81: Li Gui

Qi Huaiyi stared blankly at the video, humming along to the song, but his mind was occupied with finding a Breakthrough in his investigation.

It seemed to him that the best course of action would be to fly directly to Fengyang County to meet Long Yuan, and then subtly probe him to uncover all his background, but he quickly dismissed this approach!

Because he knew very well that to build a good relationship with someone, one must never appear too utilitarian in front of them.

If Long Yuan discovered that Qi Huaiyi was only coming to curry favor and invest in him because he had found out about his potential and future prospects, then Long Yuan would have reason to believe that if he ever lost his usefulness, Qi Huaiyi might abandon him, or even step on him!

Therefore, such a utilitarian approach was undoubtedly the worst possible move!

Conversely, if one could offer timely help when Long Yuan was in distress, or approach him in a comfortable, gentle manner before he even realized anything, naturally developing a friendship, and then gradually increasing contact and deepening the friendship, then everything that followed would be a matter of course.

The saying 'nurturing things silently' refers to this very principle!

However, what Qi Huaiyi didn't know was that he had long been on Long Yuan's priority tracking list; the Heavenly Dao Eye had been closely monitoring and capturing his every move, so his every action was under Long Yuan's watchful eye.

Whether he was being eager for quick success or gentle as a spring breeze, his intentions had actually been known to Long Yuan from the start...

“Oh? This instrument?! It’s called… a guitar, isn’t it?” Qi Huaiyi’s eyes suddenly lit up!

He realized that he seemed to have seen this instrument, which Long Yuan called a “guitar,” once or twice before.

It was an instrument held by a foreign superstar during a performance; the style was similar, but almost no singers in China had ever used it this way.

However, judging by Long Yuan’s proficiency in playing it, it was impossible that he hadn’t put in years of hard practice.

And considering Long Yuan’s age and the existing information, the period when he encountered and practiced this instrument should have been when he was very young.

He immediately called Geng Yun to inquire and learned that Long Yuan had temporarily found this instrument in Qin Fu Yi’s song and dance hall’s equipment room, and none of the Qin Family artists knew how to use it.

This instrument had been gathering dust in the warehouse for a long time, and the Qin Family referred to it as a Spain guitar, supposedly introduced from the country called Spain.

“So it’s a foreign instrument?!” Qi Huaiyi’s spirits lifted.

In his opinion, this instrument might be one of the Breakthroughs in this investigation!

Because foreign instruments are extremely rare, and even fewer people know how to use them, and even fewer can play them as well as Long Yuan.

So where would such instruments and instrumentalists typically appear?

Only in high-end nightclubs, performance bands, musical families, Dao forces, or the residences of various court officials and the Royal family.

And what surfaced in Qi Huaiyi's mind at this moment was the Royal Music Bureau!

In the Great Ming Dynasty, the Royal Music Bureau was also called the Music Workshop Division, and it was also divided into North and Southern Divisions.

The North Division was in the Northern Capital Shuntian Prefecture, while the Southern Division was in the South Capital Yingtian Prefecture, which is where Qi Huaiyi was located.

As a fierce general of the Qi Family, Qi Huaiyi naturally knew about the Southern Royal Music Bureau, and due to his case work, he also knew many people in the Music Bureau, including its director, Li Gui...

Early the next morning, Qi Huaiyi arrived at the location of the South Music Bureau, and upon hearing of his visit, Li Gui quickly came to meet him.

Li Gui was a famous musician of the Great Ming Dynasty, later promoted to Director of the South Music Bureau.

This position of Director was directly subordinate to the Royal Ministry of Rites, and its status was quite high, equivalent to a provincial-level head!

But Li Gui dared not neglect Qi Huaiyi; one must know that Qi Huaiyi was a member of the Southern Division of the Jianxuan Envoy Department, and the Jianxuan Envoy Department held the privilege of investigating and handling cases, so no one dared to easily offend them.

As the saying goes, 'gods are easy to fool, but little devils are hard to deal with,' Li Gui clearly understood that people like Qi Huaiyi, who wielded special executive power, were the ones most important to befriend and never to offend...

“So it’s Brother Qi who has arrived! I apologize for not coming out to meet you! Pardon me! Pardon me!!!” Li Gui greeted him warmly.

“Ah, Brother Li, you are too kind; it is I who am intruding!” Qi Huaiyi quickly replied.

“Haha, I wonder what advice Brother Qi has for me today?”

“How could I dare, how could I dare? Can’t I come here if I have nothing to do?”

“Ah ha… Of course you can, you can, Brother Qi, please come in!!!”

The two exchanged pleasantries and walked all the way to Li Gui’s office building, which, though called an office building, was actually a rather large palace hall, exclusively for Li Gui.

The people there, seeing them enter, all bowed respectfully and reverently...

Upon arriving at the reception hall, the two sat down, and soon servants brought tea, fruit, and snacks...

“It’s rare for Brother Qi to be in such high spirits today; how about having some musicians perform?” Li Gui said with a smile.

“Brother Li, your words are exactly what I was thinking.

By the way, I recently saw an instrument whose sound I found quite pleasing.

I wonder if our Music Workshop Division has such an instrument?” Qi Huaiyi said, taking out his phone, tapping a few times, and a light screen popped up, showing the image of a guitar.

“This is a Spain guitar.

I wonder where Brother Qi saw this instrument?” Li Gui asked, surprised, upon seeing it.

“A young friend of mine was playing this instrument.

I have a video of him performing; Brother Li might want to take a look…”

“What? A young friend of yours can play this instrument? Let me see quickly!” Li Gui said, greatly interested.

Qi Huaiyi operated his phone a few times, a light image popped out, and the video began to play...

Long Yuan’s opening posture made Li Gui’s eyes widen; with his experience, he could naturally tell that this was definitely a seasoned musician!

The prelude began, and Long Yuan performed with fierce skill, plucking, strumming, hitting the strings, tapping the strings, single-finger plucking, two-finger plucking, single-hand arpeggios, two-hand continuous plucking...

Li Gui stood up in shock; such pure and skilled technique actually came from the hands of a young man in his early twenties.

No wonder he couldn't even sit still!

“Tomorrow, will you remember”

“The diary you wrote yesterday”

“Tomorrow, will you still miss”

“The you who used to cry the most”

“...”

The singing was dreamlike and picturesque, stunning the years and dappling time, pulling the two into their most beautiful youth, reliving those golden years...

For Li Gui, he naturally had a more acute sense of music, so this song touched him immensely.

His own Dao talent in music was also stimulated by the music at this moment, as if every musical factor in his body became active, bursting with vitality, and fully integrating with the music and singing, causing his entire being to be enveloped by the atmosphere of this music...

A powerful Profound Qi flow came from all directions, swirling around Li Gui, yet he himself was completely unaware.

If Qi Huaiyi hadn't been prepared to protect the items in the hall, they would have been blown into disarray...

“La la la la la la la… la…”

The song ended, its lingering notes echoing, and Li Gui remained immersed in the afterglow of the music for a long time...

“Brother Li! Brother Li?! Brother Li?!!!” Qi Huaiyi called out.

Li Gui suddenly woke up, realizing he was standing and that the surrounding Profound Qi was quite chaotic.

He immediately understood that he had unknowingly fallen under its sway!

“Who?! Who is this young man? Brother Qi, you must let me meet him, no matter what!” Li Gui said with immense excitement.

...