by Feng Yue
After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan suddenly laughed. It was a rare burst of laughter. He practically slid over on the table.
Who told him that his professor was an honest man? Mr. Abraham had been honest for so many years, but the rare time he played tricks, he passed the oath of the military and musicians.
All these years, he had been regarded as a fool or a dull man, but compared to the achievement of his musical theory, the academy’s mediocre and struggling people were absolutely the idiots.
“I told you so.” Charles blocked his shoulder and clinked glasses with him. “Our professor is the best teacher in the world, the best.”
“Yes, the best.” Ye Qingxuan smiled, toasted him, and drank the beer in the cup in a gulp.
-
“Right, there’s another good news. Yezi, you were late today, so you probably still don’t know this.” After another large cup of malt beer, Charles looked at Ye Qingxuan with sleepy eyes and began retelling the story of today’s meeting animatedly.
At the school review that day, Abraham submitted his interpretation process and related documents, and vaguely faint grasped Ingmar’s Achille’s heel—the guy had interpreted the final part in his own way, but the result was in a completely wrong direction and there was a clear break in logic.
Ingmar seemed to realize this, so his arrogance was far less rampant than at the beginning.
Speaking of this, Charles whistled. “Tomorrow we’ll publish the correct interpretation and process in the school review meeting, and if Ingmar doesn’t withdraw his manuscript before the news is announced to the world, then he’ll be done.”
Ye Qingxuan did not expect the progress to be so unexpectedly fast. He could not help but feel happy too. “Cheers!”
Everyone raised the cups and looked at the professor who was a little shy.
“To Mr. Abraham, who’s about to become a famous master of the ancient studies!”
-
The office came with a fierce broken sound.
“B*stard! B*stard! B*stard!” Ingmar furiously swept everything on the desk and crushed it into pieces. “They’re all a bunch of b*stards who want to see me embarrassed!” he shouted angrily, raising his bloodshot eyes and looking at Bart. “Did you see?”
“Yes, sir.” Bart stood in the corner, responding cautiously, “Not only the School of Royalty stood on their side, but also Modifications and Summoning. I saw it with my own eyes this morning. Cullen quietly handed the information to Ye Qingxuan. If they cross-reference that information with your manuscript, the contradiction in the last part of your interpretation might…”
“No wonder.” Ingmar was so angry that he laughed. “No wonder they were so arrogant at the meeting today. They thought they had found my weakness just by those things?”
He punched the table, forming a faint dent in the solid table. A crack even appeared in his hand. Blood dripped from his fingertips dripped and flowed into the cracks in the table like a grinning face.
Ingmar squeezed his crazed voice from between his teeth, “In their dreams!”
234 The Ashes and the Youth
Ye Qingxuan never thought that a meal could be finished so late. Not until the foreman implied by all means that the restaurant was going to close, with an extremely detested expression, did Ye Qingxuan finish his last beer and go. But soon, Ye Qingxuan found that there was a bigger problem in front of him: Charles was drunk.
On his first day in Avalon, Ye Qingxuan had seen what a drunken Charles was like…But he was about to discover that he had not seen the whole thing.
So, under the lonely moonlight in the middle of the night, the singing and bolting legend of Avalon reappeared again.
“La la la la!”
Watching the drunken Charles pulling at his clothes while singing a song and running on the street, Ye Qingxuan wanted to die.
“Professor…” He looked to Abraham for help, but Abraham also did not know what to do. He could only follow behind and pick up the clothes that Charles had taken off, and then give him a music note to keep warm so he would not catch a cold.
But even more troubling than a drunken Charles was a drunken Bai Xi.
Of course, a drunken Bai Xi was also troublesome. She still remembered the humiliation of Charles touching her head when she did not notice. She shouted, “Charles, don’t run, I’ll kill you…Ew!”
She vomited too.
But the problem was, she was now on Ye Qingxuan’s back! If Ye Qingxuan had not bent over immediately, he would be thrown up on.
What else could Ye Qingxuan do? With two lines of tears, he wiped Bai Xi’s mouth while looking to Abraham. “Sir, I want to die.”
“Just get used to it.” Abraham sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “Really, just get used to it.”
Hearing him say so, Ye Qingxuan, who had been under pressure for so long time, finally could not stand with anymore. Hoisting Bai Xi onto his back, Ye Qingxuan held down the running and naked Charles with great anger. He pointed at Charles’s nose and shouted, “Charles, calm down, you’re twenty-years-old now. Can’t you be more like a senior? You can drink, but can’t you admit that you’re a lightweight? Different people drink different amounts so stop pretending! And you sing after getting drunk. Do you want to dance too? If you don’t know how to dance, I’ll teach you! Still running? What the h*ll! There’s no wolf chasing you…”
After the scolding, Ye Qingxuan felt much better. He had confided all the grief and indignation he had from the beginning to now. At the end when Ye Qingxuan finished his words, Charles was stunned and stared at him blankly. Looking at his startled and blank face, Ye Qingxuan felt a little bit regretful and thought that he might have said too much.
But after staring at him for a long while, Charles suddenly smiled dumbly and came to give him a big hug, patting him on the shoulder.
“Okay, okay, don’t throw a tantrum.” Charles looked at him kindly with a tolerant expression as if it were Ye Qingxuan who made a mistake. “Junior, let’s go home.”
Before Ye Qingxuan could react, the silly smirk reappeared on Charles’ drunken face. Again, Charles started his crazy song and ran to the front.
“La la la la …”
Ye Qingxuan helplessly hit his own forehead. “Senior, you’re really hopeless,” he thought.
On his shoulder, Bai Xi finally seemed to be a little bit sober now. She looked at him with sleepy eyes and asked, “Cousin, where are we going?”
“We’re going home …” Ye Qingxuan was startled after saying this. Soon, he could not help but laugh. “Yes, let’s go home.”
“No, I’m going to hit him!” Bai Xi stared at Charles in the front, clutching Ye Qingxuan’s hair as if riding a horse. “Cousin, giddy up!”
“Fine, fine. Sit tight” Ye Qingxuan smiled. He helped the girl up on his back and strode to the front while imitating the whining of a horse.
Gentle moonlight shone on the empty streets, illuminating the unruly blonde youth in the front who was like a wild dog, as well as the teenager and girl chasing closely behind him. Their teacher reluctantly jogged and chased behind them, shouting at them to slow down.
There was an off-key song from the street and a cheer from the girl, mingled with the sound of a donkey braying. The silence was broken and the cold city seemed less cold.
Everything became lovely.
Under the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan carried the girl, running and laughing loudly. They were going home. He suddenly had an impulse to pray so that God could stop time at this moment forever, and they could stay in the fleeting happiness.
Perhaps what he had been trying to find was a place to return to. There was a teacher who could not talk well, a naughty girl, and a poor bastard at that place. Sometimes life was simple; sometimes it could be troublesome. But this was how life was.
Even it was so, it was still his dream.
Unfortunately, no matter how long the road was, it had an end. When he stopped, he stared at the sky in confusion. T
he distant sky reflected the light of flames, the light made the youth’s white hair look red.
That direction…That direction…He gritted his teeth and began sprinting.
That direction was…
-
When they arrived, it was already too late.
The old deserted house was bathed in flames. The flames crackled and swallowed everything. Ye Qingxuan stood before the burning house, watching the flames dance. There was a faint laugh in the wind, like a mockery of something.
Soon, the flames finally triggered the school’s enchantment. The alarm sounded and Egor, who was on duty tonight, descended with a storm from the sky.
When he saw the burning music history department, he also could not help but be startled, and then lifted his hands. As he moved, a large black cloud gathered from the sky and cold wind spread. But soon, something held onto his hands and the impending storm did not come.
Egor turned back in astonishment, looking at Abraham who was pulling him. Abraham’s face was expressionless, but he lifted up the steel-prosthetic limb and dashed forward.
Ding! In a twinkling, the huge flame leaped and disappeared.
It was as if the fire was just an illusion, as if it had never happened. The only proof of it was the old house that had been charred and collapsed.
Burning Abstinence. This was the Interference level skill of the School of Abstinence, but Egor had never seen a similar one from Abraham.
Abraham stood beside Ye Qingxuan, gazing silently at the ruins of charred.
“Everything’s gone.” Charles came out and threw the ashes in his hand to the ground dejectedly. He said to himself, “Everything’s gone.”
“Where’s Old Phil?” Bai Xi ran in the ruins, looking around with panic, but was held back by Ye Qingxuan. She stared blankly at Ye Qingxuan’s face. “Cousin, Old Phil…it …”
“Old Phil is fine.” Ye Qingxuan touched her head. “Old Phil doesn’t stay at home these two days. Even if it was in the house when it burned, it must’ve been able to run away.”
“But …” Bai Xi tried to calm down as she sobbed, but heard some familiar barks from the distant field.
The golden dog ran out, looking in all directions. Seeing Bai Xi, it barked louder to comfort her. Knowing that it was fine, Bai Xi rubbed her red nose. She hugged Old Phil but did not know what to say.
Ye Qingxuan wandered silently in the ruins, flipping through the things for anything that could be used. At last, he found that only the things in the basement had escaped from the fire. There was nothing flammable there. His own set of equipment had been put into the iron box by himself and hidden under the floor. But other than that, everything else was gone.
Their rooms and beds, Abraham’s study and all the books…Within a few hours, the traces of life that everyone had accumulated had disappeared.
Ye Qingxuan stood in the ruins and felt himself standing in a strange place. The flames had swallowed everything, leaving only the ashes and cinder.
“It was a very big fire. The whole house was engulfed within a minute. It’s most likely the recent dry weather that caused the objects to combust spontaneously.” After the examination, Egor did not find anything strange. But thinking of recent events, he sighed involuntarily. “Fortunately, there are no casualties.”
“I know, thanks for the school’s help.” Abraham was not angry and just said, “Let us clean up then.”
With a complicated look, Egor nodded. “If you do not have place to live, you can come to Modifications, I will let the students clean up a few rooms.”
With that, he left. There was only silence in the ashes and ruins. No one spoke. They just quietly cleaned up things that could be recycled.
After a while, footsteps sounded in the distance. “What a tragedy that the house suddenly burned. We never know what will happen next. Please accept my sympathy.” Bart stood outside the ruins with a sympathetic face. “My teacher told me to send his condolences. After all, the music history department was once an important branch of Revelations. If necessary, you are welcome to…”
“How dare you show up again!” Charles interrupted him angrily, tugging at his collar and glaring at him. “Guess if I…”
Bart sneered. “Next, are you going to say that we did this? Don’t slander others without evidence. In my opinion, maybe you set the fire yourselves to get sympathy from others. If not, why else are you guys not even hurt at all?”
Hearing this, Charles was suddenly not angry anymore. He just clenched his fists so tightly that the sounds of joints cracking could be heard. They were like grating iron with a kind of crazy power.
He had no desire to speak anymore. It was replaced by an unprecedented feeling; it was icy and gloomy, like a snake coiled on a clammy rock. The rubbing scales made a creepy sound. Maybe this was murderous intent.
One hand grasped his wrist—it was Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan stood before him, looked into his eyes, and shook head slightly.
“Yezi…”
“Senior, listen to what he wants to say.”
Ye Qingxuan loosened his hand, looked back at the frozen Bart, and said quietly, “Bart, you can continue now. But you’d better know what you’re saying…”
The coldness in the youth’s eyes made Bart step back involuntarily. Soon, he processed everything and collected himself. He scoffed as if he was the one who was so ‘generous’ that he did not haggle over Charles’ actions.
“That’s right, calm down. It’s good for everyone.” He grunted and looked up. “My teacher said that he is willing to admit his commonalities on academics; after all, there is always only one truth. But that doesn’t mean that he will admit your charge. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Ye Qingxuan cocked his head at Bart. His expression was not as curious as Bart had expected, but just cold. “Bart, finish your words. Your teacher did not let you come to tease our appetite. Since you want to be a dog, you have to have the sense of a dog. You don’t want to cause some mistakes that your teacher doesn’t want to see, do you?”
Bart’s face twitched and became wry, but still, he chose to finish his words. “It’s just, if you’re willing to withdraw those false accusations, he can add Mr. Abraham’s name to the manuscript, and submit it to share this achievement and glory with him.”
In the silence, he sneered. “How is that? A ‘second author’ for compensation is already a great thing for a poor place like the music history department. This is the last chance. I hope you don’t miss it because my teacher won’t take another step back.”
This was the final choice Ingmar had made. No matter how crazy he was, he could not let this event continue to ferment. Moreover, after this warning, the music history department must have learned to be a bit smarter and stop this entanglement. This compromise was good for everyone.
But to his surprise, no one made a sound after he spoke. They all had a strange look as they gazed at him.
Only the white-haired youth nodded slowly. “Is that so? I understand,” he said. “You can go now.”
Bart was stunned and was unable to react. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you can go now, Bart,” Ye Qingxuan repeated. His expression was careful and serious, but his eyes were cold, like the wind in the long winter night—cold enough to chill one’s blood. “Don’t make me repeat myself. I hope you can see that I’m in a bad mood.”
“You, you…Are you crazy?!” Bart looked at him in astonishment.
He did not know what to say, but he did not dare to remain there so he just left with a red face. He walked speedily as if he was chased by some kind of invisible ghost.
Not until he had gone far did he dare to look back and spit on the ground. “A group of guys who don’t know what’s good for themselves.”
-
Ye Qingxuan stood in the remains of his home. He watched Bart leave silently and saw the ‘secret’ actions in the woods. After a long time, he took back his sight and gazed down at the ruins underfoot, look
ing at the burned ashes.
Beside him, Charles looked at him anxiously, sighing softly. “Yezi…”
“I know. No need to persuade me.” Ye Qingxuan looked up at him. “Things have become like this. Our building has been burned, and the data is all gone. Sadness can’t solve the problem. We don’t even have cards to play at the school board anymore. After all, we don’t even have the original manuscript, do we?” He looked at the silent Charles and, after a long time, lowered his eyes. His eyes were like ashes which hid his unseen fury. He said, “Senior, I’m angry now.”
235 In Your Dreams!
At dawn, the mist froze on the branches and fell down. Sparse and cold, it was like raindrops in the fog. The morning bell rang and students who had risen early walked to and fro. When they sensed the two youths walking quietly down the road, they stopped and nodded.
“Morning, Concertmaster Ye.”
“Good morning.”
“Concertmaster Ye, good morning.”
When Ye Qingxuan saw girls smiling at him, he would smile too and say, “Good morning.”
Like a regular walk, everything was normal and nothing out of sorts. The only thing difference was the briefcases in their hands. They swung along with their steps like a small book bag.
Though Charles had no smile on his face, Ye Qingxuan seemed to be in a good mood. He replied to all of the greetings from the students they passed and even hummed a children’s song he had learned somewhere.
“Lalala, lalala, lalalal!”
The song did not sound very good and carried his characteristic hoarseness. It was like cold wind blowing in the long night through the darkness, sending chills down one’s spine.
As he hummed, the books in the cases hit the sides with rustling sounds like a vague tide. The sounds were small and faint but traveled far. The students moved to the side and watched them leave with troubled eyes.
When the music history department went down in flames, rumors spread through the night.
It seemed like an accident, but everyone appeared to know what had happened. Conspiracy theorists among them believed they had orchestrated this whole thing but many were sympathetic.