Chapter 581 - Plain Zither
"Mmmm…" A gentle moan resounded beside him when Yuan awoke from his sleep, and to his surprise, his hands were grasping onto Chu Liuxiang's soft breasts.
He quickly removed his hands, but as he prepared to apologize, he realized that Chu Liuxiang was deep asleep.
Meanwhile, Meixiu was cultivating beside the bed. Ever since she started cultivating at the immortal caves, she'd gained a level, reaching the second level Spirit Warrior.
Yuan silently left the bedroom and went to check the time. Once again, he'd woke up early.
He then went to the bathroom to wash his face before making his way outside, returning to the spot he'd met Azure.
And to his surprise, there was a figure sitting on the boulder with a zither resting beside her, and she was in the middle of cultivation.
Yuan didn't want to bother her and sat down a few meters away from her, silently admiring Azure's elegant appearance.
"You're here early." Azure suddenly spoke a few minutes later, surprising Yuan.
"I woke up early again," he said.
"What a coincidence. I also woke up earlier than usual today. Maybe it's because I have been eager to play the zither with you," she chuckled gracefully.
"Anyways, since we're both here, why don't we play together now?" she then said.
"Sure… Ah, but I don't have a zither."
"That's fine. Follow me. I have a spare one in my room."
Yuan proceeded to follow Azure back to the immortal caves.
Ding~
Every few steps, Azure would pull a string on her zither, creating a single note that would echo in the place.
"If you're wondering why I am doing this, I am using the sound to guide me. Although I cannot see with my eyes, I can see with my zither."
"How does that work?"
"Although you cannot see it, every time a sound is created, it would create an invisible sound wave that ripples as far as it can travel before it disappears, and when this ripple is blocked by something, it would bounce back. I can hear these ripples clearly, allowing me to visualize my surrounding with sound."
"Wow… That's… Really amazing…" Yuan was left speechless by her talents.
"If it were not for this ability, life would've been much more difficult for me."
A few minutes later, they arrived at the immortal caves.
'So she lived on the opposite side of my immortal cave… I'm surprised that we didn't meet until yesterday.' Yuan thought to himself.
"Welcome to my humble home." Azure welcomed him into her immortal cave.
Yuan looked around with his divine sense. The place looked very empty compared to his own immortal cave.
Azure went to her room for a few moments before returning with a plain-looking zither in her grasp.
"I know it looks a little boring, but it plays perfectly. Also, I crafted it myself," she said after handing it to him.
"Eh? You made this yourself? That's amazing."
"Well, it's not easy buying a zither since most of them have been destroyed, and nobody is willing to make them due to the curse, so I could only resort to making my own."
"Does this mean the one you've been using was also made by you?" Yuan asked.
"Yes, and I finished it very recently— about a month ago."
"Anyways, now that you have your zither, let's go play the zither."
"Okay."
They returned to the boulder shortly after.
Once they arrived, they sat down beside each other with a zither on their lap.
"Do you want to go first? We'll take turns playing a song, and once we figure out which song we can play together, we'll do a duet." Azure suggested.
"Sure."
After preparing himself, Yuan began playing a song that he'd learned from Fei Yuyan.
A few minutes later, once Yuan ended his song, Azure began clapping with excitement.
"Wow! Where did you learn such a beautiful song?"
"I learned it from a friend that I met inside Cultivation Online," he said.
"Your first performance is already so good. Are you trying to bully me?" Azure sighed.
"Eh? I'm—"
"I am joking with you." Azure chuckled, and she continued, "But since your performance was so good, I will have to try hard to not embarrass myself."
Azure then took a moment to prepare herself.
Once she was ready, she began playing the zither.
Ding~
Yuan silently watched Azure's performance.
'Wow… She's playing much better than she did yesterday. Besides the Zither Goddess, I don't think anyone else could compare to her…' Yuan thought to himself after witnessing Azure's true potential.
Azure finished her song two minutes later.
"What do you think?"
"It was perfect." Yuan smiled.
"Your turn!"
Yuan nodded and proceeded to play another song.
The two of them continued to play the zither even after sunrise.
"Alright, I think we have played enough for today," Azure said after her song.
"See you again tomorrow?" Yuan asked.
"Of course!" Azure eagerly nodded.
And she continued, "Oh, you can keep the zither."
"Really?"
"Yes. I have no use for it, anyway."
"Thank you!"
Yuan returned to the immortal cave shortly after to get breakfast with the others.
After breakfast, they made their way to the training hall, where Yuan would spend the rest of the day sparring with Wang Ming and Li Jinxi.
"Heavens… This is my first time seeing Li Jinxi in the training hall." The disciples there were shocked to see their most talented disciple in the regular training area.
At the end of the day, Yuan and the others returned to the immortal caves.
"Yuan, when we visited Senior Hong the other day, he told me that my bow will be ready tomorrow, so I will be going there to pick it up."
"Okay. I will go with you."
The following morning, Yuan went to meet Azure in the usual spot, and as expected, she was there early again.
After spending a few hours with Azure, Yuan returned to the immortal caves for breakfast before heading to the Hong Family to pick up Meixiu's custom bow.
"Welcome back. Have you used the medicine yet? If you did, how was it?" Senior Hong asked Yuan.
"It was great. Once again, thank you for the medicine." Yuan said.
"That's good. Anyways, follow me. The bow is finished."
A few minutes later, they arrived at the crafting area.