Thanks for Exalted, Gallerhad and Michael Thunder for becoming as Supporters!
===BREAK===
Two days before the Lantern Rite was about to arrive, the Liyue Exploration Squad, along with Xinyan and Beidou, finally returned from the sea after successfully searching for the "pearl."
The reason the journey had taken so long was ultimately because Dvorak arrived too late. By the time the Liyue Qixing confirmed that an additional music festival would be held during the Lantern Rite, the full moon night of December had already passed. Fortunately, Beidou had once spotted a "Resonance Box Clam" at sea and remembered its approximate location, allowing her to lead the group underwater to conduct a forceful search, and in the end, they managed to find it.
The "Resonance Box Pearl" was usually kept inside a brocade box with excellent soundproofing. In order to show it to those who had never seen it before, Hu Tao opened the box at Wanmin Restaurant.
It was slightly larger than an ordinary pearl, about the size that required both hands to hold. Its appearance was otherwise unremarkable, resembling a normal pearl with a moon-white hue, a smooth and rounded surface, and a glossy sheen that sparkled brilliantly under the light.
"Eh, wait, something's off. Is it glowing on its own?"
Paimon grew curious, and the moment she spoke, the glow of the Resonance Box Pearl visibly intensified. The faint light flickered rhythmically, as if responding to her voice.
"This is the special property of the Resonance Box Pearl. It indiscriminately records all sounds around it. Once the accumulated sounds are enough to compose a complete piece of music, it stops recording and instead converts those recorded sounds into a beautiful melody and releases it."
As Hu Tao explained, the Resonance Box Pearl continued to flash in a steady rhythm. However, it seemed that the recorded sounds were still insufficient, as it did not yet begin to play music.
Xinyan added, "Because of this trait, the Resonance Box Pearl can not only compose music using natural sounds, but it can also help musicians refine their works. When the melody it plays is identical to what it recorded, that means the piece has reached its ultimate form—at least, according to the pearl itself. Of course, whether music is truly good should still be judged by the audience."
The pearl's function sounded rather wondrous. Victor Wang was also curious about what kind of music it could produce from ordinary sounds, and as he commented, he also encouraged it, saying, "This seems to be the most valuable gain from your search for exotic creatures."
Hu Tao shook her head. "Doesn't matter—just finding it already makes me happy!"
Chongyun said weakly, "Although the process of finding it was exceptionally grueling, I have to admit that it really does feel good now that we've found it…"
"That expression of yours is not convincing at all!" Paimon teased.
The Resonance Box Pearl flickered intensely once again, yet still produced no sound.
Unable to hold back any longer, Paimon poked the pearl with her finger. "Why isn't it playing yet? Should we add more sound? Lumine, try using your amazing singing voice!"
"Lumine… singing?"
Everyone immediately turned to look. Lumine gave a helpless smile. "Paimon, let's just let that incident go. It must have been that Whopperflower's fault—"
"?~"
"Hm?"
"It's playing! It's playing!"
The Resonance Box Pearl flashed continuously, but this time, it wasn't reacting to someone else's voice—it was producing sound of its own.
A lively and bustling chorus of human voices rang out. It sounded very much like Hu Tao's voice, though its tone and timbre had been adjusted slightly. Then came Xinyan's voice, followed by Victor Wang's… The voices shifted continuously in the order everyone had spoken, and the melody evolved along with them. The entire performance lasted four to five minutes, yet from start to finish it was incredibly harmonious, truly like several people singing a beautiful song together.
"This… is amazing!" Not only Paimon exclaimed in amazement—Lumine, and even Shenhe, who was accustomed to Cloud Retainer's many inventions, found it astonishing.
"I was wondering what kind of instruments it would use to present its music… so it uses our voices instead." Victor Wang's curiosity was finally answered.
"That's right. Whatever sounds it records are the sounds it plays back. So yes, it can do rock music too!" Xinyan said, clenching her fist.
"If this is used at the Lantern Rite, it could probably perform a massive chorus."
"Haha!" Xinyan and Hu Tao exchanged a glance and laughed. "We've already planned it out. At the Lantern Rite Music Festival the day after tomorrow, I'll handle the rock, Hu Tao will handle the rap, and we'll keep performing until the Resonance Box Pearl gathers enough sound. Then we'll let it perform a piece of its own, with all of us jointly responsible for opening the 'Iridescence Tour · Lantern Rite Grand Festival'!"
"Everyone has to come and support us!" Hu Tao added unabashedly.
The Lantern Rite arrived in the blink of an eye.
At the large harbor on the northeastern side of Feiyun Slope, with the massive Mingxiao Lantern, "Sea Gazer," as the backdrop, Xinyan and Hu Tao took the stage first on the festive platform that had been set up days earlier, just as Xinyan had said.
"So lively—there are way too many people!"
"Well, it is the Lantern Rite."
"And it's a music festival at the Lantern Rite, something we've never had before."
"With so many people waiting for their performance, do you think Xinyan and Hu Tao will get nervous?"
"With their personalities? It'd be hard for them to get nervous even if they tried."
Sure enough, the two showed no sign of stage fright. After introducing themselves confidently, they launched straight into a fiery performance.
"I'm up here blazin' trails through the midnight sky~ Lightin' up the world below~"
"I'll light the fire, watch it blaze 'cross the universe~ I'll spit my rhymes, watch your step, or you'll get burned—!"
…
"Do you all have plans for tomorrow?" Overlooking the bustling crowd gathered around the concert below, Ningguang asked the others beside her. "Another hard year has passed. I'll host—shall we have a small private gathering?"
"Mmm." Keqing nodded slightly.
"If Lady Tianquan is paying, then I'll be sure to enjoy myself properly," Beidou accepted without hesitation.
Yelan didn't get the chance to reply. Even on New Year's Eve, she received intelligence from an informant. After taking the note, she left without a word, leaving it unclear whether she would be able to attend.
…
"Judging by the time, the music festival should have started by now, right?"
"Music festival…?"
"It's the singing festival. If you don't remember… After releasing the last three Xiao Lanterns, Ah Gui stay behind to receive patients. Qiqi, bring the medicine and come help over there with me."
"So… that's why Mister Bai prepared so many throat-soothing medicines overnight?"
"Hehe, when the 'Yuheng Star' gives repeated instructions, even overnight work has to be done properly."
…
"Everyone else is releasing Xiao Lanterns already. When are we releasing our giant one…?" Moon Carver asked uncertainly.
"Now's fine. Ours is too big and too bright. Better not let it collide with the Mingxiao Lantern and have Sea Gazer blame us for stealing the spotlight."
"I told you from the start not to make it this big. Once this thing flies into the sky, it's bound to draw attention…" Mountain Shaper shook his head.
"That won't do. If we're making one, it has to be big. Bigger means more technical skill—and being eye-catching is only natural."
Cloud Retainer used her adeptal power to release the restraints on that Xiao Lantern. As a result, everyone in Liyue Harbor saw a multicolored Xiao Lantern, half the size of a house and shining like a small sun, rise from a "safe location" near the sea by the North Bridge of Liyue Harbor. Many people rubbed their eyes, wondering if this year's Mingxiao Lantern had been released early.
Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper carefully observed the situation at North Bridge. If humans came to question them, they were ready to flee at a moment's notice—until they saw the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's consultant leaving Liyue Harbor from North Bridge. Now they were caught between running and not running.
"Look at that—now you've even attracted the Rex Lapis himself!"
"Xiao Lanterns carry longing. The bigger the lantern, the deeper the longing. Missing an old friend—what's wrong with making it a bit bigger?"
Watching the three bicker, Zhongli spoke calmly, "I'm just passing through on my way to Dihua Marsh. Please, continue."
…
"Master, Master, listen!" Hearing the familiar tune that Granny Ping had practiced many times over the past few days, Yaoyao ran back from the railing.
At the tea table, Yanfei and Ganyu both fell silent, listening together with Granny Ping to the sounds drifting up from the music festival below.
"Hehe… even this piece has been passed down, I see. Then I suppose I should also…"
A layer of watery light around her body turned into bubbles and drifted upward. In an instant, Granny Ping shed her disguise and returned to her true form as Streetward Rambler.
"These hands feel much better for playing the zither."
She rested the zither across her knees and gently began to pluck the strings. Though the Lantern Rite was noisy, the sound of the zither pierced through the Xiao Lanterns and fireworks, traveling a great distance before quietly blending into the orchestra conducted by Dvorak.
At a certain moment, Dvorak noticed a sound beyond his conducting. He stopped his baton, yet the sound remained. Excited, he turned around and gazed toward a high place he could not see.
"Listen! It's Granny Ping!"
Paimon noticed it as well and cried out in surprise. Everyone looked up toward the direction where the Xiao Lanterns had flown, hearing the sound but seeing no one.
Dvorak raised his baton once more, guiding the orchestra to accompany that sound, completing the final piece of this music festival.
Another year's final night passed.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa