Boating on the Lake, A Thought, Flowers Bloom

After returning to Peach Blossom Mountain Manor, Huang Rou went off to practice the zither, while Huang Rong went to play with Lu Guanying and Qu Xiaoling. Su Yu, on the other hand, had no idea what to do now.

While bored, Su Yu suddenly thought of something fun and immediately began pondering it on his own.

In the martial arts novel Smiling, Proud Wanderer, there was a qin and flute duet called "Smiling, Proud Wanderer." Since Su Yu had thought of that, he planned to create a qin and flute duet himself. Of course, it had to be a version for three people, or Huang Rong would get jealous and angry later, which would be hard to deal with.

Creating something was not something that could be done instantly. First, he had to know what he wanted to express. Su Yu then began composing based on the plot of the Condor Trilogy from his memories. Smiling, Proud Wanderer had a piece called "Smiling, Proud Wanderer," so would it not be wonderful if he came up with something like "Condor Heroes and Divine Condor Heroes"?

After dinner, Su Yu continued thinking about it, but he still had no clue. The Condor Trilogy’s story was neither long nor short. Su Yu ran through it several times in his mind, but he did not know what he wanted to express.

Su Yu did not sleep the entire night, spending all his time mulling over this. Early the next morning, Huang Rong dragged Huang Rou to Su Yu’s room. Huang Rong did not stand on ceremony at all; she pushed the door open without even knocking.

"Stinky brother, let’s go boating today! Guan Ying, younger brother said boating is fun!" Huang Rong said, staring at Su Yu with sparkling eyes.

Su Yu smiled and nodded. "Sure. We’ll go together after breakfast. Let’s bring Guan Ying and Xiao Ling too."

Huang Rong immediately nodded vigorously, then happily pulled Huang Rou away to tell Lu Guanying and Qu Xiaoling the good news. Lu Guanying was very afraid of Lu Chengfeng and usually did not dare go out to play on his own initiative, but he knew that if Su Yu took him, Lu Chengfeng would definitely let him go.

After breakfast, Su Yu informed Qu Lingfeng and the others before taking the four children out. Since Su Yu was taking four children by himself this time, Qu Lingfeng was truly worried and had two servants follow them so they could look after them.

Lu Guanying and Qu Xiaoling led Su Yu and the other two to the shore of a lake in Jiangnan. Many boats were available for rent here, both small boats and somewhat larger ones. Naturally, there were no great ships meant for going out to sea, and plenty of people were renting boats to enjoy themselves.

There was not much entertainment in ancient times, so lake excursions were generally popular among families that were at least somewhat well-off.

After renting a boat, everyone boarded it. Lu Guanying said excitedly, "Little Martial Uncle, let me tell you, we’ll run into lots of fun things on Bright Moon Lake later! Some people recite poetry and make couplets, and some pretty young ladies sing on their boats!"

When he said that last sentence, Lu Guanying was clearly even more excited. Qu Xiaoling said with a look of disgust, "Little Martial Uncle, look at him. He’s like a little hooligan!"

Lu Guanying: "???"

Su Yu smiled. "It’s fine. Guan Ying is only four, but there’s nothing wrong with liking pretty girls."

"No, no, no, I don’t like looking that much," Lu Guanying said, his face flushed red.

Su Yu smiled, then looked at the boatman, who was on the boat along with them and the two servants. "Boatman, set off. Just take us slowly around Bright Moon Lake."

"Alright, young masters and young ladies, hold on tight," the boatman said with a smile. Su Yu had given him quite a bit of silver earlier, so he was incredibly enthusiastic now, nearly ready to call Su Yu his father.

The boat slowly set off. Huang Rong and the other three children all became excited. Even Huang Rou, who had always been reserved, seemed somewhat excited, while Su Yu sat alone inside the boat, looking at the Jade Flute in his hand.

Su Yu now understood why he had had no ideas. The Condor Trilogy spanned more than a hundred years, and it was not something he had personally experienced, seen, or heard. Nothing observed could ever feel as real as something one had experienced for oneself.

Gradually, Su Yu changed his focus to the five years from Huang Rong and Huang Rou’s birth until now. Because of the two little girls, those years had been fulfilling for Su Yu. There had been no clashes of blades between people, no miraculous spells capable of overturning heaven and sea—only every day the three of them spent together.

Su Yu still remembered every day of those five years clearly. Thinking of the adorable Huang Rong and Huang Rou when they were little, Su Yu seemed to have thought of something amusing. A smile appeared at the corner of his lips, and then he gradually began laughing outright.

Everyone on the boat looked at Su Yu in confusion. His laughter was neither loud nor quiet, but everyone on their boat could hear it clearly.

A moment later, Su Yu said with a smile, "I know what to write."

Su Yu then raised the flute into a playing posture and ran through the piece he had just conceived in his mind. He had already completed the composition moments ago, and it was now in his head.

Woooooo~

A melodious flute melody rose, and everyone on Bright Moon Lake fell silent. In Su Yu’s piece, some heard the cries of an infant, some heard a two-year-old child babbling as they learned to speak, some heard a boy and a girl bickering, while some heard the voice of a quiet girl when she protected another girl…

The piece ended. It lasted neither more nor less than exactly five minutes—one minute for each year, one mood for each year: birth, learning to speak, bickering, protection, growing up.

Far away across the Myriad Realms, Mao Jiu, Void, and Reincarnation, who had never appeared before, all stared at the horizon in shock. The three of them had also heard Su Yu’s piece just now.

Void sighed. "One song can disrupt the Sovereigns. I wonder whether you, kid, are a blessing or a curse."

Clearly, after "Dreamlike Stars," Su Yu’s latest piece was another capable of affecting the Sovereigns. Across the Myriad Realms, the balance among the four great Sovereigns gradually began to tilt.

On the boat, Huang Rou looked at Su Yu excitedly and asked, "Brother, what is this piece called? It sounds so good! It feels like it’s telling Sister’s and my story."

Su Yu smiled. "Yes, I just composed this piece based on you and Rong’er. There are three versions: a solo flute, a solo qin, and an ensemble of two qins and one flute."

"Brother is incredible!" Huang Rou said with a smile.

Su Yu smiled. "Not bad, not bad."

"May I ask the name of this piece, young master or young lady aboard that boat?" someone on another boat on the lake suddenly called out.

Huang Rong, Huang Rou, and the others all looked at Su Yu, clearly wanting to know the name of the piece.

Su Yu thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "It’s called ‘A Thought, Flowers Bloom.’"