It was finally falling dark. The night sky was shrouded with black clouds. It was a lightless night. Everything was enveloped in darkness. Somewhere in the complex downtown, Ye Qingxuan curled into himself inside of a shoddy hut, breathing painfully.
His leg felt like it was broken. He could not run at all, but he was still surrounded by coldness. That feeling was called…fear. Grinding his teeth and swallowing blood, the beast paced in the darkness, following the prey’s trail.
Ye Qingxuan did not know if he had really escaped. The cursed singing was still in his ears, making it impossible for him to relax.
“God, please give me mercy. I kneel in the river of souls, attempting to wash away the dirtiness! God, please give me salvation. I am waist-deep in curses. Can you hear my pleas?
“God, please give me your blessing. I am neck-deep in blood. I beg for relief…Lalala, lalala!, lalala…The god in the song, take me back to heaven…lalala…”
The demonic song sent shivers down his spine and he could not stop trembling.
How much time had passed? He did not know. He did not even have time to think about how long the ridiculous hunt had gone on for. The moment he saw the beast, he realized that every unbelievable story in the files and records were true. Only something so terrifying could leave behind those stories. Why did something so messed up exist in Avalon? And why would it want him?
As heavy steps sounded nearby, he stopped breathing. He had been trying to get rid of the creature for the entire afternoon to no avail. Whether he charged into a crowd of people, jumped into the sewer, or hid inside an abandoned factory, nothing could get rid of the creature on his tail.
A bloody trail would be left from the crowd of people. When he snuck out of the sewer, he heard the scary song that followed like a shadow. When he ran into the abandoned factory, it was like he had stepped into the beast’s hunting ground.
He tried everything to kill the beast with frost arrows, fire hand. He had even fired a military bow and arrow at the beast, but nothing had worked.
He had hit the mark. The arrow had buried into the beast’s chest completely. But the creature had methodically sawed open the wound, plucked out the arrow in his stomach, and tossed it onto the ground. That was when Ye Qingxuan understood that the beast was a beast because it could not be killed!
—
In the darkness, the pacing footsteps finally faded. But the song was still ringing in his ears, and he could not relax. Panting, he felt the gaping wounds on his body. Just getting scraped by the bone saw would be enough to turn him into a bloody pulp. If he did not grit his teeth and freeze the wounds, he would have died from blood loss long ago.
The beast had had multiple chances to kill Ye Qingxuan throughout the afternoon, but it kept toying with him, making him run along the line between life and death as if playing with food on its place.
“F*ck,” he muttered, clenching his fist in anger. But before he could finish cursing, familiar vibrations thudded in his chest and he looked down reflexively. Then he heard a shattering sound. Behind him, the hut was being demolished by the bone saw!
Everything in the saw’s path was split into two. If Ye Qingxuan had not lowered his head, he also would have been demolished.
In the darkness, the voice sang and blood flowed. A ghastly light shone down from somewhere, illuminating the angry shadow. No matter where Ye Qingxuan ran, he would be under the beast’s shadow with nowhere to escape.
“Motherf*cker, I’m going to fight you!” He suddenly stood still and glared at the beast. “What’s the point of chasing me? Kill me if you can!”
The beast seemed to be shocked by his courage and froze in it’s spot.
Eyes full of anger, Ye Qingxuan quickly began to chant. Shimmering aether gathered from the sky. A blurry rune sharpened in his heart. He secretly pressed the button on the Double Snake Time Meter in his pocket, activating the power within. In an instant, his sense of aether had doubled, and the aether in his hands grew restless.
As the aether grouped, the youth clenched his fist and charged toward the beast with a roar. As if applauding his courage, the Bloody Butcher did not move.
The eerie song became clearer. The creature raised his bone saw, waiting for the youth to run to his death. But Ye Qingxuan suddenly halted and threw something at the beast.
Under the mask, the Butcher’s eyes squinted, blinded by the sudden brightness. As the aether left Ye Qingxuan’s hand, it had finally formed a rune. Rubbing against each other, the aether radiated gloriously. Increased efficiency application—Light! “Fight? Watch me throw all my runes at your face!” Ye Qingxuan thought.
The Butcher reflexively shielded his eyes with his hand, but the youth stayed where he was. He raised his hands and frantically began to chant again. Instantaneous rune—Mirror!
Staggered mirrors appeared out of thin air. Grouping together, they created a matrix surrounding the Butcher. The explosive light magnified, shooting down. There was nowhere for the Butcher to run!
Roaring, the Butcher swung his saw. As the mirrors shattered, the light source also disappeared. But when the light dimmed, the youth was gone. He escaped?!
His proud laughter still rang in the air. It felt so f*cking good to pretend to be powerful and then run away!
The Butcher roared and swung the saw crazily, obliterating the hut. After a long time, the beast finally calmed down. He walked soundlessly into the shadows, and followed the faint trail of breathing straight in the direction of the youth. The maze-like downtown was his hunting ground, and there was no way a lost youth could escape! But as he followed the smell of blood and finally tracked the youth, his steps halted.
—
The Butcher stood outside a cluster of abandoned buildings, looking at the ground. Under his feet were meandering cracks like something left behind by the chaotic slashing of knives. Blood seeped from within the cracks. A tinge of sweetness snaked into the air.
At a glance, there was nothing special about the cracks. But the Butcher bent down to study it. Regret flashed through his eyes. It was a mark.
Like beasts marking their territory, the creatures of Avalon did the same. This was the sign of the predators. Once past it, it would be a fight to death.
The Butcher straightened and left. His scratchy sigh floated in the wind, as if pitying the youth who had voluntarily jumped into hell. The Butcher may have prefered to eat quickly, but there were some creatures that liked to carefully prepare their meals.
—
In the rubble, Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the ground panting, unable to get up again. He had used all of his strength. If the creature caught up to him again, he would not have the energy to run anymore. He would probably just give up.
Lowering his head in despair, he closed his eyes and waited for death. But after a long time, the Bloody Butcher had still not arrived. He prepared himself to see the beast right in front of him when he opened his eyes. But when he opened them, there was nothing before him. The Bloody Butcher was gone. He had escaped?
Unable to believe it, he froze. After a while, he could not resist the urge to laugh. It was seriously like a joke. He had gone to buy marbles, but somehow run into a gang war, somehow been chased, somehow was carrying a hidden treasure, somehow was chased by a beast for so long. “What the f*ck even is all this?”
Restraining his anger, he pushed himself up with difficulty and walked, holding the wall. No matter what, it was over. But reality quickly slapped him in the face. Over? Keep dreaming!
In the deep night, he gazed around at the rubble all around him, trying to find out where exactly he was. And then came an eerie sound. His footsteps halted and he turned back, listening carefully.
Carried by the wind, it sounded like crying, full of sadness and pain. The cries spread in the darkness, wrapping around him like strands of hair. Staring into the direction of the cries, Ye Qingxuan decided quickly to stop. He turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction. F*ck cries! He had had enough!
Gradually, the crying disappeared, but his steps also slowed. In the end, he could not even raise his foot. Was it really good to leave like this? Shouldn’t he at least go take a look? Even though that was how characters died in horror stories. Why was someone crying with the lost souls in this empty place so late at night?
He stood wordlessly in the darkness, looking back. It was empty and silent behind him.
“If I die, it’s going to be because I’m stupid.” Ye Qingxuan scratched his face in frustration and kicked over some garbage while screaming. He turned toward the direction of the cries.
The painful cries sounded again. Closer and closer. Closer and closer. Ye Qingxuan held his breath as he crept nearer. Flattening himself against the wall, he peered out from the corner at the source of the cries. The ground was covered in blood.
A naked corpse lay on the ground, fresh blood pooled around it. The eyes of the cold body stared up into the black sky. She looked like a typical prostitute from downtown. Her cheap dress was torn and had been dyed red from the blood. The deep red made the ragged dress seem more expensive, full of stunning beauty.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” A frail figure kneeling in the puddle of blood choked out, “Sorry…” The voice was weak and in pain. It sounded like a girl, but her thin figure was hidden under a cloak. All Ye Qingxuan could see was a strand of golden hair that fell from under the hood. But she was a living person. Thankfully, she was a living person.
Ye Qingxuan let out a sigh in relief and walked out from the corner. He gazed around in caution, but besides the girl, the place was empty. It was good; he could attack and retreat.
Taking a deep breath, he walked over carefully, ready to flee at the smallest sign of danger. But nothing strange happened, even as he approached the girl.
She was still kneeling in the puddle, sobbing and choking out an apology. “I wanted to help you, I’m sorry…”
“Hey, are you okay?” Ye Qingxuan gulped and lightly touched her shoulder. The crying girl flinched in shock. Her entire body stiffened, trembling with fear.
Taken aback, Ye Qingxuan withdrew his hand awkwardly. “Don’t be scared. I’m not a bad guy. I just saw you crying. Can I help you?”
“Did you touch me?” The girl spoke with her back facing him. Her voice was fragile, but there was no longer any trace of fear. Instead, there was unrestrainable anger.
“Huh?”
She turned her head stiffly, her neck cracking. The voice that came from the dark hood was distant and scratchy, like delirious cries after waking from a nightmare. “You-just-touched me?”
“I’m sorry, I…” Ye Qingxuan reflexively tried to explain himself, but his voice suddenly broke off. When the girl moved away from the corpse, he finally saw the whole body.
The dead prostitute stared up lifelessly at the sky. Under the dim light, two shriveled breasts sagged limply on each side because her entire chest had been carved open. Two rows of ribs reached out to the sky like an infant’s hands. The intestines were placed neatly on the ground beside the body.
Still in the puddle of blood, the girl held a shriveled heart in her hand. The heart was almost squeezed to the point of bursting in the angrily clenched fist. The scene seemed so familiar to Ye Qingxuan.
Shadowed by the hood, the face slowly rose. Fury filled the two beastly eyes, “You want to dirty me too…you dirty…”
Ye Qingxuan ran without hesitation.
—
Not even ten minutes after getting the Butcher off his heels, he had began to run for his life again. He probably broke the record for the worst luck in Avalon today! First, he had run into a gang fight and was chased by the Bloody Butcher. Then, because he was stupid, he had run into Avalon’s legendary Ripper!
Avalon’s Ripper! The murderous monster from Whitechapel Church! The one who liked to dissect victims while they were still alive and take their inner organs. He could never forget the pictures from the files! First the Bloody Butcher, then the Ripper…were these lunatics so bored that they all came downtown to play?
Before he could take three steps, a crazed scream sounded behind him. The piercing sound was filled with fury and murderous intent, almost breaking his eardrums.
Ye Qingxuan really wanted to cry, “What are you angry about? I’m too tired to be angry, alright! This isn’t the East, where a girl can’t be touched by a stranger, and you’re not some lady either. How are you going to live if you get this angry just because I touched you?!” he wanted to yell back. But before he could speak, a crash sounded from behind. Ye Qingxuan looked back in shock to see the wall and floor shatter under the frail figure’s bare hands!
As if hacked by an invisible ax, cracks appeared under the furious scratching. A sharp crack snaked toward Ye Qingxuan. If not for his fast reflexes, he would have been split in half by the invisible ax.
Inhaling the cold air, Ye Qingxuan sped up, but the shadow behind him stayed in its place. Watching him run away, she murmured to herself, “Purify, purify…”
When he had finally lost the shadow and made a few more turns, Ye Qingxuan let himself relax. But before he could catch his breath, he heard footsteps getting closer.
“Purify…” The figure was suddenly there, walking toward him with empty hands. As “he” or “she” or “it” walked, everything—stone tiles, walls, abandoned houses, insects on the ground—in its path was sliced into tiny pieces.
“What do you want?!” Feeling a gust of cold air hit the back of his head, Ye Qingxuan turned and started running again. As he had predicted, the Ripper was in front of him again after a few hundred meters.
“…You dirty monsters must be purified…for this world…” the Ripper murmured, walking toward Ye Qingxuan.
“For what?” Going crazy, Ye Qingxuan could not stop himself from yelling, “If you really want to help the world, go and fix yourself!” But then his vision blurred and the shadow was right in front of him. He stepped back reflexively. A formless pressure sliced his finger. Blood flew through the air in an arc and landed within the creature’s hood.
Freaked out, Ye Qingxuan instinctively curled into a ball. But he realized that he had not been sliced in half as he had expected.
As if sensing the liquid on her face, the Ripper raised a white finger, feeling the wetness. The blood seemed to have some strange allure to her. She licked the fresh blood on her finger and froze. “This is…blood?” the Ripper murmured. “Why…is it your blood?” She sank into confused intoxication as if the youth’s blood was some type of poison, or was sweet like a drug.
Ye Qingxuan took this chance to quietly retreat. Seeing that she did not react after a few steps, he turned and ran. He swore to himself that if he survived this, he would never get curious about crying sounds at midnight ever again!
Maybe there was something wrong with his senses or something really had happened to her. After a long time, he had still not run into the eerie shadow. Did he really lose her?!
Panting, he walked down an alley, wandering around the odd city like a headless fly. Finally, his eyes lit up after he made a turn. He had finally found a familiar street. Princess Street, named after Anglo’s second princess, was one of downtown’s main streets. It meant that he was almost out of downtown and was not far from midtown where the academy was. A bit further was the police department. He could faintly hear the clattering of the surveillance police’s horses.
—
As always, the city was shrouded in fog. Every night, condensation would come with the sea wind, turning into fog as the temperature dropped. The fog was like a white sheet, layering and covering the entire city—like the white sheet put over a corpse.
It was late at night. Other than the street lights being extinguished, the only sounds came from an occasional carriage, and the distant crashing of waves. As the clock tower struck eleven, storefront lights dimmed one by one. The city slowly fell into slumber.
“It’s finally over,” Leaning against a wall, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his numb face and screamed. No matter what, his unlucky day was about to be over. But he had forgotten something—the day was not over until midnight.
—
Suddenly, a gust of sea wind blew and the fog grew even heavier. The slightly obscured image in the distance disappeared. In an instant, the fog thickened and blinded almost everything. Light from an unknown source illuminated the fog, turning it the white of fresh bone.
In order to not get run over by a carriage, Ye Qingxuan could only walk with a hand on the wall. As if a sewer had been broken, he stepped through a buildup of water. Splashing sounds filling the air. According to his mental map, he just had to walk toward higher ground. Thankfully, the Tower Bridge was right ahead. Once he crossed the Tower Bridge, he could say goodbye to all of this and enter midtown! With this in mind, he sped up, walking forward in the fog.
Through the fog, the vague silhouette of the tall bridge began to appear. But there were no police patrolling it. The copper gate before the bridge that should have been shut at night was not locked either, causing Ye Qingxuan to turn pale. Where did everyone go?
Standing before the gate alone, he looked around suspiciously. There was nothing in the heavy fog. He finally realized that he had not seen anyone in a long time—not a single person!
At some point in time, everything had turned still. Night was supposed to be still, but there was nevertheless sound in that stillness. There should have been the howl of the wind, insects crawling in the dirt, and the sound of the crashing waves under the bridge. But now, all sound had disappeared as if the world had asphyxiated. He finally realized something was wrong, but he did not know what. It was as if the entire world was different from the one he had known.
Soundlessly, a gust of wind came from afar, rippling through the fog. For an instant, the clouds and fog were blown apart and moonlight shone down on the still world.
Ye Qingxuan raised his head, studying the moon. The pale blue moonlight fell into his eyes, reflecting the menacing contour. Tonight, the Indigo Moon that represented disaster was high up in the sky.
The entire city was in a nightmare. The Indigo Moon shone down from the sky, illuminating the suddenly menacing world. It also illuminated the blood-red puddle under Ye Qingxuan’s feet.
Behind the Tower Bridge, the city revealed its sharp ridges in the dark night. It was completely different during the day. After losing all light and color, Avalon became an entirely different city. Its silhouette was sharp and menacing, like a demon reaching out for the sky. The distant fog shifted and changed according to the silhouette. It looked like a reflection of hell…
The stillness was shattered by a sharp sound. In front of Ye Qingxuan, the closed copper gate was pushed open by an invisible force. Moaning and creaking, it suddenly opened! Angry winds came from the other side of the city, bringing with it the smell of something rotten. The coldness in the wind sucked away Ye Qingxuan’s strength and he practically collapsed.
“Seriously what is this?” He looked down at the ‘puddle’ beneath him. Illuminated by the Indigo Moon, the puddle was a glistening crimson redness. The red liquid flowed continuously from the other side of the Tower Bridge like a river. It came from the peak of the city, flowed through the entire city, crossed the bridge, quietly went past the youth’s feet, and finally disappeared into the fog behind him. The bloody water meandered soundlessly, leaving behind a trail dyed red…a blood path!
“Blood path?” His face stark white, Ye Qingxuan stumbled back. He finally knew where he was. According to legends, ‘Avalon’s Shadow,’ which hid King Arthur’s treasure, was hidden in the shadow of this city, but no one had ever found it. If one wanted to find the city hidden in the world of nightmares, one must find the key to the lock—a path made of blood. A…blood path!
“It’s all real?” Ye Qingxuan looked down at the fresh blood flowing under his feet. He felt like he was in a hyper-realistic nightmare. So all the legends were true, everything they said was true, Avalon’s Shadow really existed, and he…really was at it’s entrance! He had spent an entire day running for his life, but he found this blood path and walked into hell. So…
“What the f*ck even is all this?!” he roared angrily at the other side of the bridge. “I don’t even want to see you! Why do you have to drag me into this? I don’t care about the stupid treasure! Get it away from me!”
Of course, Avalon’s Shadow did not reply. The demonic city was still menacing under the moonlight, but the Indigo Moon dimmed gradually, as if its tired eye had closed.
As he glared angrily, Ye Qingxuan’s vision suddenly blurred. Falling into a daze, a shapeless force shook his body.
The Indigo Moon disappeared while he was in that drowsy state. The blood path under his feet stopped flowing, dried, and disappeared. The heavy fog shook crazily as if an outside force was moving it.
“Yezi! Yezi!”
He heard someone calling his name. Everything around him trembled and changed as if the nightmare was about to end, and the demonic world was collapsing. The fog dissipated quickly. Everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, everything was back to normal.
“Yezi, are you okay?” Charles grabbed his shoulder, shaking the disoriented youth. “Yezi? Yezi? Can you hear me?” He stared at the blank youth, shaking a hand before him. “What happened?”
“Senior?” Ye Qingxuan gazed dumbly at Charles’ stupid and annoying face. He really wanted to punch him, but he also found him so lovable at that moment.
“You’re finally awake. Are you okay?” Seeing that he had recovered, Charles let out a sigh in relief. “How come you disappeared in the blink of an eye? I searched the entire city for you. I thought a human trafficker had taken you. Are you sure you’re okay? You have wounds all over…”
Ye Qingxuan looked around. Everything was familiar but still felt strange. “Senior, where am I?”
Charles sighed. “Idiot, you’re in Avalon of course.”
“Which Avalon?”
“Are there two Avalons in this world?”
“…There better not be.” Ye Qingxuan smiled with difficulty. But his vision darkened. When his tense nerves finally relaxed, he fell unconscious. He had had enough of this unlucky day.
—
In downtown, on a still street under the fog, a beam of cold moonlight illuminated even the darkest place. The Professor waited wordlessly under the ghastly light.
Behind him, the darkness shifted and a menacing figure appeared slowly. The Butcher had returned. He held a broken bone saw in his left hand, but his right hand was empty. According to the agreement, he should have brought back the Eastern kid. But he returned alone, empty-handed. The eyes behind the donkey mask were still wild, but no longer red, like a tired beast.
“You actually failed?” The Professor studied him. His gaze full of contempt and mockery.
“Everyone has their firsts,” came the hoarse reply.
“Really?” the Professor stated coolly. “I always thought that you were a beast.”
“Don’t beasts exist because humans need them?” The Butcher stared deep into the Professor’s eyes, threw the wad of prepayment back at him and left.
—
Two days later, in Abraham’s library, Abraham was giving a lecture. “According to current explanations of the Voynich Manuscript, we have some knowledge of events from before the Dark Ages. Unfortunately, the astrology and geography recorded in the manuscript is starkly different from what we can observe today.” Abraham wrote on the blackboard as he spoke, “According to the Voynich Manuscript, the stars were entirely different.
“Rather than the Star Ring, it mentioned a belt created by many stars. It was known as the Milky Way. Of the celestial objects closest to the Earth mentioned, there is only the ‘moon.’ There is no mention of the Indigo Moon.
“Most importantly, there are many stars that we cannot observe, such as Mercury, which represents mystery, and Mars, which represents war. These discontinued phenomenons are common in Eastern astrology. For example, a part of the star field passed down from the prehistoric times—the Three Yuan and Twenty-eight Su can no longer be observed.
“The ‘South Star’ which represents life, and ‘North Star’ which represents death have disappeared. Maybe these mysteries are part of the undeciphered portion of the Voynich Manuscript. To this day, inconsistencies between records and reality have confused many archeologists. Many ‘star-seers’ and ‘astrologers’ have even started doubting life and committing suicide. For those who analyze ancient texts, this is something that must be avoided. We must…Yezi? Yezi, are you listening?” Abraham turned back to see his blank student and raised his voice. “Yezi? Yezi!”
The youth snapped awake and scrambled to sit up, rubbing his face. “I’m sorry, Professor. I spaced out. Where are we now?”
“Analyzing the Voynich Manuscript.”
“Uh, sorry,” Ye Qingxuan said awkwardly. “I don’t think I heard that part clearly. Can you repeat it? Just start from the last part.”
Abraham sighed. Putting down his chalk, he sat down before Ye Qingxuan. “You’ve been out of it recently. Did something happen?”
“Uh, nothing.” Ye Qingxuan chuckled, “Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Have you been staying up to read again?” Abraham suddenly felt helpless. For the past half month, Ye Qingxuan had eased up on his studies on runes, and had officially began learning about the analysis and deciphering of ancient texts. The youth’s progression was pleasantly surprising. He had sped through everything.
After learning the Translation Method, Ye Qingxuan could decipher and translate some more recent texts. After some more training, he could become Abraham’s assistant and help with current work. In a few weeks, Ye Qingxuan had learned what most people needed two years to grasp. It was partly due to Ye Qingxuan’s talent, and partly due to prior knowledge. There were not many abnormal people who could memorize the Church’s entire archive, but this guy had also read through most of Abraham’s library too.
Abraham also did not need to worry about spending time on practicing different languages. Ye Qingxuan had become familiar with most languages during his time as a scribe. Other than the lingua franca, and the Latin language used by the Church, he had even learned the Asgardian language, known as the living fossil, from Father Bann. He had learned ancient Eastern language as a child too. Ye Qingxuan could read most research texts without much difficulty. Having a student like that would have been a dream come true for any ancient text researcher, but Abraham was starting to get a little worried.
Ye Qingxuan had been off these past few days. When Charles had brought him back two days ago, he had been covered with blood and running a high fever. The fever had finally broken, but he refused to say what had happened. And now, no one knew what he was thinking about. He constantly spaced out and locked himself in his room.
Everyone was worried, but when Charles had snuck a glance through the window, he had seen that Ye Qingxuan had just been reading in his room. He had flipped through the pages as if he spent day and night looking for something.
Abraham shook his head, “We’ll end here. Go rest.” He rose and began tidying his things, but when he turned around, he saw that the youth was still sitting there.
“Professor, is what we’re learning really useful?” Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked.
Ye Qingxuan stared at the words and images on the blackboard, spaced out. “Professor, what’s the point of reading all of these ancient texts and trying to understand the world before us? I suddenly don’t understand.” Ye Qingxuan questioned, “Why should we spend all this time on learning how to translate everything?”
“To find an explanation,” Abraham answered, “To explain things.”
“Explain? To be honest, Professor, I really need an explanation now.” Ye Qingxuan slumped in his seat and closed his eyes. “Ever since I arrived in Avalon, I always run into things. Some…bad things. Like I suddenly entered a world that belongs to strange creatures. Everything is foreign and I can’t communicate or understand anyone. I don’t even know how to look at the world anymore.”
He thought of the wild laughter and hoarse voice, and lowered his head tiredly. “Everything is normal but why does it change at night? Or do I hallucinate during the day and the craziness is the world’s true appearance? Are they wrong or am I?”
His memory had resurfaced, dragging him back to that unlucky day. Werner looked at him with a bloody face. No matter how much pain Werner was in, he still laughed crazily. Contorting his face into a demon, he roared, “All of downtown wants your life! What’s the use of letting me go? You think I’ll let you go just because you didn’t kill me? Don’t be naïve…everyone in downtown wants you!
“You’re innocent? And innocent people can’t die?
“Where do you think we are? This is Avalon!” Suddenly, Werner expanded and turned into a menacing black figure. It raised a bone saw and sliced through corpses, spraying blood. The sky darkened and the fog was there again. An evil spirit chased after Ye Qingxuan like a shadow. The sharp voice echoed in his ears, “Purify, purify, purify…”
He wanted to reason with someone, but there was nothing to reason about. He had just wanted to buy something, but had been chased after for some reason. He had just wanted to help someone, but was almost split apart and purified. This crazy world made no sense…
“I don’t understand, Professor.” Ye Qingxuan asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“Yezi, this world is complicated. Sometimes, we need something to help us understand it.” Abraham gazed at him. “I often felt confused or scared of things when I was young. This world changes so quickly. Other people’s ideas change quickly too, but I’m too slow and can’t understand them.
“Because of this, I want to find a research method to help me understand these things—to find a solution. At least, you won’t be scared once you understand them.”
“Professor, have you found it?” Ye Qingxuan asked, looking up.
Abraham chuckled dryly in response.
—
Late at night in the basement remodeled as the piano room, sharp notes cut through the air like a chainsaw cutting through metal. It was full of ineffable frustration and unsettling pressure.
A spaced out youth sat before the piano, blankly pressing down on the keys. The rhythm and melody that Charles had emphasized was not there.
“Stop, stop, stop. Yezi, stop.” Charles reached out to stop him and shook his head, “Yezi, are you playing piano? It sounds like you’re breaking things…”
Ye Qingxuan stiffly retracted his hand. “I’m sorry. I spaced out.”
“I know you’re frustrated, but you can’t keep going on like this.” Unsure of what to do, Charles handed him an orange, “Here, eat some fruit and calm down.”
Ye Qingxuan shook his head, “I just want to find a solution.”
“Did you find one?”
“No,” Ye Qingxuan huffed in exasperation and slammed down on the keys with an iron fist, “so I need to vent!” The piercing sounds of metal scraping sounded once again, echoing with frustration and anger. This was not music—this was plain fury!
Charles shook his head. Sighing, he left quietly and closed the door. It was better to leave Ye Qingxuan when he was like this. But the cacophony in the still basement resounded endlessly. The sharp melody had an indescribable hopelessness, sending chills down one’s spine.
Tritones appeared continuously like countless people wailing quietly. The music chased away all warmth and sunlight, bringing with it a cold night. In the dark winter night described by the music, aggravation and angst gathered in the sky like black clouds, casting the world into eternal darkness. Every surge in the angry music was like thunder booming across the skies.
Without realizing, Ye Qingxuan began playing the music score carved into his memory, but this time, it was pure venting. He did not worry about the art, did not bother with the notes, and did not think about sensing and controlling the aether. He threw away all concern. Ye Qingxuan was just focused on venting out his anger. Only sharp piano music sounded in the darkness.
The helplessness, confusion. and anger that had built up in his soul over the past few days was all thrown into the lonely music. Like a maniac dancing, he slammed his hand down on anything he could in despair, creating broken sounds. He shattered the silence, shattered all reason, and shattered all restraint.
The irritation and depression in Black Friday was expressed to the extreme in this crazed performance. He had never connected with the anger and…helplessness in the piece before. Confusion was born from the helplessness, and gave birth to trepidation. Frustration grew in it, followed by fury, and finally turned into an explosion of hysteria. But when the music reached its climax, the piercing sounds suddenly lowered.
The broken, angry, manic sounds became weak and soft, like murmuring in one’s ears. It was as if something was brewing in the empty music, sucking away all of its strength and the musician’s soul. Ye Qingxuan had not purposely been controlling it, but he fell completely into the performance. He did not even know if he was playing the piece or if the piece was guiding him, leading his mind deeper into the melody. Like peeling a shell, layer by layer, lifting up layer by layer of disguise, he gradually sank into the soft melody. He was completely focused on the meaning of each note and measure.
He began thinking, “What is this piercing yet broken melody trying to express?” Was it anger? Or frustration? Depression? Fear? Resentment towards goals unrealized? Loneliness? Utter despair? No, it was none of that.
In an instant, lightning flashed through his heart, cutting through all confusion, ripping through all questions. For an instant, everything became ‘real.’ Ye Qingxuan flinched, eyes flying open in shock. “Guilt?”
Yes, it was guilt. It was the ‘pain’ of not having enough time, it was gambling everything to try and save something, and it was the ‘despair’ of failing in the end. It was being forced to disappoint family and friends. It was the ‘helplessness’ of missing an opportunity and never having the chance to make up for it. It was a helpless ‘guilt.’ Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt…
Throughout the dark music, every note and interval bled with guilt. For a moment, the ‘soul’ of the melody was finally revealed from the plain notes. The melody began changing wildly. Like a pool of still water suddenly rippling, consciousness suddenly glowed from within the shell. This was the life of this dark music piece—it was the ‘soul’ of the melody!
—
Charles paced outside the door with a pile of fruits in his arms. He did not know what had happened to his junior during that trip. Ye Qingxuan had changed completely, locking himself up in the basement, making everyone worry over him.
Charles had gone to the backyard of the School of Modifications to get fruit to comfort Ye Qingxuan. He wanted to fill the youth’s stomach and then have a good talk about going to the therapist. But when he finally made up his mind and opened the door, he froze.
The wailing music flowed from behind the door, echoing in his ear. It was alive, like an angry spirit softly singing a heartbreaking song.
Charles was rooted to his spot. The fruit fell to the ground but he did not care. His eyes grew wide, almost popping out of the sockets. What…the heck was this?!
He thought there was something wrong with his ears. Had this guy had locked himself in the basement, banged on the piano while venting, and somehow entered the state that all musicians dreamed of—resonating with the soul of the music?
Ye Qingxuan had gone from a student with no foundation at all to grasping the essence of the music in one step. And a dark piece filled with despair at that?
Features twisting, Charles shut the door carefully, not daring to interrupt whatever Ye Qingxuan was doing. He crept around, picking up the fallen fruits, and returned to the living room. He chewed on a banana blankly, his mind somewhere else.
The girl brushing Old Phil in the corner looked up. Seeing Charles like this, she asked in confusion, “Charles, are you okay? You look like your girlfriend just got kidnapped…”
“Nothing…” Charles mumbled numbly. After a long time, he slapped himself. When he was sure he was not dreaming, he could not help but slap his knee and mutter, “F*ck me!”
The dark wailing music was still continuing in the basement, but Ye Qingxuan had sunk into confusion again. He had felt the soul of the dark piece of music, but what was the soul like? He had found the essence hidden in the melody, but he could not describe it!
As the melody resounded, Ye Qingxuan focused on one question: what exactly is guilt? As he fell into a daze, uncontrolled aether was pulled by the melody, gathering from all directions. It was like fog but also like light. The layers of apparitions hovered in the basement, unable to form a solid shape. Because Ye Qingxuan had never thought about what guilt looked like, he still could not find the true nature of the essence.
Was it cold rain? An eerie breeze blew through the basement. Cold water vapor solidified near the corner of the wall and vanished quickly afterward.
Was it a thunderstorm? Dark clouds suddenly appeared in the aether apparition. Roaring thunder shook the charcoal clouds. Heart-stopping lightning flashed at times. But the storm disappeared quickly as well.
Was it the feeling of a thousand blades piercing the heart? But the flashing blades disappeared after cutting through the apparition.
Was it like burning lava? A gust of heat appeared within the music, blowing like foehn wind from Hell.
Illusions appeared and disappeared continuously within the aether, like flashing scenes from a dream, but the changes eventually slowed, becoming more and more difficult.
Finally the illusion froze completely as if something great was brewing within. An untouchable emotion was solidifying, forming its structure. Slowly, there was the pitter-patter of dripping water. Water droplets solidified within the illusion, falling and grouping together, finally turning into a silent torrent! Although it was inside a closed basement, but there was the essence of a lonely sea. It was a river—a black river.
The black water flowed soundlessly inside the aether apparition as if it wanted to cover the entire world. The water gradually rose, flowing over Ye Qingxuan’s ankles, rising to his waist, reaching his neck. It rose inch by inch, flooding the room with cold despair. It flooded into the soul from every pore, invading every inch of empty space. This was guilt—an eternal black river in everyone’s heart.
The black river was like a noose amid the wild melody, tightening ever so gradually, stealing every last breath, casting one into eternal despair and repentance. There was no redemption! When the soul finally suffocated, the quiet river would begin to rumble. It was like a hopeless spirit roaring wildly, crying helplessly, begging and pleading for salvation.
The black river flowed on, crashing against every inch of the walls. Even the insignificant organisms hidden between the floorboards writhed in pain. They were caught by the hopeless melody and sank into the river of guilt.
As the climax neared, explosive crashes sounded continuously. Rats and insects gone wild crashed headfirst against the walls, trying to find peace and relief from eternal death. The desperate souls struggling in the black river passed away just like that.
The music silenced. Ye Qingxuan woke up from the crazed playing with a jump. He gasped for breath, sweat rolled down his back. “Is this-is this how to play complex notes?”
In the silence after the storm, he gazed at his hands in confusion. His hands had lost all strength from the wild playing. Soreness radiated from every finger. It hurt his heart to move them even a little bit.
After a long time, he lowered his head and pressed down on the keys. The piano was silent. The strings had broken. All of them had broken. How could such an old piano survive such a powerful performance? Or maybe a better word would be ‘destruction’?
But for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt much better. Maybe he had emptied all his dark thoughts while venting.
“Yezi, do you feel better?” A calm and cool voice sounded behind him. The voice was like moonlight.
Ye Qingxuan froze. It felt like an illusion, but the voice was so real. He turned around slowly. Seeing something impossible, his eyes widened in shock, “F-father?”
All light had extinguished in the dark room during the wild music, but calm moonlight shone down from somewhere, illuminating the man’s white robe and eyes. Those orbs were clear and quiet like the moon. He stood in the moonlight, gazing around and smiling at the youth. After all these years, his smile was still the same. It was filled with the enlightenment and desolation of having seen fate.
“Oh, Yezi, long time no see.” Quietly, he asked, “How are you?”
—
“Is it really you?” Ye Qingxuan rose subconsciously, but was quickly stopped. He finally realized that there was an obstacle between them. It was made of instrument strings suspended in the air. The strings reflected the moonlight, creating an abstract and unclear instrument. It was the instrument that had been completely awoken by the music—Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.
“First, I must congratulate you. You’ve finally earned the recognition of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.” Standing under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhou studied the youth, “Yezi, you’ve worked hard and become a musician.”
Ye Qingxuan stared at the man in shock. After a long time, he sat down as if his legs could no longer support him. “It was actually pretty easy.” He lowered his head, a bit sad, “I just spent a little time.”
“My apologies for not being able to truly be by your side and congratulate you on your most important moment. As you can see, I am just a memory right now.” Ye Lanzhou sighed as an apparition in the moonlight, “You’ve awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. This means that you’ve returned to Avalon and found what I have left behind.
“But where did you find this music score? Sharon Hotel? The library? Queen’s Road? Or was it from some old guy? I feared that you would not be able to find it, so I left behind many identical carvings, but I did not actually want you to return. I didn’t even want you to find it.”
Ye Lanzhou studied the youth in silence. He said softly, “Sometimes, I even wish that you’ll forget me and live as an average person. How great would that be? You won’t have to experience all these dirty things. All you’ll have to do is work hard and you will be able to live happily.”
“Father, what’s the point of saying all this?” Though Ye Qingxuan knew it was just an illusion, he still could not help but question him.
As if sensing the youth’s question, Ye Lanzhou’s expression turned helpless, “There’s no point in everything now, right? Let me tell you what you must remember. Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important.”
“Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important,” Ye Lanzhou said. “First, since you have awakened Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and received its recognition, you are now the master of the Ye family.
“In other words, every word you say and every action you perform represents the Ye family of the Dragon Bloodlines. I messed up and ran from the East, but you don’t have to worry about that.
“But this zither is something passed down from your great-great-great-grandfather. You know, it’s an old thing, and old things have a lot of rules. Unfortunately, you can only use a portion of its features before you become an official musician, so just deal with it. At least you don’t have to buy an instrument so you can save some money.
“But if you really don’t like it, you can get another one. It’s an old thing. Just keep it as a memento,” Ye Lanzhou calmly said such obscene things, as if he was not scared of their ancestors striking him with lightning.
“To be honest, the Dragon Bloodline isn’t as good as you think. There are a lot of annoying things. That’s why I came to the West. I sealed your talent when you were born because I wanted to let you choose what to do with the seal when you became of age. If I’m not around, you can only wait until you reach Resonance level and it will unlock automatically.” Ye Lanzhou shrugged, “If you need some secret tricks or talent, then all I can say is sorry.”
Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan almost coughed up blood. He had never heard of a father who could ruin his son’s life this much!
“Ha, sorry, that was my mistake, don’t mind me. But there is one thing that I hope you’ll pay attention to.” Under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhou’s expression turned serious. “Listen, Yezi. Before you reach Resonance level, you cannot, must not research anything about me.
“I’ve already wiped away many people’s memories of me, but there are some strange creatures that I can’t reach. Don’t delve into these things before you’re powerful enough to truly protect yourself. This is for the good of you and everyone around you. My only advice to you now is: if you are still in Avalon, leave as soon as possible. It’s best to not have anything to do with Avalon.
“The sins that the crazy King Arthur had committed centuries ago have put a curse on the Royal family. Anglo will pay for it. So, before that day comes, you must not enter Avalon’s Shadow, understood?”
Ye Qingxuan listened to Ye Lanzhou’s message in shock. After a while, he could not help but chuckle bitterly, “Father, you’re too late.”
Ye Qingxuan had already become tightly connected to Avalon. He had already almost entered Avalon’s Shadow. All of the thugs and gangsters in downtown knew that he had something to do with Avalon’s Shadow.
“Your life must be hard now, right?” Ye Lanzhou suddenly said, “I created a key to unlock this melody. You can only truly understand it in your most confused and painful state. If you need help, go find that old guy. Even though he’s heartless sometimes, he’s the most trustworthy man in Avalon. He owes me a lot, so go and annoy him.”
Old guy? Ye Qingxuan blanched. He had seen this nickname in Ye Lanzhou’s notes. It was mentioned on Black Friday’s sheet music. The inspiration for this composition had come from talking with this old guy, but who was he?
Ye Lanzhou stroke his chin in deep thought, “What’s his name? I suddenly can’t remember. I think he’s called…” Here, his apparition wavered. The moonlight began scattering.
“Oh? It seems like we’re running out of time. This is all we have.” He smiled helplessly and waved at the youth, “Goodbye, Yezi.” A faint cacophony, like explosions and angry roars, came from the shining illusion. Ye Lanzhou looked behind him and sighed, eyes darkening, “These guys are faster than I thought.”
As if Ye Lanzhou could not hold it in anymore, he lowered his head and covered his mouth, and coughed lightly. Blood seeped through his fingers, dripping onto his ivory robe, turning it bloody yet beautiful.
“Sorry, I have a cold these days,” he chuckled with difficulty. Touching the corner of his lips, he had a careless smile on his face and waved at Ye Qingxuan, “Take care of yourself, Yezi. Don’t be like me.” Ye Lanzhou retreated slowly. Dust fell onto his white robe, making it look worn and sad.
The moonlight gradually dimmed. His smile blurred, but as he looked at the youth, his eyes were filled with longing and satisfaction. The basement returned to pitch black darkness. In the scattered moonlight, the last farewell from a long time ago sounded, “Yezi, it’s so great that you can become a musician.”
The youth stared at the spot where the moonlight had been. He lowered his head after a long time, “Yeah.”
—
Late at night, the basement door opened soundlessly. Ye Qingxuan peered out from behind the door. After making sure that no one was around, he nodded in satisfaction. Good, everyone was asleep.
He crept toward the empty living room. Starlight illuminated the deserted table and chairs. The only sound in the silence was the crickets outside. Taking his jacket from the hanger, he quickly put it on. He stuffed his hair inside a hat.
“Thank god nobody saw me.” Looking at his blurry reflection in the mirror, he nodded in satisfaction, “This outfit should do.”
A hand suddenly reached out from the corner of his vision, and slung over his shoulder. Ye Qingxuan flinched at the sudden touch, barely stopping himself from yelping.
A drunken smile appeared. The man hooked an arm around him and waved at the boy’s reflection in the mirror, “Hey, Junior, you still awake?”
Looking at Charles, Ye Qingxuan forced a smile, “Senior, you’re still awake?”
“I keep getting nightmares about bloody things these days and it scared me awake.” Charles shrugged, “I was just getting ready to drink a bit and I ran into you. Want to come with?”
“It’s okay.” Ye Qingxuan chuckled, shaking his head.
“Where are you going? You’re all bundled up.”
“I’m…going for a walk.” Ye Qingxuan racked his brain for an excuse and stated seriously, “I’ve been in a bad mood these past few days so I wanted to take a walk. Maybe then I can think everything through.”
“Really? Then you have to be careful.” Charles said lightly, “You know a ton of people in downtown want to get you to get rich.”
Ye Qingxuan looked into Charles’s drunk eyes and asked awkwardly, “You know everything?”
“I haven’t been getting around these years for nothing.” Charles picked his nose and studied the kid before him, “Let’s put it like this. It’s like all of downtown got drugged with aphrodisiacs over the past two days. They’ve practically captured all of the old guys with white hair to find you. All they’re missing is a ‘wanted’ poster with your face plastered all over the city.
“Are you trying to hand yourself over, wrapped up with a bow on top? Listen to my advice and stay in the academy. Here, at least the professor can protect you. If you don’t leave, what can they do?”
“But I can’t keep hiding here, right?” Ye Qingxuan pulled down his hat sadly, “Look, I’ve been hiding here for so long. I’ve flipped through so many books, trying to find an explanation, but I still don’t have a solution.
“I can hide here for ten years—I don’t care. But what about you guys? You and Bai Xi can’t stay here forever, right? We didn’t do anything wrong. Why do we have to run for our lives when we’re just going out to buy something? Someone has to solve this. If I don’t go, who will?”
Charles did not reply. With a bottle in his hand, he gazed at the youth wordlessly. After a pause, he sighed and downed the bottle with a tilt of his head, “Okay, don’t say that I won’t help you. Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“The basement.”
—
Charles turned on the lights one by one, illuminating the entire basement. He pushed the now-useless piano to one side of the empty basement and walked over to a pile in the corner, covered by a dust cloth. The pile of what looked like broken machines took up a good portion of the basement. When Charles lifted the dust cloth, the smell of oil and rust radiated from it.
“Senior, what are you looking for?” the youth asked curiously, seeing all of this.
Charles glanced at him tiredly, “Yezi, this was my workshop. You’ve been here for a month. Have you never wondered what all this was for?”
“No…” Ye Qingxuan said, a bit embarrassed. “I don’t usually touch people’s things without their permission.”
“Are you always so polite for such unnecessary things?” Charles tugged at the dust cloth with difficulty, “Come on, give me a hand.” With both of their efforts, the heavy dust cloth was finally lifted and thrown to the corner. The sleeping workshop was finally revealed under the light. Ye looked at all of the unfinished items.
They seemed to be a giant handicapped iron bat; a machine-powered carriage missing two wheels; an article of leather clothing that could cover the entire body, including the head, with two glass lenses for the eyes. There was also rusted copper full-body armor, but the chest piece was filled with chains…
“What is this?” The youth reached over to feel the inside of the armor, observing a sequence inside, “This conductive structure is to make it move?”
“This…I made this when I was thirteen or fourteen.” Charles squatted beside Ye Qingxuan and scratched his head in embarrassment, “I was confident that I could create a mechanic puppet to play with me. I even decided to name it Pinocchio. But sadly, I never succeeded. It’s so hard to get the center of gravity right.”
“You used all of these parts just to create a machine that can walk?” Ye Qingxuan could not comprehend it.
“Haha, who knows how kids think? I guess I was just bored…” Charles stared deeply at the puppet’s heart. On it were the words: my friend, Pinocchio.
“It’s all in the past. I don’t need it anymore.” Charles pulled the dust cloth over the junk, covering the armor. “Come with me. I have something to give you.”
“You designed all this?” Ye Qingxuan glanced around at everything scattered throughout the workshop.
“Yeah, you know, I’m the nationally recognized failure. Nothing works out no matter how hard I try to be a musician, so to kill time, I just make some weird things.
“There are a lot of mentions of machines from before the Dark Ages in ancient texts. All of them are so amazing they sound like myths. Apparently, they could shrink people and put them in a small box so you could watch them sing and dance. ‘Till this day, people still believe that people in the past could shake a steel box and create a pretty girl to enjoy the night with. It was such an incredible era…” As Charles spoke, his expression became dazed, but when he realized that he was getting off topic, he coughed and quickly refocused.
“Anyway, please don’t mind. I just wanted to make some things and maybe make some money, but I actually put a lot of money into this and now I’ve got loan sharks on my back, but I still made some pretty cool stuff.”
He pointed at the giant bat-like iron structure with a membrane pulled over it, “Look at this one. It’s a flapping aero-machine! I got the inspiration from the Wright Brothers! I jumped off of the Tower Bridge with this and flew for more than a hundred meters!”
“…Senior, the Tower Bridge is one-hundred meters tall. It would probably be the same as if you had just jumped down directly.”
“Uh, let’s not worry about specifics. Look at this!” Charles pointed at the mechanic carriage in the corner, “This carriage doesn’t need the power of horses. You can power it just by hand! Isn’t it great? It’s a totally revolutionary innovation!”
Ye Qingxuan’s face twitched, “Senior, bicycles have existed for a long time. What did you change other than turning the pedal into a bar for hands?”
“I changed a lot, alright? Look at this! It’s seriously revolutionary!” Suddenly excited, Charles jumped onto the carriage. He lifted a machine the size of a melon and placed it before Ye Qingxuan.
“Look, an aether engine! I designed an entirely new motor system so it’s powered by the aether! The metal inside is magnetized, creating a magnetic field that produces an electric current. This is just a model but it can…uh, it can kind of work, probably? But unfortunately we’re in a chaotic aether zone and it’s not stable enough. I can’t make it completely soundless.” As he spoke, he stepped onto the motor. He stuck a handle inside and began spinning it furiously. Brought on by the spinning handle, the motor began shaking. As if it was already starting to run, it produced a thunderous and deafening sound!
Ye Qingxuan was unsure if they had the same definitions for words, “It’s not soundless…it’s practically a freaking explosion!”
In early times, when man first started researching mechanic power systems, they had thought it would be a revolutionary and world-changing invention. All of humanity would benefit from it. But soon, the natural environment cruelly rejected the power system. It was okay in the safety zone of the mainland, but once the density of aether was raised to a certain point, the activity would multiply exponentially. If the density rose too high, it would create the Dark World, which was the black zone on the map. The aether would react to any sound there. It was a vacuum, entirely void of sound. Even the sound of clothes rustling would lead to unforeseeable changes, not to mention the sounds of multiple power systems activating. The uncontrollable aether would create disastrous results. The most common was…explosion, explosion, explosion!
“Senior, your inventions will be seen as weapons!”
Charles face fell under Ye Qingxuan’s heartless criticism, but he became excited again quickly. Pointing at a small thing on the aether engine, he said, “Sh, don’t talk. Use your heart to feel…”
Ye Qingxuan stared at the glass shade the size of a thumb sitting on the aether engine. Some type of metal thread inside slowly lit up. It flickered with the weak light of a candle, but at least it lit up.
“What do you think? Isn’t it awesome?” Charles gestured excitedly, “This is an entirely new type of illumination. You can turn the heat of gold thread into light! I experimented with hundreds of materials before I found the best match. Do you want to know? Do you wanna know?” He batted his lashes in anticipation. He seemed to be waiting for a chance to brag, his eyes saying, “All you have to do is ask and I’ll tell you.”
Ye Qingxuan helplessly looked away, “Am I even allowed to say no?” He could not bear to remind Charles that the ‘masterpiece’ he had worked so hard to light up was not even as powerful as a new student’s rune effect. He could only try changing the subject, “Uh, Senior, didn’t you say you have something for me?”
“Ah, I almost forgot. Just a second.” Tapping his forehead, Charles began rifling through the pile of random trash. After a bunch of crashes and thuds, he finally cheered, pulling out something rolled into a ball. “Here it is! Try it on?” With that, he shook out the thing in his hand. “This is the result of all of these years of hard work and research.”
“For some reason, hearing you say that makes me not want to wear it…” Ye Qingxuan sighed out of habit, but when his gaze fell on the thing in Charles’s hands, he froze and could no longer look away because in his hands was a black robe.
It seemed to be made of crude and rough leather. Not only had the marks not been wiped away, but there were even some scales still on it. Red scales flashed in contrast with the black leather, covering the left shoulder and arm, making it seem beastly.
Amateur cuts and skills sewed the leather into a crude robe. The beastliness was forced into the appearance of a gentleman, but rather than seeming civilized, it looked even more menacing. Rather than calling it a robe, it would be better to be called a strange leather vest. Only an explorer of the Dark World would wear something as unfeeling. Every corner was designed with a function in mind. Even the sleeve cuff had a place for a bow, and there were many slots for weapons on the belt.
Ye Qingxuan’s mind went blank as he glanced at the robe. He walked over subconsciously, feeling it, “What is this?”
“Last year, I signed up to explore the Dark World but I didn’t get chosen.” Charles shook the robe, “This is what I made when I decided to sign up. It was designed with the trendiest style in mind. I call it the Dungeon Gentleman.” His features danced as he showed Ye Qingxuan his design, “I made the outer layer with dragon skin, and the inside is made from some leftovers from when I made a parachute—it’s fabric from the web of the white copper spider. Its strength is no joke. It can withstand piercings from any regular blade. But just in case, I added steel plates in the vital areas.
“Because of how complex the Dark World is, this robe is fireproof. It keeps you warm when it’s cold, and is even resistant to acid. To deal with different situations, there’s also some extra buttons and hooks. You can hang or connect other objects. There’s also a slot for chant materials.” Shaking the odd robe, he sighed, “The only downside is that I forgot to measure it. When I finished, I realized it was too small and I couldn’t wear it.” He tossed the Dungeon Gentleman to Ye Qingxuan, “It should be perfect for you. Try it on!”
The black robe landed in Ye Qingxuan’s hands heavily. It was not as light as its counterparts. After hesitating for a second, Ye Qingxuan took off his jacket and put the beastly robe on. It fit him perfectly as if it were tailored for his body! After he pulled up the zipper and did the buttons one by one, he suddenly heard a light pop from behind him, and his stomach sank.
Crackle! Pop! An ice-cold steel plate in the lining stuck out as the robe was pulled tight, sticking to his spine. A similar feeling came from his arms, waist and joints, as if something had latched onto his body.
“What is this?” Ye Qingxuan thought of a myth, but he was not sure.
Charles smiled mysteriously, “Have you heard of the gospel armor of the Knights Templar?”
“No way.” Ye Qingxuan refused to believe it. The gospel armor was the biggest military mechanism of the Church, and the weapon of the Knights Templar. The Knights who wore the mechanical armor were blessed with strength from God and fought with extreme power. Whether they were fighting a demon or a monster, the enemy was nothing before these knights!
“Haha, the formula for the alloy and design of the armor is top secret knowledge. How could I have gotten it? I just got the inspiration from the legends of Knights Templar. I call this Iron Bone.
“It’s a tight-fitting outer auxiliary bone. I replaced the heavy armor with leather and sacrificed the protection. This iron bone structure can bear the reaction force for you, so your own strength can increase. It’s like having a prosthetic. It’s a total savior when you need to run for your life. I swear on my soul that even a lame man can run faster than a regular person when wearing this!”
“…Senior, you used all of these fancy terms to describe it just to tell me I can use it to escape?”
“Hey, you’re lucky to get to wear it. Stop nitpicking!” Charles knelt down with a small wrench and began tightening and loosening various screws, tailoring the robe further. In the end, it was tight as a body suit and fit Ye Qingxuan perfectly.
“Okay, try jumping!”
“Okay, now try jumping!”
Ye Qingxuan obeyed, but then his vision blurred and he almost crashed into the ceiling! Mind going blank, he was a heap on the ground before he could react. The basement ceiling was low but it was at least three meters high, which meant that just by jumping slightly, he had shot up more than one meter! Usually, he would need three layers of the rune Flow to achieve this.
“Scared?” Charles smiled proudly, “Back in the day, I carved all of the auxiliary runes I knew, just in case. It’s pretty basic as alchemy equipment, but at least you won’t need to use Flow and other weird methods to run.” He walked around the youth in satisfaction and patted his shoulder, “The effect is pretty good. With your physical strength, you can escape from everyone and anything as long as you don’t come face to face with something as crazy as the legendary Butcher.
“I also have openings and slots for upgrades. If you can find the frame of a complex note armor, you can instantly turn into someone awesome like Knight Templar! Just imagine you punch like usual, but now your fist can go through a steel wall! Then nothing in Avalon would be able to stop you, other than the armor of the Round Table Knights!”
“But I have to get a complete frame of a complex note armor first, right?” Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes, “Senior, why don’t you just wish that the Sword in the Stone will accept me as its master, and suddenly get taken to the palace to become the future king of Anglo?”
“Wow, I didn’t know you had such a good imagination! If you’re the master of the Sword in the Stone, then shouldn’t I be taken to the sacred city to be the pope?”
“Hey, who was the one that first started fantasizing?”
“I was just thinking for you!” Cackling, Charles tossed over a jar of something. “Here, rub it on yourself.”
“What is this?”
“You don’t want to be discovered as soon as you go out, right?” He pointed at Ye Qingxuan’s hair. “Long-lasting hair dye. Blonde. You can’t get rid of it with water. It only dissolves with Tung oil. With this on, nobody will be able to tell you’re Eastern.”
“Why didn’t you give this to me earlier?” Ye Qingxuan grabbed the ointment and began rubbing it in carefully. When he was done, Charles brought over the mirror. They were both stunned. The boy in the reflection was purely Western. The long hair was now light blonde, completely different from before.
Charles took two steps back, giving him a once-over. In the end, he realized that there was still something missing. Charles looked around for a long time before he finally put a hunting hat on Ye Qingxuan’s head. Now, the harmless Eastern kid had disappeared. Instead, there was a gloomy youth, pale face in stark contrast with his black robe.
Ye Qingxuan smirked, instantly turning eerie. If not for the Dungeon Gentleman’s menacing aura, he would look like a cheap version of Hermes at first glance.
But Charles was still shoving things at him, like a salesman eager to get the rich customer to spend even more money. “Look at this. Helps you breathe underwater.”
“Uh, it might be useful?”
“Hand-cranked lockpicker. It’s totally easy to pick locks now!”
“I don’t think I’d use that.”
“This catapult hook is a must for scaling walls!”
“Do I need it?” Ye Qingxuan asked, at his limit.
“What about this?” Charles shoved a mask and two steel canisters. “A gas mask and smoke bombs? I put a bunch of pepper into the smoke bombs. No one will be able to breathe after it explodes!”
“…Sorry, I don’t need that either.”
When Charles finally could not find anything else wrong with him, his gaze fell on the youth’s fingers. “This one, this weird ring, take it off. If you want to hide your identity, you can’t leave behind any trace.”
“No need,” Ye Qingxuan chuckled. His fingers flitted over the ring. The instrument strings wrapped around it suddenly shot out, twanging. “I remember this is…” He thought for a bit, thinking back to the frustration carved into his mind, and began chanting.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Layers of crystals suddenly covered the delicate strings. The aether rested on the surface, and transformed into something smooth like black metal. As a highly expensive adjustable instrument, its appearance was no problem at all—the technology was designed to make large instruments portable. Merely changing the outer appearance was as easy as lifting a finger.
Under Ye Qingxuan’s careful control, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei slowly changed. Finally, it became a black cane in his hand. Ye Qingxuan gripped the cane and twirled it before tapping it against the floor. Rather than a muted thud, it created a crisp and delicate sound, like jade pearls rolling on a copper plate. It was the sound of an instrument string thrumming.
“What about now?” Under the shadow of the hat, the youth smiled slyly.
“This is…an instrument?” Charles moved closer. Before he could say anything, a faint noise sounded in his ears. It was the melody of despair that flowed like a black river. The melody snaked into his ears, burrowing into his soul like a live creature, echoing coldly. As his vision went dark, Charles sat onto the ground subconsciously. Very quickly, the sound dissipated and he could see again. But when he looked at the youth, his eyes were full of shock.
“The first measure of Black Friday? Since when could you play complex notes? You’ve reached the Rhythm level!”
“I’m just a fake. Deep down, I’m still just a student.” Ye Qingxuan smiled in self-deprecation, “Most people go into complex notes after they learn all basic notes, but I’m probably the only one who learned how to perform complex notes before I even learned all of the basics, right?”
Charles did not say anything.
“Anyway, just think of it as me cheating.” The youth smiled mysteriously and grasped his ‘cane.’”Since I’m handicapped without any ‘sense,’ I need a ‘cane’ to help me, right?”
Seeing how sure Ye was, Charles’s troubled emotions ceased. He smiled helplessly and waved his hand, telling the youth to leave, “…Be careful.”
“Okay.” The youth did the button on his sleeve cuff. Just as he turned around, he heard Charles say, “Hey, Yezi, you aren’t really stupid enough to take on all of downtown, right?”
“How could I?” Ye Qingxuan pulled down his hat and chuckled, “I just want to let those people who want my head to understand how I feel. If they understand and stop chasing after me, I’ll be thankful.”
Understanding what he meant, Charles felt a headache coming. “Sounds hard. Good luck.”
“Okay.” The youth turned to leave, “”I’ll be back soon.”
—
Ten minutes later, Charles stood in the living room, gazing at the moon. Downing one cup after another, he went back into his failure state. With a bowl in his arms and a fork in his hand, he mixed a salad in the bowl, trying to find a larger cherry tomato to eat with his wine.
“That kid gives me such a headache.” Charles sighed and muttered, “He’s like a totally different person now. What provoked him? As expected, you only realize you’re old when you can’t understand the kids. Ah, I’m only eighteen…” As he cried over his youth, a thin shadow crept up behind him, sneakily going toward the door.
“Bai Xi?” Charles asked without turning, as if he had eyes on the back of his head. “Where are you going?”
The shocked girl became petrified and stammered, “Uh, I’m in a bad mood and I can’t sleep…I want to go out for a walk.”
“What a coincidence. You’re right after Yezi.” Charles looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “There’s a carnival in downtown now. It’s dangerous.”
Bai Xi instantly lost her temper, “I’ll go wherever I want to!”
“But not now,” Charles sighed and stood up, blocking her. He said seriously, “It’s midnight. Do you know how dangerous downtown can be? I know you’re worried about Yezi, but a little girl shouldn’t run around. No one will even know if a human trafficker catches you. Be good and go to sleep, alright? Otherwise, I’ll get the professor.”
“Hmph!” The girl glared at him unhappily, but Charles did not budge. The way he guarded the door, no one would be able to get past.
Bai Xi gave up in the end. Sighing, she turned for her room, but when her eyes swept past a shadow in the room, she froze, “Professor?”
“Professor?! I wasn’t drinking…” Charles denied instinctively, hiding the bottle behind his back. He nervously followed Bai Xi’s eyes, but there was nothing there.
“Ah, this…this is bad.” By the time Charles finally realized what had happened, it was too late. In the moonlight, he saw Bai Xi’s shadow raise her arms. There was something heavy in her hands, and brought it down against his head without hesitation.
Bang! Charles collapsed onto the ground.
“Ha! No matter how powerful you are, you’ll fall under the brick.” Bai Xi tossed the Anglo encyclopedia to the side. Gritting her teeth, she dragged Charles onto the sofa. After moving him into a weird position, she waved at the shadows.
“Old Phil, come on! We’ll lose him if we’re not fast enough…” Under the moonlight, the girl picked up the felt hat that Ye Qingxuan had left behind. Putting on her jacket, she walked out with a grumpy dog.
—
The moon illuminated the dark city quietly. The city was silent as if it had fallen asleep. An intoxicated man walked down a small alley in downtown, swaying as he went.
Suddenly, a burly shadow jumped before him. “Hey, you! Come here!” A cruel-looking man waved the mace in his hands as he studied the drunk, “Stand still!”
Sensing that something was wrong, the man stuck his hands in his pockets and turned around. But another figure popped out on the other side, blocking his escape route. Seeing that he was surrounded, he pulled out his dagger, his eyes fierce, “I am Dean of the Luco family. Friend, don’t do anything stupid…”
Bang! Whacked on the back of his skull, the man fell to the ground. A third figure jumped down from the wall.
“Dean? Luco family? Who are you kidding?” The man with the mace kicked him, laughing proudly, “Ha, you don’t know how long we waited here. You Eastern mutt, you think that I won’t be able to recognize you in this disguise…you even wore a wig!”
“You even wore a wig!” The man pulled forcefully, but after a cry of pain, he came away with a handful of bloody hair. He froze before becoming furious, “Look! This Eastern kid is too much. He glued the wig to his scalp! You think that can fool Sir Levy? In your dreams!”
“In your dreams!” the two beside the man echoed in unison, waving their weapons.
Dean covered his face and curled up in pain, studying the men, “You, what do you want? Who are you?”
“You don’t know who I am?” the man with the mace roared in anger. He raised his weapon and announced fiercely, “I am Levy, the one-eyed swordsman!”
The man who had whacked Dean with the staff yelled, “I am John, wind of the dark night!”
“I am Rabbie, the bloodthirsty Excalibur!” the last one called out. All three of them struck a menacing and handsome pose, calling out in unison, “That’s right, we are the fallen morning star, the prince of evil, the infamous Big Three of Darkness!”
There was silence, a long silence. Finally, a weak voice came from the ground, “What…what are you?”
—
Dean did not know if there was something wrong with him or if he had run into three lunatics. To save himself, he forced himself to beg, “Friends, you must be mistaken, I really don’t know who you are.”
Crack!
“You can’t even think of a better lie!” Furious, Levy dealt him a backhand slap. “Everyone in downtown knows us three! Answer me! Are you that Eastern kid Luo is looking for?!”
Slapped into a daze, Dean shook his head reflexively, “No, no!”
“Oh?” One-eyed Swordsman Levy opened his eyes wide, smirking, “Seems like you’re not willing to talk! Brothers, show him!”
Bang! Bang! Crack! Crash! Clang! Clonk!
A flurry of pained cries rang through the dark alley.
Ten minutes later, Levy asked while panting, “Answer me! Are you that Eastern kid?!”
“You-you really got the wrong person,” Dean cried, but was beaten again.
Bang! Crack! Clonk! Thud!
Ten minutes passed before Dean professed, “I am! I am!” This time, Dean had finally learned his lesson. Face covered with blood, he grabbed Levy’s leg and cried, “I’m that Eastern kid! Please stop hitting me!”
“Ha, you finally admitted it!” Levy laughed proudly, “I told you that your amateur disguise wouldn’t be able to fool me!”
Beside him, John suddenly asked curiously, “But Boss, isn’t the Eastern kid’s hair white? Why is his hair reddish?”
“Huh?” Levy furrowed his brow, fury written across his features.
Dean hurriedly exclaimed, “Don’t hit me! I dyed it! I dyed it!”
Rabbi studied his face. Feeling that something was wrong, he turned and said, “Boss, his age isn’t right either. He looks like he’s thirty-something. Is he lying?”
“Huh?!” Levy’s brows furrowed even more, “You’re lying to me?”
Legs giving out, Dean fell onto his knees, “To be honest, I matured quickly.” Gritting his teeth, through the humiliation as tears welled in his eyes, he choked out, “Even though I look old, I’m only fourteen. I really am that Eastern kid. Please stop hitting me…”
“Hmph! Good!” Levy nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, “John, tie him up and take him to Boss Luo. Show him how powerful we are!” With that, he whacked Dean’s head, knocking him out cold. “Which one is this?” he asked.
“Seventeenth. I’ve been counting!” John answered smugly.
Levy put his hands on his hips and roared with laughter, “We found so many Eastern kids in one day, but that group of failures couldn’t find any. Seems like downtown is filled with failures! This is the day that we, the Big Three of Darkness, will rise!”
The figure eavesdropping in the darkness finally could not hold it in anymore and burst into laughter, holding onto the wall for support.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!” Furious, Levy raised his mace, “Do you know who we are?”
“Yes, yes, I know.” Trying hard not to laugh, the black shadow answered, “One-eyed Swordman Levy, Wind of the Dark Night John, and Bloodthirsty Excalibur Rabbi, You’re the Big, sorry, I can’t go on. Please excuse me, I need to laugh!” The figure covered his mouth, but sputtering laughter still made its way into Levy’s ears.
“You wanna die?” Levy slammed down his mace in fury, but it sliced through air! Air?! Stunned, he looked forward. When Levy had gone to hit him, the black shadow had rippled like water and almost dissipated.
“Friend, can you not start fighting without warning?” A hoarse voice murmured in his ears, “I think we should put down our weapons and talk nicely.”
Freaked out, Levy spun around and attempted to strike him with his staff, but he heard a cry of pain and saw that he had hit John!
“Boss, what’s wrong?” Rabbi gaped at Levy who was yelling at nothing. He felt that something was wrong.
Levy was still furious and could not be bothered with John’s pained cry. He glared at the nonexistent black shadow and danced crazily with his weapons, “Stop playing around and show yourself!” As he continued to wave his mace, the shadow continued to change. Like water, it rippled, scattering for a moment then becoming whole again.
Just as one would start seeing things after staring into the darkness for too long, the shadow felt unreal. But the supposedly nonexistent shadow was right against Levy’s back, latching onto him like an angry spirit.
Levy roared in anger. He could no longer take the infuriating feeling. Gripping his weapon, he slammed it down.
The black shadow scattered with a pained cry, but after the shadow disappeared, he saw that he had brought the mace had down on Rabbi’s face.
“Boss, why are you hitting me?” Rabbi gaped at Levy, his face bloody and his eyes full of tears and pain. He fell over.
Levy blanched. The only sound in the alley was his heavy panting. An eerie wind blew through the alley. As it blew over the raised cobblestone, there was faint laughter. He finally heard the vague melody in the wind, like a black river of despair, the sharp yet wild sound melted into the wind, becoming extremely delicate. The delicate sound echoed in his ears, pushing at his nerves, flooding his senses in the black river. The wildness, hopelessness, and sadness echoed in his brain, awakening the most traumatic memories.
“Failure! Failure! You useless piece of sh*t!” The angry roars seemed to sound again, as if the man who always got violent after getting drunk had returned. Levy cried out and spun around, but there was nothing behind him. Then the world went black and he could not see anything.
His memory became clearer in the darkness. As if he had returned to the past, the darkness in the bottom of his heart awakened. It dragged him along, forcing him to relive the cruel abuse, the scars left behind from whips and sticks, and the helpless despair…
“Go away! Go away!” Levy screamed. He waved his mace crazily, but he could not hit anything. Finally, he collapsed onto the ground. He waved his arms, trying to fight the nonexistent ghost, but the monster was in his heart, snickering.
“Who? Who are you?!” Levy yelled hoarsely. Picking up a rock, he threw it blindly, “I’m going to kill you!”
“I told you to calm down.” Beside him, the figure leaned lazily against the wall. The moon shone over the high wall, casting silver light on his upper body, but his body was shrouded in a menacing black robe. Even his face was hidden under a wide-brimmed hat. All that could be seen was his delicate and pale palm. He rested against the steel-gray cane in his hands. Under the moonlight, the cane seemed to vibrate, rippling faintly.
Not even Ye Qingxuan had thought that a simple shadow made by the rune Mirror, and the first measure of Black Friday could have controlled Levy, and made him hurt his friends, practically turning him into a lunatic.
The ease came from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei’s help. The instrument had been designed to help the musician perform precise manipulation of the aether. Ye Qingxuan could only perform the music score carved into his brain with its help. With its aid, Ye Qingxuan was able to perform complex notes. He had entirely skipped months and years of practicing, and had jumped right to the Rhythm level.
Unfortunately, Black Friday had five measures in total. Of these five effects, he only had the ability to choose one. Unlike a true musician, he could not pair the measures how he wanted to, or even use all five effects at once. The music piece influenced enemies’ senses by using the negative emotions in the melody as a medium. All Ye Qingxuan had used just then was the first measure—vision interference. If he played the whole piece, he could make someone blind, deaf, and unfeeling. Even if he stabbed them through their chest, they would not even be able to feel the pain. In the end, they would die in confusion. This strange style was darker than the Dark Musicians!
When he played this piece, Ye Qingxuan could feel himself becoming colder too. The music did not only influence others—it also affected his spirit. Ye Qingxuan really wanted to know why his father had created such a dark piece of music, but at the moment, he had more important questions to ask.
Ye Qingxuan suddenly banged the cane against the ground. The melody jumped from the first measure to the third. The tide of despair spread with the melody, rushing into Levy’s brain.
Levy’s vision suddenly brightened and he could see again, but his body was numb and he could not move at all. Someone stepped onto him and looked down at him, their face shrouded in shadows.
“Good evening, sir!” The figure’s silhouette seemed well-dressed, like an elite, but why would an elite be in the dirty downtown? The strange cuts and material of the robe had a beastly aura, mixing wildness and grace. It was inexplicably strange. “I’ll be honest with you. I need your answer about something.”
“I’ll be honest with you, I need your answer about something.” The voice was polite, “Who is so intent on hurting an Eastern child? Can you satisfy my curiosity?”
Levy roared, “F*ck you…ack!” Before he could finish, he was cut off by the pain of his limbs being sliced by knives! There were no wounds at all, as if the knives were inside of his blood and fat, cutting him from the inside. He could not even cry out at the sharp pain. An average person would faint instantly from such pain, greater than that of broken bones, but now, he could not even faint. His limbs spasmed and he writhed uncontrollably on the ground, his eyes rolling in their sockets. The third measure of Black Friday—physical interference!
“Sir, there’s a limit to my patience.” The gentle voice sounded in his ears again, but this time, there was an undertone of anger, “Tell me who is it? Who wants the Eastern kid? Answer me!”
After minutes of pain that felt like eternity, the practically unconscious Levy finally spoke, “Sam Luo! The Pyramid King of the Pyramid Scheme! He accepted a large sum to catch that d*mned boy…”
“Who’s money?!”
“An elite. A family with a lot of money! They want the Pyramid King to use the cruelest method to get rid of the kid. That’s all I know! Really! Really!” The hallucinatory pain suddenly stopped, disappearing without warning, as if it had never existed. Levy continued writhing, his body not having recovered yet.
“Okay, next question…” the gentlemanly voice continued, “Where can I find this Mr. Sam Luo?”
Levy’s eyeballs rolled around as he said, “The Pyramid King doesn’t have a fixed location. He and his men keep moving…”
“Did you not understand my question?” the shadow interrupted him, pushing the cane against his forehead. The hopeless melody sounded once again. This time, the delicate pain appeared like a warning. The shadow articulated each word carefully, “I—Want—His—Location!”
“The cemetery! Highgate Cemetery near Whitechapel!” The warning pain pushed Levy to the brink of sanity, and the answer fell from his lips easily, “That’s where he takes care of traitors. Hudson wants to quit and leave the group, but he was caught. He’ll definitely be there tonight!”
“Give me the address.”
“221 B Baker Street!”
“Very good.” Under the shadow of the hunting hat, the youth curled the corner of his lips into a smrik, “Next, let’s talk about how many men he has and what weapons they use…”
—
At midnight, the fog still shrouded the city with a whiff of rot and blood. A carriage stopped on one of the downtown streets. The door opened and a little girl hopped out. The girl turned and brought a large golden dog out. The dog landed on the ground and side-eyed the owner of the carriage before lifting its leg and peeing all over the wheels. Not caring at all, the owner glanced at the dog before looking at the girl with smiling eyes, “The Pyramid Scheme’s territory is right ahead. He should be there.”
Bai Xi nodded and said ingeniously, “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. You just hitched a ride. Your teacher isn’t that stingy,” Hermes said, shamelessly praising himself as if stating a fact.
Bai Xi scoffed and rolled her eyes, “You knew that I was going to follow him out and was waiting outside, right?”
“Understanding a student’s mind is part of a teacher’s responsibilities. Please don’t mind.” Hermes shrugged, “And anyway, without my guidance, you never would’ve found the Pyramid Scheme’s temporary location.”
The girl rolled her eyes again, “I haven’t been wasting my time in Avalon. Even without you, I would’ve found it, alright?”
Hermes could not help but whistle, “I almost forgot that you’re a bad girl who’s always on the streets. No wonder you don’t feel bad about hitting your teacher, but you have to be careful. The Pyramid Scheme specifically does the dirty work for elites. Kidnapping, trafficking, and prostitution is nothing to them. They’re not as easy to fool as that group of idiots at the pier.
“Even if you’ve learned a lot recently, you’re still not a musician. And not only will you be outnumbered, but the Pyramid Scheme is known for being shady. It’s not impossible to be beaten with a dirty trick.
“My student is charging into the lion’s den. As a teacher, of course I’m worried, but I have to respect your choice.” Hermes dabbed at his nonexistent tears dramatically to show his pain, then he waved and said loudly, “Whatever happens next, just see it as a challenge. Unleash your potential, but remember that safety is the most important. I’ll be sad if you die.”
“That means that even if I’m close to dying, you’ll just watch and not help, right?”
“Correct.” Hermes snapped his fingers in satisfaction, “As expected of my student. So brilliant!”
“I don’t need to be brilliant. I just know your bad personality very well.” Bai Xi slammed the door, locking that infuriating smiling face in the carriage. The carriage started moving again, taking Hermes’ annoying laugh into the fog.
Old Phil side-eyed the carriage until it disappeared and bit the girl’s sleeve cuff, telling her to follow. Then, sniffing for the youth’s scent, he walked toward the darkness. Faint torchlight lit up in the distance. A strange scent was carried in the wind. It smelled like dirt and decay.
“A cemetery?” Bai Xi hid in the alley, quietly watching the gate up ahead. A few muscular men stood on each side of it, the rotting wooden gate of the abandoned cemetery was ajar, revealing the menacing darkness behind it. In the darkness, one could vaguely see broken statues of saints, and dancing flames.
“Are you sure he’s in there?” Bai Xi glanced down at Old Phil who looked at her sideways. He did not reply and could not reply, but he seemed to be judging her doubt. “Alright,” Bai Xi sighed, finally experiencing what her cousin often had to face—being judged by Old Phil. “Can you get in? You go first and I’ll be there soon.”
Hearing her words, Old Phil got up and padded into the darkness. Soon, his silhouette slid through a hole in the corner of the wall. Sometimes, it really was easier to be a dog than a human. Bai Xi stood in the darkness, staring at the gate.
Two burly men guarded the gate, smoking and bored. An endless stream of people from every direction entered the cemetery. She could not count how many people there were.
Although the cemetery had been abandoned for a while, the walls were not low enough for a little girl to scale, plus it was where the Pyramid Scheme often met. Who knew if there were traps?
She thought for a moment before taking a clump of what looked like clay from her pocket. It jiggled in her hands like pork fat and seemed elastic, but as her fingers moved, it spread into a vague face.
Hermes was not a good teacher, but Bai Xi was also not a good student; her habit of stealing had caused more than enough headaches for Ye Qingxuan. Hermes was well known as a hoarder, and would bring home whatever caught his eye for a second. As a student, Bai Xi obviously had to help her teacher ‘clean out’ his hoards. This was one of the results of ‘cleaning.’
The clay ‘face’ fit her perfectly, becoming one with her own face. As she pinched and squeezed, it slowly turned into the face of a mid-aged man with thick eyebrows and a hooked nose. Coughing and clearing her throat, Bai Xi’s voice became thick and scratchy. With her white hair hidden in the hat, wearing Ye Qingxuan’s jacket, and face full of ferocity, she looked like a typical downtown thug. She was just a bit shorter. This was the face of one of Hariti’s former underlings that Ye Qingxuan had sent to the Arkham Asylum—the dwarf, Cuozi.
Bai Xi strode over confidently, meeting the eyes of the muscular guards.
“Hey friend, you seem a bit unfamiliar.” The fierce man at the door held her shoulder.
Crack!
The girl, no…’Cuozi’ shrugged the hand off and slapped the man without hesitation, “Are you f*cking blind?” Cuozi looked up, revealing his face in the torchlight, expression angry and cold, “I’ve only been gone for a few days and you don’t know me anymore?”
“You f*cking…” The man’s face darkened in fury. He reached for his dagger reflexively, wanting to show the dwarf who was boss, but the man beside him saw Cuozi’s face clearly and stopped his friend, whispering something.
“Cuozi? But that lunatic was…” His friend cut him off before he could finish, scared that Cuozi would overhear.
“Hey, what you talking about?”‘Cuozi’ cackled, his emotionless eyes flashing, “Talking about me behind my back?”
“No, no!” The guard remembered the scary rumors of how this guy would chop off people’s fingers, and retreated in fear. If this were the original Cuozi, his fears would have been reasonable, but the real Cuozi was in Arkham. He had mental issues! The most laughable thing in the world was that no one dared to reason with a lunatic. The man forced a smile and bowed deeply, “Cuozi, how may I help you?”
“Cuozi, how may I help you?” the guard asked, bowing deeply.
“Stand up straight!” Cuozi suddenly raised his voice, scaring the sh*t out of the man. “What, you think I’m short?!”
“No, no, no!” The man hurriedly waved his hands, “I’m just-just a little tired…”
Cuozi narrowed his snake-like eyes. As he watched the two men silently, his fingers twitched as if his hand itched. The viper-like stare sent chills into the guards’ hearts. But very quickly, Cuozi lowered his hands as if he had lost interest. Instead, he walked past the gate, “I just got out of the asylum and need to see the Pyramid King. Take me to him.”
“Yes, yes,” one of the men hurried after him breathlessly. There was a mass of people in the dark cemetery behind the gate. Broken tombstones were littered throughout the abandoned cemetery. Groups clustered under the torches, discussing something quietly.
Bai Xi scanned the crowd. Seeing there were only about one-hundred people, she furrowed her brows. She asked in a voice full of disdain, “How come there’s not a lot of people? Where are all my old friends?”
“We’re just taking care of a traitor tonight. Everyone here are newbies,” the guard answered. “Boss Luo said he wants them to see the consequences of betraying us.”
“Oh?” Out of the corner of her eye, Bai Xi saw a ditch in the center, and she understood why they chose this location. “Boss Luo isn’t here yet. Please wait for a moment while I report the news. I’ll have Sandro come to chat with you.” Rubbing his hands together, the man led ‘Cuozi’ to a corner and ran into the crowd.
“Wait,” Bai Xi called suddenly, “what’s your name?”
The man froze, “Ed-Edward…”
“Oh. Thank you for guiding me.” Seeing that no one else was paying attention, Bai Xi’s expression changed and she used her original voice. The man stood frozen in place, not understanding what was happening. The girl reached over and pressed a hand over his heart.
Plop! Like the sound of a bucket falling into a well, the man’s face suddenly reddened. It quickly turned deathly white and then he collapsed on the ground, most likely dead.
Bai Xi was not as kind as Ye Qingxuan. She cast the Flow rune directly at his heart, causing his blood to flow so quickly that a portion evaporated. He had instantly lost the ability to fight back or speak, and fell unconscious. As to whether his heart would explode or not, and whether or not he would survive was all up to fate.
A large dog jumped out and dragged the man under a bush. Bai Xi touched her face and she transformed into Edward. Sensing that no one noticed, Bai Xi whistled quietly in satisfaction. She took a few steps back and stood in a corner.
“Old Phil, did you find him?” She glanced at Old Phil, but discovered that after sniffing around, the dog became frustrated, low whines coming from its throat.
“You can’t find him?” Bai Xi was a bit shocked, but before she could process what it meant, the crowd became lively. With two men on either side, a hunched man walked out from the darkness—It was the Pyramid King.
The Pyramid King observed the crowd around him and nodded, “Is everyone here?” Beside him, a man burly that looked like a fighter whispered into his ear. The Pyramid King instantly looked satisfied.
Under everyone’s gaze, he stepped onto a tombstone. He stood at the peak so that he could look down at the crowd’s expression. Seeing the reverent gazes, his eyes filled with joy, “You are all new members of the group. Logically, there are some requirements before you officially join our group. I’ve called you here today as a reminder,” he paused, his expression turning warm and genial, “a kind and gentle reminder.”
As the crowd started rustling, he clapped and the crowd divided. The burly man and two other underlings dragged a man out. Carried by two men, a torch was held closely to the man so the audience could see his face clearly. The crowd rustled and faint gasps sounded. Someone yelled quietly, “That’s Hudson…”
The old man’s entire body and face were covered in blood. Before everyone, he raised his head with difficulty and opened his swollen and bruised eyes. Muffled noises came from his mouth, which was practically toothless. “Sam…” The world in his eyes was dark, “I want to see Sam.”
“Oh, my dear Mr. Hudson, I’m here. Don’t be scared.” The Pyramid King moved up and lifted the man’s chin with a dagger. He studied how ‘well’ the man had been treated and nodded, satisfied.
“Long time no see, old friend.” A hoarse voice came from Hudson’s mouth. It sounded like a broken shout, as if he was trying to breathe with lungs drowning in water. “Let me go, Sam. Please,” he said with difficulty, “I just want to be a normal person…I didn’t betray you…” As he spoke, tears mixed with blood fell from his eyes. Sam Luo stared at him with a strange expression, then he burst into laughter.
“You’re still so funny, Hudson!” The Pyramid King slapped his shoulders. “Haha! A normal person? Mr. Hudson, are you joking? You betrayed me, disappeared without a word, and ran to Wales to become a normal person?!”
“I j-just wanted to stop…” Hudson defended himself. “I’ve worked for you for so many years. Sam, I’m tired. I just…I just want to quit. Why do you have to do this?” Tears of blood flowed from his eyes. He was suffocating.
“Hudson, your words hurt me.” The Pyramid King gazed at him sadly. “You’ve worked for me for so many years. I thought that I knew you well, but I can’t believe you lied to me,” he sighed. He tugged at Hudson’s hair, roaring, “No one can betray me! No one! How many years have I raised you, old dog? How many years? Then that b*tch, Shaman, came back and you want a new master?! Let me tell you, there is no place for that old fart in this city!” With a flying kick, he forced Hudson into the ditch. He jumped down and stomped on Hudson’s face.
When the poor man started gurgling, close to death, the Pyramid King finally stopped stomping. “Kruger!” He hoisted himself up with the help of an underling and commanded, “I want to build a fountain in this ditch. Come make a hole for me, and let these new kids take a shower…”
In the ditch, Hudson shut his eyes, all hope lost. But after a few moments, there was still no reply to the Pyramid King.
Stunned, Sam looked up and raised his voice, “Kruger! Kruger! Where are you, you son of a b*tch?! Get the f*ck over here!” But no one replied. The crowd grew restless, everyone stared at each other awkwardly. The Pyramid King furrowed his brows and turned toward his guards, “Where is that motherf*cker Kruger? Did he not come? I told him to come!”
The bodyguard was confused as well and shook his head, “He said he’d come in the afternoon. He should’ve arrived long ago.”
Suddenly a yell came from the crowd. Everyone looked back in shock, the crowd separated, revealing some latecomers. Under the moonlight, the men who had just arrived were deathly pale as if they had seen a ghost. A bad feeling emanated from them.
The Pyramid King’s gaze fell to their feet, to the man they had brought over. On the ground, the burly, muscular man covered in tattoos shook. As if he had some terrifying disease, he giggled. The seemingly happy sound sent chills down everyone’s spine.
“Boss! Something happened to Kruger…” A gloomy man walked forward cautiously and reported in a low and hoarse voice, “We were ambushed on our way here an hour ago.”
“How many people? Was it those Luco sons of b*tches?” Sam Luo furrowed his brows.
“O-only one…” The man swallowed, thinking back to the nightmare. “He was like a demon. He stood in the shadows and blocked our path. He asked us if we were Sam’s men and asked us for help. And then…and then,” He turned stiffly, looking at Kruger’s face, “And then Kruger turned into this…” The strong man convulsed under the pale moonlight, his body twisting into impossible angles as if a demon had taken over his body, but there was a sweet and innocent smile on his face. Looking at Sam, he giggled.
Sam’s face darkened, “What did he do?”
“W-we don’t know. He was like a shadow, and Kruger suddenly went crazy. He went crazy and wanted to kill us, and then he fell on the ground and started laughing. I swear, we must have run into a demon. You’d go crazy if you make eye contact with him. He saw me and the world went black. I don’t know what happened…”
The Pyramid King studied him. The emptiness in the strong man’s eyes was chilling, causing the underling to stumble back in terror.
The Pyramid King studied his underling and pausing after every word. He said softly, “You’re saying that a man attacked you all, and everyone was so scared you needed your mommy. And Kruger turned into a lunatic, but you didn’t even see this demon’s face?”
“N-no, we wanted to kill him, but…” the man trembled. He tried to explain, but it was impossible. In the end, he suddenly thought of something. As if grabbing for the last lifeline, he quickly said, “He-he also said to say hi to you!”
Sam was taken aback. “What did you say?” he asked. “The man wanted you to say hi for him?”
The man shook, and words spilled from him like beans from a can, “He said that he’ll come visit you tonight, and that you should light some candles…”
“Candles? What candles?”
The man gulped and said in a quivering voice, “He said that people like you do too many guilty things. There are-there are ghosts in your heart and you’ll be scared of the dark, right?”
Bang! And then a thud.
The man fell straight back. There was a hole in his forehead, with the bloody end of an arrow sticking out of his head. The arrow was mangled in a mess of blood, muscle, and bone. He stared up blankly at the moon, the pale light reflecting in his eyes. He had died with his eyes wide open.
