Seeing Jun Beiyue’s patience running thin, Elder Se sighed helplessly, about to speak, but Elder Qin stopped him.

“Prince Yao, this matter concerns the origins of the Bloodstring zither—please bear with us a moment longer. Only by having the Bloodstring and the demonic zither play together can we confirm whether this truly is the genuine Wuzheng,” Elder Qin said, glancing casually at Xuanyuan Lige—as if he couldn’t see through this young man’s true intentions!

Among fellow zither players, encountering a true kindred spirit made even dying together over a single shared performance a fate willingly embraced!

To gift a zither was to gift one’s heart!

However extraordinary Han Ziqing’s musical talent might be, every zither player understood that a zither was never given lightly as a gift—let alone teaching, let alone the exchange of musical questions between them!

Elder Qin’s words were clearly just a pretext, yet Jun Beiyue couldn’t very well refuse outright. Ziqing, however, simply smiled and generously presented the Wuzheng. “Whether it’s genuine or not, Elder Qin, please, test it.”

At these words, Xuanyuan Lige’s heart gave a sudden, sharp pang, an inexplicable bitterness welling up within him.

It wasn’t Jun Beiyue being domineering.

She, it turned out, simply didn’t want to either.

“Elder Qin, there’s no need to test it. This zither was one I gave away myself—how could I possibly not recognize it? This is indeed the one,” he said flatly, his clear eyes utterly devoid of any warmth.

Elder Qin looked somewhat embarrassed, glancing at the Wuzheng before smiling. “Ah, of course, of course.”

Even now, Ziqing remained puzzled—what exactly were these two elders trying to accomplish?

Finally, Elder Se got straight to the point. “Prince Yao, this Wuzheng was originally a gift given to our late elder Jue Mingzi of Qinse Valley.”

“The divine physician Jue Mingzi!” Ziqing was startled—she had indeed heard that name before.

“Precisely. Jue Mingzi was Li’s master. Before he passed, he instructed Li to seek out the one destined for the Wuzheng. Never did we expect that Li would truly find you,” Elder Qin said with a smile.

“Me? Destined?”

Ziqing was puzzled, not quite grasping Elder Qin’s meaning, while Jun Beiyue listened silently, giving nothing away.

“Ha, this zither, actually, wasn’t originally Jue Mingzi’s own either—it belonged to a woman he rescued from the seaside, along with…” Elder Qin hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak plainly, “along with the famous piece ‘Sorrow’s Parting,’ which is now in your possession.”

Ziqing was stunned. “Sorrow’s Parting”!

Elder Qin recounted the story of Jue Mingzi and Madam Ci. The more Ziqing listened, the more puzzled she grew—what connection could any of this possibly have to her?

She still didn’t understand—how had she come to be considered destined for the Wuzheng?

“Prince Yao, do you know whom Madam Ci married after arriving on the Longyuan continent?” Elder Qin asked flatly.

At this question, Ziqing began to suspect something. Just as she was about to speak, Elder Qin continued, “None other than Muci, who once made her name renowned at Da Zhou’s imperial capital music house!”

“My mother!” Ziqing exclaimed in shock, unable for the first time to conceal her emotions, her feelings written plainly across her face.

Muci, to her, was a stranger of a mother, known to her only through that single deathbed instruction—the entirety of her mysterious origins!

Muci had turned out to be the original owner of “Sorrow’s Parting” and the Wuzheng and Bloodstring zithers! Muci had actually been connected to Qinse Valley! And what of that wave-sound in the sea valley?

For a moment, Ziqing’s mind spun in complete chaos, unable to untangle any of it!

Jun Beiyue took hold of her hand, gripping it tightly, hoping to calm her down.

Yet unexpectedly, Ziqing suddenly slammed her palm on the table, glaring furiously at Xuanyuan Lige. “Xuanyuan Lige, you knew all along! You approached me deliberately, with intent!”

His gentleman’s promise, his generous gift of the score, his rushing here despite his illness to save her hands from Xuanyuan Zhaoxi—all of this, she remembered clearly.

Yet fate had made them enemies now, and she had to draw a clear line—she couldn’t allow this bond of gratitude to continue.

Still, having once been friends, now being enemies didn’t mean that former bond had ever been false.

She was, after all, someone who took such things so very seriously!

Xuanyuan Lige watched Ziqing in silence, with no intention of explaining himself. He hadn’t investigated Ziqing because of the zither at all—it was because of “the isolated island” that he’d traced things to Muci’s identity, only stumbling upon this connection by chance!

Had he not heard, in the sea valley, a sound perfectly matching the rhythm of “Sorrow’s Parting’s” climax, he would never have connected the isolated island’s secret to Qinse Valley at all!

He too had merely assumed Madam Ci was simply a passing visitor to Qinse Valley.

And when he’d seen no zither player at all at the bottom of the coral sea lake, he’d become one hundred percent certain—the isolated island was absolutely connected to Qinse Valley, connected to that very sea lake!

Seeing Xuanyuan Lige offer no response, Ziqing gave a cold laugh. “Elders of Qinse Valley, after all this, what exactly is it you wanted from detaining me here?”

Elder Qin immediately grew flustered, hastily explaining, “Consort of Prince Yao, please don’t misunderstand! When Li gave you the zither and the score before, he knew absolutely nothing about any of this!”

“Precisely, precisely—that’s exactly why we call it destiny! Back then, Jue Mingzi instructed Li to give the zither to whoever was destined for it—meaning whoever could master the Wuzheng. And Li found you, who turned out to be Madam Ci’s very own daughter—that truly is destiny!” Elder Se hastily explained as well, clearly afraid of angering this young woman further!

Hearing this, Ziqing’s anger subsided somewhat, saying flatly, “Then do you know where my mother originally came from?”

Both elders shook their heads. “Back then, Jue Mingzi rescued her from the waters south of Liuxian Island. Many people asked her at the time, but she couldn’t recall anything at all—it took her quite a while just to remember her own name.”

“By the sea?” Ziqing grew suspicious. Regarding the isolated island’s location, the only thing known for certain was that it lay somewhere at sea, itself an island.

“She washed ashore along with the wreckage of a ship—likely caught in a typhoon,” Elder Qin explained. Those memories were so distant now, nearly forgotten even by them.

Ziqing glanced at Jun Beiyue, hesitating. If that were true, then Madam Ci had no direct connection to Qinse Valley at all—so why had that sound in the sea valley…

Ziqing hesitated a moment longer before finally speaking. “The two of you—have you ever heard ‘Sorrow’s Parting’?”

“We once heard Madam Ci play its opening passage, but never had the fortune to hear the hundreds of scrolls that followed,” Elder Se said modestly.

“Then tell me—that sound in the sea valley… it’s precisely the climax section of ‘Sorrow’s Parting.'” Ziqing stated it directly.

Both elders were utterly stunned, momentarily unable to grasp what Ziqing meant.

Xuanyuan Lige smiled faintly. “The elders are right—the consort speaks the truth. That sound, including the great waves that followed, matches the rhythm of ‘Sorrow’s Parting’s’ climax perfectly.”

Since Ziqing had already revealed it, he had nothing further to conceal.

Getting the two Qinse elders to reveal anything wasn’t easy—this was truly an opportunity!

“This… how could this possibly be!” Elder Qin’s brow furrowed tightly, utterly unable to believe it.

“That sound in the sea valley has existed within Qinse Valley since ancient times. There was once only a narrow passage down to it, too small for anyone to actually descend—one could only press an ear to the entrance and listen,” Elder Se said earnestly.

A flicker of complexity crossed Jun Beiyue’s eyes. Just as he was about to ask something, Xuanyuan Lige beat him to it. “Could it be that ‘Sorrow’s Parting’ originally belonged to Qinse Valley itself, and somehow spread outward from here?”

“No, absolutely not—something so precious would certainly be recorded in Qinse Valley’s historical annals!” Elder Qin immediately denied it.

Yet Jun Beiyue asked, “Then surely someone must have heard this sound and, inspired, composed the piece from it!”

At these words, Baili Weisheng, who had been nearly dozing off on the rooftop, immediately perked up with interest. Yet, unexpectedly, the two Qinse elders both fell silent.