Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Primordial Echo Zither
Fire that many people, and what was the difference between this and gutting the company?
Madam Lin said coolly, “I don’t care if you’re trying to curry favor with the Old Madam or playing some other game, but let me remind you—if you have the energy, you’d better put it into the guqin. You probably don’t even know this, but the Lin Family main branch comes from Heavenly Music Workshop—”
Beep, beep, beep.
Before she could finish, the call was cut off.
Madam Lin’s brows knit. “No real ability, but what a temper. I even wanted to tell her about Heavenly Music Workshop and the Yun Jing main family—let her broaden her horizons.”
The Lin Family main branch valued the seven-string guqin above everything. And with no daughter of her own, she had no choice but to keep flattering Lin Wo Yu’s household.
If she could build a relationship through Lin Qin, she might be able to return to Shen Zhou’s economic center—Yun Jing.
Ye Wan Lan hadn’t been brought back to the Lin Family until she was twelve, taken in by Lin Huai Jin. She’d never had the chance—or the standing—to get anywhere near the Lin Family’s secrets.
Lin Qing Wen laughed. “She treats your kindness like dirt. Why bother? You’re just putting a warm face against a cold backside.”
Madam Lin shook her head. “That day, when she examined the Old Madam, she really acted like she was some miracle doctor who could bring people back from the dead.”
Madam Lin had never cared about Lin Wei Lan. Any dutifulness she showed was only because she wanted to climb higher.
What wore on her was that she’d served Lin Wei Lan for years, painstakingly, and still hadn’t gotten any tangible benefit.
Lin Qing Wen didn’t comment. He only said, “Just treat it as a joke, Ting Ting.”
No one had ever managed to find the true cause of Lin Wei Lan’s illness. For years, she’d been kept alive on expensive medicinal herbs, and who knew when she might suddenly die.
Even the Su Family of Yun Jing, that famed medical lineage, couldn’t do anything. What could Ye Wan Lan—a girl who’d run off to be a stand-in—possibly accomplish?
“Of course I don’t take her seriously,” Madam Lin said with a faint smile. “I’m just afraid the Old Madam will be blinded by her sweet talk. She’s young, but she won’t put her mind on the right path. She won’t go far.”
Lin Qing Wen agreed.
He didn’t take Ye Wan Lan seriously at all. In his eyes, Ye Wan Lan was no threat to him and his wife. She had no ability to return to the Yun Jing main family. She wasn’t worth suppressing, and she wasn’t worth befriending.
—
“Sister Lan, the company name-change application has been submitted. It’ll take three to five business days to process. We should be able to move into the new office building within the next two days.”
In the office, Cheng Qing Li reported briskly. “And based on the list you gave me, we’ve already contacted the people in charge. Interviews can start tomorrow.”
“Good. You’ve worked hard,” Ye Wan Lan said. She reached out and patted Cheng Qing Li’s head. “The start is always the hardest, but it will pay off.”
“It’s not hard at all.” Cheng Qing Li looked serious. “Sister Lan, you made me feel like I actually matter. I’m happy, if anything.”
Ye Wan Lan stood. “Come on. I’ll go home and grab some documents for you. I’ll treat you to milk tea while we’re at it.”
At the Lin Family home, no one was around. Lin Huai Jin and Xu Pei Qing were both working, and Lin Wen Li was still in class.
The moment they stepped into the bedroom, Cheng Qing Li saw the Seven-String Qin and froze. “Sister Lan… you can play the guqin?”
Ye Wan Lan gave a small nod. “A little.”
In her previous life, when she was recovering at Heavenly Music Workshop, she’d studied the guqin for a time under the Supreme Elder.
During these years in the Time Loop, she’d kept improving. Still, her skill at the strings fell short of her skill at killing.
For her, music had never been purely music.
“Primordial Echo?”
Cheng Qing Li read the four characters carved into the body, then reached out, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Don’t touch.” Ye Wan Lan’s voice stayed flat. “People die.”
Cheng Qing Li jolted as if struck. “Seriously? Like in TV dramas? The Six-Fingered Zither Devil?”
In her head, a duel between martial artists was already playing out.
Ye Wan Lan suddenly laughed. Unhurried, she said, “Fake. The strings are just too sharp. I don’t want you cutting your hand.”
“Sister Lan, you scared me to death.” Cheng Qing Li patted her chest. “That’s not okay. My heart can’t take it.”
Ye Wan Lan lifted a brow. “Get scared a few more times. Build some tolerance, so you won’t fall apart later.”
Cheng Qing Li scratched her head. Later? Was she really going to run into something so outrageous it would shatter her worldview?
She was a strong person, okay?
After she got the documents, Cheng Qing Li went to wait for the bus. The name Primordial Echo nagged at her—familiar in a way she couldn’t place—so she pulled out her phone and searched.
The first result popped up:
The Primordial Echo Zither is said to have been crafted in ancient times by the Human Emperor. It has existed for a thousand years. Later, it became Heavenly Music Workshop’s greatest treasure and was passed down through generations, belonging to each Workshop Master. Countless replicas exist today, and the real one is nowhere to be found.
Thinking of that ancient, elegant Seven-String Qin in Ye Wan Lan’s hands, an absurd thought rose in Cheng Qing Li’s mind.
Could it be…
Could the Primordial Echo Zither in Sister Lan’s room be real?
The idea had barely surfaced before she crushed it.
Even the Primordial Echo Zither displayed in the Yun Jing museum was a replica. The real one had probably been lost long ago.
A horn sounded. The bus arrived. Cheng Qing Li climbed on, milk tea in hand, bright as ever.
—
Two days later, at the River City First Hospital, Qin Xian—unconscious for a full week—finally woke.
The sharp stench of disinfectant flooded his nose. He stared at the ceiling, dazed.
A dozen seconds later, his memory slammed back into place—and he roared, wild-eyed. “Where’s Ye Wan Lan?! Did Ye Wan Lan get killed for me?!”
Even strapped to a hospital bed, he couldn’t believe Ye Wan Lan had dared to lay hands on him.
A stand-in. Powerless in River City. Someone who had to read their faces to survive.
How dare she?!
“A Xian! A Xian, don’t get worked up!” Madam Qin rushed in, panic on her face. “You just woke up. Your body’s still depleted—you need to keep your emotions stable. Yun Yi, come over and calm him down!”
At the sound of Sheng Yun Yi’s name, Qin Xian visibly steadied. He forced his eyes open. “Yun Yi…?”
Sheng Yun Yi tucked his blanket gently, her voice soft. “A Xian, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
Qin Xian’s lips moved. “My hand…”
“A Xian, don’t worry. I contacted a doctor from Yun Jing to treat you. Your hand will be fine.” Madam Qin’s face was tight with worry. “You have to rest well. The doctor said your injury was severe.”
“Where’s Ye Wan Lan?” Qin Xian’s breathing turned harsh again.
Madam Qin’s voice dropped. “We’re not letting this go. A Xian—what do you think we should do?”
“Of course she has to die!” Qin Xian’s eyes turned vicious. “Mom, grab her first. This time, smash her hands to pieces. Let’s see how she takes stand-in work after that!”
“Wait, Aunt Qin. And A Xian, too.” Sheng Yun Yi spoke quietly. “Miss Ye is young. She doesn’t understand. I’ll apologize to you on her behalf.”
She lowered her eyes. “And it’s my fault too. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have—”
“Yun Yi, this has nothing to do with you.” Qin Xian’s face darkened. “Don’t interfere. I’m going to kill her.”
“But…” Sheng Yun Yi hesitated. “A Xian, as far as I know, you pushed her into the water first. Her hand was also—”
Qin Xian laughed, light and contemptuous. “Does she have evidence? No. So how is she going to fight me?”