Chapter 49: Imposing and Majestic

Looking at Wang Jingyuan's astonished expression, Liu Zhengfeng said with a smug look, "Ever since this melody was created, the two of us have never played it together in front of anyone else. Now that we are about to leave, I will let you hear it. You won't have the chance to listen to it ever again once you miss this."

With these words, the two men took out their guqin and xiao and began to play. Wang Jingyuan's grandfather had loved playing the erhu, and during his childhood, he had been forced to learn it. He could still understand such traditional classical music.

However, traditional classical pieces were not composed primarily for pleasant listening; they placed their emphasis on artistic conception and harmony. On certain formal occasions, the music even had to conform strictly to ritual propriety. If a piece sounded too pleasant, it would be deemed improper.

Melodies that cared for nothing except pleasant sound were dismissed at that time as vulgar tunes. Yet Wang Jingyuan, being a worldly mortal, happened to love those very vulgar tunes.

As for music that focused on artistic conception and harmony, it was better left as a bedtime audio therapy for overworked wage slaves exhausted by endless overtime.

Listening to the performance, Wang Jingyuan grew somewhat drowsy. Qu Feiyan, who was completely enchanted beside him, could not bear this sight and reached out to shake him awake. Wang Jingyuan had no choice but to brace himself and listen to the piece until the end, resenting the fact that the game was so hardcore it didn't even offer a skip function.

When the melody finally concluded, it was time for the two men to depart. Wang Jingyuan followed them out of the Liu residence and saw Elder Mo Da already standing outside the door.

Mo Da was a man of few words. With a complex expression, he looked at Liu Zhengfeng without saying anything, just as he had done for the past several decades. All of their past disputes had stemmed from differing interpretations of music. Having stood outside the door just moments before, Mo Da had naturally heard *Ode to the Gallant Wandering*, and he could not help sighing that he would likely never compose a better piece in this lifetime.

While Mo Da remained silent, Liu Zhengfeng looked at his senior brother with a grateful expression and bowed deeply with cupped hands. Mo Da waved his hand dismissively and still said nothing.

Looking at his senior brother with deep emotion, Liu Zhengfeng felt that Wang Jingyuan was right—he truly was a ridiculous person. He had been able to open his heart to Qu Yang shortly after meeting him, yet towards this senior brother whom he had known for decades, he had never truly understood him.

Although Qu Yang's martial arts were formidable, the reason he had managed to successfully launch a sneak attack the other day while Fei Bin and several other chief protectors were present was largely thanks to Mo Da, who had quietly scouted the guards' positions and informed Qu Yang.

Liu Zhengfeng leaned in and whispered something into Mo Da's ear before getting into the carriage with his family and heading towards the city gate.

At that moment, Mo Da walked up to Wang Jingyuan, looked him up and down, and asked, "Are you the one who wants to learn the *Thirteen Forms of Mount Heng's Shrouding Clouds and Changing Illusions*?"

Wang Jingyuan smiled.

Although he knew that this was because Liu Zhengfeng had already washed his hands in a golden basin and could no longer directly pass down his martial arts, Wang Jingyuan still laughed at the two old men for complaining about his ruthless methods and trying to tease him right before leaving. However, Wang Jingyuan was petty and lacked patience; his philosophy was to settle grudges on the spot.

Wang Jingyuan glanced sideways past Mo Da and noticed that he was carrying an erhu on his back. What a coincidence!

Reaching out towards Mo Da, Wang Jingyuan said, "Elder Uncle Mo, lend me your erhu for a moment."

Mo Da was somewhat puzzled, but after a moment of hesitation, he unstrapped the erhu from his back and handed it to Wang Jingyuan. Wang Jingyuan casually drew the bow across the strings to test the pitch; it was tuned to absolute perfection.

As mentioned earlier, Wang Jingyuan had been forced by his grandfather to learn the erhu when he was a child. Leaving Wang Jingyuan aside, which child would ever be happy about that? Weren't cartoons and video games much more appealing?

Thus, Wang Jingyuan had begun his rebellion. Direct resistance was out of the question, as it would only lead to a beating—first from his grandfather, then from his father. Therefore, rebellion required strategy.

To rebel, Wang Jingyuan had specifically practiced a very peculiar piece of music. To be honest, that piece was extremely difficult, but in order to avoid learning the erhu, Wang Jingyuan had gritted his teeth and persevered, practicing with utter devotion day and night during that period.

Heaven rewards diligent work; in the end, Wang Jingyuan had mastered that piece to perfection, engraving it almost into his very DNA. The moment his fingers touched the erhu, his DNA was instantly activated.

The instant he drew the bow, a bone-melting, seductively charming tone immediately flowed forth. Liu Zhengfeng's carriage procession was heavily loaded and naturally could not move fast. They had not yet traveled far when they heard the sound of the erhu coming from behind.

Not to mention the Mount Heng disciples, who were well-versed in music and felt their legs turn weak upon hearing this sound, even ordinary passersby who knew nothing of rhythm found themselves rooted to the spot, unable to walk away.

Good heavens, this was no vulgar tune; this was clearly an act of public indecency in broad daylight! None of them had ever imagined that an erhu could mimic the seductive cries of a woman experiencing the height of pleasure, and how was this sound even more alluring than the real thing?

The rendition of *Wa War Style* seemed to have pressed a pause button on the street, freezing everyone in place. It was not until Wang Jingyuan finished playing the entire piece that the crowd finally snapped back to their senses.

Yet Wang Jingyuan cared nothing for that. A purplish hue surged across his face as he circulated his Purple Mist True Qi. Channeling his internal energy, he shouted loudly, "Many thanks to Master Liu Zhengfeng for imparting this melody to me!"

Heh heh, who said that quitting the pugilistic world would prevent him from ruining your reputation even further?

When Wang Jingyuan returned the erhu to Mo Da, Mo Da wiped it repeatedly with his dirty sleeve, feeling that his instrument had been defiled and could never be cleaned again.

Raising his head, Mo Da looked at Wang Jingyuan with a complex gaze and said, "...Don't ever play the erhu again."

Wang Jingyuan nodded with satisfaction. Mo Da's reaction at this moment was identical to his grandfather's back then; it seemed his old skills had not rusted at all.

Before long, a Mount Heng disciple leaped down from a carriage, ran up to Wang Jingyuan holding a small booklet, and handed it over while suppressing a smile. "Master Liu asked me to pass this on to you. He said you should practice diligently to cultivate your character."

Taking the booklet, Wang Jingyuan opened it and saw that it was indeed *Ode to the Gallant Wandering*. He casually stored it away. As for practicing, there was no need; the original version didn't even sound as good as the cinematic adaptations, so it held little interest.

Seeing Wang Jingyuan stash the musical score into his inventory, Mo Da nodded inwardly. Since he was indeed someone capable of performing magic tricks, he was the most suitable candidate to learn the *Thirteen Forms of Mount Heng's Shrouding Clouds and Changing Illusions*.

Mo Da's method of imparting martial arts was straightforward. Since the people of the Liu residence had already left and no one would come by for a while, he simply led Wang Jingyuan back inside.

Finding an empty room, he began to teach him the *Thirteen Forms of Mount Heng's Shrouding Clouds and Changing Illusions*.

[Mo Da is teaching you the Thirteen Forms of Mount Heng's Shrouding Clouds and Changing Illusions.]

[Do you wish to learn: Yes / No]

[Yes]

Only after learning this set of sword techniques did Wang Jingyuan realize that it shared one major similarity with *How is Mount Tai?*: the focus was never on the sword moves themselves. The reason one needed to learn stage magic before practicing this form was because magic relied heavily on obstructing the audience's vision or diverting their attention to conceal one's methods.

The core of this sword technique also lay in the word "concealment." Countless feints and hidden sword techniques were all designed to deliver that fatal strike unexpectedly.

While a magician's concealment techniques inevitably had flaws, Wang Jingyuan's inventory had zero flaws whatsoever.

When Mo Da leaped back to evade the massive sledgehammer that suddenly swung out from layers of sword light, his mind was utterly blank. Exactly where had he hidden such a huge hammer?

Fortunately, Wang Jingyuan had held back. Had he gone all out, Mo Da might not have been able to dodge that sudden sneak attack.

As for parrying? Wang Jingyuan curled his lip in disdain; such an incongruous scene would never occur in a game this hardcore. A tiny dagger deflecting a broadsword only happened in games that cared solely for casual entertainment.