novelraw Chapter 10 : A Stunning Performance
Chapter 10 : A Stunning Performance
Chapter 10: A Stunning Performance
The following night, the first-floor hall of Drunken Immortal Pavilion was brilliantly lit, bustling with noise and excitement.
On the central stage, a woman dressed in a dazzling dance gown, adorned with jeweled ornaments, swayed gracefully to the music, her eyes shimmering with allure—it was the enchanting-voiced woman from the room next to Lin Xiaowan the previous night.
Dozens of tables were scattered around, already filled with guests.
There were scholars waving folding fans and speaking loudly of lofty topics; wealthy merchants with protruding bellies toasting one another; and even several young men dressed in luxurious attire, their bearing distinct from ordinary rich youths, faint spiritual energy fluctuations surrounding them—clearly disciples of cultivation families.
Beautifully dressed women flitted among the tables like butterflies, pouring wine, teasing, or leaning into the arms of guests. The hall was filled with a mingling atmosphere of cosmetics and alcohol, thick with indulgence.
As the dance concluded, the applause gradually subsided.
Suddenly, all the lights in the building dimmed at once, plunging the hall into near darkness.
“Hm?”
“What’s this…?”
New guests murmured in curiosity, while regular patrons recognized this as Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s usual method of introducing a newcomer and building anticipation—there was surely something new to come.
Just as everyone craned their necks in expectation, a spark of light suddenly ignited at the very top of the hall. Immediately after, a clear and lofty zither sound rang out, like cold spring water striking stone, piercing through the darkness and noise.
Everyone looked up to see that the point of light rapidly expanded—it was a delicate wooden lotus platform.
The lotus platform slowly descended from the ceiling. Upon it, a girl in black robes sat with lowered eyes, playing the zither. Her bearing was ethereal, like a celestial maiden descended from the moon palace.
In the shadows, Honggu clenched her handkerchief nervously, whispering to the servants managing the mechanism, “Slower, slower! Keep the descent steady! If you hurt my girl, ten lifetimes won’t be enough to compensate!”
“Stay focused! Listen to my signal—prepare to light the lamps!”
As the lotus platform descended with the music, lamps below it were lit one by one in sequence.
When it reached just over a meter above the stage, eight dancers clad in multicolored garments—who had long been waiting—suddenly began to move, dancing in harmony with the rhythm of the music, their sleeves fluttering.
At the same time, maids stationed throughout the hall, each holding lotus lanterns, moved in unison to light all the main lamps around and above the hall!
“Shua—!”
Light burst forth, and the entire first floor of Drunken Immortal Pavilion was instantly restored to dazzling brilliance!
At that moment, the music climbed to a clear peak before gently descending.
The lotus platform landed steadily at the center of the stage. The dancers surrounded it, their colorful sleeves swirling like stars encircling the moon.
Only then did everyone clearly see the appearance of the girl atop the platform.
Her black garments made her skin appear even fairer than snow, her exposed shoulders and neck shaped with swan-like elegance.
Her ink-black hair was half tied, adorned with only a simple silver hairpin, with a few strands falling beside her cheeks.
Her brows and eyes were lowered, her long lashes like raven feathers, focused on the strings beneath her fingers. That cold, distant aura stood in stark contrast to the vibrant, lively dancers around her.
Like a radiant sun descending into the mortal world, quietly resting amidst a noisy garden of flowers—she herself was the source of light, the center of attention.
The entire hall fell silent, save for the flowing sound of the zither.
All eyes were firmly drawn to that touch of black—whether scholars feigning elegance, pleasure-seeking merchants, or even the proud young cultivators, their gazes unconsciously revealed astonishment, fascination, or curiosity.
The piece ended, its lingering notes trailing softly.
Lin Xiaowan gently pressed the strings to still the sound, then raised her eyes, calmly sweeping her gaze across the audience below.
In that fleeting glance, her cold demeanor seemed tinged with a trace of unworldly innocence, stirring ripples in countless hearts.
She rose and gave a slight bow to the audience. Amidst the erupting applause and chatter, she stepped down from the lotus platform and walked gracefully toward the stairs.
As she departed, her wide-sleeved outer robe brushed lightly against a table near the edge of the stage.
Seated behind that table was the prominent second young master of the Qin Family—Qin Bai.
Almost instinctively, he reached out and tugged lightly at the cool, smooth black sleeve.
Lin Xiaowan’s steps paused slightly. She turned her head to look back.
Under the brilliant lights, her face—cold as frost—was illuminated. At that sudden glance, the corner of her lips curved ever so faintly upward.
It was neither a seductive smile nor a shy anger, but more like ripples stirred across a still pool by a gentle breeze. In her clear eyes were reflected the lights—and Qin Bai’s momentarily stunned face.
A fleeting glance of breathtaking beauty, a moment of ephemeral brilliance.
When he came back to himself, she had already disappeared around the staircase corner, leaving behind a lingering impression of beauty and countless burning, searching gazes.
Qin Bai withdrew his hand, as if the sensation of that black sleeve still lingered upon it.
He lifted his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
At that moment, several maids dressed in plain, elegant ruqun, their hair neatly styled, appeared quietly from different stairways, each carrying a rosewood tray covered with brocade.
They walked with light yet steady steps, their eyes straight ahead, heading directly toward the most prominent tables in the hall.
At each table, the maid gave a graceful bow, lifted the brocade, and revealed what lay within—
Smooth, palm-sized wooden plaques.
“Xu Fu… is it?” Qin Bai murmured to himself, the playful curve at his lips deepening.
In the shadows upstairs, Honggu watched the reaction below, her heart filled with joy. “It’s done! After tonight, this ‘Orchid of the Secluded Valley’ will surely rise to fame!”
Suppressing her excitement, she hurriedly urged the maids waiting behind her.
“What are you standing there for? Go, quickly!”
Each maid carried a bamboo basket filled with colorful ribbons inscribed with words.
Upon receiving Honggu’s command, they immediately dispersed, silently moving to the railings on the second and third floors overlooking the hall.
The guests were still immersed in the stunning moment of the “Black Lotus Bloom,” their discussions, praises, and clinking cups buzzing in the air.
Many stretched their necks toward the direction where the girl in black had disappeared, still unsatisfied—
When suddenly, a cascade of colorful “clouds” drifted down from above.
“Hm? What is this?”
“Look! Colored silk is falling from the sky!”
“There are words on it… ‘Orchid of the Secluded Valley—Xu Fu’?”
“Xu Fu… that must be the name of the zither-playing fairy in black just now!”
“Orchid of the Secluded Valley… indeed fitting, truly fitting!”
The guests were momentarily stunned before reacting, reaching out to catch them. Some ribbons landed on tables and were quickly snatched up.
The silver-embroidered words on the silk gleamed clearly under the lights.
The fleeting image of the girl in black from moments ago, along with those few words, became even more deeply imprinted in everyone’s minds.