Gold String crossed his arms. “No matter what realm someone is in, they need to be conscious for music to heal their soul.”

I grinned. “How do you know that?”

He paused. “Everyone knows that.”

I could explain that research was done in my past-past life that showed that comatose patients responded to audible stimuli, but I decided to put it in terms he would understand.

“If you play offensive music to someone in a forced sleep, would that hurt them?”

“Of course it would.”

“Then why shouldn’t healing music help them?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. His brow furrowed, then he paled. He coughed up a half-mouthful of blood. “I’m going to need a moment.”

With a flick of his sleeve, he turned before jumping onto his flying brush and vanishing deeper into the sect.

Everyone looked at me.

“…”

Well, this was awkward.

I coughed. “That was unintentional.”

How the fuck was I supposed to know that enlightening someone on a simple truth would cause them so much emotional damage that they’d cough up blood? Whatever.

“I’ll check on him and make sure he’s alright. In the meantime, why don’t you two teach Senior Verdant Spring how to play ‘Everything Will be Alright?’”

The kid grimaced. “Sister Linlin, I’m always willing to learn anything you’re willing to teach me, but maybe we can wait until junior Gold String Delicate Touch is back? It’s a bit….”

I huffed. “If I let other people’s uncomfortableness prevent me from studying, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

“That explains so-so much.”

Dread Lotus and Azure Melodic River nodded as if they agreed.

I glared at the three brats.

“Fine, I’ll learn!”

“We’ll teach!”

I grinned in satisfaction.

***

It took a while to catch up to Gold String Delicate Touch, but I found him sitting at an outdoor table surrounded by tall ancient trees. Actually, now that I noticed the walls nearby, I was sure this was his small courtyard.

image [https://i.imgur.com/SlRV82F.jpg]

[Image Link]

He sighed when he saw me on my flying sword hovering over him and waved me down.

I landed beside him. “You want to explain what that was about?”

He grimaced while I waited for him to talk.

“I grew up in a very small, and secretive clan of music cultivators who also practiced the four arts.”

One that was already obliterated, according to what he mentioned before.

“My clan’s ancestor was a Nascent Soul, but he was injured while protecting us from the demonic sect. While he won, it cost him his original body. He reached a soul stone, but he had been so horribly wounded that he fell into a coma.”

Ah, shit. Talking about Ghosty’s situation must have brought on bad memories for our bassist. If I’d known... well, I probably would have done the same thing. Because I needed him. The best music has always been inspired by those with strong emotions and talent.

“Everyone in my family said that it would be impossible to treat him because he was asleep, but if we’d known that he could heal while being...” He choked.

“He would have been around to prevent the destruction of your clan?”

Gold String nodded.

“If you have your ancestor’s soul gem—”

He shook his head. “I was only able to survive because I was on a mission when those demonic sect bastards took everything away from me. I couldn’t let them find my traces, so I immediately rushed to join the most powerful faction nearby that didn’t have ties to them.”

That explained why he was so desperate to grow stronger. I grabbed his sleeve. “The Dao of Rock can help you!”

He blinked. “Sister Linlin, you don’t have to sell me on it. I’ve already joined your band.”

I scowled and rested my hand on the table. “What I mean is that the Dao of Rock is perfect for musicians who wish to compose new songs. Composing music, far more than playing it, helps strengthen musical cultivators. Possibly even inducing an epiphany and allowing them to advance faster.”

He blinked. “Are you serious?”

I nodded. One of the reasons so many of the seniors of my past life were upset at my students was that rock increased their speed of cultivation. I’d just never expected the Indomitable Will sect’s four arts seniors to cut them down the same way a farmer would chop off the head of a cornstalk that was growing too high.

Sure, it would still grow, but it wouldn’t be as grand as it would have been.

But not in this fucking lifetime.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“I want you to take point in composing this new song.”

“Why me?”

While grinning, I raised my hand in the air as if showing him an invisible future. “Once you achieve your revenge against those demonic assholes. Because I know you will.” After all, in my past life, they were entirely wiped out. “You might find the soul stone with your ancestor inside it. Once you do, you’ll have a song you can play to heal them.”

His bottom lip trembled, and he looked up at the sky. His eyes seem a bit more watery than they were before. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.”

I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. “If you think like that, you’ll never win. Instead, throw yourself into increasing your strength. If something stops you, throw yourself at it until you overcome it or think your way around it. Become so strong that nothing can stop you! Then kill your way to your ancestor and save him.”

“And if he’s already gone?”

“Play it for him anyway.”

He bit his lip and his blue eyes looked like two lakes filling up with water. He nodded, then stared out into his tiny courtyard.

I stood up and stepped aside to give him some privacy.

This goddamn Xianxia universe... by being the way it was, had done a lot of fucked up things to people who didn’t deserve it. Take Gold String. He had lost his whole family and everything he knew. And the only reason he was still alive was because he’d been away. The young man must have such a horrible survivor’s guilt.

By pointing out how he could have saved his ancestor, I had made it worse. But I didn’t blame myself. No. It was the fault of the fucked up author for building his world like this. Filled with violent assholes and evil sects.

Some day, I was going to punch him in his goddamn face.

After a couple of minutes, Gold String stood up. When I saw his face, I immediately looked up at the clear sky and handed him a handkerchief.

image [https://i.imgur.com/ZXUfcuT.jpg]

[Image Link]

“Ah, it must be raining a little today.”

He chuckled and wiped his cheeks dry. “It’s just a light sprinkle. That’s all.”

When I turned back, he seemed completely recovered. Though, now that I had realized what he’d gone through, I knew he couldn’t possibly be okay. But we all kept going. Increasing our strength. It was the only path to stay alive.

“Gold String Delicate Touch! Tell me! Are you ready to go make rock history as one of the first composers of a new rock song?”

“You mean in this sect?”

“... Yes.” I meant in this timeline, but whatever.

“I am, band leader!” He paused. “But before we start composing anything, I want you to teach us the song you promised.”

“The one that melts faces?”

He told me ‘obviously’ with just his expression.

Well, Little Spring was there, so this was the perfect time to do it. I grinned. “Sure. But be prepared. It’s faster than you think.”

He scoffed. “I’m not worried. I can keep up.”

... he did, in fact, have to worry, but I would enjoy the look on his face. Muahahaha!

Oh! “But, before we start crafting our healing song, you all will need some music theory.”

***

After we returned to the group, I taught everyone that particular melty song. Once I was sure they could practice on their own where it would be safe and not fucking melt anyone’s face off, I began to teach them about the various structures rock songs had and gave them the language to describe each part.

I clasped my hands behind my back. “… So, what makes a rock song rock?”

Little Spring, who was used to my style of lecture, called out, “The instruments!”

I pointed to him. “Close! While they are important, you can always add more than the traditional guitar, drums, and bass.”

Azure, who lounged languidly on a chair she’d pulled out of her bag, had figured out how I prefer to handle things. “Is that why you wanted to add a keyboard to your band?”

“Exactly! Because what makes a song ‘rock’ is more than the instruments used to play it, though they are still important since each instrument and how you play them, brings a different texture to the music.”

Dread Lotus, who was fanning herself gently with a red spiritual fan, snapped it shut and casually raised it toward me. “Ah! That explains why Azure Melodic River usually plays the most during some of the more emotional parts. But that still doesn’t explain what makes up a rock song.”

I nodded. “You figured it out. For starters, when writing a rock song, you need to make sure it has a strong backbeat.”

Azure casually propped her chin up as if she was trying hard to not look at someone she really wanted to. “Which explains why Senior Dread Lotus’ drums are so important.”

“And why, in general, Gold String’s bass should lock in with her beat and stick to a tight and completely badass pattern.”

The two I mentioned glanced at each other and nodded as if agreeing to cooperate.

“And most importantly,” I held up a finger and grinned, “the guitar is almost always the main voice in rock... aside from, you know, the vocals. Though that could change depending on the goal of the song.”

I kept lecturing like that for several more hours, but once I finished I turned to Gold String. “So, have you thought about the base melody already?”

I wasn’t expecting much, but he nodded. “Actually, there was a song that my family used to play. I overheard it once, but it stuck with me this whole time for how good it always made me feel. I think we should use parts of it in the one we make.”

This guy definitely wanted to immortalize part of his clan’s history in rock. That was a fantastic idea!

“Let’s hear it.”

He brought out his zither and played a portion of a lovely melody. It had a slightly sad feeling that also began to build up a healing energy. “Considering that you asked us to consider how we could show the wound first before we treat it, I think we should begin with this part.”

I took what I thought was the main point of the melody and began to play it on my guitar repetitively. I even had my inner Qi flow through my body and instrument in a way that would enhance the feeling.

His eyes grew wide, and he pulled out his bass and played the deeper parts my portion lacked.

“Don’t start without me!” Dread Lotus almost flew over to her drum set, grabbed her sticks and brought a beat to the intro that complemented what we’d started.

I decreased the complexity in the guitar and added nonsense vocals, just to get the notes out there. We could add lyrics later, but for now, the emotion of the song was important.

“When we write the lyrics, we’ll have to consider if we should talk about the injury outright or use metaphor.”

“I think metaphor would be best for a piece like this,” Gold String said. “That way, even though it’s about a specific person, others can appreciate it.”

I nodded. “Agreed. Now, I don’t know how others do it, but I prefer to know where we begin and where we end, so we have a goal to work toward.” I played a series of uplifting chords that gave off the feeling of being healed, but were reminiscent of the intro.

Everyone froze for a second, then I repeated the notes. “Of course, we’ll have to design the ending fully once we get closer, but something like this is our goal.”

Gold String pointed at me and began to play his zither again. “There was another portion of the song that goes like this.”

The outro he played used a very similar chord progression to what I’d played. I grinned.

Music was still music. And I choose my band wisely.

“Perfect! Now all we have to do is the hard part. The middle. Which is always a damn struggle.”

“That’s because it’s most of the song,” Dread Lotus pointed out.

She wasn’t wrong. “It includes the Pre-Chorus, Chorus, bridge, possibly a break, and a second chorus at the very least, as I discussed earlier.”

Everyone looked like I’d just hit them with a ton of bricks and they weren’t happy about it. Well, we were already off to an incredibly fast start that I doubted any mundane composer could match.

“Our middle should express the struggle of healing.”

I began to play something I thought might make for a good pre-chorus, considering where the song was heading.

“Wait!” Gold String changed what I had played a bit. “What if it went like this instead?”

Once again, I picked up what he was playing and modified it to better match up with the guitar. Gold String then added his bass to it, enhancing the sound, but there was something missing.

Azure Melodic River’s eyes grew wide. “Oh! I got this!” She placed her hands on the keyboard and practically took over the song for a brief, heartfelt moment.

We all grinned knowingly.

Oh, yeah. It was coming together.

I missed these joyful moments that I used to have with my old students. Creating music with everyone was the fucking best.

Now I just needed to prevent these brilliant musicians from having an argument about artistic differences. How hard could that be?