Du Yu was quite certain that Senior Brother Fu originally couldn't play the flute.

And now, Senior Brother was already so skilled—was it thanks to a great teacher, or was it because as a Demon Tamer, Fu Jianzhou learned everything so quickly?

Du Yu, however, didn't have much appreciation for music; his understanding of it remained at the level of whether it sounded good or not.

The flute melody played by Senior Brother Fu was truly moving.

In this flute music, Du Yu seemed to hear the atmosphere of a Jiangnan water village, though not the beautiful side—only a tinge of sorrow.

Like a grand old mansion shrouded in misty rain, a woman stands in front of the great house, gazing in longing at the distant stone-paved alleys.

Aside from the flute song, if one looked a few times longer at the Pear Blossom Girl dancing gracefully in the desolate courtyard, you could read the emotion revealed by her body language.

Longing, sadness.

Perhaps even more.

When the music ended, all around fell silent.

Fu Jianzhou slowly put down the jade flute, the Pear Blossom Maiden bowed her head and stood still, silent.

Du Yu sat atop Bai Yujing, stroking Xiaobai's fur with one hand, feeling a jumble of emotions and not knowing what to say.

At critical moments, it always had to be Lin Shiwei who stepped in.

She walked forward slowly and said softly, "Senior Brother."

Fu Jianzhou opened his eyes, turned toward them, nodded with a smile: "You've arrived."

That melancholy smile made Du Yu sigh inwardly.

Senior Brother Fu had indeed changed; he likely wouldn't regain his former self again.

You know, a person's temperament is very hard to alter; that's true for ordinary people, let alone Demon Tamers who specialize in cultivating Spirit, Essence, and Qi.

West Xia's Flute, truly overpowering!

Or perhaps, the Flute Maiden acted without intent. But for thousands of years, this has always been the state in which West Xia's Flute existed, so it's hard for it not to affect its wielder?

The more Du Yu thought about it, the more he felt his own Shadow Gu Tower was really good.

When it came to the little tower's experiences, Du Yu could recite them like treasured stories.

Life had treated it so cruelly, yet it always remained so quiet and never affected Du Yu in the least.

"Senior Brother has been here for eighteen days now," Lin Shiwei said with a smile. "He's practically going stale by now."

Fu Jianzhou couldn't help but laugh, and in the courtyard, the Pear Blossom Girl quietly transformed—a graceful Pear Blossom Fox appeared.

Du Yu's eyes widened slightly—Celestial Level·Pear Blossom Fox!

The last time he saw it was back in January; the little one was only an Earth-level Demon Pet then. Now, three and a half months later, it was already at Celestial Level·Initial Stage...no, probably higher.

Judging by its size, the Pear Blossom Fox was at least at Celestial Level·Minor Achievement Stage.

The Pear Blossom Fox was nearly 1.5 meters long, with a tail about 80 cm long.

Composed entirely of pear blossom petals, with a body this size, it really could transform effortlessly into the form of a human being.

Such rapid advancement?

Oh, right!

Over these past few months, Senior Brother Fu himself had advanced to Great Demon Tamer·Great Success Stage.

With such a terrifying substitute trainer, his Demon Pets must have grown at an astonishing speed.

That included the Little Tai Sui inside Du Yu; it too was about to advance to the Celestial Level.

Just over a month ago, when Du Yu advanced to Demon Tamer·Great Success Stage, not only did he help Little Tai Sui break through to Peak Earth Level, he also helped it make huge progress within that stage!

Now, today, with Du Yu's constant nourishment and daily specialized training by the Fire Phoenix Tree, Little Tai Sui was about to enter the doorway to the Celestial Level as well.

Li Mengnan, holding Bai Yujing's deer antlers, brought Du Yu forward and said, "Xiaohua can dance too?"

Fu Jianzhou was laid-back, leaning his shoulder against a mottled pavilion pillar, sliding down to sit on the stone steps, and reaching out to rub Hua Mantang's head: "Yes, she has lots of talent, and she really loves to dance."

Du Yu asked curiously, "Who did Xiaohua learn from? Don't tell me it was you who taught her!"

Fu Jianzhou fell silent for a moment, then said, "Bai Lan taught her."

Bai Lan?

Wasn't that the lady master of West Xia's Flute?

Du Yu frowned slightly: "You gave a name to the artifact spirit of West Xia's Flute?"

Fu Jianzhou: "She calls herself Bai Lan."

Du Yu and Lin Shiwei exchanged glances, and had made up their minds.

This pretty much confirmed it.

The Spiritual Po of Spirit Master Bai Lan had probably merged completely with the artifact spirit of West Xia's Flute; it was hard to tell them apart now.

Noticing the atmosphere had grown heavy, Li Mengnan smiled and waved, "Xiaohua, do you remember me? Come here."

"Ying?" Hua Mantang looked at the sweetly smiling girl, then immediately dashed over in a blur.

When Du Yu and Master Qing had traveled together, Senior Brother Fu had always accompanied and protected the two junior sisters, cultivating in the Ten Thousand Plants Garden.

Li Mengnan was naturally familiar with this little fox.

"Hehe~" Li Mengnan stretched out her arms and hugged the pouncing Pear Blossom Fox.

You know, the Pear Blossom Fox was a full 1.5 meters long, and if it stood up, it could reach Li Mengnan's chest.

Going by standards in the ordinary world, Hua Mantang could definitely be called a "large dog."

Du Yu took the opportunity to summon Xiaoyan, letting her meet her playmate.

"Ying?" Xiaoyan blinked her golden-brown fox eyes—thanks to the contract, she knew exactly why she had been summoned.

In an instant, the Pear Blossom Fox and the Three-tailed Fire Fox locked eyes.

The difference in body size between the two species was almost comical.

Xiaoyan was at Celestial Level·Great Success Stage, but her body was only 40 cm long—even counting her big tail, she measured only 80 cm.

The formerly big-sisterly Sister Xiaoyan now seemed like the little sister in front of Hua Mantang.

"Ying?"

"Ying~" Xiaoyan jumped onto Hua Mantang's head and lightly licked Li Mengnan's cheek.

Happiness arrived so suddenly!

As Li Mengnan was left dizzy with delight, Xiaoyan had already taken off running with Hua Mantang.

"Don't go too far!" Du Yu yelled after them.

"Ying~"

"Ying!" The two distinctive foxes darted into the tall wild grass, chasing and playing, and in a flash vanished out of sight.

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