Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin, Taking Xiao Bai as a Disciple

Su Yu fell silent for a moment, and Qian Mian Bai immediately grew anxious. She truly loved the sound of the guqin. "Uncle, I know you like my fan too. I can give it to you. Please teach me the guqin."

Su Yu froze for a moment and asked doubtfully, "How did you know I liked your fan?"

Qian Mian Bai looked at Su Yu seriously. "I felt it."

What ⊙⊙? Was this the legendary sixth sense???

Su Yu smiled and patted Qian Mian Bai’s little head. "No need. Your mother gave that to you, so I can’t take it. I can teach you the guqin if you want to learn, but learning it takes a long time, and I can’t stay here for very long."

An excited smile appeared on Qian Mian Bai’s face. She hurriedly said, "Wherever Uncle goes, I’ll go too!"

Su Yu burst out laughing. "Don’t. If I run off with you, aren’t you afraid your sisters will fight me to the death?"

Qian Mian Bai fell into thought. After a moment, she looked up at Su Yu. "Then Uncle can run off with my sisters too!"

"Cough, cough…" Su Yu choked in fright.

Su Yu looked at Qian Mian Bai, unable to laugh or cry. "Aren’t you afraid your sisters will beat you up together?"

"I’m not afraid! Uncle, do you agree? You can run off with my sisters too!" Qian Mian Bai looked at Su Yu.

Su Yu smiled wryly. "Don’t ask me. Go ask your sisters. They definitely won’t want to leave."

"They will! My sisters have always wanted to leave the World Outside the Circle and live within the Circle Within." Qian Mian Bai pouted.

Su Yu paused, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Uncle, I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t tell anyone I told you." Qian Mian Bai looked around before lowering her voice.

Su Yu nodded with a smile. "Don’t worry. I’ll never betray you!"

Qian Mian Bai smiled and nodded, then began, "Uncle, our Thousand Faces Demon Race is actually very weak. We only have two techniques: copying other people’s strength and changing our appearance. To copy someone’s strength, we need something from their body, like hair or blood."

"After copying it, we can use it for three shichen. But we have no offensive power of our own. We’ve only survived in the World Outside the Circle by relying on the Thousand Faces Demon Race’s techniques. My sisters think that’s far too unreliable. They’re afraid someone will discover us one day and kill us, so they’ve always wanted a chance to leave the World Outside the Circle!"

Su Yu nodded in understanding, then said with a smile, "Don’t worry. As long as your sisters are willing to leave, I can bring them safely to the world within the Circle Within anytime!"

"Then Uncle, have you agreed to teach me the guqin?" Qian Mian Bai looked at Su Yu, her large eyes darting around.

Su Yu smiled and nodded. "But you’d better not be afraid of hardship. If you can’t endure it, then I won’t acknowledge you as my disciple."

Qian Mian Bai immediately said, "I won’t! I’m the best at enduring hardship!"

As she spoke, Qian Mian Bai stood up and knelt before Su Yu. "Master above, disciple Qian Mian Bai pays her respects."

With that, Qian Mian Bai immediately bowed three times, as if she feared Su Yu might run away.

Su Yu smiled and helped Qian Mian Bai up. Then the Infinity Gauntlet appeared on his hand, and the Reality Stone created a white guqin.

The Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin—a millennium-old guqin, with paulownia for its top and cedarwood for its base. It was an unparalleled fine qin of the same rank as Su Yu’s own Taigu Yiyin Qin.

Qian Mian Bai stared fixedly at the guqin. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She reached out and plucked one of its strings.

Zheng!

A pleasing sound rang beside Qian Mian Bai’s ear, and a delighted smile appeared on her face.

Su Yu said, "Drip a little blood onto the qin, and this Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin will recognize you as its master."

"Master, is it called the Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin? What a beautiful name." Qian Mian Bai gazed at the Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin with a silly grin, then immediately took out a needle, pricked her finger, and squeezed a drop of blood onto it.

The Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin released a faint white glow before transforming into a bracelet and automatically flying onto Qian Mian Bai’s wrist. With a thought from her, the Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin appeared again.

Su Yu said, "A treasured qin has a spirit. Xiao Bai, you must treat it like family."

"Mm-hm, Master, don’t worry. I understand." Qian Mian Bai smiled at Su Yu.

Su Yu then took out several books and handed them to Qian Mian Bai. "These contain some basic knowledge about the guqin. You need to understand all of it before I can start teaching you to play."

Qian Mian Bai nodded and began flipping through the books. She truly loved the sound of the guqin.

After Su Yu saw Qian Mian Bai gradually become absorbed in the books, he smiled, got up, and left. Ya Er immediately asked anxiously, "Master, why didn’t you accept the Wen Yue Fan? That was an Innate Spiritual Treasure!"

Su Yu’s gaze turned slightly cold. "A gentleman acquires wealth by proper means. That was a keepsake the little girl’s mother left her! Never mind an Innate Spiritual Treasure—even if it were a Sovereign Divine Core, I wouldn’t take it! Don’t say such nonsense again in the future."

Ya Er immediately lowered her voice. "Master, I was wrong."

When Su Yu returned after taking a walk, he was stunned. Qian Mian Hong and her sisters were all gathered around the pavilion, each staring at the basic guqin books and the Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qin in Qian Mian Bai’s hands.

Su Yu asked doubtfully, "Why are you all here?"

"Ah, Senior, you’re back. Um, Xiao Bai told us just now that you can take us inside the Circle Within?" Qian Mian Hong spoke as if some little secret had been discovered, suddenly sounding nervous. The others immediately looked up at the sky uneasily as well.

Su Yu was utterly bewildered. What was going on? Just then, Qian Mian Bai said, "Master, my sisters also like the guqin, but they’re afraid to say…"

Before Qian Mian Bai could finish, Qian Mian Zi immediately covered her mouth. Qian Mian Bai looked at Qian Mian Zi with a wronged expression.

Su Yu smiled. "You just want to learn the guqin. Why make it sound like some unspeakable secret? Teaching one is teaching, and teaching nine is teaching too. You can all learn with me."

Qian Mian Hong and the others immediately revealed delighted smiles. Just as they were about to kneel and acknowledge him as their master, Su Yu quickly said, "There’s no need to become disciples. Too many disciples wouldn’t be good. Just call me Teacher. You don’t need to call me Master."

"Oh." The eight of them responded with some disappointment. Though master and teacher differed by only one word, there was a vast difference between them. A teacher only needed to be responsible for instructing you, while a master would cherish you like their own child.

Su Yu waved his hand, and eight Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qins appeared in the air. These eight Nine Heavens Jade Pendant Qins were identical to Qian Mian Bai’s, except for their colors.