"That just proves you are deceiving me." The woman in white instantly turned stern, a chill emanating from her once again, she coldly said: "If you don't play, I will kill you immediately."
"Please have mercy, senior. I will try." Li Lin's face immediately turned gloomy, fearing that if he didn't play, he would indeed be killed by this woman.
Approaching the pavilion, under the watchful eyes of the woman in white, Li Lin walked next to the bamboo platform and looked at an ancient zither on it, his heart skipped a beat. This was a five-stringed zither. Regarding the ancient zither, he had learned some in extracurricular activities at school in his previous life, but what he learned was all about the seven-stringed zither; he had no idea how to play this five-stringed one.
"Still not playing? I want to see what extent your so-called realm can reach," the woman in white coldly uttered.
"Senior, is there another zither?" Looking at the five-stringed zither in front of him, Li Lin slightly raised his eyebrows, thinking he might be able to use some clever tricks to bluff his way through this situation.
The woman in white hesitated for a moment, then a streak of light appeared on the storage ring in her hand, and soon a green ancient zither was placed in front of Li Lin.
Li Lin looked at this green zither, knowing at a glance it was no cheap item, its value definitely not low. However, under the surprised gaze of the woman in white and the young girl, he unhesitatingly took off two of the strings.
"What are you doing?" The woman in white immediately asked, cherishing the zither as her life, seeing Li Lin ruining her fine zither, she became somewhat angrily upset.
"Senior, you will know soon." Li Lin gave a mysterious smile, then after pondering for a moment on the first zither, he tied the two strings to the sides of the ancient zither. After making sure they were secure, he tested the sound. After a moment, Li Lin smiled with satisfaction. Although it looked a bit unsightly, the five-stringed zither was indeed transformed into a seven-stringed one by Li Lin.
Seeing Li Lin fiddling with the five-stringed zither, the woman in white initially had an ugly expression but did not object, which was considered a tacit approval. In the end, seeing the five-stringed zither turned into a seven-stringed one, her face showed some surprise, as she had never seen a seven-stringed zither before.
Looking at his achievement, Li Lin was also very satisfied, not expecting himself to have such talent. The five-stringed and seven-stringed zithers have quite a few differences. As far as Li Lin knew, the ancient zither was divided into several types. In the previous life, the ancient zither originally had five strings, developed into seven strings during the Spring and Autumn period, evolved into twelve strings by the end of the Warring States period, thirteen strings during the Sui dynasty, sixteen strings in the Qing dynasty, and had reached twenty-one strings by the sixties. Before his transmigration, he had even seen a twenty-six-stringed one.
However, among all these, the seven-stringed zither is recognized as best reflecting the characteristics of the ancient zither, best embodying its ancient and classical flavor.
Although the seven-stringed zither only has seven strings, it can produce multiple tones per string, its range reaching over four octaves. With the help of thirteen "hui" on the surface and two hidden hui on the sides, it can play many harmonics and pressed notes. The sound is reserved and far-reaching, ancient and elegant, with rich expressiveness, something the five-stringed zither cannot compare to. Hence, Li Lin had the idea to use a seven-stringed zither to solve the problem.
"I want to see, with this zither turned into seven strings, what changes will occur." The woman in white said indifferently to Li Lin.
Li Lin did not answer, standing slightly on the bamboo platform, then shook his sleeves, slowly sat down, not immediately intending to play.
"Why aren't you playing yet?" The woman in white scolded.
"Senior, it seems you really haven't entered the threshold yet." Li Lin glanced at the woman in white lightly.
"You…" The woman in white was angrily retorted.
But Li Lin didn't let her speak further, continuing: "There are five taboos in playing the zither, also called the five prohibitions, namely: First, do not play during strong winds or heavy rain. The sound of strong winds is harsh, and heavy rain produces a dull tone, thus not suitable for playing. Second, do not play in dusty marketplaces. This is because marketplaces are noisy and chaotic, vulgar and not serene, which goes against the elegance of the zither. Third, do not play for vulgar people. Common and vulgar people, not understanding elegance or sentiment, unable to appreciate the subtlety of zither music, naturally are not the connoisseurs. Fourth, do not play while standing. Playing the zither requires a calm mind and spirit, without any impatience. Hence, one cannot play the zither while standing. Fifth, do not play without proper attire. When playing the zither, one must be clean in body and mind."
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Not sure if the woman in white was truly baffled by Li Lin, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you mean to say that playing the zither also requires choosing the right time and place?"
"You could say that." Li Lin slightly said: "For zither players, there are prohibitions. To cultivate one's temperament, suppress licentiousness, and remove extravagance. If wanting to play the zither, one must choose a quiet room or high chamber, either at the top of a tower, inside a forest rock, on the peak of a mountain, or by the water's edge. This bamboo forest pavilion of yours is also not bad."
After a pause, Li Lin continued: "When playing the zither, it must be when the wind is gentle and the moon is clear, the mind not wandering, the qi and blood harmonized, only then can one merge with the spirit, unite with the Tao, achieving the ultimate. Unfortunately, a zither player's knowing audience is hard to find."
"Hard to find a knowing audience…" The woman in white murmured, seemingly reminded of something.
Li Lin noticed this, secretly chuckled, but solemnly said: "I generally do not play the zither, if without a knowing audience, I would rather alone face the clear breeze and bright moon, the ancient pines and peculiar rocks, the wild monkeys and old cranes, indulging in them, which is better than playing for people."
"Do you think I am not qualified to listen to your zither?" The woman in white's face darkened as she spoke.
"Of course not, senior is naturally qualified, now I can play." Li Lin said slightly, then pressed the strings with his left hand and plucked them with his right.
"Ding…"
The first note of the zither rang out, the melody was flowing and as if bathed in the spring breeze. If it were this seven-stringed zither, Li Lin was not boasting. In his previous life, he had also seriously learned for a period. It was not because Li Lin was interested in the ancient zither, but because the zither class had the school beauty he had secretly admired for three years. As soon as Li Lin signed up, the school beauty had already graduated.
The sound of the ancient zither was soft and contained, Li Lin, for his life's sake, also calmed down, remembering what the zither teacher had said, playing the zither is also playing oneself, often only by moving oneself can one move others. To truly play the zither well depends on the state of mind and nature. Unity of heaven and human is the ultimate destination of a zither player. The lot Li Lin spoke just now was not made up.
As Li Lin's right hand began to pluck, pick, wipe, lift, support, split, hit, and pinch, a series of melodious zither notes began to flow gracefully.
As Li Lin calmed his mind, the sound of the zither was reserved and far-reaching, ancient and elegant, carrying a sense of otherworldliness. If there were people from his previous life here, they could naturally tell that what Li Lin was playing was indeed the quintessential "Three Variations of Plum Blossom". At the same time, Li Lin also lightly sang: "Lanterns twinkling, voices fading, songs not ending the chaos of war, how many reincarnations, how many glances back, only for that misty rain in the south, covering the world, after the beauty fades, just a scene, half a life in the military.
Thousands of reincarnations, a spring gone and beauty aged, flowers fall and people perish, unknown to each other, half a life of glaze, a bleak farewell, performed at the curtain call, lost in confusion, who can awaken?"
Listening to Li Lin's light singing, the woman in white seemed a bit surprised, and after a moment, her eyes closed tightly, her expression completely relaxed, as if she had immersed herself in it.
Only to hear Li Lin continue singing: "Half a lantern, accompanied by ancient Buddha, the moon becomes a pair, the wind screens the pavilions, a volume of years and a song, warm smoke initial makeup, three thousand strands of hair, painted into obsession for you. Accumulating a lifetime of madness, to whom can it be entrusted? Not fearing the vicissitudes of beauty, only afraid of flowers falling and strings breaking with no one to listen, a song of Konghou, intertwined with Han poetry and Yuan verses, a pipa, enveloping Tang poetry and Song lyrics. Holding a broken Xiao, infatuated with the Qingming rain, the splendor all lost, who can grant me a song of everlasting love?"
A song of Three Variations of Plum Blossom, the melody winding, although it was an ancient tune, for the woman in white, Li Lin specifically wrote these lyrics, the woman in white was most likely hurt by love. To resonate with her, Li Lin had to use some tricks.
As the song slowly ended, Li Lin also unknowingly immersed himself in it, the sound of the zither penetrating his mind, like the proud plum on a lonely cliff, the hidden orchid in a valley, the bamboo sea under floating clouds, the daffodil by the clear stream, though not reaching the level of lingering for three days, it definitely achieved a certain realm. Moreover, Li Lin was using a seven-stringed zither, with the winding melody of the Three Variations of Plum Blossom, definitely not something that could be played on the original five-stringed zither.
In zither art, Li Lin knew he was no match for the woman in white, he could only take some advantage on the seven-stringed zither.
As the last note of the zither fell, Li Lin looked back, only to see the young girl beside him completely immersed in it, while the woman in white was slowly opening her eyes.
"The seven-stringed zither is indeed wonderful, but your zither skills are average. If not for the marvelous aspects of this seven-stringed zither, I'm afraid you wouldn't have been able to play this piece. Your piece is not bad, and the lyrics you wrote are also excellent, it's just that when you sing, it's clearly forcing new words on sorrow, you're just groaning without illness," the woman in white said after a moment, watching Li Lin.
"Senior indeed has sharp eyes." Li Lin was shocked in his heart, the woman in white's insight was truly sharp. He played these sorrowful tunes, completely to cater to her, having never experienced a breakup, not even dating, how could he understand these entangled feelings of love and hate.
"Considering you have some understanding of the zither, you may leave. I can spare your life. If you come again, there will be no mercy," the woman in white said indifferently.
"Senior, I came to find Senior Ghost Immortal. Once I find her, I will leave immediately." Li Lin said, as he came to find the Ghost Immortal, leaving like this would mean coming in vain.