by Feng Yue
Under his hard work, Romulusians were recognized and gradually accepted back into society. Their image grew more positive. They received much sympathy and aid. They saw an improvement in quality of life and profited from craftsmanship and similar industries.
However, six years later, twenty years ago, Gaius defected. His soldiers occupied the new colony on the other side of the sea and openly rebelled against the rule of the other nations and the Sacred City. The other nations instantly grew furious and began to chase the Romulusians away. Within a fortnight, the improvements were all gone. The entire process lasted fifteen years.
The Romulusians had lost everything. With nowhere to stay, they became wanderers on an endless road under flying insults and stones. Finally, they were led by six elders and followed the calling of ancient notes. They traveled to the barren lands of the south and found the land once promised to them by god.
However, years had passed. The fig trees and grassy plains no longer existed. The river no longer flowed with milk and honey. All that remained was a desert. It was Auschwitz. It was a paradise with nothing and it was where the Romulusians’ stayed.
“We had to find an industry if we wanted to survive here.” The elder asked, “Mr. Ye, if it were you, what would you do?”
Ye Qingxuan did not know how to answer. He really did not understand how to survive in a place like this. It was arid and impossible to grow agriculture. Without lush grass, breeding was out of the question too. All they had was yellow sand and barren land. They could not hunt either.
Trade? To be honest, there were no specialties here other than the Romulusians themselves. Other than slavers and traffickers, no one else would be able to find any business opportunities. The only thing he could think of was what the Romulusians had done before.
“So did you open the mine?” He sighed, understanding the context now. After arriving here, the Romulusians had dug a mine in order to survive. They signed a deal with the Chainsaw Fraternity to borrow a huge sum, but the mines they found were not rich. There were only sparse copper mines, metal mines, and some green gold. There was no value in digging. They could feed a small town but not Auschwitz. Even worse, they discovered the relic left behind from the Romulus Empire while digging. “It’s even worse than the relic.”
“It’s a cemetery,” the elder corrected. “Past elders had flipped through ancient texts and realized that the construction was ordered by the emperor when the Romulus Empire still existed. It’s the final resting place for the great men.
“And then? And then digging stopped. No Romulusian dared to continue exploring. Disturbing the ancestors’ spirits will put out the family flame. We could only seal the Underground Palace. Even the digging of copper mines stopped. To be honest, we still owe a huge sum to the Chainsaw Fraternity.”
The elder rolled his psychedelic cigarette expertly and said lightly, “When the ten years are up and the loan matures, us old guys will probably have to sell ourselves and become their mechanic slaves.”
Ye Qingxuan fell silent.
“Kid, don’t be upset. This has nothing to do with you.” The elder leaned on the rug. One hand grasped his smoke; the other caressed a bloody red rock. Squinting, he murmured, “Where were we?”
“The cemetery.”
“Ah, yes, cemetery.” The elder sucked in a mouthful of smoke and exhaled slowly. “You know the rest. One of your three kings, the King of Yellow, came to the cemetery of our ancestors for some reason. And then he disappeared.
“If bad luck is a curse, then we’ve been cursed by the gods. Everything bad happens to us. Now, your little group of musicians is here, stirring up trouble at our home. Next, you’re all going to run into our graves and mess around. And we can’t do anything about it.
“Tell me, what did we do wrong to be punished like this?”
Ye Qingxuan could not answer. “To be honest, I came here without knowing about the King of Yellow or the cemetery or Underground Palace,” he said. “I thought I was coming as a history scholar to help patients. I never even thought about the Sacred City’s reward. I hope you believe me.”
The elder held his bare and dried belly and laughed. “I can hear the truth in your words. Continue. I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“There’s nothing to continue.” Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. “These things are outside my capabilities. I just wanted to find a guide and take me around the Underground Palace so I can at least find out if the flu has anything to do with the palace. Elder, can you recommend anyone? I can pay him.”
The elder fell silent. He smoked while seeming to space out. He stared at the plumes of smoke, sinking in the high of the illegal drug. He did not snap out of it until it burned to his fingers. Then he raised his eyes, climbed up, and snuffed out the smoke.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Ye,” he said. “This is the only thing I cannot do. To the Romulusians, there are three things that will make them be out for your blood—insulting their ancestors, putting out the family flame, and digging through their ancestors’ graves.
“We won’t agree whether if it’s your request or the Sacred City’s. You have a lofty goal, but don’t say things like that in the future.”
“Sorry.” Ye Qingxuan felt a bit awkward. “I’ll take note.”
“You can go to the Church. That old guy should still have the records of the dig and some traces.” The elder rose. “That’s all I can help you with. The rest has nothing to do with us. I hope the Sacred City won’t drag us into your matters either.” He paused and looked at the tiny scales on his toes. “After all, we’ve already paid enough for the sin we were born with.”
-
After lunch, Ye Qingxuan left the elder’s home. Lunch was very simple but it had been days since he had edible food. It was clear that this counted as a rich meal in Auschwitz.
Afterward, Ye Qingxuan rejected the offer to ‘have some fun.’ The elder warmly saw Ye Qingxuan to do the door. However, when they were about to part, he reached out and grabbed Ye Qingxuan’s shoulder.
In Ye Qingxuan’s shock, the elder came up and embraced him tightly. “Mr. Ye, here is some advice,” he murmured in the youth’s ears. “You are a good person so this will be my only advice. No matter why you’re here, leave this place as soon as possible for your own good.”
332 Stranger
After leaving Elder Caligula’s home, Ye Qingxuan decided to explore the rest of the Auschwitz market and see the overall terrain. Multiple places had been bought and radiated with obvious aether waves. He could see invisible walls if he used the Eye of Silence.
Some places were flattened and the sole remaining building emanated a cold aura. Some places were deep in the residential area but there was no sign of life. He could sense a mass of dark fog but did not know what was hidden inside.
There was nobody like Ye Qingxuan who slept happily in the inn at night and went to sell in the market in the morning. However, when he returned to his stall, he found that someone had come over.
There seemed to be a customer sitting before the empty stall. He picked at the weapons, looking at this one or touching that one like a picky customer. In the end, he picked a short sword and stroked it.
“Hello, Mr. Ye.” Hearing the footsteps, the musician turned around, revealing the face Ye Qingxuan had seen last night. “I’m Colt,” he said. “Colt Flagg. My teacher has mentioned you before.”
“And your teacher is?”
“Heisenberg,” Colt answered. “Grandmaster Heisenberg of the Rock Institute.”
Ye Qingxuan thought of the cold hawkish face within the council members of Abraham’s appraisal. He could vaguely see traces of it in Colt’s face. They had the same cold hardness.
He nodded. “My apologies, I was impolite.”
“Nothing to apologize for. After all, our teachers don’t have a great relationship.” Colt glanced at him. “My teacher said that he isn’t as good as Abraham. Abraham has a perfect student who can continue and develop his legacy. To b
e honest, I am envious.”
Ye Qingxuan’s eyebrows shot up. He did not expect Heisenberg to think so highly of him. “He flatters me.”
Colt chuckled. Rather than replying, he toyed with the sword. “Want to work together?” he asked suddenly.
After thinking for a bit, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “I’ll pass. I’m not really social.”
“That’s a pity.” Colt looked at him coldly. “Your answer is such a pity.” With a snap, the sword was unsheathed. The blade shone coldly. Faint waves of aether rolled off of Colt. It was heavy with animosity.
Ye Qingxuan stared wordlessly. He would be a bit worried if Colt was a hot-tempered Modifications musician constantly troubled by his beastly nature, or a mentally unstable Summoning musician. He would not be worried at all if the opponent was a logical and introspective. No sane person would go against the rules of the Sacred City and put the locals at the market in danger by fighting with him.
Revelations musicians also had low lethality so every action was precious and made for the kill. In some extremist schools, a Revelations musician would not act unless he was at least sixty percent sure he would be successful.
Instead, Ye Qingxuan had to be careful to not fight back and give this guy something to latch onto.
During the quiet stalemate, Colt laughed at himself. “As expected, this trick doesn’t work on you.” He sheathed the sword again and put it back. “Nice sword.” With that, he rose, bid farewell politely, and disappeared into the masses.
Ye Qingxuan looked coolly as he walked away and returned to his spot. After a long time, he picked up a rag and wiped away Colt’s fingerprints. Sheathing the sword, he smiled into the distance. Under his feet, the rag silently burned to ashes.
-
At the end of the street, Colt stopped after turning. He looked at the girl hidden in the shadows. “Arianna, how is it?” he asked quietly.
Arianna’s expression changed. She shook her head unhappily after a while. “There’s still no reaction. Are you sure you put my personally-made ‘hint’ onto his stall?”
“I swear,” Colt said lightly. “I’m the only Revelations musician in all of Auschwitz that can discover hints.” Before he could finish, a small sound shot from Arianna’s fingertip. Her expression changing, she looked down and found that the ring had cracked.
“Really?” She took off the expensive alchemy equipment and tossed it into the trash. “There’s another one now.”
After a moment of silence, Colt lowered his eyes. “It seems like we should raise Ye Qingxuan’s threat level. Tell the musicians teaming up with us to be careful of him. Treat him as a Resonance level enemy.”
“That dramatic?” Arianna furrowed her brows. “They won’t accept it if there isn’t any evidence. How can the weakest guy suddenly jump to the top of the list?”
“No problem. If they want evidence,” Colt scoffed and turned, “there’ll be evidence once Ye Qingxuan takes care of some stupid guys.”
-
Ye Qingxuan was not thinking about what Colt had planned. He just took it was a test from a fellow competitor. After checking the illusion fulcrums he had hid in nearby stalls, he started thinking again. He soon discovered that someone strange was keeping an eye on him.
And the person was really close.
And really cheeky.
Cheeky to the point of squatting before him and staring with a curious and focused gaze.
It was a little Romulusian girl around the age of eleven or twelve. She wore a dirty robe like everyone else. Her hair was brown with strands of gold. She was mixed. Her old backpack was filled with little trinkets, from hair clips, scissors, pieces of paper, to a dead white rat. It had been turned into a specimen and she took it everywhere with her. Someone had drawn on her face with weird paint, making her look like a little witch that would be burned at the stake in olden times. Now, she squatted by the stall and looked up and down, creeping Ye Qingxuan out.
“You…what are you looking at?” Ye Qingxuan scooted back and gazed blankly at the girl.
Hearing his question, the girl was stunned too. She quickly shook her head and replied honestly, “I forgot.”
Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. He coughed violently, not knowing how to reply. The girl remained squatting and rested her chin on her hands. She looked at him curiously.
“Are you a foreigner too?” she asked. “I saw some others looking at you too.”
“How many people?” Hearing her words, Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. “Are there still a lot?”
“Probably?” The girl scratched her messy hair. “Can we not talk about this? I can’t remember.”
Ye Qingxuan could hear the sound of his sanity shattering. What do you mean you can’t remember? And talk about what? We’re not talking about anything! Don’t act like we’re already familiar with each other!
“Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ye Qingxuan forcefully himself to calm down. “How can I help you?”
“Oh, we don’t know each other?” The girl looked at him in confusion. Finding her answer in his upset eyes, she nodded. “Then you’ve already bought a map, right? Just pretend I was never here.”
“What map?” Ye Qingxuan had never had such a hard time talking to someone. He was even doubting his own intelligence. Was this girl crazy?
“Oh, so you haven’t bought it?” The girl’s eyes brightened. “You want it? The map’s really cheap! Don’t you foreigners all wanna go to the palace under the mine? I’m the only one who’s been to it! I can’t take you but if you spend…spend…” She paused and flipped through her pocket. Taking out a price sheet, she glanced at it and stuffed it back. She stated, “Spend three-hundred bucks and you’ll get my hand-drawn map!”
You think I’ll believe you and give you money? Ye Qingxuan made a face but did not know what to say.
“Oh, you think it’s expensive?” The girl misunderstood and scratched her head apologetically. “Yeah, I think it’s expensive too. How about you give me a hundred? If you still think it’s not worth it, I can tell you a secret passageway.” Without waiting for Ye Qingxuan’s reply, she took out a strange ‘map’ and started drawing on the back. Her drawing style was, well…extremely ‘spirited,’ filled with wildness and emotions. Simply put, Ye Qingxuan could not distinguish anything other than two statues and a door.
Soon, she stuffed the map into Ye Qingxuan’s hands and gazed at him expectantly. She was waiting for money.
Was this a new kind of scam and beggar technique? Ye Qingxuan was numb. He thought, fine, it’s just a hundred bucks. Please take it and stop damaging my sanity and logic.
“You should’ve just told me you want money!” He sadly took out one hundred dollars and gave it to her. The girl accepted with a smile but realized the money would not budge. She tugged it again. Ye Qingxuan let go and grasped her wrist.
She looked at Ye Qingxuan, but Ye Qingxuan was looking at her wrist. There was a tattoo of two snakes entwined on a cross on her wrist. Ye Qingxuan took out his pocket watch and realized that there was no difference in the design.
“Where did you get this tattoo?”
333 Elsa
“Where did you get this tattoo?”
The girl thought for a moment and shook her head. “Forgot.”
“Forgot?” You can forget this too?! He thought.
Feeling weak, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his face. “Do you know someone called Hermes?”
“Probably?”
“Do you or do you not?!”
The girl pouted. “I don’t know, I forgot! None of your business!”
“You remember your own name, right?” Staring into her eyes, Ye Qingxuan enunciated, “Tell me your name.”
The girl fell silent. She dodged Ye Qingxuan’s eyes and tried to take her hand back sadly. “I’m not selling you the map anymore. Let go. Seriously, you’re so annoying…you keep asking weird questions,” she murmured. She would not meet Ye Qingxuan’s eyes as if she was avoiding so
mething. “L-let go, I’m leaving.”
She tried to pry Ye Qingxuan’s fingers but he just stared at her seriously. “Tell me your name.”
“Her name is Elsa.” Someone reached over and placed a hand on Ye Qingxuan’s hand. “Relax, Mr. Ye. She’s my daughter.”
The hand was covered in calluses and abnormally old. He patted the back of Ye Qingxuan’s hand and loosened the fingers. Then he embraced the little girl. She began laughing dumbly after he murmured something.
“Take her home.” He gave the girl to a young man behind him. The young man placed the girl on his shoulders and walked away. After seeing his daughter off, the stooped old man turned back to the youth. “I just sent you off and I can’t believe we’re meeting again.”
“Uh, Mr. Caligula.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Ye.” Caligula held his pipe. Studying Ye Qingxuan’s Double Snake Time Meter, it dawned on him. “You’re Hermes’ man. I didn’t expect that.”
“It’s a coincidence.” Ye Qingxuan sighed. “I actually came to Romulus to help him check on Elsa but it seems that things aren’t as bad as I thought.”
“Hermes still remembers the poor child?” Caligula nodded. “I met him once when the flu erupted five years ago. At that time, my daughter was close to dying. He helped me find the best doctor, but sadly, he was too late, leaving this sequela. Mr. Ye, were you bothered?”
After a pause, Ye Qingxuan asked, “Is there a problem with her memory?”
“You guessed it.” The elder lowered his eyes and said softly, “The fever damaged a portion of her brain. Some of her common sense remained but her memory…only lasts five minutes.”
Five minutes? Ye Qingxuan was stunned. After a long while, he lowered his eyes and sighed deeply. “I see.”
Only this way could he understand her strangeness. However, he could not imagine that kind of life. A world of five minutes was like an infant looking at the world. There was no past or future. She did not even know her name.