by Feng Yue
In a second, the river came crashing down. It did not help strengthen the Ripper’s own will, but it melted into the curse of Hyakume! The river already contained immense darkness. Now, it suddenly joined the negative emotions so that the original slowly eroding curse was immediately strengthened!
No, its power was more than just strengthened. It soared with Ye Qingxuan’s aid. In a twinkling, the Ripper’s positive emotions were pressed down but the negative emotions flourished as if fuel was added to the fire. In the blink of an eye, the Ripper’s will was at stake…
Good, good! Ye Qingxuan seemed to have forgotten his stance and practically danced as he felt the inflation of negative emotions. He wished it would continue to rise.
Soon, the curse of Hyakume prevailed. But then a faint fury came from the evil-eye seal which was contained in the curse. This rage was against Ye Qingxuan, the uninvited visitor. It did not welcome him at all. If it could speak, it was probably saying, “What the hell are you doing here, b*stard?”
Indeed, its power soared, but the chaos created by the negative emotions was broken! The negative emotions that came with the death were now out of the music theory’s control. If they were a rigorous and orderly team on the battlefield, then at this moment, even though the forces at the frontline were strengthened, the formations were destroyed. Its original subtlety and complexity no longer remained. It had become deformed.
Ye Qingxuan forged the black river into the ‘wrath.’ The Ripper was already invaded by this rage. Now her power grew to several times the original. Fortunately, there was a very good outlet: the Danube River of Blood.
Under Ye Qingxuan’s skillful guidance, all the murderous intent was thrown at Naberius, who was far away in the dungeon. During the gentle maneuver of the dance, the vacant-eyed Ripper suddenly looked up and growled hoarsely.
Under her roar, countless hands waved in the burning darkness, tearing the Danube River into pieces inch by inch until it was a broken mess.
A storm rose above the calm scarlet river. Ye Qingxuan did not wait for the mad curse to act. He manipulated the black river’s direction in the Ripper’s brain. This time, it was ‘disgust’.
The ‘disgust’, which was so strong by nature, suddenly occupied the subject of the curse. The Ripper’s eyes turned blood-red. They stared at Ye Qingxuan. A cloud of blood mist burst around Ye Qingxuan, but he still smiled. He embraced and spun her to the mournful music, again and again…
Come, let us dance on the Danube River of Blood!
Outside the dungeon, the instrument in Naberius’ hand suddenly burst. Even half of his body exploded bloodily. In a blink of the eye, the flesh and bones were healed again. However, the tame corpse bride in his arms now attacked him frantically. Her spirituality was out of control.
The original love and sweetness had now been replaced by disgust. It was as if there was a real aversion that was eroding every summoned object. The apparitions embracing and dancing on the blood river were now killing each other. It was the backlash of the music theory. Naberius’ eyes suddenly burst, leaving only two dark holes. The eyeballs grew back quickly again. This time, his eyes were solemn.
“You always surprise people, Mr. Holmes.” Naberius sighed softly. “Since it is so…I’m sorry, but I won’t show anymore mercy.”
Under the crazy waltz, one could hear the sound of bones growing. A giant sarcoma swelled on his shoulders and immediately burst. A new skull grew on his head amidst the splashing of the disgusting sticky mucus! Two heads!
One head sang the melody of the Danube River. The new head, with a strange smile, soon began to chant another movement. This was not the power of Hyakume anymore! It was the gift from another notorious demon—the Eastern natural catastrophe Sukuna!
“Thankfully, I’ve saved some stuff from the past seventy years,” Naberius laughed. Over the past seventy years, he had the time to quietly do many crazy things. This included using six names and identities to sign contracts with six natural catastrophes.
From the ignorant Tide of Silver to the two-headed Sakuna. If he still could not break through the Resonance level after this, he was almost ready to reinvent himself and try to sign a contract with the god of humans.
It was just selling himself, right?
It was all the same.
Now, his one heads guarded the Danube River’s territory while the other chanted the movement of Modifications, throwing the wind and fire of destruction into the dungeon. In an instant, the movement of destruction turned into a mighty torrent, rushing toward the two in the dungeon!
At the same time, the curse of Hyakume suddenly struck back. Ye Qingxuan and the Ripper were suddenly besieged from both inside and out.
Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. He controlled the Black River continuously to switch between all the negative emotions, breaking the balance again and again.
Perhaps the Ripper had the instinctive awareness of imminent danger. She somehow gave a reaction and began to subconsciously cooperate with Ye Qingxian’s actions. Her stiff body gradually softened. She even cooperated with the performance of the waltz.
Ye Qingxuan stared at the blank eyes behind the veil. She seemed to be drifting in the space between nightmare and reality. Holding Ye Qingxuan’ hand, her hand subconsciously tightened.
“Mom…” She seemed to be talking in her sleep.
Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment. He whispered in her ear, “Don’t be afraid, the nightmare is about to end.”
The Black River came crashing down in the coherence. In a twinkling, after repressing the counterattack of the curse, Ye Qingxuan guided the sudden outbreak of ‘pain’ and ‘weakness,’ locking them into Naberius’ body. The frenzied power surged again.
The blue fire that could evaporate people dozens of meters away suddenly cracked apart. This was completely unreasonable. The Firebird solidified and reached a ‘distortion level ‘ effect. This disobeyed the law. It turned the illusionary flames into powder, which was then blown out by the wind.
The storm, blizzard, raging fire and golden steel were crushed once they rushed into the dungeon. The repercussive waves of murderous intent spread out the dungeon and along the connection of their music theory association, biting Naberius’ right arm into pieces.
Naberius shook his hands but the arm was still fragmented. Bones fell out of the wound. He froze for a moment. “Oh, it’s the Firebird.” Then he held his fingers tightly like a knife and cut off the whole arm.
Sticky medium quickly emerged from the severed arm, followed by the rapid multiplication of bones and flesh. The super recovery of severed limbs was another means used by demons.
Six kinds of demonic power were sealed in six of his body parts. They appeared orderly one by one. Six sets of chaotic music theory were in orderly in his hands, without the slightest hint of the chaos caused by musical conflict.
“Now it seems that Hyakume’s curse is too weak,” he muttered in a low voice, cynically mocking his own gods. He said to himself, “If you don’t do it again, don’t blame me for running away.”
If Hyakume heard him, he would be furious. He would release a bolt of thunder and chop this wild follower to death. However, his rebellious words did not reach the heavens. In fact, the curse of the Hyakume was not in vain. The battle was now burning white-hot.
Provoked by Ye Qingxuan, the curse of Hyakume strangely changed again like mutating virus. The mark of the Eyes Within the Eye split into a dozen pieces. They manipulated their respective negative emotions. They echoed with each other, setting off a sinister symphony in the Ripper’s body.
In a twinkling, the declining stopped and steadied itself at the brink of collapse, fighting back once again. The battle had now quietly switched from the competition of strength to the aspect of music theory.
The music theory contained in the curse had quietly expanded. It seemed to be disorderly but there was actually some kind of inexplicable connection. There was a subtle rhythm to the movement.
Th
at subtle force was like weeds in spring wind. It expanded, deflated, sped up, and slowed down at random. Like thousands of malicious intents working together, they firmly suppressed the Ripper’s will!
Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He expanded the Black River’s image to entwine with the curse. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan’s will pierced through layers of music theory and probed the core of the curse—it was an eye that seemed to be sleeping in the abyss.
The eye seemed to glance at him as well. It was full of malice. Just the periphery vision could easily break down the Black River.
The music theory entangled. In this instantaneous contact, Ye Qingxuan was defeated completely. It was unsurprising. It would be strange if he won.
Whether it was the attainments of the School of Mind’s music theory or the control of negative emotions, Ye Qingxuan was nothing compared to Hyakume
As the ruler of all the wicked evil spirits of the world, Hyakume had eroded and transformed countless black musicians through the years. Whether it was music theory confrontation or emotional hedging, Ye Qingxuan was definitely not his opponent.
Ye Qingxuan was suddenly losing…But it did not matter! He could learn.
As one who had received full marks in every subject and won first place in written examinations, Ye Qingxuan was the best at ‘learning!’ The main battlefield was not in his own body, anyway, so he could just start over again if he could not do it.
‘The tiger retains its shape even in death,’‘a broken boat has three pounds of nails,’‘a starved camel is still bigger than a horse’…There were many proverbs like this from the East. They meant the same thing.
Now, the curse not only had to fully erode the Ripper, it also had to be cautious of Ye Qingxuan. He could cause trouble at any second. In a twinkling, Ye Qingxuan prepared himself again. The black river sprang out again, followed by another defeat.
Ye Qingxuan’s head seemed to be smashed by a staff. He blacked out immediately and blood oozed out of his nostril.
Shaking his head, he gritted his teeth and went back into the battle again.
“Again!” This time, he at least found the right feeling and method.
A shameless song sounded on the battlefield amidst the repeated defeats and charges. “Make, make, make a friend, make a good friend. Hello, let’s shake hands. Now you’re my good friend…”
275 Wash Away the Black River
In an instant, Ye Qingxuan had lost completely. A saying amongst Indian monks was, “One snap contains twenty instants, one instant contains twenty thoughts, one thought contains ninety moments, and one moment contains nine-million lives and deaths.”
During the nine million lives and deaths of that moment, countless thoughts and emotions arose. Music theory overlapped messily, and Ye Qingxuan was hit hundreds of times. Every time he gathered himself again, he was completely obliterated by the curse.
During this process, he gradually created an understanding of the black river. The various negative emotions had clear layers and were integrated. The hundreds upon thousands of negative emotions gradually became one. As they were destroyed and reborn, they formed the black river.
Extra notes and unsuitable music theory were taken out. After nine rebirths, the black river became clearer than ever. It was colorless and formless. Ye Qingxuan could barely trace it.
In the East, Mind musicians would plant demonic thoughts into other’s minds. An extremely high level was ‘free transformation.’ This seed came and left without warning, like the spring wind transforming into rain. The victim would be transformed into a puppet without any realization or sign. Now, Ye Qingxuan could survive a few seconds of the battle between music theories.
The mark of the demonic eye seemed to understand something and grew furious! This *sshole was secretly copying its ways! No School of Mind musician had ever tried these tricks!
The mark was a music note that represented godly power but it was still an object created by Hyakume. The average man would either struggle painfully and transform into a demon or commit suicide to avoid the pain. No one was so bold and reckless!
Ye Qingxuan’s constant challenges angered the consciousness sleeping inside the rune. It jolted and separated into nine. It had given up on the Ripper and now charged at Ye Qingxuan against the tide!
“Finally!” Ye Qingxuan grinned. The colorless river in his heart surged again. This time, it was broken down, of course. However, it did not retreat after collapsing. Instead, it entangled with the music theory of the curse. The next step would be for the curse to use this as a springboard and jump into Ye Qingxuan’s body. However, there was no next step.
The colorless river suddenly caved in. The broken music theory reconnected and transformed into something else. The new theory swallowed Hyakume’s. Covering the nine satanic runes, it finally revealed itself.
Moonlight! It was moonlight!
A huge moon that covered the sky rose in the Ripper’s heart. It broke through the endless darkness. Everything in its path was purified equally. The black river was washed away and a bright moon rose in the heart! It had finally transformed into moonlight!
This was what was born after Black Friday washed away all stray thoughts and grew to its peak—the image of Moonlight that Ye Lanzhou had planted! It had not yet reached the terrifying level of the ‘moon above the sea,’ but it showed signs of that phenomenon.
Ye Qingxuan had to thank Hyakume’s curse to some extent. He had always focused on unorthodox and shady tricks. Not only did the curse teach him the basics, it also contained various application techniques for mind battles. It was practically like the old man who taught secret tricks in adventure novels. Now, the ‘old man’ did not need to exist anymore.
The mark of the eye was washed countless times under the moonlight. All satanic auras melted. A consciousness thousands of miles away felt something. Fury shot out from the deep abyss with bone-numbing hatred and evil. Roars spread from the music theory.
“Ye Lanzhou, you’re here!”
Then the wild power spun. It surged from thousands of miles away using the entangled music theory, wanting to destroy everything. However, the moonlight cut the eye mark completely like a blade at that moment.
The twisted mark shattered and the layers of negativity disappeared. The curse was completely destroyed. As the connection of music theory broke, the power that had come out of nowhere vanished as well.
Angry roars sounded angrily in the air. The fury scattered in all directions. In an instant, countless people across the land woke up from their nightmares with sweat rolling down their backs.
At the same time, Naberius, observing outside the dungeon, felt Hayakume’s aura disappear completely. He flinched and shock appeared on the two skulls.
“Is the curse really lifted?”
The darkness that had been restricted now shot forward like a fountain. The burning darkness surged and broke into the territory of Naberius’ bloody Danube River. His vision went black and he stumbled back.
The almost-tangible murderous intent had transformed into a cyclone. His face hurt from the wind. The Ripper’s power was awakening.
“Mr. Holmes, it seems that you’d rather work with the Ripper than accept my feelings?” Naberius stared into the dark dungeon and shook his head. “I’m so disappointed. I’m so hurt.” Despite his words, he left without hesitation. He had stayed here for too long. There was no point in remaining. He might even attract a creature of the same level. The consequences were unimaginable.
He was just running errands for Hyakume, not giving up his life! So what if he could not deal with Holmes this time? He would wait for the youth to be alone. Why must he fight something as strange as the Ripper?
“See you next time, Mr. Holmes,” he chuckled. The ground beneath his feet rumbled. A giant snake opened its mouth and swallowed him. Then the snake returned into the mud and disappeared.
In the distance, the Elizabeth Tower remained standing. When the three hands of the clock joined at
the top, an eerie bell rang. It resounded in the again-silent city.
Midnight had arrived.
-
In the dungeon, the surging dark aura disappeared quickly. Naberius thought that the Ripper had recovered her original state. Actually, she was completely spent after Ye Qingxuan’s cure of sacrificing themselves to destroy the enemy.
Sensing that the animosity was gone, she closed her eyes and fell unconscious. Ye Qingxuan sat down. There was no part of his body that did not hurt. Thankfully, he still had many lifesaving medicines that he had swiped from Lola. After all, Lola had money and taking all the drugs was just like Lola drinking his blood.
But now…what was he supposed to do?
He looked down at the girl sleeping beside him. The Ripper…he could not connect the crazy psychotic killer with this girl. They were too different.
Possessed by her uncontrollable power, the darkness in her heart had been enlarged continuously. If she woke up now, she would realize that her long dress had been dyed red by blood. She would wake up from a nap to find herself dyed red by the blood of innocent victims. This nightmare had haunted her day and night. Was she still in a nightmare now?
Ye Qingxuan tidied the messy hair on her forehead. His fingertip accidentally grazed her skin. Soft crying sounded in his ears. This was the side effect of coherence.
He sighed and laid his jacket on her. He could see the seemingly familiar and beautiful face behind the torn veil. There were tear stains by her eyes. The coldness and arrogance were gone. All that remained was fragility and loneliness.
Stunned, Ye Qingxuan lightly brushed a teardrop away. “Princess Mary, you’re so weak,” he murmured. “The curse has been lifted. Dream well.”
After a long while, the youth walked out of the dungeon and closed the door for the sleeping princess. He disappeared in the mist.
-
When the midnight bell rang, all the clocks and watches in the clock shop rang in unison. The man gorging before the window finally stopped. He sucked on the sauce on his fingers, enjoying the aftertaste of the stewed pork he had just eaten, and moaned happily. He had probably gained ten pounds but who cared? Hermes did not.