Old-time musicians

At five o'clock the next day, there were faint orange-red spots on the horizon, and within two hours, the sunlight slightly higher in the sky was so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

Carriages of different sizes in the caravan traveled through the suburbs. The fields were planted with new tea, hydrangeas, and fine finches. Luna leaned against the door of the open carriage, and the breeze lifted her silver dress and hair.

Fanning, who was at the innermost, wore loose and clean cotton shorts and an open white shirt, sitting with a harp in his arms. His clothes fluttered as he looked at the receding scenery, and his fingers thoughtfully hooked the purple strings.

Some ships could be seen in the distance, including steamships and small sailboats, floating on the clear sea. The tops of the black volcanic rock groups could be seen in the water. The sea water was too transparent to judge the height difference, nor could he feel how far away from the coastline he was.

He had never seen the southern scenery before. He felt that compared with the prosperous industry of Theolian, there were too many blank spaces and too many heavy colors here, but this feeling was unfamiliar after all.

The sense of passing by may not be a big deal for ordinary people, but it is a contradiction for sensitive and nostalgic people, and it is also attributed to the fact that this country easily over-exaggerates people's inspiration and emotions.

The gift of the "Fragrant Poet" produced orange-red glowing berries on the branches all the way.

He just started from the seventh song of "Winter Journey", playing and singing "On the River", which is bathed in soft chords and thinking in memories, playing and singing "Looking Back", where the accompaniment and the human voice are always separated by a beat, as if the bleak reality and strong longing are inseparable, playing and singing "Wilson's Fire", which is mysterious, lonely and terrifying when wandering in the wilderness on a winter night, and "Rest", which is full of minor second semitone melodies, making people feel discouraged and hopeless...

It feels good.

The girls all wanted to get closer to listen.

Trova and the two apprentice bards also showed great enthusiasm, but Fanning still preferred to be quiet when not at a party.

Luna also found that Mr. Scheller was generally a melancholy and withdrawn person, which matched his outstanding talent. She was the only one who was lucky enough not to be asked to leave the carriage, perhaps because of the gift, perhaps because of her quietness, or perhaps because her communication style was more tactful, avoiding the sense of distance that squeezed him with overly enthusiastic words.

"You sit so out of place, aren't you afraid of falling off?" Fanning's voice came from the carriage.

"Ah!" The little girl turned her head. This was the first time Mr. Scheller took the initiative to speak today.

She retracted her legs into the carriage, and then answered seriously: "In normal weather, I can hold on until about 7:30 in the morning. I need to avoid strong sunlight, so before that, I would like to get as much sun as possible... Did you rest well last night?"

Fan Ning said "hmm". He changed his clothes and fell asleep early after returning to the guest room last night. With the nourishment of the free Yaozhi spiritual liquid, his strength has recovered by 40% to 50%, and his spiritual state is enough to deal with the knowledgeable people who have just entered the high level.

The small troubles encountered unexpectedly are basically within the control range.

But the potential threat level he faces is too high, and he still needs to make cautious considerations, such as the identity issue first.

The sky is high and the land is far away in the south. The successful containment of "The Fountain in the Painting" has helped a lot, but it is still not worry-free. The intelligence means of the Special Patrol Office must not be underestimated.

Since waking up on the beach yesterday, Fanning has been dealing with and making corrections based on the actual circumstances. Now he has basically explored and refined the initial "background and character":

A foreigner who has just entered the Southland, has wandered on the borders of the two countries in the Western Continent, is knowledgeable and talented, has a rich emotional history, is conceited and arrogant, but does not care about money, fame and fortune at all, and acts entirely based on emotional resonance and inspiration...

Because in the minds of the people of Theolian, their social image is actually more like a "long-sleeved and good at dancing" musician: elegant, steady, basically no emotional scandals, fame and fortune, and successful career... There are not many confidants who understand their true inner self.

Now some distinctions have been made in all aspects.

Of course, no one will deliberately ask about the soul exile history of a wandering poet, but in the brief and sporadic conversations last night and this morning, Fanning began to deliberately add some past wandering experiences, of course, inadvertently, vaguely, and fragmentedly revealed.

Intelligence gathering and investigation work rely on two points: human contact and traces of things. Even if it is occult divination, the revelations gained are presented through these two points.

These traces cannot be completely erased, but for investigators, they are also interferences and needles in a haystack.

Fanning's biggest goal is to make Scheler appear to be "completely out of nowhere" when he enters the screening field of vision one day in the future. The identity of a wandering poet is the biggest natural barrier, but Fanning will not treat his opponent as a fool. He will take the initiative to do something else to make the time more different from his disappearance date, and it is best to stagger it forward.

In the impression implantation of the first batch of contacts, the personality creation of "not valuing money, fame and fortune" can explain why Scheler's previous experience in the border of the Western Continent was not very famous. Of course, they will not care whether it is true or false, but if someone investigates and traces the source later, this is somewhat out of thin air. Fanning will have some actions to consider next.

"How many days is the journey?" After sorting out some things in his spare time, Fanning raised his head again.

"Maybe 5 to 15 days, Mr. Scheele." Luna replied.

"Is it such a big range?"

"Because it is impossible to predict whether you will get lost, and it is impossible to accurately estimate the time lost."

"Incomprehensible."

"Well... in short, we won't go as fast as full speed. In fact, going at full speed may not guarantee the shortest time." Luna shook her legs gently, "The annual 'Flower Etiquette' lasts a long time. The caravans here are not in a hurry to reach their destination as soon as possible. They look for and enjoy the gifts from the 'Fanghui Poet' along the way. This may be the original meaning of the festival, I guess. "

"So, how will you celebrate on the 'Flower Ceremony'?" Fan Ning asked.

"According to our teachings, the 'Fanghui Poet' is half asleep and half awake in other seasons of the year, and only fully wakes up for a short period of time in summer, so this is the time of year when the climate is the hottest, the flowers are the most fragrant, and the products are richest. The richest season is also the time when everyone sings and dances, seeks inspiration, and pursues passionate passion. It is said that a considerable number of trainee bards have improved their skills during the summer's 'Flower Ceremony' and received His blessing emblem... …”

"However, apart from the ordinary celebrations during the festival, there are also two more important time nodes. The former is the 'Awakening Song', and the latter is the 'Flower Ceremony'..."

"The latter is easy to understand in a literal sense, similar to the final ceremony of the climax of the festival." Fan Ning's fingertips tapped the wooden surface of the guitar, "But what is the 'Awakening Chant'?"

"It's also a ritual." Luna said, "It's the ritual just mentioned, used to wake up the 'Fanghui Poet' who is in a comatose state and let midsummer fully come... By the way, Mr. Scheler, you asked about this The question just occurred to me. With your talent and accomplishments, you can take a chance on this trip to Tia City. Maybe you will be the one to awaken the fragrance of the "Fanghui Poet" in this year's festival!"

"Me?" Fan Ning laughed in surprise, "What does this have to do with me?"

Awakening a Lord of Witnesses? Whether it is substantial or symbolic, it all depends on the nature. If in the Evil God Organization it was a typical act of pollution and seeking death, and in the Righteous God Church it was an annual festival, then there would be no problem.

But shouldn’t that be the job of the clergy?

"The ritual of 'Awakening Chant' is a bit special. It is open-ended." Luna explained, "The prototype comes from a common tribute link in our teachings. Any believer with some qualifications can arrange it, but its core It is necessary to perform a piece of music used as a prayer..."

"Theoretically, as long as it is during the 'Flower Ceremony' and within the scope of 'Tiya City', any performance or singing by people may successfully awaken Him and trigger strong illusions and resonance, and the southern country will completely start the summer. Usually, this lucky thing happens one day in August, but it’s unknown who did it.”

This undoubtedly aroused Fan Ning's interest. He put the guitar upright and said: "It sounds like a feat. As expected, those who have been able to achieve it in the past must be great musicians with extraordinary achievements?"

"That's Mr. Scheler!!" Luna said this with a hint of sincere admiration in her tone, "However, 'Awakening Chant' is somewhat dramatic, and the preference of 'Fanghui Poet' may not be consistent with the authoritative evaluation of the Western Continent. The systems are different, and every now and then there’s a little-known musician who sparks a response, becomes famous, and well, let’s see…”

She folded her legs and leaned down, pulled out a book from the colorful oak storage compartment under the rattan mat and opened it:

"This issue of the "Phaidon Folk Culture Reader" magazine has an inventory article that counts the historical records of the 'Awakening Chant' in the United Principality of Feton in the past 100 years. Overall, the premiere of new works accounts for slightly more than There are slightly more local troubadours than foreign musicians performing masterpieces.”

"As for the specific records, there are 54 times of 15 awakeners who are great musicians or music masters. Previously, there were 46 times of 30 people who were only at the 'famous' level or relatively weak... You see, in terms of number of times, there were 15 people who awakened. The ratio is close to one to one, and the number of people is one to two, which shows that the 'awakening chant' is not exclusive to great musicians."

"Of course, the 30 musicians in the latter group also became famous. The inventory article specifically noted their brief artistic experiences in the future. 14 of them grew up to be great musicians, and 3 of them went on to become music masters. Although It's not all their fame because of their 'flower etiquette', but it's a high percentage."

Luna opened the chatterbox, turning the pages back and forth while talking enthusiastically: "These include classical guitar master Tone, romantic master Rolfing, great opera singer Dominic, Tia City's famous singer Kuci, and others. There is the legendary pianist 'Li', oh! 'Li''s experience of awakening the 'Fanghui Poet' in the Southern Continent for three consecutive years when he started his world tour is simply talked about..."

President, why are you everywhere? Big news has come to the Southern Continent. Fan Ning blinked strangely. He was indeed very interested because he heard too many familiar names.

"Mr. Scheele, you must try it!! Once you receive the highest level of blessing from the Fanghui Temple, the clergy will calculate an 'auspicious time' and invite you to become the 'Flower Flower' on a certain day in September. You are a guest of the ritual ceremony, and I am the first person who has ever extended a courtesy invitation to you..."

The little girl was immersed in her fantasy and suddenly found that the other party was looking at the magazine in her hand with great interest, while she was still flipping through it from a distance. She handed the magazine over rather embarrassedly, and then sat back obediently at the far end.

"Thank you." Fanning thanked him and took the "Phaidon Folk Culture Reader".

It can indeed be regarded as "folk culture" rather than "music magazine". The content is too mixed, and the starting point of this inventory article is more on the religious customs of "flower etiquette" itself.

Fanning's eyes swept over the records of "Awakening Chant" over the years. As a music major who is very familiar with the history of music from ancient times to the present, more and more familiar musicians' names came into view.

However, when his eyes moved to a certain line, they suddenly froze.

August 22, 875 New Calendar, Louis Vien, "Prelude".

This is the first time I have discovered traces of Vien's public activities in the southern continent!

"In 871, he developed symptoms of glaucoma. He consulted at the 'Free Folk Herbalist' of Vasius' parents, and then followed the advice to go across the ocean to seek medical treatment. In the spring of 876, he returned to the North Continent..." Fanning re-sorted the timeline in his mind.

It seemed to be the last summer of the five-year medical treatment period.

He had deduced according to common sense that a professional musician would not give up music, and there should be some traces of musical activities during his long stay in a foreign country.

This clue confirmed his inference, and the traces were quite deep...

However, there was no beginning or end. Due to the limited popularity of Vien himself, and the extremely sporadic correspondence during his convalescence in the South Continent, Fanning had no way of knowing what he had done in the previous years.

The magazine article also made very brief notes on his later artistic experience, only mentioning that he was a "court musician from the North Country", the time he left the South Continent and the year of his death. He was another part of the awakeners who "did not become great later" in Luna's mouth.

Even his "engaged in musical activities", his specific identity is not easy to determine.

——The subdivision direction of "organist" is too special. According to Fanning's common sense of religion and music culture, the organ originated from the church of the Holy Sun Church. The popularity rate here is quite low. He always suspects that Weien of that era had no chance to play the organ in the southern continent.

Originally, the most valuable information point should be what music Weien used in the ceremony of awakening the "Fragrant Poet" that year.

But the name of the recorded music is really too embarrassing...

"Prelude"?

This is simply unrecognizable... Fanning stroked the page with his fingers and fell into thought.

It is common for the names of musical works in such magazine articles to be written in an irregular way, even with a work number or even a tonality. Now not only can it be confirmed whether Weien wrote a new work or performed an old work, but it is also impossible to distinguish what genre and instrument it is.

Only after arriving in Tiya City, following this clue interface, finding more detailed records of the year, or seeing the score of this work, can more substantial information be inferred.

Fanning closed the magazine and found that the little girl had been looking at him, but after he looked up, he turned away from the car in embarrassment.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "I want to learn about the classic doctrines of your church. Do you have any recommendations?"