Ziqing slept for a full two days and two nights straight!

Back in her days as a mercenary, out on the battlefield, she’d gone entire weeks without proper sleep, surviving on nothing but brief catnaps — she’d been through all of that before. So for her, catching up on lost sleep like this, sleeping in massive stretches to compensate, was entirely normal!

Throughout these two days and nights, Xuanyuan Lige was nowhere to be found at all. Yelu Qianqian, the great princess, once woken by the cold, found herself boiling water, cooking meals, sweeping and cleaning — practically every chore she’d never once done in her entire life, she ended up doing during this stretch!

Now, a small group sat gathered around a large table full of dishes she’d prepared, all exchanging awkward glances.

Xuanyuan Lige’s house certainly hadn’t been short on food supplies, but after two days of Yelu Qianqian’s efforts, even the rice jar had been completely emptied out.

Her first attempt at cooking had used too much water, turning into plain rice porridge so overcooked it was practically undrinkable. Her second attempt used too little water, resulting in undercooked rice so hard even she herself could barely choke it down, and she’d simply thrown it out!

Generally speaking, those were about the only two mistakes one could make cooking rice — and yet, with just these two errors, Yelu Qianqian had managed to repeat them over and over, until she’d used up every last grain of Xuanyuan Lige’s rice supply.

Now, laid out before everyone was a pot of rice cooked so badly it could hardly be called cooked at all, alongside a plate of stir-fried corn that was more than half burnt to a crisp.

Having slept her fill, Ziqing’s stomach was growling with hunger, but staring at the “delicacies” in front of her, she genuinely struggled to bring herself to eat any of it.

Yelu Qianqian looked around at everyone, saying timidly, “Maybe… maybe we just shouldn’t eat, then.”

As if everyone had been waiting for exactly that suggestion, all three of them set down their chopsticks in perfect unison.

Ziqing turned to go retrieve Wuzheng — hungry as she was, stomach practically touching her back, she still wanted to properly check on her precious zither first.

This was the instrument she’d won from her musical duel with Xuanyuan Lige, and it was also something her mother had left behind for her.

“It’s fine, perfectly intact!” Jun Beiyue said flatly, offering no explanation of how he’d managed to retrieve the zither.

Ziqing’s mind was entirely occupied with Wuzheng, and she didn’t press for more details.

For someone skilled in music, examining a zither took only a note or two to assess its condition. Ziqing laid Wuzheng flat and gently plucked a few notes.

But with just those one or two notes, Xuanyuan Lige’s brow immediately furrowed as he looked over.

Wuzheng had been the one Jun Beiyue had retrieved, and up until now, he hadn’t touched it at all. Yet the moment Ziqing plucked those one or two notes, he immediately sensed something was off!

And Ziqing herself paused slightly, seeming to have noticed something too, and plucked a few more notes!

“What’s going on?”

Xuanyuan Lige rose abruptly and walked over, while Ziqing, brow already furrowed tight, plucked the strings several more times in rapid succession!

Watching the two of them grow so tense, both Jun Beiyue and Yelu Qianqian looked utterly confused — to their ears, nothing about it sounded particularly unusual at all.

Xuanyuan Lige walked over, and without a word passing between them, Ziqing immediately stepped aside to let him try.

But the instant Xuanyuan Lige’s fingers touched the strings, he was struck with alarm. “How strange!”

He didn’t play it. Instead, he began carefully, meticulously examining Wuzheng’s soundboard, its base, and both edges of the zither!

Nearly all stringed instruments are made up of two parts: the sound-generating component and the resonating body. The strings themselves are small in volume and produce a very faint sound on their own.

Wuzheng’s soundboard, base, and two edges together formed the zither’s resonating body, which directly determined its volume and tonal quality!

Ziqing had natural talent, but Xuanyuan Lige was the true master here — his understanding of Wuzheng far surpassed hers.

His expression grew solemn, even sharp, his gaze utterly focused. The way he examined the instrument was nothing at all like Jun Beiyue’s earlier, amateur inspection.

His slender fingers gently traced across Wuzheng’s soundboard, its base, and both edges, lightly tapping and listening, carefully running his fingers over every surface, as though sensing something deeper.

Once he’d finished examining all three areas, his fingers returned to the strings, sliding from the very first string down to the last, then working back up from the bottom, plucking each string one by one, listening intently to the timbre of each note!

“It’s changed!” Ziqing blurted out, her eyes stinging uncontrollably, turning faintly red.

The zither’s tonal quality had changed completely, transformed into something worse than even the most ordinary zither. With sound quality like this, even the finest composition would be utterly ruined!

For someone who loved this zither, who loved music itself, this was without question the most devastating blow imaginable. Ziqing’s heart ached unbearably.

“How could this have happened?”

Watching Ziqing’s expression, Jun Beiyue was struck with sudden alarm, only now realizing he might have made a serious mistake. Still, both Wuzheng and the blood zither were supposed to withstand even intense fire — Xuanyuan Lige surely knew this too, otherwise he would have stopped him long before it came to this!

At that moment, however, Xuanyuan Lige remained utterly absorbed in Wuzheng. He sat down, raising both hands, yet instead of resting them on the strings, he held them suspended just above the strings, hovering in the air!

From this angle, his hands looked even more slender and beautiful, undeniably striking — these were hands that seemed born to play the zither.

Fully focused, he plucked at the empty air with all ten fingers, each motion summoning a wind blade that plucked the strings, producing a sound utterly different from before.

Hearing this new sound, then recalling the sound from just moments ago, even complete outsiders like Jun Beiyue and Yelu Qianqian couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath!

It was different!

Completely, utterly different!

The current tonal quality, though still as thin and delicate as before, seeming to lack something, was nonetheless crisp, clear, and melodious — setting aside the melody itself, the sheer timbre alone was a rare pleasure to behold!

Xuanyuan Lige continued playing, and Ziqing listened with rapt attention, murmuring without realizing it, “Lige, where’s your blood zither?”

This tone, though even better than before, still felt somehow thin, as if something were missing. Ziqing’s first thought immediately went to Xuanyuan Lige’s blood zither.

The blood zither’s tone was the fullest, the most stable, the most ancient and dignified. If the two tones were combined, what kind of effect would that produce?

The blood zither’s ancient solidity would compensate for Wuzheng’s thinness, while Wuzheng’s melodious clarity would keep the blood zither’s tone from becoming too heavy.

If the two zithers were played together, in perfect harmony — what kind of effect would that create?

At the mention of the blood zither, Xuanyuan Lige’s hand froze, and his eyes unconsciously dimmed.

The blood zither had been lost for a very long time now. After Yanzi had rescued him from Liuxian Island, the blood zither had ended up in the hands of Yanzi and Yelu Chenyi. To this day, he still had no idea where it currently was.

He’d never thought to search for it again after leaving. He’d never expected this particular woman, who understood music so deeply, would end up here.

“What’s going on?” Jun Beiyue asked, puzzled.

Xuanyuan Lige looked at Ziqing’s intent expression and couldn’t help but smile. “I could never quite figure out the connection between Wuzheng and the blood zither. Today, I finally understand. These aren’t two separate zithers at all — they’re a matched pair, meant to be played together. The blood zither needs to be nourished with blood, needs a spiritual connection with the one playing it, needs to be touched gently. Wuzheng, on the other hand, needs this particular fingering technique!”

As Xuanyuan Lige spoke, his fingers gently swept through the air, and a wind blade plucked out a single note.

“After being burned, this zither’s true nature finally revealed itself. This zither is only suited to being played through finger-summoned wind blades.”

“Burned? Who burned this zither!” Ziqing exclaimed in alarm.

Jun Beiyue was about to explain, but Xuanyuan Lige spoke first. “It was an accident. This zither can withstand fire, after all — if it hadn’t been burned, we might never have discovered this at all!”

Jun Beiyue shot him a suspicious glance but said nothing further.

Xuanyuan Lige explained, gesturing for Ziqing to come closer. “You’ve practiced this fingering technique even better than I have. Give it a try.”

Ziqing nodded, her mind entirely on Wuzheng. She raised her hand and positioned it over the strings — and the movement, as she performed it, was somehow even more graceful and elegant than when Xuanyuan Lige had done it.

She glanced up at Jun Beiyue, then at Xuanyuan Lige, the corners of her lips curving into a delighted smile, and gently plucked the strings with her fingertips…