Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 342: The Second Level - Great Sound

Ren Yuan sent Chen Lingzhi on board and went up to the third floor.

The space on this floor is normal.

Ren Yuan saw a chime placed in the center of the floor. In front of the chime was a copper frame that separated the bell from the man. A row of small rings hung on the copper frame. Silk threads passed through the rings, one end connected to the bell hammer and the other end connected to the wall.

Apparently, if one silk thread is plucked, the hammer will strike the corresponding chime.

Ren Yuan looked up again and saw countless sharp arrows hanging above his head. It seemed that if he played a wrong note, thousands of arrows would be fired at him.

This was beyond his ability, but fortunately Ren Yuan had many helpers.

He then opened the red oil umbrella and invited Su Xiaoxiao to come out to break the formation.

Su Xiaoxiao loves traveling and it is a miracle that she can stay in Jiankang for a year.

Since Ren Yuan came out this time, she naturally had to follow him out to get some fresh air. She didn't expect that she could be of use in this way.

She hid behind the red oil umbrella and had a clear view of what was happening outside. She could no longer hold back and wanted to come out and show off her skills.

A Yao was much gentler towards Su Xiaoxiao, and said softly, "Sister, are you feeling unwell?"

"It's okay." Su Xiaoxiao turned around lightly, happily holding A Yao's arm and said, "Sister eats Emperor Liujiang every day, how can you not be able to withstand this little Buddha light?"

"That's true." Ren Yuan looked at Su Xiaoxiao and A Yao. Without realizing it, his friends had become much stronger.

"Come, I'll help you break this barrier." Su Xiaoxiao said as she nudged A Yao with her elbow and said, "How about I stop wasting time?"

A Yao's face turned red. "Sister, it's different. I love listening to you talk."

Ren Yuan thought to himself, good fellow, this is because he doesn’t like to listen to Chen Lingzhi…

Su Xiaoxiao helped her people achieve their goal, and gave Ren Yuan a narrow smile, but she didn't want to embarrass him, so she said directly:
"This bell is called 'Da Yin', which means 'Da Yin has no sound'. The sound produced by striking it cannot be heard. So the difficulty is to strike it correctly even though the sound cannot be heard."

"Zuan's father is really full of tricks." A Yao curled her lips, and became much more lively than before.

"What song should I play?" Ren Yuan asked, "I can't see any clues anywhere."

"The clue is on the chimes." Su Xiaoxiao said as a matter of course.

"Ah?" Ren Yuan stared at the patterns on the chimes with wide eyes, trying to identify the characters. "Is this bronze inscription? I haven't learned it before."

"It's silver. Silly brother, it's just an ordinary pattern." Su Xiaoxiao was amused and explained with a smile:
"A complete set of chimes has three layers and eight groups, with 65 single bells, all twelve musical notes, and can play five, six, and seven-tone scales."

"But the quantity of this set is obviously not enough." Ren Yuan took a quick look and found that it was less than half at most.

"This means that this piece of music doesn't require that many bells." Su Xiaoxiao continued:
"Look at those bells. They are of different sizes and styles. Each one represents a note. The bells with long handles are called "yong bells". They have a solemn tone and are mostly used for the main instrument. The bells with a ring button on the top are called "niu bells" and are used for accompaniment."

"I see." Ren Yuan looked enlightened, but in reality he was completely confused. "And then?"

"Then we can judge which song it is used to play by the arrangement and combination of the chimes." Su Xiaoxiao said like a treasure:
"The three-note combination of 'Jiao-Zhi-Yu' appears in the center, and the interval span is extraordinary. This kind of musical pattern is exactly the core melody of the tune of 'Youlan', which is called 'the soul of Youlan is the combination of Jiao-Zhi-Yu'."

"Is that "You Lan Cao"? " Ren Yuan asked hurriedly.

"Not exactly." Su Xiaoxiao shook her head slowly and said, "Looking at the arrangement, it is to facilitate the playing of triplets followed by syncopation. It should be the "Youlan" adapted by 'Zhonglüjun'."

"You can even see this?" Ren Yuan was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.

"I can tell. Moreover, Wu Jinghui was favored by Donghun Hou for her musical voice. I heard that she once ordered the musicians to 're-adjust "Youlan" with Zhonglü'. This must be the tune that Xiao Zong has been listening to since he was a child." "Awesome!" Ren Yuan was full of admiration. It was true that everyone has their own expertise and experts are experts.

"It's not difficult to see, the difficulty lies in how to strike it accurately or play it out." Su Xiaoxiao laughed again. "It's too difficult to control the force with the silk thread to control the hammer, and if you're not careful, you'll hit the wrong note."

“Besides, you can’t hear any sound, so you won’t even know if you played it wrong.” Ren Yuanshen agreed.

"But this is not a problem for me, your sister. Just watch!" Su Xiaoxiao said, and then she took off her embroidered shoes and brocade socks, revealing a pair of feet that were no less beautiful than Pan Yunu's, and walked barefoot on the ground.

Then, without relying on her ears at all, she used her feet to sense the vibrations from the wooden floor, and plucked the silk strings accurately, playing the "Youlan Cao" song with "great sound and little voice".

When the song ended, the ceiling creaked and the ladder leading to the fourth floor slowly descended.

"I must rely on my own strength to break through the formation on this level!" Ren Yuan secretly made up his mind and jumped up to the fourth level.

~~
As a result, he was dumbfounded when he went up. All he saw was Sanskrit, and he couldn't understand a single word. He experienced the feeling of being "blind".

"It seems like you need help again." Senior sister handed over the pillow.

"Life is limited, but knowledge is unlimited." Ren Yuan smiled awkwardly and lay down.

It was only a meal time after he got off the boat, but two hours had already passed on the boat. Everyone was doing their own things. Chen Lingzhi and Xiao Yuhuan were playing chess. Yang Zhong and Chen Baxian were competing in fishing. The little monk squatted on the side with his eyes shining:
“It would be nice if this fish was edible.”

A white light flashed, and Xiao Heizi said, "Attention, the owner is on board."

Everyone turned around and asked Ren Yuan, "How is it? Did you get it?"

"No, I just got to the fourth floor." Ren Yuan smiled at everyone embarrassedly, "I'm here to ask for help again."

"Who is going this time?" the little monk asked excitedly.

"It's you." Ren Yuan said with a smile.

"Really? I thought I was useless." The little monk was very happy.

"How could that be? You are a talented monk who was admitted to Tongtai Temple at the age of thirteen." Ren Yuan complimented him and told him about the situation on the fourth floor.

At last he said seriously: "Of course, if you don't want to help, I will definitely not force you."

"No, no, no." Faxiu said without hesitation: "I am a disciple of Buddhism, not a disciple of the God of Dreams. Right now, Buddhism has been usurped by the evil people of the Futu Sect. I am here to eliminate the evil and defend the way, to avenge the Buddha!"

"That's right, Fu Tu religion is not the real Buddhism." Ren Yuan nodded heavily, touched the monk's bald head and said: "When we defeat the Dream God in the future, you will rebuild the real Buddhism."

"Okay!" The little monk's eyes lit up, and he followed Ren Yuan and disappeared from everyone's sight.

The next moment, he appeared in the tower and smiled sweetly at A Yao, "Hello, sister. It's been a long time since we last met. I missed you so much."

A Yao also smiled and said: "Long time no see, you have grown taller."

"Really?" Faxiu was overjoyed and asked excitedly, "Why didn't I feel it?"

But Ren Yuan knocked on his bald head and said, "Hurry up, Xiao Si'er, don't waste time."

"Oh." Faxiu covered his head and muttered, "I have to grow taller quickly, so that you can't hit my head."

Only then did he look around.

(End of this chapter)