by Feng Yue
“That’s kind of depressing.” Ye Qingxuan nodded but he did not seem upset at all. “What does that have to do with my task now?”
“Ye Qingxuan, this is the worst thing.” Watson looked at him with troubled eyes. “You’ve already fallen into Hyakume’s eye. When you look into the abyss, it also looks back at you. When you observe each other, you establish some sort of connection.”
“That sounds intimate.”
“Right.” Watson nodded. “So intimate that as soon as you step out of the enchantment he’ll whisper in your ear at any time. He’s hurt now and won’t be able to control the material world. However, once he recovers, do you think he’ll let you go? You don’t want to stay stuck in Avalon forever, right?”
Ye Qingxuan inhaled sharply. “So, my most important task right now is to try for Resonance?”
“Yes, as soon as possible.” Watson nodded.
Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time. “I get the theory but how come you talk about the Resonance level like it’s as easy as buying cabbage from the market?”
“Is it not?” Watson eyed him and finally said with mock surprise, “Ah, I forgot that you’ve just become an official musician.”
“Is there any point in provoking me here?” Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips and yelled, “Stop!” The carriage stopped beside the road and Ye Qingxuan jumped off.
“Where are you going?”
“Didn’t you say to try for Resonance as soon as possible?” Ye Qingxuan looked back at him. “I’m going to find a former Scepter musician and ask for advice.”
“Oh?” Watson arched an eyebrow. Remembering that resentful woman, his eyes turned sympathetic. “Good luck.”
313 Seven Questions for Musicians
Ye Qingxuan was in the library of the ancient mansion.
“The Resonance level?” Lola asked lightly. “It’s simple.”
“Oh?” Ye Qingxuan’s eyes brightened. “How simple?”
“Didn’t you become an official musician after dying a few times?” Lola side-eyed him. “Just die a few more times.”
Ye Qingxuan’s expression twisted. This woman really held grudges! Ye Qingxuan had only stayed inside the academy and given himself a break for half a month!
“Miss Lola, please accept my small offering.” He sighed. Taking out the bag of blood he had prepared, he pushed it over cautiously. Lola glanced over and weighed it in her hands. Satisfied, she accepted it. Lola’s best trait was that she accepted when she saw something good and never insisted on too much. Working with a shrewd woman was straightforward. There were no cons other than having to shed a lot of blood.
“The Resonance level is still too far for you right now,” Lola said. “The distance isn’t due to your ability but the way you look at problems.”
“What do you mean?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
After pondering, Lola suddenly asked, “Do you know what the ‘seven questions for musicians are?”
-
The ‘seven questions for musicians were the hardest problem that musicians faced when trying to break into the Resonance level. Compared to the vast world, the endless aether sea, the distant Originator…compared to these huge entities, humanity was too insignificant.
If an insignificant man wanted to resonate with the world, move the aether sea, and receive limitless power, he must first determine the ‘origin’ within himself. Even the highest towers were built on flat ground. If one wanted to go higher, one must have a foundation. One would only be able to reply to the aether sea after determining one’s origin and utilize the limitless strength.
Thus, musicians ran into a huge problem. How could they look past the confusing fog, glimpse into the aether sea and the music theory hidden within, and find the origin that they could use?
The sub-origin technology of the School of Stone Heart stemmed from this. By turning one’s internal organs into alchemy equipment, they completed this process and could temporarily play music scores above their level. However, this was still a foreign object. Their own body still needed to have a breakthrough.
Thus, past musicians had made countless studies. However, not many were successful. If there was no method, one man out of a dozen musicians may be lucky enough to accidentally succeed and become a dabbler. It was a strange problem that countless people could not understand.
To this, the East had the saying “pass down with the heart rather than relying on words.” The West also had concepts such as ‘inspiration’ and ‘awakening.’ All in all, people who understood would understand. People who could not understand would not understand no matter what. The more one thought, the more confused one would become.
It was like a towering wall with no top that stood before all musicians. They must break through this wall to move forward. This wall was known as the Barrier of Knowledge. The Seven Questions for Musicians was a solution that various musicians had concluded.
Basically, if one could understand the propositions from the seven schools, then they would be able to break through the Barrier of Knowledge, see the true nature of music theory, and find the origin.
In other words, one must be able to solve all seven propositions. They include the ‘eternally unchanging object’ of Modifications, the ‘intangible object with a tangible spirit’ of Summoning, ‘between life and death’ of Choir, the ‘unknown’ of Revelations, ‘who am I’ of Mind, the ‘origin of dreams’ of Illusion.
“The origin of dreams?” Ye Qingxuan gaped at Lola. “Are you sure?”
“I have hundreds of books on the sixth shelf of the bookshelf behind you that explores this topic, but it’s best if you don’t look around. The more you read, the more confused you’ll become.” Then Lola asked lightly, “You already have an idea?”
“No, not at all.” Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. “But he told me in a dream that he’s waiting for me at the origin of dreams.”
“It’s been so many years. No one even knows if he’s alive or not.” Lola looked down and sipped her tea. “What really happened to Teacher? I don’t understand.”
“Let’s change the topic.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “There’s still one more. What’s the proposition for the School of Abstinence?”
After a moment of silence, Lola’s eyes grew sympathetic. “Abandon oneself,” she said. “The School of Abstinence studies the essence of aether. To them, there’s a barrier between the flesh and oneself. You must abandon yourself. Yezi, I really hope you don’t choose this.
“Do you know how many Abstinence musicians die from the backlash of music theory at this point? Some are burned to ash, some are suffocated, some turn into mist. In the East, musicians created a set of skills to study this proposition. You’ve probably heard of it before: autopsy, military autopsy, and the hydrothermal cadaver refining method.
“In ancient times, they referred to Resonance musicians as ‘fay’. In order to become one, they are willing to give up their flesh body. Sadly, doing this will definitely kill you. This is the biggest obstacle in the School of Abstinence. Maybe one in ten musicians can start learning. However, not even one in a hundred can break through the Barrier of Knowledge.”
Considering this, Ye Qingxuan nodded. “So what you’re saying is that if I want to reach the Resonance level, I must choose one of these four propositions, right? The ‘unknown,’‘who am I,’‘the origin of dreams,’ and ‘abandoning oneself’. None of these are easy.”
Actually, Ye Qingxuan had realized this when Lola first mentioned the four propositions. These were the questions that stemmed from the final goal and music theory of each major school. The direction pointed out by the four propositions caused him to suddenly discover some details and theories he had overlooked. It felt abnormally difficult.
If he could have a breakthrough, it meant that his study of music theory and aether had reached another level and was closer to the final stage. However, everyone’s method was different. Their Knowledge of Barriers were different as well. Using other musicians’ methods
would only confuse him further.
“But I’m still curious.” Ye Qingxuan rubbed his face with a gloomy expression. “This doesn’t make any sense. I’m a genius but I’m still stuck here. How can so many people break through?”
“Everyone faces different problems. The more you accumulate, the bigger the reward, but the more difficult it is to break through. In addition,” Lola paused and smiled mysteriously, “do you really think that everyone uses these methods?”
“Are there other methods?” Ye Qingxuan was stunned.
“Why wouldn’t there be?” Lola asked in reply. “In the end, the Barrier of Knowledge requires you to think outside of the box and escape from previous restraints. Free yourself from the shackles of the material world and see the true face of music theory.
“After this stage, the musician would have a complete grasp on the essence of music and start to develop their own style. Usually, a musician who had been stumped for years would experience a drastic change or emotional attack and suddenly be enlightened. Then they would break past their old beliefs and enter a new world.
“Thus, as long as you can reach this result, you can try some loopholes.”
“What loopholes?” Ye Qingxuan’s eyes brightened.
“You can sign a contract with a holy spirit that the Sacred City enshrines. Resonate psychologically and pull yourself out of your own perspective to see the world from a higher angle. Your problems are nothing to saints at the Scepter level. They can easily see through it.
“In addition, you can improve your sound of heart. The most popular is the fire spirit Akane. People who sign a contract with him and freely add fire effects into their music. The twin spirits of wind and thunder are hot picks too. So, how is it? Does this method sound familiar?”
“Why does it sound like the fallen ritual for dark musicians?”
“Is there any difference? In the end, it’s borrowing from others’ strength.” Lola snickered. “People who use this method just bypass the obstacle and use someone else’s perspective. However, their entire life would be influenced by others as well.
“To those failures, becoming a Resonance musician is the highest point of their life. True power comes from one’s internal self and mind. People who try tricks will never reach the Scepter level.
“For true musicians, the Resonance level is only the starting point!”
-
Ye Qingxuan returned to the academy in the afternoon. He had left with much confusion and was still confused when he returned. In fact, he now had propositions that he had to think about. He still had no clue how to start with these four problems. Thankfully, he had time to think.
Compared to the depressive thinking that entire day, good news boosted his spirits. The principal that had disappeared for half a month had finally come back. It seemed that the mess with the parliament had been dealt with. Even if the Fifth Department, they still needed time to remove the parliament completely. There must have been many unhappy moments.
Maxwell’s secretary left a message at the history department for Ye Qingxuan to go to his office as soon as he returned. This was the deal he had made with Maxwell. When the matter with the parliament ended, he would tell Ye Qingxuan what happened to Ye Lanzhou without holding anything back.
Ye Qingxuan quickly reached the office and knocked.
“Oh, finally back?” Maxwell said. “Come in.”
When Ye Qingxuan entered, he realized that Maxwell was not the only on in the office.
314 The Pas
The smell of tobacco hung in the air. It seemed to contain the dust of traveling. A man in a gray canvas robe sat on the sofa beside Maxwell. His aether was as still as dead water as if it was swallowed by the darkness in his robe.
He looked as if he had come from thousands of miles away. He held an old pipe; his face was hidden in the darkness and difficult to see. He was talking to Maxwell. “After all, with our relationship, I will definitely agree to help you with this.” He rose and bid farewell.
“You’re leaving now?” Maxwell tried to keep him. “Why don’t you stay a bit longer? It’s not too late to leave tomorrow.”
“The distance is far and it will be a difficult journey. The sooner I leave the better. My goal for coming to the academy has been reached as well and there is no point in staying. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Then, safe travels.” Maxwell rose to see him off. The traveler-like musician moved silently as if he was floating. When he brushed past Ye Qingxuan, he could feel the pair of eyes under the darkness sweep across his face. Those eyes were meaningful.
“Who was that?” Ye Qingxuan asked when the man was gone.
“Since he doesn’t wish to reveal his identity before you, it’s obviously a secret.” Maxwell smiled mysteriously and motioned for Ye Qingxuan to sit. “Whisky or brandy? I also have the strongest ‘kerosene’ from downtown. Maybe you’ll like it.”
“Don’t you have anything nonalcoholic?” Ye Qingxuan eyed Maxwell.
He rummaged through the cabinets. Finding some black tea, he boiled water to make tea for himself. Maxwell sat with propped legs and watched as Ye Qingxuan scurried about. He did not care at all and just chuckled.
“Sorry to keep you waiting for so long. I thought you would get impatient.”
“No matter where you go, you still have to come back here.” Ye Qingxuan sat across from Maxwell, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it over.
“Oh?”
“This is for you,” Ye Qingxuan said lightly. “I have a lot of questions so get ready to be thirsty, Mr. Principal.”
“If I knew this, I’d choose an easier topic to discuss.” Maxwell sighed and downed the cup of tea. He wiped the water on his beard like an old swordsman getting ready to fight after drinking wine. “Okay, let’s start. Don’t worry, I won’t hold anything back.”
“Then,” Ye Qingxuan asked his first question, “who is White Crow?”
“You know about him?” Maxwell was shocked but he shook his head. “Unfortunately, I want to know the answer too. More than a decade ago, the Sacred City ruled that your father was a heretic and had fallen. It caused uproar but your father ran away. The Lancelot family was the first to be questioned.
“I don’t know the specifics, but the former head of the family closed himself off to the world. Due to all the pressure, he was forced to exile you and your mother. After that, he fell ill and died two years later.
“At the same time, Ye Lanzhou used his Scepter to erase his existence. Other than people with special status, everyone forgot about him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t undo his mistakes. Amongst them, the one who put in the most effort to attack the Lancelot family was the White Crow that you speak of.”
“I see.” Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. “Then why did Ye Lanzhou come to the West back then? An Eastern Deva’s blood with a bright future and scepter would be the star of any school and the hope of the entire family. Why did he leave his hometown to come here?”
“Twenty-seven years ago in the East, Bai Heng inherited the noble Bai family. He led his soldiers to rebel without care for his family in the capitol Chang’an. The emperor was furious and killed his entire family. However, Chang’an was breached three days later and the royal family was practically massacred by Bai Heng.
“Bai Heng was the sole survivor of the Bai family. Due to outside pressure, he did not kill the youngest princess. He allowed her to inherit the throne, change her title to ‘Wu.’ She became the first empress. After that, Bai Heng became the high and mighty regent, and the world’s most treacherous minister.
“One year later, the Ye family was secretly ordered by the empress to fight under the name of removing treacherous officials. They partnered with the Eighth Battalion to besiege Chang’an for five years. However, the Ye family was betrayed by his ally. The head of the family was beheaded and given to Bai Heng as an apology.
“After that, the Ye family was cut up and punished by the crown. All direct blood lines were
imprisoned for life. Your father—the successor of the Ye family—Ye Lanzhou was twenty-two years old at that time.
“There was no place in the East and no reason to stay there, so he came to the West alone to start a new life. To be honest, I don’t know what he did to break free from all those bars and shackles. Maybe no one could stop him if he really wanted to escape. Anyway, the result was that he came here and started a new life, just as he had wished.” Maxwell sighed. “Unfortunately, the new life here wasn’t as easy as he had thought.”
“Then what happened?”
“Then what?” Then I met him for the first time.” Maxwell chuckled. “He applied for a position at the Royal Academy of Music and became a visiting professor. One year later, his talent and ability was acknowledged, and he became the youngest vice principal in the academy’s history.
“You know what happened next. He met your mother, they got to know each other and fell in love. In the end, they endured all the challenges and married. I officiated their wedding. That was the most honorable thing I’ve done. Unfortunately, now I always think that maybe what happened next would not have happened if I’d protested their marriage.”
After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, “So what happened next?”
“The Lancelot family is practically part of the royal family. In order to marry your mother, Ye Lanzhou agreed to many terms. One of them was that he must work for Anglo for ten years. He agreed and received a secret position in the Royal Research Institute. The following year, he represented the Institute and participated in a research project in the Sacred City.”
“The Sacred City?” Ye Qingxuan pondered. “Is it the Church or the Musician Union?”
“Both and even more. The Silence Governance participated as well,” Maxwell said lightly. “This was one of the results of the Third Amendment Act.”