The moment Fairy Fei's finger released the string on the zither, a beautiful and clear music note that pulled people's heartstrings resounded in the area, even creating a single ripple on the water that moved like a small wave.
Yuan could feel his heart beating faster when he heard this music note, and his eyes narrowed at Fairy Fei's hands that danced elegantly and skillfully on the zither, ignoring her beautiful face and everything else while everyone else was focused on her facial expressions and beauty.
'What a unique sound and elegant performance… I can feel my mind calming down just from listening to her music,' Yuan thought to himself after watching Fairy Fei play the zither for a few minutes. If this Fairy Fei were to perform in his world, she would become an instant sensation around the world with her skills.
"Excuse me, Senior?" Chu Bo's voice suddenly resounded in Yuan's ears.
"Eh?" Yuan turned around to see Chu Bo standing behind him, and he quickly said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was too absorbed in that young lady's performance."
"Haha… Don't worry about it, Senior. That's a natural reaction for everyone when they hear Fairy Fei play the zither for the first time," Chu Bo said, and he continued to explain, "Fairy Mei is actually a Core disciple who often comes to the Dragon Pavilion to practice her zither, allowing the guests to enjoy their food and listen to wonderful music at the same time. Of course, she's also getting paid contribution points for doing this so she benefits from it too."
"Anyway, your food will be ready in a few minutes, Senior. Please enjoy Fairy Fei's zither play in the meantime."
Yuan nodded and returned to watching Fairy Fei play the zither.
After watching Fairy Fei's hand movements for a few minutes and memorizing all of her movements, Yuan closed his eyes to fully indulge himself in the music.
"I see… so this is how you play the zither," Yuan mumbled to himself as he began imagining himself playing the zither inside his head, imitating Fairy Fei's hand movements while the sounds continued to flow into his ears.
If one could see inside Yuan's mind right now, they would be shocked to see that all of his hand movements replicated Fairy Fei's movements perfectly despite having his eyes closed.
After imagining himself playing the zither for a few minutes, Yuan began moving his hands for real, acting as though he was playing an invisible zither on his lap.
When Chu Bo saw this, his eyes widened with surprise, and then he turned to look at Fairy Fei's movements before he returned to looking at Yuan, comparing the two.
'Heavens! It feels almost like I am seeing Fairy Fei playing the zither before my very eyes when I am looking at him!' Chu Bo cried inwardly, nearly mistaking Yuan as Fairy Fei because of his precise and flawless hand movements.
'This Senior is also a zither expert? As expected of someone with a gold identification token!' Chu Bo wondered, completely unaware that Yuan is actually a beginner who didn't even know the existence of zithers until just a few minutes ago.
If Chu Bo had known this fact, who knows how he would react.
Sometime later, the food Yuan had ordered arrived at his table, and he began stuffing his face. However, while his eyes and mouth were focused on the food on the table, his ears and mind were completely focused on Fairy Fei's zither music.
Sometime later, once Yuan cleaned every single plate on the table with ease, he returned to watching Fairy Fei play the zither with a focused gaze, looking like how he would normally look when trying to learn a technique.
Meanwhile, Chu Bo cleaned the table with a startled look on his face, as he has never seen a single person eat so much food and so quickly before.
An hour passed within the blink of an eye since Yuan came to the Dragon Pavilion, and Chu Bo said to him, "Senior, your time in the Dragon Pavilion is up. However, if you'd like to extend for another hour, that'd be 10 contribution points."
"How long does she usually play for?" Yuan pointed at Fairy Fei and asked Chu Bo.
"It's mostly random, but usually between two to four hours," he responded. "There are even times when she'd practiced for an entire day without a break. I guess it all depends on her mood."
"I'd like to extend for another hour then," Yuan said as he handed another 10 contribution points to Chu Bo.
"Thank you, Senior." Chu Bo bowed to him afterward before he returned to standing in the corner to wait for Yuan's orders.
Meanwhile, Yuan returned to watching Fairy Fei's performance.
'I… kind of miss playing instruments…'
This thought suddenly appeared in Yuan's head after Fairy Fei finished another song.
'Even though I used to hate playing the instruments because mother and father always forced me to practice until my fingers bled, after becoming crippled and being unable to even hold an instrument for many years, I am beginning to miss them…' Yuan sighed inwardly.
After watching Fairy Fei for another hour, Yuan decided to leave the Dragon Pavilion and return to the Carp Leaping Over Dragon's Gate Tower to see if Min Li was closed to finishing.
"How was your experience being at our Dragon Pavilion for the first time, Senior?" Chu Bo asked Yuan afterward.
"It was great," Yuan said to him, and he continued, "Especially that young lady's performance. Although there are some flaws, it was a delightful experience overall."
"Flaws…? Fairy Fei?" Chu Bo looked at Yuan with wide eyes, seemingly speechless.
Ting!
A sharp music note suddenly resounded, startling everybody that was fully indulged in the music, causing everybody there to turn to look at Fairy Fei who'd suddenly stopped playing the zither and was looking in a certain direction.
Fairy Fei suddenly stood up and carried the zither with her hands before jumping from the giant water lily.
Once she'd landed somewhere in the Dragon Pavilion, she narrowed her eyes at a handsome young man a few meters away and spoke in a cold voice, "I heard what you'd said just now— that my performance is flawed? I would love to listen to the reasoning behind your words… Outer Court disciple."
'Oh, shit…' Chu Bo unconsciously took a few steps backward when Fairy Fei suddenly appeared before them.