Chaotic World Book
Chapter 168 - 164: Is Your Heart Calm?

Chapter 168: Chapter 164: Is Your Heart Calm?

Zhao Changhe suppressed the ripple for a moment, lowered his head, and also drank the lotus seed soup: "Master, I will not bow down... why do I remember that you also avoided this matter before? Why do you not care now?"

"Martial Arts is different from the literati arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting..." Tang Wanju said softly, "In terms of Martial Arts, taking you as my disciple would be presumptuous, and I am not qualified... But for music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, it is harmless. Why are you unwilling?"

"I used to call Tang Buqi my great nephew, and now suddenly we are of the same generation. I am not happy."

Seeing Tang Wanju’s suddenly widened eyes, Zhao Changhe suddenly realized it and quickly rectified: "No, I was just taking a verbal advantage, not wanting to be his uncle... After becoming a disciple, even verbal advantages are gone, and I am younger than him, having to call him brother, oh..."

Bao Qin tilted his head.

It’s just childlike, more so than Bao Qin.

Zhao Changhe, seen by Bao Qin’s strange gaze, blushed with embarrassment and awkwardly said: "I say, esteemed Master, your starting point is always that I am a Prince, and now it’s becoming more and more apparent, but what will your mood be when you discover that I am truly not?"

Tang Wanju smiled, "What does it matter? I just don’t want to see a junior from the Worldly Society becoming more and more impatient, following in my footsteps... Besides, you are indebted to the Tang family, why wouldn’t I help?"

"Following in your footsteps... That means music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are actually useless? Rushing through breakthroughs should harm the lung meridian or still the lung meridian."

"But have you considered that if not for this, what I would have injured would not just be the lung meridian?"

"Hmm..."

Tang Wanju looked somewhat melancholic: "Perhaps music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are indeed of no use... But as I said, it’s just to calm your heart, not to be so impulsive. Why don’t you recite the Buddhist Scriptures? That’s also a method."

"...Then I’ll still learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting." Zhao Changhe hesitated for a moment, and for the brief time, he didn’t know what he should call her.

It was strange, Yue Hongling was younger than him by two months, and the uttered "Sister Yue" had no psychological barriers. Tang Wanju was a full eight years older, and yet the naturally expected "sister" simply could not be pronounced, and he didn’t know why.

Perhaps it’s because their interactions always had a businesslike air about them, to this day not amounting to a personal friendship, even teaching music, chess, calligraphy, and painting in her eyes was "business." It’s said to be for the "Worldly Society junior" and "benefactor of the Tang family," everyone knows these are just excuses, she was just cultivating the Prince in her heart.

Zhao Changhe had no sense of belonging to Great Xia, even harboring some aversion because of everything he had seen on his journey. He didn’t know what Tang Wanju would feel if he one day chose to overthrow this country.

They were actually never comrades, completely different from knowing and joining hands with Yue Hongling.

Or perhaps it’s because... seeing her pale face always appearing as if a breeze could knock her down, one could forget that she was a powerful Martial Artist. The pity in his heart would then outweigh the respect, making him feel that she was the sister who should be looked after.

This feeling was very complex and contradictory.

Tang Wanju stared at him intently for a long while, as if guessing what he was thinking, but she did not ask, instead she turned to Bao Qin and said: "Bring the guqin to me."

Bao Qin bowed slightly, placed the guqin on the table in front of Tang Wanju.

Tang Wanju gently stroked the strings of the guqin, softly saying: "Everyone says Wanzhuang exhausts her mind with worries, with cluttered thoughts, not conducive to the path of Magic. But young master’s heart is in turmoil, seemingly even more cluttered than Wanzhuang’s... This is not the path of Cultivation. Let this tune bring you peace of mind."

A strand of guqin music slowly began to play, gentle and soothing.

Like on this sweltering afternoon, a gentle breeze came, brushing over the pond, bringing a fragrance.

A dragonfly appeared to touch the water, leaving quietly, leaving behind a small ripple that slowly spread, rippling rhythmically amid the surrounding chorus of insects and cicadas.

Lotus leaves slightly tilted, a water droplet slowly, very slowly, fell, dropping into the water with a plink.

Thus, liveliness arose amidst the tranquility, the view extended. The refreshing sensation of water splashed on the face, with greenery above luxuriantly blocking the scorching sun. A beautiful woman stood under the grape vines, smiling gently. In the distance, a young girl giggled as she ran around trying to catch the dragonfly. The sky appeared high and clear, the white clouds leisure, and the laughter seemed to come from far, far away, like a distant scene, like a melodious dream.

One lay in the courtyard leaning on a reclining chair, drift into sleep, listening to the distant crisp laughter, the corners of his mouth unconsciously breaking into a blissful smile.

The Worldly Society receded into the distance, the blood-red clamor, the whistling of the swords, all drifting away with the children’s laughter, following the distant kite rising into the sky, no longer clearly visible.

The music from the guqin gently stopped.

Zhao Changhe found himself leaning on the chair, almost falling asleep.

He rubbed his eyes somewhat groggily, his mind still empty, completely relaxed to the point where it took a while to even gather his thoughts.

Tang Wanju looked at him, a hint of pity in her eyes: "You... are too tired. I see that even when you sleep, you think about things, at least you were last night."

Zhao Changhe: "Uh..."

Was last night really... When blind people enter the Dream Entry type of communication, did I actually sleep or not?

Tang Wanzhuang continued, "It’s not just about daily rest, your cultivation has also been stretched too tight, and your Qi and blood have been squeezed to their limits. Did you open the state where Evil Qi surged into your brain under the Sword Emperor’s Tomb? It’s still boiling and eroding your flesh and blood, and you usually don’t feel it... If this continues... it’s like over-drafting your body when young, and ruining it before middle age."

Zhao Changhe twitched the corner of his mouth, "You put that ambiguously, it sounds like something else."

"Is it not the same?" Tang Wanzhuang calmly said, "Ultimately, a person’s body is all the same... You now need to strengthen your foundation and nourish your primal energy, stop blindly pursuing breakthroughs."

Zhao Changhe took a brief look inside himself, and indeed, he could feel the Evil Qi in his flesh receding, previously hidden within skin and bones, eroding him daily without his notice. But under this piece of music, the Evil Qi was completely gone, just like a magic from the Immortals.

Tang Wanzhuang could see his thoughts and sighed, "This is not magic from the Immortals, and of course, music itself is a form of Martial Arts with special effects... but I wasn’t suggesting you learn this aspect."

Zhao Changhe nodded, "Got it."

"Is your mind calm?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to learn?"

Zhao Changhe stood up and bowed sincerely, "Please guide me, Miss Tang."

Miss Tang...

Is this the title you struggled with for so long before finally deciding?

Tang Wanzhuang chewed on this for a moment, then suddenly smiled, "Come here, I’ll teach you the basics first, every string’s note, and the basic finger techniques."

Bao Qin widened her eyes, "Mi-Miss..."

Tang Wanzhuang shot her a look, "What’s with that expression? Mr. Zhao is a natural genius, he can understand others’ Sword Intent just by looking, and playing the piano is just about coordinating fingers. Does he still need to be hand-held? Show him one or two moves and he naturally gets it."

Bao Qin: "Oh..."

She carefully watched Zhao Changhe sit beside Tang Wanzhuang, their shoulders touching, thinking to herself that I find the issue not with the actual teaching but with sitting shoulder to shoulder, which seems too intimate. I haven’t even thought about hands-on finger manipulating, Miss, you must be overthinking it...

At this moment, Zhao Changhe sitting close to Tang Wanzhuang, a refreshing fragrance around him, felt no ripples within.

The piano piece they just played was too calming, truly a sage-like state, with no distracting thoughts in his mind, just a desire to learn the piano, knowing it was truly very beneficial for him.

All along, with Evil Qi enveloping him and bloodlust filling his hands, Zhao Changhe had long worried if this would turn him into a bloodthirsty fiend. However, previously he’d dismissed music, chess, calligraphy, and painting as useless, but today discovered its true utility.

Enabling the fading of sword and blade shadows, the blood-red madness seemed like another dimension, with only the beauty of Jiangnan and the tranquil Xia left in front of him.

In this world, music itself was a Martial Art, even if Tang Wanzhuang meant for him to not learn that aspect, the principles were interconnected.

Tang Wanzhuang’s delicate hands demonstrated the techniques in front of him, looking simple... merely bodily movements, compared to her complex Spring Water Sword Intent, it was indeed simple.

And it was beautiful, Zhao Changhe realizing for the first time that just watching hands could convey the essence of beauty.

And graceful, making Zhao Changhe involuntarily imagine himself as Ling Hu Chong, casually playing the zither, playing "A Laugh in the Sea," which would be explosively cool.

"It indeed looks simple, may I try?" Zhao Changhe made a request.

Tang Wanzhuang moved aside with great expectations, "I trust in Mr. Zhao’s comprehension..."

Before she finished speaking, Zhao Changhe zombie-like stretched out his claws and "pop" broke the strings.

Tang Wanzhuang: "..."

Bao Qin crouched down, covering her face, "Wu wu wu I tuned those strings for three hours yesterday... wu wu wu is this the natural talent you talked about, Miss... It’s like asking a bear to do embroidery..."

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