As the Hai hour drew near, the moon was bright and the stars were few.
They had finished catching up on old times. Tomorrow was Si Lingxi’s three-thousand-year birthday banquet, and Hong Lu and the other maids still needed to return and double-check all the arrangements.
“When the time comes, let Bai Yuan bring you over.” Si Lingxi smiled. “You can go straight into the hall.”
Lu Zheng nodded, then patted his gourd and drew out a scroll from within it. “Your birthday present. Happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday?”
Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying were already accustomed to the phrase, but Si Lingxi was hearing it for the first time. She found it intriguing, reached out to accept the scroll, thanked him, and then unrolled the painting.
Beneath the moonlight, as the scroll opened, the surface of the painting gave off a faint red glow.
In the next moment, the complete picture lay before Si Lingxi.
The painting was predominantly red. A stunning woman of peerless beauty, clad in a golden-patterned crimson palace robe embroidered with hundreds of birds facing a phoenix, her hair adorned with a phoenix-spread-wings golden silk and crimson pearl hairpin, sat upon the summit of a solitary peak. Her phoenix eyes held a touch of colour, her expression cool and aloof. At her feet rested a crimson-stringed phoenix-tail qin, which she was playing with full concentration.
Jagged rocks surrounded her. Evergreen pines and cypresses grew atop the peak. Cold winds howled, white clouds drifted lazily, all serving to highlight the woman’s aloof solitude.
Behind boundless clouds rose a golden sun, its rays shooting outwards, yet unable to prevent those clouds from being dyed crimson. For behind the woman, in mid-air, hovered a fire phoenix with wings outstretched.
Yes, half-way up the sky behind the intently playing woman stood a proud phoenix in flight. Its body was fiery red. Though the details were not entirely sharp, its beautiful crown and long tail conveyed an overwhelming sense of supreme arrogance and unyielding spirit.
A sea of fiery red, vying with the sun for brilliance.
Above and below heaven, only the Phoenix Queen reigns supreme.
…
Si Lingxi was accomplished in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Lu Zheng had already witnessed her mastery of qin and chess. Were it not for Wansong Daoist and his own extraordinary gift, her skill would truly be unrivalled in the world. So when Shen Ying mentioned her high praise of his paintings and suggested he give Si Lingxi a portrait, Lu Zheng took it to heart.
In recent days, he had poured all his efforts into improving his painting, bolstered by his fortune. He studied works from the Great Jing dynasty on one side and, on the modern side, delved into ancient and contemporary paintings from China and abroad, honing technique and artistic conception. Added to that was his ability to manifest artistic intent through mana.
Thus, a few days earlier he had visited Baiyun Temple, exchanged for six fine pieces of wutong wood for the rollers, and three sheets of delicate plain-cloud paper for the scroll, materials capable of bearing the full force of his magic. He then secluded himself to paint. One of the three works was the present Phoenix Queen Playing the Qin.
…
The four maids, Hong Lu among them, stood behind Si Lingxi and were the first to see the painting. Feeling the cool, lofty aura emanating from it, they could not help letting out a soft collective gasp, their eyes wide with shock.
Si Lingxi, closest of all, was naturally struck even harder. Wonder filled her eyes.
The painting’s innovative technique, ingenious line work, and profound conception were all rare in the world, no less than those of the many famous masters she had encountered in her long life. In expressive power, it even surpassed them.
Compared to his earliest Peach Grove Beauties, it was worlds apart.
In such a short time, his progress in painting had been as astonishing as his advancement in qin skill.
Si Lingxi gazed at Phoenix Queen Playing the Qin for a long while before finally shifting her eyes to Lu Zheng. She drew a gentle breath. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. As long as you like it.” Lu Zheng waved a hand and smiled. “It’s mainly that we didn’t have anything else good to give.”
Si Lingxi shook her head. “This painting of yours is better than any other gift.”
She drew another soft breath. “Very well. It is late. You should rest early. Tomorrow there is no need to rise too soon. Around noon, Bai Yuan will come to fetch you.”
After a few more casual words, Si Lingxi rose to take her leave. She departed slowly with her four maids, though her steps seemed just a touch quicker than when she had arrived.
…
Lu Zheng stretched lazily and raised an eyebrow with a grin. “It seems the gift was acceptable after all. To be honest, I was a little worried before.”
Liu Qingyan covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed lightly. Shen Ying gave him a seductive glance. “You’re just showing off after getting a bargain.”
Lu Zheng had put such care into the work not only for Si Lingxi’s Phoenix Queen Playing the Qin. He would never neglect the women at his side. He had produced three paintings of equal quality. The other two were Heavenly Fox Seeking the Heart and Peach Immortal Descending to the Mortal World.
That was also why, on the day he finished them, he had barely been able to get out of bed.
“It’s mainly that Palace Master Si is so formidable.” Lu Zheng rubbed his chin and smiled. “If she hadn’t liked the painting, it would have been embarrassing.”
“Lu-lang is the most amazing.” Shen Ying reached out and took his arm. “This concubine has seen several famous works, but compared to Lu-lang’s, they are as heaven and earth apart.”
Liu Qingyan nodded repeatedly. She looked at Lu Zheng with eyes full of tender affection, shimmering like autumn waters. A subtle fragrance drifted about, stirring both Lu Zheng and Shen Ying.
“Ahem. It’s late. Time to rest.” Lu Zheng blinked. “And we don’t have to get up early tomorrow.”
“Lu-lang~~~”
…
The next day, though they had been told there was no need to rise early, Lu Zheng and his two companions still got up at dawn, mainly to broaden their horizons.
At the foot of Phoenix Mountain, demons gathered in throngs, demonic aura soaring to the heavens.
Most demons lacked the qualification to ascend the mountain and offer birthday wishes. They could only deliver their gifts below, bow nine times towards the great hall atop Phoenix Mountain from afar, then, guided by Phoenix Mountain attendants, proceed to the specially prepared feasting areas at the base. There they called to friends and revelled together.
These demons, great and small, were either lords of a mountain or kings of a region. The weakest had cultivated for centuries, the strongest neared a millennium. In sheer numbers, there were nearly ten thousand.
If one were to speak of grandeur, it truly deserved the name “ten thousand demons paying homage”.
“What a spectacle.”
Lu Zheng marvelled. This was a grand scene they had not even witnessed at the East Sea Dragon Palace. These demons had awakened and cultivated on their own or inherited bloodlines. They were not the cannon-fodder aquatic soldiers transformed by the dragon palace, still bearing fish-like traits.
And these were only the ones without permission to ascend. To climb the mountain and enter the hall in person required being a dominant power in one’s own territory, with cultivation of at least a millennium, and one had to meet Si Lingxi’s approval.
In other words, with Lu Zheng’s current cultivation, he would just barely qualify to bring Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying with him to personally offer birthday congratulations in the hall.
…
The great sun hung high in the sky. Under its light, the golden-yellow wutong leaves for hundreds of li around Phoenix Mountain seemed ready to burst into flame. Faint phoenix cries echoed indistinctly between heaven and earth. A subtle phoenix pressure weighed upon the heart, making one uneasy.
Moments later, one great figure after another appeared on the distant horizon, then descended at the mountain gate. They walked up the mountain to show respect, and finally, guided by Phoenix Mountain maids, entered the great hall.
“Young Master Lu, Miss Liu, Miss Shen.” Bai Yuan appeared beside them and smiled softly. “Please follow me.”
