Chapter 1855: Chapter 596: Sisters Reunited, A Difficult Cultivation Process

The main hall of Tianyin Hall isn’t particularly large, about fifteen meters in length and width, but the various instruments and ornaments inside are all top-notch.

The walls of the hall are covered with silver slurry, adorned with carved dragons and painted beams, depicting goddesses playing music as if floating in mid-air, a scene in which countless blooming flowers compete for beauty, and a desolate and bone-chilling snowy wilderness, with trees in the snow forest that faintly appear to have Cold Beasts crouching on them... Each pattern is so lifelike that it is clear they were crafted by top artisans of Great Xia.

On either side of the hall stand twelve life-sized human-like bone sculptures, each with a unique style including birds and beasts, and even rare Water Cold Beasts. All of these bone sculptures are without exception of a green jade color, evidently made from Advanced Cold Beast materials, specifically Jade Bone.

It’s important to know that Jade Bone is a necessary resource for Cold Resistance Level cultivation and is even the main ingredient for concocting Xianyang Level cultivation medicine, Bone Condensing Pills. It’s one of the controlled resources of Great Xia, strictly forbidden from private trade.

The Xia people, specifically the Advanced Teams of the Hunting Department, can only turn over Jade Bones from hunted Advanced Cold Beasts to the Camp Supply Department, for which the recovery price is set at 5000 taels per jin.

An Advanced Cold Beast usually yields only 3 to 5 jin of Jade Bone, and the weight of each life-sized bone sculpture in the hall is at least 10 to 15 jin or more. Considering the crafting expenses, the value of these twelve sculptures is at least over a million taels.

At the center of the grand hall is a silver tripod with a diameter of two meters, burning coal stones vigorously, with silver-made pipes laid underneath that connect to the ground throughout the hall. Combined with the sky-blue velvet carpet laid on the floor, it’s no wonder that despite it being daytime, the hall is so warm, you can even feel the warmth through the soles of your shoes.

This is the most popular heating method in Great Xia at the current moment, but how could ordinary households afford silver tripods and pipes? Not to mention the blue velvet carpet on the ground which she recognized immediately upon entering the hall. This type of blue carpet with fine velvet surface is made from Frost Wolf Fur, treated to such an exquisite blue hue, likely sourced from Advanced Frost Wolves, specifically their outer layer head fur.

Advanced Frost Wolves are just over a meter long, and since they can only be obtained through hunting, it’s difficult to acquire full pelts. The main hall of Tianyin Hall is about 200 square meters in size, suggesting the cost of numerous complete wolf pelts was needed to produce such a large blue velvet carpet.

Finally, there are six pillars in the hall, each with a diameter of one meter. Judging by their length and position, they evidently serve as structural supports. The pillars appear to be cast iron, but the forging patterns on them are dense and numbering no less than ten thousand. Their color resembles silver quite closely, and each pillar is carved with a red Simurgh, head up, body down, its wings completely spread around the pillar in a posture of soaring upwards.

Walls, silver tripod, silver pipes, velvet carpet, jade sculptures... The phrase "splendid and magnificent" is insufficient to describe the majesty of this hall, causing Su Xing’er to be awestruck once again, feeling that even the Vassal Town Mansion would be no more than this.

Though it seemed a long description, it was actually a momentary impression. Her background might not be grand, but following Xia Hong for those years allowed her to witness quite a bit, suppressing the surge of awe in her heart, her gaze soon focused on the location where the zither sounds were emanating.

At the top of the hall, a young girl was devotedly playing the zither, with two palace maids standing on either side of her. Their postures were respectful, but from their occasionally narrowed eyes, it was evident that they too were immersed in the sound of the zither.

The girl playing the zither was in a robe of Tianqing-colored cloud brocade adorned with golden embellishments; her full head of black hair tied at the back with two intricately crafted phoenix silver hairpins; the Chi Pattern silver ornament on her forehead was composed of hundreds of tiny bright panels, resembling fish scales, glistening under the cold light, spectacularly dazzling.

A milky white Jade Ring hung from her neck, and two green jade-colored jades were adorned at her waist. Despite her entire being exuding nobility, there was not a hint of arrogance between her brows. Her beautiful eyes were gentle and serene like autumn waters, with an underlying thread of melancholy that evoked a spontaneous feeling of compassion.

Although Su Xing’er hadn’t practiced Zither Dao for long, her talent was high. Coupled with Master Xia Hong’s gift of the Five-Colored Demon Zither and several months of guidance from the Zither Dao master Cai Shiqin in Lin Chu County City, her skill in Zither Dao was by no means weak.

Three years later, meeting Cai Shiqin again, Su Xing’er noticed that although her appearance hadn’t changed much, her face was now devoid of the familiar soft smile, and her brows carried a strong thread of melancholy that hadn’t been there before, including the zither music she was playing—once lively and playful—it was now filled with endless sorrow and melancholy.

Looking at Cai Shiqin above, Su Xinger’s heart suddenly surged with boundless compassion.

Strum...

"Xing’er, you’ve kept me in the dark..."

After a long while, the zither sound ended. Looking at Su Xing’er before her, Cai Shiqin’s expression shifted from longing to joy, then to complexity, finally seemingly coming to some realization, transforming to a state of calm before she slowly spoke.

Seeing the successive changes in Cai Shiqin’s expression, Su Xing’er immediately understood that she had learned about the things she had done in Evergreen Valley and naturally felt a faint sense of guilt.

She had incited the people of Evergreen Valley, essentially rebelling against Cai Qiu. Whether it was to serve Master Xia Hong or to rescue the people of Evergreen Valley, she had ample justification for her actions, yet in front of Cai Shiqin, she really couldn’t muster the same confidence.

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