The rain poured down.
Lin Xia stood before the mirror backstage, making a final adjustment to her Hanfu performance attire. A deep purple duijin ruqun with dense cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs—she had prepared this specially for tonight. The girl in the mirror had black hair cascading over her shoulders, features like a painting, yet she couldn't conceal a trace of worry in her eyes.
"Ten minutes to showtime." Drummer Wang Lei pushed the door open; his Tang-style round-collar robe seemed a bit tight, his muscle lines faintly visible beneath the fabric. This former sports school student always played the role of steadying the team's morale within the band.
Keyboardist Chen Mo was already sitting in a corner, tuning his electronic synthesizer, his slender fingers gliding lightly over the black and white keys. He wore the simplest white cross-collared shirt, resembling a true ancient scholar, except the black-framed glasses on his nose bridge betrayed his modern identity.
"Where's the bassist?" Lin Xia turned and asked.
"Same as always, smoking outside again." Wang Lei shrugged. "Says he's nervous."
Lin Xia sighed. This was the most important performance in the three years since the "String Sound" band was formed—playing a restored version of the "Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments" (Nichang Yuyi Qu) at the national music hall. If successful, they might just get that coveted record deal; if they failed... this could be their last performance together.
She picked up her specially made electric pipa, her fingertips gently stroking the strings. This instrument blended the form of a traditional pipa with modern electronic music technology; it was her labor of love.
"Let's go. It's our turn."
On stage, the lights dimmed. The audience was filled with music conservatory professors and traditional music enthusiasts. In the last row, representatives from the record company were looking down, flipping through their materials.
Bassist Zhang Jian was the last to come on stage. His Hufu-style quekua robe hung loosely on his body; the three earrings on his ear cartilage glittered under the lights. He winked at Lin Xia, the corners of his mouth curled into that trademark smirk of his.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the host's voice echoed through the concert hall, "what you are about to hear is the famous Tang Dynasty faqu piece, 'Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments,' rearranged by the 'String Sound' band."
Lin Xia took a deep breath, her fingertips landing on the strings. As her first note rang out, Chen Mo's synthesizer created an ethereal prelude, like an echo from a distant time.
Outside the window, thunder rumbled, and lightning split the night sky. But no one noticed how unusually this storm had arrived.
As the piece reached the third section, the lights in the concert hall suddenly flickered. Lin Xia felt the electric pipa in her hands begin to vibrate slightly, a strange energy transmitting from her fingertips. She looked up at her bandmates and saw equally confused expressions on their faces.
"Continue!" Wang Lei mouthed, his drumbeat never faltering.
Just as the music reached its climax, a blinding bolt of lightning struck the dome of the concert hall directly. Lin Xia's vision turned pure white, her ears filled with a sharp ringing. She felt herself falling, spinning, as if being sucked into a vortex of time and space.
When her vision cleared again, Lin Xia found herself kneeling on a patch of grassland. The electric pipa was still in her arms, but the surroundings—
"Where... is this?" she asked, standing up shakily.
It was no longer the modern concert hall, but an expanse of open wilderness. Layered ridges rose in the distance, a stream gurgled nearby. A light rain still fell from the sky, but the thunder had receded.
"Wang Lei? Chen Mo? Zhang Jian?" She called out her bandmates' names.
"Over here!" Not far away, Wang Lei clambered up from a pile of drum equipment, his electronic drum set scattered around. Chen Mo and Zhang Jian also appeared one after another; they seemed unharmed but equally shocked.
The four gathered together, staring at each other.
"Did we... travel through time?" Zhang Jian said half-jokingly, but there was no laughter in his eyes.
Chen Mo pushed up his glasses, calmly observing their surroundings: "The vegetation type, soil composition, air quality... none of it resembles anywhere familiar."
Lin Xia suddenly raised a finger: "Shh! Listen—"
From the direction of the stream came the clear, melodious sound of a flute. The melody was ancient yet full of spirit, somewhat similar to the "Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments."
The four exchanged glances and quietly moved towards the source of the sound. Passing through a bamboo grove, they saw a boy of about twelve or thirteen sitting on a large rock by the stream. The boy wore a plain round-collar robe with a jade belt at his waist and was intently playing a bamboo flute. Beside him were spread several sheets of paper filled with musical notation, the ink still wet.
As the boy's last note faded, Lin Xia unconsciously plucked a pipa string. A clear, bright harmonic reverberated in the air.
The boy turned his head sharply, almost dropping his flute. He had a handsome face, eyes bright like stars, his brow already hinting at an extraordinary bearing.
"Who are you?" The boy stood up, his voice carrying an authority belying his age. "Why do you trespass into the Royal Forbidden Gardens?"
Lin Xia's mind raced. Royal Forbidden Gardens? This boy of exceptional poise... A bold guess formed in her heart.
"We... are musicians," she replied tentatively, simultaneously signaling her teammates not to make any rash moves. "We were drawn by your flute playing."
The boy eyed their strange clothing and even stranger instruments warily: "Musicians? Why have I never seen such attire before? And these..." He pointed to the electronic drums and synthesizer. "...what instruments are these?"
Chen Mo suddenly stepped forward and performed a standard Tang Dynasty chashou salute (crossed-hands greeting): "Might I ask if the young gentleman is Li Longji, the Prince of Linzi?"
The boy—the future Emperor Xuanzong of Tang—clearly started, then straightened his posture: "It is indeed I. Who exactly are you—"
Lin Xia gasped. They had truly traveled back to the Tang Dynasty and encountered the young Li Longji—the very emperor who would later compose the "Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments"!
"We come from... a very distant place," Lin Xia chose her words carefully. "We are people who specialize in the study of music. Just now, hearing Your Highness's composition, we were deeply impressed."
The wariness in Li Longji's eyes lessened slightly, replaced by pure curiosity about music: "This piece is something I composed recently; it's still imperfect. You say you understand music? Then do you know what mode this is?"
Hearing the challenge in his words, Lin Xia smiled slightly: "Your Highness uses the Qingshang mode, but the third phrase modulates into the Yue mode—quite innovative."
Surprise and delight flashed in the boy's eyes: "You could actually tell!" He stepped forward a few paces, his gaze burning intently on the electric pipa in Lin Xia's hands. "And what kind of pipa is this? The shape seems familiar, yet very different."
Lin Xia hesitated for a moment, then decided to take a risk: "It's a kind of... improved pipa. Would Your Highness like to hear its sound?"
After receiving the boy's eager nod, Lin Xia adjusted the effects processor and began to play a segment of the "Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments." Under the modulation of the guzheng (Chinese zither) effect, the electric pipa's unique timbre retained its traditional charm while adding layers of modern musical texture.
Li Longji listened, enthralled. When Lin Xia finished playing, he actually clapped his hands excitedly: "Marvelous! This sound is clear and bright, with a long, lingering resonance, incomparable to an ordinary pipa!"
Wang Lei and Zhang Jian exchanged a look. Zhang Jian grinned, picked up his bass, and improvised a bass melody. Li Longji's eyes widened: "This low sound... so deep and powerful!"
Not to be outdone, Chen Mo turned on his synthesizer and played a melody using a guqin (Chinese zither) sound. The magical effects of the electronic music completely astonished the young prince.
"These instruments... these sounds..." Li Longji was so excited he became incoherent. "I never knew music could be like this! Would you be willing to accompany me back to my residence? I must consult with you properly!"
Just then, shouts came from afar: "Your Highness! Prince of Linzi, Your Highness!"
A squad of guards in armor was coming through the bamboo grove. Li Longji frowned and said quickly to the four: "Hide! Quickly! If they find you trespassing in the Forbidden Gardens..."
The four hurriedly gathered their instruments and hid in a nearby thicket. When the guards arrived, Li Longji had resumed his dignified demeanor.
"Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has sent someone to find you. Please return to the palace immediately."
"Understood," the youth replied coolly, but his gaze secretly swept over where the four were hiding. While the guards were inattentive, he quickly slipped a note into a crevice in the rock, then left with the guards.
Once the footsteps faded, Lin Xia dared to come out and retrieve the note. On it, written in elegant calligraphy, was: "Tonight at midnight (zi shi), meet at the small pavilion on the southern slopes of Mount Li. Do not fail."
"Are we really going to meet him?" Wang Lei frowned. "This is a major event that could change history."
"But we might have already changed history," Chen Mo pushed up his glasses. "Think about it, we were playing the 'Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments,' and we met its creator..."
Lin Xia clutched the note, her heart racing: "Perhaps... this is the true origin of the 'Melody of Rainbow and Feathered Garments'? Perhaps there's a reason we were brought here?"
Zhang Jian suddenly pointed at the sky: "Look!"
Everyone looked up. Between the clouds, strange, faint halos of light swirled, as if the rift in time and space hadn't completely closed.
"Whatever this situation is," Lin Xia made up her mind, "we'll go see Li Longji tonight. Perhaps... he can help us find a way back."
In the rain-washed mountain forest, the strange fate of four modern musicians and a future emperor thus began. And in the distance, the outline of Chang'an city loomed faintly in the twilight, witnessing this musical encounter spanning a thousand years.