Feng Yanrong was playing; it was the most basic Lullaby, which greatly aids sleep; not only did he withdraw the mana shield around Wang Ping'an, but also the one around Liu Dongzhu.

This ordinary Lullaby, when played by Feng Yanrong, revealed many extraordinary aspects; it could not only let Liu Dongzhu have a good sleep, but also grant her other benefits.

If he and Feng Yanrong were not familiar, Feng Yanrong would eye Wang Ping'an even more closely; he worried that listening to the Lullaby and falling asleep might cause Feng Yanrong to do a "foolish act"—seizing Wang Ping'an—so he wanted to listen to her playing.

Only because the Lullaby played by Feng Yanrong could dispel half of the backlash effect from the forcibly used secret technique on him.

(End of chapter)