Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “Come on, let’s see who the bastard really is!”

  Ye Qingxuan and the two elder Thomas brothers wrestled. Ye Qingxuan picked up the vegetable basket from the ground, and struck their faces with all his might, ignoring the blows from their fists.

  As Paul and Ray fought back, he heard a scream from behind.

  Immediately, Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw Martin with a ravenous look on his face. He had gotten up from the ground, his face bloody, eyes angry harboring the thoughts of a madman. He thrust the dagger at the young man’s heart!

  “Go to hell!”

  Ye Qingxuan only remembered putting his arm around his chest. The dagger made a cold cut on the back of his hand, and finally went deep into the basket.

  Snap!

  The dishes were broken, and the vegetables and raw meat spilled all over the floor.

  Paul and Ray were shocked—they did not think that Martin had any murderous intent.

  Martin was also stunned.

  -

  Seeming to be awakened from his rage, Martin finally understood what he had just done. In silence, he looked down at the dagger in his hands, saw the blood pooling on the back of Ye Qingxuan’s hand, and his face became immensely pale.

  “I…” He whispered and stumbled back, incoherent. “I did not…I just…” His hand could not grasp the dagger. It fell on the ground, clattered, and his courage shattered.

  “You may leave now, bastard, but I will not let you get away with this!” He staggered back and fled. Paul and Ray hesitated, then got up from the ground and followed Martin. They were scared, and almost got knocked down by the people at the end of the alley.

  Outside of the alley, Victor, who was dragged there by Old Phil, stared at the blood on the ground, expressionless. The two packs of sausage in his hands fell to the ground.

  Ye Qingxuan silently got up from the ground and looked at the wound on his hand. After a long silence, he asked softly, “Do you have any bandages? I am afraid it will be hard to explain this to the priest.”

  -

  “Alright, it should be fine now.”

  In the small alley, Victor helped Ye Qingxuan wrap the wound on the back of his hand. “You don’t know how to fight, why didn’t you just run? One person taking on three of people! Are you insane?”

  “I wanted to run.” Ye Qingxuan smiled. “But I’m not sure what happened. I was suddenly fired with rage.”

  “When we were kids, when did you not need my help to fight? At least pay more attention next time. If you hadn’t moved so quickly, you’d have been dead right here!” Victor made a gesture. “Just like removing a bathtub stopper, you would’ve bled out before reaching the church.”

  “Sorry…”

  “Don’t you have anything else to say?”

  Victor threw two bags into the arms of Ye Qingxuan. “Got something good today. Take it and treat yourself.”

  “You stole again?”

  “It’s called ‘work’.”

  Since Victor had left the church, he had been working at the pier. Most people over there had sticky fingers, and often stole from the passengers or cargo ships. If discovered, they would take a beating at the very least.

  “No worries, it was a whole box of sausage and I only took two. No one will know.”

  Victor took out a knife, cut a piece off, and fed Old Phil. He threw more than half of the sausage into Ye Qingxuan’s arms. “Rare goods from Wales. A box is worth two silver coins. Bring it back with you, and let the priest have a taste so that he will believe Victor will succeed in the future as well.”

  “You are not going back with me?” Ye Qingxuan asked. “The priest has always wanted you to come back.”

  “I…” Victor was silent, and soon he shook his head. “I’m not going. My life is so messed up, the priest would be angry with me if he knew. Besides, with such a ‘good boy’ like you, in time, he will not remember me.”

  “What are you saying?” Ye Qingxuan said, agitated.

  Victor got up, grinning and waving. “You know I’m not good at talking, do not be angry. I still have something to do tonight. Are you alright with going back to the church on your own?”

  Victor helped Ye Qingxuan up from the ground and gave Old Phil a pat on the back, indicating that he should follow his master home.

  In silence, he watched Ye Qingxuan drift further away, his smile fading little by little.

  He stared down at the dagger on the ground, and his green eyes turned the color of blood—just like a beast.

  -

  The color of the sky continued to get darker as the night progressed, and the street was empty. Martin was wandering in the alley, depressed. He dared not to go home.

  “Big Brother, what do we do now?” His lips trembled softly as he watched Paul, his eyes full of fear. “Father has ordered us not to cause him trouble. If he knew…”

  “Do not be scared. Father won’t let anything happen to you.” Paul’s eyes were gloomy. He sneered, “No one will believe a beggar’s words.”

  “No one saw! Even if he says you did it, we can say that he is lying.” Ray said, “Don’t worry, I will find him tomorrow. He won’t talk.”

  Paul cracked his knuckles, remembering being pressed on the ground and beaten up by that little devil. His eyes grew ferocious. “He better know his place and say nothing. Otherwise, even if something happened, no one would be on his side.”

  “But…”

  “Didn’t father say that the mayor will be done with his term in two days? As soon as Father’s elected as the new mayor, no one will ever offend us because of some foreign bastard.” Paul continued with a cold voice, “You are leaving for the Sacred City in two days. When you come back as a musician, you can do anything you want to him, and no one will say a word. Not even the priest could protect him.”

  With the mention of the Sacred City, the fear left Martin’s eyes, as if he had found protection. His expression became calm. He raised his hand and stroked his bruises. His eyes gradually lit up.

  “I’ll repay him well,” he whispered. “How dare he do that to me…”

  Ray and Paul exchanged glances, grinned, and patted Martin on the shoulder. “Do not worry. When you are not here, we will take care of him”

  “Let’s go.” Paul put his arm around Martin’s shoulder. “The day after tomorrow, you will leave for the Sacred City. Mother has asked the kitchen staff to prepare your favorite dishes. She has a lot to say to you. Do not let a bastard from nowhere ruin our good time.”

  Martin nodded and smiled.

  -

  “It’s good to have a family.” Behind them in the dark alley, someone slowly said, “Even if you destroy the world out there, you will have nothing to fear once you get home because you have a good father.”

  “Who’s there?!” Paul suddenly turned around. “Come out!”

  “Sorry, did I interrupt your good time?” In the alley, a thin shadow slowly emerged. His rusty voice croaked, “Think about it. With warm candlelight, a family enjoying a feast at the table, and the long legs under a maid’s skirt are pleasurable as well. With such a setting, even I believe anything can be forgiven. After all, what can be more important than family?”

  “Die!”

  Paul and Ray’s faces grew fierce. They rolled up their sleeves and moved toward the alley, but the shadow did not flinch—he was not intimidated by them.

  Instead, he accelerated.

  In an instant, like a spring stretched to its limits, he burst into Paul’s arms from the darkness. His fist with metal rings struck Paul’s abdomen with the impact of his body.

  He fell slightly. This was a rare technique used in street fighting. At that instant, it was almost like the whole weight of his body had been pressed into the fist. Even a scrawny person could break two pieces of wood with this technique, not to mention those who did not appear so weak!

  For a moment, Paul rolled his eyes and bent over.

  “Hey!”

  The shado
w sneered and raised his hand, then mercilessly struck Paul’s back with the iron tiger, like a hammer hitting a bell. With a muffled sound, Paul fell to the ground.

  Then, the shadow stepped on Paul to jump up towards the stunned Ray, and kicked him onto the ground. Followed by two more kicks, he kept going until Ray was immobilized.

  In just a few seconds, two people had been incapacitated.

  The shadow took a breath, kicked Ray one more time then spat on the ground. He wiped his mouth, and finally raised his head.

  In the dim moonlight, his pale and cold face was illuminated, and his green eyes shone like a beast.

  “V…Victor!” Martin was shocked. He immediately took a step back, and finally recognized who the shadow.

  “I did not expect you to recognize me. I thought you had all forgotten my name since I went to the pier.” Victor laughed softly, but with no joy in his voice.

  “Don’t come any closer!” Martin staggered back, searching himself for something.

  “Are you looking for this?” Victor pulled out a dagger, still with dried blood on it. He looked at Martin’s stunned face and laughed. He threw the dagger at him.

  “Here.”

  The dagger rolled in the air, drew a curvature, and fell at Martin’s feet.

  Martin instinctively reached out to pick up, but then a black shadow rushed up. Suddenly, a hand clasped around his throat, nearly breaking his Adam’s apple.

  The severe force around Martin’s neck choking him forced him down on his knees, but someone started pulling his hair and dragged him back into the dark alley.

  “What do you want?!” Martin was struggling on the ground and tried to speak. “Because of that bastard? I can give you money! However much you want!”

  “No need,” the voice responded coldly. “I like to take it myself.”

  6 Nightmare

  “No thanks, I like to take it myself.”

  Victor agilely reached a hand in and picked up Martin’s wallet. “Unfortunately, this money is not enough. You’ll have to pay a little interest.”

  Victor crouched down. He looked at Martin’s fearful expression and could not help but smile. Then he reached out and grabbed Martin’s wrist, looking at his palm.

  “Your hand looks so nice. So slender, flexible, and so white. I heard that in order to help you become a musician, your father hired music teachers to train you starting at a very young age. Every day you also had various hand treatments. So such beautiful hands must be very valuable, right?”

  Martin was stunned and his face suddenly turned pale white as he finally understood what Victor wanted to do.

  “You’re crazy! If you dare do that, my dad will not let go of you!” He screamed and struggled, “I swear that you will regret it!”

  Victor sighed, “In fact, half an hour ago, I began to regret it already.”

  Crunch!

  With a crisp, crunching sound, Martin’s screams scratched the silence. In Victor’s hands, Martin’s pinky finger was turned abnormally up to the back of his hand, broken.

  “Last time, my decision to let you go was my fault.”

  Crunch! Crunch!

  “I will not repeat the same mistake a second time.”

  Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

  With the series of cracking sounds, Martin screamed at such a high pitch, he almost awakened the people in the faraway village.

  Victor gently let go and got up from the ground.

  “In another half hour, your hand won’t go back to its original state, even if it is put together again.” He looked down at Martin and sighed softly, “What a pity! So even if you do go to the Sacred City, your hope of becoming a musician is slim, right?”

  Hearing Martin’s cries, he clapped his hands and turned away.

  －

  In the dark, he looked back from a distance at Martin, who was rolling on the ground, scratching his head helplessly.

  “Oh, no. I forgot this fatty’s father is an officer in the town of Lute. It seems that I can’t stay in that town anymore.” He sighed quietly. “Is it too late for me to run away now?”

  In silence, he turned around and saw a golden haired dog in the distance. He waved with a grin, “Can’t sleep, Old Phil?”

  Old Phil squatted on the ground, silently watching him. It tilted its head and licked its dirty fur. It looked like it could not fall asleep, so it came out for a walk.

  Old Phil held back its sharp teeth quietly, no longer finding smells in the wind. Even its violent eyes had eased up.

  “Sorry, I have to run away now.” Victor squatted down, looking at this old dog, and scratched his head helplessly. “From now on, you will be the only friend of that guy. But since you cannot even talk, he will be bored to death!”

  Old Phil seemed to understand him, rolling its eyes and smacking its tail in Victor’s face.

  “Aha, sorry. I forgot that you can understand me. You are much better than Yezi, who just pretends not to understand!” Victor gently patted Old Phil’s back and his tone became softer. “But that guy has always been like that, right? He never talked to anyone, even when he was bullied. Only trying to fight against the others by himself. His ferocious demeanor doesn’t let people see his fear inside. He obviously doesn’t have any talent, but he still wants to be a musician. It’s like he’ll die if he can’t become a musician. Even I can’t see any hope in him to be the one. What on earth is he thinking?”

  He was talking endlessly while Old Phil listened quietly.

  After a long time, he clapped his hands with a bitter smile and turned away.

  After a few steps, he turned back and saw Old Phil still looking at him. He laughed and waved goodbye. “Go back, Old Phil, I’m leaving now.”

  He paused then walked into the dark. “As long as you accompany him, he will not be so lonely.”

  －

  Not knowing why, Ye Qingxuan dreamt of the past, of things that had happened a long time ago—things that were thought to be forgotten already.

  At that time, he was walking alone in the dark. And in the dark, someone was calling his name. There were noises—the sounds of knocking at the door, footsteps, screams, and porcelain shattering.

  “Little Yezi, little Yezi, do not be afraid.” There was a woman holding him strongly, but she was warm and familiar, like the sun. She pushed Ye Qingxuan into the cupboard, holding his cheek, and looked at him. Her pupils were like jade that glistened tears. “Stay here. Do not make a sound and do not be afraid.”

  The door of the cupboard closed. Ye Qingxuan stood in the dark at a loss. He heard the noises—the door and the footsteps. His mother was screaming and questioning someone angrily. Someone rushed into the hall and crashed into the Eastern porcelain, white shards falling into the mud.

  He vaguely heard someone shouting, “Ye Lanzhou, who escaped from the felony of killing six royal musicians, was ordered by the parliament to be included in the wanted list. All his properties will be cleared and confiscated to compensate the State.”

  He huddled in the cupboard and closed his eyes in fear.

  The darkness hit again.

  Feeling dizzy, he heard his mother crying and her tears fell on his face. He tried hard to open his eyes, but could only to see darkness. He felt so cold, as if he was falling into an ice pit.

  “Sir, please save him. This child has a high fever. He is dying.”

  His mother’s hug made him feel so warm, but he still could not help but feel cold. She was no longer elegant, no longer a fine lady, but a mad woman, kneeling down in the square, forcing herself to tug at every person’s trousers only to be kicked away.

  “Get out of my way, dirty beggar.”

  It was cold and snowing. Very cold, very cold. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and heard his mother crying. In the dark, he covered his ears, but the sound was still in his mind.

  “Little Yezi, run! Little Yezi, do not be afraid.”

  …

  “Little Yezi, from now on you will just be by
yourself.”

  He felt his mother stroking his cheek, her last chance to touch him. She smiled through tears. “I cannot hold on any longer.”

  Ye Qingxuan gazed at her sluggishly. She was so beautiful. Even if she looked like a beggar now, her eyes were still gentle and kind, bearing the torture from this world with a smile. Now, her torture was finally ending, so why did he feel so sad?

  She exhausted the last of her strength to wrap a slender instrument string around the child’s finger, one circle after the other, as if it were a ring on his finger. “This is the only thing your father left behind. Take it and you will not be afraid.”

  She tried hard to embrace her own child and repeated over and over again, “Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid.”

  Until Ye Qingxuan was no longer afraid, until her final breath.

  She was gone.

  －

  Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and found himself still lying in the room.

  It was morning, but the sun was not up yet.

  The windows were open. It was raining outside. The moonlight and the sound of rain came from the window. Through the window, a black carriage indistinctly passed by on the street.

  The rain fell from the windowsill, splashing on the ground. The splatter of raindrops woke him up. There was residual water near his eyes.

  He got up from bed and watched the rain fall outside the window, rubbing the ring on his index finger with his thumb silently.

  “Ye Qingxuan, you have been here for five years,” he heard a voice in his heart whisper, “Are you still scared?”

  －

  In this sudden rainstorm of a night, everything was silent.

  A black carriage came from afar, and quietly stopped in front of the church. The driver was knocking at the door over and over again. After a long time, the door finally opened.

  Father Bann walked out holding a candlestick. He seemed to not have slept for the night, looking at the driver coldly. “You are late.”

  Looking up at Father Bann, the driver froze. He wanted to explain.

  “Father Bann, please do not be caught up with him. He’s just an ordinary coachman.” A tired voice rose from inside the carriage. “It would be better if you could care about me. I think I got into trouble.”