The Path of the Sage

Chapter 182: Qiu Yin kills cicadas

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Fang Yun placed his hand on the zither and felt the touch of the strings. The zither was made of the silk spit out by the spider demon commander. After being processed by the zither maker, it was delicate and slightly cool, just like touching ceramics.

"The sentiment of "Xiang Fei Yuan" is the sentiment of Xiang Fei mourning her deceased husband. If we are talking about entry-level playing skills, this piece is naturally the best. But if I am asked to understand the sentiment of a woman who lost her husband, that is too much to ask. However, if I want to enter the realm of Qin Dao, I must experience a kind of sentiment after all. How should I choose a piece of music?"

Fang Yun thought for a moment and suddenly realized.

"It is an autumn night now, so of course I guess the autumn wind is blowing."

Fang Yun put the Zhendanqin into the bag and put it on his back. He walked out of the study with the official seal and looked up at the sky. It was almost midnight.

Fang Yun gently opened the door and walked out of the yard.

The starlight sprinkled down, like water covering the bluestone road, and the street was silent.

Fang Yun felt that someone was watching him secretly, but he was used to it because the people from the Holy Academy had been protecting him continuously for a long time.

Fang Yun, with his courage on his back, strolled towards the east, feeling the autumn breeze blowing on his face, which was very pleasant.

After a while, the door of the neighbor's house, Mr. Pang, opened a crack, and Mr. Pang followed Fang Yun from a distance.

Fang Yun completely relaxed himself, even forgetting his purpose. He walked quietly, quietly feeling the autumn, the autumn night, and the autumn wind.

The autumn wind was brisk, and Fang Yun was filled with joy. It was not as hot as in summer, nor as cold as in winter, but extremely comfortable. Autumn seemed to be the most peaceful season. The noise of spring was too intense, the chirping of insects in summer was too loud, and the cold wind in winter was too strong. Only autumn was quieter.

As he was walking, Fang Yun heard Qiu Yin.

The chirping of cicadas in autumn indicates the beginning of the winter.

Fang Yun listened carefully, and his heart was moved. The summer cicadas chirped loudly and clearly, with a kind of "I am the king of the forest" spirit, day and night. But the autumn cicadas at this moment lacked that high pitch and loudness, and their voices were much lighter. Much weaker, like crying and complaining, and more resentful.

The cicadas are sad about autumn, and once autumn is over, they disappear.

Fang Yun continued walking and unknowingly arrived at the bank of Yudai River.

The power of his clear eyes and night vision allowed Fang Yun to see everything clearly at night. As the night wind blew, the willow branches no longer had the sprouting of spring or the fluttering of summer, and they looked unusually heavy.

The edges of the originally green willow leaves were faintly yellow.

Another gust of wind blew, and some willow leaves fell.

Soon all the leaves will fall off.

Fang Yun continued walking.

By the Pinghu Lake, the lotus flowers have withered, and the scenery of "the lotus flowers are particularly red in the sun" is no longer seen. The lake is still covered with lotus leaves, but without the momentum of "the lotus leaves are endless and green reaching the sky". Many withered lotus leaves are floating limply on the water.

Fang Yun finally understood where the sadness of autumn came from. It was not because people were sad because of the autumn wind. Rather, autumn was bidding farewell to everything, the cicadas, the willows, the lotus flowers. It bid farewell to the whole summer and could not hold it back.

"They are all sent away by the autumn wind, how can I not be sad." Fang Yun sighed and walked to the pavilion by the lake, took out the Zhendanqin and placed it on the stone table. He did not continue to play "Xiang Fei Yuan", but was infected by the autumn scenery and remembered a qin piece "Autumn Wind Tune". Yang Yuhuan had played it before.

Fang Yun recalled the score of "Autumn Wind Tune" and the feelings in this piece of music. This is a very orthodox ancient landscape music. The music constantly transforms the notes into various images such as autumn cicadas, jackdaws, fallen leaves, dead branches, etc., because the autumn wind is difficult to play but autumn objects are easy to play. When the music depicts the whole autumn, it finally comes to fruition, and then the endless sad sound turns into the autumn wind that blows away everything.

Fang Yun stroked the strings of the zither and began to play.

The first piece sounded a little unfamiliar at the beginning, but it got better as I played it the second time. By the fifth time, there was even a hint of sadness in the piece.

When Fang had fired the bullet for the tenth time, all the cicadas around Pinghu suddenly started to cry loudly. However, the sound was not high-pitched and clear. Instead, it was more like they had suddenly encountered late autumn and were unable to bear the terrible chill. The cicadas could only wail and cry loudly.

Mr. Pang had been watching Fang Yun from afar, slowly showing an intoxicated look, but suddenly he felt a chill, his body trembled, and a look of surprise appeared.

"Strange! When he played at home, the sound could reach my yard. From what I could judge, his technique was sophisticated and the notes were accurate, but he was only at the level of 'skill' and still a long way from 'art', not to mention 'Tao'. But in just half a night, he actually broke through the level of 'skill' and touched the edge of 'art'. This is not something that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can achieve with the starlight."

Soon, the cicadas' chirping became heavier. Fang Yun was completely immersed in the world of "Autumn Wind Tune". He closed his eyes, and his hands flexibly danced on the strings of the piano. It seemed that he was not playing the music, but creating the autumn wind through the music. The slight chill spread in all directions along with the sound of the piano.

With a soft "pop" sound, Mr. Pang turned his head quickly and vigilantly, only to see an autumn cicada fallen to the ground, completely dead.

Mr. Pang stared at the cicada blankly for a while, then heard several similar sounds. He looked around and found seven or eight cicadas had fallen.

Mr. Pang looked at Fang Yun and sighed, "It is early autumn now. Although these cicadas are sad, they are still as strong as humans and can live for at least another month or two. But Fang Yun actually killed the early autumn cicadas with the sound of late autumn. He has achieved the legendary 'killing cicadas with autumn sound' before he even entered the realm of zither. His understanding of autumn has surpassed that of many zither masters. The killing intent in autumn is stronger than that in winter. Although winter is the end of the four seasons, it breeds spring, while autumn stops the vitality of summer and ushers in the dead silence of winter. I am afraid that his future achievements in war music will be far above those of ordinary zither masters!"

After playing for a long time, Fang Yun put away the Zhendanqin, walked back, bowed to Mr. Pang who was not far away at the door to express his gratitude, and then went home.

"Autumn Wind Tune" was too sad, and Fang Yun tried hard to feel the sadness of the autumn wind. He had no mood to read anymore, so he calmed down a little and went to bed.

In the dream, cicadas chirped.

When he woke up early in the morning, Fang Yun found that the little fox had actually snuggled into his arms and was sleeping in the same elegant posture as before. He smiled and gently touched its head.

The little fox opened his eyes slightly, looked at Fang Yun, groaned twice, then closed his eyes and continued to sleep.

Fang Yun entered the Wen Palace and found that his literary ability had made great progress compared to yesterday, and he was getting closer and closer to achieving great success.

"The skills of playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, etiquette, music, archery, and charioteering can all indirectly help the Wendan Wengong, but the normal effect cannot be so great. This effect can only be achieved when a certain skill makes rapid progress. Could it be that the skill of playing the zither made great progress last night? It is really a happy event."

After breakfast, Fang Yun tried to play "Autumn Wind Tune" again and found that he could completely understand the emotions in the song. Almost at the moment when his hands touched the strings, his emotions had already been brewing. Although he was not able to combine his emotions with the music, he was the same as Yang Yuhuan. He had reached the edge of the first realm of the Qin Dao. As long as he continued to work hard, he would have a chance to break through.

When the song ended, Fang Yun found that Yang Yuhuan was leaning against the door, looking at him with unusually bright eyes.

"What's wrong?" Fang Yun asked.

Yang Yuhuan seemed to be still immersed in the music, and whispered: "You play better than me. It seems that I was right to learn the se instead of the qin."

"I'll just take it as a joke. I've heard your Autumn Wind Tune, and it's much better than mine."

Yang Yuhuan shook her head and said, "Mrs. Lai said that the master who taught her the zither said that the Autumn Wind Tune should not only have 'sorrow', but also the 'cold' of the autumn wind blowing away everything. I have enough 'autumn sorrow', but I can't play the cold of the autumn wind. You are a man, so you are not as 'sorrowful' as us women, but you play the 'autumn cold' really well, with the real atmosphere of autumn. I like your music."

At the end of the conversation, Yang Yuhuan blushed and lowered her head slightly, fearing that Fang Yun would misunderstand her.

Fang Yun smiled slightly and said, "Since you said so, I accept the praise. But I didn't expect that you have only been learning the piano for a short time. You have such a thorough understanding of the music. By the way, after the Qixi Festival, has your piano skill improved?"

Yang Yuhuan nodded and said, "Yes, I have improved. Especially in terms of technique. Madam Lai said that I am a completely different person, a genius. However, Madam Lai said that I have not made any progress in the integration of voice and emotion. But Xiaoyun, you are really amazing. You didn't even get started with the piece last night, but today you can perform it with ease. How long have you been practicing?"

Fang Yun said: "The time is a bit short. But, will your mood be affected by playing "Autumn Wind Tune" frequently?"

Yang Yuhuan's eyebrows trembled slightly, and her white teeth bit her lower lip gently, and she said softly: "Sometimes, but it will be much better with Nunu here."

"Sadness hurts the lungs, and thoughts hurt the spleen. It's not good to always play this kind of music. I realized it yesterday. I wrote a song called "Good Night". This song is also about autumn scenery and autumn feelings, but it focuses on appreciating the night and praising the autumn scenery, which makes people calm. After you finish playing this kind of sad and sorrowful music, remember to play "Good Night"."

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan nodded and moved lightly.

Fang Yun handed Yang Yuhuan the music score of "Liang Xiao Yin" that he wrote last night.

Yang Yuhuan looked at it for a while and said, "Xiao Yun, what is this fingering?" Then she moved closer to Fang Yun and pointed at the fingering of a piano piece on the music score.

Smelling the faint fragrance on Yang Yuhuan's body, Fang Yun remembered that "Liang Xiao Yin" was a famous song from the Ming Dynasty and the only guqin score from the Ming Dynasty included in the "Siku Quanshu". Although it was relatively simple, it was very representative and had a very high status in the guqin world.

This piano piece is different from the style of Shengyuan Continent. Not only does it have some fingerings created in later generations, but it also gives equal emphasis to left and right fingerings. It can even be said that it gives more emphasis to left-hand fingerings, while Shengyuan Continent now gives more emphasis to right-hand fingerings.

Fang Yun said vaguely: "I have seen these fingerings in some fragmentary books. They should have been created by an unknown zither player."

"The piece you played last night seemed to have a special fingering."

"Come, I'll teach you." Fang Yun immediately changed the subject.

Fang Yun began to teach Yang Yuhuan some new fingerings, then taught her to play "Liang Xiao Yin", and told her the theme of the song, and finally wrote the lyrics. Because many ancient zither pieces were accompanied by lyrics, called zither songs, which were sung while playing, such as "Feng Qiu Huang" and "Yangguan Sandie".

Yang Yuhuan was very studious and quickly learned the new fingering. She could play "Liang Xiao Yin" in just one day.

At night, Fang Yun still carried his guqin on his back and went to Pinghu Lake alone to play "Autumn Wind Tune", then played "Good Night", and finally went home to continue reading.

Mr. Pang has been following all the time, and what he often does is to silently count the falling autumn cicadas.

A few days later, in the morning, Fang Yun was reading in his study when the doorman rushed in and said, "Master, something bad has happened. A group of old men are blocking the door. They are carrying things on their backs and are shouting that they must see you." (To be continued...)

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