Chapter 431 Musical Instrument?
"The sky is vast, the fields boundless, I've lived my life wildly..." Wei Wufu picked up the lyrics and music written by Lin Shen and began to sing.
Lin Shen's mouth hung open, staring at Wei Wufu dumbfounded.
The usually slow-speaking Wei Wufu, when singing, didn't pause at all, and there was a boldness in his manner.
These somewhat coarse lyrics, sung over and over by Wei Wufu, actually made people feel their blood boiling. The more he sang, the more rousing and spirited it became, inciting an irresistible urge to join in with a shout.
After Wei finished singing, Lin Shen couldn't help but reach out to touch Wei Wufu's face.
"You?" Wei Wufu frowned as he stepped back, staring at Lin Shen with a face full of confusion.
"Are you really Wei? Or is someone else disguised as you? Have you been body-snatched?" Lin Shen simply couldn't believe that it was Wei who had sung those words.
"No... Song... Say... Different..." As soon as Wei Wufu started talking, Lin Shen knew it was Wei, not an impostor, and he hadn't been body-snatched.
"Wei, sing it again." Lin Shen had been shocked just now and hadn't paid attention to the actual effects of the War Song.
Wei sang once more, and as he did, Lin Shen felt a surge of strength in his body, as if he'd been injected with adrenaline, as though some hidden potential had been unlocked. He felt full of strength, his blood racing as if it might boil.
Trying it out, Lin Shen noticed an increase in strength, speed, and various other aspects, but the boost wasn't large. This thing really required more people singing together; one person singing the War Song provided only a limited enhancement for him.
"When I build an army later on, I'll make this the military anthem," Lin Shen mused about the future, though now he could only dream.
"Feels like something's missing... Hmm... It lacks accompaniment..." Lin Shen had felt something was amiss before, and now it dawned on him, the song was missing instrumental accompaniment which lessened the atmosphere.
"Wei, do you play any instruments? Get some accompaniment going," Lin Shen said.
"Violin... Cello... Guitar... Drum Set... Saxophone... Erhu...
Pipa... Guzheng... Piano..." Wei Wufu slowly listed a bunch of instruments.
Lin Shen, mouth agape, tentatively asked, "You can't play any of these?"
"Can play all," Wei Wufu said calmly.
"Bro, you're awesome." Lin Shen gave Wei a thumbs up, never having imagined that Wei was a versatile musician.
Lin Shen had wanted to find an instrument for Wei to try out, but alas, there were none around, so he had to let it go.
Together with Wei, Lin Shen went to the Celestial Master Institute, and indeed, they found Kong Chuan waiting inside. An Sai processed his reinstatement smoothly, everything went off without a hitch.
Whether he was reluctant to come, or he simply looked down on Lin Shen, Kong Chuan spoke very little, answering only when asked something, remaining silent otherwise.
Lin Shen didn't bother talking to him either. After all, the person he was dealing with for the Giant Ring Star was the Heavenly Consort; he wouldn't let Kong Chuan become the Chief of the Special Service Department before that had been settled.
There wasn't much to arrange at the Celestial Master Institute, so Lin Shen, along with Kong Chuan and Wei, left to prepare for their trip to the Giant Ring Star.
On their way to the teleportation station, they happened upon a music shop along the road.
"Since we've come across it, let's go in and buy an instrument," Lin Shen thought and entered the shop.
Lin Shen only recognized some common instruments and didn't know much about music. Looking around at the various instruments in the shop, he couldn't even tell the difference between a guitar and a bass guitar.
The owner of the shop, an old Celestial man with glasses, sat on a stool by the window, reading a book, beside him sat a steaming cup of tea on the windowsill.
When the old Celestial saw Lin Shen and his company enter, he casually said they could look around and to ask him if they wanted anything, then went back to reading his book.
"Wei, which instrument do you think would be suitable to play accompaniment for that song?" Lin Shen turned to Wei and inquired.
Wei stopped in his tracks inside the music instrument shop, his attention finally resting on an instrument placed on a shelf.
"This... um..." Wei Wufu pointed at the instrument on the shelf as he spoke.
"Wei... are you sure you want this one..." Lin Shen looked at Wei Wufu with a peculiar expression, then glanced back at the instrument.
Though Lin Shen wasn't versed in musical instruments, this one looked strangely familiar to him.
It resembled the woodblock used by monks during their chanting, and if it were just similar in appearance, Lin Shen might have doubted whether it was some kind of instrument designed to look like a woodblock.
Find more to read at empire
But next to the woodblock, there was a small mallet for striking it, which led Lin Shen to struggle to think of it as anything but a woodblock.
The only difference from a regular woodblock was that this object seemed to be made of jade, wholly white and crystal-clear, with some odd patterns on its surface.
Upon a closer inspection, Lin Shen couldn't help but feel surprised. He realized it was not an ordinary object but a Spirit Base.
Inside the woodblock, a fish-shaped white cloud moved about as if fish were swimming around.
Inside the small wooden mallet, faint traces of lightning flickered in and out of sight.
"Certain," Wei Wufu answered very affirmatively.
"Boss, can we try this thing out?" Lin Shen found it hard to believe this item could be used for accompaniment; it seemed more suited for chanting.
"You can't." The owner looked up and said sincerely.
"Are you sure you want this one?" Lin Shen could only turn his head to look at Wei again.
"Certain," Wei Wufu nodded.
"Boss, how much for this?" Lin Shen had no choice but to ask the owner for the price.
"The mutant Third Turn Spirit Base Qixin Wooden Fish, eight million," the owner said after taking a sip of tea.
"Although it's a mutant, isn't eight million way too expensive? Does this thing have any special skills?" Lin Shen immediately felt like it was a lost cause.
He didn't even have eighty thousand on him, let alone eight million.
"Base Talent Qixin, it helps to clarify the mind and spirit," the owner replied.
"Just for that one skill, you're asking for eight million?" Lin Shen's eyes widened in disbelief.
The mutant Fourth Turn Spirit Base Spirit Bee Ring he had bought before cost him only two Supersource Dragon pets, which was equivalent to a price of one or two million.
This Qixin Wooden Fish was only Third Turn, with such a mediocre skill, and the owner had the audacity to demand eight million—it was simply extortionate.
"If you like it you buy it, if not, then don't," the owner stated with a smile.
"I'll buy it." Before Lin Shen could say anything, Wei Wufu spoke up directly.
"Cough cough... Wei... we don't have enough money..." Lin Shen coughed lightly as he spoke.
"I have this." Wei pulled out a Pet Capsule from his pocket and handed it to Lin Shen; it contained a Supersource Dragon Pet that he had tamed on Ring Mountain Planet using Death Powder.
"Boss, can we barter with an Ascension Pet?" Seeing that Wei really wanted the Qixin Wooden Fish, Lin Shen decided to negotiate with the owner.
"Not for you," the owner said after looking at Lin Shen, then turned to Wei Wufu and added, "But for you, it's possible."