Not following the expected path? Reborn and unexpectedly married to a demon.

The old man shook his head, telling Chu Luo to try another stringless zither.

The so-called stringless zither truly has no strings at all.

How do you play this?

Chu Luo looked at the zither and thought the old man was joking.

The old man stroked his white beard and said, "Play it the way you usually play it, as if it has strings."

Although Chu Luo didn't understand or believe it, she still did as she was told and bounced on the wooden table.

She closed her eyes, imagined what the strings looked like, and began to play the stringless zither.

The moment the strings are touched, an ethereal and timeless sound resonates, each note touching the heart.

An ordinary guqin piece, because of this stringless guqin and Chu Luo's skill, lingers in people's hearts and ears, extremely beautiful.

"How amazing!" Chu Luo exclaimed in surprise. This stringless zither was truly a treasure.

"In your hands it is a treasure, but in the hands of some people it is just a broken guqin. This is the kind of guqin that only people with real skill can play."

Chu Luo recalled what the old man had just said, "I understand. This guqin is made of a special material and possesses a kind of spirit. Even just playing it in the air with a certain amount of force and skill can make it produce a sound."

The old man nodded with satisfaction, "This child is teachable; he is truly intelligent."

"So what we need isn't some kindred spirit, but someone who can accurately control the dynamics of the score so that the instrument responds to the listener. The instrument and its strings have long since become one; it's truly a treasure."

Chu Luo praised the seemingly simple and unremarkable stringless zither.

The old man pointed to the zither that Chu Luo couldn't play and said, "The reason it doesn't make a sound is because it has been in the hands of a highly skilled musician for many years. The zither has been immersed in all kinds of beautiful and exquisite music, and every vibration of it has been affected."

"This hones its sensitivity; if a favorable wind blows at the right moment, it might be able to play a melody on its own."

"but……"

Chu Luo herself also plays the pipa, and she knows that some musicians with skill and rules actually dislike lending their instruments, which they use year after year, to others.

What I fear most is disrupting the tacit understanding between people and instruments.

I never expected that some musical instruments would be so sensitive that they could vibrate and produce sound even when no one is around.

It's no wonder that famous, antique, and renowned musical instruments are rarely touched by others; they would rather leave them idle than allow ordinary people to dishonor them.

Musical instruments possess a spirit, which is difficult to acquire and cultivate. Once their original spirit is destroyed, it is not much different from destroying their function.

"Is it because the melody disrupted its original spiritual rhythm, turning it into the silent instrument it is now?" Chu Luo asked, but she was already seven or eight parts certain in her heart.

"exactly"

Chu Luo looked at the zither with immense heartache, "Who would be so wasteful of such a precious object?"

"The people who came to destroy Bankong Mountain ordered that all musical instruments that could make a sound be taken away, and those that could not be taken away should be destroyed."

"In that moment of desperation, two of our most skilled ancestors gave up their own chance to escape and played a silent melody for half the night until their deaths, personally rendering their beloved instruments silent to preserve their sound."

After listening, Chu Luo greatly admired these two seniors. In the face of the love of their lives, life itself was not enough.

These silenced instruments are no longer just simple objects; they are the friends and confidants of musicians.

The sound they created together was a resonance of their souls.

"Is there any way to save them? Since there's a silent melody, is there also an echo melody?" Chu Luo asked.

"Have"

"That……"

Chu Luo wanted to ask why, if it existed, the zither was kept silent.

But she immediately realized there must be some difficulty involved, otherwise why would the music-loving Ban Kong Shan Ren have let his zither remain silent?

“I understand what you mean. We have played music together, but this zither remains completely unmoved. Apart from this one, all the other spirited zithers and pipa in this mountain are the same.”

The old man also expressed his regret at this point.

"Where exactly did things go wrong?" Chu Luo pondered.

"Before you came, we couldn't find the reason, but things changed after you arrived."

The old man knew that unless Chu Luo had a strong will, she couldn't accomplish this.

Only then did he patiently guide her to understand.

"I?"

The old man nodded. "The echoes of these spiritually resonant instruments are special. Besides requiring superb skills and mastery of the music, they also demand a unique understanding. Throughout history, only General Lan has achieved this."

"And when you played that pipa piece that day, the instrument, silent for many years, responded for the first time, so you were the turning point."

Chu Luo couldn't believe that she was involved with General Lan, given what General Lan had accomplished.

"Then why didn't you tell me this clearly from the beginning and let me try?"

Chu Luo didn't understand what they meant.

"Your skill is already very good, but not good enough. With your talent, your influence on the sound of the pipa will go far beyond this."

"General Lan's pipa can not only unite people and uplift spirits, but also ignite passion and generate powerful strength."

"Spanning several generations, it's rare to find someone whose skills are somewhat similar to the young general's. Therefore, we cannot let you leave easily. The future of Half-Sky Mountain may very well depend on you. You must become stronger."

Chu Luo recalled the things the old woman had asked her to do over the past month.

She has indeed made considerable progress.

"Besides seeing your progress, we also want to see your character. You are kind-hearted, passionate, and responsible. Although you were a bit impatient at first, you are receptive to advice."

The old man's words were full of praise for Chu Luo; he was very satisfied with her.

Otherwise, I would never have let her see these ancient musical instruments.

"Old man, please tell me about that echo song," Chu Luo said sincerely.

"The Echo, the one you play thirty times a day, is the intro. Although it's simple, you can only play the complete Echo well if you master the most basic and simple fingering."

After playing the Chu Luo melody many times, I always felt that the prelude to the Echo Melody was similar in spirit to many poems in the Book of Songs.

The old man was delighted to hear this, saying, "You truly have extraordinary insight. This echo melody is inspired by the easy and peaceful lives of ordinary people as described in the Book of Songs."

"The inspiration for that silent melody came from the 'Li Sao' and 'Nine Songs' poems."

Chu Luo took the sheet music from the old man, gathered her inner strength, and began to play it on an ordinary zither.

The music was like a spring flowing from winter to spring, smooth and full of vitality.

The guqin trembled slightly on the first silent note.

Chu Luo played it a second time, and the instrument with the muted tone reacted even more strongly.

Shu Tong and the old man watched as Chu Luo knelt before the zither, playing from sunrise to sunset.

As the full moon rose, its light bathed her, and she stood straight as if she never tired, her whole being enveloped in light.

A gentle breeze passed by, lingering on the instrument due to the influence of the music.

The silent instruments echoed louder and louder until they all resonated with Chu Luo's piano music.

They reveled wildly, as if their mouths, which had been covered for a long time, had been loosened and were now seeing the light of day again.

She played her instrument alone, creating a melody that millions of people played together.

The music was grand and majestic, sweeping away all filth. Those who had never witnessed the glory of Bankong Mountain had their souls cleansed by the power of the instrumental music at this moment.

I understand the meaning that my ancestors have upheld for generations.

This world needs such voices to be filled with hope and anticipation.