Foolish author: Okay, Brother Zheng, it's arranged!
(I'll definitely finish this part tomorrow! Humble author pleading for survival: Did you... you know? No, I didn't. I don't recommend skipping tomorrow's part, but if you really have to, there's nothing I can do (crying))
Chapter 93
"You're so pretty, don't get it dirty."
The boy spoke timidly, his eyes revealing an undisguised envy that only served to highlight his weakness and inferiority complex. He was as fragile and beautiful as porcelain.
There are many beauties among the demon race. Peacock and Celestial Fox are both famous beauties of Northern Shaking Mountain, one pure and innocent, the other stunningly beautiful. When outsiders talk about the beauty of the demon race, they mostly praise these two.
Although the Siming Cat clan has an impressive appearance, it is rarely mentioned because of the two people with unparalleled beauty.
Given that Bei Sining is a man and a demon king, even out of respect, few people would praise his appearance like that to his face. In his memory, back when he was a child, the elders of his clan would compliment him on his cuteness.
With a touch of nostalgia and a hint of pity for the weak, Bei Sining asked his name.
The cold moonlight cast a frosty glow across the ground. The wind whipped the grass into large waves, and the boy bit his bright red lower lip, his smile innocent and radiant.
"My name is Koukou."
Time turns the pages of a book, rustling and turning.
"Demon King...can you call me Senior Brother Bei? This outfit looks really good on you."
"Senior Brother Bei, your hair is so smooth... Can I touch it?"
"Brother Ning, be careful, the scorching rock will corrode your hands. I'm used to doing this, don't hurt your beautiful hands..."
"Brother Ning is amazing! I only taught you yesterday, and you can already recite it!"
"It sounds amazing! Ning-ge, you're so talented at playing the piano, much better than me..."
…………
In spring, Bei Sining hurriedly passed by the guest courtyard of the strict teacher and the music demon with her zither. The path was filled with red flowers, and a warm fragrance wafted through the air.
"Your Majesty!" A small white fox suddenly darted out from the flower bushes, its three fluffy white tails swaying from side to side. Bei Sining hurriedly dropped her zither and caught it, scolding, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Aww!" The little fox was tugged on the tail, and rolled over on its belly in a coquettish voice, "I can't transform again, and my mother will beat me up if she sees me... Your Majesty, can I stay with you for a month? If my mother asks, I'll just say you made me transform!"
“Ha,” Bei Sining laughed, “Dream on.”
"Oh! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty—" The little fox was mercilessly thrown to the ground, almost falling flat on its face. It wiggled its four legs, rolled over, and followed, circling around Bei Sining's feet: "Your Majesty, you can't be biased! You only like the white tiger, and you even sleep with him! What's so good about him? I'm white too, and I have a big tail too!"
“You’re not as fat as him.” Bei Sining carried the violin away again, complaining, “It’s uncomfortable to lean against.”
"………………" The little fox was on the verge of tears. Seeing that Bei Sining didn't chase him away, he whimpered and chased after her again, no longer daring to act cute.
He is the youngest son of the Celestial Fox, who only gained sentience fifty years ago and is usually prone to causing trouble. The Celestial Fox's status in the Northern Shaking Mountain is second only to the Peacock. He is the Demon King's right-hand man, and no demon dares to discipline him. He has developed a knack for charming and ingratiating himself.
He followed Bei Sining and arrived at a pavilion in the middle of a lake.
The warm sun was almost melting people, so several layers of gauze curtains were hung around the pavilion, making it especially alluring when the spring breeze blew.
The little fox resisted the urge to tear with its claws, chose a shelf for storing cloths, jumped up, hung itself up, and let its big tail hang down.
He watched as Bei Sining respectfully placed the zither, which had just been brought down to earth, on the zither stand, rolled up her sleeves, sat down, and even bowed. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, is last-minute cramming any good? You just threw the zither away..."
"..." Bei Sining ignored him, and continued to tune her instrument elegantly, with graceful manners, but her movements were swift.
"Your Majesty, are you late for your zither practice?"
"…………"
Boom boom boom, boom boom boom! The Demon King began practicing the zither. The little fox was initially a bit sleepy from the warm breeze, but soon its eyes widened and widened until it was completely awake.
When the music ended, the little fox hesitated, then asked, "Your Majesty...did you play the zither well?"
Bei Sining snorted coldly: "What kind of talk is this? It's not just good, it's really good. They keep saying I'm a genius that only comes along once in a millennium."
"..." The little fox suddenly realized, "Oh, I see! It's actually pretty good! Uh... the rhythm is very strong!"
The Demon King, unable to hide his smugness, continued, "Yes, Koukou plays the zither very well too. He said it himself, so it can't be wrong. I've only been learning for five years, and I'm already better than him. He keeps pestering me to play for him."
Bei Sining murmured, "I can't let him down. I need to learn this new song as soon as possible."
"Oh, Your Majesty, good luck!" said the little fox. "You seem like you can't lie, so you must be amazing!"
So the clattering of the pavilion echoed from noon until evening, until finally the little fox covered its ears with its paws and fell fast asleep.
As the last rays of sunlight faded, the little fox felt its ears being pulled and cried out in pain.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't hit me! Good morning!"
"..." Bei Sining said, "Wake up, I'm going to find a strict teacher. Stay close to me. There are quite a few humans on this mountain."
"Mmm." The little fox didn't dare to be careless in this matter and quickly followed.
Bei Sining's guqin teacher, nicknamed "Qin Mo" (the Demon of the Guqin), is surnamed Yan, and his students respectfully call him "Master Yan".
The strict teacher was merely a human who had not yet reached the divine realm, and his cultivation was low. Yet, he had reached the pinnacle of skill in playing the zither, leaving all who listened in awe.
Bei Sining initially wanted to learn the piano because Koukou said, "Your hands are long and straight, they will definitely look beautiful when you play the piano."
Because of this, he inquired everywhere about where someone could teach him to play the zither, but unfortunately, as soon as he heard that he was going to teach a demon, even if that demon was a dignified demon king, no one was willing to do so.
In a fit of anger, Bei Sining forcibly abducted the "Music Demon," who was said to have the most superb qin skills among the crowd, and placed him on a small mountain bordering a human village on the outskirts of Beiyao Mountain. The small mountain was protected by a barrier, preventing the Music Demon from leaving, and he was forced to teach the Demon King how to play the qin.
I thought the Demon of the Qin would fight back to the death, but I didn't expect him to be so indifferent to everything. As long as he had a good qin and food and drink, he was content with his lot and settled down in the guest house where he was imprisoned.
Later, Bei Sining developed a teacher-student relationship with him and partially opened the mountain's barrier, building some empty courtyards so that the Qin Demon's original students could also come up to communicate with him.
As a result, Beiyaoshan's image improved somewhat. At least everyone knew that the Qin Demon was being treated well and hadn't been stewed and eaten by the ferocious and beastly demon race.
The strict teacher's guest house was located at the very top of the hill.
Bei Sining followed the same path, the ground covered in flower mud, her shoes stained with a fragrant crimson.
Perhaps the soft petals masked his footsteps, or perhaps the people in the courtyard were so engrossed in their conversation that no one noticed his arrival.
Bei Sining suddenly stopped pushing the door open.
"Strict teacher, how long is he going to keep you locked up?! That devil! That beast!"
"I really don't know why he insists on learning the piano. It's been years, and it still sounds like he's fluffing cotton. It's clear he has absolutely no talent..."
"Senior brother, please stop talking. He's just a demon after all. What talent could he possibly have?"
"It's all Koukou's fault! Why didn't you tell him the truth? If you had made him face reality sooner, he would have let his strict teacher go and travel the world sooner!"
Bei Sining lowered her eyes, her expression inscrutable.
A soft, gentle voice suddenly rang out.
"I...I'm telling the truth, aren't I? Brother Ning plays...very well..."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, when suddenly a hot-tempered student slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "What a load of rubbish! Do you even have ears?! You're a musician yourself, how could you not know how well he plays? You traitor to humanity, you like him so much you keep trying to please him, I think a spineless person will always be a spineless person!"
"No, no, you... didn't understand. Ning is actually a very good person. His music contains a vast sky, a boundless sea, freedom and vitality, fresh grass and blooming flowers... He's a very good person..."
As she spoke, her voice sounded like she was about to cry. After a long pause, she choked out, "I'm sorry, please give him some more time. He can do very well. Please don't scold him, okay?"
Once the room was quiet, the chirping of insects suddenly seemed extremely noisy.
One person broke the silence: "We can't really do anything to him, so we just curse at him a bit. I have a mouth, can't I say what I want?"
Another person said, "It's just a pity for the strict teacher, who will be trapped in this desolate mountain forever."
"Disperse." The Demon of the Qin finally spoke, uttering his first words of the night. He was past middle age, and everything seemed indifferent to him; the students' heated argument didn't faze him at all.
As the students dispersed, Bei Sining hid in the shadows, watching Koukou be the last to leave.
His face was still streaked with tears, and his two red-rimmed eyes were particularly noticeable on his delicate face.
Weak and pitiful.
Bei Sining thought, "He cried because of me. I embarrassed him."
He slowly stepped into the house and said calmly, "You've arrived?"
Bei Sining clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her flesh: "Mmm."
"You heard everything?"
Bei Sining's breathing quickened, and she nodded.
“If your mind isn’t on the instrument, you can’t play the music from your heart. If you want to improve, you have to face yourself. You can’t play for anyone else anymore; you have to play for your heart.”
The Demon of the Qin said, "It is said that even if wild beasts develop intelligence, they still have no heart. Do you have one?"
Bei Sining looked at her fingers; they were smooth and snow-white. All the marks from her training injuries had been repaired by his powerful strength.
He said in a hoarse voice, "I have it."
The Fate Cat was born alongside the Red Stone, possessing innate intelligence. Even if other demons cannot do it, he should.
This is his mission as the Demon King.
***
Standing before the next gate of light, Wen Zheng remained silent for a long time.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed and rubbed by a giant hand, and the mucous membranes became dry and aching.
The boy who plays a significant role in the story has a blank name; whenever he is mentioned, it is in a vague and unrecognizable syllable.
This caused Wen Zheng's sense of crisis to rise sharply.
Wen Zheng endured the discomfort and stepped into the next light portal, forcing himself to hurry.
As his vision returned, Wen Zheng saw a set of elegant ancient Chinese architecture. The space was vast, and the load-bearing columns were carved with intricate patterns, a masterpiece of craftsmanship.
Bei Sining sat cross-legged on the high platform in the center of the main hall, with a zither placed in front of her.
This place looks very familiar; it's the main hall of the Liuhe Sect.
Suddenly, the music poured forth, shattering the silver bottle and cascading like a vast, surging river. Wen Zheng had heard this piece before. In this space, at this moment, the vibrations emanating from his hands were far more breathtaking than any fragment he had heard before.
This was undoubtedly a performance that both experts and laymen could appreciate; below the platform, every face was filled with bewilderment and shock.
Wen Zheng glanced at the crowd as Bei Sining looked up and saw the person standing closest to him.
A strict teacher, a musical prodigy, and an unknown boy.