Chapter 66: Confession Brings Leniency. You Have to Believe Me!

In the backstage, the bruised and battered Sijin skillfully reset his bones and used his fingers to comb through his disheveled hair, secretly rejoicing that this was not a video transmission and his swollen, bruised face didn't need to be seen by anyone.

Sili sat calmly to the side, looking not at all like the person who had just given his younger brother a brutal beating. His strikes had been so fast that Lin Zhao hadn't even had time to get angry... Well, considering that this old bird's lyrics didn't mention his name, the matter could just be let go.

The beating was over, but the concert still had to go on.

Sijin retrieved his small conch horn, stroked it affectionately, glanced at his older brother, and began to sing generously: "My older brother is the best in the world~ Raising and caring for me since I was small~ Now that I have grown up too~ I am willing to share your joys and sorrows. No matter how wild the wind and rain blow~ I will carry the road ahead with you~ Brother, oh, please don't worry anymore~ Your younger brother is always by your side! No matter how many hardships life brings~ I am willing to shield you from the cold. Our brotherly bond will never change, and I will walk far with you all my life~"

The lyrics were deeply affectionate, and every line was sweet and sincere, letting people know that he had the best older brother in the world, evoking empathy and a sense of envy in those who listened.

However, the Lord of Di State clearly failed to resonate. His fists clenched and unclenched, he endured and endured, until he could endure no longer, and finally stood up.

Frightened, Sijin took two steps back and instinctively hid behind Lin Zhao.

Sili took a deep breath and said to Lin Zhao, "I can't listen to this anymore. You watch him yourself."

He walked away, walking rather briskly.

"Tsk tsk tsk, my brother actually managed to endure until I finished singing," Sijin said with immense pride. "How rare, my brother is the shyest..."

Lin Zhao could not understand what there was to be proud of.

Yet, without his older brother around, Sijin instantly cast off his shackles, burst into a high note, delivered a dolphin-like whale sound as if showing off his skills, and began to sing a nursery rhyme: "Little birds fly, river water sings, good times in the baby's dreams. Stars are far, the moon is high, drifting slowly in the baby's dream..."

His voice possessed a touch of ventriloquism; this song was not sung in his own enchanting voice, but rather in the deep, hoarse, and magnetic tone of the Lord of Di State, coupled with a slight flatness in pitch...

In an instant, a sharp bone spear came flying from afar, piercing Sijin's shoulder strap in a split second and pinning him to the wall.

Lin Zhao instantly understood why he kept getting beaten and couldn't help showing his disdain: "If you cause trouble again, I won't let you sing anymore. I'll go on stage instead."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed instantly.

Even the spine spear pinning Sijin to the wall quietly pulled itself out, transformed into something resembling a sea cucumber, and hid in the shadows.

Everyone looked at Sijin with condemnatory gazes, and the Lord of Qigu State directly took over the young boy's body to speak out: "Most certainly not! There are millions of innocent citizens in front of this instrument!"

Sijin immediately begged for mercy: "No, no, no, I won't mess around anymore, I promise to sing obediently."

Seeing this, Lin Zhao grew even more annoyed and decided to practice his vocals with Sijin later to thoroughly study pronunciation techniques, especially that dolphin sound—it sounded truly wonderful, and using it as a mating song would certainly be marvelous! Birdsong was an innate instinct, and he was a divine bird as well; why should his talent be stripped away?

-

On the plaza in Di State, once that song about the good older brother was played, many brothers, relatives, and friends were instantly moved. Their usual brawling and fighting seemed to have become ancient legends, and many people even hugged each other and wept bitterly.

Weisheng Wu's younger brother and sister both hummed along: "Brother, oh, please don't worry~ Younger brother/sister is always by your side~"

Weisheng Wu felt his scalp tingle as he listened: "Stop dreaming, who wants you two around all the time! Shut up and listen properly!"

The surrounding audience began to hum and sing along as well. Although the lyrics were simple, the melody was extremely catchy.

Bairang nodded slightly: "No wonder they like listening to the Deputy Ruler sing."

"Why?" Weisheng Wu asked curiously, "Did you discover something?"

"After holding rituals and housing beast souls, a shaman's body becomes vastly different from that of ordinary mortals," Bairang could be considered well-traveled and knowledgeable. "Ordinary sacrificial songs and shamanic ballads are extremely difficult to sing; in fact, some sounds and words are simply impossible for a human body to produce, so their spread is naturally limited. Sijin's songs are different. His songs sound pleasant, and one can learn to sing them."

"That's precisely the logic!" An elderly couple nearby sat on small folding stools with smiles on their faces. "And the lyrics are very long, like telling a story. We especially love listening to his story-songs..."

A peddler nearby was struggling immensely to squeeze through the crowd, hawking melon seeds, peas, and dried fruits. Hearing this, he chimed in with support: "That's right, it's so rare to get to hear the Deputy Ruler's songs. What a pity there was no prior notice, otherwise how could I have prepared such a small stock of goods... Brother, pull your feet back, let me through..."

At this moment, the singing continued, and the high notes hummed by the Deputy Ruler seemed capable of awakening human souls. Many people closed their eyes, listening with an expression of pure enjoyment.

One by one, sacred wooden torches were lit, swaying with the melody like countless starlight. Some wandering shamans who had come to Di State to make a living disdained crowding into the plaza, so they quietly sat atop the clouds, feeling the blazing light of human nature shining across heaven and earth through the thin mist.

"We should buy a few such instruments," a young wandering shaman remarked with emotion. "After going out every day, sitting in a reclining chair in our own small courtyard and listening to this for a while, it feels as if the corrosion has drawn far away from me..."

"Indeed, listening to this song makes the mind much less tense. Where can this gadget be bought?"

"Who knows? Tomorrow, let's elect someone to go ask the Deputy Ruler."

...

This concert was not long, lasting about three hours before the Lord of Di State shut it down on the grounds that everyone still had work tomorrow and needed rest.

This excuse provoked strong protests from the audience in the plaza, forcing the Lord of Di State to come out and guarantee that there would definitely be a broadcast tomorrow and everyone didn't need to worry about missing it, which finally successfully pacified them—the credibility of the Lord of Di State was much higher than that of the Deputy Ruler; if it were the Deputy Ruler making promises, they certainly wouldn't believe it.

However, the broadcast ending did not mean the matter was over.

From the day the sound-transmitting instrument was put up, the area around it practically turned into a "happy home."

From the moment Sijin's singing began, everyone swarmed toward the plazas everywhere like bees smelling flower nectar. Some people simply abandoned their designated spots, and the area closest to the machine became prime real estate, with people secretly reselling spots at high prices, virtually forming a miniature "music festival."

The next day, the situation became even more exaggerated. Many residents living extremely far from the machine had to walk for four or five shifts of time, bringing their families along to listen, to the extent that the small plazas capable of holding only one or two thousand people became crowded and chaotic.

Neighbors living along the streets began to unite in xenophobia, with a quite reasonable excuse: "This is where we live, and we do not welcome you outsiders!"

There was no help for it. After all, Di State had a population of over twenty million. Aside from tens of thousands of powerful individuals who had become shamans, the vast majority were ordinary people leading mundane lives.

Aside from harboring some childhood memories of being eliminated by the learning academies, their exposure to the outside world was extremely narrow. Most of their days were spent tending golden leaf bamboo, excavating various mines, tending to spirit beast gardens, and processing ashes and materials collected from beyond the borders. A single livelihood could last from birth to death—monotonous and impoverished, with their only hope being that one of their descendants might truly become a shaman to bring a change to their lives.

Yet shamans were hard to come by; the vast majority of people exhausted their potential merely at the stage of shamanic servants, let alone shamanic disciples or full shamans.

Now, they could actually listen to the songs of a Heavenly Shaman...

That was, after all, a Heavenly Shaman!

To citizens whose greatest contact was merely a shamanic instructor from the academy, a Heavenly Shaman was a deity beyond imagination. How could one miss the songs of a deity? Furthermore, the songs were so touching, striking straight to the hearts of people.

Especially within the instrument, where the Deputy Ruler actually received a round of "brotherly loving education" from the Lord of Di State, dragging Sijin away from the microphone. Whenever it was brought up, the audience would laugh uproariously, believing this accidental little episode was even more wonderful than the Deputy Ruler's singing!

Many people were still analyzing just how powerful the shaman mentioned in the instrument was—the one who said, "I won't let you sing anymore, I'll go on stage instead"—to be able to scare the Deputy Ruler into immediate obedience, coupled with being cautioned that "the citizens are innocent." Just how terrifying must his singing have been?

"...I really want to hear it. It's not that I don't believe the person sings powerfully, I just want to broaden my horizons!" Weisheng Wu's seven-year-old younger sister handed Bairang a shelled bean, her face filled with excitement. "Don't you think so, Brother Rang?"

Bairang maintained a expressionless face, accepted the beans, scooped in some salt, and then picked up the little girl, preparing to lock her in a dark room amidst her bewildered and panicked gaze.

However, the young guest eating at their house's eyes lit up: "Bairang, wait, don't go!"

Lin Zhao pulled his hand away from Weisheng Wu's chest and walked enthusiastically up to the little girl: "Little sister, do you really want to listen?"

The innocent little girl blinked naively and said excitedly under Weisheng Wu's despairing gaze, "I want to!"

Ji Yaoguang tried to dissuade him by his ear: "A-Zhao, she's still a child!"

"What does that matter? Before I even awakened, I used to sing 'The Lone Brave' to little kids too," Lin Zhao justified, touching his neck. "As long as I maintain the performance from that time and don't trigger resonance with my true form, nothing will go wrong! Besides, even if I do sing, isn't it just clearing out some corrosion? Going to find a medical shaman costs money anyway!"

Thinking this made sense, Ji Yaoguang smiled and stepped back: "What A-Zhao says makes sense. Songs like this should be sung more often."

Bairang gave a slight hiss, his expression shifting slightly as he picked up the infant in the nearby cradle and fled through the window. Weisheng Wu was about to run when Ji Yaoguang smiled and blocked his path: "How can you leave? You still have to coax your younger sister later!"

Weisheng Wu slammed his head against the wall in despair: Then who is going to comfort me?!

...

"It can still be sung out, after all," Lin Zhao muttered in his courtyard, touching his throat thoughtfully. "If I start off restraining myself, there's no problem, but if it exceeds five seconds, it instinctively triggers resonance. I actually grew a sounding bone!"

He grabbed Ji Yaoguang's hand and pressed those slender fingers against the first collarbone just below his own neck: "Touch it, is it there?"

That skin was smooth and soft, carrying the body temperature of a youth. Although that warmth wasn't scorching, it was hot enough to curl the other's fingers, yet he still wanted to press closer...

"Indeed. A totem lord will possess the core ability of their totem, known as symbiosis," Ji Yaoguang restrained his wandering thoughts, carefully pressing his fingers against that bone as a gentle shamanic power spread outward. "Growing a sounding bone is no big deal; I can grow melons and fruits, after all."

"So, in reality, shamans and humans can already be considered two different species," Lin Zhao mused. "Is this also a form of feathering and ascension?"

Ji Yaoguang nodded slightly, falling silent for a moment: "A-Zhao, after a few days, would you be willing to come with me to the Shamanic State?"