Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  This was probably what had happened to the guy who had been hung. He most likely awakened the sleeping darkness and instantly fell to the painful state of not even being able to die. His companions did not dare to help him and abandoned him.

  Ye Qingxuan was terrified too. Thankfully, he did not fully activate Indrah’s Eye. Otherwise, the crack of lightning would be enough to kill him, or at least skin him. Any music score would probably create unpredictable consequences here.

  But he was not exactly safe, even if he did not make any sound. The flash of light just then had attracted many of the…weird things living here.

  Crackle…crackle… Amidst the broken crackles, some things appeared under the broken tiles behind the decayed wall. Sticky black aura emanated from them. Under the pale moonlight, they latched onto everything and transformed into primates, formless ghosts, water demons and other unstable figures. They solidified and came from all directions.

  Red eyes looked toward Ye Qingxuan. They froze and then burst into roars because there was nothing there. Hearing the screams behind him, Ye Qingxuan sped up.

  He ran—of course he ran! Why would he wait for those things to come fight him as if he had run into a beehive? Who knew what would happen if they got into a fight if things were already this bad? Life was short and he did not need to try that.

  Ye Qingxuan did not stop until he had run far enough. Gasping for his breath, he just felt that Avalon’s Shadow was too weird. He was far into downtown now. The farther he went, the slower the connection between him and aether. Like a fish out of water, the connection was getting weaker and more broken.

  A musician’s roots had been taken away. If he was a regular musician, he would probably be like an average person now.

  “This sucks. If you’re so powerful, then give me something even worse and I’ll respect—” Ye Qingxuan muttered. Suddenly feeling something wrong, he looked up.

  Pairs of red eyes looked down at him from a withered tree. The eyes were cold and the things opened their black wings, shooting up. Sharp caws followed immediately after.

  What was worse than angering a beehive?

  Angering a crow’s nest!

  Hundreds upon thousands of these sinister birds flew up from the withered trees instantly. They hovered around Ye Qingxuan’s head like a black cloud that screamed like a siren.

  Broken sounds rang out endlessly. They were the demons that had been attracted by the calls of the birds that announced death. Amidst the cries, darkness flowed like a stream. Demons crawled out of destroyed homes and wells, surrounding this place seamlessly. They charged toward the shocked Ye Qingxuan without needing any commands, but the youth laughed rather than become angered.

  “You think you can eat me, huh?!” Gritting his teeth, he raised his cane and made two slow circles.

  Boom! A heavy yet majestic horn sounded out of thin air. Aether rippled and quickly converged toward Ye Qingxuan. Unexpectedly, he could still use aether in this messed up environment!

  So what if he could not sense it? He never used sense to play music scores! He had never relied on the outside environment. The translation method was a music theory created by Abraham, using his experience in the Dark World, in the first place. In terms of adaptation, it was suited for every environment.

  No matter if it was a black or white zone, as long as the essence of aether was the same, he could still use the translation method to play and retain basic fighting ability. Now the formulas that Ye Qingxuan had memorized, the five-hundred plus ancient records, the books that no one had been able to organize fully…they finally proved to be useful.

  Now, it was… Night on Bald Mountain!

  The majestic horn sounded abruptly, followed by a thunderstorm-like melody. The melody was like demons singing in the fire, and countless witches and satanic followers dancing around the bonfire. Because dawn was arriving, they were filled with unprecedented craze.

  The demonic shadows instantly froze in the air. Invisible ropes extended through the air, restraining them.

  Immediately after, the horn sounded again. It contained the strength of a blazing sun and had a realistic glow. This was Avalon’s Shadow. There was no sun here, but at this moment, a blazing light was illuminated in the dark downtown area.

  It was firelight—the light from the burning stakes.

  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Countless black crosses shot out of the ground like a forest. They were already red-hot and covered in purple-blue flames. Invisible strength pulled the demons and nailed them onto the crosses. They screamed in pain as flames shot from their limbs, mouth, nose, eyes, and ears!

  The firelight chased away the darkness. Even the downtown district had sunk into silence. At this moment, there was only the sound of the fire of punishment and the horn of judgement. In only half a minute, all demons were burned to ashes. The dark aura had been eternally purified and disappeared. The crows fell from the sky, landing in the embers and burning.

  This was Night on Bald Mountain, the trademark score of past inquisitors that caused countless demons to tremble in fear!

  Then Ye Qingxuan’s vision went black and his legs gave out. He was a bit exhausted. This purification score had a range wide enough to target hundreds of demons. Though Night on Bald Mountain had helped, Ye Qingxuan was only at the edge of a third level musician. Even with Lola’s aid, it still took a toll on him.

  Resting against the wall, he panted heavily and glared at the shadow of the distant city, flipping it off.

  “If you’re so powerful, come at m— oh f*ck, I’m sorry! Don’t do that!” Before he could even finish, a thunderous sound rang in the distance. Wild pressure shot out of thin air. Ye Qingxuan just wanted to slap himself. Why did he say that?!

  The pressure was getting stronger and stronger; it felt as if his bones would break. Even with the distance, he could sense a pair of dead eyes lock onto him. And then war stallions neighed!

  What was that saying…kill the minions and attract the big boss?

  He cried inwardly. If he knew this would happen, he would not have used such an attention-grabbing move. Unfortunately, he had no alternatives and there was no pill for regret on this world.

  The walls at the end of the street suddenly shattered. Steel hooves pulverized the tiles. The shards flew and were lit by the sparks from the horses’ hooves, turning into flying embers. The crazily dancing embers illuminated a giant black stallion.

  Black gas wound around, solidifying into the shadow of a menacing head for the headless stallion as it screamed. The demons in its path were forced to the ground by the aggressiveness and shattered.

  This was only a domesticated stallion, yet it was already this powerful. The knight on the stallion was covered in heavy armor and held a long sword. A pair of deadly eyes in the darkness underneath the helmet was filled with murder.

  Ye Qingxuan could not help but swear. He recognized the armor clearly. Anyone who had read Illustrated History of Anglo would know in his heart that this was the Round Table Knight that had been a decorated warrior under King Arthur, killed countless demons when expanding the kingdom, was remembered by all for his loyalty and bravery, and was finally beheaded by King Arthur!

  “Percival!” Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth but he felt an invisible strength push his body. He crashed against the wall with a thud and was pressed deeply into it, unable to move.

  It was just from the gaze—the gaze!

  The war stallion whinnied. Percival rode the huge headless horse as if he was riding a wave of darkness. He stepped on thunder and roars sounded. Amidst the wind and lightning, he unsheathed his sword. The blade vibrated with a sharp echo.

  It was only an echo but it cut the music score that Ye Qingxuan was preparing. He could not even fight back!

  In that instant, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and growled in his mind, “Lola, if you keep watching, I’m going to die!”

  No one replied.

  Stunned, he looked up at the dim moonlight. H
e had gone too far without even knowing. “It’s just going to end like this?”

  In the next instant, Percival’s helmet was already too close. In the pair of dead eyes, the sword blade’s reflection was lifted, cutting the moonlight apart.

  And then…It swung down!

  The moonlight shattered and the youth’s head flew up.

  He had died with his eyes open.

  255 Chase

  Ye Qingxuan saw his own head fly from his shoulders. It flew into the sky and fell onto the ground, rolling into a corner. Stunned, he felt his neck and then his head. His neck was fine and his head was still in its original spot. There didn’t seem to be any problem.

  Then whose head just flew off?

  “My illusion can’t fool him for long. What are you waiting for?” Lola’s voice sounded again. “Hurry up. He’s already become one with Avalon’s Shadow. You can’t kill him here!”

  The Blue Moon’s glow in the sky grew stranger, with a tinge of sultriness in the dimness. Just looking at it made one dazed. Relying on the resonance between them and the road mark, Lola used the Blue Moon’s glow to forcefully send her power into this world.

  The distortion level. This was definitely the distortion level.

  In that instant, she used the moonlight to erode the sword blade and assimilate it. The steel blade turned into illusory light. The moonlight and the youth passed each other. They did not make contact, but a thin line of blood appeared on Ye Qingxuan’s neck. He did not expect Lola to use the extremely uncommon ‘thought realization’ method. She could make the illusion tangible or turn real objects into illusions. She had combined the School of Illusion and Mind together. It seemed that Lola did not choose an easy level for her Scepter.

  Ye Qingxuan was thinking about random things but he had no time to hesitate. The moment Lola’s voice rang out, he spun around and ran.

  Percival was fooled by the illusionary head and did not notice the youth that melted into the moonlight. Becoming one with the Blue Moon was a strange experience. It felt as if he had lost all physical weight and floated in the air. His speed was unimaginably fast too. He crossed dozens of meters with one step; it was as if his legs were the wind.

  But after two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around, running back!

  “Wait! Where are you going?”

  “He came from that direction and had blood on his sword. Whose blood do you think it is?” Ye Qingxuan passed Percival and sprinted toward the direction he had come from. He could practically here Lola gritting her teeth.

  “Ye Qingxuan, do you want to die?”

  “Haha, you’re funny,” he grinned and uttered. “What have I done in Avalon that wasn’t flirting with death? I finally found a trace so let’s talk after I find it!”

  A pair of eyes appeared in the moonlight and they rolled in displeasure. However, Lola’s power did not dissipate. Instead, it wrapped around the youth even tighter, transforming him into the omnipresent light.

  A small breeze blew from the ruins.

  Ye Qingxuan soon stopped because he had seen a horrible corpse. Clearly, a sacrifice left behind. The poor guy had probably taken Percival’s sword straight on. Half of his body had evaporated.

  Yes, evaporated. He had seriously evaporated.

  Half of the medium-rare corpse lay on the ground. It was cut into large portions by the surrounding demons, who were thinking, “The benefits of Avalon’s Shadow are so bad. It’s been so long since there was a hot meal. Eat it when it’s still hot.”

  This time, Ye Qingxuan did not need to speak for the moonlight to flow like water and melt the strange creatures. Seeing it gave Ye Qingxuan the chills.

  “What are you still waiting for? You came to see and you saw it. What now?”

  “What else?” Ye Qingxuan tugged his leather gloves. “You’re not as good as me at collecting evidence. Just watch.”

  He had not used his skills in this field since he participated in the school day trials. He was a little excited to be able to use them now. The moonlight in his eyes blazed and swept across the corpse. His vision went through the messy flesh and looked to the broken bones underneath.

  “From the bones, I think he’s around forty-years-old. The aether in his blood is heavy. He should be a musician. His race…” He picked up the incomplete skull and nodded after studying it for a while. “From the brow bone, cheekbones, and structure, he probably isn’t from Anglo. As for his upper body…aha!” Lifting the clothing on the corpse’s chest, he saw the distorted design on it—he was Hyakume’s follower. “Lola, can you tell which natural catastrophe this guy signed a contract with?”

  “There’s scale-like soft tissue under the skin, and residual signs of webs on his fingers. Behind his ears, there aren’t any gills, so it shouldn’t be a pure aquatic catastrophe. It should be a demonic mutation of the amphibious type.”

  “Oh?” Ye Qingxuan pondered deeply. “Forty-years-old, dark musician, has the ancestral protective charm that border countries like, has harp as his instrument, is mutated from an amphibian. There are only three on the wanted list that fit these characteristics. One died last year, one is a girl, and the last is probably this one before us. He’s the ‘Kirin’ that has been on the list for twenty-one years.”

  After a long silence, Lola asked, “So?”

  “So nothing. I was just acting cool.”

  Lola did not bother replying. Ye Qingxuan speedily moved around the corpse until he finally found a hand-drawn map from the corpse’s bag. A large portion had been torn and only one third remained.

  Thankfully, the crude map marked their destination. However, there were no related words and it was pretty useless. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes to think. He compared the routes endlessly. If this Avalon’s Shadow really came from Avalon, things would be easy.

  Avalon’s overall layout had not changed in centuries. Therefore, if he used the exhaustive method, he might be able to find it. But soon, his eyes flew open as confusion flashed through his mind.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “This isn’t Avalon’s map. It’s weird.” He began to think while holding his chin. “There are many similarities but they’re all insignificant. It’s so weird. Did the parliament risk so much to send people in just to send them into the incinerator? But the layout here is similar to Avalon. If this isn’t Avalon’s map, then what is it?”

  “Well, hurry up. I can tell that Percival has seen through my illusion.”

  Just as she finished, an angry roar sounded in the distance. Following immediately was a solid pressure that spread, causing the moonlight on the youth to flicker. But Ye Qingxuan was not listening; he was deep in thought. He subconsciously paced back and forth until he kicked something. Flinching, it dawned on him.

  “Lola, this isn’t Avalon’s map.” Bending down, he looked at the manhole before him in shock. “This is the map of the sewage system. There are too many dangers on the surface, so they traveled in the sewage tunnels.”

  The angry sounds of Percival’s horse’s clattering hooves neared. It was already difficult just for Lola to maintain the illusion on Ye Qingxuan. “Whatever, just hurry up and move!”

  “No problem.” Ye Qingxuan jumped into the sewer without hesitation. In the darkness, he heard the angry fulmination above him and a string of explosions. Another large creature seemed to be infuriated and jumped out of the darkness, fighting Percival.

  Amidst the roars and screams, Ye Qingxuan sprinted without thinking of looking back. No matter what those things were, he would be dead if it just looked at him.

  The sewage tunnel was extremely quiet. It did not have any of Avalon’s dirtiness and was abnormally clean. Walking in it was like walking in a tomb.

  He walked into the deepest darkness step by step, walking toward death.

  Ye Qingxuan used the moonlight in his eyes to walk and quickly discovered traces of others being here recently. There were also signs of fighting, and he found two incomplete bodies. There were many demon
s but Ye Qingxuan used the moonlight illusion and sneaked past without any trouble.

  In the middle was a fork in the road. It was completely dark without any trace of life; it was quiet as a dark abyss. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan began feeling chills from a distance and did not dare to get close.

  After hesitating, he bypassed it. He heard Lola’s voice in the long silence, “Ye Qingxuan?”

  Shocked out of his thoughts, he replied, “Here.”

  “Talk so I don’t think you’re dead.”

  “Sorry, I was thinking about what they want.” Deep in thought, Ye Qingxuan said, “If I’m not wrong, their destination should be the Royal Musician Division.”

  “The Royal Musician Division?” Lola’s reply was shocked. “What will they have in Avalon’s Shadow?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe there’s a group of demonic musicians,” Ye Qingxuan half-joked, but he fell silent quickly. His thought scared himself.

  According to his knowledge, Avalon and the Shadow were the same on the surface and corresponded with each other. However, there were demons rather than civilians on the street. So the musicians of the Royal Musician Division here…would become what?

  He did not know and he did not dare to think.

  “Ye Qingxuan, I won’t be able to help you if you keep going.” Lola’s voice was fatigued with a tinge of apology. “Forcefully crossing the sea of aether is too exhausting. I’m not at Teacher’s level yet.”

  “Who can reach the level of the ‘moon above the sea,’ other than freaks like him? Forceful resonance across the borders is already difficult. You don’t need to feel bad.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “Leave everything to me now. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way out.”

  After a long silence, Lola sighed. “I’ll wait for your return.”

  The moonlight on Ye Qingxuan’s body immediately began to shake. Finally, it became solidified on his body like thin crystal. Lola used her last strength to lock the illusion on his body, hiding his breath and trace. Then the resonance ended.