Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

A voice, neither quite wind nor quite weeping, extremely ethereal and melancholic, immediately escaped from her lips, swirling in the quiet room.

Several people felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

"Like this, your breath should be light and airy, not too solid."

She took off the whistle and carefully explained the correct placement of the whistle, the pressure on the tip of the tongue, and the speed of breathing.

Several different variations were also demonstrated, ranging from low sobs to high-pitched whimpers.

Lin Xiuer learned the fastest. After a few tries, although she was still a bit clumsy, she was already able to make some strange, ambiguous sounds.

Hu Yidao and Liu Sanzhen were also eager to try, and for a moment, all sorts of strange "whimpering" and "gasping" sounds echoed in the room, creating a somewhat bizarre and comical atmosphere.

Looking at their earnest yet clumsy expressions, a faint smile flickered in Liu Ruyan's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

She then went on to describe the details of other noises she made.

"And there's dragging the chain," she walked to the middle of the room and gestured with her hands, "you can't just pull it with force to make a sound and that's it."

"It should be fast and slow, heavy and light. When it's heavy, it should make a loud 'whoosh' that is breathtaking; when it's light, it should make a rustling sound that arouses suspicion."

"The group of people moved around, here and there, so that the other side couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from."

Hu Yidao nodded repeatedly, finding it to be very reasonable.

"As for walking," Liu Ruyan slightly lifted her skirt and demonstrated by taking a few steps, "since we are underworld ghost messengers, we cannot walk like living people."

She took a slight breath, and her posture suddenly underwent a subtle change. Her shoulders and back seemed to relax, yet also seemed to be tense with a strange force.

With toes slightly turned inward and knees barely bent, the whole person seemed to be lifted by an invisible thread, sliding forward a few steps in an extremely stable, even somewhat stiff, posture.

Her steps were so light that they were barely audible, and her upper body and shoulders remained remarkably stable.

In the dim light, this strange gait actually looked like it was floating.

"Take small, even steps, and keep your upper body as still as possible. From a distance, it won't look like you're walking, but rather like you're floating."

Chen Mingxuan and Wu Liangcai watched with fascination, their eyes wide with amazement. They never imagined they could play like this, and instinctively tried to imitate them.

However, he didn't know how to walk properly, his hands and feet moving in unison with stiff posture, which made Liu Sanzhen laugh out loud.

Liu Ruyan patiently corrected their postures and explained the techniques for generating power.

She taught diligently, and the students learned with great focus. Even Ping An, who had been silently observing, was now paying close attention.

Having finalized the steps to create chaos and terror, Lin Xiuer turned her attention to Liu Ruyan.

"Once the commotion ahead has terrified them and made them lose their composure, then it will be time for you, Miss Ruyan, to make your grand entrance."

"Right there in that pavilion," she said, looking at Liu Ruyan with anticipation in her eyes, "you'll be sitting there playing the zither."

Liu Ruyan raised her calm eyes to meet her gaze and nodded slightly.

"The sound of the zither should be low and melodious, as if it were drifting up from a very distant underground place." Lin Xiuer tried hard to find the right words.

"It carries an unyielding sorrow, and a hint of... the boredom of sitting alone under the moon. Ideally, it could be accompanied by a few chants."

"No need for any words, just a few long 'ah' sounds, with a wisp of breath, carrying a hint of indescribable melancholy and loneliness."

She imagined the scene and laughed to herself, then looked at Liu Ruyan: "In short, tonight, please forget for now that you are Liu Ruyan from Wanfu Teahouse."

"Just think of yourself as... well, someone who's come out from underground to get some fresh air, look at the moon, and play the piano to relieve boredom—"

A perfect metaphor flashed through her mind, her eyes lit up, and she blurted out: "Niohuru Xiaoqian!"

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Chen Mingxuan, Wu Liangcai, Hu Yidao, Liu Sanzhen, and Ping An were all taken aback, not quite understanding what this strange yet somewhat humorous title meant.

But the name Xiaoqian, paired with words like "underground," "get some fresh air," and "play the zither," instantly conjured up an image of a beautiful, melancholic, and lonely soul in their minds.

Liu Ruyan was also slightly taken aback. Niohuru? Isn't that the surname of some powerful clans outside the Great Wall? How could it be associated with "Xiaoqian"?

Lin Xiuer's ideas are truly... wildly imaginative.

But she quickly grasped the meaning behind it.

A soul of noble birth, yet filled with melancholy and loneliness, finding solace in playing the zither under the moonlight. Sorrowful yet not tragic, resentful yet not violent, possessing a fatal, intriguing, poignant beauty.

This might be more effective than a simple, grotesque, murderous ghost in breaking down the last defenses of those scoundrels.

Because they will be curious, confused, and unconsciously drawn closer, and then fall into deeper fear.

The heaviness and chill in Liu Ruyan's heart, which was originally caused by the blood feud of her family, was gently stirred by Lin Xiuer's humorous yet incredibly accurate description.

A very slight curve appeared at the corner of her lips, a curve that carried a hint of novelty, a hint of playfulness, and a hint of the liveliness that should belong to someone her age.

"Niohuru Xiaoqian..."

She repeated it softly, as if savoring the peculiar name.

Then she looked up at Lin Xiuer, a faint smile appearing in her clear, cool eyes. "Sister Lin's idea is quite apt and interesting. Ruyan understands."

She tilted her head slightly, pondered for a moment, and then her slender fingers plucked at the air a few times, as if there were an invisible zither there.

"The zither's notes murmured softly, almost imperceptibly. The singing was ethereal, like a lament. Sitting alone under the moon, seemingly grieving for the moon, but in reality... utterly bored, as if waiting for something..."

She murmured to herself, her voice as light as a feather, yet she captured the atmosphere perfectly.

After a moment, she raised her eyes, the liveliness in them replaced by a calm: "Alright. Tonight, I will be 'Niohuru Xiaoqian' for once. I will certainly not disappoint Sister Lin."

Seeing how quickly she grasped the concept and was even able to immediately get into the mood to understand the feeling, Lin Xiuer felt both admiration and relief.

Having such a professional join is like adding wings to a tiger.

"Then it's settled!" She clapped her hands, looked around at everyone, and said, "They'll be terrified in front, and seduced by the harp behind. We'll take it one step at a time, making sure they have a truly unforgettable experience tonight!"

As darkness fell, Liu Ruyan got up to say goodbye.

"Sister Lin, everyone, Ruyan cannot perform tonight. She needs to go back to the teahouse to ask Boss Zhang for leave and find an excuse."

Her voice was soft, and her reasoning was sound: "I need to go back and get some rouge and face powder. Since I'm going to dress up like that, my face needs some touch-ups."

Everyone agreed that it made sense. When it comes to dressing up as a ghost, a pale face makes it more effective.

Liu Ruyan bowed and turned to leave in a hurry. Her steps seemed calm, but she was anxious inside.