Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 251 - 215: Where is the Doubt?_1

Chapter 251: Chapter 215: Where is the Doubt?_1

Li Xuan’s technique and method were still raw, even going off-tune a few times during his performance.

However, the drifting and lingering flute sound, carried with a hint of melancholy, still managed to put Xue Yunrou, who was standing nearby, into a trance.

Even Master Zhenru, who claimed to have no understanding of music, along with Wang Jing and Long Rui, who were agonizing over a game of chess and a couplet, were quietly listening.

At this time, Master Xuanchen down at the stage seemed lost in thought, as if recalling something. He was also intoxicated by the flute sound, and tears dripped from his eyes.

Yue Qianqian was also shedding tears. Her eyes were red at this moment, and tears fell like pearls off a broken string. Even though she tried her best to restrain herself, she couldn’t stop crying.

Far away, Jiang Hanyun was lost in thought as she stared at Li Xuan. She felt as if her emotions were a bottle of mixed flavors overturned, extremely bitter.

"I remember he practiced the flute for two or three months, didn’t know his talent in music was this good."

Tingtian Ao scratched his chin with his paw, "What a pity. If he was willing to put some effort into any of the three arts of music, chess, and poetry, he would definitely be unparalleled. Thinking about it, Xiaowei, your discernment was quite good."

As Jiang Hanyun heard this, the figures of Zhang Yue and Peng Fulai flashed in her mind, then the ground under her feet sank with a ’bang’, seemingly sinking several feet.

Then, she glanced at Tingtian Ao with a frosty gaze: "Are you done yet?"

When Li Xuan finished his song on stage, the eight Sound Spirits once again fluttered and circled around Li Xuan, sprinkling spots of spirit light. They enhanced Li Xuan’s originally upright figure and handsome face, making him seem even more beautiful and ethereal.

"What song is this? I’ve never heard it before." Xue Yunrou only felt the aftertaste was endless, still lingering in her ears, "It seems like there’s a story mixed in?"

"It’s called the Puppeteer’s Act." Li Xuan nodded, "Indeed, there’s a story. I once heard a tale, about a puppet master from the Mohist school and the puppet he was entangled with for his whole life, of their companionship, longing, and parting. There are even lyrics to this song."

In fact, it sounded better when sung, but Li Xuan couldn’t master the beautiful tune no matter how much he tried.

But in this world, there’s some hope, considering that the physical quality of a martial warrior is vastly different from that of ordinary people.

"So that’s how it is. You’ll have to tell me the lyrics and the story another day." asked Xue Yunrou, her interest piqued. "Other than this, do you know any more? How about you play this song once more?"

"I know many more songs like these."

Li Xuan saw the anticipation in Xue Yunrou’s eyes and scratched his head in frustration: "But you’ll have to let me practice. I’ll play for you privately later."

The reason he said ’you all’ was because at this time, the red-eyed girl had run out from the Song of Righteousness scroll, tugging at his sleeves, her eyes pleading.

Fortunately, today was windy, so to others, it seemed like the wind was blowing his clothes. No one noticed the presence of the red-clothed ghost.

Only when he made a promise did the red-eyed girl finally settle down.

Xue Yunrou didn’t notice the discrepancy in Li Xuan’s words and was satisfied. She was feeling sweet inside, her chest full of bubbling excitement.

"Alright then, you need to practice your flute-playing. I’ll remember this and make sure you do."

"The second song you played, although it was raw, sounded like the soft cry of the Vermilion Bird, accompanied by the ethereal dance of the Cloud Phoenix. It gently entered the ears, as if you could see a dynamic painting scroll. It truly left this monk in awe."

Master Zhenru sighed as he pushed the eight-note box and birdcage in front of Li Xuan: "Congratulations, you have successfully passed our three-step ladder. As promised, this eight-note box and the Huoyun Phoenix now belong to you."

"Thank you, monk." Li Xuan nodded and then jokingly said, "Coincidentally, I happened to have a question after reading Buddhist scriptures with my mother. I’ve been wanting to ask an expert. Since you are known as the reincarnation of the Medicine Buddha and have deep knowledge of Buddhism, you should be able to answer my question."

Zhenru gave a bitter smile, thinking that this man is really difficult to get along with!

However, he still composed himself and sat upright: "Please go ahead and ask your question."

Upon seeing this, Li Xuan lifted the corner of his mouth: "Your Buddhist sutras such as the ’Dirghagama Sutra’, ’Nirvana Sutra’, ’Mahayana Sutra’, and ’Mahavaipulya Buddhavatamsaka Sutra’ state that the land where humans live is floating on water, the water dwells above the Wind Wheel, under which is void. Sometimes a strong wind blows up from below, the Wind Wheel spins chaotically, and the water shakes, leading to earthquakes. In other words, the whole structure of the world consists of these four layers. Is that true?"

Seeing Master Zhenru nod in agreement, he asked another question, "So, if this land is on top of the Wind Wheel, is it flat, or is it round?"

"As everyone knows, the earth is naturally flat." Zhenru answered without hesitation, "May I ask where your doubt lies?"

"My doubt lies here." Li Xuan smirked, "On flat ground, do you see the entire person walking towards you from a distance, or do you see their head first? When you fly in the sky, do you see the top of a mountain in the distance first, or do you see the whole mountain? When you’re on a river, do you see the tip of the sail at the end of your field of vision first, or do you see the ship hull?"

Master Zhenru could not help but be stunned, then his brows knitted together tightly, lost in thought.

Xue Yunrou at his side pondered out loud, "I fly through the sky and see that the earth is indeed curved. Li, are you saying that the world we live in is actually round?"

"And here comes the problem." Li Xuan chuckled, "Since the world is round, why don’t we fall off when we stand on it?"

He looked at the very serious Master Zhenru, "I would assume monk, you would answer me with the Posa world concept ’everything is hollow’, no?"

Seeing Master Zhenru speechless, Li Xuan suddenly stood up from his mat, lifting his hand and collected both the eight-tone box and the bird cage into his sleeve.

At this point, Wang Jing sighed softly, and rolling up his sleeves, he presented a bottle of elixir to Li Xuan.

"Your riddle, Mr. Xiaowei, is truly deep. I fear not just a single night, but even three to five days might not be enough for me to solve it. Therefore, you might as well take this Zhixuan Elixir with you."

Long Rui also helplessly scratched his head. He directly took the birdcage and handed it to Li Xuan, "As for your couplet, I need to think carefully about it, even consult some of my schoolmates. There’s no way I could do it tonight. ’Touring the West Lake, carrying a tin pot, dropping the tin pot in the lake, what a pity for the tin pot’, how did you come up with this couplet? Could it be an absolute masterpiece that has never been seen before?"

"Poor me, Long Rui, the famed calligrapher, I see my reputation ruined today by your hands. But it serves us right, the three of us crossed a line today. Some other day, we shall treat you to a drink as an apology."

Li Xuan thought to himself, this was surely an absolute masterpiece. In his world, it had outlasted the so-called absolute phrase ’smoke-veiled willows by the pond’ for several hundred years.

Since its inception a few hundred years ago, no one had been able to come up with a compatible and truly convincing second line.

"Hardly, it was merely a coincidence, and it’s far from being as grand as Brother Long made it sound," Li Xuan brushed off the praise.

He found Long Rui’s frankly refreshing, returning the courtesy with a fist and palm salute, "I also admire both of you greatly. Let’s have a drink together when we have the chance."

After collecting the cage of the ’Divine Blood Azure Phoenix’, Li Xuan no longer wished to linger on the stage. As he stepped down, he saw Song Zian, who had also stepped off the stage, let out a cold huff and directly turned around to merge into the crowd.

Yue Qianqian stayed behind, her face expressionless, handing over the folding fan and stack of bills to Li Xuan, "This folding fan and these silver bills are for you."

After Li Xuan took them, Yue Qianqian paid a nonchalant, flat-toned courtesy to Xue Yunrou, "Sister Xue, you guys continue the game. My cousin is new to Nanjing and unfamiliar with the city, so I need to take him to the inn."

Looking at the retreating figure of Yue Qianqian, Li Xuan couldn’t help but feel pensive.

What happened tonight seems to have hurt his usual self-confidence.

However, Xue Yunrou, seemingly oblivious to all that, grabbed Li Xuan’s arm and dragged him towards the east, "Brother Li, let’s go to Xuanwu Lake. It’s almost time. If we’re any later, we won’t make it."

Li Xuan had no choice but to the follow Yunrou’s lead towards the carriage house where they stabled their mounts.

Not long after they left, a young man in a simple white robe and a middle-aged man in his forties emerged from a building on the east side of the platform.

The young man, looking at the retreating figure of Li Xuan, his eyes filled with wonder and admiration, "If I hadn’t impromptu decided to come and join the excitement today, I wouldn’t have known that this man, Li Youjiao, is so gifted!"

Quan Dingtian, standing next to him, thought to himself, this man must be extremely skilled and knowledgeable, otherwise how could he have been approved by the Heart Asking Bell and become the new Hufa of Neo-Confucianism?

However, today he displayed more natural talents than actual learning.

Whether it was his ugly calligraphy or his immature flute-playing skill, it was clear that this Hufa of Neo-Confucianism had not deeply studied arts like music, chess, painting.

Yet because of that, Quan Dingtian’s gaze towards Li Xuan was even more fervent.

"Disciples to greet your Highness and teacher."

At this time, Long Rui and Wang Jing had already come to greet them, "We have embarrassed ourselves in front of your Highness and the teacher today."

"Today, you both learned that there are always higher skies and people beyond oneself."

Quan Dingtian looked at Wang Jing with a serious face, "Wang Jing, prepare yourself in the next few days, then try to go for the Heart Echo Pavilion. The Heart Asking Bell has been repaired by the current Hufa, so with your mental cultivation, you should not have any problems passing. Go and see what our Hufa left in the depth of the bell, what is the ’Dao’ that he wrote about!"

Wang Jing became solemn and promptly saluted, "Disciple obeys teacher’s command!"