Returning from the Immortal World

With a mind full of confusion, Tang Xiu followed Yue Kai and the others to leave Shanghai University. They soon turned into a lane and after going past seven turns on the road, they finally stopped outside a high-walled courtyard.

“What’s this place?” Tang Xiu looked up at the plaque and looked surprised.

The plaque had three golden characters written in bold cursive calligraphy with majestic grandeur.

“Big Bro Tang, this should be your first time visiting this place, right?” Yue Kai grinned and said, “Tons of great musicians have studied in this place and those big singers kinda regard it as a holy place. Those who are lucky enough to study here for a period of time usually become quite famous in the entertainment industry.”

“Alright, don’t keep people on tenterhooks, won’t you?” interjected Tang Xiu. “Just tell it to me straight.”

“You see, there’s an elderly person residing in this Magical Syllable Memorial Archway. Rumors have it that he has been living here for a few decades and that he never leaves its premises,” explained Yue Kai. “But his fame has been so resounding in the ears of countless top musicians; even some foreign maestros often come to visit him. This person is said to be a maestro in music and an expert of tens of musical instruments, while his musical accomplishments seem to have reached an unparalleled realm.”

“Then, what does this have to do with teacher Han?” asked Tang Xiu.

“It had nothing to do with her had it been more than a month ago. But that man announced the news a month ago and the music circles kinda got swept over with a great sensation since. It’s said that he has taken the English teacher of Shanghai University, Han Qingwu, as his Master.”

“What?”

Tang Xiu’s expression slightly changed. Han Qingwu knew nothing about music as far as he knew, and it was Xue Qingcheng in his previous life who was quite a maestro and even had very high attainment in music.

Could it be…

Tang Xiu inhaled a deep breath and asked, “So teacher Han is currently here now?”

“Yeah, teacher Han comes here every Monday morning to teach that old guy.” Yue Kai nodded and said, “We were looking for her for about half a month ago to consult some small issues with her and learned it from her own mouth. You might not believe it, Big Bro Tang! But our teacher Han is unexpectedly a grandmaster maestro of music.”

“Not really, I think,” interjected Hu Qingsong, who suddenly frowned. “If I remember correctly, Big Bro Tang is also very skilled in music. That’s right, you were teacher Han’s student in high school, Big Bro. Your zither performance in the freshmen welcoming party is still clear in my mind. Did you get your musical skills from teacher Han during high school?”

“No!”

Tang Xiu’s reply was rather cold and he went straight to the closed door. He pushed it open and went inside. He wanted to see Han Qingwu and ask how she became a maestro of music all of a sudden.

Inside the compound.

A white-haired old man, though still full of vigor, was dressed in a white Chinese tunic suit and was sitting on a bluish-green bamboo mat while reading a zither musical score. As he noticed that someone came inside, he slowly looked up and there was a displeased look on his face.

“How come you are here again?”

Yue Kai swiftly took out a half a pack of Chinese cigarettes from his pocket before extracting one and passing it over while grinning. “Well, Elderly Qu, didn’t you tell me before that you can’t get that God’s Nectar wine off your mind? You see, we come here to deliver this wine.”

“The God’s Nectar? Where is it?” The old man’s spirit soared and his displeased look vanished right away.

Yue Kai pointed to Tang Xiu while smilingly said, “Now comes the time that I’ll introduce you to a great personage. This brother next to me is Tang Xiu, the Magnificent Tang Corporation’s Big Boss. God’s Nectar is produced by his company. If you want to drink this wine every day, you can get it from him.”

The old man carefully observed Tang Xiu and slowly got up. Under the gazes of Yue Kai, Hu Qingsong, and Xue Chao trio, he came down and walked to the front of Tang Xiu, cupping his hands to greet with a bow, “This old man, Qu Jie, greets Divine Doctor Tang.”

“Elderly Qu.”

Tang Xiu couldn’t understand why would this old man greet him with such a respectful attitude, yet he still returned the salute with similar politeness.

“I have long heard your honored name, Divine Doctor Tang. Pity that this old man has taken an oath that he will never head out of this pavilion for a lifetime and is thus unable to see you. You’ve honored this humble cottage of mine with your visit!” said the old man with a smile.

“Elderly Qu, I actually come to your residence just to find teacher Han this time,” said Tang Xiu.

The old man stared blankly for a moment and glanced at Yue Kai’s group before he suddenly sighed and said, “Now that I recall it, you are still teacher’s student too.”

At this moment, a beautiful figure appeared in the inside of the round arch entrance. It was Han Qingwu, who now wore a plain dress. Her eyes flashed with joy upon seeing Tang Xiu as she walked over and said, “You’re back, Tang Xiu. I thought you weren’t even going to take the first year’s final exam!”

“Can I have a minute to talk with you in private?” asked Tang Xiu.

Han Qingwu felt her heart tightened, yet her expression was still. “What do you want to discuss with me?”

“Some private issues,” answered Tang Xiu.

Han Qingwu was silent for a moment, but still nodded and said, “Come with me.”

Yue Kai, Hu Qingsong, and Xue Chao trio nearby raised their thumbs up while watching Tang Xiu with admiration visible in their eyes. They already learned that Tang Xiu’s luck with women was nothing but great, yet they didn’t expect that his methods of nailing girls were similarly awesome. To their surprise, he even requested to have a private talk with teacher Han in front of them.

“Man, he really deserves to be called our Big Brother! Even teacher Han has fallen to his charm!”

“You know, I definitely won’t take you to accompany me drinking to dispel my sorrow when I can learn one or two-tenths of his tricks to pick up chicks.”

“…”

The old man Qu Jie, however, was a very experienced person and he was keenly aware that the relationship between Tang Xiu and Han Qingwu was far from ordinary. He immediately berated the Yue Kai trio upon hearing their comments, “Refrain yourselves from spitting out such drivel, brats. Teacher Han is also your teacher. You must remember that and honor her as a student should.”

“I don’t think we speak nonsense, Elderly Qu,” replied Hu Qingsong with a grin. “Our teacher Han does like Big Bro Tang and many of us already know this fact. Besides, it’s true that respecting a teacher is really a must, but this is already a new era where it’s normal to see a teacher and a student falling in love with each other. There have even been plenty of them getting married.”

Qu Jie only shook his head at his response and forced a smile. He was not an outdated person who was bound to the old traditions, nor was he a feudal-minded either. He was naturally aware of some trends in the current era, and despite there were many ideas he couldn’t approve of from this era, he could do nothing to alter it either.

There was another compound in the interior arch with a row of spacious room on the left side of the courtyard. After Han Qingwu brought Tang Xiu to one of the rooms, she made tea after Tang Xiu came inside and served a cup before speaking, “What exactly do you want to discuss with me?”

Tang Xiu’s gaze was like a torch as he asked, “Don’t you have something you want to explain to me?”

“I don’t know what to explain to you.” Han Qingwu shook her head.

“Should I call you Han Qingwu, the teacher Han now, or shall I call you Xue Qingcheng now?” sneered Tang Xiu.

Han Qingwu’s figure shuddered and her expression turned somewhat pale in that instant while her eyes tried to somewhat dodge Tang Xiu’s gaze.

“Judging from your response and expression, you should have recalled your memories, haven’t you?” followed Tang Xiu coldly.

Han Qingwu nodded, but then, she shook her head and said bitterly, “I recalled a lot of things, but there are still many things I can’t remember. Until now, even I can’t still figure out what relates Xue Qingcheng to me, like with what you just asked.”

“What have you recalled, then?” asked Tang Xiu in a deep voice.

Han Qingwu pointed to a row of instruments in the room and said, “I saw a lot of scenes, some of which were scenes where I used musical instruments, and then I found myself to be an expert at music and dance all of a sudden. Also, I seem to have seen a whole new world called the Immortal World. I didn’t understand it before, like why did I suddenly have so much power and why would cultivation techniques appear inside my mind. But now, I figured out that there was seemingly a woman named Xue Qingcheng, and part of her memories are inside my mind now. However, even though I’ve figured out a lot of things and there are a lot of fragments and scenes in my mind, there are many things I feel very familiar with but can’t understand why.”

“What I wanna know is how many things you’ve remembered about me,” asked Tang Xiu in a deep voice.

“I can’t see it clearly.” Han Qingwu shook her head with a bitter smile. “There’s always a man appearing in my mind, but all I can see is only his back and I have no means to see his face whatsoever. But I have a hunch that the man should be related to you.”

Disappointment flashed in Tang Xiu’s eyes, and yet, there was also a relief.

He really wanted to know the answer. He truly wished to find out as to why Xue Qingcheng had to betray him in the past. Yet, he was also scared of getting the answer and wreck himself.

Gu Yan’er had told him a lot of things, particularly all the rumors about Xue Qingcheng. But he didn’t know whether the rumors were reliable and true, nor was he able to know for certain what her true intention was.

Silence fell for a very long time before Tang Xiu took a deep breath and slowly said, “I really hope that you didn’t lie to me since I hate being deceived by anyone.”

With that said, he turned around and headed toward the outside.

Han Qingwu kept watching Tang Xiu’s back as he left through the door with tears welling up in her eyes. Only after Tang Xiu’s back had finally disappeared outside the door for a while did she finally mutter two words:

“I’m sorry.”

Tang Xiu himself returned to the front courtyard and didn’t even bid farewell to Qu Jian. He just told Yue Kai trio that there were some issues he needed to tend to before he left in a hurry. He didn’t even respond back even though they called him.

He couldn’t tell whether Han Qingwu told him the truth or not. But there was one thing he could be sure of—that even if Han Qingwu really hadn’t yet restored all her memories, the time for her to remember everything probably wouldn’t be long.

That resentment and hatred still enveloped his heart and mind, regardless.

He needed to figure out the truth of the matter, or at least, learn the reason for the betrayal. There was also the question—why she was reincarnated on Earth?

Everything turned Tang Xiu’s mood for the worse and he had no intention of returning to campus whatsoever and directly headed to his house. After he got there, he called Gu Changmin, the owner of Dingshen Media.

“Brother Gu, do you have an acquaintance at Shanghai University?”

“I do, why?” Gu Changmin’s reply was short and neat.

“You also know that I’m a first-year student there, but I have too many things to tend to this year; hence, I often take a leave of absence,” explained Tang Xiu. “So, there are two things I’d like to ask you for help with if it doesn’t trouble you.”

“Why don’t you leave out the polite pleasantries between us, Brother Tang? Just speak it out freely to me if you need something from me,” said Gu Changmin with a chuckle. “And yes, I’m a good friend of Vice President Li of Shanghai University.”