Chapter 250: You Can Do It If You Can

Qiu Honglei's pitiful demeanor made the men in the hall glare angrily at Zu An, furious that he had made Miss Qiu sad.

Rage points from the onlookers: 444,444...

Zu An was delighted. Coming to the Immortal's Abode this time was truly the right decision; these lovely old perverts had provided him with an immeasurable amount of rage points. He definitely had to calculate it carefully when he returned.

Ah, it seemed his previous idea was indeed correct: earning rage points by himself was slow, but with a beautiful woman, it was much easier.

He still missed that night with Chu Chuyan... That night, walking with her on the street, everywhere they went, passersby were a constant source of rage points.

It was a pity Chu Chuyan was too thin-skinned; after that one outing where they were stared at, she never agreed to go out with him again.

Now, Qiu Honglei seemed like an excellent candidate. Coming from a brothel, being seen in public was not difficult for her. Plus, with that captivating charm she possessed, taking her out might yield even better results than with Chu Chuyan.

Thinking of this, he had a plan in mind. He casually replied, "They've pretty much covered the young lady's qin skills..."

"Tsk," a chorus of boos immediately rose from around them.

Qiu Honglei's eyes also showed some disappointment; even if she was inclined to give him special treatment, he couldn't just say nothing. How else would he convince the crowd?

Taking in everyone's reactions, Zu An said unhurriedly, "However, in my opinion, none of them hit the mark."

As soon as he said this, the entire hall erupted in an uproar. It was important to know that the hall wasn't filled solely with ignorant philanderers; there were also some truly talented and learned individuals.

They also understood the qin, and their previous discussions with Qiu Honglei had been quite proper.

Among them was even a great scholar like Xie Xiu. Could it be that even he couldn't see it, but you could?

At this moment, Xie Daoyun on the second floor gently waved her fist. "What does this guy mean?" she wondered. "Does he also understand the qin?"

Others thought that was Xie Xiu's evaluation, but she knew that what she had just heard were her own feelings after listening carefully. And Zu An thought it didn't hit the mark?

She had loved the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting since childhood and had profound achievements in them. Everyone who had accomplished something in their professional field had a certain degree of pride, so hearing Zu An's words, she was quite displeased.

Xie Xiu slightly shook his head. "According to previous information," he said, "he should have never learned the qin."

Xie Daoyun snorted. "It seems he's just like that previous guy," she said, "deliberately saying surprising things just to win a beauty's smile."

Rage points from Xie Daoyun: 233!

She didn't even remember Chu Hongcai's name. As the city lord's daughter, she usually didn't concern herself much with mundane affairs, let alone remember a descendant from a concubine's branch family.

Zu An looked up at the second floor in surprise. So Xie Xiu's sister was also up there.

Last time, that guy said he would introduce his sister to me. Who knew there'd be no follow-up.

"Young Master Zu, why do you say that?" Despite feeling a bit disappointed, Qiu Honglei still tried to give Zu An another chance, to see if he could smooth things over.

Zu An continued from his previous statement: "The young lady's qin skill just now had no problems, and her emotions were perfectly integrated into the music. However, there were two fatal flaws?"

Many people around were amused by his audacity, and they all rebuked him for his arrogance.

Xie Daoyun also frowned. Even with her profound skill in the guqin, she could only barely find one issue, and even that wasn't a major problem. Yet this guy claimed there were fatal flaws in the performance, and even two of them?

Pei Mianman also covered her forehead with her hand, as if feeling embarrassed for him. Fortunately, Chu Yan wasn't here, otherwise, with her personality, she would probably just find a crack in the ground and disappear into it.

"Oh? I beg the young master to enlighten me." Qiu Honglei's expression also cooled a bit. This guy... he made it impossible for her to help him.

Rage points from Qiu Honglei: 250!

Upon receiving this rage point notification, Zu An thought to himself that this woman was truly stingy. Only then did he say, "The melody of the young lady's music just now was too bland and monotonous, lacking distinct melodies, and the rhythm was also unclear. Listening to it was inevitably a bit tedious."

Xie Daoyun on the upper floor said with dissatisfaction, "This guy is talking nonsense! The sound of the guqin is inherently calm and harmonious, and it doesn't pursue melody and rhythm at all."

Qiu Honglei also frowned, clearly thinking the same thing. However, she didn't need to speak; many people around who understood the qin had already begun to mock Zu An for talking nonsense.

Zu An was unconcerned, simply gazing at Qiu Honglei quietly.

Seeing that his gaze showed no panic, Qiu Honglei also felt a bit confused. This guy didn't look like an idiot. Why did he insist on saying this? Did he really have another intention?

So she parted her red lips slightly and replied, "Young Master might be misunderstanding. The guqin is for personal enjoyment, while the guzheng is for pleasing others. Since ancient times, qin music has not emphasized melody and rhythm, but rather focuses on a certain artistic mood or ambiance."

Zu An smiled slightly. "What a fine 'guqin for personal enjoyment'. Just now, young lady, in front of such a large audience, when you played for everyone, were you pleasing yourself or others?"

Qiu Honglei was stunned for a moment, speechless for a while.

On the upper floor, Xie Daoyun frowned slightly, suddenly vaguely understanding what the other person meant.

Pei Mianman leaned against the vermilion railing, watching the scene below with a half-smile on her face. "This guy certainly has some unconventional talent," she mused.

Perhaps feeling tired of standing, she pulled over a stool and sat down, resting her chest slightly on the railing. She immediately felt much more relaxed and comfortably stretched, revealing her infinitely graceful curves.

Fortunately, the privacy of each private room was excellent. Otherwise, who knew how many astonished gazes she would attract.

Zu An continued, "The guqin's sound is inherently calm and harmonious, focusing on cultivating one's character and temperament. The music often expresses ideas like 'tranquility leads to profoundness' or 'transcendence and broad-mindedness.' Logically, it should best be played amidst mountains and flowing water, or in an extremely quiet and private inner chamber. Yet, young lady, you chose to play it right here in this bustling brothel. The environment here clearly goes against the characteristics of the guqin, and the resulting music naturally has a sense of disharmony. Presumably, this is also why you've felt recently that you've reached a bottleneck."

On the upper floor, Xie Daoyun let out a soft "eh?" and began to carefully ponder his words.

Qiu Honglei initially dismissed it, but as she listened further, the polite, feigned smile on her face gradually disappeared. Instead, she fell into deep thought.

The people around, seeing her smile vanish, thought she was angry. They quickly seized the opportunity to flatter her:

"That's absolute nonsense!" someone exclaimed. "There are countless people playing the guqin in brothels all over the world! Who says it must be played in an environment of high mountains and flowing water?"

Zu An replied, "The reason there are so many guqin players in brothels is precisely to cater to you so-called cultured gentlemen."

"Ordinary courtesans in brothels rarely play the guqin," Zu An continued. "They mostly play instruments like the guzheng or pipa, which are more for pleasing common folk. Those who choose the guqin are usually the courtesan leaders of various brothels. They need to differentiate themselves. Because the guqin is elegant, they use it to elevate their status and 'class,' as if this gives them an air of refinement and transcendence. However, they fail to realize that the guqin is inherently incompatible with the brothel environment."

The voices that had previously scolded him gradually died down, because some people gradually began to think there was some truth to his words.

"'Elevate their class'?" Pei Mianman, who was leaning on the railing upstairs, wore a strange expression. "Though this guy's choice of words is vulgar," she thought, "it's quite interesting. However, this way, he has not only offended Qiu Honglei, but also all the courtesan leaders in the world."

Sure enough, hearing his evaluation, Qiu Honglei's face turned pale then flushed, and her chest rose and fell faster than usual.

Zu An quickly said, "Of course, strictly speaking, this is not Miss Qiu's fault, but rather due to the general environment. You don't need to take it too much to heart, young lady."

Qiu Honglei gave him a resentful look. "How could I not care?" she said. "After hearing Young Master's words today, Honglei fears she won't dare to play the qin anymore."

Hearing her say this, a chorus of wails immediately erupted from around them:

"No, please don't! Miss Qiu, your music is truly beautiful!"

"Don't listen to that kid's nonsense; he knows nothing!"

"Exactly! If you stop playing the qin," another added, "it would be a loss to the entire Brightmoon City—no, to the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!"

While these people wailed, they all glared angrily at Zu An.

Watching thousands of rage points flow into his backend, Zu An secretly scorned them, thinking, *Simps, simps, they fawn until they have nothing left.*

"But without these simps," he mused, "where else would I earn rage points?"

Just then, Xie Xiu on the second floor suddenly tilted his head slightly, as if listening to someone speaking inside. He then showed a surprised expression. Nevertheless, he spoke clearly, "Brother Zu, although what you said makes some sense, Miss Qiu infused her emotions into the music just now, and her emotions and the qin's sound achieved a perfect integration. What you mentioned earlier was too broad. Is there anything more specific?"

After speaking, he gave Zu An an apologetic smile, clearly embarrassed to undermine him in public.

Noticing his expression, Zu An guessed that these words were most likely spoken by Xie Daoyun through him.

Hearing Xie Xiu say this, others also got excited:

"Exactly! Who can't speak in generalities?" they chimed. "How to actually improve is the key."

Zu An said unhurriedly, "The reason the guqin is incompatible with the brothel environment is mainly because its melodies are too bland and singular. Also, its timbre is mostly concentrated in the mid-to-low range. If it could be accompanied by other instruments to complement it, the overall melody and rhythm would be much richer, and the layers more distinct. That way, the sense of disharmony with the environment would naturally be eliminated."

Xie Daoyun secretly snorted and quickly transmitted a message to Xie Xiu.

Xie Xiu's face was full of helplessness, but he still spoke for her: "That's easy enough to say. But different instruments have different timbres and musical scales. Especially since the guqin's sound is relatively soft, adding other instruments could easily create dissonance."

Qiu Honglei also nodded and said, "That's right. In fact, many predecessors have made similar attempts, all of which ended in failure. The method Young Master suggests is probably not practical."

A genuine chorus of boos immediately rose from around them. Each person watched gleefully as he made a fool of himself.

"That's probably because they didn't find the right method," Zu An replied. "As long as the fitting approach is found, everything will fall into place." Zu An was a bit surprised. Was the musical standard of this world so low? They couldn't even solve this problem?

At this moment, Xie Daoyun in the private room upstairs snorted, already too lazy to continue conversing with him from a distance.

"Something that countless qin masters throughout history couldn't achieve," she thought, "and you just dismiss it with a casual remark?"

"If only it were that easy!"

She now roughly judged the other party to be just an amateur, at most having a superficial understanding of qin theory. The thought of having just been so eager to discuss with him was truly embarrassing.

At this moment, Chen Xuan had also finalized his plan. Seeing Zu An being put on the spot, he couldn't help but feel great. He seized the opportunity to kick him while he was down: "It's easy to talk, anyone can just talk. Blabbing so much, if you're so capable, then you go ahead!"