Chapter 52 - If the Price Is High Enough, Will You Leave?
"I'm a lover of music myself, so I could naturally hear it—it was the story of a little girl who lost her home and family. But it seems like there's more to it."
Chu Feng said as he took another sip of tea.
Thrum!
Having her heart seen through, Qin Qin lost focus and plucked the strings by mistake, a trace of wariness and confusion flashing in her eyes.
She stared carefully at Chu Feng sitting across from her, thinking to herself: This young man clearly has no cultivation—how can he see the images hidden in the music?
Qin Qin decided to test him further. She turned to the maid beside her and said, "Xiao Lian, bring Young Master Chu a fresh pot of wine."
"Yes."
Xiao Lian responded quickly and soon returned with a new pot.
As Chu Feng took his first sip, the zither began again.
He slowly closed his eyes, listening to the story within the music.
Images began to surface in his mind again—this time more vivid than before, as if he were right there in the scene.
This was the Zither Dream Technique.
Chu Feng immediately recognized it as a technique from the Miscellaneous Dao Institute.
Without thinking too much, he turned his full attention to the vision.
The same night, the same sounds of slaughter.
Only this time the location had changed—it was a sect. One side of the attackers were the same black-clad men he had seen before.
In the chaos of battle, a blood-soaked young girl was being protected by a middle-aged woman who tried to break through the encirclement.
But two hands could not fend off four. The woman quickly began to falter.
Before she died, she handed the girl a teleportation talisman and urged her to escape.
Gritting her teeth, the girl obeyed and fled with the talisman.
Days later, she returned to the sect, only to find it reduced to ruins.
Chu Feng saw her face—partially overlapped with Qin Qin's. She stood amidst the rubble, filled with unyielding sorrow and anger.
The music stopped again. The vision faded.
"Young master, do you still wish to hear the rest of this story?"
Qin Qin's voice rang out again. Chu Feng slowly opened his eyes.
With interest still lingering in his gaze, he replied, "Of course. I'm growing more curious. What kind of secret do you carry, that two exterminations followed you?"
"Young master, if you listen to this final piece, I must warn you—it may bring about fatal consequences."
There was a warning in Qin Qin's tone. Behind the veil, her dual-colored eyes were locked onto him. If he showed any strange movement, she would strike.
Chu Feng casually responded, "What, someone's going to kill me within Wendao Academy?"
"So, young master is a disciple of Wendao Academy. No wonder..."
Qin Qin's words were layered in meaning—it was unclear whether she referred to his courage in continuing to listen, or to his earlier defiance of Young Master Ling.
Thrum… Thrum… Thrum…
As the music resumed, Chu Feng once again saw a scene unfold.
Several black-clad men were chasing down a woman.
The silhouette unmistakably belonged to Qin Qin.
"Why? Why won't you leave me alone no matter where I go?"
At that moment, Qin Qin was like a beast driven to the brink of madness.
But the men chasing her showed no hint of fear or concern.
"Because you carry something that someone of your lowly status should never possess."
Qin Qin clearly froze when she heard that. She hadn't expected that all her misfortune stemmed from something within herself.
"What is it you want?"
A black-clad man sneered, "You're going to die anyway, so I might as well tell you. What we want—are your eyes."
Qin Qin's face showed visible shock. Slowly, she removed her blindfold.
A pair of extremely bewitching heterochromatic eyes came into view before Chu Feng.
"Innate Dual Pupils."
Chu Feng unconsciously murmured those four words, snapping out of the musical trance.
Qin Qin's zither fell silent as well. She stared at Chu Feng in shock.
Her Zither Dream Technique had long reached perfection—it could immerse even cultivators one major realm above her into dream illusions.
Yet this man had woken so effortlessly and even remembered everything within the dream. His cultivation was clearly more than just one major realm higher.
Before someone like this, all of her disguises felt utterly powerless.
"That's right. I was born with heterochromatic eyes—treated as an omen from birth.
If not for my parents' love, I wouldn't have survived to grow up.
But all of that changed when I turned twelve."
Chu Feng asked, "And after that, you joined a sect, where you learned the Zither Dream Technique?"
"Correct. Though I was born with dual pupils, I grew up in a small place. No one could guide my cultivation. Even after joining a sect, I only learned some shallow techniques.
The Zither Dream Technique was something I stumbled upon during a trial."
Qin Qin spoke calmly, unhurried.
Chu Feng followed up, "So, does that mean your eyes are now awakened?"
Qin Qin shook her head. "Not fully. Aside from that one time when I was ambushed by black-clad men, I used the power of my eyes instinctively in the midst of life and death.
But that battle also damaged my eyes. I haven't been able to use them since."
"I see."
Chu Feng muttered, then asked, "I heard from Xiao Lü that you can leave Qunfang Pavilion anytime. Is that true?"
Qin Qin nodded slightly. "It's true. But I currently have no plans to leave Qunfang Pavilion."
Chu Feng smiled. "So that means, if the price is high enough—you'll leave?"
Qin Qin looked slightly caught off guard. She'd heard countless sweet words in Qunfang Pavilion, and many had tried to tempt her with money.
But someone as blunt as this Young Master Chu—this was her first time: "Judging from your tone, young master intends to take me away?"
"So tell me. What do you want?"
Chu Feng rotated the wine cup in his hand.
This little girl intrigued him. Born with heterochromatic eyes, and even accidentally awakened them once.
But more importantly—she was a person of great fortune.
After having her clan and sect destroyed, she had still survived.
Such fortune, he had only seen once before—on Han Paopao.
As for whether that mysterious force would one day destroy Wendao Academy, Chu Feng wasn't concerned in the slightest.
If they really dared to cause trouble in Wendao Academy, they would've already taken Qin Qin from Wendao City.
There was no way they'd let her continue earning spirit stones here.
Without hesitation, Qin Qin replied, "I want a spiritual medicine that can heal my eyes. If you can provide such a medicine, I'll go with you."
"That's all?"
Chu Feng was mildly surprised. He had been preparing a whole speech about taking in disciples, but she only wanted a single herb.
Qin Qin said evenly, "You should know—my condition is an innate heterochromia. Ordinary spiritual medicine might not heal it. It may even require a sacred-grade herb.
But judging by your cultivation, you're at least an inner disciple of Wendao Academy, maybe even a core disciple. I can give you this chance."
"Unfortunately, I'm not a disciple of Wendao Academy."
Chu Feng said this, then turned the conversation.
"But sacred medicine? That's really not a problem for me."
Qin Qin had been through too many hardships. Naturally, she wouldn't trust any man so easily.
"I'm not a naïve girl, young master. If you want me to believe you, then prove your strength."
"Simple."
Chu Feng casually pulled out his identity token from his storage pouch and placed it on the table.
"Will this be proof enough of my strength?"
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{This is the promised bonus chapter for crossing 100 power stones. lets cross 300 and i will post 2 bonus chapters}