“A man?” Ronghua stood up, “Did he tell you his name?”

It couldn’t be him! Could he even find here? It implied that he had indeed put something on Qingyi. It was kind of sad!

“Uh, yes, he did, and he asked us to arrange a room next to Princess Qingyi for him, but...” Xia Pumo hesitated and stopped talking, and Ronghua interjected, “But Qingyi didn’t agree, right?”

He didn’t speak. Ronghua partly guessed the consequences. How would Qingyi allow a man thinking about courting her at all times to live next to her? If he pushed the wall down, wasn’t it equal to that they shared the same bed? Speculating from Qingyi’s temperament, Ronghua thought it would be good enough if they didn’t get a fight immediately!

“Arrange for him to live next to my room. If he has any complaints, tell him — You can leave if you are not satisfied! No one stops you!”

Xia Pumo felt speechless. Was that okay? Besides, that man had high cultivation and seemed not easy to deal with. “She asked me to tell him like this. Did she want me to have a death wish?”

Ronghua continued, “Speak to him like what I said if you feel afraid of him. Mo, don’t be afraid. If he dared to attack, someone would not let go of him.”

But he was still a little worried. Ronghua felt helpless, “If you are still afraid, ask Murong Zhe to go with you. When Murong Zhe is there, the man should dare not do anything, right?”

All right, he had no other choice. Anyway, it would be his business in the end. Ronghua came over, “Where is your brother? I have something to talk to him!”

Xia Pumo said, “Brother was going to cultivate in seclusion, but the Third Uncle stopped him. He should be healing the wound in his Virtue Room now. If you want to find him, you can go there.”

Ronghua patted him on the shoulder, gave him an encouraging gaze, and then left.

Xia Pumo took a deep breath and then went to see the man finally, as Ronghua said, with Murong Zhe.

As soon as Murong Zhe heard that it was Ronghua who expected him to do so, he felt both worried and happy at the same time, “How can this be so? Ronghua, it’s very kind of you to give us so much time to get along with each other.” Since the imperial clan of Zither got rebuilt, Xia Pumo had never been in bed on time. Every time Murong Zhe had to wait for him until midnight. Besides, when Xia Pumo finally had a break time, someone would come to him and say there was something somewhere. It almost made Murong Zhe crazy and want to eat people. It was so difficult for him to have a body, but now those trivial matters always bothered their time.

“Let’s go, and I’ll go with you. After all, the man and I are well-matched.”

Ronghua went to the Virtue Room to talk to Xia Puyang according to what Xia Pumo said. Before she entered, she heard a gasp, made for the disappointment of being unable to break through the state while cultivating.

Xia Puyang had never come to Ronghua and even had not thanked her since she saved the imperial clan of Zither. Ronghua knew that he was hiding from her on purpose and would not temporarily appear in front of her. It didn’t matter. Xia Puyang didn’t come to her, and Ronghua also didn’t want to bother herself to look for him. Anyway, she had done what she should do, and the rest should be their own business. But among all the things got from Xu Chao’s mouth, only this matter could not delay. She must get it clear.

She pushed the door open. Xia Puyang didn’t even lock the door. It seemed that he indeed lost his mind, while it was likely that no one dared to knock on his door.

As soon as Ronghua went in, she saw a man lying on the ground, whose condition was in disorder. Since the dust and sweat covered his white clothes, no one could recognize its original appearance.

But Ronghua knew that this man was Xia Puyang, the former patriarch of the imperial clan of Zither, who was gentle and warm as jade. Although the man was Xia Puyang, he was no longer what he had been before. He was lying on the ground when Ronghua came in, staring at the ceiling above with his blood-red eyes. He looked no longer the patriarch of a sect.

Ronghua found a place to sit down and said, “Xia Puyang! Patriarch Xia, can we talk?”

He turned his head, finding it was Ronghua, and then he forced himself to get up, “Oh, Ronghua, what brings you here?”

Ronghua squinted her eyes and gazed at him, “Do you still care about what brings me here?”

Then she glanced at all parts of the room, “It’s unprecedented for a patriarch of a sect to be so dispirited, right?”

He wiped his face and stroked the hair covering his face to the back, “Miss Ronghua, could you go out? Come here another day, when I prepare well!”

“Is he driving me away?” Ronghua thought. Xia Puyang showed a respectful attitude towards her from the beginning, and he had never had such a disrespectful appearance. It was the first time she caught Xia Puyang being in such an uncommon lapse. Maybe it was because of the unusual situation now, and she could understand. “But he shows such a kind of temper in front of me. Doesn’t he think too highly of himself?”

“I am here because I have something to ask you. You only need to answer whether there is or not, yes or no.”

Xia Puyang said, “Miss Ronghua, I indeed don’t want to answer any questions now. Please come again next time, okay?”

Ronghua looked at him with a trace of displeasure, “Xia Puyang, do you think my time is as much as the sand in the sea?”

Noticing the anger in Ronghua’s words, no matter how uncomfortable and unwilling Xia Puyang felt, he had to suppress himself temporarily.

After sighing slightly, he finally gave in and stood up, “Your Grace, just ask whatever you want to ask!”

Ronghua asked, “Was it your ancestors that created the formation graph of the imperial clan of Zither?”

Xia Puyang nodded, “Yes!”

Ronghua continued, “Is it that no one knows how the formation graph works aside from the patriarch of the imperial clan of Zither?”

Xia Puyang closed his eyes, “Yes!”

Ronghua asked, “Are you very unwilling to accept the imperial clan of Zither now?”

Xia Puyang said, “Yes!”

Ronghua squinted her eyes, “Do you hate me for taking control of the imperial clan of Zither?”

Xia Puyang answered before thinking about it, “Yes...” but he immediately realized that there was something wrong, and he hurriedly added, “...No!”

Ronghua nodded, “Very well, the next question, you’d better think twice before answering me!”

He turned around his head. According to her words, the problem should be a bit serious.

Then, Ronghua lightly opened her lips, “Is there some ulterior secret in the imperial clan of Zither?”

Upon hearing the word “secret,” Xia Puyang violently turned his head, staring at Ronghua silently and thoughtfully. There was some panic and shock on his face, while Ronghua remained calm, “You just need to tell me, yes or no, understand?”

He walked over, “Is there someone telling something to you? Ronghua!”

Ronghua had a giant smile, “The first time I saw Xia Pumo, he was in the forest, trying to get into the mysterious territory for only one reason — to save Murong Zhe. But there was nothing in the mysterious territory, except a monster eating people. Of course, they couldn’t beat it, and finally, I solved it. After that, Xia Pumo told me that he belonged to the imperial clan of Zither. As soon as I heard of the name, I thought that it should be an imperial clan with the zither as the members’ weapon! Sure enough, everyone in your imperial clan of Zither has a zither and knows how to play it.”

Xia Puyang replied, “Using the zither as a weapon was created and passed down by our ancestors!”

Ronghua said, “Yes, your ancestors passed it down. But have you ever thought about why your ancestors didn’t teach you other things but only the zither skills?”

Xia Puyang felt puzzled. Was there any problem with the skills of the zither? “Our ancestors taught us the zither skills, and of course, as the younger generations, we should follow and learn!”

It was undeniable. Ronghua also nodded, “Yes, you cannot change this, even though you will be unable to beat others if you have not practiced your zither skills well enough!”

It was true. Every time in the imperial clan contest, members of the imperial clan of Zither would always be the aim of others if their zither skills were not good enough. If it hadn’t been their patriarch and the elders, the imperial clan of Zither would have been replaced by others long before, and it would also be impossible for them to get the present status.

“When you learn to play the zither, which tune do you practice first?”

“The first tune?” Xia Puyang thought for a while, “Oh, it must be the requiem, which every one of us can play now!”

“Requiem!” Ronghua thought about the tune and wondered what it had to do with the secret. Xia Puyang failed in getting what Ronghua indeed meant, and he asked, “Your Grace, is there any problem with this tune?”

Problem? The problem was so big!

Generally speaking, one should learn the most suitable tune at first. However, the members of the imperial clan of Zither all learned the requiem as the first tune. It was a tune with the effect of soul-calming. It should be useless for one person to play it alone, but what if the whole imperial clan play it together? All members learned the requiem and would practice it several times a day to be more proficient.

“So, you should have played the requiem for hundreds of years.”

“Um? Yes!”

Was there indeed something wrong with this tune?

Ronghua suddenly turned around and said, “Okay, have a good rest. I think I have something to do.”

Then she just left here, leaving Xia Puyang standing in place and wondering. What on earth was the problem with the tune?

Ronghua thought she got the secret of the imperial clan of Zither. It should be that “you can wear out iron shoes in fruitless searching and then find it by lucky chance even without looking.” She had been looking for him for so long, and she was even worried about how to find him not long ago.

Thinking about it now, she felt it was because of fate. If she had not saved Xia Pumo, or not helped him save Murong Zhe, or not promised him to protect the imperial clan of Zither, she would not have turned around to come here. Fortunately, she didn’t refuse Xia Pumo. Otherwise, how regretted would she feel now!

“Thank you, Xu Chao. Although you are just the cannon fodder, you are still worth a bit.”

Now she remembered that sentence, “Baize has an implement. Its color is like gold, and its luster is like the brilliance of the Huizhi orchid. Everyone who sees it will love it. It can bring the dead back to life and give the living a new life. It is the most important implement of Baize.”

“I found you at last, Baize. You are in such a distant place; no wonder that no one could find you even through every means. I thought you are hiding for your special gift, but I didn’t expect it was that someone sealed you. What a pity! But now, it is not the time for you to come out. Your ability to bring the dead back to life and give the living a new life is so fascinating that it even attracted them to be unable to hold back but come to take action. Unexpectedly, I saved you. How will you repay me for the kindness?”

Ronghua’s fingers moved casually, turning the golden light up and down in her hands, and her eyes became golden at the same time. Looking at the golden light shining on her fingertips, she felt so pleased.