Silent Crown

On the way back, Wolf Flute carried a crowbar. He hummed the “Ten Little Indians” nursery rhyme. He seemed relaxed and in a happy mood. Stumbling forward, his body twisted like he was drunk.

Father Bann was still silent. His face was cold but showed no emotion, but Wolf Flute’s heart still felt full of sorrow.

“Hey, Father, my mission is done and your mission is done too. Why are you so sad? At this time, shouldn’t we need to have some drinks to celebrate?” Wolf Flute scratched his hair, “You are spacing out. What exactly are you thinking? You have completed the task the Lord and the church assigned you. Soon you can leave here and return to the church as a reincarnation, the glory crown has been kept for you. Are you worried that the crown is too small for you to wear?”

“I was thinking about something. Some things need to be reconsidered,” the priest said coldly.

“What’s the matter?” Wolf Flute pondered for a while then said, “Is it that little guy named Ye? You are training him as an apprentice, right? Now he’s not going to go back to your training. Is that so?”

“Your arrival disrupted all my plans, Mr. Wolf Flute.If you had not come, I could have at least let him replace me and return to the church as the Knight of the Temple,” Father Bann said indifferently.

Wolf Flute felt embarrassed but forced a dry laugh, “You may be right, but you see, he did not want to be a little priest, and you should not force him to go that way.”

“It was better than insisting on an unrealistic dream that would only lead to a dead end.” Father Bann looked up at him. “You rekindled the fire in his heart, Wolf Flute. I underestimated how dedicated he is to becoming a musician.”

“This, you see, kids always have dreams, right? Wolf Flute tried to organize his words and explain, “I do not understand rebelliousness or adolescence, but having a dream is a good thing. You cannot stop his dreaming. Uh…my meaning is that one day he will find it unrealistic.”

Wolf Flute nodded and made a conclusion, “Well, rest assured, he will give up sooner or later.”

Father Bann shook his head. “You do not understand.”

“Ok?”

“A few years ago, the first time I saw him, he was barefoot, walking in the ice and snow. He had nothing, and was accompanied by his only dog, but he said that he wanted to go to Avalon. When I asked him what he was going to do, his eyes lit up.”

Bain recalled the street boy’s appearance and the cold and snow from when he had first met Ye. The white-haired teenager dressed in broken coat, trembling, but speaking with the corners of his mouth tilted, lips open, the kind of eyes…

“… they were shining.”

Wolf Flute was stunned and stopped his walking. “Wow.”

Wolf Flute suddenly understood.

“He is an excellent child, so excellent that I have never seen anyone like him before. I said to him, if he wanted to become a musician, he must have good moral. Then he trained himself in accordance with the standards of the monks. I told him, if he wanted to become a musician, he needed to go through the best education, so he spent a month reading the entire library collection, and learning the advanced mathematical foundation and etiquette in just two months. In order to fight for the place to go to the Sacred City, he taught himself the mechanical structures, helping maintain the town’s lighthouse for three consecutive years.

“I do not know if anyone has taught him the basic theory of the music. He is familiar with all things about musicians. For so many years, he has been walking in that direction.”

The priest’s voice got lower, “He will soon realize he is far away from achieving his dream. So Wolf Flute, could you really let him give up that idea? Otherwise, the unachieved dream will make him drown in his despair one day.”

Wolf Flute kept quiet, but then suddenly burst into a relentless laughter.

“What are you talking about, Father?” Wolf Flute opened his mouth, patting his chest,”The one who died for the dream is the happiest.”

－

The next day in the church reception room.

“Well, my friend, it is the time for you to choose.” In silence, Wolf Flute lied on the couch and spread out his hands to the confused boy, “I need you to make a choice about the agreement between us.”

“Choice? What do you want me to choose?” Ye Qingxuan asked.

“Yes. You see, last night Father Bann and I discussed about you receiving the education to become a musician.”

Wolf Flute coughed a bit, “Well, although you are only seventeen years old, and not eligible to go to the university yet. Father said that you had studied reading, writing and mathematics. The exam should be no problem for you. You will be qualified enough to pass the exam at any time to become a teacher at church, so he has a suggestion. Because of Father’s advice, I have made some changes to my original plan.”

Ye Qingxuan was puzzled to see the priest, but the priest was stood silently with no emotions.

“This is the case because the priest was recently promoted to a big title and received a big fortune so he could do a lot of favors for others.”

Wolf Flute started talking non-stop. After seeing Father Bann’s serious face, he stopped.

“Well, he can recommend you go to the Sacred City as an internal member of the church. The current Trinity Theological College will enroll you without an entrance exam! This is the chorale musician’s cradle. Once you graduate, your future will be bright. If you perform well, maybe you can also be selected for the Holy Choirs… ”

“Holy Choirs?” Ye Qingxuan could not help but give a bitter smile, “You should know that I couldn’t even sing in the regular mass.”

“It is okay. As long as there is a group of people singing, you just need to open your mouth. There is a saying in the East, ‘Be there just to make up the number.’ I used to cheat a lot while going through exams back in the day. You should be flexible…”

The priest coldly glared at him, Wolf Flute shut up, embarrassed.

Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “How about the other one?”

“The top college in the Anglo Kingdom, the Royal Academy of Music in the capital of Avalon–my alma mater. But they probably would not admit you because I dropped out of school.”

Talking about it, Wolf Flute suddenly became enraptured, “The Academy was located in the city of Avalon, only two blocks from the center, green land, native scene, natural view, and luxury area. It is low-key yet high-end.

“If you like astronomy, there is an observatory on the left. If you like art, there is an opera hall on the right. If you like politics, the House of Commons is in the front. If you like crime, the prison is right behind the Academy! How about it? Pretty happy and unexpected, right?”

Ye Qingxuan was silent.

“Haha, just a joke.” Wolf Flute scratched his hair, “But it really is good there because there is a variety of research available, and the academic atmosphere is also very strong. But getting you in will be tough…I am not powerful enough, but I can ask my teacher for help; however, my teacher is very strict, and is never willing to open this back door. So he may only give you a letter of recommendation to take the entrance exam. You can pass the test, but then I have no way to continue to help you…”

“That’s it.” Ye Qingxuan nodded, “The Royal Academy of Music, please. Thank you, Mr. Wolf Flute.”

“Eh? So quick?” Wolf Flute was surprised for a moment as he thought Ye Qingxuan would choose Trinity Theological College, and did not think he would decide to go to Avalon.

In silence, the priest nodded as he had expected Ye’s decision. He got up and left, saying nothing.

Wolf Flute looked at the priest walking away, scratching his head helplessly. “Then I will write a letter to my teacher. Please be aware that my teacher has some power, but you have to get on the road tomorrow or else you will miss the admissions period.”

Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, deep in thought. Then he nodded, “Yes, tomorrow.”

“Good.” Wolf Flute hesitated to ask, “That…”

“Ok?” Ye Qingxuan noticed Wolf Flute’s hesitance.

Wolf Flute took a deep breath and released an irritated sigh. He looked back at the door making sure nobody was there, then lowered his voice and asked, “Why didn’t you choose the Trinity Theological College? Stupid! Do you know that when the priest goes back this time, he will be promoted directly up another three levels! A bishop class member, plus the temple knight! With your special relationship, you could have a bright future, my friend! Why are you deciding to go to Avalon by yourself?

“And in the Sacred city, most of the world’s musicians are gathered there. The the door is willing to open for all believers, even the tuition is free. The money you would save is enough to buy a custom-made instrument. Did you know that after I dropped of college, I sold my pants in order to buy a musical instrument?”

Ye Qingxuan was stunned to hear Wolf Flute’s rant. After a long time he could not help but laughing in a low voice. He shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Wolf Flute, I think you may be wrong from the beginning.”

“Ok?”

“I am not a believer.”

“Ok?” Wolf Flute could not help but exclaimed. He found himself lost, but quickly spoke, “Wait, what did you say?”

“I am not a believer,” Ye Qingxuan repeated.

“I thought you were a clerk, but in the end you are not even a believer. Do you believe in the gods of the East?”

“No.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “I have never been to the East, nor do believe in God. I learned about him through reading and writing from the Father. The Father tried to baptize me many times, but I had rejected him.”

“Why don’t you believe it?” Wolf Flute’s face was twitching a little.

Ye Qingxuan suddenly pondered as he had never thought about this question before. After a long time, he finally understood a little. He softly replied, “Probably…because God never saved my mother?”