Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

Fu Yaoqin sat next to Xie Xiaoyi, talking while sketching and drawing on the sheet music for "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer".

Although the tune was hummed by Xie Xiaoyi, as the head of Yayinfang, she was very insightful.

"What do you think of making this change?"

Xie Xiaoyi was staring blankly at the curves of her chest, only responding with "uh-huh".

"ah."

"But you didn't even look at it!"

"Um."

"The name 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer' is really nice. Did you come up with it?"

"ah."

"Young Master Xie Mo, are you even listening to me?"

"Um."

Fu Yaoqin frowned, and bit his wrist angrily.

"ah--"

Xie Xiaoyi was in a daze when his wrist was suddenly attacked.

With a gentle rub, he stretched out his long arm and picked up Fu Yaoqin, pressing her down onto the wooden floor with a "ground slam".

Then they retaliated in kind.

"Hmm..."

Fu Yaoqin was silenced before she could speak.

"You...you get out of my way!"

"Sister Yaoqin, your clothes are beautiful today, different from yesterday's. Did you change them again?"

"Hmm... It's much better for a woman to change her clothes every day than for a man to change his heart every day."

"So, Sister Yaoqin changed clothes so quickly because she was afraid my heart couldn't keep up?"

"You...you stop unbuttoning it, there are no buttons. I haven't finished my piece yet!"

"Sister Yaoqin, I recently learned a martial arts technique from a senior master, and I'd like to show it to you!"

"Okay! I'll see, I'll see. Take your hand away first!"

"Too late—God, Dragon, Swing, Tail!"

"Waaah! Xie Mo, you...you bastard!"

The old plum tree outside the window swayed wildly in the spring breeze, its branches unable to stay still for a moment.

After much commotion, the sheet music was still not completed.

Fu Yaoqin sat upright in front of the dressing table mirror, holding an ivory comb, gently combing her loose black hair.

Xie Xiaoyi woke up, his fingers still carrying the scent of her hair. He lazily propped himself up on the floor and opened his eyes.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, his hair styled up, a roguish smile spread across his eyes as he stared blankly into space.

"Sister Yaoqin, you look so beautiful!"

Fu Yaoqin turned to look at him, her face full of spring charm.

"You...you've changed. You're not the same as before."

"Oh? Maybe it's because I learned a senior martial arts master's technique, and my 'cultivation' has become stronger!"

Cultivation level?

Fu Yaoqin frowned, inwardly grumbling.

It's clearly a crooked and unorthodox method, but... it's really powerful.

She turned around and sat back down at her desk, picked up her pen and filled in the last few blanks in the score. With a gentle pluck of her fingertips on the strings, a clear and melodious tune flowed out.

She parted her lips slightly and began to sing along with the music.

"A hearty laugh echoes across the vast ocean, the tides surge on both shores, drifting with the waves, remembering only today..."

Her voice was gentle and melodious, blending perfectly with the music, making Xie Xiaoyi feel refreshed and relaxed, not even wanting to breathe.

"The landscape smiles, the mist and rain stretch far, the waves have washed away all traces of the mortal world..."

When the music ended, Xie Xiaoyi clapped and cheered, then frowned and said, "It was good, but it was missing something."

Fu Yaoqin raised an eyebrow at him: "What's missing?"

"This piece should be played as a duet of the qin and xiao."

Fu Yaoqin's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands, saying:

"Yes! That's brilliant!"

It just so happens that Sister Mu Pingting from Yushengfang is the best xiao player in Qingjiang City. I'll invite her over tomorrow, and we can play together!

Playing together?

I wonder if the two of them would be willing to fly together?

Xie Xiaoyi was lost in reverie.

......

Thousands of miles away, on the shore of the East China Sea.

A woman in black stood atop the cliff, her dark hair disheveled by the sea breeze, yet it could not conceal her breathtaking beauty.

This person was none other than Xie Lingyun, known as the "Elegant Shadow of the East Sea," a beauty that could topple kingdoms and cities.

Watching the giant waves crash against the shore, Xie Lingyun raised her hand, and the long sword behind her flew out of its sheath in mid-air. The hilt of the sword, like an obedient little bird, landed in her palm.

"Whoosh—"

With a single sword strike, the vast expanse of blue waves was cleaved in two!

At the break, the waves froze, revealing the deep seabed reefs. After a long while, the waves crashed together, causing huge waves several meters high to rise from the sea surface.

Not far behind Xie Lingyun, an old man in a Taoist robe walked out and clapped his hands in delight.

"What a brilliant move, 'One Sword Splits the Vast Ocean'! This sword intent is probably no weaker than Shen Beiluo's 'One Sword Shakes the World'."

Xie Ling turned around, her face radiant, startling even the sea breeze into stillness.

"Thank you for your courtesy, Senior Thief. What brings you to the East Sea?"

"Hehe, I'm here to deliver a belated message."

"What... what does Senior mean?" Xie Lingyun's usually frosty face showed a rare ripple of emotion.

Xie Daoyun flicked the wide sleeves of his Taoist robe, his tone resolute:

"I predicted eighteen years ago that he would set foot in the East China Sea eighteen years later."

Tian Suanzi looked up at the faint dragon aura appearing on the horizon:

"A few days ago, the true energy of the Ancestral Dragon appeared in the sky, and the secret of heaven has been revealed—that person is not far away."

Xie Lingyun looked up at the sky over the East China Sea, and images from the past flashed through his mind.

......

A boy dressed in coarse cloth and carrying a wooden sword stumbled past the guards and came into her sight.

Sweat beaded on the boy's forehead, and his features exuded an unrefined, clean-cut handsomeness.

When she smiles, the corners of her mouth curve into a very bright arc.

That's the smile.

The young woman's breath caught in her throat.

More than 20 years ago, the mountains of Luocheng Pass were ablaze with red leaves.

Mei Xingyao sat on the blue stone covered with fallen maple leaves, swinging his legs, and turned his head to watch her practice swordsmanship. Suddenly, he asked:

"Hey, with your good looks and skills, what kind of person will ever catch your eye?"

At that time, she was stunningly beautiful and was known as the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world. She was also at the height of her youth and was full of vigor.

She sheathed her sword, glanced at Mei Xingyao, and spoke with the arrogance of a plum blossom just beginning to bloom on a branch.

"The person I, Xie Lingyun, admire will surely become the most powerful swordsman in the world in the future."

His sword must be able to cleave through the snow-capped mountains and cut through the waves of the East China Sea.

His name should be so powerful that all warriors in the land would bow down and submit.

Mei Xingyao nodded repeatedly as she listened, and reached out to pluck the red leaves from her hair.

"Alright, you wait for me. Within ten years, I will definitely master the skill to split the snow-capped mountains..."

"The sword that cuts through the waves of the East Sea, let all warriors under heaven hear my name!"

"Then let's wait." She raised an eyebrow, her fingertips flicking the spine of the sword, producing a clear, ringing sound.

"If I can't wait, I'll become the best in the world myself, protecting the people I want to protect and guarding the mountains I want to guard."

But later...

......