Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “Don’t you dare say that to me, Newton. Never.” Ye Qingxuan continued quietly, “It is taking all of me to remain rational and not kill you.”

  Newton turned his head and spat out some phlegm that also contained traces of blood. A queer smiled appeared on his face, “Hehe, should I be grateful to the Chief Inquisitor for being so full of compassion and mercy?”

  “Leave it for offering up your humble praises to the Gods.” Ye Qingxuan walked towards him and stared him down coolly, “You should thank him for giving you an irreplaceable gift. It is the only reason why you are still alive to redeem yourself.”

  Newton, who was leaning against the wall and was completely covered by the shadow casted by Ye Qingxuan, laughed suddenly and his eyes were filled with disdain. “You want me to do something for you? Are you combining the carrot and stick approach again? Is that what you are trying to do? Forget it, little brat. How many people do you think have already tried to do the same thing to me?”

  He shook his head and raised his arm to wipe off the blood on his nose. Both his hands searched around in his pockets, as if he was looking for something, only to pull out a shriveled box. There was nothing in it, except for some sporadic cut tobacco.

  “Forget it, I shall not argue with you anymore.” He shook his head and gestured two fingers at Ye Qingxuan, “Do you have some cigarettes with you? You seem pretty well-off. It should be easier talking to you than to Maxwell. Get me all the prostitutes in the entire city first. I want to have a good time. Throw a party and drink some wine. When I’m finished, maybe I will be in the mood to listen to what you want from me.”

  There was complete silence. Ye Qingxuan looked at him without any expressions on his face. Newton looked back at him as he wavered his two fingers, as if he was hinting to Ye Qingxuan that he had better cooperate. After some time, Ye Qingxuan raised his hands and took out an unsealed metal box. It was sealed up with tape and there were Indian words on it.

  Every smoker in the entire world would know that that was high-quality Indian cigarette. Only their fertile lands could produce red tea and tobacco leaves of such quality. The silence was broken by the sound of the tape being torn. Ye Qingxuan opened the metal box and carefully opened the packaging. Finally, he presented the row of exquisite cigarettes to Newton for him to choose.

  “This is the way.” Newton smiled happily and stretched out his hands to pick a cigarette, “A happy partnership should start with a happy beginning, don’t you think?”

  Bang!

  There was a sharp noise. It was the sound of the rubbing of iron. Metal met with bone. A hoarse scream of pain followed. Silver nails. Slender and long silver nails appeared out of thin air, penetrating Newton’s palm along with the box of cigarettes and nailing them onto the ground, as if this was a specimen. The palm began to cramp up. The pain came so suddenly that Newton was screaming for his life. He was in so much pain he wished he could die but he dared not struggle. His muscles were spasming and his face, which was originally one of joy, was now contorted.

  Ye Qingxuan remained expressionless. He only stretched out his hand towards the box of cigarettes that Newton was still holding and took out a cigarette that was completely intact. Very soon, the blood-stained cigarette was lit and Ye Qingxuan inhaled deeply, tasting the cigarette that carried with a slight taste of blood. Smoke slowly rose from the flame, blurring out his facial features. The distance between the two men seemed to increase across the smoke, as if Ye Qingxuan was looking down at Newton through layers of clouds. Hearing Newton’s cries and curses was as enjoyable as admiring a top-notch symphony movement.

  Ye Qingxuan took his own sweet time to smoke that cigarette as he casually flicked off cigarette ashes and exhaled smoke that were green and white in color. Finally, he lowered his head to look at Newton, who was convulsing while kneeling on the ground. “Did you misunderstand my meaning because I spoke too gently?”

  He jabbed the cigarette onto the back of Newton’s hand. The flame burnt through his skin before being extinguished by the blood spurting out from the wound. Ye Qingxuan squatted down so that his eyes were level with Newton’s. He spoke very carefully and seriously, “Perhaps you didn’t understand what I said just now so I’m going to repeat it one more time. There will be no smoking, no drinking, no prostitutes, none of the things you used to have. You have committed a crime and now is the time for you to redeem yourself. My generosity is the only reason why you are still alive. You will get nothing more than that. As for me, I do not have a temper as good as Maxwell. Therefore, please show me more respect. More than what you are showing now.”

  “Cheh!” Newton barely managed to force out a cold smile amidst the incredible pain, “Do you think I will work for you like a slave?”

  “Yes.” Ye Qingxuan nodded, “Of course, you should.”

  “Haha, alright, I give you my word.” Newton gritted his teeth to endure the pain of his palm being impaled and laughed mysteriously, “But research is a long-term project. You must be prepared that you may not get anything out of it at the end of the day. Besides, I am very good at convincing people to keep increasing their investments… If you are going to send someone to keep track of the accounts, I will make sure that every single cent of yours will be spent legitimately and will be accountable!” Research was his specialty. If Ye Qingxuan needed his help, then he would need to put his ego aside and pay a price. A price that was hundreds and thousands of times higher than what it should be! Otherwise, he had countless tricks up his sleeves to ensure that Ye Qingxuan would not gain anything out of this.

  622 It’s Getting Light Out, Time to Get to Work

  “No, I don’t have the money to sponsor you.”

  Ye Qingxuan shook his head and thought about it. “At best, I can give you around 10,000,000 pounds.”

  It seemed as if he had not understood what Newton meant. He spread his hands and said seriously, “There won’t be any more after you’ve spent it all, so you’ll have to start saving a little bit.”

  “What, did you steal some pocket change from a bunch of children?” Newton sneered. “Such little money is not even enough to take the first step…”

  “It seems like I haven’t made myself clear.”

  Ye Qingxuan sighed disappointedly, thrust out his hands and grabbed Newton by the hair, pulling him forcibly up off the floor. His wounds split open, and fresh blood began to pour out.

  “Mr. Newton, perhaps your confidence in yourself as researcher and a genius has led you to believe that I am making a request. But that is not the case.”

  He smiled coldly at Newton’s arrogant expression. “You have two choices. One: if you work for me honestly, I will let you live, and fulfill any of your reasonable requests. One day, you will have done enough to make up for your crimes, and I will set you free.”

  “And the second choice?”

  Newton laughed strangely. “Will you kill me? Or torture me? Whatever, go ahead. Do you think that no one has tried that before? Don’t worry, Ye Qingxuan, you won’t be able to do a thing! Or, you could consider changing your attitude and apologize for what you just did. Otherwise, you can lead that pack of fools who rely on rote memorization and do the research yourself!”

  “Kill you? Torture you?”

  Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you live.”

  He let go, and Newton dropped to the floor. He took out a few documents and dropped them one by one into his arms. “What if we were to put up a fruit stand facing the Royal Institute of Research? You could make a living selling fruit, and if you didn’t like that, you could always go work on the docks. This document can give you the rights to unload a huge load of cargo, you can start your own unloading business. Or how about this one, a coachman. Ah, driving a coach would be pretty good, but you’d have to learn how to take care of horses. This one’s not bad, you could be a doorman. You could work close by, right at the doors of the Royal Institute of Research, and watch people coming in and out ever
y day. Wouldn’t that be great?”

  After he had finished dropping the documents into his arms, Ye Qingxuan looked at Newton regretfully. “Unfortunately, no matter which job you choose, you won’t be able to continue your research.”

  Newton was shocked.

  Ye Qingxuan smiled brightly, “Newton, I will have people watching you twenty-four hours a day. From this day forward, you will never again touch a single piece of research equipment, not even so much as a screw. Someone will be assigned to check all of your notes. Even your pocketbook will be looked over by six actuaries. Get ready to say goodbye to your past. From now on, you will have nothing to do with this place.”

  Newton was silent, and his eyes went cold.

  “Don’t worry. As for the teachers, all the research materials that those old fellows left behind, as well as the research transcripts that you hid all over are a bit troublesome. I’ll burn them all, every scrap of paper, every spare part. I won’t leave even the slightest trace. Don’t be sad, I’ll give you some money. Enough to eat and drink, to go to the brothel. Enough to ensure you’ll never want for anything, that you’ll live a full and happy life. How does that sound?”

  “Ye Qingxuan…”

  Newton raised his head stiffly. His eyes were bloodshot.

  For the first time, his deep-seated arrogance had disappeared, and was replaced with anger.

  Ye Qingxuan smiled, reached out and patted his cheek. “The giants are all dead, Mr. Newton, you don’t need to stand on their shoulders anymore. Put down your burden, no one will force you to pick it up again. All of that useless talent will be slowly worn away by wine and prostitutes. After a few years, no one will remember you. You’ll just be that old pathetic doorman at the Royal Institute of Research. Occasionally you’ll be able to shake your head at the addictions of the youth while you sweep the floor. Don’t worry, I’ll put an end to every project that you had a hand in. How about I get a couple of officials from city hall to come here and take over? They can start an all-new Royal Institute of Research with their rules and regulations. If I give out a few more titles, people will definitely flock here like birds. Every day there will be unending seminars and business lunches. After two years everyone here will become fat and bloated clerks, dealing with piles and piles of paperwork day after day. You will witness all of this. From the world forgetting you, to everything you love abandoning you…you will witness it all with your own eyes. I guarantee it.”

  Ye Qingxuan made these predictions calmly and quietly, and bit by bit took all of Newtons ideals and everything that he had worked so hard for all his life, and trampled them to pieces in the mud.

  He was skilled at this, as if the world had once done it to him.

  By the end, a ferocious expression distorted Newton’s face, as if he was a wild beast that had been chased into a dead end.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Ye Qingxuan bent down to study his face carefully. “Are you angry? Do you want to kill me? Or is that regret I see? Or maybe…fear?”

  He knew better than anyone, that to someone with Newton’s mindset, neither death nor torture could frighten him. He did not care if he lived or died.

  As long as he could do the things he wanted and walk his own path, then he would not even care about the end of the world.

  In order to do the things he needed to do, he could not love anyone, not even himself.

  These so-called idealists were such cold, cruel things…

  To deal with this kind of guy, you did not need to threaten his life at all. Those kinds of threats would be useless.

  Judging by everything that had happened up to that point, Maxwell had been far too kind, and had let him fall into a dream of his own making, where he could take whatever he pleased from anyone.

  But now he had to wake up.

  “It’s getting light out, Newton.”

  Ye Qingxuan laughed softly and patted him on the shoulder, bidding him a faint goodbye. “You should get to work.”

  He took two steps back and then turned to leave.

  But he heard a hoarse scream.

  It was Newton.

  The stooped old man climbed up off the floor, pulled out the silver nail that had once pierced his own palm and rushed towards Ye Qingxuan.

  And then he halted suddenly.

  Ye Qingxuan stopped, turned slowly and saw Newton standing stiffly in his original place. He was holding the nail up to his own face, but his hands were trembling. He did not have the courage to stab himself.

  He hesitated, delayed…until finally the silver nail dropped from his hands.

  He couldn’t do it.

  Newton sat down weakly.

  He put his face in his hands to hide his desolate expression. He howled hoarsely, shouting until he could shout no more, exhausting his last bit of courage.

  Finally, he lowered his proud head.

  “Ye Qingxuan, you win.”

  “Don’t you think this is despicable?” he whispered hoarsely.

  “Not at all.”

  Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “This is nothing more than an unfortunate circumstance. Why should you let it trouble you? What’s more, isn’t this the way things have to be? I was merely destroying your fantasy, what is there to be sad about? Once you have woken from your dream, Newton, you can learn to accept reality.”

  “I’m already old, I don’t need you to teach me how cruel the world can be.”

  Newton wiped the dirt from his face. He raised his head, and his eyes were once more filled with arrogance. “You win. I’ll work for you, don’t worry. As long as you don’t destroy the research that the teachers left behind, and don’t hinder my forbidden experiments, I’ll help you do whatever you want. Even with the formula it took that group of good-for-nothings a month to produce some rubbish. I’ll do better than you can even imagine.” He stopped suddenly, and his tone became more meaningful. “As long as…you can afford the price.”

  “Don’t worry, I have more than enough debts as it is. I don’t owe you this.”

  Ye Qingxuan laughed softly and pulled out a note that had been torn out of something. He waved it in front of his face. “As for the price, it is completely insignificant when compared with what is going to happen next.”

  For a moment, the ripped paper swayed before his eyes.

  Newton saw only some blurry schematics, and some bits of formulas, but his heart still twitched involuntarily, as if he had a premonition that something terrible was coming.

  He unconsciously reached out to take it, but Ye Qingxuan pulled the torn notes out of his reach. “You should think this through, Mr. Newton,” he said seriously. “Once you read this, there’s no turning back.”

  “Pshh, now I have to see it! What is this precious toy of yours?”

  Newton snatched the notes without thinking. His eyes swept over the page hurriedly, and his disdainful expression stiffened and his face paled. “What is this?”

  Ye Qingxuan said nothing. He merely smiled happily and indicated that he should continue reading.

  What was it?

  It was poison.

  Hermes’s final masterpiece-a poison that would make anyone who was obsessed with research go mad after reading it.

  Just after reading a little bit he wanted to read more, even if killed him.

  The part that Ye Qingxuan had given him to read was the least significant piece of the whole thing.

  But to Newton, who for his whole life had wanted mechanical engineering to break free from being a subordinate discipline to alchemy, to be free of its chains and shackles, and forge its own future, this was already the first gleam of light that heralded a new dawn.

  A ticket that led to a new future…

  If it had been anyone else, Ye Qingxuan would probably have been loathe to confirm the results on the torn piece of paper, but since it was Newton, he trusted that he would be able to understand the value.

  A value that was unparalleled!

  It was only a thin piece o
f paper, but Newton held onto it tightly, reading it for a long time.

  Over half an hour passed.

  It was as if this piece of torn paper could let him peek through the gate to a new world. When he looked up at the dark clouds, he could see the dragon’s ferocious silhouette among the roaring thunder and flashing lightning.

  He scrutinized each and every elegant detail one by one, deducing, deducing, and deducing some more, hoping that he could get a glimpse of the full outline. But it was difficult to see the true essence from just the little slip of ripped paper.

  It was only missing a single step.

  This feeling of not quite understanding produced in Newton something that he had never felt before: frustration and…craving!

  “What is this?”

  He raised his head stiffly and looked at Ye Qingxuan. His eyes had become bloodshot without him realizing it. “Where are the other blueprints? There have to be others, there has to be more! Where did you get this? What on earth is this?”

  “…the Net of Aether, which will lead us to the gate of a new world!”

  Ye Qingxuan laughed warmly, but his tone was like that of a demon waiting for a mortal to sell his soul.

  “Do you want it?”

  623 Talen

  In the quiet secret chamber, amid the darkness, a crisp sound of iron sheets rubbing against each other rang out.

  It resembled pebbles knocking each other.

  After two collisions, a glimmer of fire was born from it. The speck of fire that resembled a candle flickering in the wind illuminated Newton’s sluggish face, as well as the wound in his palm that had barely healed.

  “It’s fire.” He looked at the flames floating above his palm, as if he had never seen fire before, and his face lit up with a child-like joy.

  As his fingers moved, the heavy block of iron that was clasped onto his arm gave off a faint glow. One could vaguely see musical notes flickering in and out of sight, controlling the flames to change in a predetermined manner. The fire sometimes became ring-shaped, other times forming a square…