Old house, reception room.
Under the soft light, the aroma of black tea is lingering. The high-quality tea from Tianzhu perfectly masks the bitter smell of other medicinal materials, but it still cannot change the painful taste.
But Laura’s movements in drinking tea were impeccable, and she didn’t even frown. There was a kind of beauty that was pleasing to the eye.
Just like a real noble lady, elegant and graceful, so perfect that it is unbelievable.
Every time he saw this scene, Ye Qingxuan couldn't help but wonder, where was the shady professor he knew
"You have eaten up more than half of the Rat King's resources again."
Laura glanced at him and said, "Do you want to take over the Eastern smuggling business?"
"I just want to wipe off your tail for you."
Ye Qingxuan glanced at her and said angrily: "Even if you use the Rat King's channel, you don't need to use your own name to order, right?"
"No way, the name Professor is at least popular among smugglers. A little risk is always worth it."
Laura patted the iron box between the two of them: "I paid for these things with a big favor. I'm so thankful that they arrived smoothly."
"What exactly is in the box?"
Laura held the tea cup and glanced at him: "Don't you know how to see for yourself?"
Ye Qingxuan curled his lips, stopped being polite to her, and opened the box directly. However, after opening the box, he was stunned.
The heavy and huge iron box was already filled to the brim.
A pipa with broken strings, a broken guqin, a huqin with a rotten barrel, a cracked flute, a flute full of cracks...
In the iron box, a whole box... turned out to be filled with scrapped musical instruments.
"Yes, the musical instruments are all scrapped."
Laura said calmly: "The scrapped instruments will at least be cheaper, and the resentment will be even deeper."
"Resentment?"
Ye Qingxuan asked, "Do dead things have resentment?"
"Of course not, it's just something that living people place their trust on. If it's positive, it's called soul, spirituality, or something else... But in the end, there's no telling whether this kind of thing exists or not. . Otherwise, the Psalm School and the Revelation School would not be quarreling every year over whether there is such a thing as a soul. However, this does not prevent some things from feeding on them... "
"Feeding on thoughts?"
Laura smiled, picked up the pipa with broken strings with her fingertips, and looked at it in her hand.
The pipa has been used for many years, and many places have been rubbed smooth and oily. It can be seen that it has been damaged due to improper maintenance and the pressure of the ether, and the inner layer has cracked in many places.
Just at the bottom of the pipa, there are two small characters engraved: "Green Willow".
Guess that's what it's called.
"It should have been passed down for several generations and has been used by musicians for hundreds of years. The spirituality is self-generated, and the music has been brewing for decades. Therefore, after it is abandoned, the resentment will be deep."
Laura looked at the pipa and suddenly threw the pipa in her hand towards Ye Qingxuan:
"then."
Ye Qingxuan quickly took it, and he was in a hurry. When he took the pipa, it made a snap. The neck of the piano shook and cracked a gap.
Immediately afterwards, the crackling sounds continued one after another, and the paint on the pipa cracked one after another, and then darkened and withered. In the end, the entire Pipa was rotten, and the powder fell like snow and fell to the ground.
The smell was like the soil from an ancient tomb, with an eerie moisture.
"Well, it's none of my business." Ye Qingxuan was in a hurry, "They are all Jiuxiao rings, I don't know..."
"I know, no need to explain."
Laura said calmly: "These things are bought for Jiuxiao Huanpei to breed spirituality. It has been severely damaged for so many years, and its spirituality is almost gone. Since you, the master, cannot use music to nourish it, then You can only steal other people’s things.”
"Its... spirituality?"
"Musical instruments have spirituality, and the spirituality of a good instrument can even sing to itself. Musicians need to use suitable music to nourish it, otherwise the spirituality will decline and dissipate. I have found so many scrapped instruments with strong resentment, just for Let Jiuxiao Huanpei’s spirituality be restored as soon as possible.”
Laura paused for a moment and looked at Ye Qingxuan: "When the heavenly being senses it, if the Nine Heavens Ring Pendant can be restored, it might really be able to take you to see the scenery above the Nine Heavens."
"real or fake?"
Ye Qingxuan strummed the strings, and the sound of the strings spread in all directions like ripples, echoing in the ancient house. Wherever the sound of the piano passed, everything seemed to be staring with eyes, revealing vague shapes.
Different from the blur in the past, the world Ye Qingxuan felt now was somewhat clearer, and he could even faintly distinguish the texture of matter.
"The resurgence of spirituality will make the Jiuxiao Huanpei more applicable. If it is absorbed in a targeted manner, its function in simulating related musical instruments will also be enhanced. Now you feel inadequate when using other types of changes. Really? The gap between Eastern and Western musical instruments is not so easy to bridge."
Ye Qingxuan nodded in agreement. Now when he used the Jiuxiao Huanpei to transform into other musical instruments, he had already vaguely felt its limitations.
"It will be greatly improved after spiritual recovery. However, with the recovery of spirituality, its operation will become more and more difficult. If you don't reach the musician level as soon as possible, after all the instruments in this box are absorbed, the Nine Heavens Ring will become more and more difficult to operate." Pei will no longer pay attention to your playing."
"...Then what use do I need it for."
"The thousand-year history of the Ye family is all contained in this piano. If you really don't care, then just let it fend for itself."
Laura's words made Ye Qingxuan completely speechless.
"Okay, okay, let him suck it all, come on, baby, eat slowly..."
Ye Qingxuan picked up the musical instruments in the iron box one by one and replenished the spirit of Jiuxiao Huanpei. He could feel that there was indeed something in the strings, slowly reviving, but he could never touch it.
It was an extremely subtle feeling. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't touch that ray of spirituality. After trying dozens of times, he was so sad that he vomited blood.
Just after swallowing the resentment in the third instrument, Ye Qingxuan's vision suddenly went dark and he almost fainted. Half of the flute fell out of his hand and returned to the iron box.
"You'd better take your time. It eats resentment and consumes your energy. Be careful of being sucked dry by it."
"...Why didn't you tell me such an important thing earlier!"
"It's not too late to say it now."
…
Being interrupted by her, Ye Qingxuan almost forgot his other purpose of coming here. He rested for a moment, took out a folded paper from his arms, and handed it to Laura:
"This, take a look."
"What's this?"
Laura unfolded it casually, and quickly frowned: "You want this?"
Ye Qingxuan nodded, "Do you have any music here that meets the above requirements? It would be better if it is simpler so that you can learn it faster."
"Do you really want to learn this?" Laura raised a smile at the corner of her mouth, obviously having a deep understanding of Ye Qingxuan's situation:
"It seems that he was really driven to the point of jumping over the wall by the trials in your school."
"I've helped you so much, and you treat me like a buffet every week, so you should just repay me."
Ye Qingxuan asked bluntly:
"Is there really?"
"Of course there is."
Laura's answer made Ye Qingxuan's eyes light up, but the next sentence immediately hit him to rock bottom:
"I know a lot of similar effects, but you can learn... not much."
"Stop teasing me, I'm so anxious now." Ye Qingxuan sighed.
"For the sublimation ceremony and the heart seal of the movement?"
Laura smiled at him: "If you want it, you can ask for it from me. Do you think I lack such a little money, or think that I can't even make a heart seal? If you open your mouth, maybe you can even make a heart seal." I can give you the 'Daigo' that only comes once in a lifetime."
Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes at him angrily, "Why don't you send my two little girls to warm the bed."
"Are you serious?"
Laura leaned over and looked at him sideways, her eyes ambiguous.
She raised her white fingers and tied the long hair from her forehead behind her ears. She came closer and blew into his ear in a low voice. Even her voice became moist, with a charming and lazy sweetness:
"How can a little girl be better than me? In terms of enjoyment, Yue Ling is much more particular than humans..."
"I was wrong, I admit defeat, please stop playing."
Ye Qingxuan raised his hands in surrender, "Just tell me if you have it, and forget it if you don't. It's rare that I want to work hard on my own, why do you bother to hit me like this?"
Laura smiled slightly, regained her apparent dignity and composure, sat back on the chair, and announced the name of a piece of music.
Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, a little doubtful:
"Are you sure I can learn it?"
"That depends on how much money you spend."
Laura played with the small conch in her hand, raised her eyes and looked at him: "Are you ready for the nightmare?"
"That's great."
Ye Qingxuan sighed and suddenly felt a headache: "I can't wait."
…
…
Soon, Ye Qingxuan began to flip through the newly added information in the study. Looking at the accounts and lists in his hands, he realized:
"Are you still studying the Parliament?"
"Well, after the Robins disappeared, the Parliament went underground. In other words, most of their businesses are still maintained, but there are not many that really deserve our attention."
"In other words, all activities have been transferred to the formal industry?" Ye Qingxuan nodded, "Those guys moved fast enough."
"The most dangerous place for the Parliament is right here. For hundreds of years, they have been integrated with this city. They can hide in the darkness and leave at any time. We don't even know where their real vital point is."
Laura sighed, "There was a time when the entire city's operations were controlled by the council. Until the emergence of the shamans, their monopoly was defeated. Now, they have shrunk across the board and become more and more cautious. The handles are also getting tighter. It’s getting harder and harder to catch.”
"Are you still investigating Mockingbird?"
Ye Qingxuan turned to another investigation material, "Is the robin really not dead? You also know the lethality of the moonlight. I don't think there are followers of the evil god who can stop it."
"I placed an oath curse on the robin. If he dies, Dayuan will give me feedback. But there has been no movement yet."
Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and couldn't help but curl his lips, "It seems like shitty luck is popular these days. Since you're here, I'll help you too. Can you help me get the relevant accounts and import and export companies?" Once the information comes over, maybe we can start from the equity aspect.”
"Now?"
Laura looked up at the clock on the wall, the time was ten o'clock in the evening, and shook her head slightly.
"It's a rare meeting. After talking about the troublesome things, don't talk about things that will ruin the scenery."
Ye Qingxuan was stunned, but she pulled the boy up with a smile and walked towards the candlelight of the restaurant.
"Didn't we agree to have dinner together?"
She showed an expectant smile, "I made the best red wine braised chicken. It was my teacher's favorite back then. You should try it more."
Ye Qingxuan was pulled by her involuntarily, but seeing her rare expression of joy, he couldn't help but feel a little gloomy.
"Laura, I'm not my father," he said softly, "Don't get confused."
"I know."
Laura turned back and looked at his astonished look, and couldn't help but smile. She stretched out her hand to touch his cheek, and her eyes became gentle:
"They're all family, aren't they?"