Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “Do you still need to ask? He’d been determined to do so ever since he acted on his own accord and expelled the concertmaster we’ve chosen. But the question is, must we keep enduring it?”

  “We must treat it carefully and not fall into his trap.”

  “No, we must show him our power!” someone said. “The Royal Academy of Music was established by our ancestors. There’s no place for an outsider like him.”

  “We can’t retreat this time, otherwise we’ll always act passively.”

  Many nodded in agreement, but someone was still worried. “But the power behind Maxwell shouldn’t be underestimated either. It’s been so many years and the royal family still supports him. If we…”

  “Actually, I don’t think we need to worry about that aspect,” the middle-aged advisor who acted as a representative said after pondering. “If we really have a conflict, the royal family can’t be too biased toward him. If we express our attitude, I’m sure Her Highness will remain neutral.”

  The old man shook his head. “But no matter what, Maxwell is still the principal.”

  “If we recognize that fact,” someone else said coldly. “We can start a proposal of distrust and request impeachment. If more than seventy percent vote yes, he won’t be able to ride over us anymore.”

  With that, everyone stopped talking.

  In the Royal Academy of Music’s centuries of history, the school board had never truly used this power before, although there was this rule and they would restrict things from the surface.

  Through history, the principals had all been one-of-a-kind talents and important figures of the congress, especially Maxwell. This mysterious old man had always been trusted by the royal family and no one knew how many dirty secrets he held. He was a madman too. Who knew what he could do?

  If they really wanted to declare war on the principal, it would not be something these representatives could decide. They instantly looked into the corner of the room involuntarily.

  On the coat rack in the corner was a gray sparrow. It stared outside without a care for anyone else. It had not made a single sound this entire time. When it turned around, its eyes were humanlike. It studied everyone present, cold and confident. This was the only one who could make the decision.

  When it spoke, its voice was steady and calm, as if stating a fact. “Centuries ago, our ancestors established the Royal Academy of Music and it still stands. It has been managing the cradle of future musicians for the royal family to this day. For these centuries, our families have put in so many resources and effort. The school board exists to help the school improve. All these years, the school is the school board; the school board represents the school,” the sparrow stated. “If Maxwell truly wishes to cross the line, then he should be prepared to face the entire school.”

  Hearing its voice, all representatives seemed to let out a sigh of relief. But its next words made everyone tense up again. It looked toward Ingmar, at the far end of the long table, and said pointedly, “But there’s another problem, isn’t there?”

  Someone caught his meaning and his eyes grew suspicious. “Ingmar.” The old representative looked at the dazed man with a grave expression. “Is Maxwell’s accusation of plagiarism true?”

  The sharp gazes instantly shot over like arrows. Ingmar’s hands trembled under the table. He sank into hesitation, but he made his decision almost instantly. If he confessed here, everything would be over! Not only would he lose the school board’s support, his reputation would also be destroyed and lose everything! This was the path of no return!

  “Of course not!” Ingmar looked at everyone in mocking fury and yelled, “Do you believe those unfounded rumors too, and doubt my hard work?!”

  “Then why didn’t you report to the school board when you made such accomplishments?”

  Ingmar forced down the panic in his mind. His brain whirred and he ‘explained’ with all his might, “I’ve always been reporting my research to the school board. Gentlemen, please check the related documents. As for the result…I—I was just trying it and I wasn’t even sure if it was right. I found out this afternoon that it passed the Sacred City and didn’t have time to report.”

  His explanation was logical and the representatives exchanged glances with each other. Someone could not help but sigh.

  “Maxwell really seized a good time. He’d declared war before we even processed everything…Clearly, he prepared for a long time. Now, does anyone still want to give in?” the old man said.

  No one replied.

  And so, the old man at the front nodded. “Then it’s Maxwell’s turn to pay for his brash actions.”

  “Also that brazen Eastern kid he pushed to the front.” Ingmar’s eyes were vicious. “This is where the glory of Anglo’s musicians is. It’s not the place for him to play in!”

  The meeting was about the end now. There were still a few details left, but the sparrow was clearly not interested. It flew from the coatrack to the window and gave them one last glance.

  “If something else happens, I’ll come again. Mr. White Raven pays much attention to this. Do not disappoint the parliament.”

  With that, it flapped its wings and left. Even the sparrow’s gray wings had a gold tint under the sun, and seemed high and untouchable.

  -

  Late at night, the music history department was silent. Everyone sat in the living room and waited without speaking. Bai Xi rested on Old Phil, close to falling asleep. Old Phil and Charles stared at each other. Ye Qingxuan just hung his head and ran his fingers across Jiu Xiao Huang Pei.

  Charles’s eyes finally felt sore from the staring contest. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. “It’s already ten and Professor still isn’t back. Do you think the meeting was successful?”

  “No,” Ye Qingxuan stated. “You know Professor’s personality. He doesn’t know how to talk. Other than music theory, he probably can’t even go grocery shopping.”

  “I know…” Charles’s expression grew dejected. “But this just sucks.”

  “Not entirely.” Ye Qingxuan’s expression was composed. “People who aren’t good at talking will have two main reactions to this stuff. The first is pretending he understands, the other is not understanding no matter what you say. Which one do you think Professor is?”

  Charles chuckled dryly. “Of course the latter.”

  “So, no matter what the school board says or brings out to pressure him, the result is still the same. The biggest possibility is that they can’t persuade Professor and he can’t persuade them. They’ll just have an awkward stalemate where both just express their stances.

  “But the situation doesn’t allow Ingmar to keep things this way. This had already started brewing in the school this afternoon. Ingmar has many supporters, but as time passes, more and more will start to suspect him. He must take care of this before this event grows too large and influential.” Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes and murmured, “Senior, get ready. The conflict will grow in the next few days.”

  “Will he use despicable ways to pressure us?”

  “Why not? He has this ability and he knows that he can’t lose. If he does, he’ll lose everything. His old secrets would be revealed too, so he’ll definitely grow desperate…” Ye Qingxuan grabbed an apple and bit down. He chewed, producing crisp sounds, until Charles got goosebumps. Then he said, “But we might not be powerless.”

  Charles’s eyes lit up. “Tell me, do you have a plan A, B, and C?”

  “…A, B and C? How can I have that many? Why don’t you ask me to compile one-hundred and eight strategies?!” Ye Qingxuan suddenly had the urge to chuck the apple core at Charles’s throat, but decided against it. It was not suitable to kill right now. “Actually, there are two results when somethings stays the same and both are in a stalemate. The first is that it stays like this. The second is that the problem upgrades…Now, whether it upgrades or not is up to us.”

  “Are you talking about…the Musician’s Union?” Charles was a bit hesita
nt. “Isn’t that making too big of a splash?”

  “Why not?” Ye Qingxuan chuckled, but there was no warmth in the laugh. “Doesn’t Ingmar want to get famous? Then let’s satisfy his wishes. I love helping people.”

  -

  The seconds ticked by in the stillness. Soon, heavy footsteps sounded outside. Someone was knocking on the door.

  Charles jumped up and ran over. “Professor, you’re back…” His voice cut off and his eyes grew confused. “Who are you?”

  “Is Ye Qingxuan here?” A large shadow stood in the dark night outside. “Tell him to come with me.”

  228 Precautions

  “Yo! Boy, you look great.” Under the desk lamp, the blonde youth laid lazily on the sofa. On the back of his hand, the entangled double-snake heraldry reflected a silver gleam.

  The faint light illuminated his fully enthusiastic smile, but the youth sitting opposite him was expressionless. He put his face closer to the lamp, showing his pair of dead eyes. “Boss, look at my face, how do I look great?”

  “Aha, I just wanted to compliment you. Don’t mind me.” Hermes waved and pointed to the table. “I made a good cup of tea. Have a taste. In the East, this thing is priceless!”

  “Here’s a suggestion,” Ye Qingxuan said bitterly. “When you want to find someone, can you not wake up the drunken Seton? I felt like he was always looking for a chance to kill me on the way here…”

  “Haha, it’s my mistake, my fault.” Hermes whistled gloatingly. Looking like a pretty boy, he was curled up on the big, pompous couch and looked at Ye Qingxuan with a subtle smile. “Don’t get mad, I was just worried about you, wasn’t I?”

  “Worried about me?” Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. “Boss, your worry is really special.”

  “You’re fearless because you know nothing, aren’t you? I’ve heard about what happened today.” Hermes exclaimed, “Fighting with a teacher in public…How dangerous! If the principal came out a little later or you kept staring at him like that, maybe there would be nothing tonight.”

  “What do you mean by nothing?” Ye Qingxuan frowned.

  “Oh, in layman terms, it means dead, or some people say go to hell, or…”

  “Okay, I got it,” Ye Qingxuan interrupted him with some uncertainty. “You mean, I’d die if he glared at me?”

  “Well, kid, have you been getting too cocky?” Hermes was amused by Ye Qingxuan. He squinted at this guy, his eyes full of ridicule. “Ye Qingxuan, don’t forget that he has broken through the barrier of knowledge and has been a Resonance level musician for many years.

  “If one is below the Resonance level, the musician could still be regarded as a person. But one at the Resonance level is regarded as ‘inhuman’ and has the ability to intervene with things.

  “And you, you’re just a little shrimp at the Rhythm level. If he wanted to mess with you, he doesn’t even need a music score!

  “Modifications can turn the iron in your body into a blade to travel in your heart and brain; Summoning can use your beastly nature to erode you; if it is the School of Choir, their interference will basically get you all kinds of strange diseases, which may also be contagious. The School of Mind and Illusion are even more vicious…

  “The interventions from Revelations are the most difficult. It’ll bury the ‘cause’ of your death in you. When it’s time, you’ll naturally get your ‘result.’ You may suddenly fall into cardiac arrest, fall down and get a stroke, or be hit by something that falls from the sky…Anyway, you’re going to die in a very ‘normal’ way. In short, all seven schools of music are difficult to deal with! If Ingmar wants to kill you,” Hermes rubbed his two fingers and said casually, “you’ll be dead in just few minutes.”

  Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sank into silence for a long time. Suddenly, he could not help but want to laugh. “Then he must regret not killing me before things got worse.”

  “Yes, if he’s going to kill you, he can only do that quietly when things are over. Now, he’s riding on the tiger. He needs to ensure your safety by all means. If you die, he won’t be able to explain it,” Hermes said lightly. “But in some sense, shouldn’t you be more careful?”

  “Be careful of what?”

  Hermes glanced at him with a cold smile. “Beware of the principal.”

  Even though it was only a few words, the words from Hermes’s mouth was like an axe slicing through the air. Even though there was no murderous intent, even though he said it casually, the lingering meaning quietly opened a door in Ye Qingxuan’s brain.

  Indeed, if he died, then the most obvious suspect would be Ingmar and the school board behind him. They would fall into absolute public disfavor in this fight.

  Ye Qingxuan could easily think of dozens of headlines for those newspapers. And behind the news, principal would definitely be there, looking calm but actually laughing and gloating in his mind.

  “The principal…he won’t do something like that, right?”

  “Do you really think so?” Hermes leaned closer and studied him as if looking at Ye Qingxuan’s tombstone. His voice was like a breeze in the tomb. “Child, there is an Eastern proverb that says there’s skin around the heart. Even dead Arthur can’t guess what he was thinking. You don’t think you know him the best, do you?”

  Ye Qingxuan subconsciously leaned back a little. “But the biggest trouble I’m facing now is still Ingmar, yes?”

  “Yes.” Hermes nodded. “Now the situation is very bad for you and your professor. You’re besieged on all sides. Ingmar is going to do everything he can do to get rid of all the ideas you ‘shouldn’t have’…”

  “No one is blind. People can discern what’s wrong and what’s right,” Ye Qingxuan said coldly. “I believe my professor will get his due honor.”

  “So naïve!” Hermes snickered. “One is heretical, one is orthodox; one is nameless, one is the descendant of nobles; one is an old man from the music history department that’s at the verge of being abolished, one is a professor from the School of Revelations…Who do you think people are going to trust? Moreover, why do you think they’ll give the interpretation method recognition?”

  “But the result was clearly made from the interpretation method.”

  “Haha, so naïve, so naïve…one and one is two, which is right, but as long as you know in advance that the result is two, no matter what reason you use to explain it, the process seems to work. This is one of the ridiculous things about human beings: the limitations of vision.”

  Ye Qingxuan was speechless, but Hermes’ expression became soft, full of kindness and gentleness, and his smile was full of sincerity. “Ye Qingxuan, I came to you tonight to tell you, if you really want to right things for the interpretation method, win back honor for your teacher, you need bring out new achievements and related corroborations only through interpretation.”

  After a long pause, Ye Qingxuan shook his head slightly. “I…don’t have time.”

  To interpret ancient literature was a long-term project for anyone. Not only must one combine the music theory at the time with long term study of the ancient language family, one also needed fleeting inspiration.

  In addition, it would often take a few years for one to discover that their direction was wrong. Then all they could do was restart. Ye Qingxuan’s understanding of interpretation was based on pure theories and had never had any experience in interpreting ancient writings.

  Even a genius such as Charles dared not to say that he was confident in this aspect. Moreover, Ye Qingxuan had only been an aide to Abraham for a few months. He was powerless.

  “Don’t worry. You don’t need to get great results.” Hermes smiled with his voice ringing in the youth’s ear. “Even if you use the interpretation method to interpret only one phrase, you can still prove the validity of the method. And coincidentally, I have just the perfect model here.”

  He slipped a piece of broken stone from his sleeve; it fell into Ye Qingxuan’s palm with the turn of his hand. The remains of mysterious wedge-sh
aped words remained on the palm-sized stone. A faint coldness emitted from the sharp and unfamiliar words as if it was a truth hidden deep in the sea.

  Ye Qingxuan understood from a glance that it was by no means possible to be forged. It contained some kind of theory that resonated with aether and was definitely a note written by ancient musicians.

  Fragments such as these were very common in the field of Revelations. They were usually unearthed from ancient ruins, but could not be solved. They were like gold for the scholars concerned, but were worthless for ordinary people.

  “What is this?” Ye Qingxuan asked subconsciously, rubbing the cold stone in his hands.

  “It seems like a piece of trash I picked up before, but it’s just right for you to practice, isn’t it?” Hermes patted him on the shoulder, his voice full of enchantment. “It’s said that when one undergoes Deva sensing, his induction of music theory is particularly clear. The waves of the aetheric sea will push your mind to the heavens, like ghosts wandering between the ethereal sky and the tossing sea.

  “If you can find peace in that turmoil and chaos, you can sense the existence of the Originator. If you’re willing to use the interpretation method in that realm, even only for a moment, you may be able to interpret it.” In the shadow of the light, Hermes smiled like a devil. “This is a gamble, Ye Qingxuan. If you’re really willing to use this chance, which you may not have again for your rest of life, bet on Deva sensing…then give it a try.”

  229 The Least of Two Evils

  The next dawn, Ye Qingxuan woke up from an obscure dream. His body was covered in cold sweat. Rather than being clear-headed as he usually was, his thoughts were muddled now. He could not remember what he had dreamed, just that there was obscurity, shaking, scratchy whispering, and low utterances in the darkness.

  His memories of the nightmare diluted, scattered, and vanished. Soon, he could not say anything about what he had dreamed.