Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

Chapter 384 The music resumes, and the petals fall again.

When it was Xiao Han's turn, he was mentally prepared because Prince Xuan and Prince Qi had made mistakes before him.

He memorized all the knowledge points that Long Chuqing taught him about Prince Qi and Prince Xuan, and tried his best to avoid making the same mistakes when playing.

Xiao Han's fingers hovered half an inch above the strings, pausing for a moment.

Long Chuqing keenly noticed his subtle movement.

The pause in the short message was not because Xiao Han was hesitating; he was quickly reviewing the mistakes of Prince Qi and Prince Xuan in his mind, trying to avoid the shortcomings they had touched upon.

Sixth Brother used too much force at first, which not only caused him to lose rhythm, but also caused the string surface to crack due to the excessive internal force.

However, Fifth Brother became preoccupied with this when playing, and went to the other extreme. He was afraid that he would break the piano if he played too hard, so he deliberately restrained his strength. As a result, the sound waves were as light as willow catkins floating in the air, soft and weak, and did not even disturb the pond.

Xiao Han silently recited the key points taught by Long Chuqing in his heart, and gently placed his fingertips on the 'Gongxian'.

When he plucked the strings, he deliberately slowed down the pace of his movements to avoid being too hasty. He first used three-tenths of his internal strength to guide it to the strings, and then felt the warm and thick airflow rise from his dantian, pass through his shoulder blades and wrist bones, and finally converge at his fingertips like a stream.

"Om-"

The 'Gongxian' produced a deep, resonant, yet not dull, sound under Xiao Han's fingers.

Next was 'Shang Xian'. Xiao Han adjusted his breathing and controlled his internal energy to five-tenths of its strength.

With a slight exertion of the wrist and a gentle flick of the fingertips, the 'Shang String' rang out with a clear, crisp sound, like the tinkling of a mountain spring, its tone now more crisp and clear.

The 'horn string' requires agility. Xiao Han dispersed his inner energy into fine streams, which seeped into the string through his fingertips. With a light touch, his fingers produced a soft "hum," like a long wind passing over a hill, carrying just the right amount of undulation.

The most important thing to avoid when playing the 'Zhi' string is to be impetuous. He recalled the ear-piercing sound caused by his sixth brother's excessive force when playing the 'Zhi' string, and he also remembered the weak and feeble 'sick tone' of Prince Qi.

Xiao Han took a deep breath, condensed his inner strength into a single line, and sent it straight to his fingertips. With a "clang!" sound, it was like a raging flame soaring into the sky.

When the sound splashed, the withered flowers on the pond's edge trembled gently with the sound waves.

Become!

Finally, there is the 'feather string'. The feather tone should be soft but not weak, delicate but not scattered.

He abandoned the cautiousness of Prince Qi when he was afraid of damaging the zither, and also avoided the excessive effort of Prince Xuan in "seeking effect". He only used six-tenths of his internal strength, and with a light touch of his fingertips, he produced a "whoosh" sound, like a clear spring flowing into a deep pool.

As the music ended and Xiao Han's fingertips left the last string, a koi carp leaped from the water, splashing with a "splash".

Xiao Han put down the bow, a slight numbness still lingering in his palm.

Although this piece has many flaws, at least it doesn't produce overly harsh piano sounds or a weak, listless tone.

You still need to practice more.

He was able to quickly summarize the key points after his two elder brothers made mistakes, not only avoiding the shortcomings of being too rigid and easily broken or too soft and boneless, but also mastering the coordination of the five tones and internal strength.

Long Chuqing looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and affirmed, "Although the effect is slight, it is already quite good that you can achieve such an effect on your first time using internal force to play."

Xiao Han looked at Long Chuqing and smiled faintly.

"Seventh Brother is truly remarkable. The piece you just played was not only steady and skillful, but it also showed promising initial results. Although it had some minor flaws, it was an excellent start." The Prince of Xuan's tone was filled with sincere admiration.

He glanced at the zither placed beside him and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Unlike me, I was eager to show off my skills right away and even broke a zither. I've made a fool of myself in front of everyone."

"Sixth Brother," Xiao Han explained, "the reason I was able to avoid obvious mistakes and produce a relatively harmonious tone on my first performance was actually thanks to Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother practicing before me."

"If I were the first to play, before I understood the trick of coordinating the sound of the zither with my internal energy, I would probably be like Sixth Brother, too eager to succeed and exert too much force, causing the strings to vibrate unbalanced and show signs of breaking. Or I might be like Fifth Brother, too cautious and lacking internal energy, making the sound waves weak and unsupported."

As King Xuan listened, the embarrassment on his face gradually faded, replaced by a sense of relief after his initial shame.

He scratched his head and laughed, "Seventh Brother is right. I was just wondering why Fifth Brother and I were the ones making fools of ourselves. Turns out, we were paving the way for Seventh Brother! Haha..."

Prince Qi patted Prince Xuan on the shoulder, "Sixth brother, although Seventh brother said so, it is because he is exceptionally intelligent and can instantly grasp the key points from our mistakes and make timely adjustments."

King Xuan said, "That's true. Seventh Brother has always been intelligent. If I were to play last, just watching without trying it myself, he might not be able to grasp the key points."

To put it simply, practice makes perfect, and the key is in hands-on experience.

Seeing something a thousand times is not as memorable as doing it once.

The three of them resumed their practice. They all knew that they had only just begun to grasp the basics of the zither, and their internal energy and the coordination of the strings were still quite raw.

The art of playing the zither is not something that can be mastered in a day.

Now that you've just begun to grasp the basics and your techniques are still developing, the most important thing is to practice more in order to truly master them.

This is the best time to deepen your understanding of the three elements: luck, fortune, and luck.

As the music resumed, the crabapple and cherry blossoms were shaken by the internal force, their pink and white petals fluttering in the air like a dazzling rain of flowers.

Well, I have to say, the scene of petals fluttering down was quite beautiful and spectacular.

It's beautiful, but it's also really expensive!

Princess Ruoyang twirled and danced amidst the rain of petals, her pale yellow skirt fluttering like a butterfly, and the golden hairpin in her hair swaying gently with her movements, making a crisp 'tinkling' sound.

Suddenly, she noticed that some of the flower branches were already showing signs of withering, and hurriedly called out, "Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, these flowers are almost bald from your playing. Why don't you play somewhere else?"

The three of them exchanged a smile upon hearing this, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and later actually moved to another spot.

There's nothing we can do; the crabapple and cherry blossoms are in full bloom! It's a real shame they're fading away so quickly.

The song ends, but the lingering sound remains.

Long Chuqing gazed at the petals scattered on the ground and sighed softly.

A gentle breeze swept by, and a few more crabapple petals broke free from the branches, swirling and landing on the hem of her dress.

"When the mind moves, qi is generated; when qi is generated, sound follows... Those who practice this technique must first rectify their minds. When demons arise in the mind, demonic sounds will emerge, which will eventually backfire and lead to eternal damnation."

"The zither is about emotion. The zither is also about restraint. It restrains evil and guides people towards righteousness, thus harmonizing people's hearts." Her gentle gaze swept over everyone, and she continued, "The zither is inherently noble and pure, an elegant instrument for cultivating character and leisurely enjoyment. It should not be associated with excessive violence or aggression."

Long Chuqing's voice was gentle, yet every word was clear. Today, we do not seek quick results, but rather a calm mind. The sound of the zither is like the person; if the mind is not upright, the sound will not be upright.

Xiao Han and the other two's expressions changed slightly, and they all nodded solemnly in agreement.

Upon hearing this, the initial excitement on King Xuan's face gradually subsided, and he continued to ask Long Chuqing for more exquisite finger techniques.

Xiao Han lowered his eyes and stared at his fingertips, where a slight tingling sensation from playing the game still lingered, but now a warm current seemed to flow through them.

Prince Qi's expression turned serious, replaced by intense focus.

The music resumed, and the petals fell again.

This song, after all, must continue.

Amidst the lingering music, everyone's state of mind subtly shifts, like petals cleansed by the music, falling yet appearing all the more elegant.