Unedited

  Wu Xingzi only knew one song. He straightened his posture, adjusted the tuning of the strings, then closed his eyes, recalling what his father had taught him then.

  “It’s said that ‘In the past Fuxi crafted a qin, he suppressed evil, and stood away from lust. Cultivating a moral and rational character, he was artless and unpretentious.1’ The qin can communicate with all things in the world, and cultivate one’s morality. Your character is too soft and indifferent, backing away from disputes and never fighting for anything. In the long run, you can live the rest of your life calmly, but in short, you’ll easily be used and bullied, and you have to be cautious.”


  This was what his father told him on the first day of his qin lessons. That was a nice day in March during spring. His mother was removing peas from their pods by the side, looking at the father and son pair with a smile.

  “I understand.” Then, Wu Xingzi was not yet ten. With his head bowed, he listened obediently, but could not understand what his father meant.

  Noticing his confusion, his father sighed and spoke earnestly, “I hope that the sounds of the qin can cultivate your character. You cannot always retreat and give in, and you need to know how to assess the situation.”


  “I understand.” Naturally, Wu Xingzi still did not understand.

  His father ruffled his little head, and started lecturing about the nine virtues of the qin, going in depth into the “remarkable, ancient, penetrated, quiet, moist, whole, clear, even and fragrant2”.

  From the crafting of the qin, to its sound, and even the way of the qin, Wu Xingzi’s father expounded greatly in detail. Wu Xingzi who was less than ten years of age was almost dozing off, and when his mother noticed him, she secretly tossed a pea at her son in order to prevent her little darling from being reprimanded by his father.

  Only when he was finally satisfied with imparting his knowledge did Wu Xingzi’s father then lifted his son to his knees, teaching him how to play the qin personally.

  Those days were still vivid in his mind. A smile curled around Wu Xingzi’s lips, and he plucked at the springs lightly, playing .

  Playing on and on, Wu Xingzi repeated the song a number of times, and his fingers too became more nimble. Satisfied, he exhaled greatly, and caressed the body of the qin preciously. Meticulously studying all components of it bit by bit, Wu Xingzi was so drawn by the qin that he forgot about his hunger completely.

  Only when Guan Shanjin returned with the porridge did its thick, delicious aroma caught Wu Xingzi’s attention. He rubbed his empty belly, drooling over the food.

  “Fill your stomach first.” Guan Shanjin handed the bowl of porridge over. It was an enormous bowl of porridge with lean meat and egg yolk. The golden yellow grains formed a thick, fluffy layer, and minced meat was scattered amidst the grains. The mix of gold and brown was like a constellation of stars, and diced green onions adorned the porridge daintily. The whole arrangement looked so good that one could not bear to eat it.

  Wu Xingzi hurriedly stood up and accepted the bowl. Ignoring all etiquette, he scooped a spoonful and delivered it straight into his mouth. Although his tongue was scalded numb, he could not stop eating.

  Bringing Wu Xingzi over to the table outside to sit down, Guan Shanjin headed back into the kitchen and ladled a bowl for himself as well. He too used a bowl the same size he gave to Wu Xingzi. According to his usual appetite, he would most definitely be unable to finish it, and it was evident that some of it was for Wu Xingzi.

  As expected, when he returned to the room, Wu Xingzi’s bowl was already more than half empty. Guan Shanjin directly just exchanged their bowls, saving them the trouble of ladling porridge from one bowl to another.

  Wu Xingzi was truly starving. With his huge appetite, he normally would not be able to stand such hunger. If not for having a good cry because of his memories of Yan Wenxin, how would he have skipped two meals? Those were already incidents of many years ago, even if he could not understand why Yan Weixin did not even bid him farewell during those days, and even deceived him with a cheap perfume sachet bought off a peddler, there was no chance that they would again meet in this life. Thinking about him too much would bring Wu Xingzi no benefits.

  A bowl and a half of porridge was clearly not enough. Guan Shanjin never had the habit of having supper, and was only eating with Wu Xingzi in fear of him feeling awkward. As such, despite having only taken a couple of spoonfuls, he gave Wu Xingzi all his porridge, then went back into the kitchen and brought out some already made egg pancake.

  Like the autumn breeze scattering the leaves, the egg pancakes vanished in the blink of an eye. Guan Shanjin was secretly satisfied, and from his luggage, he took out some pastries and let Wu Xingzi taste something different.

  Guan Shanjin did not know how to plump up this old fellow. Looking at how delighted Wu Xingzi was eating, yet his body was still so very thin, Guan Shanjin dearly wanted to feed him even more in order to ensure that this person would be plumper and fairer.

  When Wu Xingzi was finally content, it was already past 11pm. With his full belly and much satisfaction, Wu Xingzi let Guan Shanjin massage him to help with his digestion. The atmosphere was warm and homely. Wu Xingzi finally could not help but ask, “Why are you gifting me a qin?”


  “You don’t like it?” Guan Shanjin cocked a brow and smiled.

  “I do.” Wu Xingzi hurriedly straightened his back, thanking Guan Shanjin properly. “Thank you so very much, you’re too good to me. However, how did you know that I like the qin?”


  Guan Shanjin gave a couple of snorts of laughter, and out of nowhere, he mentioned those pengornis drawings. “You’ve been to the Peng Society. Have you collected all the drawings already?”


  “Ah, yes, yes. Ai, it’s all thanks to you. I’ve packed them away already.” Talking about those seven pengornis drawings, Wu Xingzi’s eyes brightened immediately, and he cupped his hands towards Guan Shanjin earnestly. “I’ll never be able to reciprocate this kindness of yours.”


  Wu Xingzi had evidently forgotten that this was something Guan Shanjin owed him. Whose fault was it that the spirit of the Lanling Prince of pengornises was so jealous that he participated in fratricide?

  Guan Shanjin naturally would not remind him of that incident. Like a beautiful picture, he nodded slightly, accepting the thanks with no hint of courtesy.

  “So, what else did Rancui show you?” The followup question made Wu Xingzi hunch over abruptly. He revealed a bit of his nervousness, and an ingratiating smile appeared on his face.

  “What could there be? T-there were only the pengornis drawings.” No matter how dull Wu Xingzi was, he knew that he could not mention that exquisitely made Pengornisseur! Putting aside whether Guan Shanjin would throw a fit, he was even more worried that Rancui would be implicated.

  “Oh?” Guan Shanjin tapped on the table. His fingers were symmetrical, slender and long, but very powerful. Although the tap seemed very light, the table was almost about to collapse.

  Wu Xingzi gulped, faltering for a moment before bracing himself and answering, “I-I also took a look at the newly published Pengornisseur. However, there wasn’t any meaning to it, I just looked through it out of curiosity!”


  His words were accompanied by frantic nodding, and Wu Xingzi was deeply afraid that Guan Shanjin did not believe him.

  Of course he did not! If he did, would he have a qin today?

  Guan Shanjin sneered, his fingers that were tapping on the table piercing right through the thick and solid boxwood surface. Wu Xingzi trembled, and he mumbled, “Ai, the table, what a pity…”


  This exclamation made Guan Shanjin laugh, and he could no longer put on a fierce, angry front.

  Patting away the sawdust on his hands, he looked at the old quail with much pampering.

  “Don’t you want to listen to the gongzi from the Pengornisseur play the qin? You have a really good eye. That’s Bai-gongzi from Qingzhu Lane, and his father is the top qin player of Great Xia, second to none. Even the emperor is not always able to invite him to play for him. Taught by his father, Bai-gongzi’s skills have a chance of surpassing him.”


  “Ah…” Wu Xingzi blinked. His mouth was open, and he could not put his thoughts to words. He did see a gongzi in the Pengornisseur skilled in the arts of the qin, and he also did mention to Rancui about wishing he could listen to the gongzi play, but how did Guan Shanjin find out about this?

  “So the last name of that gongzi is Bai?” This, Wu Xingzi no longer remembered.

  Guan Shanjin harrumphed, his tone sour, “You don’t even remember his last name, but you didn’t forget that he’s skilled in the art of qin. Hah, you’re very attentive to that.”


  He continued, “Just now, I heard you play the Melody of The Transcendent Venerable one a few times. Do you know any other songs?”


  “No, I don’t know anymore. Then, my father had taught me this song as an introductory lesson, but my grasp of music and its melody is very poor, and after that, everything was left up in the air.” With a blush, Wu Xingzi scratched his nose. He was too embarrassed to say that for the next dozen or so days, his father had tinnitus, and his playing of the qin was offkey for the next two months, which was all thanks to Wu Xingzi.

  “What song would you like to listen to Bai Shaochang play?” Guan Shanjin pulled Wu Xingzi back to the qin.

  “Uhh… What about Wild Geese Descend on a Sandbank4?” In any case, it just had to do with a big bird.

  Guan Shanjin eyed him, his comely lips curling into a faint smile. Sitting down at the qin, he strummed some notes. “Since you like to listen to the qin, I’ll just play for you.”


  After a few twangs of the strings, the sound of the qin flowed from Guan Shanjin’s fingers, rippling melodiously under the clear, calm moonlight.

  Although Wu Xingzi could not catch a beat, he did know how to appreciate music. After all, he had listened to his father’s qin for a number of years, and an ordinary level of qin playing could not satisfy his well-trained ear.

  Guan Shanjin was very good at the qin, and could almost compare with Wu Xingzi’s father. The top qin player in Great Xia might not even be much better than Guan Shanjin. The only thing was that his qin was stained with the aura of bloodshed. In principle, Wild Geese Descend on a Sandbank was, “the autumn sky is lofty and the air crisp, light breezes leave the sandbanks flat. Clouds stretch endlessly, birds in flight call out on the horizon. Then it draws on the soaring ambition of wild swans to convey what is in the heart of a scholar recluse.5 But from the fingers of the general, it was more like a soldier who could finally catch his breath in the vast desert.

  The song had yet to end, but Guan Shanjin’s fingers had stopped.

  Wu Xingzi looked at him, puzzled, only to see him give a seemingly self-mocking laugh, then waving Wu Xingzi over.

  “What’s wrong?” Wu Xingzi drew closer. With a light pressure, he fell into the man’s heated and solid embrace, and he could not help but start feeling bashful.

  “It’s nothing… I’m not good at Wild Geese Descend on a Sandbank, so I don’t want to pollute your ears.” Guan Shanjin kissed the person in his arms, then caught Wu Xingzi’s hands and placed them on the strings of the qin.

  “Let me teach you how to play.”


  “Ai, we’d better not. Even my father could not teach me.” Wu Xingzi wanted to pull his hands back, but they were caught firmly. Guan Shanjin’s hands were very warm, like little braziers. The nights of early spring were still rather cold, and it was actually quite comfortable to have his hands held like that. Although Wu Xingzi was somewhat shy about it, he did not continue struggling, and obediently let Guan Shanjin knead his palms.

  “I’m not your father, and I’m willing to teach you.” How could Guan Shanjin not be aware of how lacking Wu Xingzi’s qin-playing was? The few repetitions of the Melody of The Transcendent Venerable he heard just now could be described as being very unique. The rhythm and beats were severely lacking, sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow. Also, because of the lack of strength in the fingers, the melody too seemed weak. Wu Xingzi’s technique was naturally very poor, but it had a sort of calmness and peace that belonged solely to Wu Xingzi.

  Ever since he was a child, Guan Shanjin had always been attracted to things that were clean and pure. Perhaps it was due to his inner thoughts being too complicated, as well as easily seeing through to people’s foulness and treachery, so, to him, there was nothing unsullied in this world. He always liked to keep anything unblemished next to him, observing them, pampering them, loving them and raising them. Whether it was a cat, a dog or even a human, in the end, they would all be spoilt by his pampering, and they all forgot what their origins were.

  After so many years, Mr. Lu was the only one by his side who had been pampered for the longest amount of time.

  However, in the end, Mr. Lu still changed. Compared to anything that Guan Shanjin had once kept by his side, his change had been even more thorough than any of them. Recently, Guan Shanjin could not help but question himself, why he had not been able to see the layer of dust gathering over Mr. Lu’s shine?

  The sound of Wu Xingzi’s qin was very clean and bright. The sound of the qin was like a person’s character, as the type of person they were would be reflected in the tone of their qin. As such, Guan Shanjin did not like the sound of his qin-playing. It was too ferocious, too murderous. Like an army stampeding past, it was terrifying enough to make children stop crying in fear.

  Once, Bai Shaochang had listened to him play, and was so frightened that he left his seat with his face covered. From then on, he did not dare associate with Guan Shanjin anymore, and this became a laughing matter amongst the capital’s elites. They said that Guan Shanjin’s imposing aura and peerless military achievements truly made him seem like the reincarnation of a demigod, and just a small verse of his qin-playing was enough to scare the wits out of Bai Shaochang, causing him to run a high fever for a few days.

  Hmph! How contrived.

  “But it’s already late at night, let’s not…” Wu Xingzi continued rejecting him. “What if Mr. Lu misunderstands us?”


  Inexplicably, those words ended up spilling from Wu Xingzi’s lips.

  Silence fell around them, and even the air turned thick with tension, cold and icy.

  Wu Xingzi shuddered, bowing his head in fright and helplessness as he scolded himself silently for being stupid. He clearly did not mind that Guan Shanjin and Mr. Lu shared an intimate relationship, but why were his words so sour?

  “Mr. Lu, misunderstanding us?” Guan Shanjin cocked a brow, laughing lowly. “Mr. Lu is about to be married already, so what will he be misunderstanding? Hmm?”


  Faltering for a moment, only then did Wu Xingzi realise that he did actually take to heart a little about the things Miss Yue had said that day. He sighed, straightening himself, and spoke cautiously. “Ai, I… I’d like to ask you…”


  What would he like to ask? What was even there to ask about? The words at the tip of his tongue, Wu Xingzi swallowed them back. Right from the start, he had never thought that this relationship between Guan Shanjin and him could last longer than a tryst that was transient like dew. Even a flood would recede one day, so how could he foolishly let himself drown in it?

  In the past, he had made a mistake in handing his heart over to Yan Wenxin. Why would he mindlessly repeat his mistake? Pressing a hand to his chest, he still had yet to realise that his heart had already been fettered to Guan Shanjin.

  “Hmm? Your question?” Not hearing Wu Xingzi continue, Guan Shanjin swayed the man in his arms slightly, urging him on.

  “It’s… actually nothing…” Wu Xingzi’s head sagged. Unconsciously, he caught Guan Shanjin’s hand, and started playing with his slender fingers. Wu Xingzi had already decided that this matter had long been determined, so, why would he seek to trouble his mind? Guan Shanjin would obviously not tell the truth!

  A little moody, Wu Xingzi floundered in Guan Shanjin’s arms, wanting to get up. However, Guan Shanjin’s arms only tightened further, and his broad palms patted Wu Xingzi’s back in comfort, gradually patting away that foreign feeling within Wu Xingzi that came out of nowhere.

  “Ai,” Wu Xingzi sighed, lazing back into Guan Shanjin’s embrace, his internal defenses all gone. “Miss Yue treated me to a meal, and it was extremely delicious. Do you like mutton?”


  “I do. Why, you want to invite me to a mutton feast?” Guan Shanjin too was in no hurry to ask him what was the matter. Going along with Wu Xingzi, he teased him.

  “Ai, I do want to. That restaurant is owned by the aunt of Mint and Osmanthus. She’s really skilled, and her selection of ingredients exquisite. You’ve been busy outside for so many days, and you should eat something good.” Internally, Wu Xingzi was counting the spare amount of money he had in his money pouch. During these weeks of living in the general’s estate, he did have some income. Every month, he would receive a fixed sum of allowance, and Wu Xingzi had accepted it with much diffidence. As luck would have it, he would be able to use up all that money to treat Guan Shanjin to a meal!

  “She’s even more skilled than me?” Guan Shanjin harrumphed. He just did not like Wu Xingzi to appreciate anyone more than him.

  “That’s different. You’re the best at cooking.”


  This was the truth.

  Smiling in satisfaction, Guan Shanjin asked another question. “Then why don’t I buy some mutton back and prepare a mutton feast for you instead?”


  “No no no, I’ve already said that I’ll be treating you.” Wu Xingzi hurriedly shook his head, but he could not help swallowing his saliva. With Guan Shanjin’s cooking ability, that mutton feast would definitely be delicious, and Wu Xingzi did want to try it.

  “Alright, as long as you’re happy.” Guan Shanjin caught his hand, nibbling on it a couple of times. “Then, when that third Yue child treated you to a meal, did she say anything?”


  Not having expected that Guan Shanjin would be so direct, Wu Xingzi cowered a little, and smiled at Guan Shanjin appeasingly. “I-it’s nothing, just… umm… Haiwang, do you want to ask the physician to look at your eyes?”


  “What’s wrong with my eyes?” Wu Xingzi’s seriousness did not look like he was trying to divert the topic, and Guan Shanjin frowned, unenlightened.

  “Miss Yue said that y-you…” Wu Xingzi faltered for a moment, before exhaling deeply and speaking determinedly. “Is it true that you see me as Mr. Lu’s substitute?”


  “What if I say that it is?” Guan Shanjin had no intentions of concealing this matter. The words that the third Yue child had said to Wu Xingzi, had all been reported back to him without a word missing by Hei’er. He was only waiting for Wu Xingzi to ask after it.

  His heart wrenched for a moment, but Wu Xingzi did not pay any attention to it. Instead, he turned around, cupping Guan Shanjin’s face and studying it solemnly. “Do you have any illness or internal injury?”


  “Oh, why?” Guan Shanjin knew that Wu Xingzi, this old fellow, did not do things conventionally. However, he could not help but feel gloomy and anxious.

  In principle, even if he did not feel dejected, he should at least throw a tantrum! However, Wu Xingzi refused to participate in such behaviour. What exactly was stored in his brain?!

  “If I say it, don’t get angry. This is a huge problem, so you really should let the physician take a look. You’re still so young, so please don’t leave any side effects or consequences from the illness.”


  “An illness?”


  “Ai, yes. After all, there’s completely no trace of similarity between Mr. Lu and me, so how were you able to take me as his substitute? Unless…”


  You have a problem with your eyes?

  Although Wu Xingzi did not finish his sentence, how could it be that Guan Shanjin did not understand him?

  On the spot, Guan Shanjin was angered into laughter. A sudden pain jolted his chest, and he nearly vomited blood. If he did have any internal injuries, they would be caused by this old fellow!

  “You just wanted to ask me about this?” Guan Shanjin gnashed his teeth.

  “Ai, this is no small matter…” Wu Xingzi mumbled.

  Next, he was lifted up by Guan Shanjin. Amidst his shrieks, he was tossed onto the bed.