Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  The Professor’s only mistake was that he had miscalculated how long it would take for the police to arrive. He decided to end the torture and quickly kill the traitor.

  But would it not have been better to use a sword? It would not have left any traces of aether. Why fire? Why did he burn the traitor to crisp…And why did the man leave behind those bloody words before he had died? What did the words mean? The blood words, blood words…

  Sweat beaded on Ye Qingxuan’s forehead. He racked his mind, flipping through the records in his brain, but he could not find anything related to those symbols. No matter if one looked at its structure or logic, this writing system did not exist! But then why would the traitor leave it behind?

  “Blood words, blood words…” Ye Qingxuan murmured to himself. “It doesn’t make any sense!”

  “Of course it doesn’t make any sense.” Bai Xi glared at him. “I told you the guy just randomly drew it.”

  “Randomly?” Ye Qingxuan froze.

  An light flashed in his mind. It was like lightning at night, appearing and vanishing within a second, but revealing a hidden shape.

  Ye Qingxuan quickly came up with a ridiculous theory. The possibility of it made him want to laugh, but there was no better explanation.

  He opened his eyes slowly. “I think I got it.”

  Bai Xi, who had been playing with marbles in a corner, looked up. “What did you get?”

  “The so-called big secret and what the Professor did to the traitor…” Ye Qingxuan scooped up some ashes. He smiled as he studied it. “It’s just a guess, but the Professor is seriously out of the ordinary.” He rose and patted the dust from his shoulders. “Okay, let’s go.”

  “You’re being mysterious again.” Bai Xi pouted. “So what do we do next?”

  Ye Qingxuan cocked his head at Lestrade standing at the intersection and chuckled. “Next, we need our inspector friend to help take us somewhere.”

  “Where?”

  “The headquarters of the Avalon police department.”

  —

  At noon, dark and gloomy clouds covered the sky. Rain drizzled onto the streets. Lestrade stood before the entrance of the Avalon police department in a raincoat. His expression was dark as he glanced around every now and then.

  As people passed by, uniformed policemen would sometimes greet this man who was rising through the ranks. Lestrade would force a smile onto his face and reply to each of them.

  Finally, the anxious waiting came to an end. A black carriage stopped before him. The door opened slowly.

  The youth inside the carriage had his feet up and sat comfortably in the soft chair. He was not wearing the strange robe, but a new set of clothing. He seemed polite and endearing.

  Noticing Lestrade waiting for him, he looked down. Studying Lestrade, he smiled. “Seems like you’ve been doing well these days.”

  “Thanks to you.” Lestrade forced out a smile. “I’ve arranged everything. Please come with me.” He turned to lead the way, but his expression quickly darkened. Had he gone crazy? This was definitely not normal. He was a policeman with a bright future. Why was he bringing a mysterious dark musician into the Avalon police department? If someone found out, he would be dead!

  He shivered subconsciously, regretting the decision, but he had no choice and no means to protest. He had given all that up the moment he exchanged with this demon.

  “Stop standing there and hurry up.” The voice in his ear was full of awe. “This place is usually so heavily guarded. You can’t get in without someone leading you. Do you have a cafeteria here? How’s the food? Would you mind if I got a free meal?” As Holmes spoke, he looked around with friendly and harmless smile on his face. He waved at the passing policemen like a tourist.

  The guard wanted to stop him, Lestrade quickly threw his hand over his shoulder in a friendly manner. The guard hesitated and decided to turn a blind eye.

  Just like that, they had passed through the various checkpoints and entered the heart of…the place with the most “justice” in Avalon.

  In the square behind many doors, Ye Qingxuan looked up at the towering gray-white building and emblem.

  A squad of policemen who had just finished assembling left for their mission with their weapons. When they brushed shoulders, Holmes raised his hand and waved at them.

  “Are you crazy?” Lestrade looked down, his features twisting. “If anyone here finds out who you are, you’re dead!”

  Holmes laughed. “Don’t be nervous. I trust you!” He patted Lestrade’s shoulder. “You won’t let that happen, right?”

  Lestrade’s shoulder trembled and he did not reply.

  A voice sounded from afar. “Oh, is it Lestrade?” A man with an umbrella saw them and walked over.

  Lestrade froze. Ye Qingxuan could feel the panic radiating from him.

  The man neared. He was clad in a vintage musician robe and looked like a priest. The red dragon emblem of the Royal musicians was on his chest. He looked as if he was around thirty-years-old, but his hair had already started graying. His most striking feature was his eyes. Those blue orbs were as deep as the starry sky. One felt naked when under the stare of those eyes.

  They were the Starry Eyes, a superpower bestowed by the Originator after a musician from the School of Revelations broke through the Barrier of Knowledge and resonated with the world. All truth was revealed under those eyes.

  No one knew why a Royal Musician was here today! Nobody else would have cared, but Lestrade was terrified by Claude’s eyes. Revelations musicians were experts at recognizing one’s aura. The dark musician would not be able to escape!

  “Mi-mister Claude, long time no see. I didn’t expect to see you here,” Lestrade stammered.

  Claude nodded at him. His expression changed when his gaze moved to the youth, as if he sensed the darkness.

  “Sh*t.” Despair and regret flashed through Lestrade’s mind. He was going to be discovered!

  141 A Study of Blood Words 3

  “Hello, Mr. Claude.” Faced with Claude’s gaze, Ye Qingxuan took the initiative to greet him with a calm look.

  However, Lestrade was pale, his lips trembled. He looked as if he wanted to run right then and there.

  Perceiving his discomfort, Claude frowned slightly, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. He looked to Ye Qingxuan, brow slightly furrowed. “Are you from here? Why don’t you have a badge?”

  “This … is my fault.” Ye Qingxuan hesitated with an awkward look. “It was me. I begged Mr. Lestrade to bring me here. Please do not blame him. It’s because I have always wanted to join the police and become a good detective. Unfortunately, my family won’t let me.

  “I will go back to my hometown in a few days, but I can’t just let it go. So, I asked Mr. Lestrade whether he could bring me here to have a look, so that I can be comforted.”

  Seeing Ye Qingxuan’s gentle appearance and skilled manners, Claude seemed to understand something and nodded in agreement. “Your family wants the best for you. No matter in what field you enter in the future, you can always make a career. There is no need to feel regret.”

  “Thank you for your advice.” Just the right amount of relief was present in Ye Qingxuan’s eyes, and Claude nodded with satisfaction.

  “Take it easy, Lestrade.” Claude patted Lestrade on the shoulder. “I came here to visit my friends and relatives. I’m not your superior today and I am not as strict as others. These small infractions are harmless to the secretary too, so just relax.”

  “Y-yes sir!” Lestrade lifted his head in disbelief, looked at the smiling Ye Qingxuan, and looked at Claude in wonder. He could not believe it. Had he really not been discovered? How powerful must the dark musician be that even the Starry Eyes of the School of Revelations could not see through him?

  After a while, Lestrade finally snapped out of thoughts and realized that Claude had already left. In the light drizzle, the youth who had pretended to be a young elite looked at him with a smile, but his eyes were chilling.


  “Just now, I was almost exposed.” “Ye Qingxuan sighed softly. “You were really nervous. I thought you would just turn around and run away.”

  Lestrade’s hands trembled. He dared not to look at the man, and lowered his head, not knowing what to say.

  “I don’t want something like this to happen again.” The hoarse voice came to him as amnesty.

  Lestrade nodded fiercely. “I assure you, sir, I promise.”

  “Then let’s continue.” Ye Qingxuan took the lead, as if he was the man who was the most familiar with this place. “Time is precious. We better not waste it.”

  -

  They were in the morgue of the Avalon Police Station. The acrid smell of disinfectants emanated from the silent cellar. Everything seemed ghastly under the dim overhead light. Here, even the moss in corner was dry due to the disinfectants. If a normal person stayed here for too long, he would feel as if he was lying in a coffin. The loneliness and silence was eternal.

  Lestrade whispered something to the man who was guarding the morgue. The old policeman, who seemed to be limping, left obediently, dragging his lame leg.

  “Here we are.” Lestrade opened the freezer of corpses for Ye Qingxuan. Despite the chilly air conditioning, he pulled out the charred corpse.

  Ye Qingxuan nodded. “Go out.”

  Lestrade wanted to say something, but he could find no words under Ye Qingxuan’s gaze. All he could do was walk out. The door was closed now.

  Ye Qingxuan took off his hunting hat, placed it next to the corpse, and then shakily put on a pair of gloves. He looked down at the charred corpse and smiled.

  “Since you left that signal, it means that there must be other traces. Whether or not your ridiculous revenge can be done depends on this now.”

  He reached out to lift the victim’s wrist. On the charred upper body, the arm was still intact. Held in Ye Qingxuan’s hand, it felt the same as holding a living person’s hand, only if one ignored the coldness and absence of a pulse. Unfortunately, the dead are dead and the difference in feel was obvious.

  Ye Qingxuan did not put in much effort to dissect the body. Instead, he just looked at the dead limbs. They were pale and very dead, of course, but were too withered. They were practically a bag of bones. Had the Professor evaporated all of this guy’s blood? That was too cruel.

  Ye Qingxuan was even more sure of his hypothesis. He took out a ballpoint pen from his pocket, unscrewed the cap and took out the core.

  “Sorry,” he apologized to the body, and then pierced the hollow pen straight into the heart of the corpse. There was a sound like cutting leather.

  He pulled out the pen. Looking at the practically charred heart, he smiled in satisfaction. “Next is the last step.” He reached toward the neck, feeling along the charred skin. After a long while, he took a deep breath. “As expected, it’s a small world.”

  He took off his gloves and tossed them onto the corpse in disinterest, muttering, “Mr. Professor, counting you, I’ve dealt with most of Avalon legends now, but I never thought that the self-proclaimed ‘Professor’ was once like a demon…”

  He did not know where the Professor was hiding, but he already knew how the Professor had punished the traitor, what the bloody word on the wall meant, and…The Professor’s big secret!

  Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly heard a cracking sound from the corpse. He looked back in shock, and saw that a part of the charred body—the part that he had touched—had cracked and caved in…

  -

  Outside the morgue, Lestrade waited patiently with his head down. At times, he would look up at the steel door, his expression changing. Other times, he would look back down sadly to continue waiting.

  This was the Avalon Police Station, the headquarters for all Avalon policemen. All he needed to do was send out a small signal and thousands of armed men would surround this place. Even a dark musician, even Holmes, would not be able to escape! And if he moved quickly and shot Holmes, there would be no evidence! Only brand new glory would be left behind! Then he would not only have small and random cases on his resume. The dark musician that had been terrorizing the city would become a beautiful point in his profile. But just as he was hesitating, the door opened. Holmes walked out.

  Lestrade quickly adjusted his expression and caught up to the man, giving a flattering smile. “Sir, did you discover anything?”

  “Just a small secret,” Ye Qingxuan said lightly. “In a while, your resume will have a new case. Congratulations.”

  Lestrade was overjoyed to receive Ye Qingxuan’s guarantee. “Thank you sir!”

  “No problem. You deserve it.” Walking ahead, Ye Qingxuan turned and suddenly asked, “Mr. Lestrade, do you know where a man’s biggest suffering comes from?”

  “Huh?” Lestrade’s heart skipped subconsciously. Slightly panicking, he forced out a smile and shook his head stiffly.

  Holmes laughed hoarsely as if he had seen Lestrade’s deepest thoughts. He reached out, patting Lestrade’s shoulder. “It comes from thinking that you’re clever when you’re not!”

  In an instant, it felt as if Lestrade had fallen into icy water. He trembled but could not speak.

  After berating Lestrade, Ye Qingxuan changed the subject. “Did anyone else come?”

  “No.” Lestrade shook his head reflexively. Perceiving the angry flash in Holmes’s eyes, he quickly explained, “Everyone who enters the morgue must register. I asked the guard, and no one came before us!”

  Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment before saying lightly, “There are many ways to enter without being discovered by that old man. If you’re a musician, it’s easy to deceive his eyes.”

  “There are six musicians here. Other than the head’s office and highly classified files, they can go anywhere they want. There’s no need to deceive the guard.”

  “What if they come from outside?” Ye Qingxuan chuckled. “Like the man we just ran into coincidentally, Mr. Claude.” He already knew who had just been here, as well as why the Professor turned the corpse into that state!

  -

  Just then, when the body’s charred ruins broke apart in a strange way, turning to powder, Ye Qingxuan instinctively knew something was off. After examination, he discovered that it was just as he had expected. There were signs of aether erosion.

  A large amount of aether had been forced into the body after the man had died. Although the body was still intact, the aether had weakened it to the point that it crumbled to dust as soon as Ye Qingxuan touched it.

  If one used Bolero to analyze it carefully, one could even deduce that it had happened half an hour ago, based on the spread of the aether. That was to say that, half an hour ago, someone came here and used music on the body.

  Coincidentally, a Royal Musician, who had nothing to do with the Avalon Police Department, came here to meet ‘friends and relatives’ half an hour ago.

  Ye Qingxuan would rather throw his brain onto the ground than believe it was a coincidence.

  So a musician with the Starry Eyes, a Revelations musician who was skilled at deciphering the marks of all organisms, had suddenly come to the morgue, played music to a corpse burned by the Professor and then hurried away…

  What did he do? He had evidently extracted the Professor’s breath from the corpse to track the Professor! But was that so?

  The corners of Ye Qingxuan’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

  The Professor had completely toyed with the traitor. Would he really deliberately leave traces so that others could find him? Other than the apparent reason for burning the man, another reason was probably to leave a clue, right? He had left a clue so that the parliament would continue to hunt him down. Then he could prepare an ambush, quietly waiting for the killer hired by the parliament to arrive…After being betrayed by all, the Professor’s counterattack had begun!

  “Well then, let me join the fun too,” Ye Qingxuan whispered softly, and smiled subconsciously. Avalon was getting more and more intere
sting.

  142 Danger in the Rainy Nigh

  Late at night, clouds covered the sky and faint thunder rumbled. After the stars and moons had vanished, the only light in the entire city came from the dim streetlamps. The morning drizzle had intensified rather than disappearing. Layers of thick clouds hung over the city. Rain poured into every corner.

  Under a streetlamp in downtown was a figure seated on a bench. Clad in a raincoat, he was as still as stone. Droplets of rain rolled down his body into the puddle with soft pitter-patters.

  He seemed to melt into the shadows. As the sheets of rain fell, he became more and more unnoticeable. Only the puffs of white air from under his hood showed that he was still breathing.

  After who knows how long, Bai Xi arrived with an umbrella. She tossed a bulging parcel onto his lap. “Here’s what you wanted. I searched through a bunch of shops before I could find it all.”

  Ye Qingxuan reached into the leather parcel and scooped out a handful. Feeling the crude sand-like objects, he nodded in satisfaction. Then he rinsed his hands in the rain. Drops of silver light fell from his fingertips, joining the water flowing into the sewer.

  “How much longer are you going to wait for?” Bai Xi felt annoyed.

  “Until midnight. It’ll be exactly twelve hours,” Ye Qingxuan said lightly. “The Professor’s breath extracted from the corpse can only be kept for that long. It will be ineffective after that, and the Professor will disappear back into the darkness. The parliament won’t be able to find him ever again. If the parliament can bear it, we’ll wait a little longer too.”

  “There’s still more than one hour.”

  “It’s just an hour,” Ye Qingxuan replied. Then his shoulder trembled under the raincoat. “He’s here.”

  He heard the distant sound of a carriage. In the deep night, an unmarked carriage rushed out from a mansion, galloping down the street.

  “Don’t look up. Stare at your feet. Revelations musicians are really sensitive. Don’t even think about them.” Ye Qingxuan looked down at the puddle beneath him. In the water, he could vaguely see the reflection of a black carriage getting closer. The wheels rolled rolled quickly through the puddles, creating splashes as it galloped away.