Death Flute
Kencana Harp

Mr. Ouwyang Cu was saddened by the passing of his beloved granddaughter. Despite this, he secretly feels happy with the fact that Chien Wan is his grandson. Chien Wan's flute-blowing ability was incredible. His talent exceeded his in youth. With the revelation of Chien Wan's identity, it means that his position is legitimate as a candidate for Nada Valley Master.

So began Mr. Ouwyang galvanize Chien Wan with high-level silat sciences that will only be passed down to the prospective ruler of the Nada Valley. And Chien Wan trains with incredible perseverance, because only then can he forget his bitter past.

He also forgot the love he felt towards Ouwyang Ping.

***

Ouwyang Ping stepped down the path within the dense forest. Stuck move. He could not see the road before him because his vision was blurred by tears. Several times he hit the thorny bush. Her clothes were torn apart, her hair was in a mess. Her delicate skin was scratched by sharp thorns so that it bled. However, he did not feel any pain at all. The pain had taken hold of his heart so deeply that it was left to nothing else.

Because his eyes could not see clearly, he could not see that in front of him was a tree root. He tripped over the roots of the great tree until it rolled down. The harp slipped from his hand. His head hit the tree hard enough. Suddenly his view darkened. He also doesn't remember anything anymore.

When he realized, he was already on a stone bed with tiger skin. He was about to get up but his head hurt. He complained while touching his head. He felt a pretty big lump on his left forehead.

Someone who had been guarding him had immediately moved and approached him.

“Ping-er, are you okay?”

Ouwyang Ping blinked his eyes.

“Black Bats?”

The Black Bat nodded.

Ouwyang Ping looked around. This was the second time he had been helped by the Black Bats. This time he was taken to the cave. Then he was surprised to realize there was no treasure. “Harpaku!”

“This.” The Black Bat grabbed the golden harp that it placed on the small wooden table near the bed.

Ouwyang Ping was relieved, hugging the harp tightly. “Two times you helped me, twice you saved my harp. I don't know how to repay your bud.”

“You don't need to reply to anything. You're a good man, God will always protect you. It just so happened that I was passing by and was able to help you. I actually did not intentionally save you. As I passed through the forest, I saw a golden harp lying in the bushes. I know the harp and I know you can't leave without your treasure, so I'm guessing you're doomed. Then I looked for you and found you lying unconscious. Your head is bleeding and your body is injured. I'll take you right away,” Black Bat explained.

“Whatever your reason, you are my helper god.”

The Black Bat smiled shyly. Then his face turned serious. “Why did you fall and get hurt like this? Your clothes are torn with thorns here and there, your hair is disheveled. You're crying too, right?” tanyanya. His tone was very attentive.

That tone of voice made Ouwyang Ping's heart feel sliced. He remembered everything that had happened and could not help himself. Her crying exploded immediately.

“Eh, Ping-er?”

Ouwyang Ping cried until his shoulders shook.

“You alone? Where is Chien Wan? Why doesn't he take care of you? She's your lover!”

Ouwyang Ping's cry grew louder and more heartbreaking, making the Black Bats unable to stand it. He approached and tried to calm Ouwyang Ping down. “Good, good. Don't need to answer. You shut up, huh? Don't cry anymore. I'm so confused!” he was helpless.

Slowly, Ouwyang Ping's cries subsided. Now all that is heard is sobs.

The Black Bat did not ask anymore. He left Ouwyang Ping in search of food. In his heart he thought what was really going on. Did Ouwyang Ping part with Chien Wan? Did Chien Wan betray him? They used to be so close and seemed to love each other very much. Even he can see it. So what's going on?

The Black Bats patiently treated Ouwyang Ping until his wounds healed. He took good care of Ouwyang Ping, as if to his own daughter.

The treatment of this Black Bat made Ouwyang Ping very moved. From the moment he first met, he felt the Black Bats were very good to him and he felt close to the man. Since that painful event, he had no one to pour out his heart. His feelings are getting depressed until he can't take it anymore.

Finally he recounted the incident that befell him to the Black Bat, three days after he was with the man. Now he is calmer and more restrained so that he can tell everything smoothly and only faltered once in a while. He told me everything, that his Chien Wan—Kak Wan, his beloved girlfriend— turned out to be his half-sister.

“So... Chien Wan is your brother?”

Ouwyang Ping nodded slowly. His chest was still tight, but he did not want to cry anymore. Actually the pain is still too heavy, but now after he poured out his feelings he felt calmer. Much more calm.

Black Bats are very pitying. He was eager to comfort the girl, but did not know what to do.

“So what's your plan?”

Ouwyang Ping shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you have a destination?”

Ouwyang Ping shook his head.

For a moment they kept silent.

Ouwyang Ping took a breath. “I don't know where to go or what to do. I've left the Nada Valley. I don't want to be near Brother Wan. Just looking at it has been so painful for me.”

The Black Bat patted the girl on the shoulder. “You stay with me only.”

Ouwyang Ping was shocked and hesitant. “I... don't want to trouble.”

“You are not a hassle. Just... indeed this place of mine is not as luxurious as your house,” said the awkward Black Bat.

“I don't care. Your place is comfortable. Just... Are you sure I don't bother?”

“Of course you're not a hassle!” hatch the excited Black Bat. “You can stay at my place, later I will teach you the science of lightening the most powerful body! My silat science is far inferior to your family's silat science, but instead of bragging, the science of lightening my body is rarely comparable. You've seen the ability to lighten Chang Fei Yu's body, right? That's my upbringing!”

Ouwyang Ping looked at the astonishment. It seemed like the Black Bat had become extremely excited. It would be nice if he could learn body light science like Chang Fei Yu had. Since long ago he and his friends admired the agility and light movements of the young man who was far superior to all of them.

“How, do you want, don't you?” black Bats are worried.

“Of course. Thank you, Black Bats.”

The Black Bat smiled proudly.

A few days later, after Ouwyang Ping's health had fully recovered, the Black Bats began to train him. He tried to get the concentration of the girl fully poured into his practice so that he did not have time to think about other problems.

Ouwyang Ping practiced vigorously. He worked hard to master the sciences that the Black Bats taught him. He managed to turn his attention to the training. When he was training, he did not have time to think about anything else. His whole concentration was spilled on the exercises.

Not so when night comes. In the dark and silent atmosphere, his thoughts always drifted on Chien Wan. he always tried to close his eyes to expel Chien Wan's face. But the tighter he closed his eyes, the clearer Chien Wan's face and eyes were in his mind.

Therefore, the longer Ouwyang Ping the thinner and paler. His once charming face is now covered in cloud. Highlight his eyes that were once warm dazzling, now like closed and blocked by an iceberg.

But strangely enough, though Ouwyang Ping looked so thin, pale, and cold, she looked graceful like a goddess. Moreover, when he was plucking the strings of a harp with his fingers flattened while floating from one branch to another, he really looked like a fairy from kahyangan.

The Black Bat watched the girl turn little by little into what she is today.he greatly admired her elegance as well as her pity for her suffering. However his fortitude and rigour are praiseworthy. The other girl was not necessarily as resilient as she was in the face of this reality.

Day after day they go on adventures. They don't live in one place. The Black Bat invites Ouwyang Ping to travel with him from one forest to another. Sleeping in one cave to another. Black Bats prefer it if they are invisible to people, so it is Ouwyang Ping who is looking for food in the city when their supplies are up.

Ouwyang Ping became frequently seen everywhere. He also often helps people who are in distress and need help. But because he never introduced his name, gradually people began to know him only as ‘Harpa Kencana’.