Chapter 196: Chapter 195: Missing
That night Lin Wanwan sneaked back to the modern world, headed straight to the mall, and bought six high-definition cameras. After passing through the Space-Time Gate, only one camera remained usable, with a remarkably high damage rate, but fortunately, Lin Wanwan wasn’t short on money now. After a habitual moment of distress, Lin Wanwan just let it go.
She skillfully concealed the remaining small camera, then adjusted the mat and cushion positions, repeatedly testing the camera angles until she was satisfied, and then blew out the candles and went to bed.
Everything was ready; only the east wind was missing.
The next day, as soon as the light appeared, after paying respects and having breakfast, Lin Wanwan returned to her room, inviting Heng Wu to play the Konghou at the angle she selected.
Heng Wu, unsuspecting, gracefully began to play.
Her skills were superb, and she quickly got into the zone. Perhaps because she’d received unprecedented respect, Heng Wu was in excellent form today, performing two pieces in succession, each more melodious than the last.
Heng Wu had a particularly attractive nose with a slight hump that did not affect her overall beauty. Her profile was more stunning than her frontal view, and as she played facing sideways to the camera, the aura of a classical beauty was fully realized.
Lin Wanwan watched Heng Wu with a proud aunt-like smile, imagining the reactions once the performance video was uploaded online, suddenly feeling a nurturing mentality.
In the afternoon, after lulling little Qingyu to sleep, Lin Wanwan opened the Space-Time Gate once more and returned to modern times.
It was eleven o’clock at night in the modern world when Lin Wanwan turned on her laptop and took out the memory card to process the video shot in the morning.
Though lacking reflector boards and other lighting equipment, the camera angle remained constant, but after the rigorous training of the indifferent opera house, Heng Wu’s every move exuded charm, far beyond what ordinary actresses could portray as classical beauties.
In terms of classical atmosphere, Heng Wu was a significant level above all modern celebrities.
After processing the video, Lin Wanwan separated the two pieces into individual videos, quickly registered a YT account using VPN, naming it "I Have a Family in the Tang Dynasty," and uploaded one of Heng Wu’s Konghou performance videos with the description: "An ancient Konghou masterpiece under the Great Tang’s golden age."
The speed of online dissemination was rapid. Recently, Lin Mengyun, a music college student who was struggling with tuition due to a prodigal younger brother, was avoiding reality by scrolling through videos online to alleviate depression.
Very soon, Lin Mengyun came across the video of Heng Wu playing the Konghou, and she was astounded.
She studied the harp, and the instrument played by the woman in the video seemed to be similar but wasn’t the same. The harp only had one row of strings and no bridge, whereas the instrument called "Konghou" in the video had double rows of strings with a bridge, able to produce harmonies.
After listening to the Konghou Melody in the video, Lin Mengyun was silent.
So this is Huaxia civilization? This composition definitely reached a master’s level of excellence. If she had such playing skills, she wouldn’t have to worry about the tuition for the new school year.
Lin Mengyun sighed. Last year, her parents went back home to handle her grandparents’ inheritance, newly acquiring nearly a million US Dollars, which was more than enough for her tuition. But, because her spoiled brother injured someone in a fight with a classmate at school, resulting in a lawsuit by the classmate’s lawyer parents, all the money became compensation to save her brother.
Misfortunes never come singly. Her brother’s failure was one thing, but her parents were inexplicably laid off by the Lu Corporation, suddenly cutting off the family’s income. They were on the verge of being unable to make it on Wall Street, and recently, her parents planned to return to China.
Alas, her studies were not finished yet, and she didn’t want to give up.
If only she had the talent and looks of the woman in the video, she could join an orchestra and fulfill her musical dream.
This Konghou Melody was so captivating, unknowingly touching the soul, releasing the listener’s inner anxieties, and unearthing buried negative emotions.
Listening to a melody felt like a cleansing of the soul.
Lin Mengyun bookmarked the video and also followed the video host. The host had a strange name, translated into Chinese as "I Have a Family in the Tang Dynasty."
Like Lin Mengyun, many others were moved by the piece. With the increasing clicks and views, this video quickly became a dark horse, climbing to the top of the trending charts.
"This is China’s Konghou, triumphing with Konghou instruments, who else could compare?"
"Several harps played together probably couldn’t match the effect of one Konghou; Huaxia civilization is terrifyingly formidable."
"I want to know who the lady in the video is—Is she a Huaxia megastar or a major star from Japan or Korea?"
"Oh my god, what is this instrument, how can it sound so wonderful, my ears are overwhelmed!"
"To the person above, this is Huaxia’s Konghou, lost for a long time, this must be a newly recreated ancient model."
"This piece is truly moving; her profile is astounding. Can Huaxia people have such prominent noses?"
The heat of the video on foreign platforms soon caught the attention of Huaxia’s self-media, who always kept an eye on foreign media hotspots. This video, capturing a person in ancient costume playing the Konghou in a room with a strong ancient style, was so beautiful and perfect. It needed no fancy camera work or lighting, no electronic tuning, just a simple direct shot, delivering such a touching effect.
Self-media naturally shared and praised the video extensively, and its views quickly climbed.
"Wow! Is this the long-lost ancient Konghou melody? I study the niche instrument Konghou myself, known authentic Konghou melodies are pitifully few, never heard this one, it’s simply born for the Konghou!"
"Do you know why Konghou is so niche? Because it’s expensive! Even a slightly professional modern Konghou costs at least over eighty thousand!"
"The person, the piece, the Konghou in the video, it’s like they traveled through time from a thousand years ago to come to me! I’m going to start idolizing!"
Lin Wanwan either didn’t copy or she copied the best!
Hmm, although she hadn’t heard how others in the Tang Dynasty played the Konghou, she believed Heng Wu must be among the top outstanding performers.
Watching the growing online popularity, the highly capable netizens had already begun to dig into Heng Wu’s background. But netizens were bound to be disappointed, just like with the previous appearance of Xiao Chong; no matter how strong, it was impossible to traverse a thousand years along the internet lines.
Thus, the transient Xiao Chong was a mystery online, and now Heng Wu would also become an unresolved enigma.
Besides the crowd enjoying the spectacle, experts in the Konghou world soon got the news and came out in succession to inquire about the video’s origin. They believed the Konghou appearing in the video was just too, too, too retro; such sound could not be found in Konghou available on the market.
Unfortunately, no one responded to them.
Lin Wanwan enjoyed the buzz on the internet and then casually chatted in the neighbor group, indicating she was doing fine, then packed up, satisfied, opened the Space-Time Gate, and returned to the Great Tang to sleep.
Tomorrow, she can return to Mao County!