Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Sir, how much is this clock?”
“Don’t know.”
“I want this pocket watch, wondering…”
“I do not know, did you not hear that?”
“Sir, I think …”
“Get out, we are closed!” After turning away the sixth guest, the beastly man had Ye Qingxuan close the door coldly, and put on the ‘business closed’ sign, then continued to stay behind the front desk, and began to recite the alphabet with a stutter.
Next to him, Ye Qingxuan watched the customer that had been scared away and shook his head with a sigh. “How did this store survive until now?” Ye thought to himself. He was very curious, really.
–
After he stayed in the store for two days, Ye Qingxuan had gained a better understanding of the situation. The beastly man’s name was ‘Seton.’ He was not the owner of this place; he was not even interested in clocks or watches. Other than finding someone to clean up the store, he did not bother to maintain it, just leaving everything as it was. Doing business was just bullsh*t.
According to him, the owner of the store was neglecting his duty. He was traveling abroad, so Seton was only asked to watch over the store while he was gone. Speaking of this, he was quite agitated. His face was so gloomy that he looked like he wanted to tear the real owner apart. His whole body gave off a violent aura. He would have scared away any children walking down the street.
Ye Qingxuan completely understood why the owner asked Seton to watch the store.
With such a fierce warrior here, not even an army would dare coming in without at least two companies of troops, not to mention thieves.
In addition to spelling and reciting the alphabet, Seton did not usually talk much. He usually said about three sentences a day; two of them were for Old Phil.
Ye Qingxuan was not sure why Seton was so interested in reading. All day long he was obsessed with a fairy tale book. He had asked Ye Qingxuan to do the bookkeeping, which was really just teaching Seton how to spell and read. Occasionally he would make Ye be a janitor as well.
Ye Qingxuan was happy to have more free time. He would squat at the doorstep muttering runes, and reciting syllables. Unfortunately, he had made very little progress. Very little progress was actually an exaggeration; it was really more like no progress at all.
After a while, he started to feel distressed. After all, the resonance rate between himself and the aether was way too low. He felt the despair every time he remembered the psycho that was running naked on the street that night. That psycho could make the aether ball light up when he was vomiting. Why did Ye not have any skill despite practicing every day?
But in fact, Ye did know the real problem. “Sense the damn aether, sense,” he would say to himself.
He could not sense any aether. The standard syllable was so strict that the rate of breathing, as well as the number of vocal cord movements had to be precise. Even if everything was done according to the rules, you might not necessarily be successful. But if it was not done according to the rules, success would be absolutely impossible. Without adjusting oneself by sensing the change in aether, it was just taking a shot in the dark.
But with such a long contact period, and tens of thousands of recitations, even a shot in the dark would have hit the target a few times by now. But somehow, Ye Qingxuan had never once been successful.
“What is the matter huh…”
He lay on the ground in frustration, wishing he could roll around like Old Phil.
–
“Hey, Ye, go pick up the merchandise.” Behind the counter, Seton said, “18 Queen Boulevard, just find the manager there. The boss had placed an order there.” Seton put a pen in Ye’s pocket, “Just sign. The goods are expensive, worth ten of you, so do not steal anything or I will personally send you to the hospital.” Seton had spoken bluntly more than once or twice. It was rare to see someone as simple and straightforward as he was. Seton hated hypocrisy, and believed in being straightforward. If he said the goods were very expensive, then they must be very expensive. If he said he would send Ye Qingxuan to a hospital, he would send Ye Qingxuan to the hospital.
In this era, watches and clocks were still considered luxury goods. Large clocks and pocket watches had been things only the nobles could use. Additionally, everything in the store looked like a work of art with a great history. Some items even had patterns carved using enamel, and small pieces of precious stones. They seemed to be worth a lot of money. Any pocket watch was probably not worth ten children, but definitely worth eight.
“Uncle, this is my third day at work. You want me pick up such an important item? Is that a good idea?” Ye Qingxuan asked helplessly.
“You’ve got a point, but if you do not work, why am I keeping you here?” Seton sneered at him.
Ye Qingxuan hesitated, standing in place.
“What? Don’t know your way?”
“I do know a little.” Ye Qingxuan organized the words, “I heard that that’s an area for nobles, and nobles like to beat up people. What if they hit me?”
“Those kinds of nobles are already extinct in Anglo. Now the gentlemen are in style, and they may even give you two dollars out of pity,” said Seton coldly. “Do not try to be lazy.”
“It’s not quite safe to go from here, there may be trouble on the way…”
“This store is on the list with the Avalon police station, and the owner is also in touch with the Parliament. Just say the name of the store and no one will give you trouble.”
“Uh, I’m not feeling very well today.”
The way Seton looked at him, Ye Qingxuan could not speak anymore. Seton put down his book, and asked bluntly, “Have you stolen somewhere?”
“No.”
“Did you offend anyone there?”
“Uh, no.” Ye Qingxuan’s face turned bitter.
“Then why are you still here?” Seton sneered at him, lifting his hammer like fist, “Do you want me to walk you out?”
“I’m leaving now!” Ye Qingxuan went running.
–
“Sign on this sheet.” Outside of the grand hall, the housekeeper, an old man in a black suite pointed to the sheet. The old housekeeper had seemed very surprised by Ye Qingxuan’s arrival. Even after Ye had signed, the housekeeper was still looking at him and shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Qingxuan checked himself, “I have a dirty spot somewhere?”
“No, no, no.” The housekeeper stroked his beard, and suddenly asked, “It must not be easy working for Seton.”
“Well, it’s alright. Uncle is a good guy.”
“He seems to be fond of you.” The old man patted his shoulder. Using a wary tone he said, “The future of young people is always infinite.”
He did not know why, but Ye Qingxuan had a feeling that he was being trained in hell.
–
Under the afternoon’s burning sun, Ye Qingxuan walked along the busy streets, feeling a little tired.
Avalon was built on an island. The buildings were complex and dense, leaving no empty space. Even the sixteen suburbs on the smaller islands were all occupied.
The city hall divided Avalon into uptown, midtown, and downtown. These three divisions were subdivided into nine ring areas. Queen’s Boulevard was the most beautiful place among all of the ring areas. The famous area was located in the center of the third ring, Avalon’s golden area. Thirty percent of the entire population in Avalon worked to serve the people of this street. Silk and spices from the East, golden jewelry from India, fashion from the Burgundy empire could be seen everywhere. People would feel dizzy just being exposed to it all.
Ye Qingxuan felt a burst of strange familiarity. It had been many years, and things had changed so fast, like the popular trends between the nobles was no longer the same; however, everything was still unchanged in its heart. It was like a charming, attractive women, but with a cold heart.
This feeling was enough to bring back many painful memories, making him feel unconformable from the bottom of his heart. He no longer wanted to stick around. But when he thought of himself, he could not help but sigh, “Such bad luck.” He took out the aether ball from his pocket, played with it, looked at its silence, and thought that he might never figure this thing out in this lifetime. “How come you don’t glow?” He lifted it up to the sun, looking at its almost transparent material, feeling quite discouraged.
“Young master?” Someone softly asked behind him.
Ye Qingxuan’s body stiffened a bit. He felt a kind of familiar sense of suffocation coming back, making his face turn dreadful. He took a deep breath and looked back. In the crowded street, he saw an old woman with a basket, wearing a servant’s clothes. She was like a normal old woman, moving slowly, her eyes blurry.
Once she saw the kid look back, she was shocked. Her basket fell to the ground, melons rolled all over the place. She seemed to have seen something incredible. “Is that you, young master? Are you back?” She caught Ye Qingxuan’s hand, excited and spoke incoherently, “You finally came back. If the master knew he would…”
“I’m sorry, you got the wrong person.”
The old maid was stunned. She stared at Ye Qingxuan surprised and speechless.
“I am not a young master. You must be confused.” Ye Qingxuan bent over to help her pick up her fruits and vegetables on the floor, and put them in her hands. “I have to go, please do not waste my time.”
The old maid looked at Ye Qingxuan, disappointed. She bowed her head, “Sorry.” She did not say anymore. She held the basket and limped away. At times, she would look back at the boy, seeming very lost and sad.
It was not until much later that Ye Qingxuan was no longer able to see her in the crowd.
–
“Was everything alright?” Seton asked as Ye Qingxuan returned to the store.
“Yep.” Ye Qingxuan smiled, “Saw some things. I suddenly realized Avalon was really scary sometimes. You never know if you’ll run into something you don’t want to see.”
“If you do not want to go out, you can watch the shop.”
“That’s alright.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head, “At first I just thought it’d be too much trouble to go out, but now, it doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Oh, it’s good that you got used to it.”
“Where is Old Phil? Have you seen him?”
“It went out by itself. It seemed to have lost something.”
“Uh…” Ye Qingxuan thought of something, his expression became strange. Did Old Phil go to pick up some strange stuff again? He could not help but wonder.
–
Ye Qingxuan’s worries were proven correct again. Late that night, Ye Qingxuan was awoken by Old Phil’s barking at the backdoor. He yawned and got up to open the door. He sighed again. Had Old Phil restored its bad habit?
In the past, it had also been like this. It had always run around at night, bringing back a variety of strange things such as dead mice, dead rabbits, dead snakes, other people’s kids’ toys, or coins and pocket change on the ground. Not to mention, since Old Phil had developed this habit, Ye Qingxuan’s pocket was fuller than ever! But the bad thing was that what Old Phil decided to bring back was completely unpredictable! Just like those mysterious little jars sold by the Indians, you never knew what was hidden inside!
Old Phil barked, sounding even more anxious. Ye Qingxuan felt a sense of helplessness and unlocked the bolt, “Do not worry, do not worry, I’m opening the door for you. Come, let me see what you got…f*ck!”
Outside the door, Old Phil was squatting on the ground, proudly sticking out his tongue.
Ye Qingxuan was petrified.
