Chapter 18: The Divine Comedy of Laughter

  "Clang!", "Oww..."

  "Hmm? Piano and Xiao duet!"

  Before he knew it, Luo Zheng, who was following Linghu Cong and Yi Lin, suddenly changed his gestures, and at this moment, he concentrated and listened carefully. However, all he could hear from the distant waterfall in front of him was the sound of a flute and a zither, which were ethereal and pleasant to listen to, with infinite charm.

  "What brings someone to play the zither in this desolate mountain and wilderness?"

  Suddenly, the sound of a qin (zither) faintly echoed from afar. Seven or eight zhangs ahead, Linghu Chong and Yilin, who were resting, exchanged a glance, both feeling extremely surprised and unable to imagine that in this mountain wilderness, there would be such an elegant and refined scholar.

  The sound of the guqin continued to come, very elegant. After a while, the soft and gentle xiao sound cleverly merged into the guqin's melody, the seven-stringed guqin's sound was calm and upright, accompanied by the clear and desolate xiao, which was even more moving. The guqin and xiao sounds seemed to be asking and answering each other.

  "This music is strange and may be unfavorable to us, no matter what happens, you mustn't make a sound."

  Then Linghu Chong and Yilin got up, slowly moving closer. At the same time, Linghu Chong took two quick steps forward, leaned in close, and whispered to Yilin's ear.

  As Yilin nodded, the sound of the guqin gradually rose, while the sheng's tone slowly sank, but its low and continuous sound was like a wandering thread drifting with the wind, unbroken and more evocative of a sense of longing.

  At this moment, the three people who were approaching, Luo Zheng, Linghu Chong and Yi Lin, walked past a thorny bush and looked ahead. They saw three figures emerging from behind some rocks in the distance. Upon closer inspection, they vaguely made out that two of them were tall men and one was a short woman.

  Liu Zhengfeng, Qu Yang!

  Two men in long gowns, each sitting beside a piece of green rock, one playing the zither and the other blowing the flute. The woman stood beside the zither player, but it was not Liu Zhengfeng, Qu Yang or Qu Feiyan, so who could they be?

  Looking at the three people leaning against the distant mountain ridge, Luo Zhan was without any worries. He leaned back against the mountain stone and closed his eyes contentedly. At this moment, he had found the three people of Qu Fei Yan, but Luo Zhan did not rush to reveal himself. Instead, he quietly appreciated the "Laughing at the Divine Music" and waited silently for the arrival of "Feng Yun", the master of the Songshan School, Fei Bin.

  Suddenly, the sound of the qin and sheng was heard, very harmonious. Although the waterfall was nearby, the rushing water couldn't cover up the soft and gentle sound of the qin and sheng. From this, it can be seen that the two people playing the qin and sheng had a deep foundation in their internal skills, which were truly not shallow.

  "Clang! Clang!"

  "Uggghhh..."

  Suddenly, the jade flute emitted a loud and sonorous sound, as if with a murderous intent, but the bamboo flute's tone remained warm, elegant and gentle. After a moment, the zither's sound also turned soft and harmonious, the two sounds rising and falling in unison.

  "What a wonderful tune 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'!"

  Suddenly, the sound of the qin and sheng changed abruptly, as if seven or eight guqins and seven or eight shengs were playing music simultaneously. Although the sounds of the qin and sheng were extremely complex and changing, each note was still full of ups and downs, pleasant to the ear and moving the heart. In an instant, it seemed that Luo Xuan's ears had once again heard the clear and melodious singing sound from a previous life's drama.

  "Mighty and vast, with towering mountains."

  "The sun and moon shine brightly, with stars scattered all over."

  "With silk and bamboo in harmony, those who hold the baton sing."

  "Moving clouds and flowing water, with a mind that is not distracted."

  "Seeking the Great Way to stop the sword, I transcend all things; Searching for someone who understands me is difficult, only heaven and earth can be with me..."

  Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, in the midst of danger, abandoned life and death, calm and composed. At this moment, the zither and Xiao were harmonious, and a song "Laughing at the Jianghu" was born. It was empty but not lacking in grandeur, sorrowful yet not lacking in vigor, a kind of "transcending all things" atmosphere, naturally emerged.

  At that moment, although the dark clouds blocked out the sun and a dismal fog enveloped the mountain cliffs, yet the sound of the mountain spring was crystal clear. The trees and plants seemed to be listening intently, their leaves rustling with emotion. Luo Zheng, Linghu Chong, Yilin and others who had rushed to the scene stood there in rapt attention, all of them deeply moved.

  "Clang!" "Oww..."

  Suddenly, the majestic, ethereal, mournful and stirring rhythms of this contradictory yet wonderfully intertwined melody made Luo Zhan's blood surge with excitement, and he couldn't help but want to rise up and dance with his sword.

  After a moment, the sound of the qin and sheng changed again. The sheng changed its main tune, while the seven-stringed zither only accompanied with a "ding ding dang dang" sound, but the sheng's sound became higher and higher.

  A strange and inexplicable sadness suddenly arose in Ling's heart, at this moment, the sound of "ding" suddenly stopped, the piano sound stopped, the xiao sound also stopped abruptly, and the sound was silenced. For a moment, there was a silence all around, only the waterfall was flowing, as if it had been eternal.

  "Liu Xian-di, you and I will die here today, it is also the fate that has brought us to this point. However, my foolish brother was unable to take action early on, causing your family members and younger brothers to all be killed, my heart is truly uneasy."

  The music paused, but then a person suddenly spoke up. The voice was desolate and sorrowful, with slow and mournful words escaping his lips. It was obviously "Qu Yang", the elder of the "Sun Moon Cult".

  "We've been through thick and thin together, what's the point of saying these things..."

  Upon hearing Qu Yang's words, Liu Zhengfeng waved his hand and interrupted Qu Yang's hesitant speech. With a sincere tone, he said one sentence after another: "Furthermore, everyone will die eventually. If you have found someone who understands you, then even death is not regrettable."

  "Liu Xian-di, I heard the implication in your words, but there still seems to be some lingering regret. Is it not because of your husband's cowardice at the critical moment, being afraid of death and losing face for you?"

  Suddenly, the tune of the apology stopped, and the tone changed slightly, with a hint of doubt in his voice.

  "Qu Da Ge guessed correctly. This child, Qing Er, I have been too doting on her in daily life, lacking in teaching and guidance, unexpectedly she turned out to be a spineless weakling without any sense of integrity."

  Liu Zhengfeng let out a long sigh, his face slightly pale and melancholic, as he spoke with a tinge of sorrow.

  "Whether you have a heroic spirit or not, after a hundred years, we will all return to the yellow earth. What difference does it make? I had been hiding on the rooftop for a long time and should have struck earlier. But I thought that my brother would not want to hurt me and also did not want to offend the people of the Five Mountains Sword Sect. Moreover, I remembered that I once swore an oath to my brother that I would never harm anyone in the heroic world. That's why I hesitated for so long. Who knew that the Songshan Sect was the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance and their move was so ruthless?"

  Liu Zheng's face turned gloomy, and Qu Yang also let out a sigh. After speaking in a calm and gentle tone to comfort him for a moment, his face turned angry again, and he spoke out in a clear and forceful voice.

  "These common people, how can they understand the elegant and refined emotions of our musical interactions? They use ordinary reasoning to guess, and naturally assume that our friendship will greatly harm the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Chivalrous Way. Alas, they don't understand, it's no wonder they can't be blamed. Brother Qu, you were injured at the Da Zhui acupoint, which shook your heart meridian."

  Hearing Qu Yang's indignant words, Liu Zhengfeng remained silent for a long time, then let out a long sigh and said with an agitated expression, before asking again about Qu Yang's injuries.

  "It's true, the internal power of the Songshan School is indeed formidable. I didn't expect to withstand this blow on my back, and with my inner strength, I actually severed your heart pulse as well. If I had known earlier that you were also not immune, then there would have been no need to release that cluster of black blood needles, which would only harm innocent people and be of no use. Fortunately, the needles weren't poisoned."

  Jian and Liu Zhengfeng asked about his injuries, Qu Yang nodded slightly, his voice was sad but contained a hint of compassion for the masses. Luo Zhan shook his head greatly, feeling moved in his heart. In this "State of Jianghu" world, it's really true that the orthodox sects don't seem like orthodox sects and the demonic cults don't seem like demonic cults. Maybe people are divided into groups, but things are also categorized together; however, there will always be those who stand out from the crowd.

  "But you and I will thus have another duet, after which there will be no more sound of the qin and xiao in this world."

  Listening to the melancholic sound of Qu Yang's voice, Liu Zhengfeng smiled lightly. From the beginning, the two had a good relationship, except that they both liked music and were kind-hearted, which was also an important factor in their getting along.

  Just like the later Linghu Chong and the "Sun Moon Holy Cult" leader, Yi Xian, although they had a great time dueling with swords and appreciated each other's skills, but in the end, their personalities didn't match, and they often clashed, so how could they get along harmoniously?

  "In the past, Xi Kang was about to be executed, he played a song on his zither, sighed and played 'Guangling San'. Ha! 'Guangling San' is exquisite and elegant, but how can it compare to our 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'? Only the mood of Xi Kang back then was similar to ours."

  Thinking of the heavenly music that has been played, there will be no such sound in this world again. The melody is endless and I couldn't help but let out a long sigh, my voice filled with a sense of despair and desolation as I spoke.

  "Brother Qu just now was still so carefree, but how did he become so stubborn? You and I will perform together tonight, and play this piece 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer' to perfection. This piece has already been played before in the world, you and I have already played it before, what more is there to regret in life?"

  The melody was so sorrowful that Liu Zhengfeng couldn't help but try to comfort him, obviously, being able to play "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" this divine melody made Liu Zhengfeng feel that his life had not been in vain. Before Qu Yang could respond, Liu Zhengfeng's expression changed as if he had thought of something, and he spoke with a worried tone.

  "Ah, I see, Brother Qu is certainly worried about Fei."

  "Grandfather, you and Uncle Liu take your time to recover from your injuries. We'll go and wipe out the scoundrels of Mount Song Sect one by one, and avenge Auntie Liu!"

  As soon as Liu Zhengfeng's voice fell, Qu Feiyan, who was standing beside him, couldn't wait to speak out loudly and hastily. In an instant, a heroic aura burst forth, making the 14 or 15-year-old Qu Feiyan seem like a demonic saint.

  "Hahaha..."

  "Hahahaha...... The girl's tone is so big, to annihilate the Songshan Sect, can there be such a satisfactory thing in this world?"

  As soon as the sound of the flute fell, a loud and prolonged laughter was heard from behind the mountain wall. Before the laughter had faded away, a black shadow darted out from behind the mountain wall and in an instant, amidst flashes of green light, the figure stood before Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng, holding a long sword - it was none other than Fei Bin, the great master of the Songshan Sect.

  "Well, it's finally here!"

  Hearing the laughter and cheers from afar, Luo Zhen, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile on his face. He whispered something to himself before his eyes sparkled with intensity as he gazed forward quietly.