The center of the valley at Broken Cliff Residence!
A middle-aged man in a black robe sat at the heart of a sea of flowers, both hands lightly caressing the seven-stringed zither before him.
The seven-stringed zither, also known as the guqin, yet nowadays fewer and fewer people know how to play it.
The man sat in the sea of flowers, his hands swiftly plucking the strings. On his chiseled face there was an almost intoxicated expression, as if his entire being had completely immersed itself in the graceful music.
At the same time, the man's eyes were tightly shut.
Suddenly, one of his ears twitched; a faint rustling of footsteps reached him, yet the man acted as if he had not heard a thing, completely unmoved.
"Your attainment on the guqin grows higher by the day. No wonder the King praised you."
A deep, bell-like voice rang out around them, and at the same moment the sound of the zither cut off abruptly.
