Things really were difficult.
The young man apologized first, gently and courteously, then made his request.
They were escorting a hundred musicians of the Sheng Clan of the Beast Clan to the opening ceremony’s grand ensemble performance at the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake gathering. Not only that, but they were also delivering a white jade sheng to the Grand Elder of the Sheng Clan, who was standing for election as clan chief!
In short, their schedule could not be delayed—not only could it not be delayed, they could not afford to be even one person short; the stakes were too high.
With such reasoning, and such an attitude, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing had no grounds at all to refuse.
Jun Beiyue looked at the young man before him, a flash of admiration passing through his eyes—this child had taken “neither servile nor arrogant” to its absolute extreme!
So young, and clearly of no ordinary background, yet able to truly embody those four words. Truly rare and admirable.
Within the Beast Clan, besides the direct Gu Mo line, there were many great clans. The Xiao Clan they’d encountered earlier was one such great clan, but the Sheng Clan—Jun Beiyue had genuinely never heard of it.
Yet the fact that they could take part in the grand ensemble at the opening of the Jade Water Nectar gathering, and were even eligible to compete for clan chief, was enough to show that this family was no obscure one, but rather a low-profile clan with real strength.
The young man remained in his bowing posture, calmly looking at Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, while beside him, the envoy’s anxiety was written all over his face.
Time was slipping away bit by bit; there truly was no more room to delay.
What to do?
Give way? Once they gave way, who knew when the next boat would return, or what they might miss?
Not give way? If they refused, what reason would they have to refuse?
The boat could only hold so many people; fitting in a hundred musicians was already an enormous strain. A few more, and it would be the straw that broke the camel’s back—the boat simply wouldn’t move.
Though the young man bore a heavy responsibility and should have been even more anxious than the envoy, he remained remarkably calm, patiently waiting for Jun Beiyue to speak.
“The Sheng Clan’s business takes priority. Hurry and set sail—we will follow the boat through the air. Envoy, rest assured, I will explain matters to the Prince of Nanzhao myself.”
Jun Beiyue said this flatly. The envoy, though nominally there to receive them, was in truth there to keep watch over them—being stuck with this man was genuinely troublesome in every way.
Now, as long as they didn’t leave Sheng Zimo’s sight, the envoy could rest easy, and he’d have an explanation ready for the Prince of Nanzhao as well!
No sooner had he said this than the envoy hesitated. Who could have known that at this moment Sheng Zimo suddenly seemed to have an idea and quickly spoke up. “Prince Yao, this junior has a solution—I’m not sure if it will work.”
“Go ahead and say it,” Jun Beiyue said, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. What sort of solution could this young man possibly have that would satisfy everyone?
A sly gleam flashed in Sheng Zimo’s warm eyes. Without a word, he took the sheng from his back and began to play it softly.
Everyone present—except the envoy and Ziqing and Jun Beiyue—was hearing a sheng for the first time.
The sound of a sheng was completely different from a qin; the sheng’s pipes rose together, capable of producing a variety of different tones.
The sound was by turns bright and crisp, then low and trembling, several tones and notes blending together, and the melody it produced left listeners with an indescribable feeling!
But no one understood—why was he playing the sheng at a time like this?
Only Baili Xiaosheng found herself unconsciously drawn into the sound, captivated for the first time in her life by a sound like this!
So this was the voice of the sheng!
So that object with the thirteen bamboo pipes really was a sheng!
Baili Xiaosheng watched, entranced, thinking that if this sheng were fiery red, the shape of those thirteen bamboo pipes would look just like a phoenix’s wing!
Yet just as everyone stood puzzled and Baili Xiaosheng remained entranced, a sudden enormous splash of water sounded from nearby—”splash, splash!”
Everyone turned their heads sharply to look, only to see a massive sturgeon surface from the water!
Ziqing’s first thought was “Chinese sturgeon,” but even the largest Chinese sturgeon she knew of had never been anywhere near this size!
The length of this fish, and the width of its back, could easily accommodate four or five grown adults!
After the sturgeon surfaced, Sheng Zimo did not immediately stop playing, but continued, the melody turning gentler, as if communicating with the creature.
Everyone watched, stunned, only now realizing that this fellow really was a member of the Beast Clan—summoning beasts was their specialty after all!
It seemed the Sheng Clan was like the Xiao Clan: unable to speak directly with beasts the way the direct Beast Clan line could, but able to control beasts through music!
“The white jade sheng…” Xiong Xiaobao murmured to himself, wondering about the relationship between the white jade sheng Sheng Zimo had just mentioned and the white jade flute in his own possession.
Could they be treasures of equal worth?
Could it be that the Sheng Clan, too, kept a number of top-tier beasts, ones that could only be summoned with a white jade sheng?
Very soon, the massive sturgeon beast was tamed obediently by Sheng Zimo, resting against the shore, floating on the water’s surface, waiting respectfully for Jun Beiyue and the others to board.
“Prince Yao, this sturgeon beast can carry you directly to the foot of the mountain at the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake. There will be some bumps along the way, but it’s still easier than flying through the air the whole distance. The envoy is welcome to ride along and see to your needs,” Sheng Zimo said earnestly.
Saving such a good trick for just this moment—this young man had clearly been testing their attitude!
A cold smile tugged at the corner of Ziqing’s lips. This young man really was no simple character. If they hadn’t yielded a moment ago, this young man likely wouldn’t have summoned the sturgeon beast to grant them this convenience.
Quite the young man with an attitude of his own. Jun Beiyue said nothing, merely nodding to show his acceptance, which seemed to leave Sheng Zimo somewhat disappointed—he had expected Jun Beiyue to say something more.
No one was happier than the envoy, who thanked Sheng Zimo profusely again and again, hurrying to usher Jun Beiyue’s party toward the sturgeon beast.
“Had a solution all along and still made us wait so long!” Xiong Xiaobao muttered, pouting, and was about to walk off when he noticed Baili Xiaosheng still staring blankly at Sheng Zimo. He was instantly displeased!
He grabbed her small hand and yanked hard. “Let’s go, nothing worth looking at. I’m more powerful than anyone in the Beast Clan—you’ve seen it yourself!”
Well… that was certainly a rather narcissistic thing to say, but Xiong Xiaobao did have the credentials to back it up.
If they weren’t in Nanzhao, a single top-tier poison beast would have been enough to send them straight to the peak of the Jade Water Nectar mountain in an instant.
When the Beast Clan summoned beasts, they had to communicate through sound—even the direct Gu Mo line had to give verbal commands!
But he only needed a single thought, and a huge beast could appear out of thin air—and a poison beast at that!
Compared to him, the Beast Clan was simply pathetic!
Of course, that only applied to one-on-one fights. In a group brawl, his current stock wasn’t quite sufficient.
“Let’s go!”
Seeing Baili Xiaosheng still standing there in a daze, Xiong Xiaobao inexplicably grew a little angry. Xiaosheng was his only playmate—how could she be captivated by some fellow barely ten years older than them?
Look at that besotted expression—it was embarrassing, embarrassing for any real man!
Pulled and tugged again and again by Xiong Xiaobao, Baili Xiaosheng finally came back to her senses, murmuring, “The sheng… it’s so beautiful.”
“If you like it that much, I’ll find a way to get you one. Let’s go!” Xiong Xiaobao said impatiently, giving her another sharp tug and dragging the thoroughly distracted Baili Xiaosheng away…