Chapter 264: Five Sounds, Six Pitches, Seven Tones, and Eight Winds

When that tune echoed through Green Mountain, it naturally drew attention.

On the mountain peak, the Azure Eagle lying quietly opened its eyes, its gaze fixed on the small stream in the valley below.

The Azure Eagle transformed itself and turned into a Young Master with a Jade Pendant tied at his waist.

He called out to the valley, “How carefree!”

Chen Changsheng looked up and saw the person standing on the peak. He smiled and responded, “Why not come down for a chat?”

He saw the person from the peak jump down lightly, his body floating down slowly like willow catkins.

He landed on the long bamboo, causing a few ripples. Chen Changsheng took half a step back. Both stood on either side and steadied themselves.

Chen Changsheng looked over the person before him: his hair hung down, there was a hint of sharpness in his brows and eyes, he wore a short black-green robe, and he had a piece of white jade hanging at his waist.

Then he heard the person speak, “Most who enter the Demon Realm face nine deaths and one life. You have such bold spirit, yet you still have the mood to wander and sing songs in this valley.”

Chen Changsheng laughed and said, “Where is any place in this world different? Everywhere can be visited.”

A gleam flickered in the man’s eyes as he said, “Well said!”

Then he added, “My name is Qing Tianyou. I wander all over the Demon Realm, with no fixed home.”

Chen Changsheng clasped his hands and said, “I go by ‘Chen Changsheng’ and dwell among mortals at Flowing Cloud Temple.”

“From the Mortal World?” Qing Tianyou sounded a bit surprised.

Chen Changsheng smiled and said, “This Mortal World is not that Mortal World.”

“Oh?”

Qing Tianyou asked, “What’s the difference?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “If your vision goes beyond this Heaven and Earth, you can glimpse the bounds of the Mortal World.”

After hearing that, Qing Tianyou said, “Your words make me guess. I never like to beat around the bush. Mortal World or not, it’s all the same.”

Chen Changsheng nodded and said, “Exactly.”

Qing Tianyou chuckled and said, “That tune you sang before was really sweet. Did it also come from the Mortal World?”

“Sort of,” Chen Changsheng nodded.

“How did it go?”

Qing Tianyou tried to hum a few lines, “Since ancient times, flowers never stay pretty forever, the moon never stays full…”

“Are the words good or the tune good?” Chen Changsheng asked.

Qing Tianyou thought about it and said, “Actually…”

He paused and then said, “Both are good.”

“Whether the words are missing or the rhythm is gone, the flavor changes. You need to keep both.”

After hearing this, Chen Changsheng asked, “Is music popular in the Demon Realm too?”

Qing Tianyou laughed and said, “I heard some in the past years, then I worked it out myself. Sadly, the music in the Demon Realm can’t compare to the Mortal World’s; there’s very little of it.”

Chen Changsheng made a sound of agreement and said, “That’s a pity. I’m not skilled in this art myself. I just heard a bit in past years and remember it till now.”

“Is that so…”

After hearing this, Qing Tianyou’s eyes showed some disappointment.

Chen Changsheng quickly said, “It seems you really love melodies.”

“I’m just interested,” Qing Tianyou answered. “Like you just now, matching the scene, the person, the words, and the tune. It really stirs up thoughts inside.”

“Melodies are meant to touch the heart,” Chen Changsheng chuckled.

“Exactly.”

Qing Tianyou said, “It’s just a shame. I wanted to ask for some lessons from you. No mortals have come to the Demon Realm in a long, long time. One came before, but he knew nothing.”

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and asked, “But how much have you figured out on your own?”

When he brought this up, Qing Tianyou had a lot to say.

“I first heard it at a Demon King’s feast. Back then, the ceremonial music used rhythms like splashing water and shaking sand. It was quite shocking. Later, I stayed among the forest cliffs, and listening to the rain gave me insight. Raindrops hitting leaves and cliffs made different tunes.”

As he spoke, Qing Tianyou took out five jade cups.

After placing them down, they stood firm on the long bamboo.

Then he drew some streams of water into the cups and pulled out a small iron rod.

“Listen to this.”

Qing Tianyou sat cross-legged and tapped the first cup.

“Dong…”

Chen Changsheng watched him, feeling dazed for a moment.

“Now listen to this one.”

“Dang…”

Qing Tianyou withdrew his hand and said, “The amount of water in the cup decides the tune. I sort them into five levels: lowest-low, low-high, flat, high-low, and highest-high. Five levels.”

Qing Tianyou then tapped back and forth between the jade cups.

The sounds became a rhythm, turning into a melody.

“Ding, dong, dong…”

The things he used were very simple, but they made a carefree sound, like Green Mountain and flowing streams.

Chen Changsheng also sat cross-legged, listened till he finished the song, and then asked, “Did you figure out all this yourself?”

Qing Tianyou nodded and said, “Yes.”

Chen Changsheng came back to himself and said, “Your five levels are just like the five sounds in the Mortal World.”

After hearing this, Qing Tianyou paused and asked, “Five sounds?”

“Yes,” Chen Changsheng said. “Long, long ago, musicians in the Mortal World divided music into five sounds: Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu, as the base for melodies. But just for those five sounds, it took many years of hard work by many people to settle them.”

“Really!?”

Brightness lit up Qing Tianyou’s eyes.

Chen Changsheng nodded and said, “You have a true talent for music.”

Qing Tianyou burst out laughing and said, “So that’s it, so that’s it. I could even measure up to so many people. I thought I only saw a little bit, yet it turned out this way.”

Chen Changsheng said, “Five sounds are almost the same as your five levels. In this Demon Realm, you’re like the first of your kind.”

Qing Tianyou coughed and said, “Not really that grand.”

He snapped back to attention and asked, “Anything else?”

Chen Changsheng nodded and said, “At first, the five sounds weren’t complete enough. So later, they added two more tones: altered Gong and altered Zhi. Those are the seven tones. Also, six of the twelve pitches, called the six yang pitches, helped. And they used eight kinds of sounds made from gold, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, earth, hide, and wood. That’s called eight winds…”

The light in Qing Tianyou’s eyes grew brighter.

“Hurry, tell me quickly.”

Chen Changsheng thought for a bit and shook his head. “To explain in detail would be hard for me. I don’t really understand music deeply; I only know about it.”

Qing Tianyou opened his mouth and said, “No worry, just tell me what you know.”

“Then I’ll give an example.”

“An example?” Qing Tianyou gave him a puzzled look.

Chen Changsheng raised his hand and guided a strand of Golden Light toward a bamboo grove by the stream.

A long, thin piece of bamboo was cut down by the Golden Light and brought to Chen Changsheng’s hands.

Qing Tianyou watched as Chen Changsheng handled the long bamboo. He saw him bore through it and drill a few holes.

Chen Changsheng looked at the roughly made Bamboo Xiao and nodded. Then he put it to his lips.

“Woo…”

When this sound reached Qing Tianyou’s ear,

he froze right where he was.

“Can you really do that!?”

Chen Changsheng tried blowing a few notes, then put it down and said, “I can only blow a few notes. To make a song is too hard for me.”

With that, he handed the Bamboo Xiao to Qing Tianyou.

“Why not you give it a try?”