Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 178: Chapter 161: For Whom the Strings Break

The long-missed Jiankang City.

After entering the city gate and walking a few dozen meters, Chu Yu stopped in her tracks, oblivious to the bustling crowd around her.

Tranquility unfurled inside her like a dehydrated petal regaining life, blossoming in layers upon layers within her heart.

With it grew a sense of fatigue and languor.

The wind that passed through Jiankang City, coming from the Qinhuai River, dispersed the tender moisture with the air of autumn, leaving only a trace of coolness when it reached Chu Yu.

The golden autumn sun was extravagantly spilling from the sky, boundless and vast, causing Chu Yu to squint slightly; for a moment, she felt as if she was experiencing an illusion of a bygone era.

The past month seemed like a dream, dispersed without trace by a mere breeze, yet Rong Zhi remained within that dream, leaving her side.

That inscrutable and elegant boy with ruthlessly decisive methods had entrusted her with a token, which she had brought back, yet Chu Yu also felt as if she had left something of herself with Rong Zhi.

Having stood motionlessly for who knows how long, Chu Yu gradually came back to her senses, and following her memory, she slowly walked back. Unwittingly, she found herself not far from the entrance of Chu Garden, gazing at the high-hanging signboard on the gate and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

That signboard was, after all, written by Wang Yizhi, and now, although the object remained before her eyes, the person was at heaven knows where.

A light, yet indelible sense of melancholy grasped Chu Yu’s heart. She knew why she had unconsciously come here; she was tired and wanted to come home, much like every weary bird seeking its nest, longing for a place to rest. However, she subconsciously didn’t want to return to the Princess Mansion, and so, wandering around, she had ended up here.

She was somewhat reluctant to go back… otherwise, upon seeing Hua Cuo, she wouldn’t know how to explain that Rong Zhi had followed her when she left, but why hadn’t he returned with her now?

After gazing intently for a long while, Chu Yu slowly approached the main gate of Chu Garden. The door was tightly closed, and the guard at the door was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, she raised her hand and tapped lightly on the door. Soon after, the door cracked open, and a young man who looked like an attendant poked his head out. He sized up Chu Yu and asked with furrowed brows, “Young Master, is there something you need?” Judging by the clothes, Chu Yu was wearing fine garments, which prompted the young man to speak courteously.

Chu Yu was taken aback, then she remembered that nearly all the people in Chu Garden had been killed by He Jue; since then, she hadn’t made many visits, and the newly hired servants didn’t recognize her.

At that moment, she couldn’t produce proof that she was the owner of the place; speaking without evidence would likely convince no one. After a moment’s thought, she could only say, “I have an old acquaintance with Brother Yu Ziyuan here. I came from out of town to find him. May I ask if he is present?” At this point, all she could do was try to find Huan Yuan.

In fact, Chu Yu didn’t have much confidence that she would find Huan Yuan here, considering she had been in trouble one month ago and hadn’t made arrangements for a long time; it was unlikely that Huan Yuan would have spent much time here.

As expected, the young man shook his head and said, “Young Master Yu is not here. He hasn’t come for quite some days now. Please, you may leave.”

Chu Yu nodded and turned to walk away. Although she was reluctant to go back to the Princess Mansion, it was something she had to face, no matter how difficult it might be, she had to return.

Chu Yu had not yet walked away, and the young man had not yet closed the door, when at that moment, from inside Chu Garden, a refined and ethereal guitar melody wafted out. The music was faint, but the message of sorrow and poignancy within it stretched like continuous threads, without end.

Listening to that guitar sound, Chu Yu had just stepped out when she drew her foot back and turned to ask the young man, “Who is playing the guitar?”

The young man pursed his lips and said, “It is a guest reminiscing about the past.”

Chu Yu paused, suddenly thought of something, and then raised her hand in a salute to the young man, saying, “Could you take me to see the guest?”

The young man was taken aback, about to refuse when he saw Chu Yu step forward quickly and deftly slipped something into his hand. When the young man looked down, he saw it was a pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg.

Chu Yu delivered the bribe expertly and with a gentle smile offered, “I recognized from the guitar sound that the guest is an acquaintance of mine, but since he is currently playing, it wouldn’t be right to disturb him. I only ask this young brother to take me to see him.”

The young man held the pearl resting in the palm of his hand, the warm sensation making his heart tremble, never having expected that this patron, who appeared his own age, would be so generous. Ultimately, he couldn’t bear to part with the pearl and clenched his teeth, nodding, “Alright, I’ll take you.” With him watching, the patron wouldn’t cause trouble.

As soon as the young man turned around, the smile on Chu Yu’s face instantly turned cold: Ever since the first batch of attendants she had personally trained was completely wiped out by the sword of He Jue, the quality of this new batch was much lower. Just one pearl was enough to buy their service, who knows what else they might do for more wealth.

But she had no intention of dwelling on these matters now, simply following the young man quietly towards the inner part of Chu Garden. Chu Yu was actually more familiar with the path than the young man, almost stepping where he stepped as they moved forward, and suddenly she couldn’t help but laugh again: She was actually bribing her own servant in order to sneak into her own home.

The young man led Chu Yu through the bamboo forest, and the sound of the guitar grew even closer. After a little while, in a clearing at the corner of the bamboo grove, Chu Yu saw the person playing the guitar.

Seeing him, she let out a soft sigh in her heart: It was indeed Xiao Bie.

In Jiankang City, aside from Xiao Bie, no one could play such moving guitar music. At this moment, his guitar music seemed to have gained something more compared to before Chu Yu left. Chu Yu didn’t understand music and couldn’t articulate it, but if there was someone present who understood guitar skills, they would marvel that Xiao Bie’s skills had transcended the last trace of artifice, reaching the highest realm.

To hear the mountain is the mountain, to hear the water is the water, to hear the guitar is still the guitar.

The guitar expresses the heart’s voice.

Chu Yu did not move forward to disturb Xiao Bie, merely standing nearby and silently watching. Xiao Bie sat cross-legged on the ground, his posture not particularly proper. His face was expressionless as his long fingers gently stroked the guitar strings, allowing layers of sorrow from his heart to ripple outward.

As he played, Xiao Bie seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, his gaze meeting the earnest eyes of Chu Yu.

Having noticed her arrival, Chu Yu naturally smiled slightly at Xiao Bie.

Xiao Bie, however, was suddenly stunned and with an inadvertent forceful strum, broke a guitar string.

The guitar music stopped abruptly, yet the melody seemed to linger in the bamboo forest, as if it never truly ended.

Xiao Bie stared blankly at Chu Yu, as if he was seeing her for the first time in his life. After a long while, he came back to his senses, looked down at the broken string, and sighed softly, saying, “This is the third time my guitar strings have broken because of you.”