The White Moonlight Subdues Everyone with a Suona - Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Na
Master Qianming, who was warning the disciples to strictly observe the sect rules, suddenly had an uneasy premonition.
He vaguely seemed to hear a sharp scream, but listening closely, there seemed to be nothing.
Where was trouble brewing again? It was likely Xueyu Peak!
Master Qianming snorted coldly in annoyance.
With a stern face, he looked at his newly accepted disciples. Among their spiritual weapons, one was a xiao and the other was a long flute.
It was precisely because of this that Master Qianming was willing to take two disciples at once.
Whether it was Xie Yu’an from the Jinpeng Xie Family or Pei Leye, the youngest son of the rising Pei family, Master Qianming was extremely satisfied with both.
These two disciples had good backgrounds and dispositions.
Xie Yu’an was a bit deep-minded, while Pei Leye seemed overly simple.
They complemented each other well.
There was only one issue.
These two seemed to be on extremely good terms with the new little disciple taken in by Rong Qingyuan.
Master Qianming remembered that the female disciple was named Ji Bingyu, the champion of this year’s new disciple trials.
How rare—it had been a long time since a female champion emerged.
If asked whether Master Qianming himself had a big issue with Ji Bingyu, that was not really the case.
At the end of the day, Master Qianming and Ji Bingyu were complete strangers, so where would such deep enmity come from? It was only that the various deeds previously transmitted by Master Qianming’s old friend, Daoist Xuanfeng, gave Master Qianming a preconceived notion that Ji Bingyu was not a peaceful figure.
Moreover, Ji Bingyu had taken Rong Qingyuan as her master at Xueyu Peak.
Since Master Qianming and Rong Qingyuan had long been on bad terms, one thing led to another, and naturally, a node of resentment formed in his heart, making Ji Bingyu look even less pleasing to his eyes.
However, these were minor matters, and Master Qianming would not bother holding a grudge against a newly entered disciple.
He gathered all the disciples for another matter.
“Every ten years, the Four Great Sects hold the Heroes Assembly Martial Gathering. This martial gathering will take place two years from now in Liuming Valley.”
“Each time, every sect selects ten disciples below the Golden Core stage and five disciples above the Golden Core stage as representatives to participate in the gathering. For the sake of fairness, these spots are all obtained through internal sect trials.”
“By coincidence this time, the original Newcomer Arena will likely be canceled and merged into this gathering.”
Master Qianming scanned the disciples seated below.
He did not pin his hopes on the two young disciples, Xie Yu’an and Pei Leye, and his eldest disciple, Wen Yeran, happened to be in secluded cultivation.
Therefore, Qianming placed his gaze on another disciple, Yu Qianxue.
“Prepare well, and do not disgrace the backbone of our Piaomiao Peak.”
Yu Qianxue lowered her head, a glint of dark light flashing in her eyes.
She stepped forward and bowed, “This disciple obeys the command.”
Xie Yu’an frowned slightly, unknown what he was thinking, while Pei Leye was carefree, laughing foolishly.
Master Qianming glanced at the two of them and said with a stern face, “Starting tomorrow, you will go to the Hall of Enlightenment to practice basic spells. Although you two are newly entered, you should follow the instructor and practice diligently. Do not waste this great opportunity.”
Xie Yu’an and Pei Leye said in unison, “This disciple obeys the command!”
—
Unlike the solemn and majestic atmosphere on Piaomiao Peak, Xueyu Peak was filled with bright spring light and boundless scenery.
As the spring breeze swept through, it stirred up a chaos of chaos.
“Master.”
Li Fuqing’s eyes were unfocused.
As the eldest senior brother, he had been sent to teach Ji Bingyu basic music theory, but now it seemed like an impossible task.
Rong Qingyuan had previously spent a lot of effort to catch a small creature.
He originally intended to go into secluded cultivation to purify his mind for some time, but unexpectedly, a mistake occurred on the very first day.
He glanced at Ji Bingyu, who had a guilty expression, and then at Li Fuqing, who looked as if his soul was wandering outside the heavens.
He had a rough idea in his mind, though it did not show on his face.
Rong Qingyuan put down the teacup beside him and said unhurriedly, “What happened here?”
He did not intend to make things difficult for Li Fuqing; asking like this was merely out of curiosity.
One must know that Li Fuqing was once a Demon Lord, and his demonic nature was hard to tame.
Even though he was kept by his side and forcibly suppressed in the body of a child, it had never changed the wildness in his bones.
He loved making trouble and took pleasure in evil.
As for Ji Bingyu being able to make Li Fuqing so dispirited in just one morning, Rong Qingyuan was indeed a bit curious.
Li Fuqing paused.
Thick-skinned as he was, at this moment, he actually did not know how to speak for a time.
Yesterday, after laughing at Ji Bingyu’s weapon for half a day, Li Fuqing immediately proposed to teach Ji Bingyu music theory.
Of course, this was not a passionate teaching filled with enthusiasm, but one full of petty schemes.
Li Fuqing would indeed stand up when outsiders made things difficult for Ji Bingyu and the others, because that was his responsibility as the eldest senior brother.
No matter what grievances they had in private, that was a matter behind closed doors, and outsiders had no right to interject.
And now, it was time to close the doors.
Within the Seven Peaks of Changqing Sect, whoever fought wins is the father! Li Fuqing rubbed his hands together, eager to give Ji Bingyu a display of authority to thoroughly crush her arrogant spirit and avenge the “vegetable leaf grudge”!
So early in the morning, Li Fuqing rushed to Ji Bingyu’s door and forcibly dragged her out of her warm bed, under the banner of “supervising her practice.”
Ji Bingyu, who never expected to be unable to escape 007 even after transmigrating, lost all desire to live.
She rubbed her eyes and said sincerely, “Eldest Senior Brother, I am truly tone-deaf.”
Ji Bingyu knew very clearly how many pounds and ounces she possessed.
In her modern life, she was praised as “quiet as a virgin, moving like a crazy goose.”
Every time she opened her mouth to sing at KTV, good heavens, half the waiters in the shop would rush over to see if a murder had occurred.
Li Fuqing, completely unaware, said, “Junior Sister, all things are difficult at the beginning. Senior Brother believes you can definitely do it!”
Ji Bingyu made a final struggle, “But Senior Brother, I…”
Fearing she would find an excuse to go back, Li Fuqing interrupted immediately, “A day’s plan starts in the morning. Junior Sister, have you ever seen the morning sun at the hour of the Tiger on Xueyu Peak?”
Ji Bingyu, “?”
Li Fuqing spoke with deep emotion, “I have seen it, Junior Sister.”
He looked at Ji Bingyu with full emotion, attempting to move the other party with his Husky dog eyes, “Junior Sister, a cultivator must study and practice diligently, tempering their muscles and bones, starving their body and skin, and emptying their self. Only then can one achieve the Great Dao.”
Li Fuqing thought: There are no difficult jobs, only Huskies that don’t work hard!
Ji Bingyu, “.”
Holding the mindset of “better a dead fellow Daoist than a poor self,” Ji Bingyu had originally planned to start harming the instructors and classmates in the Hall of Enlightenment tomorrow.
Who knew this eldest senior brother would actually rush over to seek abuse himself?
She raised her eyes silently and asked, “If I perform now, will Eldest Senior Brother really not be afraid?”
Li Fuqing did not take it seriously at all, “Afraid?”
He sneered disdainfully, raised his chin, and said proudly, “In this world, there is nothing that can make this Lord bow!”
His posture was lofty and his eyes were wild.
The early morning sunlight cast a golden border around him, making his deep gaze look even more profound, as if recalling the glorious hero days of the past, hesitating to speak.
At a glance, he was a dog with stories.
Ji Bingyu smiled slightly.
She picked up the suona and said politely, “Then, I shall begin.”
Li Fuqing, “???”
Wait, wait a minute, he hadn’t demonstrated yet, how, how did it start already?!
—
Li Fuqing did not want to recall the subsequent experience ever again.
Facing Rong Qingyuan’s question, he remained silent for a moment and asked, “Master, have you ever seen the Black and White Impermanence appearing on Xueyu Peak at the hour of the Tiger?”
Without waiting for Rong Qingyuan’s response, Li Fuqing continued one after another, “Have you seen three hundred geese singing at the top of their lungs together?”
“Have you seen five hundred ducks gathered around a stove talking at night?”
“Have you seen seven hundred marmots laughing frantically together?”
“If you have seen all of these…” Li Fuqing raised his head expressionlessly.
At this very moment, even the arc curled up at the corner of his mouth could not save his charm.
Instead, it used joyful scenery to contrast sad emotions, adding a few points of bleakness to Li Fuqing as if he were already buried in the ground.
“Then have you seen three hundred geese, five hundred ducks, and seven hundred marmots screaming together?”
Rong Qingyuan, “…”
Li Fuqing wiped his face, his eyes lifeless, as if he had seen through the mortal world, “I have already seen it all.”
Ji Bingyu, “.”
Rong Qingyuan looked at Ji Bingyu and suddenly uttered an ambiguous light laugh, “I have seen it too.”
Ji Bingyu thought: I suspect you two are insinuating about me together, but I have no proof!
After sending away Li Fuqing, who had lost all desire to live, Rong Qingyuan looked at Ji Bingyu, who was feeling a bit guilty yet trying hard to put on a righteous expression, and shook his head with a light smile.
“I know everything.”
Ji Bingyu could not react for a moment, “What?”
Rong Qingyuan’s smile was faint and light, maintaining his usual calm demeanor, but the words he dropped were like a sudden thunderclap.
“Ji Bingyu, you are not a person of this world; you are a soul from an alternate world.”
Ji Bingyu was stunned by Rong Qingyuan’s move.
According to Ji Bingyu’s design, no matter who learned such news, they would either scream in shock or quietly note it down and secretly plot, so as to reveal her identity at the most appropriate moment.
It was by no means like Rong Qingyuan, dropping a thunderclap so casually.
Wait a minute, didn’t Heaven’s Will say it had been repairing the Heavenly Pillar? Then everyone’s impression of her should still be the white moonlight of the original work, gentle as water—
[Not anymore.]
The Heaven’s Will, which had not appeared for a long time, transformed into a child’s body again.
Standing beside Ji Bingyu, it said, having lost all desire to live, [The Heavenly Pillar collapsed.]
Ji Bingyu remained silent for a moment.
She didn’t even have time to respond to Heaven’s Will’s words, but subconsciously raised her head to observe Rong Qingyuan’s expression.
The other party was still smiling.
Seeing her look over, he curved his eyebrows even more.
The darkness like thick ink in his eyes dispersed, and when he smiled, it was as if flowers were in full bloom.
Today, Rong Qingyuan wore a silver robe with a light green gauze outer gown, and only a bamboo hairpin was inserted obliquely into his hair.
The whole person looked elegant and noble.
Of course, paired with his face, it was still that familiar villain boss temperament.
“Rest assured, I am the same as you,” Rong Qingyuan could always meet Ji Bingyu’s gaze at the first moment.
He said, “Heaven’s Will is my witness, there is certainly no falsehood.”
Rong Qingyuan extended his fan and pointed toward Heaven’s Will, who had transformed into the form of a young child.
Heaven’s Will pursed its lips, saying unwillingly, “It is indeed so. He is just like you; neither of you belongs to this realm anymore.”
…
Fuck!
Ji Bingyu never in her wildest dreams expected that it was bad enough for her to be transmigrated into a book, but her master was too?!
[He is different from you. He belongs to this realm, but he simply shouldn’t be appearing right now.]
Heaven’s Will transmitted its voice into Ji Bingyu’s mind.
For some unknown reason, a trace of exhaustion actually surfaced in its voice.
Ji Bingyu looked back at Rong Qingyuan.
The other party set down his fan, made a fist with his right hand, pressed it against his lips, and coughed a few times, his complexion growing increasingly pale.
“According to Heaven’s Will’s words, at this present moment, I should no longer exist.”
Ji Bingyu understood in an instant.
She was just wondering—with such a powerful big boss protecting them, why did Changqing Sect always appear as the antagonist in the original work and get bullied so severely?
So this was the turn of events!
At the same time, Heaven’s Will’s voice echoed in her mind again.
Through a quick Q&A session, Ji Bingyu finally grasped the current situation.
Perhaps due to the butterfly effect of her coming to this world, Rong Qingyuan, who should have been in long-term secluded cultivation, came out early, thereby triggering this chain of domino reactions.
As for the collapse of the Heavenly Pillar… cough, that was an accident that occurred the moment Ji Bingyu obtained the suona.
Ji Bingyu felt guilty for a second and asked humbly, “May I ask if there is still room for remedy?”
Heaven’s Will gave her a fake smile, “It’s in complete smithereens.”
Rong Qingyuan, who had been watching for a long time, said softly, “Without destruction, there can be no construction.”
Ji Bingyu decisively chose to side with her own master, stating righteously, “That is precisely the truth! Heaven’s Will, you need to learn to keep up with the times, follow the pace of young people, and match the rhythm and mindset of the youth. Otherwise, you’ll be left far behind!”
“The era is progressing, and we must progress as well. We must never become rigid, conservative old relics like Daoist Xuanfeng. Instead, we should learn from Comrade Rong Qingyuan—Mr. Rong Qingyuan, striving to be number one and daring to be the pioneer of the world!”
Heaven’s Will: ???
Like hell I’d believe your nonsense!
Facing the subtle threat in Rong Qingyuan’s eyes, Heaven’s Will ultimately didn’t hurl its inner curses out loud.
It merely expressed, aggrieved, that Ji Bingyu must take responsibility for herself and retrieve the materials required to rebuild Heavenly Pillar later.
Ji Bingyu let out a sigh of relief and agreed wholeheartedly.
She had almost blurted out “Comrade Rong Qingyuan” just now; fortunately, she urgently changed it to “Mr. Rong Qingyuan” at the critical moment, preventing it from sounding too out of place.
Otherwise, if Rong Qingyuan actually pressed for an explanation, it would take a lot of effort to explain.
After obtaining Ji Bingyu’s promise, Heaven’s Will fell silent once more.
Ji Bingyu had long grown accustomed to Heaven’s Will coming and going without a trace.
She turned to look at Rong Qingyuan, waiting for his questions.
This was completely normal.
If Ji Bingyu were in his shoes and learned that someone beside her came from an alternate world, she too would be shocked for a long time before throwing out a barrage of questions.
Yet Rong Qingyuan merely propped up his head and looked at her with a calm expression, “What is your name?”
She subconsciously answered, “Ji Bingyu.”
Rong Qingyuan asked, “Your original name?”
Ji Bingyu nodded, obediently picking up the teacup that had floated in front of her, “Yes, that is my name.”
Rong Qingyuan’s brow arched slightly, the corners of his lips curving up, “So honest? I thought you would answer me with names like ‘Thunderbolt Maiden Ye Liangchen’ or ‘Next-door Neighbor Old Wang Ji Xiaosi’?”
(T/N: Xiaosi= Little Four)
The tea in Ji Bingyu’s mouth almost spouted out.
She looked at Rong Qingyuan with uncertainty and alarm, her mind filled with countless doubts that ultimately condensed into a single question—
“How do you know my nickname is ‘Ji Xiaosi’?”
Don’t ask too many questions! The experience of numerous book-transmigrators tells us that the more you know, the less safe you are!
Looking at her conflicted expression—clearly wanting to ask questions yet desperately holding them back—Rong Qingyuan found it amusing inside, though he put on an innocent look on his face.
“You rank fourth among my disciples, so I offhandedly called you ‘Xiaosi’. Is there anything wrong with that?”
When Ji Bingyu thought about it this way, she actually found it quite reasonable.
However, right at that moment, Rong Qingyuan spoke again, “It’s just that the disciple I accepted was ‘Ji Bingyu, the last member of the Ji Family’, not you. Although I now understand the cause and effect, I still feel it is inappropriate.”
He paused, a shallow smile blooming by his lips as he smiled warmly at Ji Bingyu, “How about this: in private when no one else is around, you may call me by my name, and I will call you by your childhood nickname in private as well?”
Ji Bingyu nodded dizzyingly, but toward the end, she suddenly recalled something.
“Speaking of childhood nicknames, Master, please don’t call me ‘Bingyu’ in the future,” Ji Bingyu said distressfully.
“Because those annoying fellas previously liked to call me that, so I don’t really like this name now.”
Rong Qingyuan’s smile deepened as he asked, “Then how should I address you? Yu’er? Little Yu’er? Xiaosi?”
Ji Bingyu shook her head frantically.
What ‘Little Yu’er’ or ‘Big Yu’er’! She didn’t want someone falling out of the sky and landing on her horseback!
As for ‘Xiaosi’ or whatever, don’t even think about it!
Ji Bingyu’s brain whirred round and round, yet she still couldn’t find a suitable name. She decided to pick the safest option that wouldn’t go wrong.
“Names like ‘Little Yu’er’ or ‘Xiaosi’ sound so distant!”
Ji Bingyu slammed her palm on the table, brimming with heroic spirit, “From now on, just call me ‘Old Ji’!”
At this moment, the smile on Rong Qingyuan’s face finally cracked.
—
In the end, the form of address they agreed upon didn’t adopt ‘Old Ji’, but used the more poetic and pleasant ‘A-Yu’.
At this moment, Ji Bingyu, whose childhood nickname had just been settled, was sitting in the Hall of Enlightenment. Looking at the [Incantation of Complex Notes] in her hand, she sighed for the hundredth time.
Who would have thought!
Even after transmigrating into a book, she still couldn’t escape the fate of going to school!
Dammit!
“Ji Bingyu! Long time no see!”
The moment Pei Leye saw Ji Bingyu, he sprinted straight toward her, “Why did you arrive so late?”
Ji Bingyu replied, “I stayed up all night reading books trying to draw Qi into my body, but I couldn’t even—”
Her voice faltered halfway through and came to an abrupt stop.
Ji Bingyu narrowed her eyes dangerously, “Have you all… already drawn Qi into your bodies?”
Sensing the danger, Pei Leye said cautiously, “Sh-Shouldn’t we have?”
Ji Bingyu shifted her gaze onto Zhong Ziqi.
The chuunibyou youth, Zhong Ziqi, said proudly, “Of course!”
Fuck (a type of plant)!!!
Only now did Ji Bingyu realize something was wrong!
Because each stage in the previous trials intentionally suppressed the disciples’ cultivation bases, Ji Bingyu had thought everyone was like her with zero foundation.
Who knew that once class started, she would discover that most people were already at the Qi Refining stage?!
She directed a gaze of condemnation at Pei Leye and Zhong Ziqi, receiving an innocent look back from the former, and a white-eyed glance from the latter.
Ji Bingyu was deeply heartbroken.
We agreed everyone was a poor student, but turns out every single one of you was a closet top scholar?!
Today’s instructor, Master Qianming, noticed immediately that Ji Bingyu was out of it.
His small mustache quivered with rage as he shouted sternly, “Some disciples, relying on a bit of petty cleverness when entering the sect, refuse to listen to the instructor’s words in class! As a result, they haven’t even drawn Qi into their bodies by now!”
Ji Bingyu let out a yawn.
Master Qianming pivoted his words, his gaze falling onto Feng Feishuang in the front row.
Seeing the other party straighten her back even more because of this, he nodded with satisfaction, “However, good disciples still make up the vast majority. The path of cultivating immortality is long and arduous; one cannot judge a hero by momentary success or failure. Only through diligence and hard work can one soar into the sky.”
Ji Bingyu rubbed her eyes.
“Unlike a certain someone, who truly wastes the painstaking efforts of the instructors!”
Ji Bingyu leaned down drowsily—
The very next second, a furious roar exploded by her ears.
“Ji Bingyu! You’re spacing out again!”
Ji Bingyu was startled awake instantly. Utilizing her chalk-dodging skills honed back in her school days, she cleverly tilted backward, bending her entire body into an inverted ‘U’ shape to forcefully dodge Master Qianming’s sonic attack.
Master Qianming hadn’t actually intended to attack Ji Bingyu; he merely wanted to teach this inattentive disciple a small lesson.
Who would have thought he’d miss his target? His pride instantly took a hit.
Holding his long flute, he gave it a gentle wave, sending several music notes in succession.
Yet Ji Bingyu actually dodged them all by spinning and leaping?!
Crucially, her eyes were still closed!
How arrogant! How rampant!
Master Qianming was truly a bit infuriated now.
He pressed the long flute to his lips and played a rendition of Immortal Wind at the Lotus Pond.
This was a tune he had comprehended back when he chanced upon a young girl at a mortal pond.
Spring was in full bloom; the young girl wore a pink dress with a flower-like smile and flushed cheeks. Meeting an immortal like him during the finest season of her life—so thrilling yet full of twists and turns—how could it not move one’s heart to deep emotion!
As the piece concluded, Master Qianming looked down, satisfied to see all the disciples wearing entranced, deeply intoxicated expressions.
He then looked toward Ji Bingyu with a hint of arrogance.
“Since you are temporarily unable to draw Qi into your body, why don’t you use your spiritual weapon to imitate the piece I played just now? It doesn’t need to be complete—just one or two measures will do. Let us see what a divine artifact from the Nine-Tier Pavilion actually looks like.”
Speaking of this, I’m not sleepy anymore!
Ji Bingyu was just worrying about having nowhere to practice her spiritual weapon.
Seeing Master Qianming take the initiative to offer, she immediately said, “Sure thing, Instructor! Right away, Instructor!”
An uneasy premonition suddenly surged in Master Qianming’s heart.
He took three quick steps in two, wanting to stop Ji Bingyu, but it was already too late—
The first blast of the suona sounded, and everyone’s spirits jolted, instantly snapping out of their previous emotional state.
How should one describe this lengthy split second?
If you asked Pei Leye to answer, it would be that he would spend his entire long life trying to heal from this brief split second.
What pink-dressed girl, what spring breeze on one’s face, what misty immortal aura, what thrilling emotion—it was all absolute bullshit!
The moment the suona rang out, the scenery before every disciple, including Pei Leye, suddenly shifted.
The one wearing a pink dress wasn’t a young girl but a big goose; the one wearing a white dress with a misty immortal aura was no longer an immortal, but a marmot.
They didn’t meet for the first time by a springtime pond either, but in the quiet, deserted dead of night, rustling and crouching by the roadside foraging for food, bursting out into ‘quack-quack-cackle-cackle’ giggles from time to time.
Occasionally, a ghostly, mournful long howl swept past like a hearse drifting around a corner, and at that moment, an eerie light would shoot out from the marmot’s eyes!
—All in all, this motherfucker wasn’t Immortal Wind at the Lotus Pond, but Immortal Wind at the Funeral Home!
Unlike the rest of the crowd, Ji Bingyu was completely immersed in the wonderful music she had played.
Something stirred in her heart; she seemed to feel her meridians suddenly clear up a bit, and her whole body felt much lighter.
Is this… stepping onto the Dao?
As the piece ended, Ji Bingyu set down her suona and let out a sigh, slowly opening her eyes, “Martial Uncle Qianming, I have attained enlightenment.”
Standing at the very front of the Hall of Enlightenment, Master Qianming likewise opened his eyes slowly, “Thank you. This old man has also attained enlightenment.”
“You! Ji Bingyu!”
“Get the hell out right now!”
