Chapter Six: The Moon Over Jiangnan, Voices of Cantonese in Ten Thousand Homes

“To spend a lifetime loving someone is like spending a lifetime dreaming a dream...”

Before crossing over, Ren Qian was not attractive and therefore compensated with flamboyance; he had no time for romance, and could only devote himself to reading, practicing instruments, and composing music. But to his surprise, these pursuits proved invaluable after his transmigration.

Indeed, the workings of fate and karmic cycles are unfathomable.

Sometimes Ren Qian couldn’t help but wonder: was this an illusion, or just another illusion?

“…It really doesn’t seem real…”

This song expressed his feelings perfectly. From the neighborhood to the dormitory, he hummed it non-stop. The song was like a potent wine, leaving an endless aftertaste—one that you needed to listen to on repeat, each time savoring a new layer.

With the joy of reincarnation in his heart, Ren Qian washed up and climbed into bed, preparing to sleep. Naturally, before closing his eyes, he checked the latest buzz on Weibo.

The Weibo post featuring “Boundless Skies” had already been reposted nearly a thousand times, with almost eight thousand comments. Considering Jiangnan University had only forty thousand students, it meant a quarter of the entire campus had encountered the song and fallen under its spell in just one day.

He scrolled through the comments—the first few pages were almost all praise. Many found the song deeply moving and enjoyable. But, as always, there were online trolls deliberately smearing it, calling it sensationalist, or accusing it of betraying five thousand years of Yanhuang culture. They postured on moral high ground, spouting nonsense.

This gave Ren Qian a clear picture of how impoverished the Empire’s music scene truly was. Only traditional styles were considered orthodox; everything else met with exclusion.

Ancient style, ancient style, ancient style—nothing but ancient style! For decades, little had changed, leaving the music world stagnant. Lately, not a single ancient-style song had swept the nation. And that was because such songs depended on brilliant lyrics.

Yet, true masters of classical lyrics were rare. The likes of Gu Long, Jin Yong, and other great lyricists had either passed away or retired…

But in hardship, change is born.

A few singers had begun to innovate, but their efforts were still shackled by the times, unable to truly dazzle the crowd—hence, their fleeting success.

Already, someone had posted the lyrics to “Boundless Skies” under the Weibo post, though not very accurately.

The comments were of a high caliber.

Ren Qian was secretly delighted, though his face remained calm as he scrolled.

From Birth to Death: “I heard this song on my son’s Weibo. They say real men don’t cry, but tears still welled up. As a native Cantonese speaker, I understood every word. The song overflows with a kind of optimistic despair for one’s ideals. In my youth, hadn’t I also fought with everything I had for my dreams? With a cooled heart, I drifted far away, chasing ideals through storms, unable to see them clearly in the mist. I too hesitated, wanted to give up, but after slapping myself a few times, I pressed on, never looking back! The drive of my youth, those dreams, though I have yet to reach boundless skies, this song has awakened in me that very dream once again…”

Winter’s Edge: “Five years of struggle in a distant land, all for the hope of returning home in glory. The line about a cooled heart drifting afar—it's as if all the flavors of life were upended at once. Is my heart truly cold? No! I still have dreams. Every morning, I eat two buns, then head to work, full of passion. But five years in, my dreams remain out of reach. This song appeared when I was at my lowest, and warmed my heart again. Thank you, let’s reach for boundless skies together!”

Learning from Setbacks: “To never give up on one’s ideals—how can one play a famous tune if their hands are unstained by blood? Only after three winters does the plum blossom.”

No More Rainy Days: “Today, I failed my 196th job interview, sat dejected on the curb, crying. I wanted to text my girlfriend for comfort, but after three hours with no reply, perhaps she’s tired of me. Despair made me think of ending it all. By chance, I saw this song on Weibo. The singer’s emotion moved me, and now I’ve pulled myself together—bowing in gratitude at ninety degrees!”

These were the most outstanding comments, the ones Ren Qian most wished to see.

A classic song must not only be widely sung and instantly popular, but also transcend time and space—like Shakespeare’s plays, where “a thousand readers see a thousand Hamlets.”

A truly immortal song allows listeners to connect with their own experiences, and compels them to share their stories.

“Boundless Skies” was just that in Celestial China, but here in the Empire…

Ren Qian’s heart was uncertain—not because he doubted the song, but because so many factors in the Empire were beyond his control.

For decades, Chinese style had dominated. Generation after generation of singers refused to innovate—perhaps there was too little intrigue or manipulation behind the scenes.

Ren Qian feared that the public would praise him but not support him, or that if a tidal wave of public opinion or a giant entertainment company targeted him as a trailblazer, people might lack the judgment to stand by him, leaving him besieged on all sides.

After all, every pioneer must endure setbacks and pay a price.

Clutching his phone, he silently vowed that with all the Cantonese classics he knew, he would surely change the stagnant music scene!

He also believed: “Boundless Skies” was no ordinary song.

The first time you hear it, you might be captivated by the rhythm; the second time, you marvel at the lyrics; the third time, you feel the band’s boundless love.

Ren Qian thought that was why, even after all these years since Ka Kui’s death, Beyond’s fans only increased, and no band in Celestial China had yet surpassed them.

“May you break through all obstacles and earn me the recognition I deserve!”

He mustered his resolve, then turned over and fell asleep.

…

Late at night, the men who had drifted south to Jiangnan City returned, weary, to their rented rooms.

How many nights had they sat silently on their beds, unable to see a future, their despair growing? How many times had they wept alone in the darkness, only to fall into exhausted sleep, waking the next day full of renewed determination to chase their dreams?

Yet, in fighting to the end, they gave everything they had—the sharpness of their youth gradually blunted by society’s grinding.

They were too tired, their frustration impossible to vent.

Music became one of their few remedies. Today, the official Jiangnan City Weibo promoted a song: “Boundless Skies.”

“A good song, beyond its musical power, also draws strength from the resonance it creates. Often we cry not because of the song itself, but because we hear our own stories within it.

So, the more ordinary, the more mundane, the more simple and true to life the story, the more devastating its impact. The song we recommend below has no ornate classical phrases—its lyrics are like a schoolchild’s composition. Yet for this very reason, its emotion is overflowing. After you listen, you’ll find that these lyrics are truly the best—most moving and sincere.”

So wrote the official Weibo, whetting everyone’s appetite.

“Tonight, I watched snow drift by in the cold night,
With a cooled heart, I drifted far away,
Chasing through wind and rain, unable to see the path in the fog…”

Ren Qian’s “resolute, collision-filled voice” poured out the song’s emotions, yet there was a hint of suppressed grievance. The way he handled the final notes, in the style of Wong Ka Kui, gave that grievance a unique flavor—his voice penetrated deep into the listener’s heart, making it hard to escape the melody’s grip.

That night, men who played the song, whether in different neighborhoods, different rental rooms, at different times, and in different moods, found themselves in tears, sobbing uncontrollably…

Reposts!

Comments!

Music reviews!

The song began to ferment online at an astonishing rate. No one knew who started it, but as netizens shared Ren Qian’s Weibo, they also added their stories.

One after another, dreamers fighting to improve their lives and pursue their ideals shared their struggles—some joyful, some sorrowful, some bittersweet. It was these stories that quietly gathered an immense power behind “Boundless Skies.”