Chapter 40: Teaching Quyi

  ．．

  "What a beautiful girl has gone blind, what a pity!" Yuwen Hongtai shouted in a loud and hoarse voice.

  The blind girl had just sat down, and upon hearing this, her whole body trembled. She hastily put down the pipa and kowtowed: "May I be so bold as to ask, sir, but I was not born blind. Therefore, from a young age, I learned to play the pipa well."

  Another two women also chimed in, "Gentlemen, although the young girl is blind, this pipa melody is indeed exquisite... Gentlemen, please be patient and let us finish playing it for you to judge for yourselves?"

  The soldiers all murmured in disapproval: "How can a blind man play the pipa? Don't spoil Qin Shubao's fun!"

  "Play the tune!" Qin Mu Bai said loudly, putting down his wine cup on the table with a crisp clinking sound.

  The crowd suddenly fell silent and stopped talking.

  The blind girl turned around and made a long bow in the direction of Qin Mu Bai: "Thank you, sir."

  "It's all right, just play the tune."

  Three women sat down in the room, playing a soft tune, roughly the kind of charming little song that wanders through the streets and alleys with the oriole pavilion, light and agile like flowing water, not particularly good to listen to, nor very distinctive.

  Yuwen Hongtai These people are all rough men, not many of them really understand music. Coming here to drink and have fun is just for a romantic atmosphere. After listening to the song for a while, this elegant and refined song like scratching an itch is not satisfying, and there isn't even a bold and seductive dance.

  "Stop, stop, stop! Who wants to listen to this sleepy little tune?" shouted Yuwen Hongtai, who had drunk half a bottle of wine. "Change it, change it! We want big-breasted and big-butted women to sing and dance, the less they wear the better, the more provocative they are the better!"

  "Haha, exactly, exactly!" Yin Yang and others also followed with loud agreement, these people naturally had a similar smell.

  Three women helplessly shook their heads, put away their instruments and didn't say much, bowed and slowly backed out.

  Qin Mubai saw that the blind girl's face seemed to have some tear stains, and the other two women helped her wipe away tears while softly comforting her.

  "Wait, you come back." Qin Mu Bai suddenly called out.

  The three women had just reached the door when they heard this shout and stopped in unison, so they had to turn back: "What orders do you have for us?"

  "Why is she crying?" Qin Mu Bai asked.

  Yuwen Hongtai and others then noticed and asked: "We didn't bully you, we just said to change the dance tune, why are you so worked up?"

  The young girl covered her face with her sleeve and cried even more sorrowfully. Her thin shoulders heaved as she buried herself in the bosom of a woman standing beside her.

  "You don't know the whole story..." another woman said, "Yao'er was originally a respectable young lady. Half a year ago, her family suddenly fell ill with a strange disease and died one after another. She herself barely escaped with her life, but lost her sight. With no one to rely on, she had to come out and perform for a living. However, most of the guests who come here to have fun don't like her because she's blind. It's already been four or five days since anyone has wanted to listen to her play... If things go on like this, even if the boss is kind and willing to take her in, she can't just eat and drink for free with a guilty conscience. So yesterday she made a vow and complained, saying that if she couldn't sell any more songs today, she would have to become a prostitute."

  "Good heavens! Such a beautiful and innocent little girl has fallen into the clutches of the wind and dust, what a pity! Come warm my bed for me!" Yuwen Hongtai bellowed out.

  "Shut up!" Qin Mu Bai rebuked, saying, "You, with your blind eyes, one thing is certain - this pipa tune of yours is indeed played quite ordinarily. If you don't improve, it will be very difficult to make a living by selling tunes."

  Three women were stunned, and they all lowered their heads with some embarrassment. The young girl stood up straight, wiped away her tears, and nodded: "The guest is right, I'm indeed not skilled enough. But I only know how to play the pipa, and I have no other skills, so I thought of making a living by selling songs. Although I practice day and night, my skills are still limited. It seems that heaven wants to abandon me, and I won't be able to make a living in this profession... I'd better go to the brothel and sell my body for a living. Even if I'm blind, someone will want me even if they have to pay less." At this point, the young girl burst into tears again, and her tears fell like broken pearls.

  Another two women came over and comforted her in a low voice, saying: "Sir, don't be alarmed, we will withdraw."

  At this moment, two other women walked in. The head scolded: "What's the point of crying and making a scene? You can't even do business properly and now you're disturbing our customers' drinking mood. It seems like we shouldn't have taken you in!"

  "Feng Jie forgive me... Yao'er will leave now. Wait until I earn some money, and then come back to compensate you." Yao'er said in a low sobbing voice.

  But Feng Jie didn't respond, instead turning to face Qin Mu Bai and bowing with a smile as bright as a peach blossom: "Please forgive me, sirs! I shall choose another exquisite piece to perform for you."

  "No need, I just want this demon to play a tune." Qin Mu Bai picked up his wine cup and took a sip, saying, "Just like that."

  "This... If the guests don't listen to our humble shop's exquisite music, it would be a great pity!" Feng Jie still smiled and said with a charming tone, as if afraid that Qin Mu Bai and others wouldn't come again, "Especially the pipa music, which is considered one of the best in the world."

  "Oh? How extreme?" Qin Mu Bai's interest was piqued.

  "You may not know, sir," said Feng Jie with a smile, somewhat proudly. "Our humble shop has two musicians who studied under the great master Qin Moyi, and they have mastered the art of playing the pipa. This is our biggest draw! Many high-ranking officials, scholars, and literati come here just to hear them play. Moreover, this wine is also brewed using Master Qin's secret recipe - it's actually the 'Qin Xian Yu Jiu' that was personally bestowed upon him by the Emperor. We only changed its name to 'The Best Wine in the World' because of some... considerations. And there's more..."

  She hadn't finished speaking when Yuwen Hongtai and the others burst out laughing. Qin Mubai himself couldn't help but laugh, waving his hand to signal Yuwen Hongtai and the others not to say anything more, saying: "That's indeed strange. Bring those two wonderful musicians over, have them play a tune to test it. Hmm, these three women don't need to leave either, I'll reward you with plenty of money."

  "Thank you, sir!" Feng's sister happily floated away and soon brought in two beautifully dressed beauties, each carrying a pipa.

  Those two beautiful women, upon seeing Yao'er and the others, immediately looked displeased and scolded in a low voice: "We are performing, what are you doing still lingering around here, Yao'er? Are you trying to steal our skills? Get out of here!"

  "How dare you!" Qin Mu Bai rebuked lightly, "They are the ones I invited, yet you want to drive them away. Are you trying to bully customers in your big store?"

  "This... no, no." The two Mei Ji hastily said, "Please calm down, sir. It's just that this pipa tune was learned from Qin Mu Bai at a great cost, if it were to be easily stolen by them, then..."

  "You're blind, aren't you all blind too?" Qin Mu Bai sneered, "A blind man, how can he steal a master?"

  "Uh, yes..." The two women didn't say anything more and sat down to play their instruments.

  To tell the truth, these two beauties did have some skill in playing the pipa, and they were indeed using their hands to play it. The tune was light and pleasant, truly several times more beautiful than the one played by You'er.

  The young girl and others sat on one side, all of them looked down in shame, their faces looking even more unpleasant.

  The song ended, Yuwen Hongtai and others applauded wildly, their palms almost cracking. The two beauties naturally had a proud expression, like a peacock spreading its tail, waiting for the admiration of the onlookers.

  "Hmm, I've only heard that Qin San Ge can play the pipa, but I've never actually heard it myself. Are these two women really his disciples?" Yuwen Hongtai asked in a low voice, pulling Yin Yang along.

  "You're stupid! If they were really Qin San's disciples, how could they not recognize each other when entering the door? In my opinion, none of these people have ever seen Qin San before, isn't that obvious?" Yin Yang cursed in a low voice.

  "Haha, today is really going to be fun! These guys actually dare to use Qin San's name to swindle people, we'll have to teach them a lesson later. Such a big store, tsk... how much money should we ask for? And we need a few women too, haha..." Yuwen Hongtai muttered to himself in a low voice, his saliva almost spraying onto Yin Yang's face, forcing him to retreat in embarrassment.

  "Sir, how was our performance?" The two women who played the pipa put away their instruments and asked with a hint of pride and provocation.

  Qin Mu's mouth slightly curved upwards as he smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying, but beckoned to Yao'er with a wave of his hand: "Yao'er, come here."

  The little demon was stunned and didn't know what to do, so the two women next to her had no choice but to support her and send her to Qin Mu Bai's side.

  "Come, sit down beside me." Qin Mu Bai patted the cushion beside him and helped her sit down, then moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her front and grasping her wrists.

  "Guest, sir, please restrain yourself!" The demon child cried out in alarm, and the other two women also seemed somewhat flustered as they came forward to pull him back.

  "Don't move!" Qin Mu Bai's face wore a smile as he slightly used force to hold her in his arms, at the same time snatching away the wooden plectrum from her hand and throwing it aside, then pressing her fingers onto the pipa strings.

  Every move and gesture of Qin Mubai was extremely serious and focused, without a hint of frivolity or licentiousness.

  The little demon slowly relaxed, while others stared at them in great surprise.

  "What is he going to do?"

  "Young girl, want to play better than them?" Qin Mu Bai said in her ear.

  "Think, think! But I'm not talented and don't have the money to go to a great master like Qin Mu Bai... Moreover, I'm blind, how can I learn their exquisite piano skills?" You Er said dejectedly.

  "It doesn't matter if you're blind. The pipa, in fact, is played with the heart." Qin Muru completely ignored the shocked expressions of the two pipa girls, relaxed his fingers, and separately grasped the slender jade fingers of You'er, plucking the strings.

  "Feel with your heart, play with your emotions. Now I'll close my eyes and teach you how to pluck the pipa with your fingers..." Qin Mubai said in a very soft voice, only You'er heard it.

  "What? Young master... you?"

  "Shut up, let's start!"

  Qin Mubai's hands grasped the jade-like hands of You'er, guiding her fingers to press down on the pipa strings and produce the first note.

  "Bang——"

  A crisp sound made everyone in the room tremble slightly.

  It's just a simple note, as if it has the power to penetrate the soul.

  "Remember, the name of the tune is 'The Conqueror's Armor'!"

  "Ding ding — dong dong!"

  A magnificent and stirring King's Sword Dance, bursting forth!

  Yuwen Hongtai and others were first bewildered, then shocked and accompanied by a hot-blooded excitement, finally all stood up and cheered loudly.

  Two pipa players were dumbfounded, their faces turned pale, and they involuntarily covered their mouths, looking like wooden chickens that couldn't last the day. The other two women were so excited that they trembled all over, tears streaming down their faces!

  They saw that Qin Mu Bai's hands and Yao Er's fingers seemed to merge into one, flying quickly and nimbly on the piano keys, playing a melody that sounded like heavenly music!

  The girl felt like she was about to melt. The man's strong arms and warm chest had once made her tremble with fear, but now she felt as if she had merged into a warm and cozy world, like a leaf swaying in the spring breeze, lost in the dance of fluttering and intoxicated without knowing the way back.

  Qin Mubai held You'er's hand and played the zither, his eyes tightly closed as his body swayed with abandon, every note seeming to blend seamlessly into one with the two of them, as if they were born to be together.

  The music ended, and the hall was silent.

  With a soft "thud", the hot tears rolling down the face of the little demon fell onto the cushion.

  "Good! Good! My goodness! This is probably the most pleasant tune under heaven!" Yuwen Hongtai jumped up and shouted loudly, his voice like thunder. Yin Yang and others also cheered loudly, as if they had won a great victory, and were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves.

  Qin Mubai slowly let go of the little demon, allowing her to stand up. The eyes of those two pipa girls had long been wide open like bronze bells, staring straight at Qin Mubai without blinking.

  "Sir, who are you?" the pipa player asked with a trembling voice.

  "Hahaha! You two silly girls, are you idiots?! Yuwen Hongtai rushed up laughing and pointed at Qin Mubai, "Didn't you say you wanted to make Qin Mubai your master? The real Qin Mubai is standing right in front of you, and you don't even recognize him? Haha, I'm going to laugh my teeth off!"

  "Ah...... you, you're Qin Mu Bai, the Young Master Qin?!" The two pipa players' faces turned white in an instant, as if they had been petrified.

  "Ah, yes! Your master, after all! I accepted your hefty tuition fees and personally instructed you on playing the pipa. You've forgotten me so quickly?" Qin Mu Bai smiled.

  "Hahaha!" Yuwen Hongtai and the others burst into loud laughter, even You'er and the others couldn't help but wipe away tears and chuckle a few times.

  "Ah, ah..." The two pipa girls were instantly flustered, their hands and feet numb with embarrassment, as if they wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

  "Please forgive me, young master! Please forgive me! I was also forced to use your name, and in fact, I had no choice!" The two pipa players hastily knelt down and kowtowed to apologize.

  "Whatever, I'm not interested in arguing with you all." Qin Mu Bai said casually while fiddling with his wine cup. "However, I personally taught the little demon how to play the pipa just now, and you all saw it. In my life, I've only taught two people how to play the pipa. One is the imperial court's Grand Music Director who serves the emperor, and the other is the little demon. I think from now on, she should be able to make a living through music here without too much difficulty."

  "No problem at all!" A soft and pleasant female voice suddenly came from the doorway.

  The crowd responded in unison and looked towards the gate, and suddenly they were all stunned.

  .??，！