by Feng Yue
He looked up, but all was dark. Endless wind and snow flew against his face. In the icy snow beneath him, his feet had turned numb. Every step in the snow was like stepping on nails.
One would only feel life burning like a fire at times like this. But in this icy world, the fire was like a candle in the wind, flickering and sputtering. Every breath made the flames disperse from the mouth and nose, turning into steam and dissipating.
Slowly, slowly, he froze in this endless blizzard.
Ye Qingxuan could practically hear the sounds of ice forming. It was the sound of his eyes freezing. He looked up, through the heavy snow, at the sky.
There was no light in this dark world, only endless blizzard. But there were clearly three suns in the sky. They burned exuberantly and radiated with dazzling light. But the light did not reach Ye Qingxuan and had nothing to do with him. They stood in the distance and gazed coldly at the world invaded by ice and snow.
“That is not your sun.” A hoarse voice sounded in the whistling wind, like resentment that had paced in this blizzard for a millennium.
“Find…
“Find it…
“Find…the sun that belongs to you!”
Ye Qingxuan used the last of his strength to make a step. He felt his legs go out and the ground came into vision.
Thud. He fell into the snow and felt suffocation coming on, but before he suffocated, he turned into a frozen corpse.
He woke from the nightmare instantly and felt the warm firelight. The blizzard was outside the cave. The gentle firelight caressed him, waking him from the dream of freezing to death.
But there was no joy in his expression. He just stared at the dancing firelight before him. The nightmare had started again.
He climbed up with difficulty. It was time to leave.
-
The seemingly gentle firelight could only cause death. In a short while, the blizzard would grow and completely block his exit. The firelight would burn out too. In the end, he would be stuck in this cave and slowly freeze to death.
But now, Ye Qingxuan silently stared at the burning fire. After a long time, he gathered his courage and reached into the flames. He grasped something and pulled it out.
The flames trembled and dimmed instantly. Then it died out gradually, turning into a pile of ashes. A completely burned and disfigured corpse was in Ye Qingxuan’s hands. Yanked out from the flames, one could vaguely make out its original appearance. The height, bone structure, and the unburned white hair.
“Is this my frozen corpse from the last round?” It dawned on Ye Qingxuan, but he was not happy at all. “Burning my own corpse for warmth…has the nightmare gotten to this level?”
He took one last glance at the corpse and kicked it into the extinguished fire. Then he walked out the cave. The world was dark in the endless blizzard outside the cave.
“I saw three suns in the sky…” the hoarse voice sang in the sweeping wind. “I stared at them long and hard, and they stared at me too, as if unwilling to leave me. The phantom sun, the phantom sun…”
Ye Qingxuan walked barefoot in the snowy plain, facing the frosty wind. Sometimes, he would look behind him. There was still warm light there, as if calling him back.
He suddenly grew afraid. Turning around, he began sprinting, getting further and further away from the fire. Gradually, the illusionary firelight disappeared in the blizzard. The endless wind and snow swallowed him. A lonely sound resounded amongst the wailing wind.
This feeling seemed familiar. It was as if it had solidified into something tangible and melted into the frost and snow. It bore through Ye Qingxuan from the outside in. His steps suddenly halted because a memory had appeared in his mind, but the memory was covered with dust.
“It was snowing like this that day too, right?” a voice murmured in his ears. “You were this pathetic that day too, right?”
Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He did not dare to think back. He stepped forward, running forward in pain, as if fleeing for his life. He wanted to escape from here, escape to somewhere far—at least, get away from that d*mn voice.
But the voice followed closely. It followed his footprints like a shadow. It murmured gently, whispered hoarsely, asked angrily and roared furiously. In the end, the voice shook the wind and snow. The blizzard resonated with the icy voice.
It roared Ye Qingxuan’s name. Its voice was like burning fire and like cracking firewood. It was like a call from the past, calling for him to return from the darkness. And so the dark world was suddenly illuminated with firelight.
Ye Qingxuan’s steps stopped abruptly. He looked at the burning light. It was the glow from a dilapidated house on fire. The flames were so exuberant, as if it would never be extinguished. Within the flames, the wooden house collapsed, but a gentle call sounded from it.
“Shut up!” Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth and lowered his head, not daring to look anymore, but the calls grew louder, as if wanting to rip him to shreds.
Within that icy frost and wind, the voice ruled over all. It shook the heavens and the earth. It called his name as if wanting to tear him apart.
The sky shook, the world quaked and the voice roared in his ears, “Ye Qingxuan!”
His eyes flew open with sweat rolling down his back. He practically jumped up from the seat. Now, he finally realized that Bai Xi was shaking his shoulder. It was already afternoon and she grasped Ye Qingxuan, shocking him from his nightmare.
“Cousin, wake up, wake up!”
“What happened?” He looked at the joyous atmosphere in confusion and sat back into his seat, panting heavily. He summoned clean water and frost. After wiping his sweat-covered face, he took a deep breath and looked at Bai Xi. “I hope it’s good news.”
“You’ll never guess what it is.” Bai Xi revealed a strange smile. She picked up the disdainful Old Phil from the ground and shook it. “We didn’t get chosen again!”
205 So-called Flames
It was late at night in the music history department. As always, Abraham had locked himself in the library. It was at the critical point of the deciphering of the Voynich manuscript. A few days ago, he finally found the true deciphering method. He scrapped everything he had done and restarted. This time, his speed was shocking and he completed the last portion as smoothly as if he was writing it. Now was the critical ending point and he was entirely focused.
Ye Qingxuan did not want to bother him. He was deep in thought as well, pondering about that frosty nightmare. He had frozen to death time after time in that nightmare, and then woke from the dream after dream of fire. Fake suns hung in the sky and the earth was frost, still as death. In this lonely world, he walked alone, looking for that so-called sun.
-
According to Lola, she had implanted the “key element” of the music score into his memory through the Blood Path. The element would use his memory and turn into a dream. It could be a pleasant dream, a nightmare or…something totally unrelated. If he wanted to grasp the spirit of the music score, he must pass through the endless dream. If he could escape from the dilemma, then he would have undoubtedly grasped the element. He could then easily learn the music score.
It was just like how the backstroke and butterfly stroke was just a change of posture to a good swimmer, but this element was impossibly hard to grasp. It was the essence and core of the entire music score, the foundation of the music score’s realization and spirit born from it.
Wanting to pass it and grasp the element was highly difficult. Moreover, sometimes there was more than one element. The elements had different terms for the different schools. For example, it could be a ‘formula,’‘equilibrium,’‘beastliness,’ or ‘fulcrum.’ But without a doubt, it was the most important aspect.
So, Ye Qingxuan was still doubtful if he could grasp the element implanted into his memory. According to Lola, the element could only remain there for three days before dispersing. If he could not find it during that time, he could only give up. Ye Qingxuan’s head hurt at
this thought.
In the living room, Charles was still excited over having no competitors. It was late at night, but he was still drinking and flipping through pictures of pretty girls. He was just having fun by himself. Even though this *ss of a senior made one want to kill him at times, Ye Qingxuan had never met someone more easily satisfied than Charles. Just give him a bottle of alcohol and the newest photobook of the season, and he would be happy. Ye Qingxuan wished he could live like Charles too. At least he would not have any frustrations.
He sighed and sat down beside Charles. Picking up a glass, he shook it before Charles. “Give me some?”
“Huh?” Charles looked away from the photobook. Realizing what Ye Qingxuan said, he froze. “You can drink?”
“Just a little.” Ye Qingxuan grabbed the bottle and poured himself half a glass. He shrugged. “I learned a bit of everything before.”
Charles was quiet for a long while before sighing. “Junior…”
“Yeah?”
“For people like you, I wouldn’t even be surprised if you learn how to give birth one day.”
The corner of Ye Qingxuan’s lips twitched. “Sorry. That’s the only thing I can’t learn.”
“Oh, what a pity.” Charles shrugged. He was already drunk and did not even know what he was feeling pitiful about.
Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt helpless. He sighed and emptied his glass. He leaned back into the chair as if he was jelly and stared at the moon, spacing out. After a long time, he looked back and asked quietly, “Senior, what would the world be like if there was no sun?” He looked into Charles’s eyes, but in his mind, he involuntarily saw an endless, endless expanse of ice and snow. It was an endless wilderness. It was a dead world.
“Huh?” The words startled Charles, but he quickly rubbed his chin and stated seriously, “Then wouldn’t we have to start fires? And it doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”
“Why not?”
Charles laughed. He said with animated features, “Look, we all say that we’ll drink ‘till the sun comes up. Now, the sun won’t come up, so that means we can drink our fill and…”
“No, then everyone would get alcohol poisoning and get sent to the hospital.”
“Ah, that makes sense too.” Charles immediately became depressed. “If only humans did not get alcohol poisoning. Then we’d have no shortcomings.”
Ye Qingxuan curled his lips and ignored Charles. After a long while, being affected by the alcohol, he could not help but open his mouth again and ask, “What if even fire disappeared?”
Charles pondered for a long time. Then he nodded gravely. “Then the sages would probably be happy, right?”
“Huh?” Ye Qingxuan suspected he had heard incorrectly.
Charles’s expression grew even more serious. He got close and stuck up a finger. “Did you know? In many ancient texts from the Dark Ages, at the beginning of the School of Modifications, there wasn’t any evidence backing up materialism. Instead, the four elements theory was the most popular.
“When the sages debated what exactly the world was, they were also confused about humanity. What am ‘I’? And so it led to a theory: elements are actually a reflection of human emotions.”
“Emotions?” Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. “That’s too conceited. They thought that the world was created by mankind’s thoughts?”
“It was really popular back then. Some people even thought that the world we live in is just some bored guy’s dream. When he wakes up, we disappear. Ha, but we’re getting off topic.
“Anyway, the sages compared our emotions and the elements. This created the foundation of the four elements theory. It was overturned by the elemental cycle theory later, but there’s still some logic to it.” Here, Charles finished his glass and set it down. “Do you know what fire represents?”
“What?”
“Pain.” Charles’s smile became mocking. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? Fire make you think of life, ascension and creation, but it’s actually the physical embodiment of pain. Fire and pain. It is this pain that brought about light and illuminated the world, allowing life to exist.” He poured himself liquor. Looking at the liquid toss inside his glass, he studied his reflection. He murmured drunkenly, “So if the sun disappears one day, then there wouldn’t be any pain in the world, right? Maybe it’ll be a good world. Yeah, maybe.” He paused and nodded. “At least there’ll be a peace of mind.”
Ye Qingxuan fell silent.
After Charles finished speaking, he seemed to have become drunk. He gulped down the liquor and hummed a strange song. After a while, he suddenly asked, “Yezi, why are you asking? Is it related to your dreams?”
“Dreams?” Ye Qingxuan glanced at him.
“Did you think that I couldn’t tell?” Charles chuckled. “Bai Xi was panicking so much she almost strangled you, but you still didn’t wake up. I thought you’d died and I even took you to the emergency room. But in the end, you woke up.”
Ye Qingxuan did not reply for a long time. Then he said in a muffled voice, “I’m just a heavy sleeper.”
“Do your eyes have to be so frightened when you wake up?”
Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. After a pregnant pause, he replied quietly, “I just dreamed of some things.”
“Unhappy things?”
The youth shook his head. “No.”
“Terrifying things?” The youth still did not reply. It suddenly dawned on Charles. “Oh, so it must be sad things, right?”
Ye Qingxuan did not reply. He just drank and did not set down his glass until his eyelids felt heavy. “It’s just some…some things from the past. That’s all.” He rose with difficulty and stumbled to the stairs. “Senior, don’t care about me. I just drank too much and I’m going to sleep now.”
Charles watched him go upstairs and disappear. Charles pursed his lips. “Psh, he just drank a little…” He picked up the bottle of liquor on the table, but it was not as heavy as he had expected—it was empty. Charles ended up picking it up with too much force and almost fell over. After a stumble, Charles regained his balance. His expression grew slightly bitter. “Huh, he drank an entire week’s worth of my supply without even letting me know. What’s he trying to do?”
With a sigh, he flipped the bottle over and shook forcefully. Two, three drops fell into his mouth. Charles tossed the bottle, closed his eyes and fell into deep sleep. He probably would not dream this time…
-
On the field, the game was still going on intensely. Off the field, at the music history department’s seat, Ye Qingxuan was still sleeping calmly. He did not seem to care how horribly he would be defeated soon.
“Is he okay?” Bench Guy looked at him in concern. “I feel like he’s not being normal.”
“He’s been staying up a lot lately and he’s just catching up on his sleep.” Charles patted his shoulder and dragged him aside. “It’s just sleeping during class. Don’t tell me you’ve never done it before.”
“Uh…” Bench Guy instantly grew troubled. “Sleeping in class isn’t good.”
Stunned, Charles stared at Bench Guy as if looking at a strange creature. “You don’t sleep during class?! What do you do usually?”
“…” Bench Guy could not reply. He realized that he thought differently from these weirdos. Many times, he could not even converse with common sense.
Helpless, he could only change the topic and ask straightforwardly, “I heard that the other teams have all prepared secretly to divide us…We’re the public enemy now. Tomorrow, it’s eight to four. Shouldn’t there be a strategy or game plan for the next round?”
“There’s no point in thinking so much. We’ll die no matter what…” Under the sun, Charles yawned. “Just relax. I looked at the stars and they say we have good luck these two days! And anyway, we’ve gotten lucky these past two days. Maybe we’ll draw empty for the next round too.”
“Friend, you look pretty and you have such pretty fantasies too,” Bench Guy thought. His shoulde
rs trembled. If not for the mask on his face, he probably would have spat out blood.
206 Impartial, Fair, and Open
At the same time, the locker room’s door was closed. Several team leaders sat on the chairs, looking at each other with gloomy and dark faces.
“What are we going to do now?” Glenn began. “Having been classmates so many years, we’re all familiar with each other. There’s no need to pretend. Our school has made the final order that we can’t keep the music history department in the next round. Don’t you feel a little bit of pressure?”
Hearing this, everyone was speechless. He felt the pressure, she felt the pressure, and so did everyone else. But what else could they do? Forcefully?
No one thought that the music history department would survive until now. Who would have imagined that the publicly accepted rubbish team would happen to have no opponent twice? Staying until now had gone beyond the school board’s tolerance.
The four branches alone could not tolerate such a department, as obscure and at the edge of abolition as it was, to stand above them. Otherwise they would be the laughing stock wherever they went. Look! Those guys were completely destroyed by a team in the graduation trial…Thinking of this scene, everyone here felt a hit to their dignity and face.
“Even if we have the determination, we can’t do anything if we don’t win.” Someone sighed. “It’s not that we don’t work hard, it’s just the music history department is too cunning.”
“Hasn’t the student council come up with some regulations?”
Glenn looked to Cullen, who attended in the place Banner. He was the henchman of Gavin, the student president. Gavin had mostly resigned by now, but his influence on the student council was still huge. What’s more, since the next president had not yet been elected, most decisions still depended mainly on Gavin.