"Do you want to know what the Mohist School thinks of you?"
Jing Ke was remarkably thick-skinned and exceedingly talkative, shamelessly trailing right beside Yanyan and chattering on incessantly.
"What do they think?" Yanyan was indeed somewhat curious about how the Hundred Schools of Thought viewed him.
"The unlucky fool of the Confucian School and the Yan Family!" Jing Ke replied with a cheeky grin, though he quickly added, "Still, I don't see it that way. I'm just curious—you were honored as Senior Brother by Yushan Academy, and hailed as the Master of the School of Mind and the leading figure of the Classic of Music."
"I don't understand this School of Mind business, and I certainly can't wrap my head around it. But as the top authority on the Classic of Music, you must be exceptionally skilled in the Dao of music. So when you sing, you must be incredible with the qin and se!"
Yanyan glanced at Jing Ke, thinking, *You really talk a lot. How am I supposed to answer that?*
"I know a thing or two," Yanyan sighed, thinking that compulsive talkers were truly noisy.
"How about you sing something for me, then?" Jing Ke immediately grew interested.
"..." Yanyan fell silent. He looked at the surrounding scenery and realized the sun was setting, suddenly feeling a slight urge to sing.
"Walking along the country path, the dusk-returning old ox is my companion; the blue sky pairs with the sunset on my chest, and the colorful clouds are the evening glow's garments..."
As Yanyan raised his voice and began to sing, the entire caravan was taken aback. The melody and rhythm were entirely different from the four-character lyrics they were accustomed to hearing. Moreover, the words were remarkably clear, and as the song drifted over, the scene it painted seemed to unfold right before their eyes.
Most importantly, they found it incredibly catchy. After just a brief listen, they felt as though they could hum a couple of lines themselves.
That was something other ballads they listened to could never achieve.
Jing Ke sat frozen, the wine gourd held up to his lips, letting the liquor slip from the corner of his mouth to soak his lapels without even realizing it.
He didn't know how the realms of the Dao of musicians were categorized, but he knew that true music could immerse people completely, allowing them to see the scenes and emotions the musician wished to convey.
In many brothels, taverns, and royal banquets, he had listened to performances by numerous master musicians. Yet, instances where someone could induce such immersive experiences through mere a cappella singing, as Yanyan had done, were exceedingly rare!
"Are you not going to sing along?" Yanyan stopped singing, took a flute from the cloth bag beside his book box, and began to play it softly.
Jing Ke snapped back to his senses. Listening to the flute, he somehow found himself effortlessly humming along to the tune Yanyan had just sung, harmonizing with the music.
The entire caravan also began to hum softly along with the flute, their voices gradually growing louder until, in the end, everyone in the caravan had learned this simple ballad.
"Impressive!" As the song ended, Jing Ke gave a thumbs-up. "I, Jing Ke, have traveled far and wide, and there are very few people I truly admire. But in the Dao of music, you are the one I admire most!"
"I come from the lineage of Master Yan of the Confucian School. Isn't it only natural that I have some accomplishments in the Dao of music?" Yanyan smiled. *Just standard operations, no need to make a fuss!*
Master Yan had also been renowned throughout the world for his music back in the day. Confucius had even remarked that using Master Yan's propagation of musical principles to the people of Wucheng was like using a butcher's cleaver to slaughter a chicken!
"It's different. I haven't read many books, so I don't know how to put it into words, and I don't understand you scholars' way of categorizing things. But it feels as though you've pioneered something entirely new in the realm of musicians, yet made it much easier for people to accept. If you don't believe me, just look around!" Racking his brains for a way to describe it, Jing Ke could only gesture to the people all around them.
Yanyan looked around and noticed that everyone was now gazing at him with the utmost respect.
A simple hum could teach everyone how to sing. That was a skill even master musicians rarely possessed.
Yet Yanyan had pulled it off. Furthermore, this was a ballad they had never heard before, and Yanyan had willingly taught it to them. This meant that as long as they knew how to sing this song, they had to address Yanyan with the title of Master!
"A mere trivial skill!" Yanyan smiled and waved a hand dismissively, unconcerned.
This was nothing more than a dimensionality-reduction strike, utilizing some superficial musical theories from later generations combined with a novel song rhythm.
If a true master of musical theory were to study it, they could achieve the same feat in no time.
However, since he was the very first to bring it out, later generations would still have to honor him as Master, no matter how great their achievements might become!
Yet, to everyone else, this demeanor was the epitome of a lofty scholar of high moral character, and their respect for Yanyan deepened even further.
"I never would have imagined that I, Jing Ke, who am completely tone-deaf, would one day find myself singing!" Jing Ke hummed with a beaming smile, full of smug satisfaction.
"How about we find some time, and I teach you dance as well?" Yanyan said with a smile.
Music among the Six Arts of the Gentleman was not limited to singing and playing instruments; it included dance as well. Therefore, Yanyan knew how to dance too!
"Wonderful!" Jing Ke smiled, feeling once again that he could conquer anything!
He had met quite a few Confucian scholars, but without exception, they were all self-righteous and looked down on everyone outside their own Confucian School. Finding one who was willing to teach them and make friends with them was practically unheard of!
Yanyan smiled to himself. *You probably have no idea how terrifying dancing can actually be!*
Tone-deafness could be remedied by sticking to rhythms that ordinary people could easily grasp; the hard part fell on the lyricists and composers. But dance—if your limbs lacked coordination, practicing it was truly brutal. The one who suffered was the person doing the practice!
Yanyan wasn't lying to Jing Ke; he genuinely did teach him. Among the Six Arts' six dances, even though he only taught the Yunmen Daquan, Jing Ke promptly gave up.
"This is martial arts of your Confucian School, I can't learn it!" Jing Ke stared at the Yunmen Daquan dance movements Yanyan demonstrated for him, his expression exceptionally grave.
"You're not just afraid you won't be able to learn it, are you?" Yanyan didn't take Jing Ke's words seriously. The Yunmen Daquan was simply one of the ritual song-and-dance pieces used in Confucian ceremonies, rumored to have been passed down from the era of the Yellow Emperor.
If this were considered Confucian martial arts, then Confucian disciples basically wouldn't have any distinction between the literary and martial arts.
"No, really, this dance contains the footwork, body movement, and sonic cultivation methods of Confucian martial arts. I can't learn it!" Jing Ke shook his head decisively.
Though he didn't know which specific branch of Confucian martial arts was contained within the Yunmen Daquan, it was undoubtedly a form of Confucian martial arts.
"There really is martial arts in it?" Seeing Jing Ke's serious expression, Yanyan began to harbor some doubts.
He knew that Confucian martial arts were embedded within the Fifteen Classics; for instance, the *Spring and Autumn Annals* contained top-tier Confucian swordsmanship, profound subtext, and Spring and Autumn swordsmanship.
However, he had no idea that martial arts could be found within the Six Arts of Music. If all six forms of music were martial arts, wouldn't that mean the Six Arts of Music were simply six sets of Confucian movement techniques and martial arts?
"I'm not mistaken. The reason Confucian scholars wear Confucian robes is precisely because Confucian martial arts rely heavily on footwork and body movements. The robes conceal their steps and stances, making them impossible for others to anticipate and leaving opponents defenseless!" Jing Ke earnestly explained aspects of martial arts that Yanyan was unaware of.