Chapter 204 - 192: Qin and Sword

Chapter 204: Chapter 192: Qin and Sword

Upon hearing Li Heng’s words, Gu Qingwu seemed to recall something. For the first time, her tone changed abruptly as she quickly pressed him with a question.

"Junior Brother Li Heng! If you were to one day reach the rank of Soul Energy Grandmaster, or even higher, and a girl who was only a Soul Warrior fell for you, what would you think?"

’If she’s attractive and has a great body, and assuming I don’t already have a girlfriend, there’d be no problem with dating. Otherwise, we’d just be good friends.’

"You’re joking, Senior Sister Gu! A Soul Energy Grandmaster is my goal, but if things were really as you say... if I managed to reach that rank and a Soul Warrior liked me, then I suppose it would all come down to fate," Li Heng replied with a smile.

"You believe in fate, Junior Brother?"

"It exists if you believe in it, and doesn’t if you don’t? Well, I’m a believer!"

「...」

The more he chatted with Gu Qingwu, the more Li Heng felt that this Senior Sister Gu before him must have had a tangled history with the Young City Lord of Li Liang City—a tale of unrequited love.

Although Gu Qingwu wore a veil and the emotions around her eyes were faint, Li Heng could sense her growing agitation as their conversation progressed.

Their question-and-answer session continued for about twenty minutes, only coming to a close when Gu Qingwu made a request.

"Junior Brother! May I make a rather forward request?"

"Please, Senior Sister Gu."

"Could you take this Star Singing Longsword and perform a set of swordsmanship techniques?"

"But, Senior Sister... this Star Singing Longsword... it can’t even withstand the Alliance’s basic Swordsmanship. I’m afraid if I use it..."

"It doesn’t matter!" Gu Qingwu said, and then materialized a zither from thin air.

!!!

Li Heng stared at what Gu Qingwu was doing, his gaze shifting to the Star Singing Longsword lying silently on the table. For a moment, he was at a complete loss.

"Let’s go out to the courtyard. I’ll play the zither to accompany you. I’m sorry to trouble you with this, Junior Brother. I’ll owe you one."

With that, Gu Qingwu carried her zither and headed out toward the courtyard.

Since things had come to this, Li Heng could hardly refuse. He stood frozen for a few seconds before finally picking up the Star Singing Longsword from the table and following her.

Stepping out the wooden door of his cabin, Li Heng saw Gu Qingwu seated on a wooden chair, her zither already placed on a wooden stand.

Li Heng didn’t own any of these things, so Gu Qingwu had obviously brought them herself. It was perfectly normal for a zither player to have their own equipment.

However, in addition to the zither stand and chair, Li Heng also noticed a wine pot and two cups on the table beside her.

Before yesterday, Li Heng would never have paid such close attention to a wine pot and cups. But after last night, he was all too familiar with the wine poured into the cup.

When Gu Qingwu saw Li Heng holding the Star Singing Longsword, she seemed to daze off for a moment but quickly composed herself and pushed a wine cup toward him.

"Junior Brother! This cup of wine is to repay my debt to you. It’s not that I’m being stingy, but... one can only drink a single cup of this wine. Any more than that, and you’ll be wracked with excruciating pain!"

Qingfeng Drunk!

Li Heng didn’t know the specific vintage, but he was absolutely certain that the cup Gu Qingwu was pushing toward him contained Qingfeng Drunk!

After all, he had gotten completely wasted on the stuff just last night, and his body had ached terribly.

The intense effects were one thing, but this Qingfeng Drunk... ’How does Gu Qingwu have it?!’

’Could she have also brought it out from the illusion within the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele?’

"Senior Sister... this wine is...?" Li Heng asked, unable to hide his confusion.

Upon hearing Li Heng’s question, Gu Qingwu replied without the slightest hesitation, almost as if by reflex, "This wine is called Qingfeng Drunk. It’s a fine vintage from the Qingfeng Tower! Don’t worry, it’s not potent. For a Soul Warrior like you, one cup is enou—"

But just as she was explaining this to Li Heng, as the last few words left her lips, she abruptly froze. She became completely still, as if she had turned to stone.

A full five minutes!

Gu Qingwu didn’t say a single word, nor did she move in the slightest, as if petrified... or perhaps lost in deep contemplation.

During this time, Li Heng said nothing. He didn’t know what to say, so he simply stood where he was and waited for her.

Five minutes later, Li Heng saw something crystalline glisten in the corner of Gu Qingwu’s eye, but it vanished in an instant.

After that brief glint disappeared, Gu Qingwu raised the cup before her, drained it in a single motion, and said to Li Heng, "Junior Brother! I’m counting on you!"

The moment she finished speaking, Li Heng saw Gu Qingwu’s hands touch the strings, and the air filled with the ancient, resonant notes of the zither.

He didn’t know how many things Senior Sister Gu had brought back from the illusion, nor could he guess what she had experienced inside it.

But as Li Heng listened to the music, all other thoughts vanished. For some inexplicable reason, his heart began to ache for her.

"You’re too kind, Senior Sister."

Li Heng walked over, downed the Qingfeng Drunk, and then, holding the damaged Star Singing Longsword, he began to execute the Ghost Butterfly Illusion Sword technique. A flurry of sword moves unleashed a swarm of bright, silver butterflies.

The butterfly illusions were even more corporeal than the night before. Gripping the Star Singing Longsword, Li Heng felt it was impossibly light in his hand—so light it seemed ready to fly from his grasp at any moment.

The moment Li Heng began his swordsmanship display, Gu Qingwu’s gaze was fixed solely on him.

’This last pot of wine should be finished. Once it’s gone, it’s time for my dream... to end... This sword dance, it’s so, so similar...’

As she played the zither and watched Li Heng, this thought flashed through Gu Qingwu’s mind. Her left hand never stopped stroking the strings, but her right hand poured another cup of Qingfeng Drunk, which she downed in a single gulp.

In the Xisha Area of Meteor University, an unspoken "rule" had formed ever since Gu Qingwu moved in two years ago.

Whenever the sound of Gu Qingwu’s zither arose, anyone within earshot would stop what they were doing to listen intently.

Over the past two years, the ancient melody of her zither had been heard many times, but the "emotion" conveyed by the music grew more sorrowful with each passing performance.

Moreover, after every performance, anyone who passed by her courtyard would catch the scent of wine on the air.

In the past, the music had always come from her own cabin, but this time, its source was the residence of the new junior brother.

Furthermore, it wasn’t coming from inside the cabin, but from the courtyard—a place one could easily glimpse just by hopping up for a look!

The source of Gu Qingwu’s music, combined with the news that she had stood waiting outside all night, piqued the curiosity of nearly every student in the Xisha Area.

Some students, unable to restrain their curiosity, decided to sneak a peek and see what exactly was happening in this Junior Brother Li Heng’s courtyard.

And so, these curious students managed to witness the scene unfolding in the courtyard.

And so the tale of that day—of Gu Qingwu drinking as she played a zither melody steeped in ancient joy and sorrow, and of Li Heng performing the swordsmanship of Zhuoran with a sword that was all but useless—became a famous and long-lasting story in the Xisha Area.