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"Revisiting the old place

The full moon adds to my loneliness

The night's half-awake candlelight can't bear to blame me

..."

The song flows.

The melody lingering.

Tasting this song carefully, Li Yang's heart, suddenly skipped a beat, as if something was quietly melting.

He subconsciously looked around.

Wherever his gaze touched, everyone's expression began to change.

The venue was filled with the top musicians from across the city, all ace composers, who could hear something extraordinary in this song due to their discerning ears.

The singing in his ears continues:

"A pot of wandering

Drifting around the world, hard to swallow

After you left

The wine warms my memory, the missing is thin

The water flows eastward

How does time steal

The flowers bloom just once to blossom

But I missed it."

If we say, Yang Zhongming's "Blue Star" is bold and atmospheric, reflecting the realm of "great music is easy"...

Then Xian Yu's song is delicate and refined, like a slowly unfolding "dragon and phoenix painting".

Boldness contrasts with refinement.

The song's faint sorrow and helplessness belong to the feelings of a young boy's first love.

The song style is antique, blended with the soul of modern piano, yet it doesn't feel discordant at all.

Everything seems so harmonious.

In sadness.
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Thoughts are flying.

As if people are on a lake.

From the boat one sees, the charm of green mountains, the rippling of lake waves, and the passage of time.

This mood, this scene, is old-fashioned, as if created by nature itself.

A surge stirs up.

Between the natural bounces of the classical tune.

The pipa rolls like jade beads;

The erhu dances in the years;

The occasional harp gracefully posed.

And when the melody for the chorus part resonates, it seems the atmosphere in the hall changes indescribably. Everyone's heartstrings are suddenly struck:

"Who's playing a song on the pipa as the east wind breaks

Years are peeling off the wall to reveal our childhood

I still remember when we were all very young

Now the sound of the piano is faint

You never heard me waiting for you..."

Li Yang's mouth hung open.

On Li Yang's left.

The acclaimed composer who earlier discussed the brilliance of "Blue Star," had his eyes wide like ping-pong balls.

On Li Yang's right.

The acclaimed composer who proclaimed "Yang Zhongming will surely win" looked constipated, like a certain coach at a live singing competition.

Their shock was clear.

Actually, the song wasn't intense.

The singing of the chorus was as light as the sake sipped before a meal, with only a hint of drunkenness.

But...

Without anyone anticipating, the drunkenness seemed to instantly surge to their heads, stronger than any aftertaste from strong liquor.

Everyone was drunk.

Drunk in the small courtyard.

At this time, the solitary lamp was already extinguished. In the dim night, the wanderer, after drinking the wine made from wandering, slowly hummed a song from his childhood memories.

"Who's playing a song on the pipa as the east wind breaks

The maple leaves color the story, I can see through the ending

Outside the fence, I walked with you on the ancient road

In the year of wild smoke and grass

Even breaking up was silent

..."

The drunkenness gradually dissipates.

At this moment, even though they were in a modern, grand hall, everyone felt as if they were seeing a distant, ancient era slowly becoming blurred through hundreds and thousands of years.

There were no explosive drum beats.

There was no intermittent crescendo.

No need for magnificent singing.

This is a story told gently and unhurriedly.

As the second refrain ends, with only the music lingering in the aftermath, there seemed no need for a voiceover or superfluous details. Still, everyone understood the message of the song.

The end of the song seemed to be the moment of awakening for everyone.

Suddenly there was a sense of regret...

Everyone seemed to be lost in a silent disappointment.

The helpless feeling of that period, neither intense nor mild, neither willing to recall nor able to forget.

All beauty vanishes in the ancient times;

All bitterness remains in seemingly deceiving questions:

"Whom is the playing the lute for the song of the east wind?"

Thus, those silent people become even quieter, along with someone's silent sigh that came out of nowhere.

The silence was finally broken once again.

Li Yang began to speak with some difficulty, "Never have I felt so hopeless since my debut... I suddenly realized that I probably won't ever become a Maestro in my life..."

A bitter smile crossed everyone's faces.

Wasn't Li Yang's lament the voice of many others there?

This evening, the works of Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu laid waste to the pride of many composers, making any personal conceit they had worthless.

Because the ace composers present understood:

be it "Blue Star"

or "Shattered East Wind".

Both were songs they would never be able to write.

Songs they would never be able to write in their lifetime.

"Shattered East Wind" is an ancient style song, but in comprehensive perspective...

Can it still be considered an ancient style song?

"If this is deemed an ancient style song, then when "Shattered East Wind" was performed, it seemed all the other ancient style songs were nothing in comparison."

"The piano, lute, erhu, guzheng, and it seems a harp or yangqin?"

"It's a harp."

"Even the lyrics, when compared to "Wishing We Last Forever", are modern, yet remarkably ingenious."

"The lyrics do not intentionally express longing and melancholy, but when the music starts, you feel these emotions. Even without lyrics or vocals, describing it as 'sorrow without hurt' is very apt."

"Ancient prose, ancient culture, ancient melodies, new singing techniques, new arrangements, new concepts."

"Whether it is the conception, melody, or style, all are of the highest quality. This is a masterpiece that meticulously combines ancient and modern music."

"This is a kind of..."

"New style..."

"Perhaps it's not too much to call it a masterpiece of ancient style music. The high benchmark of ancient style music has been raised by this song to a place that many Maestros can't reach."

"..."

Everyone was discussing.

No one was exclaiming loudly or arguing fiercely.

But in their seemingly calm tones, lay a more profound shock!

This shock was not felt again when they continued to listen to the works of other Maestros.

So...

After they roughly went through the season's song ranking, someone asked, "Who do you think won between Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu this time?"

Li Yang pointed to the ceiling, "Only heaven knows."

Someone suggested, "Should we vote?"

Everyone nodded.

"Raise scissors if you support Xian Yu, a fist for Yang Zhongming."

Swish, swish, swish.

Everyone raised their hands.

Looking roughly, Li Yang couldn't immediately determine the voting situation amongst the thirty people. There were a good number of both scissors and fists.

The most outrageous part?

Li Yang distinctly saw seven or eight people constantly switching their gestures between scissors and a fist.

Switching back and forth.

"Can you stop switching?" Li Yang scratched his head.

"It's not that I want to switch."

The ace composer seemed a bit distressed. "When the song of Father Yang resonates in my mind, my brain tells me that Yang Zhongming must win. But when "Shattered East Wind" resounds in my brain, it tells me that Xian Yu has already won three championships."

You…"

Li Yang wanted to retort, but he stopped mid-sentence.

Because everyone was nodding.

Li Yang suddenly remembered a picture posted by his follower Zheng Jing in his Tribe a few days ago…

It was not until this moment that Li Yang understood the meaning of that picture.

Xian Yu is Sun Wukong.

Yang Zhongming is Erlang Shen.

This match, if it doesn't last for 30 days, perhaps the winner and loser can't be determined.

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P.S.: Since the side story is a new feature introduced by Yuewen, it is only available for premium subscribers. I hope I will have the opportunity to continue the side story in the future. Originally, I planned to write a side story on some character from the Yu Dynasty.

However, upon reflection, I felt that it would be more meaningful to write about Lin Yuan's past life, especially since I won't be mentioning any past life content in the main story. I hope you guys subscribe to the premium package for this feature.