Qin's Moon: I'm really not the Holy Lord of the Demonic Sect

The two people in the room were clearly immersed in the music and did not notice Yang Che entering the courtyard. Yang Che was also attracted by the music and did not make a sound to disturb them.

For a moment, an eerie harmony was created between the room and the people playing and listening to the piano.

As the music continued, Yang Che felt as if he were bathed in warm sunshine, and the winter chill, even the slightly biting cold, seemed to have a touch of gentleness.

Is this the Yangchun Melody? In a daze, the name appeared in Yang Che's mind.

However, although one can hear the gentle spring breeze and soft sunshine in the music, something seems to be missing.

Is this piece incomplete?

Sure enough, as the music continued, the originally smooth music suddenly became sluggish, and it was difficult to maintain its flow.

The broken sound of the zither abruptly pulled Yang Che back to reality. This feeling of being neither here nor there made him very uncomfortable. Just a moment ago, it was a gentle spring breeze and warm sunshine, but suddenly he found himself in the cold wind.

Yang Che, feeling neither here nor there, walked straight to the room and pushed open the door.

"Who are you?" the old musician in the room asked.

Yang Che did not answer, but walked directly to the girl, his gaze shifting from the top of her head to the zither on the small table. He knelt down and sat opposite the girl. Under the girl's surprised gaze, he pulled the zither over and turned it around with a flick of his wrist.

With a light touch of his fingers on the strings, a melody blossomed from his fingertips. With gentle strumming, plucking, and stroking, the strings blossomed with note after note between Yang Che's fingers, eventually merging into a beautiful melody.

The old musician's questioning lasted only a moment. Yang Che had only just begun when she recognized that he was playing Yangchun. Although his technique was still somewhat immature compared to hers, it was quite remarkable for someone of Yang Che's age.

More importantly, she had no formal teacher for the Yangchun Melody; she had only heard the music master Kuang Xiu play it from afar, and she could never forget it. She devoted most of her life to recreating it, but based on her memories, she could only reproduce two-thirds of it. The last third was impossible to restore.

How could he know Yangchun? The old qin player looked at Yang Che with shock, because she discovered that Yang Che had not only mastered the fingering technique for playing Yangchun, but also grasped its essence.

As an experienced qin player, she had long since developed an instinctive memory of the basic fingering techniques for the yaoqin. Even if it was an unfamiliar piece, she could reproduce it as long as she remembered the melody. However, she could only reproduce the form of the melody; the spirit within it was difficult to recreate without reaching that level and obtaining the complete score.

It is precisely because of this that, although she remembered the last third of the melody of Yangchun, she was unable to fully grasp its essence, and thus could not achieve harmony between her hands and heart, her heart and mind, and her mind and heaven and earth, making it difficult to reproduce it.

Unlike the old qin player, Nongyu was still in shock. She was completely immersed in Yang Che's music. She could feel that although Yang Che's technique was not as good as hers, his Yangchun was more moving than hers.

This reminded her of some of the old musician's words when he taught her: Third-rate musicians play music with their hands, and the music they produce can only please the ears. First-rate musicians play with their hearts, and the music they produce can communicate with people's souls and evoke the purest emotions deep within their hearts.

As for the realm beyond the first-rate?

Most court musicians could only reach a third-rate level because their purpose in playing was to please others and to survive. Even she only truly entered the first-rate realm when she was over thirty.

At this moment, Nongyu clearly felt that Yang Che was no longer playing the zither with his hands, but with his heart. She had reached this level, but had not yet fully mastered it.

As the music began, Yang Che, the performer, was completely immersed in it. In his previous life, he had been exposed to many guqin pieces. Although he could not play them, he still had a certain level of appreciation.

In this life, although he was unlearned and incompetent at the Jixia Academy, he was exceptionally talented in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. While he wasn't an expert, his foundation in these arts was extremely solid.

If he hadn't been half-heartedly wandering among the various schools of thought, learning a little bit of everything but mastering nothing, but instead had devoted himself wholeheartedly to learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he would surely have achieved something and earned a reputation as a genius.

Yang Che in his previous life possessed the corresponding realm and insight, while Yang Che in this life has mastered the most solid techniques. The combination of the two lives makes his attainments in the zither quite extraordinary, enough to earn the sincere admiration of Nongyu, who is at least thirteen or fourteen years old.

As musical notes blossomed from Yang Che's fingertips, the entire room seemed to be bathed in the warm spring sunshine—a hazy, vibrant beauty of all things awakening, a gentle tenderness from heaven and earth to the world.

"This is the complete Yangchun. Although it is slightly different from what I heard back then, it is still Yangchun." The old qin player clenched his hands excitedly. For a qin player, Yangchun is the most top-level musical secret, an irresistible temptation.

Even someone as gentle and quiet as Nongyu couldn't hide her excitement as the final chapter of Yangchun was played; no musician could resist the allure of Yangchun.

However, as Yang Chun entered its final chapter, Yang Che's fingers became increasingly stiff, causing the old qin player and Nong Yu to tense up, fearing that the music would be interrupted and difficult to continue.

Fortunately, although Yang Che's fingering was clumsy and there were even some obvious pauses, he managed to connect the pieces and did not completely end the piece.

In the end, Nongyu and the old qin player enjoyed a less-than-perfect performance of Yangchun.

At this moment, Yang Che was completely absorbed in his work, and the progress value of the mission on the Heavenly Demon Strategy changed again.

Main Quest 4: Rebuilding the Flower Faction: Progress 35%, Quest Completion Reward: Flower Tour.

Nongyu was the opportunity for me to complete my fourth mission. At this point, Yang Che was completely convinced of his judgment.

The Flower School, an anomaly within the Demonic Sect, are true artists.

Throughout history, all the leaders of the Flower School have been proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In Xinzheng, and even in the whole world, not to mention chess, calligraphy, and painting, in terms of music, represented by the zither, there are probably only a handful of people in the whole world who can surpass Nongyu in talent.

Isn't Nongyu the best successor of the Flower School?

If Nongyu could be recruited into the Huajian Sect under its name, the task of rebuilding the Huajian Sect could definitely be accomplished. Although the martial arts of the Huajian Sect are not considered top-notch among the demonic sects, they are sufficient for Yang Che at this stage. Something is better than nothing.

Considering the immense difficulties of the other task, Nongyu's appearance undoubtedly brought Yang Che a long-awaited ray of hope.

Excited, Yang Che opened his eyes and looked at Nongyu opposite him. Nongyu seemed to be half-intoxicated by the spring breeze, her face slightly flushed, her eyes sparkling and shimmering, so beautiful.

"Sir, was the tune just now Yangchun?" Nongyu met Yang Che's gaze. Out of girlish shyness, she instinctively tried to look away, but the tune of Yangchun was too attractive to her. In front of Yangchun, the girl's slight reserve and shyness seemed to be less important.

"It is indeed Yangchun, but it is not perfect yet," Yang Che replied. He had only managed to reproduce Yangchun with the help of his accumulated knowledge from two lifetimes. Compared to a true master of the zither, he was still far behind. Even Nongyu was far superior to him in terms of technique.

"That's already very good. How come you know the Yangchun Melody, young man? Could you be a disciple of Master Kuangxiu?" the old musician asked.

For musicians across the land, the name Kuang Xiu is the highest mountain peak, the most dazzling name. And Yangchun Baixue was created by Kuang Xiu. In the world today, besides Kuang Xiu, she can't think of anyone else who can master the complete techniques of Yangchun Baixue.

"I am not a disciple of Master Kuang Xiu," Yang Che denied. Although he had taken a few classes with Kuang Xiu at the Jixia Academy, he had taken many such classes due to his unstable temperament. If he were to claim to be Kuang Xiu's disciple, then he would have had far too many teachers.

Moreover, Yang Che's most important goal now is to take Nongyu under his wing and complete the task of rebuilding the Flower School, so how could he say that he came from someone else's school?

Seemingly noticing the doubt in the old musician's and Nongyu's eyes, Yang Che explained, "My teacher is a good friend of Master Kuang Xiu. Because we share similar interests, Kuang Xiu gifted me the score for the Yangchun Baixue piece. My skills are not very good, and I can only barely master it."

"I heard the music coming from outside just now, and I was impressed by the young lady's skill, which was almost on par with my teacher's. I was so excited that I came in without telling her. Then I heard the music abruptly stop, and I couldn't help but feel regret. So I barged into the room. I hope I didn't disturb you two?"

Yang Che spoke politely. At the Jixia Academy, he was considered a half-Confucian disciple, and he was quite adept at deceiving people in terms of demeanor and cultivation.

"Not at all, not at all. It is our great fortune to hear the Yangchun Melody again today. There is no question of disturbing you," the old musician said kindly.

If she thought Yang Che was a bold and reckless madman when she first saw him, then when Yang Che played the Yangchun tune, she saw in him a carefree and natural spirit, and his act of climbing over walls and breaking into rooms became a manifestation of his disregard for etiquette.

At this moment, Nongyu was also looking at Yang Che with bright eyes. At this time, Nongyu had not yet experienced the hardships of Zilanxuan, and had not yet developed the indifferent and quiet nature she would later have. She still had more of a girl's innocence and liveliness.

Under their gazes, Yang Che suddenly sighed.