"Boom boom boom!!!"
The drumming of the war drums below grew increasingly urgent, indicating that the enemy would soon commence their attack. Meanwhile, the bandits down there also began to shout loudly.
"Cowards of the Zhao Kingdom, come out and meet your death!"
"I’ve heard there’s a beautiful Princess of Zhao Kingdom among them. Once we break through the camp, wouldn’t it be nice for everyone to have a taste of this princess!"
"Oh oh oh oh!!!"
Hearing the bandits’ filthy language below, the soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom above turned livid, cursing in anger. Ji Yanran furrowed her brow slightly, then reached out to take a bow from a soldier beside her. She nocked an arrow and shot it at the most boisterous bandit below. The bandit screamed in agony before falling off his horse and collapsing to the ground. The bandits were startled and their momentum dropped significantly.
The soldiers on the mountain cheered, and for a moment, the dynamics shifted. However, soon, the drumming below resumed, and this time, the bandits immediately moved out, clearing obstacles as they advanced toward the encampment above.
At this moment, Fang Zheng extended his fingers and gently stroked the instrument’s strings, then began to play.
"............"
"Hmm?"
Hearing the melody flowing from Fang Zheng’s instrument, Ji Yanran looked at him in surprise. It wasn’t just because she had never heard the piece Fang Zheng was playing, or that the melody was strange, but also because... it shouldn’t have been the sound of a guqin at all!
In Ji Yanran’s memory, the sound of a guqin should be melodious and lingering. Yet, what Fang Zheng played was a distinct and profound sound she had never heard before. Furthermore, though the music wasn’t louder than the drumming below, it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
It had a gentle, sorrowful, tender feeling that seemed inconsistent with the impending battle. However, Ji Yanran felt strongly that this intense contrast made the music’s impression even more vivid.
It’s as if mourning those who are about to die.
The cold moonlight shone down from the pitch-black sky, rendering the entire grassland a silver-white. Listening to the peculiar melody, Ji Yanran shivered involuntarily, feeling as if the scorching battlefield had turned into a cemetery filled with death...
Gradually, the drumming below ceased. The emotional resonance of music was shared by everyone; not only Ji Yanran felt this way, but also the Zhao Kingdom envoy corps in the mountaintop camp and the bandits besieging from below began to experience a strange and eerie feeling. It felt like an unforeseen, unimaginable presence was slowly approaching... and this would be their final... moment.
Listening to the music, Fang Zheng revealed a slight smile. Although he knew a bit about music, he wasn’t skilled with the guqin or guzheng. But of course, this didn’t pose a problem for Fang Zheng. Even though he appeared to be playing a guqin, strictly speaking—this wasn’t a guqin.
In fact, Fang Zheng was infusing his body’s power into the strings, altering the sound by adjusting the strings’ vibrations. Rather than a guqin, it was more like an electronic keyboard that could freely switch timbres. Its energy source wasn’t electricity, but inner strength.
By manipulating the strings to change the timbre, Fang Zheng could effortlessly and freely play the melodies he was familiar with. From violin and cello to piano and even symphonies, nothing was a problem. What Fang Zheng was playing now was actually Beethoven’s famous Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor—Moonlight.
Due to his clever use of power, the guqin could emit sounds similar to a piano.
Finally, the first movement slowly came to a halt. For a moment, the entire battlefield fell silent, as if waiting for something. Meanwhile, the bandits below felt a chill in their hearts, sensing impending doom...
"Kill!!"
The leading bandit shouted, lifting his weapon as if trying to dispel the fear inside, and charged up. Others followed suit, raising their voices as they rushed toward the encampment.
At that moment, the melody resumed.
Unlike before, this time the tune was light and joyful, like birds dancing in the woods.
However, beneath this cheerful melody, the bandits charging up the slope suddenly collapsed, eyes wide, blood trickling from their mouths. They convulsed a few times before lying still, turning into corpses.
The soldiers advancing with wooden shields and crossbows met the same fate. They shouted as they moved forward, only to collapse in the midst of the melody, never to rise again. In just a few breaths, a large portion of the attacking bandits lay dead, and the remaining bandits realized something was amiss.
"It’s the devilish music claiming lives!!"
"This is bad; we must leave here quickly!!"
The other bandits, realizing something was wrong, screamed and tried to flee, but it was already too late.
The cheerful tune suddenly transformed into an intense, powerful, and stormy melody; this was the third movement of the Moonlight Sonata!!
The fierce music enveloped the grassland like invisible arrows. The bandits, trying to flee under the moonlight, dropped to the ground. Many bandits had already mounted their horses to escape, only to be thrown off the saddle, collapsing in the grass with no sign of life.
One after another, yet another.
No screams, no struggle, no groans. Those bandits fell silently to the ground like straw or trees. This bizarre scene on the hillside made the soldiers’ scalps tingle. They even saw a few bandits ruthlessly stab their own ears with daggers, but still couldn’t escape their fate.
The music soared once again, then fell heavily, transformed into three loud thuds, and then — disappeared without a trace.
"Hoo............"
The wind swept across the prairie, causing the grass to sway with it. Yet at this moment, there was no more fighting on the prairie. The wooden stakes for siege were still there, and the warhorses remained on the grass. However, those who were supposed to use them had fallen to the ground and would never rise again.
"That’s all there is to it."
Watching this scene unfold before him, Fang Zheng chuckled, then extended his hand and gently patted it, causing the guqin to leap back into its case abruptly. Only then did Fang Zheng stand up and nod toward Xiang Shaolong.
"Officer Xiang, Fang has fulfilled the promise."
"Ah, thank you, Young Master Fang."
Unlike the others, Xiang Shaolong was, after all, a transmigrator, so he reacted quickly. After all, even in modern times, there are mass destructive weapons and poison gas bombs. Though Fang Zheng’s method of handling ten thousand people was inconceivable, from the standpoint of "eliminating ten thousand," Xiang Shaolong could at least accept it.
Just imagine the person before him as a walking human-shaped nuclear bomb, and it’s more or less accurate.
However, others were different. In this era, being able to fight ten people is already considered heroic, and being able to fend off hundreds is legendary. Fang Zheng’s feat of annihilating ten thousand bandits with a mere gesture was like an incredible myth. Consequently, at this moment, those officers looked at Fang Zheng with eyes as if seeing some demon monsters. Wherever Fang Zheng walked, people unconsciously made way.
Seeing the eerie atmosphere, Xiang Shaolong felt embarrassed and hastily coughed.
"Men, prepare to clean up the battlefield immediately and verify those people’s identities!"
"Yes!!"
Upon hearing Xiang Shaolong’s command, the officers came to their senses and hurriedly rushed down to the prairie to investigate, while Fang Zheng stood cheerfully aside, saying nothing.
At this moment, Ji Yanran also approached, looking surprised at Fang Zheng.
"Although I’ve heard of Young Master Fang repelling enemies with music, Yanran always thought it was exaggerated rumors. Now it seems truly unimaginable. Without witnessing it firsthand, who could believe Young Master Fang could wipe out an army within moments? Yanran fears that even if these words were spoken, no one would believe them."
Gazing at the moonlit prairie, Ji Yanran couldn’t help but reflect. The prairie looked extraordinarily serene under the moonlight, dreamily beautiful. Yet thinking of the numerous bandits lying dead among the grass chilled Ji Yanran’s heart. She wasn’t one to shy away from bloodshed, but considering the bandits were so boastful moments ago and now lay dead, it’s indeed lamentable.
"Isn’t Master Ji fearful of me?"
Fang Zheng curiously looked at Ji Yanran, noticing she didn’t seem afraid of him at all. Typically, people of this era tend to be more ignorant and superstitious, feeling uneasy about Fang Zheng’s actions. However, Ji Yanran didn’t seem to have such thoughts, appearing calm apart from initial astonishment.
"Isn’t Master Ji worried I might be some demon monster, out to harm lives?"
"Yanran has seen many of Young Master Fang’s extraordinary deeds, what’s one more?"
Ji Yanran shook her head.
"Yanran intended to worry but seeing Young Master Fang so carefree, surely he doesn’t regard this matter. If Yanran recklessly voiced it, wouldn’t it be discourteous?"
"What you say seems quite reasonable."
Faced with Ji Yanran’s response, Fang Zheng was speechless. He forgot Ji Yanran had visited the Carefree Palace; their experiences were beyond common sense for outsiders. Ji Yanran’s acceptance must have soared, and now she probably wouldn’t be surprised even if Fang Zheng could fly, let alone kill enemies with music.
"But the piece played by Young Master Fang is unfamiliar to Yanran. Despite its serene elegance, it harbors a melancholic sorrow, later lively yet extreme. May I ask, who composed it?"
"Well...... that’s a long story......"
Fang Zheng pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.
After all, Beethoven... probably even his grandfather hadn’t been born yet.

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