Death… and me

Shortly after, the aura finally dissipated. Chu Yang's countenance remained unchanged as he simply smiled and looked at Miss Xiao Lu, who was sitting directly in front of him, "May I come in?"

"How embarrassing. Young Master Chu, this is my bodyguard. He is slightly overprotective… Haha, please come in. Please have a seat!" Miss Xiao Lu stood up and appeared very apologetic.

This Miss Xiao Lu's figure was relatively beautiful. Her face was just fine, although it was not among the ranks of unrivalled beauties. However, her body exuded a peculiar calming aura that made anyone who saw her feel immediately at peace.

From her every action, her every speech, or even simply when she was batting her eyelashes, a gentle aura could be felt. Everyone who saw her would definitely have the same first impression!

It was gentle!

Truly gentle!

"Miss Xiao Lu is truly an extraordinary woman! You are absolutely worthy of being a zither master!" Chu Yang's gaze remained calm as he praised intently. His countenance was serious, yet at the same time, he appeared carefree. He was truly praising her from the bottom of his heart and not displaying any look that would otherwise suggest that he was flattering her.

At such a discussion, having too much arrogance would lead to failure! Too much flattery would also lead to failure!

The best way to go about this was to simply speak what was right and not be arrogant or fawning!

"Minister Chu is still Minister Chu!" Miss Xiao Lu laughed deliberately.

"You are truly skilled!" Chu Yang did not show any hint of surprise. With the power of the House of Exceptional Beauties, it would have been strange if they did not know his true identity.

It was just like facing Diwu Qing Rou personally; Chu Yang's web of deception could fool a normal person, but he knew that it was impossible to fool Diwu Qing Rou.

His key advantage would be to keep a distance!

Since the distance was too great, Diwu Qing Rou could not deal with Chu Yang directly, on his own. On the other hand, if Diwu Qing Rou was as close to him as the House of Exceptional Beauties was, Chu Yang was absolutely certain that he would have become a corpse ages before, even if he had ten thousand lives!

"There must be something important here for the minister to come down personally." Miss Xiao Lu poured the tea and continued softly, "However, let's put whatever it is aside for now and talk about music first."

She smiled and said, "The three issues that the minister has brought up spoke directly to the longing in my heart. I'm afraid that nothing else can be done if the minister cannot help me solve these issues."

Chu Yang laughed and said, "I have already expected this. I just never imagined that a gentle young lady like yourself could be this powerful!"

Miss Xiao Lu chuckled, "Even if I was more powerful… I can never compare to the fierce King of Hell Chu."

"Haha…" Chu Yang laughed upon hearing this.

"May I ask how the first issue can be solved?" When it came to this topic, Miss Xiao Lu had become slightly impatient, "This issue of being only half a melody… How can I write the remaining half?"

"This issue is easy to solve, yet it is difficult as well! In my personal opinion, it would be a good thing if Miss Xiao Lu could never write the other half." Chu Yang frowned and said cautiously.

"Oh? Why is that?" Miss Xiao Lu's beautiful brows pinched together as she asked, perplexed.

"What is reincarnation? From birth to death, then from death to birth again, that is considered as one reincarnation!" Chu Yang continued solemnly, "Reincarnation is death! Miss, you…"

"I have never been dead…" Miss Xiao Lu was deep in thought, "If I have never been dead, then I could never have written a complete reincarnation melody! Ultimately, this is because I do not know what the dead feeling is like… Hence, I could not create a full melody. However… if I were to die… Haha, how can I write this melody when I'm dead?"

"Therefore, could this reincarnation melody possibly never be complete?" A hint of defiance shone from deep within Miss Xiao Lu's eyes.

"Life and death… does not have to be experienced only with death…" Chu Yang said calmly. The moment he said this, the aggressive aura from before could be felt once again.

Within just a few short moments, Chu Yang could feel his mouth and nose freeze. He was unable to speak or breathe.

Evidently, the person standing in the shadows did not want him to finish his sentence!

A light flashed in Miss Xiao Lu's eyes. She appeared to understand something and said, "If that is the case, reincarnation… is not necessary! Minister Chu, let's discuss the second issue."

Immediately, the aggressive aura vanished.

Internally, Chu Yang laughed evilly. This Miss Xiao Lu is extremely intelligent. She understood what I meant even though I was not done speaking. That person tried to stop me but he was just too slow.

On the other hand, while Miss Xiao Lu sounded as if she was dismissing the first issue, her eyes were clearly telling Chu Yang that she would never abandon such an idea!

This was indeed an extreme dedication towards music!

"The second issue is the emotion involved in the music." Miss Xiao Lu frowned and continued, "The more I think about it, the more I feel that Minister Chu's words were… not exactly correct."

"Oh?"

"Music is simply an expression of one type of emotion. If it is a sad melody, adding a hint of happiness would be just as good as adding sour vinegar to a pitcher of good wine! The integrity of the music would be lost… Likewise, this applies to a happy melody." Miss Xiao Lu said this with a stern look on her face.

"Definitely not! Miss Xiao Lu is absolutely wrong about this." Chu Yang exclaimed gravely.

"Oh? How am I absolutely wrong?" Miss Xiao Lu's beautiful brows pinched together once more.

"A melody that only expresses one mood is mediocre!" Chu Yang smiled as he recited Mo Qing Wu's reason that she had shared with him in the previous life.

Mo Qing Wu was neither a dancer or a singer. Nonetheless, her musical abilities were second to none! Furthermore, since Mo Qing Wu's life was full of twists and turns, as well as sorrow, her outlook on life was especially deep and profound.

Hence, she was extraordinarily talented in music.

This explanation was something that Mo Qing Wu had pondered for a long time before she had an epiphany out of the blue. Although Mo Qing Wu was the zither master, how could she have gone through the sufferings that Mo Qing Wu had been through since she was still so young?

"A melody is not just to express a type of mood; it is a method of delivering a story! I feel that the audience should have the chance to experience the joyful and sorrowful emotions in that story as they listen to the melody."

Chu Yang continued quietly, "There's no need for you to open your mouth to speak or provide any form of introduction to that story. Even without an introduction, you should still be able to allow anyone who listens to the melody to be able to feel the emotions of reuniting, parting, anger, pain, death, and so on…"

"Allow the listeners to experience the entire story with their own way of interpretation!"

Miss Xiao Lu sat down and a serious countenance appeared on her face as she thought about everything that Chu Yang had just said, not missing on a single word. Such a respectful attitude was one that would typically only appear when the zither master was sitting opposite her own teacher.

However, at this moment, Miss Xiao Lu could sense that Minister Chu who was sitting in front of her was clearly younger than her. Yet, he deserved her special treatment!

Even though his words seemed fascinating initially, she realized that they were infinitely mysterious after considering them carefully. How much more effort would I have to put in to achieve the realm that he has just described?

"But… each word has to come from the heart and each heart is different. How can I fully express the story that I wish to tell?"

"Of course, there are differences in people. Different people lead different lives and have different states of mind! A story written by someone could be viewed as sad and emotional by someone, yet humorous by another person. Moreover, the people's views could even change again after…"

Chu Yang continued solemnly, "There are also people who can write a story in a way that makes it dull, while others could write a story that inspires others to think. Furthermore, there are others that could make a story sound spectacular…"

"It is worth noting that while stories in this world may come in different forms, they are essentially the same!" Chu Yang said excitedly, "An old story, while written differently ten thousand times, would ultimately still… remain the same old story. It remains unchanged!"

"I think I understand a little…" Miss Xiao Lu pondered carefully and nodded her head slightly.

"At the peak of mastering music, you should be able to control the emotions incited in people. If you want people to cry, they will surely cry! If you want people to smile, they will smile for sure! All types of changes are completely up to you!"

"Although you are currently called the zither master, the gap between you and achieving such a realm is…" Chu Yang let out a heavy sigh and said, "Very large… You cannot reach that realm just yet!"

"Yes!" Miss Xiao Lu poured some tea for Chu Yang in great respect for him. "Big Brother Chu, please continue to enlighten me."

It was an extremely radical change; from being called Minister Chu to being called Big Brother Chu. Evidently, there had been a fundamental change in her attitude that clearly showed that this zither master was impressed.

"There's no need for you to be so formal. Besides, I just hope that I can leave a mark on the path to the peak of a talented zither master." Chu Yang said casually, "You should know that it is a great honor for me!"

Miss Xiao Lu giggled softly, "Big Brother Chu, I know that you are… obviously flattering me… but it still makes me feel a little proud."

Chu Yang laughed and appeared to have a sudden realization, "Could it be… that you still need compliments from people now?"

The two of them looked at each other and smiled in unison.

"Big Brother Chu seems to have such a deep understanding of music." Miss Xiao Lu smiled lightly and said, "I wonder if this little sister could have the honor of listening to Big Brother Chu play."

Immediately, Chu Yang panicked. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead and smiled, "Ah Lu, you have poked at my weak spot. This big brother is so embarrassed. I am just sharing with you some of my observations… If you put me on the stage… cough cough… You should feel sorry towards your zither…"

"Haha…" Miss Xiao Lu chuckled. Chu Yang had essentially taken her on as his little sister. Besides, he had unconsciously called her 'Ah Lu'. Only people who were close to one another would address each other that way. In this way, he had unintentionally removed a certain barrier between the two of them.

Furthermore, not only did Miss Xiao Lu not object to this notion, she had even responded to his embarrassed reaction positively.

"If so, I will not trouble Big Brother Chu Yang any further." Miss Xiao Lu smiled lightly.

The moment he heard the words 'Big Brother Chu Yang', his mind inevitably drifted to the thought of Mo Qing Wu. As he thought about Mo Qing Wu's lovely figure, Big Brother Chu Yang could not help but smile warmly and lovingly as he said, "Good little sister."