novelraw 71. *Sha Po Lang*
71. *Sha Po Lang*
After seeing Jiang Zhiping off and returning home, Zheng Ning sat down at the table in her small room and turned on her computer.
The trailer for the TV series "The Legend of the Immortal Mountain Swordsman" has already been released online, along with various promotional clips from the official channels. He plans to take a closer look at what this series is all about.
Regardless of whether or not he could obtain a suitable song from the system, he had at least received advanced composition skills taught by the system.
If I can't find a suitable song in the remaining ten days or so, I might as well bite the bullet and try to create one myself.
I originally only planned to take a quick look and get a feel for the plot.
But as Zheng Ning watched, she found herself drawn into the story and somewhat engrossed in it.
Five friends, also a group of ordinary people, are unexpectedly drawn into the war between gods and demons, and travel through the six realms in search of nine spirit stones that are said to be able to save all living beings.
Yet, amidst a series of fantastical experiences, and through friendship, love, and sacrifice, they discover a proposition even more difficult than saving the world:
How can we reverse our fate without betraying our true selves?
The journey, a mix of laughter and tears, ultimately culminates in a final, profound question—
Do you want to sacrifice yourself to save the world and become a peerless hero, or do you want to live your true self without fear of worldly opinions?
In particular, the love-hate entanglement between the male and female protagonists in the drama is written in a way that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and stirs their emotions.
The strong sense of chivalry was very much to his liking, which made Zheng Ning, who originally had no interest in the show, decide to watch it carefully once it aired.
"Hey, the plot is pretty good, the production is exquisite, and the actors are almost all popular stars with excellent reputations and acting skills...tsk tsk..."
He watched from 2 p.m. until almost sunset.
"Ah~"
Stretching lazily, Zheng Ning stood up and walked towards the kitchen, her legs feeling a little numb, to prepare dinner for the evening.
But my mind was still filled with the plot and images from "The Legend of the Immortal Swordsman" that I had just watched.
"Hey, if only there were a ready-made music treasure chest that could open a song that would suit him."
As he washed the green peppers and houttuynia cordata for dinner in the kitchen, he muttered to himself somewhat sullenly.
"If I were to write it myself, tsk, I'd probably only get a favor from them at best... Oh? Right, system, I remember..."
He washed the dirt off a piece of houttuynia cordata, broke it into several pieces, threw them into the basket, shook the water off his hands, and looked up at the void to ask a question.
"I remember there was another music treasure chest I hadn't opened before, right? Like when Daoxiang won the championship, weren't there two treasure chests?"
"Yes, host, you have a music-related treasure chest that you haven't opened yet. It's been stored in your system space, and you've completely forgotten about it. Would you like to open it now?"
"Open it, open it! What if I get lucky and find a song that suits this drama? System, you know what I mean, right?"
"Treasure chest is being opened, please wait."
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the song..."
Hearing the system's somewhat mechanical announcement, Zheng Ning's ears perked up, his heart filled with anticipation.
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the song 'Kill the Wolf'!"
"Kill the Wolf, what does 'Kill the Wolf' mean? Killing wolves is just killing wolves, why 'Kill the Wolf'?"
Zheng Ning didn't react for a moment and asked curiously.
"These are abbreviations of the 'Seven Killings Star,' 'Broken Army Star,' and 'Greedy Wolf Star' from the traditional Chinese astrology, which represent power, destruction, and desire."
After giving a brief explanation, the system fell silent.
"So that's what it means. I knew it... System, play this song."
"Okay, host, please wait."
"Eee-yeah, oh~"
A faint and lofty female voice entered Zheng Ning's ears from the void. The voice was so ethereal and pure that it made him shiver involuntarily.
A magnificent orchestral and electric piano melody, accompanied by the ethereal female voice, lingered in his mind.
It made him feel as if he were in a beautiful, ethereal landscape surrounded by mountains.
The woman stopped humming, and the lyrics slowly came out of her mouth.
"A body that has been asleep for a thousand years"
Awakening from decaying branches and withered leaves,
It was the mournful sigh of a nightingale.
Break the spell...
"Wow? These lyrics sound so ancient Chinese. A thousand-year-old body has awakened... It's kind of creepy. Is this a deity, a god, a demon, or a ghost?"
Zheng Ning sat up straight and listened attentively.
There were also some songs with a strong ancient Chinese style on Earth before.
However, from a modern perspective, it does sound rather ancient, not only because the instruments used are all traditional Chinese stringed instruments and percussion instruments, but also because the arrangement style is derived from various classical dramas.
They simply made some modern adaptations to the lyrics and music, making them sound less convoluted and less tedious.
In fact, they can all be described as adaptations or improvements of traditional Chinese opera.
The young people thought it was outdated and had no interest in it at all.
Elderly people who already enjoy classical opera said that the adaptation was neither modern nor ancient, neither foreign nor traditional, and had lost its original charm, so they didn't like it.
This so-called modern classical music style only lasted for a year or two. After realizing that it was all a thankless task, no one mentioned it again.
But when Zheng Ning heard this song, his eyes suddenly lit up!
"This combination of ancient and modern... you can write it like this? Using modern instruments, even electronic instruments, but the musical style is only meant to lean towards classical opera rather than being completely derived from it..."
"As for the lyrics, they use modern vocabulary in their word choice and sentence structure, but they try to make the imagery and content feel more like something from ancient times..."
After all, he had been instilled with advanced composition skills by the system, so although he didn't have much practical experience yet, Zheng Ning could now do some basic analysis of songs.
His eyes lit up as he forcibly suppressed the urge to analyze the song thoroughly and listened quietly.
Who sealed the forgotten sword?
Following the sound of the flute and the hoofbeats,
Found you
The most glorious sacrifice
It is the destiny of heroes…
The song gradually conveys a sense of heroism and romance, and the ethereal atmosphere gradually becomes more ancient and solemn.
"It seems to be a song praising a hero..."
He nodded, but his mind inadvertently drifted back to the love, hate, and fantastical elements of Jiang Zhiping's new drama that Jiang had mentioned to him before.
"The atmosphere of this song really matches their drama!"
He quickly stood up, put down the green peppers and potatoes he was washing, went back to his room, and clicked on a clip of the promotional video for "The Legend of the Immortal Swordsman" that had just played on his computer screen.
"Life is to prove"
Traces of Love
A greater life emerges after the fire burns.
Killing is for the purpose of praising
The magnificence before destruction
The night is the wolf's deep eyes...
The female singer was still singing at the top of her lungs.
Her lyrics and the magnificent ancient-style battle and ethereal magical arts in the video seemed to merge together in an unexpected way, as if the scene was created for the song and the song existed for the scene!
"Hey! The theme song Brother Jiang wanted is finally settled!"