With a wave of Wen Li's right hand, a halo of light instantly shot out and landed on the guqin, blocking the attack.
In the next second, a beautiful figure appeared.
The young girl’s silver hair trailed along the floor, with a single magnolia hairpin casually holding up her loose bun. Her snow-white clothes complemented her fair skin. Her face and brows carried a fragile, shattered, and gentle air, looking somewhat like the sickly Lin Daiyu, yet it wasn't a decadent aura but one steeped in the passage of time.
However, as soon as Xin Jiuxian opened her mouth...
“Touch my zither and I’ll hack you to death.”
It felt as jarring as seeing Lin Daiyu uprooting a weeping willow.
“...”
The scene instantly fell silent.
Wen Li hadn’t expected a child with Lin Daiyu’s temperament to be so aggressive and bloodthirsty as soon as she spoke. Good heavens, why were all the disciples she took in such polar opposites of their appearances?
The Eldest was lively and spiritual but a yandere and clingy. The Second was decisive in slaughter but a gluttonous tsundere. The Third was a cultured scholar type but acted like a fair-skinned jock who loved lifting weights. The Fourth was intelligent to the point of being demonic but wore too many masks and was driven by profit. The Fifth was well-behaved but was actually a black lotus with the heaviest guard. And then there was Old Six.
Old Six was sickly and cold but had a fiery temper.
Tsk. Wen Li couldn’t bear to look. She had a premonition that when these six kids appeared together at the Qingyun Gathering in the future, they would definitely be a source of embarrassment for her.
Hearing Xin Jiuxian’s threat, Hua Cishu squinted his eyes, a glint of darkness flashing within them as his hands tightened beneath his sleeves. However, he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he put on a terrified, frightened expression. Tears welled up in his eyes instantly as he took three steps in one, lunging toward Wen Li and throwing his arms around her.
“Master, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean it. I... I was just curious. I didn’t think she would mind me touching her zither. I didn’t know she cared so much. Is it because I’m too annoying? Master, you know I’ve lived alone in the Demonic Marshes since I was little. I haven't seen much of the world. I really didn’t have any ill intent.”
When the child looked up with tear-filled eyes, that beautiful, angelic little face was enough to break anyone's heart.
Zongzheng Huangyue watched the drama play out calmly from the side. She had guessed that this girl was not only a treasure her Master had found but undoubtedly the sixth disciple. Previously, no one could keep this brat in check, but now that there was someone new, she was naturally happy to sit back and watch the sparks fly.
Wen Li patted his head to comfort him, though she didn’t blame Xin Jiuxian either. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Just don’t touch it next time. She doesn't like others touching her zither. If you like it, I’ll find one for you one of these days.”
She skillfully pulled out some food and stuffed it into Hua Cishu’s mouth to shut him up.
Hua Cishu puffed his cheeks upon seeing this, knowing full well his Master was using food to appease him. Yet, he really was weak against this tactic.
As he chewed, he remembered something and looked at the fan hanging at his waist, which he had accidentally broken out of curiosity. It was the one Yan Yurong had given him when they first met.
“Master (chew, chew, chew), I don’t want a zither (chew, chew, chew). I want a fan (chew, chew, chew).”
Although Yan Yurong was a flamboyant peacock, the way he fanned himself made him look like a person of culture and status. More importantly, it looked cultured. He had been learning calligraphy from his Master for so long, but it was so difficult; he could never get it right.
Wen Li seriously agreed. “Alright, I’ll find one for you.”
Hua Cishu sniffled, forcing his tears back as he pushed his luck. “Then I want a lethal magical artifact that can kill people just like Zongzheng Huangyue’s, not just an ordinary paper fan.”
He wasn’t even pretending anymore, calling Zongzheng Huangyue by her full name instead of Senior Sister.
“Fine. I’ll find you a fan, a lethal one,” Wen Li nodded just the same.
She had already planned to give each of her disciples their own magical artifacts: Yao Dai’s Blood Vine Whip, Gu Linshu’s Burning Heaven Sword, and Zongzheng Huangyue’s Moon Soul Arrow. She still had to see what would suit the remaining three.
Seeing Wen Li indulge him again, Hua Cishu pursed his lips and stopped causing trouble, obediently eating his pastries beside her.
Xin Jiuxian watched the interaction between the two quietly. She tilted her head slightly, her face remaining expressionless, but her tone was inquisitive.
“Why did you kidnap me?”
Wen Li didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Who is Xin Feiliu to you?”
Xin Jiuxian frowned slightly. She knew the Second Elder.
Even though she had lived in the Tingyin Pavilion’s forbidden ground since childhood, she wasn't stupid. Naturally, she wouldn’t tell Wen Li directly.
Instead, she countered, “What is your relationship with her?”
Wen Li thought for a moment. “An old acquaintance.”
Hearing this, Zongzheng Huangyue looked over. Being an old acquaintance of her Master wasn't an easy position to hold.
It was either a bitter enemy or a powerhouse.
Xin Jiuxian pursed her lips, her expression frail. “I want to go back to the Tingyin Pavilion.”
“You... cannot leave the Tingyin Pavilion.”
Wen Li narrowed her eyes, noticing how the girl's body was gradually becoming illusory and ethereal, and she suddenly guessed something.
Xin Jiuxian said nothing. It seemed she had developed a habit of being taciturn due to not communicating with people for years.
Wen Li looked at her appearance and then remembered that she also had the surname 'Xin,' and she suddenly realized something.
“Who gave you your name?”
“The Second Elder.”
“Do you have parents?”
Xin Jiuxian paused. Perhaps because she hadn’t seen a stranger in a long time, Wen Li seemed much more agreeable than that little brat, so she actually spoke up.
“I am the artifact soul of the Tingyin Pavilion’s Saint Artifact, the Yulan Floating Light Zither. I was born from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are my parents.”
Hearing this, Wen Li’s brows furrowed as she guessed the truth.
She hadn't intended to see her old acquaintance, but given Xin Jiuxian’s state, she had to get things clear. She couldn't risk the girl's soul dissipating the moment she took her away from the Southern Province. Besides, if her old friend had gone to such lengths to see her, how could she disappoint them?
【System.】
This time, the System actually didn’t respond to her, as if it had vanished.
Wen Li’s expression turned subtle.
She decided to check Xin Jiuxian’s plot herself.
【Xin Jiuxian: Because the magical artifact, the Yulan Floating Light Zither, fell into the hands of an evil cultivator and was used for excessive slaughter, she was suppressed by the Buddhist Order for a hundred years, during which her artifact soul was born. Later, the Supreme Elder of the Tingyin Pavilion took the Yulan Floating Light Zither, placed it in the forbidden ground of the Tingyin Pavilion to refine it into a Saint Artifact, and raised Xin Jiuxian.】
【In the future, a male lead of providence carrying a system will come to conquer and save her, with his return to the modern world as the condition. After Xin Jiuxian falls in love with him, the male lead intends to kill his wife to prove his Dao because he has fallen in love with his junior sister. He wants to resist the system for his beloved, break free from his destiny of being controlled, and be with the female lead. However, Xin Jiuxian’s love for him was also fake; she didn't care whether the male lead loved her or not.】
【Because Xin Jiuxian also intended to kill him. She wanted to kill her husband to prove her Dao and ascend to immortality. In the end, however, the male lead killed her, defied the system, conquered fate, and lived happily with the female lead in this world, becoming famous throughout the Central Province.】
After reading the plot, Wen Li looked at the system-bearing hero and then at the girl with the contrasting personality before her. Killing her husband to prove her Dao certainly seemed like something Xin Jiuxian would do. Not bad; men would only slow down the speed at which one draws their sword.
But what was wrong with the System's broken plot? There was clearly an error, yet it hadn't modified it.
It wasn't making a sound; was it dead?
If it weren't for the fact that it couldn't hear, if it continued to ignore her, Wen Li really would hire a band of music cultivators to play funeral music and see if she could piss it off enough to make it crawl out of its coffin.
This method seemed promising. She would keep it in mind.
...
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