Suddenly, Lan WangJi spoke, “This one.”
He passed over the book in his hands. Wei WuXian was immediately more energized. Earnestly, he looked at the pages that Lan WangJi had opened to, comparing them to the score in his hand, “It’s not the same at all?”
Lan WangJi stood up and sat beside him, pointing for him to see, “Look at these two pages.”
Their heads pressed close together, and Lan WangJi’s voice was right by his ear, low and magnetic. Wei WuXian’s hand trembled lightly. The book had almost fallen off. He finally steadied himself and forcibly tore his eyes away from Lan WangJi’s long, white fingers. He concentrated on comparing the two, “Ah, these two pages.”
At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything strange with the score book. However, those familiar with music would be able to tell with just some attention that, on the page that it flipped open to, the melody on the former side wasn’t connected to that of the latter side.
Translator’s Notes
Hanshi: Similar to the jingshi (or the quiet room), this means the ‘cold room’.
Chapter 64: Tenderness—Part Two
Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Wei WuXian picked up his flute and played a section according to the score. As expected, the two parts of the melody were disconnected. The half of the score on the first page wasn’t the same song as that on the second page at all.
There should be another page between these two pages. It had been torn off, cautiously, stealthily.
The person tore the page with a lot of care. There wasn’t a single trace left of the page, which made it difficult to be discovered. Wei WuXian turned over the book. On the dark blue cover, there was a title of three characters.
Wei WuXian, “The Collection of Turmoil? What book is this? The songs in it sound a bit strange.”
Lan WangJi, “A song collection from Dongying.”
Wei WuXian, “From Dongying? So that’s why the tune soundd a bit different from the ones over here.”
Lan XiChen’s expression was complex, “… Legendarily, The Collection of Turmoil, is a collection of dark songs gathered by one of the GusuLan Sect’s cultivators during his years of wandering when he was travelling by water and arrived in Dongying. The songs in this book, if played along with spiritual energy, are able to harm others, from weakening the body to irritating the mind to agitating the spirit to shutting the senses… Those with great spiritual power could take others’ lives in just seven notes.”
Wei WuXian slammed the desk, “This is the one!”
He was so happy that when he slammed the desk, he almost knocked over the paper lantern on it. Lan WangJi moved it upright just in time. Wei WuXian spoke, “Sect Leader Lan, within the The Collection of Turmoil, is there any that can disturb a person’s composure, making them irritated, agitated, violent, easily-angered?”
Lan XiChen, “… There should be.”
Wei WuXian, “Jin GuangYao’s spiritual energy isn’t high. He wouldn’t have been able to take someone’s life with just seven notes. And killing him this way would’ve been too obvious. He definitely wouldn’t have chosen a song so powerful. But, if he could use the reason of playing the Song of Clarity for ChiFeng-Zun to calm his temper and continued to play it for three months, would the song be able to act as a slow poison and catalyse ChiFeng-Zun’s outburst?”
Lan XiChen, “… Yes.”
Wei WuXian, “Then, the speculation would be very much reasonable. The torn score not part of Cleansing belonged to a missing page of the The Collection of Turmoil. All of the Dongying songs recorded in The Collection of Turmoil are complex and difficult to master. He didn’t have time to copy them down in the forbidden room and could only tear it out—no, that wouldn’t be right. Jin GuangYao is able to look at something once and never forget it again. He tore the page out not because he couldn’t memorize it, but that there’d be no proof once it was gone. To ensure, even if one day it came to light or if he was caught red-handed, nobody would be able to find the source of the melody.”
“All that he’s done has been with extreme caution. In front of you, he was clearly playing the correct version of Cleansing. ChiFeng-Zun wasn’t someone passionate about the arts. He had heard you, Sect Leader Lan, play Cleansing before and knew the overall melody of it. Thus, Jin GuangYao didn’t dare straight up play to him the dark song and instead took trouble to combine two songs of different styles with opposite uses. And he combined them so well. They sound as though there were the same. His musical talent is indeed excellent. I’m guessing that he used little spiritual power in the Cleansing sections and only exerted power in the section of The Collection of Turmoil. After all, ChiFeng-Zun wasn’t familiar with this method of cultivation, so of course he wouldn’t realize the fact that Jin GuangYao had already changed one of the sections into a dark, life-taking tune!”
After a while of silence, Lan XiChen whispered, “… Although he had often visited the Cloud Recesses, I have never told him about the forbidden chamber within the Lan Sect’s Library Pavilion.”
Wei WuXian, “Sect Leader Lan, apologies for the bluntness, but during the Sunshot Campaign, Jin GuangYao was a spy in Nightless City of the QishanWen Sect, and a very good spy at that. He could even find Wen RuoHan’s secret chamber, sneak inside without anyone noticing, memorize all of the maps and scrolls, and write from memory all of the information before sending it to Koi Tower. Before him, the forbidden room of the Lan Sect’s Library Pavilion… really isn’t anything.”
Lan XiChen took into his hands the piece of paper with the score on it. He stared at it for a while, “I will find some way to try this score.”
Lan WangJi, “Brother?”
Lan XiChen, “When Brother passed away, the siege at Burial Mound had already passed and Young Master Wei was no longer in this world. If after trials, this part of the score really is able to disturb the mind and not merely made up, I will…”
Wei WuXian, “ZeWu-Jun, trying the song on living people might oppose the GusuLan Sect’s sect rules.”
Lan XiChen, “I will try it on myself.”
How, as the sect leader of the GusuLan Sect, he could say such an almost ridiculous thing meant that his heart was already in a tangle. Lan WangJi raised his voice slightly, “Brother!”
Lan XiChen supported his head on his hand. His voice was low, as though he was trying to hold something back, “WangJi, the version of Jin GuangYao that I know is entirely different compared to the version that you know and the version that the world knows! Throughout all these years, in my eyes, he has always been… enduring his suffer, caring for all people, treating everyone with respect. I have always believed, without a doubt, that the criticism he received from others all came from misunderstandings, that what I knew how he truly is. Now, you want me to believe, at once, that everything about this person is fake, that he planned to kill one of his sworn brothers, that I was also a part of his plan and even helped him… Could you please allow me some more discretion before I make my own judgement?”
Lan XiChen had taught Jin GuangYao the Song of Clarity, keeping in mind the grudge between Jin GuangYao and Nie MingJue, hoping that they could be how they used to be. He requested Jin GuangYao to help calm Nie MingJue in place of him. Who would’ve known that his kindness made possible Jin GuangYao’s cruelty? How should he face himself now?