Douluo: When the piano sounds, the hidden weapon returns to the factory

Chapter 9 Leaving
After an unknown amount of time, the zither music faded. Feng Yao collapsed onto the bed, sweat dripping from his body. His chest heaved violently, and every breath was a burning pain. The process of tempering his internal organs with the five tones felt like a raging fire burning within him. Even his fingertips trembled slightly from the excessive exertion.

"Huh, with the soul ring's blessing, the effect is really..." Feng Yao wiped the sweat from his forehead with a wry smile, his voice extremely hoarse, "Playing the piano is more tiring than forging iron."

Feng Yao gazed up at the mottled patterns on the ceiling, waiting for his breath to calm. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. He slowly raised his arm, palm facing upward, and the Xiantian Bagua Plate quietly emerged. The jade surface glowed warmly in the candlelight, and the mysterious patterns seemed to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

"Could it be..." Feng Yao whispered to himself, gathering a wisp of soul power at his fingertips, "that it needs to be activated by a soul ring before it can be used?"

The moment the soul power touched the Bagua plate, the mysterious patterns on its surface suddenly lit up with a faint glow. The eight hexagrams—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—flashed in sequence, interconnected in a perfect cycle. Feng Yao held his breath, clearly feeling the soul power rapidly draining from his body like a rushing river, while the Bagua plate's light only grew more dazzling.
In an instant, the shadowy image of the Eight Trigrams expanded to a three-meter radius around him. Feng Yao's pupils shrank slightly as he watched the eight trigrams whirl through the air like living creatures. The energy fluctuations between heaven and earth became incredibly clear. He stretched out his hands, gazing in disbelief at the hexagrams surrounding him—at that moment, it felt as if the entire world was within his perception and control.

"It can even control the free energy of heaven and earth." Feng Yao muttered to himself, and suddenly the true meaning of the hexagrams taught by his grandfather flashed through his mind: "Qian represents heaven, Kun represents earth, Zhen represents thunder, Xun represents wind, Kan represents water, Li represents fire, Gen represents mountain, and Dui represents marsh."

With a thought, he attempted to direct his soul power towards the "Li" hexagram. Suddenly, the surrounding free energy, like rivers flowing into the sea, transformed into a fiery fire attribute. The room's temperature suddenly rose, and even subtle ripples of distortion appeared in the air. Beads of sweat formed on Feng Yao's forehead, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes.

But the next second, a strong sense of emptiness washed over him like a tide. The Eight Trigrams' shadows instantly dissipated, and Feng Yao stumbled onto the bed, panting heavily and smiling bitterly. "Transforming attributes according to the hexagrams... It's another bottomless pit that devours soul power. It's unlikely to be useful for the time being. Better to focus on my old friend first."

Thinking of this, Feng Yao slowly sat up, closed his eyes and went into meditation.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye, and it is already graduation time for Notting College.

Inside the academy's auditorium, a beam of morning light filtered through the stained glass windows, landing squarely on the center of the zither platform. Feng Yao, dressed in a moon-white robe, his sleeves embroidered with silver thread, appeared exceptionally elegant in the halo. The "Fuxi" guqin, the last overtone, flowed beneath his slender fingertips, and two bright yellow, century-old soul rings slowly faded from the instrument's body. As the lingering sound lingered, the entire auditorium fell silent, then erupted in thunderous applause.

"As expected of Senior Feng." A female student in the audience praised him softly, with admiration glittering in her eyes.

This admiration made Tang San, standing in the crowd, frown unconsciously. Xiao Wu beside him was very excited, standing on tiptoe to look around: "The pianist is dressed very well today!"

Hearing Xiao Wu's random use of idioms, Tang San's slightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and a rare smile appeared on his ordinary face.

"Let's go, Xiao Wu." Tang San said softly with a gentle smile on his face.

Xiao Wu curled her lips and complained as she walked, "Master, what a fool! So many high-level spirit master academies have sent invitations, but you insist on sending us to Shrek Academy." She glanced at Feng Yao not far away and said in a low voice, "I think the piano player will definitely not go with you."

Tang San shook his head helplessly, and lightly touched the Twenty-Four Bridges on his waist with his fingers. He took out a juicy carrot like a magic trick: "Teacher has his reasons for arranging it this way." As he said that, he handed the carrot over.

"Hmph!" Xiao Wu said reluctantly, but her eyes suddenly lit up. She took the carrot, took a bite, and said vaguely, "What if the pianist doesn't want to go?"

"That's his loss." Tang San said calmly, but his eyes involuntarily drifted towards Feng Yao.

As they spoke, the three of them happened to meet in the backstage corridor. Six years had left their mark on each of them: Feng Yao, clutching his guqin, his moonlight-white robe fluttering gently in the corridor's draft, looked like a nobleman stepped out of a painting.

Although Tang San is not as tall as Feng Yao, his strong muscles, which he has developed from years of blacksmithing, make his school uniform bulge out; Xiao Wu has grown from a little girl into a graceful young lady, and her waist-length scorpion braid flutters in the wind, adding a bit of agility.

Feng Yao looked at Tang San and Xiao Wu walking towards him, with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "I didn't expect that Tang San and Xiao Wu would also come to attend the college's graduation ceremony."

When Tang San heard Feng Yao's obviously different name, his brows frowned slightly: "It's been six years. I brought Xiao Wu to see it before leaving." His tone was flat, but his eyes unconsciously swept across the guqin in Feng Yao's arms.

Feng Yao keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Tang San's words and asked tentatively, "Mr. Tang, what is this?"

"Teacher asked me to invite you to Shrek Academy." Tang San was straightforward. His tone lacked the sincerity of an invitation and the courtesy it should have. Instead, it revealed a hint of resistance.

Feng Yao was startled at first, then smiled knowingly: "Thank you for my kindness, Master. However..." He gently stroked the body of the zither, "I have already made arrangements for the academy."

Tang San's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and he even looked at Feng Yao with a more favorable eye: "I'll tell the teacher." He nodded, and when he turned around, the hem of his clothes brought up a breeze.

Xiao Wu bit into a carrot, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. Her pink scorpion braid swayed slightly as she tilted her head. She always felt that there was an undercurrent between the two of them that she couldn't understand, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Feng Yao, you're not going?" Xiao Wu blinked her eyes with a look of regret, "I was thinking of collecting your protection money in the future."

Feng Yao glanced at Tang San meaningfully, a faint smile on his lips. He took out a heavy brocade bag from the exquisite soul guide at his waist and tossed it to Xiao Wu.

"We've known each other for a while now, so consider this a token of my appreciation as buying snacks for Sister Xiao Wu on the way." Feng Yao smiled calmly, "Thank you for your 'care' over the years."

Xiao Wu took the brocade bag, weighed it in her palm, and immediately smiled: "You are so generous! Those noble children are so stingy when paying protection fees."

Tang San, standing aside, hesitated to speak, his face slightly embarrassed. He couldn't stop Feng Yao from giving him the money, so he could only cough softly and say, "Alright, Xiao Wu, I've delivered the message. We should leave now."

"Goodbye." Tang San bowed to Feng Yao with a stiff tone.

Feng Yao bowed gracefully in return, "See you again." His wide sleeves traced a flowing arc in the morning light. Tang San practically dragged Xiao Wu away, his back appearing somewhat hurried. As Xiao Wu was being dragged along, she turned back and waved the brocade pouch at Feng Yao, her pink scorpion braid dancing joyfully in the sunlight.

Watching the two figures disappear in the distance, Feng Yao gently plucked the strings of his zither, producing a clear overtone. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, a playful glint in his eyes.

Feng Yao watched Tang San's hurriedly departing figure and couldn't help but secretly shake his head. He suddenly understood why, in his previous life, even with such an amazing talent for hidden weapons, Tang San still had such a miserable time in the Tang Sect - all of Tang San's scheming and calculations were probably used to secretly learn unique skills and research hidden weapons.

Feng Yao shook his head slightly, putting these thoughts behind him, and slowly walked back to his dormitory. Pushing open the familiar wooden door, he found the empty room, already tidy and spotless, with only the setting sun outside the window casting its last rays of light onto the bed.

"It's time," he whispered to himself, his fingertips brushing the dust that had accumulated on the window lattice. Six years of time had finally transformed into just a few simple items in his soul guide.

Gently closing the door, Feng Yao walked towards the city teahouse. In the twilight, the lights of Nottingham City began to light up, and the familiar shop signs lining the streets swayed gently in the evening breeze. For six years, Shopkeeper Ning's teahouse had become his most peaceful home in the city.

Pushing open the carved wooden door to the backyard of the teahouse, the familiar aroma of tea wafted into my face. Shopkeeper Ning was intently polishing a celadon tea set. Without even looking up, he asked, "Are you leaving?"

Feng Yao's fingers traced the tea table where he often sat. Years of tea stains still lingered between the wood grain. He gazed out the window at the deepening dusk and whispered, "It's time to see the wider world."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Ning slowly raised his head, and his eyes, which had seen the world, looked deeply at Feng Yao: "Which college do you want to go to? If there is anything I can help you with before you leave, please feel free to ask."

"How is Tiandou Royal Academy?" Feng Yao said half-jokingly, tapping the rim of the teacup with his fingertips.

Shopkeeper Ning paused, the teapot hanging in mid-air. He paused for a moment, pensive, then suddenly smiled. "If you really want to go..." He filled two cups of tea, the fragrance lingering between them. "I'll recommend you to the Sect Master. Not only will you be accepted into the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but even the Spirit Hall Academy will be no problem."

Feng Yao took the teacup and watched the tea leaves expand in the amber tea. "You know," he said, taking a sip and smiling. "I can't stand being restricted, so I'd better not trouble Sect Master Ning."

"Well," said Shopkeeper Ning, clinking his glasses together, the cups making a crisp sound. "Young people should go out and explore more."

Shopkeeper Ning took a sip of his tea and suddenly leaned over to pull out an exquisite envelope from under the counter. A violet wax seal on the gilded seal shone luxuriously in the setting sun, and a delicate harp emblem was faintly visible.

"This is..." Feng Yao was slightly stunned.

"A letter of recommendation from Yuexuan." Shopkeeper Ning's eyes flashed with a mischievous smile as he pushed the envelope towards me. "When you first applied for the job six years ago, I knew this small teahouse wouldn't be able to keep you."

Feng Yao took the envelope, and when his fingertips touched the delicate lines on the wax seal, he suddenly felt a little dazed. Six years passed by like a revolving lantern before his eyes - from that ignorant boy holding a guqin, dressed in rags, to the famous guqin player in Nottingham.
Feng Yao understood that Manager Ning knew him very well and might even have guessed where he was going or even which college he was attending.

"Uncle Ning." Feng Yao's voice unconsciously tightened, and the fingers holding the envelope exerted a little force.

"Go ahead." Shopkeeper Ning had already turned to greet the new guests, leaving only a carefree figure behind. "Remember to say hello to Madam Yuehua for me."

The setting sun stretched their shadows long. For six years, Manager Ning had been both the boss and a father figure to the family. Though he didn't say much at this moment, his reluctance to leave was evident.

As dusk fell, Feng Yao walked out of the Nottingham City gate. He paused to look back. The three characters "Nottingham City" on the city wall stood out against the sunset glow. His fingers unconsciously brushed against the envelope in his inner chest pocket.

Feng Yao rented a simple carriage and slowly drove along the official road toward Tiandou City. The wheels creaked rhythmically over gravel, commensurate with the clatter of horse hooves, a sound remarkably clear on the silent road. He leaned against the window, his slender fingers unconsciously tapping the "Fuxi" zither case, his gaze drifting away as the scenery outside the window drifted by.

At dawn on the third day, the carriage was passing through an ancient oak forest. Feng Yao suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. Deep in the dense forest ahead, the faint sound of soul power fluctuations and fighting could be heard.

"Whoa--" The carriage suddenly braked. Feng Yao lifted the curtain and saw that the coachman had already abandoned the carriage and fled, his back looming in the morning mist.

Feng Yao frowned slightly, his figure darting towards the source of the sound like a ghost. Pushing aside the dense brush, he saw a clearing in the woods where five or six men in black were surrounding a young woman in black. The girl, about twenty-eight years old, was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, framing her slender figure. Her eyes, as sharp as a cat's, were the most striking. Despite her precarious situation, her movements remained nimble, and the shadow of a black spirit cat loomed faintly behind her.

"Zhu Qing, don't waste your energy." The leading black-clad woman sneered, her voice tinged with a hint of teasing, "Just follow me back."

Feng Yao's pupils shrank slightly: "Zhu Zhuqing? What a coincidence?"

Without hesitation, he summoned "Fuxi," and two bright yellow spirit rings suddenly illuminated. His fingertips lightly plucked the strings, and a high-pitched sound wave instantly exploded through the forest. Wherever the sound wave passed, the men in black stumbled, clutching their heads. Even the leader, Zhu Zhuyun, paled and swayed.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and her claws flashed with cold light. Feng Yao hurriedly shouted, "Hurry up! This stun effect won't last long!"

With that, he flashed and leaped onto the carriage they had come in. Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip, a flicker of reluctance in her beautiful eyes, but she still turned decisively and caught up with Feng Yao in a few leaps and bounds.

"Gee!" Feng Yao whipped the horse whip, and the carriage rushed out like an arrow.

(End of this chapter)