Chapter 28: No Time To Entertain Him
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
That person was none other than Li Hanguang.
He was at the Embracing Moon Brothel to meet Ji Mingyue.
To him, Ji Mingyue was a very important asset.
The story of how that happened was quite a long one.
…
Three years ago, Li Hanguang had just gotten his Bronze Mark. With a boost in his confidence, he began to befriend everyone else in the Unyielding Sword Celestial Sect.
Other than the old sly fox Feng Nanming, he became friends with all the True Disciples of the Four Peaks.
When he became acquainted with Jiang Shengxie, he decided to head to the Embracing Moon Brothel.
For any young man, there were four easy ways to befriend another man.
They had to study together, break the rules together, have each other's back in a fight, or whore together.
As a person with a Yin Metal Body from the moment he was born, Jiang Shengxie had been fascinated by the bodies of women ever since he was little. If one were to look in his room, they would probably find toilet paper lying about the whole place.
After following Li Hanguang to the Embracing Moon Brothel, Jiang Shengxie felt as if he had stepped into a whole new world.
From that day onward, he began looking up to Li Hanguang to the point where he even addressed the latter respectfully.
At that time, Lin Hanguang noticed that a lot of ladies at the Embracing Moon Brothel had low-grade Spiritual Roots.
He began to help them out of generosity, hiding the fact that they actually possessed powerful Water Spiritual Roots.
Since the Bronze Mark was kept a secret, Li Hanguang wanted it to remain that way.
After countless nights of coming up with a plan, he finally completed his Attractiveness and Spiritual Root Theory.
With his theory, he assumed that more attractive ladies had a higher chance to be a Budding Immortal. With that in mind, he and Jiang Shengxie stole a Spiritual Energy Assessment Stone from their sect.
Finally, after testing more than a hundred ladies in the Embracing Moon Brothel, they discovered twelve with low-grade Spiritual Roots and one with a middle-grade Spiritual Root.
This wasn't even the important part yet.
What surprised Li Hanguang the most was that the lady called Ji Mingyue was more than a person who possessed a middle-grade Spiritual Root.
She also possessed a unique body that was known as the Miaoyin Celestial Body. She was born with close ties to all paths of Miaoyin.
If she could fully awaken her potential, she could become the best in the Eastern Desolate Realm, or even in all the Five Realms.
That was the reason Li Hanguang became excited after completing the tests.
He invited Ji Mingyue to become an Inner Disciple of the Unyielding Sword Celestial Sect on the spot.
He was sure that with Ji Mingyue's talent, she was more than enough to become a True Disciple in the future.
There was only one problem at that time. Li Hanguang had no idea how to explain the situation to others.
The more powerful a person's potential was, the harder it was to be discovered. And the Miaoyin Celestial Body was much potent than the Taotie Bloodline.
Thus, before it was awakened, it would hide deep inside the person's body.
Li Hanguang could still bluff everyone by telling them that he noticed his juniors' Taotie Bloodline and Yin Metal Body after spending a lot of time with them. But it was impossible to say that he could tell that Ji Mingyue possessed the Miaoyin Celestial Body with just a single glance.
There was also the fact that the Miaoyin Celestial Body was a lineage of the Miaoyin Holy Land.
If word of his discovery were to get out, then Miaoyin Holy Land people would come and stop him.
If that happened, he wouldn't be able to fight back even with his connections.
…
Thus, the best path for Li Hanguang to take was to let Ji Mingyue become a disciple of Jin Feng Peak's Elder Jin Feng as a cultivator with a middle-grade Spiritual Root.
Li Hanguang would then wait until his cultivation recovered before looking for a chance to help Ji Mingyue awaken her full potential.
However, Ji Mingyue rejected his offer. Her reasoning was that if she were to become a disciple of the Jin Feng Peak, she would only be a normal Inner Disciple while Li Hanguang was the legendary senior of the Unyielding Sword Celestial Sect.
The difference in power and status would mean that their relationship would not get any better.
If that were the case, she would rather remain in the Embracing Moon Brothel so that she could assist him with his information hub.
Ji Mingyue believed that if she did that, she might have a chance to get closer to him.
In the end, Li Hanguang agreed to her proposal.
Before leaving, they spent three days and nights together.
They didn't do anything indecent as they were still 13-years-old back then.
For those three days, Li Hanguang tried his best to recall all of the Guqin tunes and lyrics he'd once heard.
He hoped that the tune he'd written down could help with Ji Mingyue's awakening.
Li Hanguang was also fortunate enough to master musical instruments after meeting Ji Mingyue. Otherwise, he wouldn't know how to write a music sheet.
Before he left, he taught Ji Mingyue everything he knew about music without leaving anything out.
Among all of the tunes and poems he taught Ji Mingyue, her favorite was the Water Melody.
Three sentences were etched into her heart from that day onwards, namely 'There should not be resentment', 'People have sorrows, joys, parting and reunions, the moon is dark, bright, waxes, and wanes', and 'Yet one hopes for longevity; a thousand miles apart, seeing the moon's beauty together'.
The young lady thought Li Hanguang was trying to comfort her with these sentences and her love for him grew even further.
On a side note, since the title 'Melody Water' had nothing to do with its content, Li Hanguang decided to give it a new title.
Chills Of A Heart Under A Bright Moon.
It sounded a little cliche, but Ji Mingyue loved it.
As Li Hanguang listened to her playing the tune, his heart slowly calmed down.
He had to admit that even if her Miaoyin Celestial Body remained dormant, it still gave Ji Mingyue unparalleled musical talent.
Listening to her songs gave her listeners a calming and soothing effect.
That was the reason why, since ancient times, whenever the Saints of Miaoyin tried to stop a fight with their awakened Miaoyin Celestial Body, no one would defy her.
…
In the Winter Plum Pavilion, Ji Mingyue sat quietly as her white robe fluttered with the wind, giving off the effect of an angel sent from heaven.
Her hair was carefully tied up with an utterly normal-looking hair stick.
On her side rested the Star and Moon Guqin. Even though this legendary instrument was next to her, she still played on her own instead.
It was clear that her guqin was lacking in quality when compared to the Star and Moon Guqin, but she was more familiar with it so she was reluctant to switch right away.
"Yet one hopes for longevity; a thousand miles apart, seeing the moon's beauty together..." The song ended with Ji Mingyue's clear and soothing voice.
The wonderful tune ended when her hands stopped.
She could hear the compliments from the guests below. Despite all the praises, no one could move her cold heart.
Ji Mingyue slowly turned to look at the small jade box on the table. She picked it up and grasped it gently in her hands.
"He hasn't forgotten about me yet... He's just busy with his training..." Ji Mingyue sighed. "Even though the hair stick is not made by a well-known master, its simplicity still makes it unique. Senior Brother Li sure has an eye for this kind of thing."
As she continued to reminisce about her past, the door to the Winter Plum Pavilion opened, a servant came in.
The servant handed Ji Mingyue a letter. "Milady, a man in a mask asked me to pass this letter to you.
A man in a mask?
Ji Mingyue accepted the letter suspiciously. She opened the letter and read it.
It has been three years, hasn't it? I missed you. I'm waiting in Tianzi Room 1.
Tianzi Room 1? It's him!
Ji Mingyue's body trembled in excitement but she froze.
…
"Who is this man? How dare he disrespects Milady! How can he—" the servant complained but stopped abruptly when she noticed Ji Mingyue's face turning red.
Ji Mingyue hurriedly picked up her guqin and was about to run out of the room when she turned to look at the Star and Moon Guqin. After a moment of hesitation, she took the other instrument with her as well.
The servant was completely dumbfounded by Ji Mingyue's actions. "M-Milady! Where are you going?"
"To meet an acquaintance!"
"But Sir Feng just asked me to tell you that he has prepared the best wine for you!"
"Just tell him I'm occupied tonight and I don't have the time to entertain him!"
-- Gift
received