The whole place fell silent, filled only with the sound of Baili Xiaosheng’s playing.

Under her performance, the phoenix-tail sheng’s tone reached its absolute peak. From a distance, amid the silence, the little girl’s posture looked as though she cradled a phoenix in her hands, gazing up at it with reverent devotion.

And this sound was like the cry of a phoenix itself—solemn and noble, so much so that no one dared make a sound to profane it.

Baili Xiaosheng had already closed her eyes, entirely unaware of everything she had just done and said.

All of it had come from the phoenix-tail sheng’s strange, special pull on her.

With her eyes closed, she, like everyone else around her, was lost entirely in the sound of the sheng.

Earlier, listening to Sheng Zimo play, she’d felt a nagging sense of familiarity she couldn’t place. Now, playing it herself, that same familiarity returned, just as elusive as before.

But this time it was a different kind of feeling altogether—as if this particular phoenix-tail sheng, and this strange, wondrous sound, were something she had loved since the very moment she was born.

Gradually, the melody drew to a close, and the crowd slowly came back to their senses. Baili Xiaosheng, however, still stood with her eyes shut, lost in that feeling of familiarity.

Everyone stared at her now, utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend what they’d just witnessed.

“They’ve submitted!”

Suddenly, a cry shattered the silence.

Submitted?

Only then did the crowd shift their gaze, and there before Baili Xiaosheng, they saw the two dogs—submitted, though no one had noticed exactly when.

Both the white dog and the black dog lay prostrate at Baili Xiaosheng’s feet, heads bowed low, as if paying homage to their sovereign.

They had submitted!

The two poison beasts had actually submitted!

Submitted because of Baili Xiaosheng’s sheng music!

Heavens—what Sheng Zimo hadn’t been able to accomplish, this girl had. And not merely summoning them—she’d made them submit entirely.

For hundreds of years, no one in the Beast Clan had ever managed to make these two poison beasts submit. How had this girl done it?

She hadn’t even needed the white jade flute—a single phoenix-tail sheng alone had been enough.

No, no, no!

Never mind that question for now—there was an even more pressing one.

Who exactly was she?

Wasn’t she the adopted son that the Prince Yao of Da Zhou had brought along in search of medicine? How could she possibly wield the phoenix-tail sheng?

The phoenix-tail sheng belonged to the Sheng family! Not just anyone could even touch it, let alone command it!

A dead silence fell. Ziqing and Jun Beiyue stood equally stunned—they’d never expected Baili Xiaosheng to give them a surprise like this.

She actually possessed such an ability!

Out of habit, Ziqing turned her head. “You wretched scholar—”

She was about to ask something, only to remember that Baili Weisheng wasn’t there beside her.

This child had been picked up and raised by Baili Weisheng off the side of a road. Could this girl possibly have some connection to the Sheng family?

Ziqing was about to speak when, at that very moment, a mournful wail suddenly rang out.

“My daughter! My daughter!”

Everyone startled, turning toward the sound—and there was the head of the Sheng family, scrambling up from the ground and rushing straight toward Baili Xiaosheng.

Tears already streaming freely down his face, his voice choked with sobs, “Daughter, my daughter, your father has searched for you so, so hard!”

“Daughter, you’ve finally come back, you’ve finally come back! If you hadn’t returned soon, your mother might never have laid eyes on you again!”

Daughter?

The head of the Sheng family kept calling her that, over and over, but everyone else stood baffled—especially Xiong Xiaobao.

Daughter? What daughter?

Wasn’t this masked boy with the silver-white mask supposed to be a boy?

How could she be a daughter?

“Little Sheng…” Xiong Xiaobao murmured to himself, and then something suddenly clicked. He looked up urgently at Ziqing, but Ziqing had no attention to spare for him right now—her focus was entirely on Baili Xiaosheng.

This girl—was she truly a young lady of the Sheng family?

Heavens, with that lineage and that talent, this was no small matter. Ziqing couldn’t help but wonder—how could such an extraordinary girl have simply been found abandoned somewhere? Surely Baili Weisheng hadn’t secretly stolen her away, had he?

The moment the head of the Sheng family reached her, he immediately wrapped his arms around Baili Xiaosheng in a tight embrace.

Only then did Baili Xiaosheng finally come back to herself, slowly opening her eyes.

She stared blankly at the head of the Sheng family, then at the object in her own hands, then looked around at everyone nearby—and was startled half to death.

Her hands went limp, dropping the phoenix-tail sheng, and she began to struggle.

“Let go of me! What are you doing!”

“Let go, or I won’t hold back!”

She had no idea what had just happened. Had she done something? What had just occurred? Hadn’t she been in Auntie Qing’s arms this whole time?

How had she ended up in the arms of the head of the Sheng family?

She hated being touched by strangers more than anything.

“Let go!”

“Let go of me, or I won’t be polite about it!”

…

Baili Xiaosheng struggled with all her might, but the head of the Sheng family had no intention of letting go. This was the daughter he and his wife had searched for, for so many years, grieved over for so many years—finally found at last.

“Girl, you’re my daughter!”

“You’re the youngest, most legitimate daughter of the Sheng family! Eleven years ago, you were stolen away the very day you were born! Your mother and I searched for you like madmen, but… it’s been eleven years now!”

As the head of the Sheng family spoke, he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer, covering his face.

Baili Xiaosheng was thoroughly frightened. She stopped struggling, curling in on herself, feeling nothing but pure fear.

How could all of this happen so suddenly?

She’d grown up without parents from childhood, and she’d long since gotten used to it, never expecting anything different.

All she’d ever needed was her master—that had been enough.

So how had a father suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wanting to claim her as his own?

What on earth was going on?

Seeing Baili Xiaosheng shrink back, the head of the Sheng family, afraid she didn’t believe him, quickly added, “Daughter, from the moment you were born you cried without stopping—the only thing that ever calmed you was the sound of the sheng. You’re my daughter, there’s no mistake about it!”

“You have an absolute gift for the sheng, one you mastered without any teacher at all! The phoenix-tail sheng only reaches its true peak performance in your hands, and yours alone!”

“Daughter, you’ve just proven all of it yourself—you truly are my Sheng family’s daughter!”

The head of the Sheng family grew more and more emotional as he spoke, and the crowd around them finally began to understand what was happening.

Sheng Zimo sat slumped and dejected off to the side, while the head of the Xiao family’s eyes burned with resentment and malice.

Sheng Zimo’s hopes were utterly crushed, and the Xiao family had now completely lost any chance at the position of clan head.

No one had expected a genius like this to emerge out of nowhere, cutting straight through everything! Ziqing and Jun Beiyue exchanged a glance, both letting out a breath of relief.

In the end, it had all turned out fine, if a bit alarming. They’d never imagined that coming here for the Jade Water and Nectar Heavenly Lake would lead them, quite by accident, to uncover Baili Xiaosheng’s true origins.

Even less had they expected this girl to be connected to the final missing note of Lishang.

The white jade flute was already in their hands, and the phoenix-tail sheng belonged to the Sheng family—it seemed they wouldn’t need to go to any trouble at all to obtain it.

Everything had settled into place.

Hearing the head of the Sheng family’s words, Baili Xiaosheng finally began to piece things together, though she still couldn’t quite accept the reality of it. Held tightly in his arms, unable to break free, she could only turn a pitiful, pleading look toward Ziqing and the others.

Her eyes were clearly begging for help—could she please have a little time, some space to think things through, to be alone and quiet for a moment?

Could she—could she please see her master? She suddenly wanted her master so badly, so very badly.

Master, Xiaosheng has found her parents, found her family. Where are you?