Chapter 049 School Festival 2
…
That man was the most aloft member of the Rainbow Wisteria sect, the grand elder of the sect, and one of her most respected teachers at that time.
The man is already a thousand years old and in the singularity realm.
She would visit him every day as his place is the only place in the whole sect where she could feel a semblance of emotion in her cold heart. Whenever she would listen to the music he played, her heart would be stirred a bit and she could feel the slight bit of portion of a normal person's emotion.
Hence she would frequent that place and secretly listen to him playing the guqin or the flute.
Jisoo closes her eyes and recalled those days when he walked beside her while she closes her eyes to meditate on the aspiration she has felt while listening.
He silently taught her how to play the guqin and the flute, and other instruments in that small hut at the mountain top.
When the grand elder ascended, Jisoo stayed for hundreds of years in his hut and would always play every day as only with music she could make her heart waver.
Countless sect members would bask in her music silently as they would observe from afar. She did not mind as long as they did not disturb her which she hated the most.
As time goes by, the image of the grand elder disappears in her mind, but her Dao has fully completed as she gains one insight after another because of the music which made her feel a semblance of a slight emotion.
As she walked beside the guqin, she slowly caresses its surface as if meeting a long-lost friend.
The only problem with the guqin she is looking at right now is the absence of Reiki on its surface. It goes to show that this instrument is not on par with the instruments she has used in her old world.
"I wonder how it would fare…" she thought as she carefully sits beside the guqin.
Extending her long fingers, she carefully plucks one of the strings trying to feel the sound it produces.
When she heard the sound, a slight frown appears on her face as she carefully adjusted the string. She then began to pluck one string after another to fine-tune the instrument according to her sharp and sensitive hearing.
After she has fine-tuned the instrument to her liking, she sits calmly while closing her eyes.
According to the grand elder, when playing music, one should focus on one's heart so that the music would reverberate through the air and to the heart.
Still, with her eyes closed, she lifted her hand and then began to play a music piece. The piece is something that the grand elder has created, and it is called Tranquil Heart River.
The song started with a mellow tempo like a drizzling falling rain slowly hitting the pond of stagnant water creating large ripples all over its surface.
Then followed the second phase of the song where the pond began to move as a small river appears on its periphery, making its stagnation start to crawl out of its dormant state.
As her heart feels the emotion she has felt years ago while the grand elder was playing that piece of music, she could not help but reminisce on such a feeling deep in her heart.
But then she suddenly feel that she could not continue playing such a song because she is not that lonely anymore.
Her past of ice-cold loneliness and unfeeling heart has now been towed into a small river of warmth and bliss.
She suddenly lifted her hands to stop playing.
Her breathing slowly stabilized as she controlled her emotions which are becoming chaotic and excited.
Then a song that she wrote appears in her mind. She's been trying to finish this song for a long time now but to no avail. This is because she knew that there is something lacking in her so that she could finally finish the song.
As her hand slowly landed on the zither, she once again began plucking one string after another.
The melody has changed, and the damp and dreary atmosphere of the first song was suddenly washed away by a piece of mellow music that soothes the heart.
As the magical note flew one after another and combined into a string of living poetry out of the chords and sound of every string, it became a story written and told by the one playing the guqin.
The emotion of Sung Jisoo filled her every stroke of the chord, her every pluck of the string. As she plucks faster and slower, the ups and downs of emotions could be felt in the air.
Seven minutes later, she slowly opens her eyes and a smile appears on her face.
However, Jisoo was stunned when she saw several eyes looking at her.
Some even have their phones directed straight at her beautiful face.
Those people sitting at the edge of the music classroom all have smiles on their faces while looking at her.
Then a tall and slightly plump young woman walked toward Jisoo with a big smile on her face.
"Miss… Are you a new student?" she asked politely.
Jisoo was a bit stunned but shakes her head.
"Ah… Senior, this… this is my sister, Jisoo. She is just visiting." Anne who woke from her stupor suddenly steps forward.
The side of her eyes is still wet, she clearly was crying before.
"The way you play is really heavenly. What song was that? I seem to have not recognized it…" the female senior asked.
Jisoo showed a faint smile and shook her head.
"That song is something I have written," Jisoo said.
Everyone who is watching this scene showed surprised expressions on their faces. They are music students and are slightly proficient in determining the quality of a music piece.
In their impression, the piece of music they just heard is something out of the classics. It is something that's really out of the ordinary… in short it was a masterpiece.
"Umm… Jisoo, we… we seem to have some trouble with the programs… Will you be able to help us by playing? You can play at the last of the program… that would not put you under so much pressure…" the female senior requested.
Jisoo was a bit taken aback as she did not expect that her casual trip down the memory lane would land her in this kind of troublesome matter.
But when her eyes landed on Anne, the girl did not have to say it and she already knows what her eyes are telling her.
Sigh…
"It's okay… As long as it's for my sister…" Jisoo said while wrapping her arms around Anne's.
…
That afternoon, the festival program would be starting and the students excitedly took their seats in the auditorium.
They are all looking forward to seeing their favorite minor stars in the entertainment industry. From comedy performers to singers, they are all excited to meet their idols who are graduates of the school.
Soon, the performances began and the crowd was full-on cheer.
But as time goes by, the crowd's enthusiasm began to die down. Some of them began to feel bored especially when it comes to the skits and the shows which they considered repetitive and stagnant.
They would only become elated when a singer would sing, but would soon go back to their phones.
At the back of the stage
Jisoo and Anne are calmly sitting in one corner and Jisoo is browsing her phone.
Some of the male performers here who has seen her approached her and wanted to make friends. However, her cold disposition made it hard for them to continue talking to her. Instead, they would converse with Anne and would sometimes include Jisoo in their conversation, but to no avail.
Anne could not help but chuckle deep in her heart as she knew why Jisoo is doing this. She knew that her sister did not want to stand out.
But unknown to her, Jisoo is trying to search for human emotions.
This is because when she was immersing in playing the guqin, she felt that there is an abundant amount of Reiki entering her body at that time. That is the reason for her trance and deep connection with her memory.
She knew that a large amount of Reiki actually came from those people watching her.
"Adoration and admiration… these two can cause Reiki to be transferred to me…" she thought with a big smile on her face.
She has a chance to prove this right now on stage. If she is correct, then if she is able to get the hearts of the audience, then she would be receiving a large amount of Reiki. Although it would not be as much as one would give when healing the sick, it would be enough to give her some boost.
As she began to think of a plan on how to do this, she suddenly recalled one of the pieces she has compose before.
That piece is something she played when her sect was suddenly attacked by a large number of fierce beasts coming from the heavens. At that time, the sect protection barrier and many of the sect members have fallen because of the unbridled might of those fierce beasts from space.
She suddenly had an inspiration and utilizes the guqin and her Reiki to spread her power throughout the entire sect.
And the piece she played at that time was forever immortalized by the sect as the sect protecting a piece of music. Its copy even caused war and bloodshed as it has been considered one of the most powerful tools to subdue an army.
And that piece of music became a sect treasure even until now. It might have no killing intent, but it has the power to trap one in their desires.
While looking at the people, she suddenly has an idea to use that piece of music for the audience today. And that piece was called… The Palace of Dreams.