The melody of the music box flowed slowly within the shrine. It was the song "Whispers of Spring" - the sealing tune composed by the Star Guard Clan a hundred years ago, and also the one that Lu Jinnian played at the opening ceremony. The notes, like dewdrops falling, spread out circles of faint light in the silent shrine, each sound resonating with the tremor of the earth's veins.
Song Wanqing's hand was still pressed against the stone tablet, her tears not yet dry, but she had already been pulled back to her senses by this melody. She turned her head to look inside the shrine. The paper door was half open, and a ray of silver light seeped through the gap, as if someone had ignited fragments of stars within it.
This piece of music... It shouldn't be here." Lu Jinnian whispered, his fingers tightly grasping the music box. "The music box is a relic left by my grandpa, but it's clearly in my room." "
Song Wanqing, however, had already stepped forward. The drawing book was flipping in the wind and stopped on a blank sheet of paper. The charcoal pen hung up automatically, its tip gently touching the paper surface, and it began to draw - not a star map, but an old music box. The box body was engraved with badges of stars and notes, and on the lid was a line of small characters: "Take the sound as the key, the heart as the lock."
The sound of the piano is the key. She murmured, "The key to opening the door of the star core."
Lu Jinnian's expression changed abruptly: "But if Qin Yin breaks the seal, the star core will fully awaken!" We have to stop it!"
"No." Song Wanqing suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze piercing. "Mother's handwriting says' The star core will awaken ', not 'The star core will be destroyed'." She left this line not to warn but to guide. She knew that one day, the star core would have to be resealed - and opening it would be the beginning of the seal.
She stepped into the shrine.
The interior of the shrine was surprisingly intact. Cobwebs crisscrossed everywhere, yet there stood a low table quietly in the center, on which was the music box - silver carvings, inlaid with gemstones like stardust, and the emblem on the box body was exactly the same as that on the pendant. The lid of the box opened slightly, and the gears turned slowly. It was it playing automatically.
Song Wanqing approached and gently touched the box with her hand. In an instant, the charcoal drawings in the drawing book overlapped with reality - inside the music box, there was a miniature star chart disk, exactly the same as the one beneath the clock tower.
"Star Core Gate..." Not underground." She whispered, "It's in the music box."
Lu Jinnian's pupils shrank: "Legend has it that the star core is not a physical entity but is sealed within the 'Star Law Vessel'." Grandpa said, "That is an instrument capable of carrying the power of the stars..." Could it be this music box?
Song Wanqing nodded and gently stroked the lid of the box with her fingertips. There is a tiny groove in the center of the badge, whose shape perfectly matches the pendant on her wrist.
"We need the blood contract of the star painter and the rhythmic sound of the star Guardian." " She looked up at him and said, "You and I are both indispensable."
Lu Jinnian was silent for a moment. Finally, he raised his hand and brought the music box close to the music box. Two Musical Instruments resonated, and the melody suddenly elevated. The notes transformed into substantial filaments of light, interweaving in the air to form the outline of a door - it was a door woven from star trails and notes, and behind the door was the endless deep space.
Are you ready? Song Wanqing asked.
Lu Jinnian looked at her, his eyes determined: "This time, we won't repeat the same mistakes." "
Song Wanqing slowly embedded the pendant into the groove of the music box.
A soft "click".
The entire shrine trembled violently. The melody of the music box suddenly rose, and the notes transformed into beams of light, shooting up into the sky and piercing the clouds. The stars in the sky began to spin as if pulled by an invisible force, while the petals of the cherry blossom forest rose in the opposite direction, like countless fireflies, converges towards the light column.
The star core is awakening.
The Light Gate slowly opened. Behind it was not destruction but a vast sea of stars - star cores suspended within, like a beating heart, formed by pure starlight, with ancient runes flowing on the surface, precisely the source of those symbols on Song Wanqing's painting paper.
It's calling me. Song Wanqing said softly and walked towards the Light Gate.
"Wait!" Lu Jinnian grabbed her wrist in one go, "The star core will devour anyone who approaches, unless..." You are escorted by the melody of the Star Guardian."
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then raised his hand, his fingertips gently plucking in the void - there was no piano, no score, yet a brand-new melody was played. That is a variation of "Whispers of Spring", incorporating the rhythm of star painting and the trajectory of the brush. The notes are like brushstrokes, painting a series of sealing lines on the surface of the star core.
This is... "Star Painting Melody?" " Song Wanqing turned to look at him.
"It's our tune." " He smiled, his eyes gentle, "You draw the star trails, and I play the melody." From now on, Xingshou and Xinghui will no longer be separated."
Song Wanqing turned around and stepped into the Light Gate.
The light of the star core enveloped her. She raised her drawing book and moved the charcoal pencil in the air, beginning to draw the last star map - using the sky as paper, the stars as ink, and her heart as the seal.
The runes on the surface of the star core lit up one by one, resonating with the drawing.
And just as the seal was about to be completed, a blurry figure emerged from the depths of the star core
It's Lin Wan.
She was dressed in an old-fashioned school uniform, holding a silver paintbrush. Through the starry sea, she quietly gazed at Song Wanqing, her lips slightly upturned and she nodded gently.
Song Wanqing was in tears, her pen never ceasing.
The star core slowly closed, the light gate dissipated, the music box stopped playing, and the clock tower hands returned to their original positions.
It's dawn.
The cherry blossoms are like rain, quietly falling.
And in front of the shrine, the inscriptions on that stone tablet have quietly changed
Under the phrase "Star Returns to Its Place", there is an additional line of newly engraved small characters: **
The painter holds the brush, the keeper plays the zither, and the starry river endures forever. **
In the distance, the first ray of morning light pierced through the clouds and fell upon the bell tower of Xinghe County.
A new day has begun.