by Feng Yue
The Third Amendment Act was a secret agreement made two hundred years ago between the various countries and the Church. According to this agreement, each country would respect that the current King of Red—who was also the Pope—was the only representative of God. He would make no fallacy and protect the Church’s legitimacy and God’s undeniable status.
In return, the Church would not have any political power; it would separate from the government. Churchmen were forbidden to join the military, government, or interfere with any country’s laws. They were even forbidden to accept the worship of believers. All funding came from the various countries. The Sacred City Parliament led by the Pope established the Sacred City’s position as the core of the world.
The first thing the Sacred City Parliament did was to establish the Musician Union to unite all musicians. At that time, the Inquisition—an organization that had grown astray—was abolished. The musicians were added into the Silent Authority that was under the Musician Union’s sole authority and became judicial musicians.
The non-musician priests returned to the Church and formed the Ministry of Faith that had the authority of final interpretation of the Bible. From then on, God belonged to God and mankind belonged to mankind.
The Pope was responsible for guiding the lofty spirit while the men of the world were ruled by their kings. Whether it was metaphysical or physical, everything found its place. A new order was born.
The secret research institute that was not part of any organization was established at that time. The research that Ye Lanzhou participated in was started eighteen years earlier. The Sacred City Parliament gathered scholars and alchemists from each country, secretly deployed musicians of dozens of research fields and sixteen different schools, and began an unprecedented research…What is a natural catastrophe?”
Maxwell’s voice was like stones rubbing and creating blazing sparks. “That was the goal of the research—to understand the nature of the natural catastrophe. For this, all of the world’s strength was secretly united and captured a natural catastrophe. All the preparation, process, and actions of this plan had been sealed. No one knows what happened, other than country leaders and the Pope.”
“Natural catastrophe?” Ye Qingxuan was shaken. “Which one?”
“Of the natural catastrophes, the ones with the most characteristics are the Three Saints, the Three Pillar God, the Four Living Objects, and the Eight Phenomena.” Maxwell smoked his cigarette. “It’s impossible to even prove the existence of the Three Saints. The Three Pillar God is too large and far away from humanity, making it hard to understand. The Eight Phenomena…are just phenomena. There’s not much research value. Therefore, the most suitable target is one of the Four Living Objects.”
“Hecatoncheir?” It suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. The Four Living Objects was Hecatoncheir, Leviathan, the Dark Mother, and Cereus.
Of these four, the Dark Mother did not have a specific shape and was difficult to observe. Leviathan of the deep seas had already died. No one would be able to find it before it is reborn. Cereus seemed to be the easiest but its nature was difficult to grasp. It lived in the black zones across the world. It was where the aether was the most disorderly. Cereus existed between real and intangible. Like an unrealistic bubble, it could burst at touch. Merely observing it could cause it to scatter, let alone catching it. Therefore, the most suitable choice was undoubtedly Hecatoncheir.
“But…the Sacred City was actually able to capture him?”
“Yes, with grave losses,” Maxwell said softly. “To my knowledge, since eighty years ago, four of the current eleven saints disappeared and two of the nine Eastern imperial musicians died. The other participants were all gravely wounded as well. The former King of Yellow was lost due to this. But that’s not the worst. The worst is that we succeeded.”
315 Graduation?
Maxwell spoke of some of the events very vaguely, but Ye Qingxuan could imagine the bloodiness and sacrifices behind the vague words. Even musicians as powerful as the Three Kings could fall in a battle against a natural catastrophe. Scepter musicians were not even able to enter the battlefield.
“Did Ye Lanzhou participate in the research of Hecatoncheir? He’s talented but he’s not even a Summoning musician. What use does a Mind musician have?”
“Did you forget your father’s title?” Maxwell glanced at him. “Moon Chant, the purifier of all abnormalities, the only one who can resonate with the Pure White Moon and the Blue Moon at once. He’s the one who most understands the differences between natural catastrophes and men. I would find it odd if he didn’t participate.”
“…And then what?”
“And then?” Maxwell put out his cigarette. “And then it’s as you know. Your father turned and fell into the territory of natural catastrophes, becoming a dark musician.”
“I know that.” Ye Qingxuan clenched his fist. Looking at Maxwell, he asked gruffly, “Is it true?”
“I don’t know.” Maxwell looked away. “When he left, he caused too big of an upheaval. The entire research institute was practically destroyed. All the files were destroyed and all the people…
“After all these years, I often think if that young man had already turned into my enemy. Will we meet on the battlefield one day? Sometimes, I even think…it’d be better if he’d died.”
“I don’t want to agree but I think that too.” Ye Qingxuan’s words stunned Maxwell. The young man lowered his head and hid his expression. He said coolly, “Those guys that only know to cause trouble are better off dead. But I don’t want him to die without a clear reason.”
After a long silence, Maxwell patted his shoulder. “Humans are unable to interfere with the past but if you want to investigate the truth, you must become stronger. You should at least be a Scepter musician to have insight on the secrets.”
“Isn’t it too early to talk about this? I’m still lost about the Resonance level. The Barrier of Knowledge is enough for me to get headaches over for a few years, let alone finding the origin of the resonance.”
Maxwell froze and fell silent. Thinking of something, his gaze turned odd as if he was looking at an inhuman creature.
“…What’s wrong?” Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling.
“Ye Qingxuan, you’ve only been in school for half a year!” Maxwell held his chin and praised. “You went from nothing to an official musician within half a year and are learning four schools at once. According to the Academy’s rules, you can graduate already.”
“Uh, ah, huh?” Ye Qingxuan froze too. “Graduate?”
“Yeah!” Maxwell nodded. “The Royal Academy of Musician has a six-year schooling system, but realistically, you can graduate after becoming an official musician. You must know that not many of the graduates this year are official musicians yet! With your record now, you’re more than ready to graduate! What if today I…”
“Wait! I…I…” Ye Qingxuan was dazed. Finally, he slapped his thigh. “I paid for one full year’s worth of tuition! I still half a year left!”
Maxwell looked at him as if looking at an idiot. “I gave all those downtown businesses to you and you still need money?”
“I don’t care! I’m not graduating!” Ye Qingxuan sprawled on the sofa, throwing a tantrum. “Otherwise I’ll go lie down before the palace and starve myself in protest! You better believe that. Maxwell is a ruthless and corrupted principal! A commoner student is expelled! I’ll get you onto the Musician Union’s complaint board, the headline!”
Even someone as thick-skinned as Maxwell was taken aback by this. He had experienced many who could not graduate but he had never seen someone who was not willing to leave the Academy.
“Hey, don’t be like that. Help me out. I haven’t reached the quota for this year’s graduation. With you, I’d at least be able to ask for a bigger budget for next year,” Maxwell said.
“It’s your own fault that you can’t reach the quota, alright?! What kind of school has such weird graduation exams?”
<
br /> “So you’re set on not graduating?”
“What are you so impatient for?” Ye Qingxuan picked his nose with a rogue expression. “I’m just a first-year student. Wait until I’m in my sixth year before talking about graduating!”
“You’re really not leaving?”
“Nope! What can you do about me?”
“Oh, that’s great.” Maxwell rubbed his hands and smiled mysteriously. “Then you won’t reject the trial task that the Academy assigns you, right?”
Ye Qingxuan was instantly stunned and it finally dawned on him. “You were waiting for me to say that!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t want to graduate. I didn’t force you.” Maxwell shrugged. “You can choose between graduating and working.”
Ye Qingxuan ground his teeth and stared daggers into the old guy. “Just tell me what you want!”
The Royal Academy of Music had the tradition of trial tasks. It was like summer internships of other schools. The Musician Union would assign some simple missions for students so they could accumulate experience. Of course, some bad teachers would take advantage of their students and make them work for free. For example, people like Maxwell, who set up traps for students…
“Don’t be scared. It’s pretty simple.” The prepared Maxwell took a document from the drawer and tossed it at Ye Qingxuan. “It suits you too but it’s just a bit far.”
“How far?” Ye Qingxuan felt like he had been scammed.
After thinking, Maxwell said casually, “Around five days by sea, six days by train, and then half a month by foot?”
Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. “Why don’t you just say going across the entire world?!”
“Yeah, something like that.” Maxwell shrugged and stated, “You know about the Romulus people, right? A few centuries ago, after Romulus was destroyed by a natural catastrophe, these people scattered throughout the world. Decades ago, their leader established a new tribe in the north.”
“Do you want me to represent Anglo and ally with them? And then we’ll have—”
“Do you think the nations would allow a group of refugees to take a land that is rich in resources?” Maxwell side-eyed him. “You’re going to save people. Recently, there’s a large-scale infectious disease is going around. The local Church suspects that this is related to the digging of archaeological sites and is recruiting scholars who can interpret and understand history. You’re just going over to help out.”
“An infectious disease?” Ye Qingxuan’s eyes brightened. “Does it turn people into—”
“Sorry, it’s just a regular disease.”
“Psh, that’s boring.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head.
“You think all musicians make the headlines every other day?!” Maxwell suddenly grew furious. “Hurry back, pack up, and get the f*ck out! If you’re still here the day after tomorrow, I’ll have the Fifth Department exile you!”
“There’s no need to be in a hurry, right?”
“Hey!” Maxwell was pissed at the mention of this. “Thanks to that Mr. Demon and those guys who messed around, Avalon’s enchantment is still damaged and riddled with holes. Its protection is basically nonexistent. The royal musicians have been tearing their hair out these two days. Do you know why?”
Ye Qingxuan’s heart skipped a beat. “Why?”
“Because someone in this room is the biggest interference!” Maxwell was practically jabbing Ye Qingxuan’s face. “After you messed with the enchantment, your aether waves are connected to the core! The enchantment won’t be able to be repaired as long as you’re in Avalon!
“If not for me covering you, you’d be hanging from the Traitor’s Gate for destroying national defenses by now! And you’re asking me what’s the hurry?!”
“Uh…” Ye Qingxuan felt guilty about this too. It had been an emergency, but it truly was a bit too much to make national defenses into his own body. No one had investigated for so many days that he thought the crisis was over but it was actually waiting for him here.
“Okay, okay, I’ll go!”
He dejectedly prepared to go back and pack but Maxwell called, “This is for you.” He tossed over a ring. Ye Qingxuan caught it and realized it was high-grade alchemy equipment. He could see that it was a product by Avalon’s famous alchemist workshop Cavendish Laboratory. It was much better than the defense rings he had stolen before.
When he touched the inside, he felt some vague letters carved on it.
“…007·SH? What’s that?”
“I help you record a file with the Fifth Department under the name of Sherlock Holmes. From now on, your code is number seven and is directly under me. You basically have amnesty now,” Maxwell said casually. “There’s no reason to make you do everything by yourself out there either. Someone will give you messages later. Remember to burn them after memorizing the content. They can help you muster a considerable amount of people and power. Use them carefully and see it as a gift.”
“That simple?” Ye Qingxuan cautiously put on his ring. He did not know why going to help cure a disease in a refugee camp would have something to do with the mysterious Fifth Department, but seeing Maxwell’s actions, there must be hidden dangers. It was better to be safe than sorry.
“Oh, right, what’s that refugee area called?” Ye Qingxuan asked before he left.
“Auschwitz,” Maxwell said with a smile. “A place filled with peace, friendship, and kindness that accepts the poor refugees with no home.”
316 Safe Travels
Ye Qingxuan was prepared, but he was still shocked when the man from the Fifth Department knocked on his door. “Richard?” He gaped at the senior who had graduated and apparently went back to his hometown. “You?”
“Oh, you still remember my name?”‘Richard’ still wore a black uniform and a strange smile. “Then you can call me Richard. Mr. M told me to give this to you. See, I told you we’re fated.”
Ye Qingxuan was speechless. So the school’s executive office was the reserve for the Fifth Department? Maxwell truly was creative. Ye Qingxuan could not think of how a student organization in a musician academy was related to the Fifth Department.
Not even ten minutes after Richard had left, someone else came. Ye Qingxuan, frantically packing and with a sweater on his head, opened the door and froze.
“Seton?”
The burly man who practically blocked the door turned and pointed at the carriage behind him. His gesture meant, the Boss wants to see you.
-
“Heard you’re going to Auschwitz?” The fat middle-aged man across from Ye Qingxuan smiled warmly. But seriously, who was he? Hermes? Where did the handsome young man go? Ye Qingxuan felt lied to.
“Ah, you can’t recognize me? Seems I’ve changed a lot.” Hermes rubbed the bristly hair on his chin and cackled. “Don’t mind me. I’ve been growing quickly these days but it should settle down soon.”
Trying not to insult him, Ye Qingxuan just sighed. “Boss, how may I help you?”
“Didn’t I already say it? I heard you’re going to Auschwitz?”
Ye Qingxuan blanched. “I just found out an hour ago. News travels fast.”
“No need to bother with the details.” Hermes pulled out a check from the Church and wrote a long number. “Since you’re going there, help me bring some money over. I fund a child there…”
“Boss, can you just get to the point?” Ye Qingxuan’s expression was troubled.
“That is the point.” Hermes’s was serious. “Go and check for me. You’re just going there to study some stupid books, right? You’ll have a lot of free time so just help me take care of the girl. If she doesn’t need anything then you don’t have to care. Spend the extra money for yourself. I’ve also helped you buy a first-class ticket for tomorrow’s luxury cruise so you can travel comfortably!”
Ye Qingxuan was stunned. After a while, he said awkwardly, “I misunderstood you. I’ve never seen you care so much about other people.”
“She’s not ‘
other people’!” Hermes grew troubled. “She’s like…my daughter?”
Ye Qingxuan spat his tea out. “Your what?”
“I’m kidding. Don’t take it seriously.” Hermes whistled and raised his hand. “Seton, come and send him off! Look at you, you don’t have any manners. He still has a sweater on his head and you dragged him over. What if you keep him from packing?”
Ye Qingxuan sighed. He finally had the time to pull the sweater over his head. He had not worn it in a long time and, as expected, it was a bit small.
In the end, Hermes saw him to the door and asked casually, “Oh right, are you still wearing that pocket watch?”
Confused, Ye Qingxuan looked down at his chest. The tick-tocks from the Double Snake Time Meter answered him.
-
For dinner, they held a celebration at a restaurant outside the Academy for Charles’s discharge from the hospital. Charles was like a starved beast. When Ye Qingxuan arrived late, he discovered that his portion was practically gone already.
Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s mission, Abraham nodded. “Since it was assigned by the Musician Union, it shows that they think highly of you. I’ll prepare some resources and books related to interpretation tonight. You can read them on the way there.”
“You’re leaving?” Bai Xi squeezed in. “Where?”
“Auschwitz. It’s a small place but it’s a pressing matter. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Bai Xi went blank. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I haven’t packed yet.”
“I’m going by myself.” Ye Qingxuan tapped her forehead. “You still want to go out after failing all those classes? Focus on your credits first.”
“Oh.” Bai Xi lowered her head and did not say more. Soon, she lowered her utensils. “I’m done.” Without waiting for the others, she rose and left. They heard the door slam in the distance. Old Phil, chewing on a bone beside the table, looked in the direction she went, then back at Ye Qingxuan. He shook his head judgmentally, picked up the bone, and ran off as well.
Charles snorted. His mouth was stuffed with meat and he could hardly breathe from laughing. Ye Qingxuan looked to his teacher for help but Abraham just shrugged helplessly.