「An hour later.」

Melodious zither music drifted from the Spring Lotus Garden.

It was like a school of fish swimming through a stream, like a bird gliding through a mountain valley, like a fine steed galloping freely across a boundless prairie.

Such was the ethereal, joyful melody of "Carefree Travel."

Even though it was Xiao Wan’er’s first time playing the piece, and her performance was far from perfect, it still stirred the flowers, birds, fish, and insects of the Spring Lotus Garden into a lively dance.

As the sunlight shone down, flowers and blades of grass could be seen faintly fluttering in the air.

But scenery was just scenery.

Compared to Xiao Wan’er, who sat gracefully in the pavilion playing her Zither, it all paled in comparison.

Even classic idioms used to praise legendary beauties could not begin to describe her.

Her dark hair danced, her brows like distant mountains.

Her nose was delicate, her lips like jade, her cheeks as pure as driven snow.

In her red dress, her slender waist gave her a pliant, graceful figure, like a peony in full bloom.

Chen Yi stood to one side of the pavilion, watching Xiao Wan’er with a smile. The words of Li Taibai’s "Qingping Tune" surfaced in his mind.

Clouds yearn to be her dress, flowers to be her face;A spring breeze brushes the balustrade, rich with glistening dew.If not seen atop the Jade Mountain of the gods,Then she must be from the Jasper Terrace, met beneath the moon.

Though there was no spring breeze at this moment, and Xiao Wan’er was not the voluptuous Lady Yang, she truly looked like a goddess who had descended to the mortal world.

Graceful, noble, and extraordinarily beautiful.

Before long, the piece came to an end.

Xiao Wan’er raised her eyes slightly. Just as she was about to speak, her gaze met Chen Yi’s, and she subconsciously lowered her head again.

"Chen Yi, your ’Carefree Travel’ is quite different from the usual gentle and lyrical pieces. Its melody is more cheerful, and there’s a certain heroic quality to it."

"It’s just... I only just received the Zither Score, so my phrasing is poor, and I’m not yet skilled with the movements, pauses, or the coda. I couldn’t express the piece’s true essence."

Chen Yi saw her shy expression, chuckled, and offered his praise.

"Your skill with the Zither is unparalleled, Sister Wan’er. I couldn’t detect any hint of rustiness, despite how long it’s been since you’ve played."

"There were still some mistakes. For example, at the end of the first section, the melody should have been deeper and more resonant."

"The Middle Stage of the second section, ’Birds Flying South,’ needs to be majestic and passionate..."

Xiao Wan’er truly seemed to feel that she had made far too many mistakes in her performance.

She spoke in such detail not only to explain her errors to Chen Yi but also to impress them upon herself so she would not repeat them.

Chen Yi, however, wasn’t thinking that deeply about it.

He was silently memorizing the Finger Technique and other details he had just observed in Xiao Wan’er’s playing, trying to identify the different movements, pauses, and flourishes to understand their distinctions.

In short, he was learning her techniques on the sly.

Be it the Medical Dao, the Zither Dao, or the Martial Arts, he always had to try his own hand at something before he could truly learn its techniques and skills.

In comparison, the Zither Dao was more complicated for him.

It was especially difficult to correlate the terminology on the Zither Score—things like sections and breathing—with the actual strings. That made it harder than hard.

However, after watching Xiao Wan’er’s complete performance, Chen Yi now had the full melody of "Carefree Travel" in his mind.

With a little time to practice, achieving Initial Insight in "Carefree Travel" would not be difficult.

Chen Yi was about to offer more praise when he noticed Xiao Wan’er, Xiao Wuge, and Pei Guanli all looking at him. He asked in confusion, "What is it?"

Pei Guanli giggled. "Brother-in-law, you were spacing out."

Xiao Wuge added, "Brother-in-law, Sister Wan’er just suggested you give it a try, too."

Chen Yi’s mouth fell open. He pointed to himself. "Me?"

Xiao Wan’er nodded and said with a smile, "I’ve long heard of your Mastery in Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting. Why not play a piece for us as well?"

Chen Yi tried to protest. "Sometimes, you can’t believe rumors. The truth is, my Zither skills... are nonexistent."

Perhaps someone might have believed that when he first arrived in Shu State.

But now, not only did Xiao Wan’er disbelieve him, even Shen Huatang, who usually gave him the cold shoulder, was unconvinced.

Without another word, Pei Guanli pushed him down in front of the Zither. "Come on, Brother-in-law, just let us have a listen," she said with a gleeful laugh.

"Play that ’Carefree Something-or-other’ piece, the one Sister Wan’er just played. It’s a perfect chance to see how you two compare."

Chen Yi looked at their faces, their eyes filled with both encouragement and expectation, and could only nod in resignation.

’It can’t be helped.’

’They’re the ones who insisted.’

’So they can’t blame me for the awful show.’

Chen Yi pouted to himself, then took a deep breath. He let his hands fall naturally, his long fingers settling on the Zither strings.

The next moment—TWANG.

The smile on Xiao Wan’er’s face, who had been beaming moments before, faded slightly at the first note.

THWACK.

The second sound was the string smacking directly against the Zither’s soundboard, crisp and unpleasant.

Shen Huatang quickly circulated her True Essence to dull her hearing.

THUD.

After the third note, it wasn’t just Xiao Wan’er who was bewildered. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Pei Guanli and Xiao Wuge, who had held such inexplicable confidence in Chen Yi, now wore looks of utter astonishment.

The group exchanged glances, none of them understanding what was wrong.

Chen Yi, by contrast, remained perfectly calm. In his fine robes and Jade Belt, his movements were fluid and unconstrained.

Since the cat was out of the bag, he decided to just let loose and play.

He didn’t care whether he was playing accurately or if it sounded good.

He simply copied the motions he remembered from Xiao Wan’er’s performance, his ten fingers flying back and forth, left and right.

A series of THUD-THUD-THWACKS and THUD-THUD-THWACKS rang out.

None of it could be described as melodious, majestic, or carefree.

If Xiao Wan’er’s earlier performance could be called "pleasing to the ear," then Chen Yi’s could only be described as "thunderous slaughter."

Pei Guanli stood there, completely stunned, her expression blank.

Xiao Wuge covered his ears, staring at Chen Yi’s hands, hesitating over whether he should go up and stop him.

Xiao Wan’er, however, gradually began to smile. Her gaze toward Chen Yi seemed to say, ’So there is something you’re not good at after all.’

For some time now, no matter what question she had—be it about running the Medicine Hall, the Medical Dao Academy, Poetry, calligraphy, or chess—as long as she asked, Chen Yi could always offer some insight.