"Woo... woo... woo..."
Hu Yun was running wildly in Niukui Mountain carrying two purple bamboos that still had branches and leaves, and from time to time he could create a pleasant sound of nature.
The little paper crane did not stay on Hu Yun's head, but stood on the top of one of the purple bamboos. As the bamboo swayed, whenever a "woo" sound was heard, its two wings flapped especially violently, and as the tone rose in height, it had a lot of fun.
It was just getting dark when we left. When we returned to Ning'an County, the county had become quiet. Before we entered the city, we could already hear the barking of dogs in the depths of the city from afar.
"Hush... Little paper crane, hold on to these two bamboos and stop them from making any more noise."
Upon hearing this, the little paper crane tilted its head to look at Hu Yun, but still did as he asked. It put one paper wings on each side and slightly wrapped around the tip of the purple bamboo, instantly suppressing any slight vibration of the bamboo body, and naturally there was no sound.
The next moment, Hu Yun took a running start and jumped directly onto the wall of Ning'an County, then leaped from the other end and glided into the depths of Ning'an County. His agility on the roof was enough to scare half of the cats in Ning'an County to death, and the remaining half either didn't see him or were old cats who had seen Hu Yun before.
When the fox and the crane happily returned to Ju'an Pavilion, only Ji Yuan and Zao Niang were left in the yard. Ji Yuan looked up at Hu Yun and the little paper crane who came in from the door, and then his eyes fell on the two purple bamboos. His eyes lit up. Hu Yun really brought some surprises.
"Sir, where is Sun Yaya?"
"It's already late, and her family is waiting for her to have dinner. When she returns home after being away for a few years, her family will inevitably celebrate. Is she going to be here talking about music scores all night?"
Hu Yun scratched his head. Although what Mr. Ji said made sense, he felt that Sun Yaya would definitely be willing to stay in Ju'an Pavilion for a while longer. Then he grabbed the purple bamboo and shook it.
"Woo... sob..."
"Sir, look, these two purple bamboos are good things I found in the purple bamboo forest of Niu Kui Mountain. They must be suitable for making flutes, right?"
Hu Yun held two purple bamboos as if he was presenting a treasure and walked up to Ji Yuan. The latter took the purple bamboos and kept looking them up and down.
"Not bad, not bad, two pieces of fine purple bamboo with natural charm, you can only see them if you are lucky, but it is hard to find them if you are not lucky. At least they can be made into two bamboo flutes and two zither flutes!"
"Hahahaha... As long as you're satisfied, sir. This bamboo will make a beautiful sound when it hits the wind. If you don't believe me, just ask the little paper crane!"
“Chirp~~”
Ji Yuan smiled and stretched out his hand to gently pat the bamboo trunk.
Whoosh… Whoosh…
A breeze blew through the courtyard, and the branches and leaves of the jujube tree swayed slightly, making a "rustling..." sound, and the two purple bamboos in Ji Yuan's hands also made a "whimpering" sound, which seemed harmonious and natural.
"Sir, do we need to find a master craftsman from Ning'an County to make the flute? I heard that the craftsmen from Ning'an County are famous all over the world."
Ji Yuan used his sword fingers to lightly tap one of the purple bamboos one by one, especially at the joints, where he would tap twice more. In his dark eyes, the two purple bamboos were emitting a green and spiritual purple halo. Every time he tapped, the halo would weaken a little, but it did not disappear. Instead, it shrank back into the purple bamboo and was absorbed into the bamboo's meridians.
"That's not necessary. Although I am not a craftsman who makes musical instruments, I know where the appropriate sound of the flute comes from. Well, then, let's do it this way!"
After Ji Yuan finished explaining the first half of the sentence, the second half sounded more like a mutter to himself. Then he kept his sword finger in place and slid it along one of the bamboo stems.
"Shiver, shiver..."
Ji Yuan simply brushed his sword across the bamboo body, and the dust on some of the bamboo nodes fell off, and soon only a smooth purple bamboo was left. Different from the grayish purple just now, the purple bamboo now had a hint of translucency under the starlight.
Ji Yuan gently stroked the bamboo and felt that the place where the lower end of the bamboo broke was almost perfect, and the spiritual charm of the broken end was concentrated and not dispersed. He couldn't help but look at Hu Yun again. No wonder he was entangled by the nine-tailed fox's inner demon. His fingers went up nine more sections and the distance was just right. He lightly touched a bamboo node at the end.
“Click~”
The purple bamboo broke with a sound.
As Ji Yuan brushed his sword finger across the broken purple bamboo, he pointed the bamboo mouth at the ground and tipped it over, some debris from the bamboo joints fell to the ground.
Ji Yuan didn't need to measure and verify anything. He just relied on his feeling and poked the bamboo stick in his hand. After the point was touched, a hole was left on the bamboo, which was coated with a layer of silver starlight.
In fact, it's not just the flute. Everything in Ju'an Pavilion is coated with starlight and surrounded by spiritual wind, including the two purple bamboos on the table.
Hu Yun, the little paper crane, Zao Niang and Jin Jia, as well as the small characters on the sword-meaning post hanging on the jujube tree, all watched Ji Yuan making the flute intently. In his hands, no drying or polishing processes were necessary, as if making a good flute only required a feeling of placing the fingers.
But everyone present understood that Mr. Ji was making the purple bamboo flute using almost the same method as refining magical instruments, except that his technique was extremely light and agile, without any trace of fireworks.
Every time a hole was completed, Ji Yuan would put his ear to the bamboo and listen quietly, while the starlight in the sky continued to gather and the spiritual energy surrounding the jujube tree also revolved around the stone table.
"Wu... sob..."
The spiritual wind blew past Ji Yuan, not only making his clothes flutter, but also bringing with it bursts of clear and quiet nature sounds. Although not as beautiful as the Phoenix Seeking the Phoenix, it could also calm the hearts of those who heard it.
The falling starlight is like meteor drizzle gathering in the courtyard. The agility of Ji Yuan's flute making itself gives the viewer a full sense of beauty, and they can also feel a breath of Taoism.
"Starlight falls from the sky, purple bamboo grows on the ground, the sound and color gather the five elements, and the music is a fusion of yin and yang, in line with the wonderful method of the instrument, and blending the natural way of heaven..."
While playing the flute, Ji Yuan explained softly. His movements were sometimes slow and sometimes fast. The process of listening to the sound and guiding the stars took a long time, but it was not long for Ji Yuan himself or for others like Hu Yun and Zaoniang. After all, to some extent, they could benefit a lot from listening to Ji Yuan's teachings.
It didn't take much time or effort. Just one hour later, a beautifully-shaped flute appeared in Ji Yuan's hands.
"Mr. Ji, is the flute finished?"
Hu Yun couldn't wait to ask the first question. He really wanted Ji Yuan to play "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix" again. Ji Yuan looked up and down at the flute and nodded slightly.
"It's done, but there's one more step to go."
As he spoke, the wolf-hair brush on the pen holder on the table automatically flew into Ji Yuan's hand. Without dipping the brush in ink, he held the brush and started writing above the flute. In a moment, he finished writing the two words "Ji Yuan". There was no trace of ink, and the color was only slightly lighter than the purple color of the flute, but it did not damage the outer skin of the purple bamboo.
"Hahaha, I accidentally carved my name on the flute..."
Ji Yuan laughed like this, causing Hu Yun to mutter, "It's obvious that the master wrote it on purpose..."
"Oh, right! Sir, can you play 'The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix' again now?"
Hu Yun’s expectation was also everyone’s expectation. Ji Yuan looked around, and even Jin Jia turned his head to look here, not to mention other people, but this time Ji Yuan shook his head.
"Let's forget about it today."
"Oh... then sir, this purple bamboo still has most of it left. It's still very complete and can be made into a flute again."
"Yes, it is possible, but this flute is enough."
"Ah? What about the remaining purple bamboo?"
Hu Yun stared blankly at the purple bamboo on the table.
"There are two options. One is to keep it for yourself, and the other is to plant it back in the Niukui Mountain Purple Bamboo Forest. It's up to you."
Ji Yuan's words made Hu Yun dumbfounded again.
"Can this be planted back?"
"Yes, you can. You controlled the bamboo very well when you cut it. You sealed the spirit without damaging its rhythm, and you separated the bamboo without damaging its vitality. There was no sun's power to burn it. If you plant it back before dawn, these two purple bamboos won't lose too much vitality."
Hu Yun, the little paper crane and even Zao Niang immediately turned their eyes to the purple bamboo in Ji Yuan's hand. One of the bamboos had been cut off at the bottom by Mr. Ji and made into a flute. How could it not damage its vitality
Ji Yuan smiled awkwardly.
"So I said, don't lose too much vitality, not not lose any vitality. Of course, this bamboo has natural spiritual charm, but it was not capable of becoming a spirit before. It can only be considered good material. You can keep it if you want, don't think too much about it."
"Oh... but..."
Hu Yun picked up the purple bamboo with a missing section and pointed at the broken end.
"Sir, this is much smaller than the fracture in the mountain, it can't be connected..."
"Then you should think of a solution!"
Ji Yuan blinked at Hu Yun, who kept scratching his head. After thinking for a while, he suddenly had an idea. He grabbed two bamboos and jumped off the table.
"Mr. Ji, shall I go?"
"go Go!"
Ji Yuan pushed his hand, and then watched the red fox carrying two bamboos and flying out of Ju'an Pavilion. Hu Yun remembered that Ji Yuan said it was before dawn. Although it was still some time before dawn, it was better to go early to be safe. The little paper crane chirped and flew out again, catching up with Hu Yun.
Seeing that Hu Yun chose to plant the bamboo back without even a second thought, Ji Yuan in the yard was stroking his chin thoughtfully, while his other hand gently turned the flute in his hand. With his eyes slightly closed, ideas had already come to his mind in his dream.
Not long after, in Niukui Mountain, there was still a fox and a paper crane, dragging two purple bamboos and running in the mountain. They soon arrived at the purple bamboo forest and came to the broken bamboos in the gap in the forest.
“Try this first!”
Hu Yun pressed the intact purple bamboo against the broken end of the bamboo and supported it gently for a while. He found that the bamboo seemed to be "stuck", and its spiritual charm reconnected with the earth.
"So magical? What about this..."
Hu Yun gestured at the remaining bamboo in his hand and found that it was obviously smaller than the broken piece on the ground. He frowned and thought for a while, then stretched out a fingernail. After thinking for a while, Hu Yun let out a low shout.
"Little paper crane, look at my sword!"
“Ka-ka-ka-ka…”
Hu Yun used his hard fingernails to scrape off the skin on the outside of the purple bamboo in his hand, scraping out a lot of bamboo chips. He then used his fingernails to scrape off the inner circle of the bamboo node on the ground. At the same time, he reached out his other claw towards the bamboo node and actually pulled out a lot of silk threads that seemed to be nothing. He then wrapped these silk threads around the purple bamboo in his hand and then stuck the purple bamboo into the ground.
“Click~”
Whoosh… Whoosh…
The mountain breeze blew, and the two purple bamboos, one tall and one short, made a "whimpering" sound again.
“Hey, it’s done!”
"Chiu~"