by Feng Yue
“Boss, your crappy place is so hard to find.” Ye Qingxuan stomped his feet by the door and shook off the snow before entering.
Hermes waved. “You’re finally here. I thought you’d come earlier. I’m still busy. Take a seat and get some wine from the cabinet.”
Ye Qingxuan stood by the sofa and stared before confirming that this really was the horrible boss he knew. A few days ago, he was still an ugly fatty but now, he was extremely thin. Or rather, he had recovered his previous frail beauty.
Now, he looked like a thirty-something-year-old noble. His features were handsome and his skin was pale. There was the eerie and androgynous beauty. It was as if the golden haired youth from their first meeting had suddenly grown up. He was a totally different man from the fat guy before.
“Boss, did you take drugs?” Ye Qingxuan frowned. “You’ve lost at least twenty-five pounds, right?”
“Sh!” Hermes waved in annoyance. He scribbled in his notebook with a pen. Ye Qingxuan glanced over and his eyes hurt. Using his basic knowledge of engineering and alchemy, he could make out that Hermes was drawing the design of something big. The part he could see was already extremely complicated.
He could understand a bit about the alchemy. Some of the music theory seemed to be similar to his enlightenment. There were traces of the Heaven Ladder in there too but he did understand its use or nature.
He tried to interpret it but before he started, all the changes and music theories made him practically black out. In that moment, he saw a huge yet blurry structure hidden in the mist…
“What is this?” he yelped.
“A secret.” Hermes smiled mysteriously. He scribbled down the last equation and closed the book. “When I show you after I finish two days later, you’ll be shocked. I can’t believe I got this crazy idea just as I decided to retire from alchemy. This will change the world, Ye Qingxuan.”
“…Everyone wants to change the world. This isn’t anything shocking.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. He did not understand what Hermes was planning and did not care either. “How did you lose so much weight?”
“Of course by being healthy and exercising. Did you think I was dieting?” Hermes whistled. “Good exercising habits are the way to a healthy body, Ye Qingxuan. Would you like a pair of running shoes? Running is really healthy!”
Run? Ye Qingxuan thought in his mind. You can only lose that much weight by running from the Sacred City to Anglo and back every day!
He put his jacket on the stand and sat down without reserve. “I’m sure you know why I’m here.”
“Yunlou Qingshu?” As if already clear, Hermes was unsurprised. “You already saw that guy? Seems like he gave you a lot of pressure. After all, pressure is normal when you meet your in-law.”
“Boss, can you not?” Ye Qingxuan sighed. “If I really had an in-law like that, I’d just kill myself. I’d rather donate everything I own to homeless kids than let that b*stard get a cent.”
“Ah, seems like you have a lot of family drama.” Hermes cackled. “If you’re here, you must want some dirty gossip on your in-law, right?”
“What cards does he have hidden?” Ye Qingxuan cut to the chase. “He came so confidently to see the daughter that wants to kill him. What is he counting on?”
“Oh, you’ve asked a good question.” Gripping his chin, Hermes began saying, “Let’s start from when Yunlou Qingshu was born forty-six years ago…”
“Abridged version, please.” Ye Qingxuan was in no mood to listen to him expound.
“Okay, okay.” Hermes shrugged helplessly. “Let’s start from twenty-three years ago…”
469 No Answer
Forty-six years ago, Yunlou Qingshu was born.
He was the third child and youngest of Yunlou Feijing. His mother was a courtesan of Yunlou City. He was not brought home until he was six-years-old. He had an elder brother and sister.
Twenty-three years ago, he was twenty-three years old.
On the day of his birthday, Yunlou Feijing died from poisoning. The same day, there was an attempted assassination on Yunlou Qingxi, the legitimate heir to the city. He did not die but his dignity was lost and he disappeared from then on.
Qingshu became the leader of the city. He inherited the title of Prince and controlled the land and sea hub between the East and West. This should have been the peak of his life, the most glorious day of his life. However, from that day on, there were constantly rebels revolting against him in the name of Qingxi. The people protested as well.
Aurora Empire would not send the decree to recognize Qingshu’s position. Reaching that status as the youngest son and without any roots or connections, his planning, courage, and ambition were clearly terrifying. However, he lacked one thing…
“Deva’s blood.” Understanding what Hermes was saying, it dawned on Ye Qingxuan. “He’s mixed and doesn’t have pure blood. He’s not even a musician.”
“That’s right.” Hermes clapped in praise.
The inherited weapon of Yunlou was ‘Dijun.’ In order to control Yunlou, all family leaders had to be the strongest of the strong. When the late Feijing was at his prime, he could control the seas by himself. With his power, he was known as the king of the sea.
Yunlou City was also a war weapon created by thousands of Eastern alchemists. Its central core could only be activated by Dijun. Otherwise, it would be unable to fend off the phenomenon natural catastrophe Black Tide that appeared once every eighty years. However, not only was Qingshu clueless about music theory, his lineage was not pure either. Not even Dijun would acknowledge him, let alone Yunlou City.
When he killed his father and brother, there were only twenty-five years before the Black Tide. It was pressing.
And even worse…
“He couldn’t prove that he is legitimate!” Hermes said. “Not being acknowledged by Dijun or being a musician was one thing. However, his Deva’s blood isn’t pure either and his hair is speckled… The nine dragon bloodlines don’t even acknowledge his position! As a family leader of the nine dragon bloodlines, it was the biggest humiliation to be equal with a mutt!
“One day without Aurora’s decree was one sleepless night. If his wounded and escaped brother returned to the city, he would only need to wave a hand and the world would respond to him. Everyone would follow him. There are even sayings that Qingshu is illegitimate and will die in Qingxi’s hands one day…”
Hermes paused and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. “If you were him, what would you do?”
After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “I can’t do something like that and I wouldn’t know how to act.”
“Then what do you think he did?” Hermes fluttered his lashes and kept dragging things out without hurry. When he realized that Ye Qingxuan was unresponsive, he shook his head helplessly and answered his own question.
“Since he was illegitimate, then he’d just give birth to a legitimate one, of course,” Hermes said. “If he could give birth to a pureblood child, then the dragon bloodlines would have to believe him, right? Even those rebels would be unable to talk about justice then, right? So that’s what he did.”
“That’s what he did?” Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. “How? If it’s that easy to give birth to Deva’s blood, all of the dragon bloodlines of Aurora would go crazy, let alone the Yunlou family.”
“You idiot.” Hermes shook his head sympathetically. “Did you forget? He has a sister. A sister who was like a mother to him since childhood…”
Ye Qingxuan froze, a chill spreading over him. “Are you saying that b*stard, he…he…”
“Yes, he raped his own sister,” Hermes said lightly. “And his sister quickly became pregnant. He spared no expense to ensure that he would get a pureblood child. He spent almost half of Yunlou City’s money. Since the womb, the child started using precious materials that even a Scepter musician would go crazy for.
“In the end, he received the pureblood he dreamed of. The baby’s talent was so powerful it was like a mon
ster. Even in the womb, it was a child with a promising future. Such great news, such celebratory news…hahaha!”
Hermes started laughing as if he just said a punchline but Ye Qingxuan could not laugh. “Are you saying that Bai Xi is that…”
“Bai Xi is that child but that child isn’t her.” Hermes shook his head. “Yunlou Qingshu used his money, enough gems for thousands of people, to receive a child favored by the gods. But because of his horrible deeds, the child was also cursed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two talents.” Hermes held up two fingers with sympathetic yet cold eyes. “That child had two talents at once—two talents that were like fire and water. ‘Taiyi’ and ‘Zhaodang.’ Do you know what these mean?”
Ye Qingxuan froze.
How could he not know? He had read about these shockingly powerful talents from books about the East. Compared to these, Heaven Ladder was nothing. Taiyi and Zhaodang were the best of all talents.
One was glorious like the sun. It could control all aether and stop all demonic sound. If a musician used it, no other melody of music score could rise above it. This was the ‘king’ of all talents and the controller of all music scores. No musician could fight against it.
The other was aggressive as fire. It created a cacophony. In its path, all music theory would lose control and be dragged into the violent shaking, turning into a symphony of destruction. This was the ‘demon’ of talents, the destructor of all music scores. It would obliterate everything in its path, even the owner.
One was extreme auspiciousness.
One was extreme inauspiciousness.
If these two talents appeared in one infant’s body, the infant would become their battlefield. Not only the infant, but even the mother and everything around them would be dragged into the war.
“If a god exists, this would be his punishment to Yunlou Qingshu,” Hermes said. “He wanted a child so God gave him an unmatchable child. Unfortunately, this child was destined to be stillborn. But Qingshu could not allow it. For his future, he decided to…turn one child into two.”
“Two?” Ye Qingxuan froze. “How is that possible?”
“How is it not?” Hermes asked in reply. “Is it hard for a Choir musician to make an embryo? They would just turn the petri dish into the mother’s uterus. Yunlou Qingshu found the best Choir musician to split the embryo into two. The two infants received Taiyi and Zhaodang respectively.
“This entire plan had no flaws other than the fact that it was painful for the mother. To be honest, I’m quite impressed with Qingshu. If he’s a musician, I’m sure he would be on par with you.”
Ye Qingxuan frowned. “I’m disgusted to be compared to him.”
Hermes shrugged. “No matter what, ten months later, Yunlou Qingshu successfully received a perfect product and a damaged result—a pair of twin girls. Their mother named them. The first to be born was the successful sister. Her name was Yunlou Chaoyue. The second was the failure. Her name was…”
“Yunlou Baixi,” Ye Qingxuan gritted out.
“Yes.” Hermes shrugged. “With Yunlou Chaoyue, Qingshu successfully received Aurora’s decree to prove his status. He put all his hope of glory on Chaoyue. She received the best education since birth and used her talent to repay the father who raised her. She is a true princess.
“The other child who inherited Zhaodang wasn’t so lucky. Zhaodang is powerful but is a horrible omen. With such a cursed talent, no one thought she would live until adulthood. In reality, if her mother did not fight to her death, Yunlou Baixi would have been drowned at birth.
“Your cousin grew up in isolation with her mother, becoming less and less loved by people until she decided to leave home… Actually, if I were Qingshu, I would be relieved that this eyesore was finally gone. Go, go, die outside. After all, Yunlou City only has one city. But since she was going to die anyway, why not recycle garbage? Find her and marry her off as a political bargaining chip.
“You know what happened afterward. Because of you, the Yunlou Baixi who was wrapped up in a pretty bow to be given to Anglo’s prince turned into Bai Xi, your cheap cousin.”
Ye Qingxuan fell silent.
“However, I’m sure Yunlou Qingshu is grateful to you now. Grateful that you saved Bai Xi from Qingxi’s men and happy that she can live healthily.” Hermes smile grew mocking and mysterious. “Especially after he realized when Yunlou Chaoyue became of age that, just by herself, she couldn’t receive Dijun’s acknowledgment.
“Chaoyue and Baixi are one person… Yunlou’s weapon Dijun will only recognize the two of them and it must be the two! With one missing, he could not awaken Dijun and control the core of Yunlou City. He cannot fight off the Black Tide that will come in two years. The glory and power he has spent his entire life fighting for, his Yunlou, will be buried under the natural catastrophe.
“If I were Yunlou Qingshu, I would thank the heavens, burn incense for you, and put up a big tablet to worship you. Ye Qingxuan, you’re a great person, a totally great person. You’re the hero who saved Yunlou City.”
It finally dawned on him. “He wants to take Bai Xi back to be his puppet and control Dijun?”
“Not just that now.” Hermes smiled. “Now he wants to add a son-in-law with a great future, the future minister of Anglo. He probably can’t stop smiling.”
“Why does he think Bai Xi will listen to him?”
“Did you forget what I said?” Hermes pulled some nuts out of a drawer but thinking that he was still dieting, he sighed and put it back.
“Chaoyue and Baixi are one person. They are twins from the same source and their connection is unimaginable. If he controls Chaoyue, do you think Baixi will run away? I can think of dozens of similar solutions. Don’t you understand?”
Ye Qingxuan remained silent. He began pondering but his mind was a mess. He could not think of any solution. But after a while, he suddenly smiled as if all the weight had been lifted. When he looked at Hermes, his eyes became meaningful.
“Tsk!” Hermes shook his head in annoyance. “I hate dealing with kids like you. You understand things too quickly and I can’t even drag out the drama.”
“You said all this so I can beg you to cut the tie, right?” Ye Qingxuan asked. “Boss, you’re Bai Xi’s teacher. Coming here without telling her is one thing, but you won’t just let her die without doing anything, right?”
“I came to fulfill a promise with a friend, that’s all.” Hermes was upset. “I’m Bai Xi’s teacher but can we do a fair trade? I hate owing people and never let debts go on for long. If we calculate the business of her becoming my student, she’s made so much profit! And I even gave her the clock shop in Avalon. What do you want me to do? Give her my coffin money as her dowry?”
“You want me to beg you?” Ye Qingxuan looked at him without any fear.
Hermes rolled his eyes and said, “Beg me.”
“I beg you,” Ye Qingxuan said shamelessly.
“There’s no sincerity in those words. Kneel down.”
“Okay.”
Without hesitating, Ye Qingxuan got up and moved to kneel down. His moves were so agile and smooth, like a tiger landing on the ground. His aura was so powerful that Hermes was frightened.
“F*ck, where’s your dignity? Your shame? If Ye Lanzhou knew you’re kneeling for a woman, he’d climb out of his coffin!”
“Me kneeling has nothing to do with him.” Ye Qingxuan looked at Hermes, still seeming like he was going to kneel. “Boss, you want me to kowtow? How many times?”
“Sit down!” Hermes was powerless. “Being with that *sshole senior of yours, you didn’t learn any talents except how to be shameless!”
“So you agreed?” Ye Qingxuan fluttered his lashes. “What’s the solution?”
“If I started worrying now like you, it’ll be way too late!” Hermes huffed. “My promise with Bai Xi is that if she becomes my student, I’ll give her freedom. The problem is, I solved this half a year ago. She is the only musician in the
world with two sound of hearts and my sole inheritor. In addition to the music theory system, she also has an alchemy array inside her.”
Ye Qingxuan frowned. “Is one alchemy array effective?”
“You think these arrays are peanuts and you can have as many as you want?”
Hermes looked with scorn. “She’s not me. Having one is already a lot. In addition, I referenced the music theory of Heaven Ladder to create this masterpiece of a chain array. It’s comparable to any sacred weapon on this world. With this chain array, she can control Zhaodang. I’ve cut her tie to Chaoyue long ago too. Qingshu can’t do anything to her. Don’t worry.”
He paused and sighed. “The more I talk the more I feel indebted. Other students are all filial. Not only does my student not care about, I even have to give her a store and a weapon…”
Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sighed in relief. He patted Hermes’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. After your hundredth year, Bai Xi will burn paper money for you every year.”
Hermes spat onto the ground. “You’re the seventh to say that to me confidently! The other six are long dead!”
Ye Qingxuan smiled but did not reply.
“And don’t think everything’s solved after I cut the tie.” Hermes glanced at him. “Yunlou Qingshu keeps meeting with the Ecclesiastical Order these days. They seem very close. I don’t know what else he has in mind for his Yunlou City. He might have other tricks.”
“I’m taking Bai Xi back to Avalon after the Winter Festival,” Ye Qingxuan said. “He can try whatever he wants in Avalon.”
“Good idea.” Hermes glanced at him, seeming to smile. “Very definite as well but I hope you won’t continue to run from your thoughts.”
Ye Qingxuan was silent.
Done speaking, Hermes did not want to bother with him anymore. He waved for Ye Qingxuan to leave. But before leaving, he tossed something over. Ye Qingxuan caught it and froze.
“Some little girl told me to give this to you.” Seeing his shock, Hermes snickered. “Remember to keep it by your side. After all, her heart is in it.”