Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  Even if one did not speak of the highest level saintly scores and the symphony of predestination, any score that entered the Resonance level was worlds away from other scores. Before this, a musician was on his own, but after resonating with the Devas, his power would be completely incomparable.

  The feeling of danger behind him made Ye Qingxuan smile bitterly. “What is this? The disgrace of the academy is now the enemy of the academy,” he thought.

  “Then next, all we have left to speak of is tomorrow’s trial…” The principal pretended to cough and stopped! The old man was pretending to keep everyone in suspense.

  Several coaching members of the school board looked at each other. In the end, they looked at Sydney at the same time. His expression grew distressed immediately. Helpless, he followed the principal’s plan and asked, “Mr. Principal, do you already have plans for tomorrow’s trial?”

  “That’s right.” Maxwell patted Sydney’s shoulder in satisfaction and said, “Since it’s the school anniversary, we should continue Anglo’s glorious tradition!”

  “Eh?!” It was not only Sydney who felt a bad premonition.

  Maxwell smiled happily. “Let’s…play soccer!”

  Sydney: “…”

  Coaches: “…”

  Students: “…”

  Silence—dead silence. Everyone was stunned and they looked at each other, speechless. Much later, someone asked quietly, “Soccer?”

  “That’s right, soccer!” Maxwell waved excitedly. “We should get some exercise since this is the campus of youth! The Royal Academy of Music aims to develop all-around students, so how can there be no sports?!

  “So, let’s play soccer! Kick in your youth! Kick in your style! Kick in a new era of the Royal Academy of Music!

  “I had originally planned to suggest to the royal family that we hold a musician soccer game and invite Burgundy, Asgard, Canaan and even the Eastern Imperial College to participate…Sydney what do you think of this proposal? Isn’t it good?”

  “What do you think about this proposal? Could it be called a proposal? It was completely decided already!” Sydney thought. “What else can I say?”

  “I support it, I support it.” Sydney could only nod. Wiping his cold sweat, he quietly looked at the princess who was still calm, and said in a low voice, “Think long-term, Mr. Principal. Long-term!”

  Sydney was afraid that the principal would digress and propose more troublesome things. If Maxwell wanted soccer, then it was soccer. At most, everyone would just play along and kick some balls.

  “Oh, there’s one more thing I forgot to say,” Maxwell added. “The soccer I’m talking about is the kind where you can use music scores.”

  Use music scores…how the f*ck was this soccer?!

  “Is this killer soccer?!”

  His words stirred the crowd. Everyone’s expressions changed. Ye Qingxuan tried to imagine the scene, but found that he could not because his imagination was limited this time. For some reason, he just felt very uneasy.

  But in the crowd, Bart seemed to think of something. He suddenly laughed, overwhelmed with joy. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan full of schadenfreude.

  “Haha, you’re dead meat, Ye Qingxuan! You’re doomed, you know? No one can save you now…”

  Ye Qingxuan froze for a moment, but quickly understood where the uneasiness came from. He met Charles’ eyes and could not help but curse.

  193 Do You Mind if I Play Soccer?

  It was late at night in the living room of the Music History department. Ye Qingxuan, Charles and Bai Xi stared at each other in awkward silence.

  After a long time, Ye Qingxuan took the lead and asked with a serious expression, “So what can we do now?”

  “Nothing.” Charles scratched his head. “That *sshole from your grade was right. We’re probably dead this time.”

  “One-thousand points per win, five hundred each for a tie, and five hundred deducted for a loss…If we don’t find a solution, we’ll lose horribly this time. I’m okay but senior, you won’t be able to graduate!”

  “…Well, it’s okay if I can’t graduate.” Charles asked with some hesitation, “I’m used to it anyway. So what if I wait some more and try again next year?”

  “Okay, so we won’t worry about graduating now. But the Cave of Sleep and sublimation ritual…we won’t get that opportunity again.” Ye Qingxuan grew impatient. “Senior, you have to work too. Look, even Bai Xi got a few hundred points today! You already passed the first round, so can’t you put in some effort?”

  “But putting in effort is useless for these things, isn’t it?” Charles shrugged. “If working hard can solve everything, then why isn’t everyone working hard?”

  “…Then we’re definitely dead meat this time.” Ye Qingxuan sighed helplessly. “I don’t have enough points to deduct if you want to graduate. The school board can happily force us to beg for food next year.”

  “There’s nothing bad with that, actually.” Charles scratched his head. “To be honest, I was doing really badly here for some time. Professor had been worried that I’d have to beg for food in the future. But then I suddenly got it!”

  “…Got it?”

  “That’s right.” Charles became spirited. “I spent a few months observing Avalon’s beggars and studied their techniques. You wouldn’t know it, but Avalon’s charity is pretty good. There’s no stress either. I’m telling you, I found some spots where you won’t go hungry if you beg there! So Junior, don’t worry. Even if we have to beg, I can still take you to the top!”

  “Senior, where are your ambitions?!” Ye Qingxuan cracked his knuckles, kind of wanting to hit Charles.

  “I’ve even memorized the most valuable golden spots for begging in Avalon! I may be unaccomplished normally, but if I go beg, I’ll be the king of beggars! How is that not a pursuit?”

  “Your dream is to beg for food?!”

  Beside them, Bai Xi could not take it anymore and interrupted, “Hey, you’re off topic!”

  Ye Qingxuan returned to the sofa and crossed his arms. He said seriously, “The most important thing now is the manpower problem! If we don’t solve it, we’ll be dead!”

  Charles and Bai Xi exchanged glances and sighed in unison. There really was no solution to this problem.

  Yes, the most fatal problem for the History department currently was—manpower! They did not have enough people!

  Even if one did not look at the three major schools of Modifications, Summoning and Revelations, even the other departments like Music Theory and Classicism had handfuls of people! As for the major schools, forming a league was no problem, not to mention a soccer team!

  But the History department had no allies and was unloved by all over the years. Their annual budgets were not even as much as what the others received for cafeteria reimbursements. No wonder Bart said they were dead meat. They could not even form a basic team!

  There were currently only three students in the entire department. If Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi were not here this year, it would be even worse. Charles would be a one-man band. They would not even be able to catch up if everyone on the field only took one step, not to mention playing ball!

  “Actually, I think us three are okay.” Charles coughed. “If it’s us three, at least we have chemistry. Isn’t that how fantasy novels are all written nowadays? Three people form a small team, and we charge and retreat together. You come as one person and we have three people. You come as one hundred, and we’re still three…”

  “Those people are usually the antagonists, alright? And even if they come as three, they’re still beaten by the main character…and the main character isn’t alone either. He can easily find twenty-some people, along with replacements, coaches and a cheerleading team! How can we do this as three people?” Ye Qingxuan said in exasperation.

  “Ha, Junior, you shouldn’t be so pessimistic. Don’t Easterners have that saying, ‘the mountains and rivers multiply and there’s a road to the underworld; the willows are dark
and blossoms shine, and there is a godly village ahead?’ There’s always hope.”

  “Senior, what kind of weird saying is that? It makes it feel like we’re definitely done for now.” Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt powerless and kind of wanted to go crazy. “And we totally don’t have enough people! Even if we have a forward, a mid-field, and a defender, we still need a goalie! Where do we get a goalie?”

  “Uh…here’s the goalie!” Charles lifted the big golden dog that was sleeping on the ground and shook it before Ye Qingxuan. “Look, what a great goalie! Imposing! Aggressive! Cold! Merciless! Practically the Academy’s nightmare, a dark legend!”

  The sleeping Old Phil opened its eyes and looked around in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

  Ye Qingxuan was stunned too. “Can that work?”

  “I think so!” Bai Xing raised a hand in support. “Old Phil is much better than humans!”

  “Yeah!” Charles nodded. “They didn’t say we can’t use dogs and Old Phil isn’t an average dog, either. Right, Old Phil?”

  “Ow!” Old Phil had turned around and bit Charles’s hand in annoyance. Charles yelped and began rolling on the ground.

  Seeing him get beat up by Old Phil, Ye Qingxuan did not show any sign of going to help. Instead, he began pondering. What Charles said was not entirely illogical. There was no reason why Summoning’s phantom beasts could go on field but Old Phil could not!

  There was an advanced level amongst the musician categories called the “jungle chanter.” These guys hung out in the jungle all day. Their most unique characteristic was that they were skilled at interacting with animals, and they usually had an animal companion. The animals were part of the jungle chanter’s strength. Even the Sacred City recognized this. So if this was the case, Old Phil might be allowed too.

  Ye Qingxuan chewed on his nails and began racking his brain for loopholes in the school rules and soccer game rules. If there was really no other way, they could only bring Old Phil…

  Just as he was pondering, a knock on the door of the living room sounded. Everyone’s heads shot up and looked over. Who would come so late at night?

  One could vaguely see a student wearing the Revelations uniform in the dim light outside. He looked like this year’s graduating student. He came late at night, knocked politely and waited quietly, not impatient at all.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, that unlucky guy from today. You haven’t forgotten, right, Concertmaster Ye?” The voice sounded familiar. He was definitely an acquaintance.

  After thinking for a bit, it suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. “You’re that Bench Guy from today!”

  “…What is ‘Bench Guy’?” The boy was taken aback and felt helpless. “Whatever, you can call me that.”

  It was not illogical for Ye Qingxuan to call him ‘Bench Guy.’ He stood outside the door now in his school uniform. His posture, clothing and greeting all followed the school rules. He seemed polite and kind. But for some reason, his head was covered in a square…rock.

  Yes, rock.

  Ye Qingxuan raised a finger and tapped it. The echo was crisp. Yes, this really an actual piece of concrete brick. It seemed that Bench Guy’s had studied mimicry well. He had mimicked the material and hardness perfectly!

  But coming at midnight in this mask-like headpiece and being unwilling to reveal his identity was just suspicious!

  “Uh, aren’t you going to invite me in?” Bench Guy cocked his head and ‘looked’ at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan imagined that he was smiling.

  Ye Qingxuan’s lips twitched and he moved away from the door. “Come in. The History department can’t let guests stand outside.”

  Soon, Bench Guy was on the sofa. He gazed around as if he could see the furnishings surrounding him. Finally, he nodded and praised, “Small but complete. It’s not bad. I didn’t think the History department’s atmosphere would be so relaxed and gentle. It’s much better than the coldness of most schools.”

  “Here you go.” Bai Xi brought over a cup of tea maliciously and studied the concrete headgear seriously. She wanted to know how this guy would drink it…

  “…Thanks.” Bench Guy lifted the tea cup, but put it down after hesitating, much to Bai Xi’s disappointment. “I didn’t come here tonight to drink tea. I think Concertmaster Ye must have guessed why I’m here already, so I’ll just cut to the chase.”

  “Please.” Ye Qingxuan nodded, showing that he was all ears.

  “Tomorrow’s the second trial, which is a soccer game. But, as far as I know, the History department only has three students. If I didn’t guess incorrectly, you’re probably worried about your number.”

  Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while before nodding. “That’s correct.”

  “So, do you need my help?” Bench Guy suddenly said. “To be honest, I haven’t found a team yet. If the History department’s willing, I can join you. If you agree, I can call some people over too. You need people and I need points. It’s a win-win, so how about it? If we win, we can split the points. If we lose, it’s just like I invested poorly. There aren’t any losses for you.”

  Indeed, according to what Bench Guy said, they would not have any losses. It was a pure win. Bench Guy’s arrival was like receiving coal in the winter, but the coal was too perfect and was naturally suspicious.

  “I know why you’re here now. Thanks for your help, but I have some questions.” Ye Qingxuan exchanged glances with the others. After thinking for a bit, he asked straightforwardly, “Since you’re here to help, why do you have to hide under that cover?”

  Bench Guy chuckled bitterly and touched his concrete head. “Concertmaster Ye, don’t you know that you’re everyone’s target now? Someone’s already said that anyone who helps you will be sent to the Whitechapel Hospital. I’m going to graduate, so I’m not scared of their threats, but I still have to worry about my safety, you know?”

  “If you’re worried about your safety, then why are you here?”

  “Teaming up with strong people is always better than being dragged down by those stupid teammates.” Bench Guy’s voice had a natural tone, as if everything made sense. One could not help but trust him.

  But Ye Qingxuan did not budge. “Actually, I have a hypothesis that can explain all of this.” He looked at Bench Guy’s boxy head and his eyes hardened. “For example, someone, like Bart or Banner or someone who doesn’t like me, wants to eliminate me in the second round. So they make you and others join me. Then you’ll make me lose on purpose at the most critical point…Doesn’t this sound logical?”

  194 I Do Mind

  Bench Guy was silent. “If that’s what you think, then I have nothing to say. But if I wanted to harm you, why would I have advised you this morning?”

  Ye Qingxuan shook his head slightly. What he said did make sense, but it was still not enough to prove his innocence.

  Charles, who had been watching for a while, moved over and asked softly, “Is this guy reliable?”

  Ye Qingxuan looked up at Bench Guy’s eye and shook his head. “To be honest, he’s not very reliable.”

  “…Can you not say that in front of me?” Bench Guy said.

  Bench Guy was filled with awkwardness, but Ye Qingxuan changed the topic immediately. “But at least he’s good at talking, especially with his chicken soup for the restless soul!”

  “Is that a compliment?” Bench Guy’s voice grew more troubled, but Charles came up and grasped his hand enthusiastically.

  “Then we must be the same type of person! Nice to meet you! I’ve been here for so many years, but I didn’t know there was another graduate student who liked chicken soup like me. We should interact more closely.” As he spoke, Charles touched Bench Guy’s hands, and his tone became flirty. “Wow, your hand feels really soft…”

  “You—what do you want?” Bench Guy got goosebumps from Charles’s tone. He tried to draw his hand back, but he found that his hand was held tightly and he could not pull away.

  “Don’t be a
fraid, I just want to read your palm.” Charles grabbed Bench Guy’s wrist and leisurely pried the fingers open one by one. Understanding filled his eyes. “No calluses, unlike a commoner, but there’s also no cream applied, so he’s not like an elite either.”

  Ye Qingxuan nodded. “There are no injuries on the fingers, his nails are finely trimmed, skin is cared for properly…his family probably isn’t short of money.”

  At last, the two of them stopped pretending and circled around while studying at the nervous Bench Guy with their sharp and harsh eyes. The two exchanged views with a few words, never considering that who they were talking about was right before them.

  “His clothes are clean and well-ironed. He cares about his appearance and has a sense of honor, but a little shallow…” Ye Qingxuan paused and suddenly realized, “He wants to make people think that he is a careful and serious person.”

  “The headset is of poor taste, but it looks just right. It’s accurate…to the millimeter? Ah, Junior, bro, he has OCD!”

  “Yeah, so he’s not poor.”

  “But not an elite.”

  “But hopes to make a good impression.”

  “…with OCD.”

  The two people glanced at each other, and Ye Qingxuan said, “He’s the son of a merchant?”

  “Or maybe the descendant of a scholar.”

  “What about a local lord?” Ye Qing added. “It’s possible too.”

  Charles nodded. “But there’s no doubt he’s a utilitarian, an ambitious one with high aspirations…none of the above should have anything to do with that group of the second-generation failures.”

  The two people nodded in satisfaction.

  “Reasoning complete.”

  “Explanation finished.”

  “Yay.”

  The two *ssholes high-fived happily and made synchronized peace signs. On the couch, Bench Guy subconsciously moved to pull out a handkerchief from the bosom and wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead. Soon, he realized that he could not pull out a handkerchief or wipe the sweat on his forehead.