The actors on the stage ended their act to a round of applause from the spectators. It was a romantic play and the couple had finally united after crossing many hurdles. The woman was from a noble family while her lover was in the infantry. The plot was common but the actors had acted magnificently. Bai Hua joined in the applause enthusiastically. These kinds of mortal stories always intrigued him. Mortals seemed to cherish love and dreams, and hold on to them more strongly when they were threatened.

How mortals find happiness in small fickle things, as if their short lives revolved only around these things, he sighed inwardly.

Xiao Lok was also clapping her hands earnestly as if she could relate to the story of the play.

“Well, Xiao Lok, it’s my turn now. I hope you will like my zither skills,” he said as he stood up lifting his zither which was covered in a white cloth from the corner beside his stool.

“Mr. Hua, I will be very happy to hear you play the zither. I will really enjoy your accompaniment with Sister Wei’s dance performance”

Bai Hua stepped out of the lounge area and made his way towards the stage holding his covered zither in both of his hands.

The actors had left the stage after receiving the applause and some had gone backstage to change. While others had remained in the audience seats to watch the next performance.

Bai Hua climbed up the short steps to the stage and took his place. The random lady, who had requested him to accompany her in her dance, emerged from the backstage and gracefully walked towards the front side of the stage.

She gave a slight bow to Bai Hua as an acknowledgment and greeted the audience with a charming smile. She appeared to be in her early 20’s. She was wearing a pale pink dress with white robes on top of her dress. Her hair was long and it moved gently with her every move. She had light make-up on her face and she wore silver hairpins with green gemstones on it as if she had matched her outfit with Bai Hua.

“Greetings to everyone who have gathered here this evening. I have a brilliant musician today with me who will play the zither for my performance,” she said musically.

“Many of you don’t know him, but he’s a traveling musician and I have invited him especially for this evening before he leaves for another place. He is Mr. Hua.”

She looked at his direction as she smiled at him. Many people clapped their hands at this introduction. To the audience, for Miss Wei to praise a musician was enough for them to like him. They were regulars at the inn because Miss Wei came to dance and sing often in this inn.

Bai Hua took the cue of the dying clapping sound to begin. He unwrapped it and produced a dark zither with strings that were also black in color. Some people had never seen such a zither and stared at it.

He gave it a stroke and an enchanting sound came out from the strings. And then, he slowly played a gentle melody that tugged at everyone’s heart.

Miss Wei began to sing and dance.

“The fog gently glides on the river banks

It tells me that you are coming back.

Oh, how long I have waited for this day!

You appear like a deity singing a lay

And my heart flutters like a dandelion.

Your breath moves me so, my lord,

And then two handfuls of your gaze

And all the flowers in my heart have bloomed.”

She had started dancing slowly as if she was dancing with an invisible man, with eyes sparkling and a happy heart clearly written in her face

While the zither followed her song and movements perfectly, making it a solemn act.

The audience had become so quiet the moment they heard the zither. And when she sang of a meeting with a lover, they could feel her longing and love for this lord. She was dancing on the stage yet, in their minds, she was dancing near a river bank with dew-decked flowers gently swaying in the gentle breeze. Her clothes matched her performance. It made her look like a young lady who was experiencing an innocent first love. And the gentle sound of the zither made them think of some natural sounds like a bird chirping sweetly somewhere, or a harmonious buzzing of bugs. It made their experience ethereal...

The music gradually receded and stopped as she slowly ended her dance with a happy sigh. All was quiet. Then they broke from their reverie and looked at the stage. Everyone was amazed at this novel experience. They stood up and gave a heart-warming applause for the performance. They were never going to forget this in their life. They had been lucky to visit this inn that evening.

They were so mesmerized by her performance and was all focused on her that they did not notice Bai Hua who was stealthily escaping from the stage.

He liked to play the zither and so he had taken up the vocation of a musician to suit his role in the mortal realm. He had played in such a way that the focus would not be on him, but on the performer. He was happy to heighten the experience of the performance but did not like to outshine himself. He was the gentle rain that does not destroy but wash away the dust and dirt. The gentle rain that makes flowers, grass, and trees rejuvenate and make them look more beautiful.

He was 1500 years old. But he looked like he was just 19 years old. In terms of heaven, he was considered the youngest god! But he was called Mr. Hua in this town in regard to his profession.

He went back to his previous seat and kept his zither in the corner and ordered for tea again.

Xiao Lok was no longer there. She was gone. He wished her a good life in his heart. She was a sincere and honest lady for someone who had come from the nobility. It was not his business regarding her poisoning, but he had helped her for her sincerity. From here on, she had to look after herself. Clearly, someone wanted her dead. Hopefully, she gets the courage to face her enemies.

Though she had acted timid and shy, Bai Hua could tell that she was actually very intelligent but her heart was too good. In this one month that he had stayed in the mortal realm, he found that being virtuous was actually a disadvantageous trait. He was an observer and abstained from too much interaction with mortals. They were going to die one day, he didn’t want to form any connections.

And he continued to drink his tea.