Ling Yue widened her eyes as she stood there, somewhat dumbfounded.
Was this... the voice of the Guqin of Blood? To have a voice – a soul of its own! This was an Upper-Class weapon!
An Upper-Class weapon was so rare in this continent that blood would flow into rivers when its existence was revealed. And here it was, contracted with her.
She glanced around quickly. No one has noticed the Guqin's excitement; they all stared on, holding their breaths, waiting for Ling Yue to continue, questioning why the Guqin's aura didn't overwhelm someone so weak.
Ling Yue could barely suppress her excitement as her grinned widened.
Even as the Guqin sneakily contracted with her on its own, without her agreement, to possess such a treasure!
She was confident that none could play this Guqin better than her in this world, just because she was the master of"the Song of Souls ".
Ling Yue lovingly caressed the white Guqin. Just like sword masters cherish great swords, she too treasured such a finely crafted instrument.
The childish voice was in her head again:
"Master—quickly, play!
Perform!! Master knows the song, that legendary song! That song of the Underworld.... My home—My brothers, let me meet them!
Ah—to think I found a Master who mastered the Song!"
Ling Yue smiled.
"Very well," she whispered, slowly sitting down on stage, the Guqin of Blood obediently lowering itself onto the guqin table's surface.
Her ten fingers hovered over the bloody strings as she took in a deep breath.
Long sleeves of her red hanfu splayed onto the white marble floor, aflame, like a bloody lotus unfurling in pure snow, scorching into everyone's eyes.
"Look at her trying to act all skilled! Nothing more than a facade!" A Lady's suppressed voice rang out in the silence.
"...But why does she seem so calm?... If I didn't know how to play the Guqin and was up there, in front of the War God, I'd be fainting..." Someone hesitantly said.
"What if the Imbe – I mean, Ling Yue, really knew how to play the Guqin? We've never heard anyone say that she couldn't..."
"Maybe she wasn't as bad as the rumors say."
"..."
The murmurs died down.
The Banquet Hall suddenly turned dead silent.
Even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.
The atmosphere was thick with anticipation as people waited for Ling Yue's performance.
In just a few seconds, this would decide her fate; whether she remained as the capital's Imbecile depended in this one song.
Ling Yue exhaled.
Her hair, black as night, suddenly fluttered even without wind.
A strange, chilling air blew through the Banquet Hall, making everyone shiver.
Whispers, as if echoing from six feet under, arose with the wind.
Ting!!
"The legendary " Song of Souls "! Ahhhh—!!!" The Guqin's soul wailed excitedly.
If Aina's song was soft, melodious, and peaceful, Ling Yue's was blood, death, and otherworldly omniscient.
No one slacked in their seats.
They were all on the edges of their seats, their senses alert and out of control.
Blood, they saw so much blood!
A sea of blood, bones heaped into mountains, demons, ghouls...
No! What were they seeing?!
They wanted to escape from this terrifying vision, but they couldn't; this melody flowing around them was holding them captive, not letting go until this horrifying song stopped.
"Ah, ahhh!" Someone started crying, the kind of cry that you could not hold back, that wail from the pits of your soul, as if it was threatened, as if it was being pulled away...
Sobs and screams filled the Banquet Hall as everyone seemed to fall under the song's spell, their frightful sounds contributing to the beauty of the song.
Han Hei stood up from his seat, his ruby eyes narrowed dangerously.
As Ling Yue suspected, he was not one bit affected, or maybe he was fighting it, not showing a hint of the struggle on his unblemished facade.
Hong Yue too was standing, staring at his daughter and at everyone around him, bewilderment and shock apparent in his eyes.
He had never found Ling Yue a Guqin teacher. He knew she could not play the Guqin.
Where was this frightening song coming from?! It did not affect him as it did everyone else, and he knew it was Ling Yue purposefully controlling it.
How much soul energy and focus would it take to control so many people's emotions, just through a song?! He knew he couldn't resist Ling Yue's song if he was put under its effects...
The guards outside the Imperial Palace could never forget what they had heard that night.
It frightened them to their knees. The Banquet Hall was like a living Underworld.
That atmosphere inside the Hall, it made them feel like they were standing at the gates of Hell, so ominous that in the end, no Imperial Guard dared enter the Hall to check on what was happening...
As the people all lost control of themselves, the song's tempo suddenly changed.
From fast, blood-curling tunes, the melodies slowed, like a gushing waterfall suddenly halting to a small stream.
Ling Yue's face blanched as her hands turned cold.
She didn't expect the Guqin of Blood to be this powerful. It was an Upper-Class weapon after all; it had a mind of its own.
At this moment, the instrument's soul was screaming at her excitedly, telling her to not stop, channeling all its powers to her in currents, so much energy that she almost lost hold of "the Song of Souls ".
This was getting dangerous for her. If she slipped again like that, she might get consumed...
Suddenly, an ethereal sound joined in with the murky notes of her Guqin. It was the clear, high-pitched tunes of a flute.
Someone was helping her.
The flute's sound carried a warm, harmonious energy that flowed around the Hall like a spring day's breeze, calming and comforting. Ling Yue's body involuntarily relaxed.
Her eyes sharpened as she glanced around.
Who was it?! To be able to match "the Song of Soul's" tempo...
Her song transformed into something she had never known before. If the sight she had painted with her tunes was blood red, this, this was Nirvana.
The demons were calm, the ghouls comforted. It was as if they were serenely following the flute forward and forward, and then, they all jumped into the wheels of rebirth and reincarnation....
The flute and the Guqin matched perfectly, Ling Yue and the unknown player adjusting their tempos to match the other person's tune.
The two sounds flowed and merged into one harmony, not a note out of place.