21: Chapter 21 Zhuge Xingyue

He stared at the lake with vacant eyes and continued, speaking to himself:

"My path... is destined to be filled with thorns. Sooner or later, my hands will be stained with blood. Every day in the future might be a struggle amidst flashing swords and shadows.

Following me... will only lead to constant fear, and perhaps... even put her in mortal danger because of me.

I cannot give her the stability and peace she desires. Since that is the case, it is better to suffer a short pain than a long one.

Letting her hate me is better than her dying because of me in the future..."

Li Guidai thought to himself: 'Explanations! You're explaining to me again! I don't want to hear your emotional journey, brother!

I'm just a passerby!

Please, just save these words for someone else, will you!'

Although I was frantically refusing in my heart, seeing him looking as if he were crushed by the weight of the whole world, I couldn't bear to just walk away. I sighed, reeled in the motionless fishing rod, walked over to him, and sat down with a thud.

Organizing my thoughts, I tried to adopt a tone that wasn't too preachy, but rather like someone who had been there before (self-proclaimed), and said:

"Junior Brother Ye, regarding this matter..."

I scratched my nose, "At the end of the day, it's your own choice.

You think you're doing it for her own good, choosing the path you deem right; that is your 'seeing things through to the end.'

As long as you don't look back on it one day in the future and beat your chest in regret over today's decision, feeling like you owe someone, then for you, it is right!"

I paused, picked up a small stone, and tossed it into the lake, creating a ripple.

"However, having said that, the hardest thing to buy in this world is 'hindsight.' Some decisions, once made, have no turning back.

The important thing is not to let today's short pain become a thorn in your heart that can never be removed in the future; that would be true regret."

After speaking, I stood up and brushed the grass off my backside.

"Alright, I don't think any fish will be caught today; the fish in the water were probably scared away by your tragic drama.

Junior Brother Ye, you... think it over carefully.

I'm heading back first; my Yueer is probably due back from her maiden home."

Without waiting for him to say anything else, I practically greased the soles of my feet and slipped away faster than I had arrived.

If I stayed in this place for one more second, I was afraid I'd be dragged into some strange whirlpool of fate!

Sigh, my perfectly good fishing plan, all ruined!

What kind of mess is this!

Returning to the empty Cave Abode No. 250, I found that Zhuge Yue hadn't returned yet. The slight awkwardness Li Guidai felt from meeting Ye Fan while fishing was instantly replaced by a greater sense of emptiness.

He slumped listlessly on his self-made rocking chair, staring at the cave ceiling, feeling like he was about to grow mold.

One week later.

"Ah—! Why hasn't she returned yet!"

Li Guidai wailed for the Nth time and sprang up from the rocking chair, "No! I can't keep lying here like this! I must find something to do, otherwise I'll go crazy!"

After thinking it over, he inexplicably thought of the lake behind the mountain again. Although he had encountered Ye Fan's annoying emotional drama there last time, but... it was quiet there!

And ever since that day, that guy Ye Fan had seemingly evaporated from the face of the earth and never appeared again, which was actually quite peaceful.

"I'll go there! This time I absolutely won't get involved in any drama!" Li Guidai made up his mind and shouldered his pitiful fishing gear once again.

Arriving at the lakeside again, it was indeed quiet and deserted.

He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to cast his line when his gaze was drawn to a piece of wood floating by the lake.

The wood was pitch black, vaguely revealing golden thread-like patterns.

Li Guidai walked over curiously, fished it out, and took a closer look. His eyes widened in surprise: "Oh my god! Golden Phoebe wood?! And it's sinking grade material! I didn't expect this world to have such a treasure!"

Holding that piece of fine-grained, heavy wood, a thought struck him like lightning—make a guitar!

In his past life, in order to show off... er, in order to cultivate his sentiments at the school party, he had actually followed videos and learned guitar for two and a half years. Although his level was barely enough to strum and sing a few pop songs, he understood the basic construction principles and fingering.

"Do it now! Procrastination is not Li Guidai's style!"

He instantly threw fishing to the back of his mind and started searching for suitable tools and auxiliary materials by the lake.

Without a plane, he used a small knife to slowly whittle; without guitar strings, he used a type of tough monster beast tendon as a substitute; without fret wires, he found some hard fish bones to polish...

Relying on a cultivator's precise control over their body and a burst of boredom-driven enthusiasm, he actually managed to tinker it together.

After working for an entire afternoon, until the setting sun dyed the lake a golden red, a wooden guitar with a slightly rough appearance but a basically complete structure was finally born in his hands!

"Done! Hehe, although it's a bit ugly, at least it has the right idea!" Li Guidai weighed his "masterpiece" with satisfaction and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

He looked at the magnificent sunset in the sky and listened to the chirping of birds returning to the forest, and a feeling he couldn't describe suddenly surged in his heart.

Was it homesickness? Nostalgia for those ordinary years in his past life? Or lamentation for this wonderful yet pit-filled transmigration life? He couldn't say for sure himself.

He couldn't help but pick up the guitar, adjusted the pitch of those few beast tendon "strings," pressed his fingers clumsily onto the "frets," and strummed gently.

A slightly strange but vaguely recognizable intro rang out. He cleared his throat and, in a tone tinged with laziness and self-mockery, started singing that rap song that had gone viral across the entire internet in his past life:

"I am trapped in this chaos, where the willows are dark and the flowers are bright, village after village after village after village..."

"I don't have any great abilities, and I can't endure failure. What kills people is never setbacks, but expectations..."

He sang more and more passionately, completely immersed in his own musical world, and didn't notice at all that, at some unknown time, a slender figure had quietly appeared not far behind him, tilting her head and watching him with great interest, listening to this tune and singing style she had never heard before.

When the song ended, Li Guidai was still enjoying it and strummed the strings a bit more, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"What instrument are you holding in your hand? And what song were you just singing? It's actually quite nice! What kind of singing style is that?"

A crisp and pleasant female voice, filled with deep curiosity, suddenly sounded from behind him, scaring Li Guidai into letting out an "Awoo" and almost throwing the guitar in his hand into the lake!

He turned his head abruptly, his heart pounding wildly.

He saw a young girl standing behind him; it was none other than Zhuge Xingyue!

She was wearing a moon-white flowing cloud ruqun today, with dense star patterns embroidered on the hem with silver thread. Under the sunset glow, she seemed to be shrouded in a layer of soft halo, like a fairy from the Moon Palace descending to the mortal world, lively and beautiful to the point of being somewhat unreal.

Li Guidai saw who it was and his scalp went numb. He quickly hid the guitar behind his back and explained with a dry laugh:

"Xing... Miss Xingyue! This... this is just a little trinket from my hometown, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning!"

Zhuge Xingyue had her hands behind her back, smiling beautifully, and walked closer step by step. A cunning light flickered in her expressive big eyes:

"Really? But... I've checked your background, you know~ That Jicai Village of yours doesn't seem to have any strange instruments, and no one sings like that, right?"

Li Guidai's heart "thumped." Sweat began to bead on his forehead, his eyes darting around, and he stammered to make up an excuse: "Uh... this... actually... I learned it from a... a very ancient book, passed down from who knows which era! Yes! An ancient book!"

Zhuge Xingyue smiled even more sweetly, leaning forward slightly. He could almost smell the faint fragrance on her, and she pressed on: "Really? Which ancient book is it? What's its name? Where is it now? Can you show it to me?"

Li Guidai: "..."