The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Beneath the enormous camellia tree, Li Shuang carefully laid out thick, soft, snow-like cushions on the seats.

Tang Xixue sat down, her skirt tucked in, and her fingertips gently brushed across the cool strings of the zither.

"Zheng—"

A clear and ethereal melody, like a spring gushing from a deep valley, suddenly pierced the quiet night of the courtyard.

Immediately afterwards, a melodious and clear piano tune flowed out like water; it was the piece "The Heart's Lamp Shines Brightly".

The melody is melodious yet carries a subtle sense of loneliness, like a solitary lamp illuminating the night, its light flickering but persistently shining.

Almost the instant the zither music began, Yun Boyan had already brought the glass flute to his lips.

The serene sound of the xiao (vertical bamboo flute) naturally blends into the zither music, like clouds entering the mist, perfectly natural.

There was no other reason than that he was extremely familiar with this piece of music.

Over the years, my brother has played this piece countless times, facing the Kunlun Snow, the Jin Hai Lian, and the endless night.

That melody was etched into his very bones; it would be difficult for him not to remember it.

He used to wonder if this song was really that catchy.

Good, now he knows.

It's not that the music is getting good; the elder brother has lost his mind over his young apprentice.

Tang Xixue's eyes flickered slightly, her fingertips played the zither without faltering, but her red lips parted slightly.

Her clear, melodious voice, like the warbling of a nightingale, began to hum softly along with the music, each word clear and each note touching the heart:

"No Bodhi tree is planted, only dust settles on the mirror stand."

A gentle breeze pushes open the window, inviting freedom; lotus blossoms open on the fingertips.

A spark from a flint reflects in an instant; the bells on the eaves speak of the vast ocean.

If you see a starry river hanging like a ribbon three thousand light-years away.

Originally there was nothing there, but I crossed a lonely embankment in a cold pool.

Fallen leaves gently touch the three thousand dews, reflecting the old path home...

The singing was clear and melodious, like a thin veil wrapped in moonlight; the zither music flowed gently, like the tinkling of jade pendants.

The sound of the flute was melancholic, like a breeze echoing through an empty valley.

The three elements intertwine and linger in the moonlit courtyard, where red camellias bloom in abundance, creating a celestial melody that washes away worldly noise and reaches the soul.

"From emptiness arises wondrous existence; cooking smoke lingers around the bell tower."

The copper bells on the eaves ring out to the white-haired elder, and the moonlight hangs down like a ribbon.

Moss stains the ancient cypress, cloud shadows lie on the lotus embryo.

Do not ask where the morning bell startled me from my dream; the cicada's skin has faded, leaving only an empty heart.

Originally there was nothing, yet the eagle soars over the deep valley.

The snow melts, revealing the eaves; new mist gathers on the green tiles…

The moonlight seemed to grow even brighter, its clear radiance like a ribbon, gently enveloping the girl playing the zither and singing beneath the tree.

The halo of light outlined her exquisite profile, making her breathtakingly beautiful.

Yun Boyan stood quietly amidst the flower shadows, holding his flute.

The zither and flute played in harmony, and the song lingered in the air.

Only the two parties involved know the truth.

This is a silent inquiry, a meticulously woven...testing game.

"From emptiness arise wondrous existence, and on butterfly wings a light boat is carried."

Candle tears piled up to form a lotus-shaped sieve, and the ancient well swallowed up the stars.

A thousand rivers drink in the moonlight, ten thousand valleys embrace the wind's whisper.

"The spiderweb gathers the threads of dawn and dusk, the wooden fish pecks at the rings of time..."

Bei Chenji stood frozen on the distant shore of Mirror Moon Lake, his crimson cloak motionless in the night wind, like a statue suddenly frozen in ice and snow.

His gaze was fixed on the two people facing each other under the fiery red camellia tree in the courtyard of Jingye Xuelu.

The moonlight, like a light silver veil, shrouded the scene. The girl playing the zither was dressed in flowing white robes, while the man playing the flute had silver hair like frost.

It paints a picture of tranquility and otherworldly beauty, like a scene from a fairy tale.

However, this beautiful scene was like a blade tempered with ice, piercing the deepest part of his memory.

It coincided with a snowy night under the moon many years ago.

boom--!

A violent shock exploded in my mind, and I could even hear a phantom roar in my ears.

Bei Chenji's breathing stopped abruptly, his pupils constricted, and he could hardly believe what he was hearing and seeing.

"Tangxi Xue, how...how could she...know this song?!"

This piece of music...

It was exactly the same tune that my mother used to hum!

Shen Yan had also played a similar melody, and he once regarded her as a special comfort because of it.

Although Shen Yan's zither music was beautiful, it always felt incomplete, and could never fully overlap with the warmth in his memory.

And at this moment, the music flowing from Tang Xixue's fingertips...

It is truly complete.

Every turn, every rise and fall, even the indescribable tenderness deep within the melody, is exactly the same as the piano sound in his memory!

What shocked him even more was that Tang Xixue's zither music possessed a spiritual charm that Shen Yan had never had.

The notes, leaping and dancing, seem to carry the warmth of the spring sun, or like a clear spring in the forest washing over your ears, silently seeping into your heart and calming your restlessness, bringing a near-healing tranquility and peace.

Like a spring breeze.

Yes……

That's the feeling!

He stiffly raised his hand and pressed it against his temple, which was suddenly throbbing with pain.

Chaotic thoughts clashed wildly in my mind, tearing apart my past understanding.

This music…this familiar, soothing power that reaches deep into the soul…

It seemed to be the healing voice he had heard by the Mirror Moon Lake, in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

The night wind swept across the lake, bringing a damp chill, but it could not dispel the turbulent waves in his heart.

He stood there, gazing at the snow-white figure playing the zither under the moonlight.

All previous doubts, calculations, and indifference.

At this moment, everyone was shaken to their core by the sudden, subversive sound of the piano.

Shen Yan...

Tangxi Snow...

Who is truly connected to that warm memory buried deep in time?

Did he mistake someone for someone else?

The thought clung to him like a poisonous vine, chilling him to the bone.

"Was it her that night?"

Tangxi Xue listened to the sound of the flute flowing in her ears.

Each lingering aftertaste, each almost imperceptible pause between breaths.

Even his unique and subtle handling of certain tones...

All of them perfectly matched the sound of the flute played by my master deep in my memory, without the slightest difference.

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She hurriedly lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

Could it be... that she's just overthinking things?

Perhaps, it's just that we've been separated for too long.

Five years is enough time for even the closest relationships to become tarnished, enough time for once unreserved intimacy to evolve into this cautious estrangement.

This realization caused a sudden pang of pain in her heart.

A mix of sadness and resentment crept over me.

The zither music had not yet faded when the flute music joined in, and they reached the middle of the journey.

However, the melody then shifts to its final section.

That was a part she had never played in front of her master.

The sound of the flute naturally stopped.

Yun Boyan paused slightly in his hand holding the flute, his silver-gray eyes turning to her, revealing a perfectly appropriate apology befitting a master.

He didn't speak, but his silence said it all.

This undoubtedly further proves that he is her master.

Tang Xixue raised her tearful eyes at this moment.

Those watery eyes clearly reflected the moonlight and his aloof figure, the emotions surging within them were too intense.

It is the dependence of something lost and then regained, the grievance of a long wait, and the deep-seated longing that is almost overflowing.

That gaze was astonishingly intense, yet as fragile as glass solidified under moonlight, as if it would shatter completely at the slightest touch.

Yun Boyan's heart suddenly trembled.

A strange, almost heart-pounding feeling suddenly swept across his long-frozen heart.

"Master—"

The piano music hadn't stopped, but her voice had already traveled through the melody, still soft and clear, but with a hint of sweet, coquettishness, like a tiny hook coated in honey:

"I want to see... your sword strike that opens a thousand lotuses."

coming.

Yun Boyan sighed silently in his heart.

For him, impersonating his elder brother was an endless ordeal.

This little apprentice, how can he be so troublesome?

They employ a variety of tactics, combining both soft and hard approaches.

How does his seemingly indifferent older brother usually cope with things?

How could she possibly resist such clingy and demanding pouting?

He was completely unaware that every subtle reaction, every hesitation, or every act of compliance he made was being scrutinized by Tang Xixue, who appeared to be lost in thought but was actually incredibly clear-headed.

What flows from her fingertips is not only the clear and melodious sound of the zither, but also the taut strings of her heart.

The moment he reveals even the slightest inconsistency, that gentle, flowing melody will instantly transform into a deadly blade.