"Little Drunkard, if you don't understand, don't talk nonsense."
Qiānniǎo shot Gu Qingfeng a glare, her tone full of disdain. "The artistic conception of Ling'er-jie's piece is clearly Yearning. What do you mean by Wandering? I think you're the one who's truly wandering."
"If you say the artistic conception of that piece just now was Yearning, that's not entirely wrong either."
Perhaps because he was full and had drunk his fill, Gu Qingfeng stood up, stretched mightily, and let out a yawn. "However, it should be more about confusion, even Wandering. Didn't Miss Qiānlíng say it herself? She doesn't even know what she yearns for. If that's the case, what is it if not Wandering?"
"You... understand musical theory?"
Qiānlíng stared at Gu Qingfeng, her cool and beautiful face showing a trace of curiosity.
"Passable. I know a little."
Qiānniǎo said with exasperation, "Little Drunkard, I'm finding you more and more unreliable. Since when do you understand musical theory? How come I didn't know?"
"I understood musical theory long before you, little girl, were even born."
Gu Qingfeng joked, half-seriously, half in jest. "Back in the day, I was hailed as the peerless Eternal Guqin Immortal. All kinds of immortal melodies and wondrous tunes from heaven and earth, I could play them effortlessly..." Before he could finish, Qiānniǎo spat fiercely.
"I say, Little Drunkard, we've known each other for so many years now. I never noticed before that you had this habit of bragging when you're drunk! Really!
Peerless Eternal Guqin Immortal?
Playing all kinds of immortal melodies and wondrous tunes from heaven and earth effortlessly?
Pah...
You really dare to boast!
If you're not ashamed, I'm blushing for you. If you have a couple more drinks, you'll probably claim you can ascend to heaven!"
Qiānniǎo walked over and said to Qiānlíng, "Ling'er-jie, don't pay him any mind. This is just how he is when he's drunk—always likes to brag and act like some lofty senior."
Qiānlíng didn't speak, just gazed at Gu Qingfeng in that moment.
She was deeply puzzled.
This was a piece she had composed, so naturally she knew its artistic conception.
Just as Gu Qingfeng had said, the artistic conception might contain Yearning, but more than that, it was a confused, Wandering kind of yearning.
Since becoming the master of the Xiaoluo Secret Realm, she had been constantly traveling outside. She had seen far too many young masters and ladies born into wealth and privilege, and far too many impoverished immortals struggling for a single Immortal Stone every day. She had witnessed people turning against each other over resources, and others clinging to life by any means necessary...
Perhaps as her experiences grew, she increasingly didn't know why she cultivated anymore, nor what she truly pursued, what she yearned for.
This Wandering Yearning was also a reflection of her life, something she had composed late at night, moved by her feelings.
When she created this piece, her original intent wasn't to play it for others, nor did she expect anyone to understand its artistic conception. Therefore, the piece contained no profound mysteries, wouldn't trigger any spiritual resonance, nor transport listeners into a dream-like immersion.
She just never expected Gu Qingfeng to actually grasp the true artistic conception within the music.
Was this a coincidence?
Or chance?
Or could he truly understand it?
Or, as Qiānniǎo said, was this guy just spouting drunken nonsense?
Qiānlíng didn't know.
Since Gu Qingfeng awakened, over these twenty years, she had been constantly traveling outside. She didn't know him very well, only feeling that this person wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface. But that was just a feeling. Beyond that, she knew nothing about him.
"Alright, you all chat. I'm a bit tired. I'm going to get some sleep first."
Gu Qingfeng kept yawning. After bidding farewell to everyone, he turned and left.
"Hey, Little Drunkard, we're going out to stroll around later. Aren't you coming?"
"We'll see later. Sleep first."
"Really! How come this guy is always like this? If he's not drinking, he's sunbathing. If he's not sunbathing, he's sleeping."
After muttering to herself, Qiānniǎo offered an apologetic look to Master Xuan Yun and the others. "Don't mind him. Little Drunkard is just like that. Not only is his body in chaos, his spirit is also very weak. He's listless all day. Even after recuperating in our Xiaoluo Secret Realm for over twenty years, he's still the same, hasn't recovered at all."
Master Xuan Yun and Liu Li both nodded. They could naturally see that Gu Qingfeng's essence, energy, and spirit were very weak.
After chatting a while longer, the group prepared to go out and stroll together.
After all, this was the Fengyue Small World, hailed as the trading center of the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain, a veritable ocean of buying and selling. Since they were here, of course they had to go shopping.
However, the others from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm chose to stay behind. They didn't really have anything they needed to buy, and besides, this floating island was imbued with rich innate Great Sunlight spiritual energy. Cultivating here yielded twice the result with half the effort. They didn't want to waste such a good opportunity.
Thus,
Qiānlíng, Qiānniǎo, Master Xuan Yun, Liu Li, and Feidu left together to go shopping.
As for Gu Qingfeng, he found a random spot and went to sleep.
He didn't know how long he slept. When he woke up, he found the sun still hanging high in the sky above.
He had thought the Fengyue Small World would have day and night alternation, but it turned out to be a land of the midnight sun.
Gu Qingfeng wandered around the garden. He saw some of the other Xiaoluo Secret Realm members absorbing the Great Sunlight to cultivate their own immortal spirits, while others were using it to temper their immortal weapons and treasures.
Qiānlíng, Qiānniǎo, and the others weren't in the manor either, presumably still out strolling and not back yet. Bored and alone, Gu Qingfeng thought about going out for a wander himself.
"Chirp chirp."
Perhaps seeing Gu Qingfeng about to go out, the Spirit Monkey, who had been snoring away dead drunk, agilely leaped onto his shoulder.
"Little monkey brat, weren't you asleep?"
The Spirit Monkey chirped and gestured, as if saying it didn't dare stay here alone.
"Scared of what? Who'd dare eat you?"
Gu Qingfeng chatted idly with the Spirit Monkey as he left the manor.
This was a floating island, completely suspended in mid-air. Gu Qingfeng stood at the edge and looked down. "Looks pretty high up."
Chirp chirp!
The Spirit Monkey clung tightly to Gu Qingfeng's shoulder, looking very frightened.
"Didn't I teach you a movement technique last time? Take this opportunity to let me see how you've been practicing."
With that, ignoring the Spirit Monkey's protests, Gu Qingfeng directly tossed the little fellow down.
Chirp chirp chirp chirp!
The little guy plummeted downward, shrieking in terror, its limbs flailing wildly in mid-air.
"With courage like yours, how are you going to make it in the demon realm later?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head and leaped straight down.
Gu Qingfeng possessed neither an immortal spirit nor immortal weapons, so he couldn't fly.
However,
That didn't mean he couldn't travel through the air. If he wished, anywhere between heaven and earth, he could tread as if on level ground.
He just didn't do that, instead falling in a straight line.
He wouldn't die from the fall anyway.
Yet,
Just as he was about to grab the Spirit Monkey, a figure instantly appeared, caught the falling monkey, then leaped up and caught Gu Qingfeng as well.