On Liuren Mountain, within a pavilion.
A man in white robes sat on a stone stool, his hands dancing wildly over an ancient guqin. His ten fingers swept across the strings, producing a beautiful melody that flowed out gently. The music was profound and mysterious, its artistic conception unfolding continuously—like poetry, like a painting, like a romantic rendezvous under the moon, and even like a timeless vow of love…
Opposite him.
A woman was dancing gracefully. Her features were plain, but her figure was incomparably graceful. Her long hair fluttered as she danced lightly, utterly enchanting. Yet, within her watery eyes was an immeasurable amount of shock.
Yes.
Shock.
Immeasurable.
Chen Yue was dancing gracefully, performing the dance of the Imperial Consort Feigning Drunkenness to Seduce the Emperor. Her heart was already shaken beyond words by the piece Gu Qingfeng was playing—Phoenix Seeks the Male Phoenix. She hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to play this piece, nor had she expected him to capture its profound mysteries. What was even more unbelievable to her was that this no longer seemed to be merely about the mysteries within the music; Gu Qingfeng had even evoked the artistic conception of the piece.
Whether this was truly the case, Chen Yue did not know.
Because she had never heard anyone else evoke the artistic conception of this piece.
It was just that the feeling was very similar.
Immersed in the sound of the guqin, her body swayed with the music, and her mind seemed to sink into it as well.
She knew very well that this piece was composed back then by World-Venerable Lady Jun Xuanji to express her love for Monarch Chixiao, Gu Tianlang. And at this moment, she could even personally feel World-Venerable Lady's emotions from the music—a very complex set of emotions.
Like love.
Like hatred.
Even more like resentment.
Three parts love, three parts hatred, four parts resentment.
The love was helpless, the hatred was tangled, the resentment was lost and confused.
Regarding the stories of Monarch Chixiao and World-Venerable Lady, Chen Yue had heard them since childhood and was all too familiar with them. Legend had it that back then, Jun Xuanji was bestowed by the Immortal Dao as the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, and later even received the Mandate of Heaven to protect this world, hence earning the title of World-Venerable.
It was said that back then, Monarch Chixiao laughed proudly across the world in this realm, defying the heavens above and slaying immortals and demons below. As the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden who had received the Mandate of Heaven to protect this world, World-Venerable Lady went to execute the Monarch…
It was said the two fought for a very long time, battling until the heavens darkened and the earth quaked, with neither able to gain the upper hand.
Later, Monarch Chixiao did something earth-shattering. When the Immortal Dao descended its judgment, he withstood the Immortal Dao's judgment, stood atop the Nine Heavens clouds, and composed a piece for World-Venerable Lady—Male Phoenix Seeks the Female Phoenix.
At the time, many thought Monarch Chixiao had fallen in love with World-Venerable Lady. Even World-Venerable Lady herself thought so.
It wasn't until later that everyone realized there had never been any love from the start. It was entirely Monarch Chixiao deliberately teasing World-Venerable Lady, and moreover, provoking the Immortal Dao—withstanding the Immortal Dao's judgment to express love to the Immortal Dao-bestowed Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. What was that if not provocation?
By the time World-Venerable Lady learned the truth, it was already too late…
Because she had already fallen completely and utterly in love with Monarch Chixiao.
Unfortunately.
The flower is willing, but the stream is heartless.
The Monarch's piece, Male Phoenix Seeks the Female Phoenix, was only to tease World-Venerable Lady, only to provoke the Immortal Dao, containing no love whatsoever.
Later…
World-Venerable Lady continued searching the world for Monarch Chixiao, just like before, except it wasn't to hunt him down, but to pursue him.
On the day she learned the Monarch had returned.
World-Venerable Lady wildly drank Nine Nethers Demon Soul Wine to numb her soul and intoxicate her mind. She stepped into the Chixiao Sect, saw Monarch Chixiao, and without saying a word, composed only this piece—Phoenix Seeks the Male Phoenix!
This is the well-known Gu-Jun Calamity, also called the Heartless Monarch and the Infatuated Consort—a very tangled story.
So tangled that the gracefully dancing Chen Yue grew increasingly angry and unwilling—angry for World-Venerable Lady, unwilling for World-Venerable Lady. Listening on, she simply couldn't dance anymore and said angrily, "I'm not dancing!"
The guqin music stopped abruptly. Gu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow and asked, "You were just getting into it. Why stop?"
"I originally thought the story of Monarch Chixiao and World-Venerable Lady wasn't as twisted as the rumors said. It wasn't until today that I realized it's indeed not as twisted as the rumors—it's even more twisted than the rumors."
Thinking back to when she was immersed in the music's mysteries just now, Chen Yue gritted her teeth in anger and said furiously, "World-Venerable Lady is truly too pitiful! Monarch Chixiao is simply too despicable, toying with Lady's feelings… Despicable! Despicable! Utterly despicable!"
"Little sister, watch your words. What do you mean, 'toying with feelings'?"
Gu Qingfeng leisurely picked up a wine cup, drained it in one gulp, and said with a laugh, "The rights and wrongs, the twists and turns of this matter—aside from Gu Tianlang and Jun Xuanji themselves, how could anyone else truly understand!"
"Men are no good, every single one of you! No wonder you men all worship Monarch Chixiao as a god! Hmph! Monarch Chixiao is truly too despicable. To provoke the Immortal Dao, he teased Lady… And later, when Lady took it seriously, he wouldn't acknowledge it… He's simply the number one scoundrel in history…"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head speechlessly. "Jun Xuanji isn't as simple as you all think… That woman's methods are downright sinister… Do you really think that when Gu Tianlang teased her back then, she actually took it seriously? She was doing it on purpose, just to make Gu Tianlang think it was real… Then kill the person and destroy the heart…"
"You… you nouveau riche dare… dare to call World-Venerable Lady a 'woman'… You! You despicable nouveau riche! I won't allow you to speak of World-Venerable Lady like that!"
"She is a woman, isn't she?"
Gu Qingfeng stood up, stretched lazily, and said with a smile, "Jun Xuanji always wanted to kill Gu Tianlang back then. Unfortunately, she couldn't, so she had to come up with this lousy idea. To make Gu Tianlang believe it was real, she deliberately composed this Phoenix Seeks the Male Phoenix… She really went to great lengths… Stopping at nothing…"
Gu Qingfeng picked up the wine pot containing the Sea-Blue Moon fine wine, poured himself another cup, plucked the guqin strings, and sighed. "I must say, that woman Jun Xuanji really has some skill. Back then, with that one piece, Phoenix Seeks the Male Phoenix, she almost… almost fooled Gu Tianlang… Just a little bit more… Just that little bit…"
Even now, thinking back to those events, Gu Qingfeng still felt a lingering fear. Just as he said, Jun Xuanji's piece, Phoenix Seeks the Male Phoenix, really had come just that close to making him succumb. Fortunately, he woke up in time. If not, he probably would have been played to death by that woman long ago…
"Women… When they start playing mind games, they're truly terrifying… The seven emotions and six desires move entirely with their hearts. They can sell their true feelings and even sacrifice their souls. True and false, false and true, deceiving themselves, deceiving true feelings, deceiving souls—they're capable of anything…"
Chen Yue was just about to curse out this utterly shameless fellow before her when suddenly, she realized that the cup of Sea-Blue Moon she had poured earlier had somehow been drunk by Gu Qingfeng. Suppressing the surprise in her heart, as if unable to believe it, she tentatively asked, "You… you drank that cup of Sea-Blue Moon?"
"That's right, I drank it…"
As soon as the words fell, Chen Yue couldn't help but let out a triumphant laugh. Pointing at Gu Qingfeng, she said, "Nouveau riche, oh nouveau riche, so you've finally met your match today? Do you know who your grandma here is?"