by Feng Yue
After he appeared, the cafeteria seemed to get colder, and the vague commotion became muted, as if they had become distant.
“You’re that Easterner?” he stared at the youth, studying him.
Ye Qingxuan nodded. “That’s me.”
“I’m Richard.” He reached out for a handshake. His hand felt cold like steel. Pointing at his clothes, his expression was still calm. “Student council, executive office. I bet you don’t like people who wear this.”
Charles kicked Ye Qingxuan under the table, hinting at him to be serious. Of course Ye Qingxuan was serious. He knew what the executive office did.
If the seven-hundred or so school rules was the law, then the executive office was the department that executed them. The students did not like those people because they wore all black, showing that they stood opposite of the students. They carefully watched those that thought of breaking school rules, and would swoop in and capture them as soon as they crossed the line. The chief that had been fired last semester for using opiates had been because of the executive office.
In recent years, the student council insisted on letting the executive office oversee the school rules. The principal tried to stop them, but they still did it. They were not close to anyone, were stubborn, and did not care about anybody’s feelings. They would not let anyone get in their way.
In the short five days since the start of school, more than ten new students had already been locked in their room. Ye Qingxuan did not want to be their next tally, so being careful around them was the best solution.
As if he were used to the sudden cautiousness, Richard did not seem to care. He put a piece of paper on the table and said quietly, “The student council recently sent out notifications. The grace period for tuition has ended. Is Bai Xi here? You need to pay the tuition within two days.”
Ye Qingxuan froze. Charles’s expression changed too.
Their dirty tricks had finally appeared.
—
As the only senior, Charles obviously knew that Ye Qingxuan had not paid the tuition yet. He had been taking care of the paperwork for the delay too. But there should have been one more month for him to pay it. Why had the deadline suddenly been moved up?
Ye Qingxuan’s financial issue was clear to Charles. His pockets were cleaner than his white hair! After buying necessities over the past few days, he only had around ten pounds left. Even their meal had been Charles’ treat. How could he pay the tuition?
The Academy’s tuition had always been high. At sixty thousand per year, you could buy a nice house in the heart of Avalon City! Suddenly asking him for both his and Bai Xi’s tuition was practically kicking them out of the academy.
“Wait.” Charles stopped the youth from speaking and looked up. “Isn’t there still one month?”
“What you did on the first day of school forced the school board to reconsider your request to delay the payment,” Richard replied nonchalantly. “The elites have great power. Many people don’t like Ye Qingxuan’s attitude.”
“Attitude?” Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brow.
Richard nodded, his expression neutral. “I knew the first time I saw you that you’re the type to cause trouble all the time. I know what you’re thinking—getting provoked is trouble too.”
“Then should I apologize?” Ye Qingxuan asked, expressionless.
“My brother is in the first year, and he was dragged into this too.” Richard pointed at his calf. “He was hit here and still can’t get up.”
Ye Qingxuan froze. After a long time, he sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“He told me it was the most fun he had in a fight,” Richard said, shaking his head. “So I’m going to let it go.”
Ye Qingxuan and Charles both gaped, not knowing what to say. They did not really understand these brothers’ logic.
“I brought the notification over, so this doesn’t have anything to do with me anymore.” Richard nodded and looked toward Charles. “Also, your debtor has already reported you to many people. If this keeps going on, not even Abraham can save you.”
Charles’s expression changed. His usual infuriating smile on his face froze, and he finally turned helpless. “Research requires investments. I shouldn’t have to pay them back if they suffer losses, right?”
“You can keep thinking that.” Richard did not agree nor disagree with him. Glancing toward Ye Qingxuan, he asked, “I heard that you argued over the school rules with Professor Ben on the first day?”
“Yeah.”
Richard nodded. “Our Head likes your style. Are you interested in joining the executive office?”
Ye Qingxuan gaped again. He felt like he did not have enough brainpower. Under the table, Charles kicked him, hinting at him to hurry up and accept, but Ye Qingxuan was hesitant.
Finally, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have time.”
“Oh.” Richard turned and left without feeling disappointed.
Ye Qingxuan watched him leave the cafeteria and could not help but say, “He’s so weird.”
“Who cares about him? What’s wrong with you?” Charles buried his face in his hands. “That was such a good chance to make connections and you let it go. If you joined the executive office, then I could get away with drinking in the future! Uh, okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. What are we gonna do about your tuition?” He realized that he was too loud and lowered his volume. His expression serious, he said, “We can’t keep dragging it out. Two days! We can’t get that much money even if our lives depend on it!”
Ye Qingxuan blanched and scratched his head. “Right. That’s a problem.”
“No sh*t! Of course!” He grabbed his hair, freaking out. After counting his fingers, he nodded.
“You can borrow some from the professor. It won’t be much though, maybe twenty thousand. I can get five thousand and take you out to borrow more. With your credit, you should be able to get around thirty thousand. There’s nothing to do about Bai Xi. She can only leave school temporarily. Hurry and help her apply for the government’s scholarship, and next year…”
“Can’t find enough money?” A mocking voice from behind them made Charles’ features twist.
The guy who had challenged Ye Qingxuan on Edmund’s behalf, Bart, had appeared beside them. He looked down at the two and whistled.
“Seeing you two so frustrated, ah, how do I put it? It’s pretty interesting.” He muttered in amazement. “You’re like a dazed duck just over this small amount of money.” Here he quacked like a duck, his voice dripping with mockery.
“You need something?” Ye Qingxuan gazed at him. “Leave if you don’t.”
“Hey, why are you so unfriendly? But I suppose it’s natural for downtown rednecks not to have any manners.” Bart sighed dramatically. Purposely looking for trouble, he pulled a chair over and sat down. He swiped the tabletop with a finger and his face twisted in disgust. “I don’t want to be in this smelly place either, so let me just get to the point.”
Ye Qingxuan remained silent and gazed at him coolly. His eyes reminded Bart of Ye Qingxuan’s calm and cool demeanor when he had been fighting the other day.
Bart was taken aback. He could not help but snort. Ye Qingxuan was still proud, but it would be a different story in a few days. “Edmund said that if you’re willing to apologize at the public lecture, he will consider forgiving you, and let you go.” Bart paused, his lips curling into a taunting smile. “The kind of apology with kneeling. You understand, right?”
“Really?” Ye Qingxuan still did not react and just said, “How about this? If he’s willing to kneel and apologize to me, I can consider letting him go too.”
Ye Qingxuan’s calm voice entered Bart’s ears and his smile froze, and gradually turned menacing. “You don’t know who you’re messing with. I’ll tell him exactly what you said.”
“Maybe he can come personally next time,” Ye Qingxuan suggested genuinely. “I mean, I can’t carry a brick with me wherever
I go.”
“The lower class is always so lowly. Do you know who you are? You want the Adrian family to look you in the eye? You don’t qualify!” Saying this, Bart glanced over at Charles. “You’re going to disgrace the academy too, especially if you keep hanging out with the academy’s embarrassments.”
Ye Qingxuan froze, but Charles’s expression changed. Seeing it, Bart realized something and his smile became even more vicious. “Oh, you didn’t tell him yet?”
“None of your business,” Charles said through his teeth.
“It’s okay, I understand. You’re afraid of him knowing that you’re useless?” Bart looked at Charles and snickered. “It’s our first meeting, but I’ve heard of you. The legendary genius who reached Rhythm Level in one month, but was stuck there for more than ten years, getting held back until now. You’re not even a musician! You’re still here after all these years. It’s shameless! Don’t you feel embarrassed?”
Charles did not reply, the smile on his face was fading away.
“What, did I say something wrong?” Bart’s confidence grew. “Don’t forget, you also…”
Ping!
There was a sound on the table, and a flash of silver flew past.
Cut off, Bart looked down in surprise and was stunned. He saw the youth slowly open his fist, the handle of a fork shaking on the tabletop. But the fork was right between his fingers! When the fork shook, he could feel the metallic coldness, bits of pepper and salt on his skin!
“Since it’s our first meeting, you shouldn’t try to make conversation if I haven’t introduced you to him,” Ye Qingxuan said lightly. “Otherwise, it’s impolite and you’ll seem uncultured. Do you understand?”
But Bart could not hear him. He could only stare at the fork’s shadow. A fork! A fork! A fork! The shaking silver light flashed in his eyes until he finally processed everything. Stumbling back, he almost fell flat on his back. His expression changed from fury to embarrassment, his face finally turning white from fear. “You—you dare to fight me?”
“Why not? I still have a knife here.” Ye Qingxuan looked down at the metal in his hands. He twirled the knife on his fingertips and suddenly stopped. “I don’t know if you’re worthy enough to look it in the eye.”
“You’re going to regret it. I swear,” Bart growled from between his teeth and left in anger.
—
Watching as Bart stalked out the door, Ye Qingxuan pulled the fork out from the table and put it back on his plate. “What date is it?”
“August 17th,” Charles replied listlessly.
“Oh, it should be alright.” Ye Qingxuan nodded. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he rose. “Let’s go.”
Charles blanched. “Where?”
“To get some money and pay the tuition. We can pay back your debtors too.”
72 Exchange
It was afternoon in Avalon’s downtown. On the busy street, a white stone building took up much of Avalon’s golden mile. The front yard within the black gates was empty. Guarded by two statues of saints at the end of the yard, the front door of the Musician Union was always open. Even in the daytime, the candles were lit, exuding a vague coldness and seriousness. Here, people came and went in silence. In the stern atmosphere, everyone seemed grave and serious.
This was the Musician Union’s branch in Avalon. Across the street was the Westminster Church. Different from the Musician Union’s silence, the church was bustling and full of commotion. There was an endless stream of religious followers coming over in carriages, or merchants going to exchange, or store their money orders or holy emblems.
For hundreds of years, these two landmarks stood beside Avalon’s Royal Avenue. One protected the kingdom from demons. The other maintained the economy and livelihood of Anglo’s people, supporting the kingdom with the Royalty.
But now, a few elites sat impatiently in a fancy carriage before the Musician Union’s door.
“That’s what he said?” Edmund’s eyes were ice cold. His face was still bruised and swollen, and he looked laughable. But the coldness in his eyes sent chills down Bart’s spine.
“That’s right.” Bart grit his teeth. “He said he wants you to kneel in apology and forever be the academy’s laughingstock.”
“If that’s the case, then we won’t keep them…” Edmund’s eyes became even more poisonous. “Seems like I was too naïve. After all, they’re scum and we shouldn’t expect them to know their place.”
“You want to…” Bart’s muscles twitched and he broke off.
“Bart…” Edmund’s swollen eyelids lifted upward slightly. “You know that it’s always possible to make a mistake during a faceoff. The academy always has slots for the wounded or dead…”
Bart remained silent. They were in the carriage, but he seemed to smell the vile scent of the sewer. In the murky waters of the Thames, a white corpse could float into the ocean and disappear forever. What a pity that the girl, so white and delicate, would disappear into the sewer…
“Let them be cocky for a few more days. Life is short, after all.” The corners of Edmund’s lips twisted. “Wait for my uncle to come back, and I’ll show them!”
“Are you sure?” Bart asked quietly. “What if your uncle doesn’t care about this?”
“That’s impossible!” He rubbed his throbbing nose. “My uncle loves me the most in the family. He won’t let a redneck mess with me.” Edmund’s eyes flashed. “Just wait until I get the Dragon Breath Ring, and that mutt will see what the end of the world is like! Not even the teachers there will be able to save him!”
—
As they waited, the servant at the corner of the street noticed something. He waved his hat in the direction of the carriage. Everyone straightened. “He’s coming!”
Under everyone’s intense gaze, a column of horses galloped out of the crowd.
On the strictly monitored Royal Avenue, the group of men clad in gray cloaks galloped over on their stallions. As if they had rode through wind and dust, there was a layer of frost on everyone’s faces.
Some of the burly men held swords, while others had bows and arrows forbidden to commoners. Some were wounded, blood seeping through their bandages. The most shocking were the heads that hung from their saddles. The faces were hidden behind scraggly hair. Four sharp teeth gleamed from within their wide mouths. Two pointed ears were on each side.
Moon fae. They were the dark family that fell from mankind, a twisted demon tribe created by the Dark Mother. Often disguising themselves as humans, these creatures that hid within society were always on the list of the Musician Union’s wanted list. These seemingly elegant creatures, skilled in archery and swordsmanship, would turn into bloodsucking monsters, unable to control their thirst under the moonlight.
Following the middle-aged man at the head, they stopped before the Musician Union’s entrance. He jumped off his horse and handed his dusty cloak to his servant. Under his cloak, his elite hunting gear did not show any sign of travel or wear. Taking off his bloody gloves, he replaced them with new pure white gloves. Instantly, he transformed from a weary traveler back into an elite.
Seeing him, Edmund’s eyes lit up. “Uncle!”
—
Outside the door, the man conversed happily with his men. When he entered the union, he heard a voice behind him.
“Uncle! Uncle Bradley!”
The man halted. Turning back, his eyes lit up. “Little Edmund? Long time no see.” He smiled widely as he walked toward his nephew, pride written all over his face. “I heard that you were accepted by the Royal Academy of Music. I was happy for you when I heard the news. Are you here to welcome me back?” He hugged his nephew. After studying him, his brows furrowed. “What happened to your face?”
“Nothing.” Edmund smiled like a little boy. “I heard that you went to take care of the group of moon fae. How was it? I’ve been praying for you to come back quickly.”
“A group of pointy ears is nothing to me.” Bradley guided him forward. “Ther
e was some trouble with finding a guide though. Those scared commoners actually hid when they heard we needed a guide. Such a disgrace to Anglo.”
“Those commoners dared to refuse an elite’s recruitment?” Edmund asked in shock.
Bradley huffed coldly. “Her Highness is too soft with those people calling for human rights. Even the peasants and slaves are getting uppity. But don’t worry, I have the intelligence and techniques to teach them. Let’s stop talking about these unimportant matters. The contribution points for this mission are worth my effort.” He entered the hall of the union. Studying the list on the pillar, his eyes lit up. “It’s time to reap the rewards after working hard for so long.”
There were always three stone tablets in the center of the Musician Union’s hall. They had already been there before the building had been constructed. As the building was built, different equipment and aether worked on the tablets. In the end, a dozen alchemy musicians worked together and carved a music score with a few hundred syllables and finally created the end result.
The three tablets could display something different according to what the musician played. One of them recorded all rewarding missions and the contribution points that could be had after completion. This included attacks on natural catastrophes, capturing of dark musicians, and removing the demons that appeared.
The one in the center displayed the rewards. One could exchange contribution points for alchemy equipment, instruments, and musical scores. This included the handwritten notes of masters and saints, classic scores such as the Goldberg Variations and Missa Solemnis in D, and legendary instruments made by saints. If one had enough points, they could exchange them for practically mythical instruments such as Heaven’s Horn.
The last tablet showed the ranking of musicians worldwide. The Sacred City ranked a musician according to the missions they accomplished, and their actions. The musician could decide whether or not to display it.
Of course, the top of the ranking was always the Three Kings. Following them were Haydn, Chopin, Shikuang, Boya, and other saints. This was why the Musician Union existed. Through everyone’s cooperation and hard work, all resources could be kept in the same place to encourage naturally arrogant musicians to do something real for the world.