Plucking Heart Strings

Lei Mingxing could only wordlessly stare at Suan Bian for a moment.

As if looking at a crazy person.

But Suan Bian didn't give a d*mn about what Lei Mingxing thought, he just raised his eyebrow with a cold glint in his eye and continued to growl in a threatening voice.

"Well?"

Hearing Suan Bian's question, Lei Mingxing was convinced that the other had gone mad, but no one did anything to stop him, not even Suan Bi, which just meant that he gave silent approval to his son's command and would let him do as he pleased.

Because in the end, Chang Liuyun and her were just two random people who were entirely unimportant to all of the guests whose actually aim lay in the ancient treasure in the Dark Spirit Woods.

Glancing at Chang Liuyun who had his arms painfully bent behind his back but was unable to retaliate in any way, Lei Mingxing ultimately got up from her seat.

She slowly strode around the table towards Suan Bian whose expression was much less angry now, only mildly grumpy, before elegantly sitting down on his right-hand side.

Immediately, Suan Bian raised his arm to wrap it around her shoulders and pull Lei Mingxing closer but she smoothly evaded his touch, which just served to make Suan Bian's anger flare up again.

He was about to hurl some more threats at Lei Mingxing, or rather Chang Liuyun, but stopped in his tracks when he caught his father's gaze.

In the end, he could only discontentedly withdraw his hand and ball it into a fist in his lap.

Lei Mingxing, sitting half a meter away from Suan Bian, her back as straight as a broomstick, stared unblinkingly at Shao Tianyu opposite of her.

Her clenched jaw and fiery gaze made her true emotions maybe a little too obvious, to the point where Shao Tianyu almost regretted not stepping in earlier.

In the end, it was Shao Tianyu who awkwardly averted his eyes while Suan Bi began to speak again with a cough.

"Ahem, I apologize for my son, I spoiled him a little too much when he was a child, so he might be a little hot-headed sometimes. Anyway, I have arranged some more pleasantries for our entertainment."

Suan Bi quickly snapped his fingers to stop this awkward atmosphere from worsening even further.

For the fourth time this evening, the doors slid open and a few scantily-clad women, along with two musicians passed the still-standing Chang Liuyun to the center of the hall.

There were also some more servants with alcohol in their arms.

They circled around the table and refilled all the wine glasses, their actions too swift for anyone to refuse before they quickly retreated again.

The pipa player also left the hall center, changing places with the dancers, as the new, lively music began to play.

But she still stayed in the room, resting in the far right corner with her pipa leaning against the wall next to her.

Although no one paid any attention to this, entirely captivated by the enchanting movements of the dancers, or at least Suan Bian was.

Enjoying the view in front of him, Suan Bian stretched out his hand to grab his wine cup, shooting Lei Mingxing a glance, telling her to drink as well.

And although Lei Mingxing obeyed, she ignored Suan Bian's existence thoroughly, stubbornly continuing to stare straight ahead.

Lei Mingxing took a big sip of her drink, not worried about getting drunk in the slightest.

Mostly satisfied, Suan Bian tried once again to touch Lei Mingxing, this time reaching for her thigh, only for her to avoid him yet again.

Which led to him drowning his frustration in several cups of wine while angrily watching the women in front of him.

Suan Bi on the other hand was now happier than ever, with his gripes towards Lei Mingxing vented through his son's actions and the evening finally back on track.

Feeling even better when he thought about how he would punish Lei Mingxing after this.

He absentmindedly tapped his fingers to the beat of the music with a smile on his face, letting go of his worries while watching the dancers and guests in front of him.

Half an hour passed quietly, without any more incidents instigated by Lei Mingxing.

Obviously, such a thing couldn't continue, so Lei Mingxing sitting next to the very much drunk Suan Bian parted her lips to speak.

"I would like to play you something on the pipa."

Lei Mingxing's voice was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, obviously amplified by her Qi to contend with the music.

Suan Bian's mood soured instantly.

Glancing at the annoying girl next to him, he opened his mouth to mercilessly decline her offer while frowning.

"No, you will sta-"

"Yes, go, I want to hear you perform."

The drunk Suan Bian interrupted his father's words while squinting at Lei Mingxing.

"..., Son, I don't thin-", Suan Bi began, but stopped when he saw his son's glazed eyes, which, in his mind, had a clear pleading expression in them.

With a sigh, Suan Bi relented.

"Hah, alright, but only one song."

The moment Suan Bi gave his approval, Lei Mingxing sprung up from her seat, elegantly of course, almost knocking down Suan Bian who had been mostly leaning toward her, still determined to lay his hands on her.

She slowly passed by the two mercenaries and Huo Dong, not sparing them a glance before walking up to the pipa player and gently picking up the pipa.

Instrument in hand, Lei Mingxing finally strode to the hall center, locking eyes with the still-standing Chang Liuyun for but a moment as she sunk to the ground.

The dancers had stopped dancing and the lively music had also quieted down, making room for Lei Mingxing's performance.

  But she didn't start playing immediately, unmovingly sitting in place for almost an entire minute.

To the point that Suan Bi was sure that Lei Mingxing's true aim had just been to interrupt the banquet again, not actually planning to play the pipa at all.

He was about to chastise and call her back when Lei Mingxing began calmly strumming the first few notes.

Her first strokes sounded rather clumsy, making the other guests wince from how unpleasant they were.

But soon, the mood shifted.

Although Lei Mingxing's fingers were only leisurely plucking the pipa strings, it felt like she was directly picking their hearts, causing feelings like deep hopelessness and despair to stir inside them.

This wasn't at all what Suan Bi had expected and wanted to stop Lei Mingxing from ruining the lively atmosphere further, but even he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. The sorrowful sound of her song had made him recall his very own dark memories, unable to break free from the visions of the past.

So, Lei Mingxing continued, drawing the people around her deeper and deeper, some of the servants and dancers had even started to shed tears.

Shao Tianyu also felt extremely touched, staring at Lei Mingxing with a pitying expression.

For someone to play such a sad tune, they had to have experienced great misfortune in their life.

He had decided, he would persuade Suan Bi and help this girl escape with her friend, they didn't deserve this fate.

Just as he thought this, the mood of the song abruptly changed.

Lei Mingxing plucked the strings quick and hard, surprising the immersed listeners so much that they couldn't help jumping in surprise.

Suan Bian even dropped his wine cup, spilling the alcohol all over himself and the table in front of him.

Taking advantage of this moment of surprise, Lei Mingxing flung the pipa in her hand aside and rushed forward with a wall of blood-red flames surrounding her, setting fire to everything they touched as she jumped over the table.

Suan Bi hastily dodged Lei Mingxing's flames in surprise, despite easily being able to overpower them if he wanted to.

Too stunned to react.

But Lei Mingxing didn't linger, rushing past him, aiming for the spear on the wall.

Suan Bi's heart skipped a beat as she reached the weapon, before he remembered the defensive artifacts he had placed on it and calmed down, instead shifting his attention to the flames that covered almost the entire hall already.

Lei Mingxing hadn't been the only source.

The pipa she had thrown earlier was also burning brightly in the midst of the screaming dancers although none of them were actually injured, as well as Chang Liuyun who had planted his hand on the ground and poured his energy into a cone of blue flames that reached the ceiling of the hall.

The guards who should have contained him, writhing on the ground with burns covering half their bodies.

He had to quickly stop them! Before they caused even more damage to his estate!

Suan Bi raised his arm to exert some of the pressure of a late-stage Tempering Body cultivator and suppress Chang Liuyun as well as the fire, choosing to deal with Lei Mingxing a little later.

Snap!

Suan Bi froze.

Whipping his head around just fast enough to catch a glimpse of Lei Mingxing holding the spear in her hands before she activated the Spirit Core.