Chapter 65: Enjoying Music

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Miss Vilyric and her companions had been drifting along the Kaiyuan Grand Canal for over half a month.

Although their purpose for this journey was to follow leads to Cangyun Mountain and search for Princess Ling’s whereabouts, to be honest, Vilyric wasn’t in a hurry at all.

She knew Hen too well; if that Princess Ling was indeed related to Hen, or even her herself, an enemy like the Demon-Suppressing Sect posed no real threat to that guy. She’d just toy with them endlessly, even if Hen was merely an ordinary person here.

And if it were just a case of the same name or some other situation, there was definitely no need to be anxious.

After all, Miss Priestess’s goal from the very beginning was singular: to ascend Lingyin Fairy Island and find the clues left by Hen. Since she hinted at that, it must be right.

In truth, Vilyric was merely killing time and preparing for what felt like a trip to learn more about this Ancient Spirit Realm continent.

If not, she would have flown straight to Cangyun Mountain ages ago—how could she possibly be leisurely drifting along the canal?

Of course, even though it was said to be leisurely, Miss Priestess had actually been quite busy during these days.

“Buzz~”

With a gentle flick of her fingers, she dispersed the last lingering notes, her hands leaving the guqin strings as she exhaled a breath of impure air.

“Clap clap clap clap…”

In the quiet room, Mengrui, who had been quietly listening by her side, burst into applause.

“Wow, Vilyric, you’re truly the most exceptional talent I’ve ever seen! In less than a month, you’ve gone from knowing almost nothing about playing to being able to almost perfectly play ‘Song of the Mundane World.’”

“Just so you know, it took me several years to achieve the same thing! Before I formally learned the guqin, I had already been immersed in music from a young age, laying a solid foundation. Even so, my teacher called me exceptionally talented, saying my aptitude equaled her own…”

The white-haired girl shook her head with a light laugh, showing a hint of helplessness.

“There are always people beyond people, and skies beyond skies. Truly, Miss Vilyric, your guqin skills are ready for the teacher’s stage. Aside from some pieces of music, I have nothing more to teach you. The rest… you’ll have to explore on your own.”

“Hmm… Thank you for all the help these days. There are indeed many secrets within these seven little strings,” the black-haired girl stood up, casually opening the cabin window and gazing at the calm, boundless canal waters.

Although Mengrui praised her giftedness, the reason Vilyric could grasp the guqin so quickly wasn’t solely due to her divine race’s impressive qualities and memory.

At first, it felt nothing special, but upon touching the guqin and hearing the explanations of its principles, Miss Priestess would feel a sense of familiarity spring forth, as if she had encountered similar things long ago.

How strange…

The bright sunlight illuminated the girl’s pristine white robe, the feather-like patterns harmonizing with her flowing black hair, reflecting a soft luster as she floated like a celestial being.

“…”

Watching her, for some reason, Mengrui suddenly felt an odd illusion, as if this black-haired girl, whom she had known for nearly a month and thought hard to keep up with, was about to ascend as an immortal.

So, she couldn’t help but speak up to hold her back.

“Vilyric… are you leaving?”

Miss Priestess didn’t turn around; she continued gazing at the water’s surface and gently responded with a smile.

“There’s no feast that doesn’t come to an end, Miss Mengrui. The music boat should have entered the Extreme State region by now and should soon arrive at Xiangshou County, right?”

The pink-clad girl nodded slightly.

“Yes, there are about three days left of travel. Xiangshou County is the endpoint of the Kaiyuan Grand Canal and the music boat. We’ll dock there, rest for a while, and then head back west to continue our musical performances.”

“Three days, huh…”

These days have been surprisingly easy-going.

It’s true that music can cultivate the spirit.

Since her arrival in this world, Vilyric had constantly remained on guard against potential threats from this foreign realm, exploring various aspects to understand the deep mysteries hidden behind this world—and the many enigmas surrounding her.

This process was indeed fascinating, but over time, she occasionally felt a bit mentally fatigued, especially after temporarily separating from Little Dragon Daughter, her most reliable and important partner; that feeling became even more pronounced.

This divine body certainly brought countless benefits and conveniences, yet the accompanying apathetic mindset made Vilyric increasingly disinterested in trivial matters, or rather, too lazy to care.

No fear, no excitement, no worries, no expectations.

Revisiting this topic, this situation hadn’t just emerged recently; it had always accompanied Vilyric’s existence, just that she had been consciously trying to restrain it.

When she first encountered that Feather of Destruction in the Tidal Deep Valley, after seeing a mysterious golden-eyed Vilyric for the second time, that seemingly intentional yet meaningless riddle had made Miss Priestess feel on guard again.

She was still changing, becoming more like something while also becoming less like something else.

Thus, when she boarded the music boat and experienced the Music Fairy Flower Festival, Vilyric decided to seize this opportunity to try learning, or rather, comprehending and enjoying something irrelevant to power.

She wanted to maintain the faint ripples in her heart that had rarely stirred in recent times through music.

And for now, it seemed to be somewhat effective.

At least she felt a slight regret about the upcoming farewell; although this emotion wasn’t sweet, it was something Vilyric hadn’t felt in quite some time.

She turned and smiled.

“How about we hold another Music Fairy Flower Festival before we leave in three days?”

“This ‘Song of the Mundane World,’ paired with some scene decorations, could be the key to entering that dream, right? I want to give it a try myself this time. I wonder if Miss Mengrui is willing to grant me this opportunity?”

The residual elegance from her musical performance blended with the inherent purity of the girl’s aura, the gentle smile creating an image as if everything was perfectly natural, especially under the rising sun’s backdrop.

That was an aura called charm.

“Hmm…”

Adding to that vaguely suggestive remark, it made Mengrui’s heart unexpectedly race, and her fair cheeks turned slightly flushed, causing her to hurriedly lower her head to hide it.

“Well… since you said that, I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem. The Music Fairy Boat’s talents aren’t solely mine; being the focus of the dream is quite exhausting, so most of the time, the Music Fairy Flower Festival is hosted by other sisters. Considering how much time has passed, it seems about right…”

“Hehe, that’s great! Please take care of your apprentice when the time comes, as it’ll be my first performance after all.”

“F-first performance…?”

Noticing the other girl’s flustered expression, the black-haired girl tilted her head in surprise.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that? By the way, why are you keeping your head down?”

“Ahem… It’s nothing! Just a bug flew by!”

“…?”

After all this time, Mengrui had grown quite familiar with this black-haired girl, knowing she wasn’t the type to intentionally use veiled hints to make any inappropriate jokes. It was just that she herself was captivated by that aura, and her mind had wandered into some daydreams, leaving her flustered. Mengrui quickly shook her head and raised her head back to a normal expression.

“Then let’s set the time for the Music Fairy Flower Festival for tomorrow night. That way, we’ll have enough preparation time and won’t be hurried as we dock. Also, if you want to use ‘Song of the Mundane World’ to open the dream, some details will need to be adjusted… I’ll teach you now.”

Mengrui stepped a few paces forward and sat on the wooden stool still holding the warmth of the girl.

“I’ll play it once first; Vilyric, listen carefully, okay?”

“Okay~”

   

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