Silent Crown

Chapter 525: Loneliness

The noise came from a distance.

When the noise arrived, after spreading across several streets and corners, it became a tiny ripple. Everything was quiet.

Having experienced the chaos and turbulence of the attack by Hyakume, the city had just restored its stability and re-established order with a lot of effort. Everyone was busy rebuilding the city and restoring production and work.

Hardly anyone could be seen on such a desolate and silent alleyway, let alone in the antique store there.

In the afternoon, a light snow fell again. A thin layer of snow covered the blood, the dead, and those empty pupils like a shroud. People had just forgotten the catastrophe had ever happened and continued their own lives.

In the early evening, a rare guest came to the alleyway and the old antique store.

Someone pushed in, knocked on the counter, and waited patiently.

Behind the counter, Hermes was writing on the desk. He waved to the guest without looking. “Our shop is going to shut down for a while. If you want to buy something, please wait and come after this period.”

The comer stood by the fireplace and smiled. Then, he took off his thermal hat and revealed his silver hair.

“I don’t want to buy anything,” he said. “I’m looking for someone.”

He was an old man who took good care of himself, his silver hair combed behind his head tidily. His voice was slow and sturdy without anxiety.

Although he had walked all the way here, there was no snow on him nor water marking his black cloak.

“Oh, it’s you.”

Hermes was shocked at hearing the voice. He looked up, raised his eyebrows, and said with his usual mockery of a smile, “Mr. Bai Heng, your highness, long time no see.”

“Long time no see, Hermes.” Bai Heng nodded, and pointed to his wine rack. “Can you offer me a drink? I see a lot of good wine there.”

“Enjoy yourself.” Hermes shook his head: “You are worthy of them.”

Hearing that, Bai Heng picked a bottle from the rack, wipe the dust off with his hands, and opened it skillfully. He poured a glass for himself, and placed another one in front of Hermes.

Hermes picked up the glass and glanced at him. “You came to the Sacred City quietly at this juncture. Aren’t you afraid that the pope will guess your motivation, or the relationship between you and me?”

“For me, there is only one pope, and he’s not in the Sacred City.” Bai Heng took a sip and put the glass down. “Although it’s not the right time now, I still have to deal with the things that have dragged on for too long. The dispute between you and Tung Wang Kung should be settled.”

“Got it.” Hermes nodded and suddenly asked, “Can I resist?”

“As you like.” Bai Heng threw up his hands. “As you can see, although I belonged to the Bai Family, I have never been cultivated as a musician since I was born. So I am just a rhythm controller. Killing me would be easy.”

“I am very glad to hear that, but why are there still two people standing outside the door?”

“Just in case,” Bai Heng answered indifferently.

In the following silence, Hermes turned the pen between his fingertips to Bai Heng, with the tip aiming at his throat intentionally or unintentionally. After a long time, he put the pen down and sighed.

“Forget it, it’s too troublesome.” Hermes looked up and asked, “Are you in a hurry?”

Bai Heng thought for a moment and replied, “Although the schedule is tight, I still have two hours for this.”

“Then await me for a while.”

Hermes picked up the pen again, looked at the notebook on the desk and whispered, “It’s almost done.”

–

–

When Bai Xi came back from the intensive care unit of the Silence Governance, it was already after dusk.

The chorale musician told her that Ye Qingxuan was in good condition, the aether fluctuations tended to be stable, and he was going to revive someday in the near future, which made her feel much better.

The massive attack by Hyakume a few days ago was called the “Night of Forever Darkness.” Under the wise leadership of the Imperial Palace, humans counterattacked very hard and finally defeated this evil god, which was a great triumph. As a result, the support rate of the new pope, Ludovic, increased rapidly.

When the event happened, Ye Qingxuan stepped out and not only repaired the enchantment of the Sacred City and prevented the Sacred City from being destroyed by demons, but also rendered aid to many of the city’s people. Therefore, he was cleared of suspicion, and highly praised by the pope.

Even though the current situation was still uneasy, and the war between all the countries and the heaven catastrophes was not yet ended, Ye Qingxuan’s name still spread throughout the whole world.

He was so well-known that only Gaius could be compared with his rise to power. So, it was just a matter of time before he took up an important position in the Sacred City.

Even in the ward, there were greetings from the important institutions of the Sacred City. The cardinal made a special visit. Even the King of Red made a secret visit while Ye Qingxuan was still in a coma, awarded him the “Sacred Medal” to prove his impeccable character, and left a Bai Xi robe for him.

The ecclesiastical robe of the Archbishop.

That was a hint.

If Ye Qingxuan was willing to take that on when he woke up, he would be the youngest bishop in the Order’s history. There would be no problems at all for him to work for any factions or take a place in the key departments of the Sacred City. He would definitely have a great future and rise all the way.

Therefore, the chorale doctor in charge of treatment was too hospitable, coming in and checking on Ye Qingxuan every three minutes, which annoyed Bai Xi very much.

Bai Xi hadn’t had a good rest for a long time, and she fell asleep in the carriage on the way home after Ye Qingxuan’s physical condition had stabilized.

When the coachman woke her, she only remembered that she had a nightmare.

But she couldn’t remember what happened in the nightmare.

It seemed that some terrible things happened in a place that she never noticed, and destroyed something that belonged to her quietly. When she looked back unintentionally, she saw a scene of devastation.

It was too late to do anything.

She stood in the alleyway with anxiety.

The snow fell on her body, melted into water droplets, and infiltrated through her collar as if the coldness had sunk into her bone marrow.

She shook her head and stopped thinking, speeding up to the door under the light. Through the door, she felt the temperature of the fireplace, so the panic in her heart was slightly calmed down.

The soft light seemed to free her from the gloom.

She pushed the door open and saw the blood.

The dripping blood flowed out through the door slot, down the steps, and into the snow.

In front of the fireplace behind the door, Hermes was sitting in a chair by the warm flames. He seemed to be asleep with his eyes downcast. The wine glass had fallen to the ground from his hand, and the wine had already dried up on the floor under the baking of the fire.

The scarlet blood dribbled out through the slit in his shirt, fell on his body and the ground, then ran in a stream towards the door.

Bai Xi was shocked.

“Hermes?”

She stepped on the sticky blood and moved forward, bending down and touching his cheek carefully. He lifted his heavy eyelids, but it seemed that he couldn’t see things clearly, so he squinted his eyes to see the blurry girl in front of him.

“It’s you, Bai Xi.” He laughed. “You’re back?”

“Hermes, you…you…”

“It’s no big deal, I’m just dying.”

Hermes looked at the blood on his chest, and shook his head tiredly. “In every sense, I’m a man of failure. I speak bad things and have offended a lot of people. I haven’t done anything good. There are many reasons for me to die. Fortunately, the debt I owed was paid off…”

Bai Xi only felt that her consciousness was solidified.

A dark fault appeared in her consciousness, engulfing all her thoughts.

Is Hermes going to die?

Hermes and death were the two words that would never be linked.

This heartless, vicious bastard always looked at the world indifferently. Even when the world was about to be destroyed, he only guaranteed his own safety. Even if all humanity died, he would never even consider offering a hand.

For such a long time, the son of a bitch has been staying out of sight and watching others perform on the stage, and he just laughed and applauded.

As if he could do that for another several decades, or several hundred years…

But now, he was going to die.

Some sort of icy pain spread in Bai Xi’s lungs, making her breathless.

“How can you die?”

Bai Xi looked at his blood and whispered blankly. Suddenly she felt an inexplicable anger, grabbed him, and shook him fiercely. “Why, why do you have to die now! Bastard! You get yourself up right now! Are you just kidding me again? Where is your blood pack?…”

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Under the torn-up clothes of Hermes was a broken heart.

She was shocked.

Hermes sighed and took her hand away, trying hard to cover his chest again.

“I’m sorry, I’m going to die,” he whispered. “It’s true this time, I didn’t lie.”

Looking down at the blood on her hands, Bai Xi couldn’t help choking:

“There is some other way to save you, isn’t there?”

Hermes smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t even try to fool me! Don’t you always have a way out? You must save yourself first!” Bai Xi raised her voice as if she was angry, but she couldn’t help but cry, “You say something! Who, who should I ask for help! I do not know what to do!”

“You cry too lowly. I can’t hear you. Make it louder.” Hermes sighed. “It’s good to have someone crying for me when I die. But there’s only one little girl who has an ugly crying look. So forget it…”

“Hey, don’t cry, Bai Xi, look up.”

He reached out slowly, squeezed the girl’s face, looked at her eyes with his shattered ones, and told her, “You are the only disciple of the great Hermes. You don’t need to lower your head, no matter who died in front of you.”

“But I… But what should I do afterwards?”

“It’s your problem. I’ve taught you so much and I can’t always help you with everything, right?” Hermes breathed hard and said with a hoarse voice, “Let me leave my last words for you while I still have some energy to talk.”

He said, “After my death, you can get all the things that I have been hoarding for years. There is also a gift outside. I hope you will like it. However, remember to take it to Ye Qingxuan for me.”

He looked at the red notebook on the table, its cover stained with blood. “The thing with Auschwitz. I owe him,” he said. “I’ll make up to him.”

“Okay.”

Bai Xi nodded hard.

Hermes smiled with a sense of relief, feeling delighted like a child, even when he was facing death. He just waved and beckoned Bai Xi to come closer.

Even closer.

She leaned on his shoulder, sitting beside him, and holding his hand.

In that way he calmed down, stopped smiling, and there was no longer pain in his eyes.

Just like a child who was going to sleep, he would no longer fear the monsters in the darkness, and rest deeply while someone was around.

“Bai Xi, have you ever had dreams?” he whispered, as if he was talking in his sleep.

“Yes, I have.”

“It feels good to dream; just like that the soul is freed.”

“Yes.” Bai Xi nodded and resisted the urge to cry.

“I love people, Bai Xi,” he said. “I like you guys… I like the way you lie and the tears when you are betrayed… very beautiful…”

“Bai Xi, I’m a little cold. Can you hug me?”

Bai Xi held him in her arms with all her strength, as if she could keep his breath there, and he wouldn’t be gone.

“Bai Xi, it’s so quiet.” He took Bai Xi’s hands, and asked humbly, “Could you please cry for me?”

Bai Xi nodded hard, chocking with sobs.

The tears fell on Hermes’s face, diluting the blood like a pink makeup against his pale face.

His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling as if he was looking at the long-gone past and places far away.

So he whispered the names of some people, brokenly and fuzzily. It was like a long trip to pass his friends by, one after another.

In the end, the long journey on earth was ended.

He put down his luggage, relieved, and pushed the final door open.

He went home.

“Don’t wear a sad face, Setton.” He smiled and embraced the phantom in his memory. “Smile, I’m back.”

“Welcome back, master.”

Bai Xi touched his cheeks, and whispered softly as her tears fell. Feeling that the last heat had left her fingertips, she could no longer resist the sadness in her chest.

Farewell, master.

–

–

The snow drifted down from the sky.

Bai Heng sat on the steps, smoking silently. He heard a plaintive whine from the corner not far away. After a long time, he got up and walked over, pushing a handful of hay with his hand.

In the thin snow, the body of the female cat had become stiff already.

A live kitten cried, sucking on dried breast of the female cat. Bai Heng put out the cigarette, took the kitten into his arms, and returned to the steps.

“Jiu Ying, do you like cats?” He whispered, caressing the kitten’s fluff carefully.

In the light, a shadow of a burly follower shook his head. “Never.”

“It’s normal.” Bai Heng nodded. “You guys are always thinking about killing and fighting. You never feel lonely or weak. Only lonely people like cats. When they stay with cats, they feel that they are not alone. I liked cats too, when I was young.”

Jiu Ying was silent for a long time and asked, “What about now?”

Bai Heng laughed, and handed the kitten to Jiu Ying without answering. “Take good care of it for me. I rarely come to the Sacred City, so this is the gift for my princess. It’s isolated in the palace, I have to find a playmate for her.”

Jiu Ying took it, and lowered his head.

In the silence, Bai Heng stood up and watched the drifting snow, whispering, “The girl that Hermes asked me to take care of, is her name Bai Xi?”

“Yes.” Jiu Ying nodded.

“She’s a good girl,” Bai Heng said. “Yunlou Qingshu is such a crap that he’s not worthy of her. You tell her that she will be my daughter from tomorrow on. After I die, she will be the sole successor of the Bai Family.”

“What if she doesn’t want to?”

“She will,” Bai Heng said emotionlessly. “She may hate me or fear me. However, only by being with me will she have the opportunity to kill me, right? You have to be careful, cats scratch people.”

Jiu Ying twitched his fingers, and was shocked to see that the struggling kitten had left scratches on his fingertips. His expression suddenly became awkward.

“Give it to me.”

Bai Heng sighed, and took the kitten from his hands, gently and softly. He scratched its chin with his little finger, and the kitten stopped struggling, closed its eyes, and slept in his arms peacefully.

Jiu Ying went away.

Only Bai Heng stood in the silent snowfall, holding the kitten and looking into the distance in silence.

“It’s just lonely,” he whispered.

Chapter 526: Being Human

Seven days later, it was still snowing. In the tranquil Puccirya graveyard of the Sacred City, a thin layer of snow covered the tombstones and, of course, the names carved on the surfaces as well.

Outside the graveyard a few black carriages were parked. In the desolate graveyard, there were only a few people. They were holding umbrellas and gazing at an iron-made coffin.

The young man who was hosting the funeral coughed a bit. He looked rather pale and was wearing a black suit, which made him look very sharp and solemn. The suit was of a different design than those of people who came from the institutions of the Sacred City. He was not wearing any emblem, so no one really knew what title he had.

He was not holding an umbrella but wore a scarf instead. The scarf was white, and his long hair hung down overtop of it.

Earlier, Ye Qingxuan had finally woken up. He then refused to stay in the hospital to rest, and had prepared this funeral for Hermes. He knew Hermes would not want the priest to say beautiful words to him; Hermes would have wanted God to forgive him, not a priest. Thus, he decided to host the funeral himself.

I don’t know what boss would think about this, or if he would agree to let me to host his funeral. If he were still alive, he would definitely laugh about his own stupid thoughts. I want him to know that the afterworld does not exist, when people die, they die. There is no soul inside a person’s body, and there is no kingdom to shelter the soul. So, when we are still alive, we need to live everyday to its fullest and live happily.

“What do you think? Boss.” Ye Qingxuan touched the tombstone.

“Sir, it is your turn to read the eulogy,” Anglo gently said.

Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long while. Everyone was watching him. He stood next to the tomb and opened the paper. When he read the first line, he could not help laughing.

“A kind man with a pure heart?” He shook his head and threw the eulogy aside. “How absurd this eulogy is. If Hermes heard this, he would jump out of his coffin.”

Everyone was surprised to see Ye Qingxuan throw away the eulogy. After a while, Ye Qingxuan said, “As you can see, today we gather here to pay our condolences and respect to Mr. Hermes, and to say goodbye to him.”

“Just now, I heard someone praising Hermes as a kind person with a pure heart, but we all know that this is not true.” He looked at the coffin and sighed. “Mr. Hermes was, in fact, a vulgar and indifferent person; he was neither generous nor kind. He never believed in God. However, he showed great enthusiasm and had lots of repulsive addictions to this world.”

“He sought happiness from the misfortunes of others, which is very disgraceful. Still, he made great contributions to this world, even if this was not something he really wanted to do. He had many fortunes, more than we can imagine, but he never used his money to do anything good for society. Instead, he invested his money into luxury goods. As far as I am aware, most people regard him as a p*ick and hate him. Even though he offered some help to some in difficult times, he was still detested by many.”

“He never meant to be a good person or a bad person. He just lived his life at his own will, making full use of his talent and living a life that we consider unhealthy. He left some fortunes which we regard unnecessary for us.”

Ye Qingxuan said, “Now he is dead. A sudden death claimed him. He is also an ordinary man who died. In his whole life, he lived a freer and more colorful life than anyone else. He never wasted his life, not even for a minute. I think this is the best compliment we can give him.”

The funeral was almost over, but Ye Qingxuan did not ask God to bless Hermes’ soul like other priests did.

Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then he said, “His soul belongs to himself, and may he rest ever after.”

After this, Ye Qingxuan felt all his memories about Hermes fading, and he finally accepted the fact of Hermes’ death. He thought he heard someone applauding inside the coffin, but when he listened carefully, the sound was gone.

Bai Xi shoveled soil into the grave, and soon more people joined him. At last, the grave was filled with soil, and a flat stone was moved over top of the grave. Everyone stood in silent tribute.

When the funeral was over, Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw an old priest, Albert, standing outside the graveyard.

Ye Qingxuan walked over to him and asked, “Why are you here?”

“To see him off.” Albert looked at the tombstone and sighed. “As the leader of the three saints, he was supposed to receive a better funeral. We will never forget his contributions.”

“I think he simply wanted to see a more interesting world,” Ye Qingxuan said. “Besides, he did not care if his funeral was grand or not. Let him rest in peace.”

Albert handed him a document and said, “This is the research report I received ten minutes ago. I think you will want to read it.”

“News from outside Sacred City?” Ye Qingxuan asked.

The Sacred City was the center of the human world, and if the territory outside was gone, this central city would be meaningless.

“It seems that things are much worse than we thought,” Albert said while Ye Qingxuan read the document.

“The fight between the other countries and the catastrophe is not over yet, and I am afraid it is going to last for a while. We know too little about these catastrophes. After Hyakume died, the whole world changed completely. We have lost at least thirty percent of our territory, and worse still, Anglo…”

Ye Qingxuan frowned and asked, “Anglo is still shrouded by fog?”

“Yes,” Albert nodded. “Currently, we can’t see what is really going on inside the fog. But there is one thing we can be sure of; the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster is still intact. The enchantment is fine, so I think we should still do our best to save the people there.”

“How about the Sacred City? Do you intend to give it up?” Ye Qingxuan asked.

“We don’t have enough people,” Albert said. “We have already sent many people from the Sacred City to different places. Yes, we have lots of people here in this city, but remember we have to save the whole world. It is just difficult. Currently, the Knights Templar have already made their departures, and all the musicians have gone as well. If possible, we have to send another group of people to the desert in the west.”

“There are only Knights Templar of Hospital there, and around forty percent of them have died. It is already a miracle for them to be able to protect that area.”

“The Knights Templar of Hospital… you mean Father Bann is there?” Ye Qingxuan suddenly realized that Father Bann had been sent to the desert in the west. “How is he?”

“Don’t worry, he is fine, and is the commander of the Knights Templar of Hospital and the Sixth Army Corps. When you were in a comma, he sent his regards to you, and after he knew you woke up, he hasn’t sent any more messages to us.”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sneered. “Giving him a good title and then sending him to the most dangerous place, is this how you usually do it?”

Albert sighed. “We have already sent eight hundred members of the Knights Templar of Hospital, three thousand warriors, and hundreds of engineers to support him. Besides, they are equipped with six airships. And four musicians, even the whole membership of the Third Institute of Mechanical Engineering went with him… with these people, he could occupy a small country. Moreover, the big Camp of Chainsaw Fraternity is there. Do you think they would not help him?”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan was finally relieved.

But what on earth was happening in Anglo? Ye Qingxuan had lost touch with Maxwell, and according to the emergency rule, all the members of the Fifth Department should obey Ye Qingxuan’s orders.

Up until now, the members of the Fifth Department had been collecting as much information as they could outside Anglo, but they still got nothing.

From time to time, people would be drawn into Anglo by the illusions in the fog, and never came back. From the document, Ye Qingxuan knew that the fog was magical.

In less than a week, around thirty people had disappeared, including some knights with strong minds.

Ye Qingxuan had not heard anything from Bayer, the principal of the Musician Association, the Royal Music School, Maxwell, or the royal family.

“I see.” Ye Qingxuan put away the document.

“Someone wants to see you,” Albert said.

Chapter 527: Face-to-Face Talk

“Another one wants to see you,” he whispered.

Ye Qingxuan looked outside the cemetery where Albert pointed.

By the road sat a carriage in which a figure could be seen vaguely.

People who attended the funeral noticed the carriage. The well-informed ones saw the sign on the door and averted their eyes immediately, shocked and pretending that they didn’t see anything.

“I’m a bit busy.” Ye Qingxuan sighed. “Can I not go?”

“Are you going to tell the King of Red that you’re busy?”

Albert’s expression suddenly looked like he had eaten a fly.

Ye Qingxuan could not imagine a man who had the same appearance as Ludovic’s becoming the King of Red of this generation. It was only after seeing the real body of Nibelungenlied that he reluctantly accepted this reality.

However, if the pope came to visit in person, then he was up to his neck.

But he actually couldn’t get away…

Ye Qingxuan became very anxious.

“Just go,” Bai Xi said. “I am not a child. I don’t need people to stand by me all day long.”

Ye Qingxuan didn’t know how long she had been standing behind him.

He coughed deliberately. He was awkward enough that she could see through him.

“Then I will be back soon.”

He wrapped his scarf around Bai Xi’s neck. “Very soon.”

“Okay.” Bai Xi nodded and looked at the snow falling to the ground in the distance, holding an umbrella in her hand.

She waited for him in silence.

–

–

This was the first time since Ye Qingxuan had revived that he was to the new pope.

The pope was so close that he could see his white hair, and the rose beads wrapped around his hand clearly.

“I wanted to preside over the funeral for him, but I wondered that he might not like that.” The King of Red opened his eyes and said. “You are the most suitable person.”

Ye Qingxuan did not respond, but only looked inside the cemetery.

Several men in robes stood at a distance, praying far away from the tombstone of Hermes, then left in silence.

“Are they the people of the Church?” he asked.

“They are winged people,” the King of Red said. “It was because of Hermes’ guidance tha Romulus found land in heaven. They had enough reason to send messengers to the funeral.”

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but glance at them for a short time, and he looked away disappointedly after seeing that they were a bunch of old men.

“At your request, I have already issued Abraham’s secret command,” the King of Red said to him. “After a while, he will be released, but he can’t regain freedom. Because of his rebellious actions, he must live incognito. The Order will find him a place suitable for convalescence, and he will live his whole life under supervision.”

Which seemed like a bigger prison.

Ye Qingxuan had already prepared mentally for such a result, which was much better than what Anglo once gave him.

“What about Gaius?” Ye Qingxuan asked.

“He’s still wanted,” the King of Red replied emotionlessly. “Recently, the Revolutionary Army completely occupied the colony of the New World. Then they landed in the Commonwealth of Caucasian and began to prepare for war. Many people are ready to respond to their call and participate in this war for freedom. Among them are many scholars and craftsmen of all countries.”

“Furthermore, the Revolutionary Army has successfully killed a pope and proved its strength.”

Ye Qingxuan added indifferently, “The Sacred City has been too indulgent with them, so they turned into monsters. What do they want to do now?”

“It’s far from indulgence.” The King of Red shook his head. “The Sacred City has never stopped suppressing the Revolutionary Army. However, all countries have long been tired of the leadership of the Sacred City. All along, there have been many people who agree with Gaius’s concept and also look forward to something that can restrict the energy of the Sacred City.

“No one wants to have someone making indiscrete remarks and criticisms over their heads, the same as all kings. Isn’t that also true for Anglo? Dozens of archangel armors are smuggled to the colony of the New World every year…

“Gaius took strength from the compromises and acquiescence from those political struggles, and nourished his own beasts… He never took those good-hearted sponsoring politicians as his companions; he even thought about hanging them on the gallows in the very beginning.

“Now, it is just time for them to reap the consequences. After so many years of infiltration, the best time for them has finally come.

“As long as they can help the Caucasians drive out the heaven catastrophes, the Caucasians will be willing to accept any conditions they have. Even if they want to burn their emperor at the stake.

“After occupying the Caucasus, they will further expand outwards. Then Gaius can open up his own pattern in the chaos, which has not existed for hundreds of years.”

“Gaius has waited for so many years, and now he gets what he wants.”

“…”

Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then muttered, “Was the assassination of the pope by Gaius the conspiracy of the Sacred City and the Revolutionary Army to deceive Hyakume into falling into a trap?”

“Conspiracy?” The King of Red laughed. “Does this kind of thing still require secret talks or covenants? A bit of tacit understanding is sufficient. Gaius used to be the closest person to the truth of the Sacred City, second only to the pope. He knew the Sacred City better than anyone, and he knew the details of the Sacred City even better than the Cardinal.

“He knew what the Sacred City would do, what Ludovic’s intention was, and that there would be other assassins who would kill me even if he didn’t step out. So why didn’t he choose to get the maximum benefit from this incident?”

“In the end, the Sacred City gained the victory, and he gained a good reputation.”

Ye Qingxuan applauded admiringly. “Each took what he needed. Awesome!”

Even a blind man could see the disgust in his false expression.

“This is politics, isn’t it?”

The King of Red looked at him. “If you can’t conquer your enemy, then you can only compromise. The overall situation is not a game that can be gambled with.”

“Is Wolf Flute really a mole?” Ye Qingxuan asked disappointedly. Before, he always wanted to convince himself that the Wolf Flute was only a mole sent into the Revolutionary Army under the arrangement of the Sacred City.

But now it seemed that there was no possibility for that.

“Is the Sacred City so insane that it would sacrifice a saint for a mole?”

Ye Qingxuan was silent.

“I’m afraid that Wolf Flute was on the side of Gaius long before he joined the Silence Governance,” the King of Red said. “When he was found by Bach, he was just a child raised by wolves. In order to become a human, he suffered a lot. But he changed into a kind of human unwanted by us.”

“Why did Gaius rebel?” Ye Qingxuan asked directly. “For the so-called ‘democracy’? For freedom? Or to fight against the technical monopoly and blockade of the Sacred City ?”

“Perhaps,” King of Red answered indirectly.

“Don’t slight me with those foolish words, your majesty.” Ye Qingxuan was expressionless. “I once heard what he said to Wagner. He said…”

Ye Qingxuan moved closer to the King of Red, looking at his expression, and said word by word,

“…after the past and the future of humanity were tampered with, you lost your qualifications to lead the world. One day, you will bear the consequences.”

The King of Red remained expressionless.

Chapter 528: Go Back to My Profession

“I always wanted to become a historian. Your Majesty, among all the scholars, I know the most about the Dark Age,” Ye Qingxuan said coldly, “so I am qualified to say that there is something wrong with this subject. On one hand, we lack enough historical materials, and on the other hand, the direction that those historians are heading is wrong… After I heard what Gaius told me, I finally realized that we have been misled. Someone is trying to make the whole scholarly circle focus on something meaningless, making us historians study fairytales… The true history, however, has been neglected all the time.”

“You are right.” The King of Red nodded.

“You concealed what happened in the past, and twisted and changed humanity’s future.”

“Yes.” The King of Red nodded again. He confessed it without any hesitation, which surprised Ye Qingxuan.

After a long while, Ye Qingxuan asked, “What on earth have you done?”

“I can not tell you. I have been keeping this secret for hundreds of years,” the King of Red replied. “Once they know what happened in the past, they can’t bear the pressure. The King of Blue, the King of Yellow, and I decided that one day, the church group should tell this secret to the entire human race, but now…”

“Is ‘Son of Original Sin’ also part of it?”

“Maybe.” The King of Red did not directly answer this question. Instead, he looked at Ye Qingxuan and said gently, “Ye Qingxuan, you have asked too many questions, and we should stop here. Now it is your turn to answer my questions.”

Ye Qingxuan was silent.

On the day when Ye Qingxuan woke up, the King of Red had promised Ye Lanzhou that he would take up for his son. He kept his promise by giving Ye Qingxuan the bishop’s ferraiolone. If Ye Qingxuan joined the Sacred City, in less than five years, he would become the archbishop and have great power in the Cardinal Church. In only a few decades, he would become the most powerful man in the world, and his offspring could even inherit his titles.

Both Ye Lanzhou and Ye Qingxuan had protected the glory and solemnity of the Sacred City by defeating Hyakume. No one had done a better job than they had in defending the city. If Ye Qingxuan did not want to be a clergyman, he could also be a member of the Silence Governance, and all the classic books and information would be open to him. In less than five years, he would reach the level of scepter, and then he would be granted the holy title of Hendel and the Scepter of Messiah. He would become a holy saint of the highest rank…

These were the promises the King of Red had given to Ye Qingxuan on that night in the holy temple of Sarroman.

However, until now, Ye Qingxuan had not given any reply.

“I still need more time,” Ye Qingxuan said.

The King of Red did not urge him to give his answers right away. Seeing his face, the King of Red seemed to understand something.

The King of Red said, “The world is moving fast. I hope you can make preparations beforehand.”

Before Ye Qingxuan got out of the carriage, the King of Red gave him his rosary and said, “Come to the Apostolic Palace tomorrow and tell me your answer. Take this with you and you can pay me a visit whenever you want.”

The King of Red spoke firmly, as if he knew Ye Qingxuan would think things through by the next morning.

Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a while and received the beans.

The carriage left. Ye Qingxuan stood at the end of street alone. He stood there, silently, for a long time. Then he turned around and went back to the graveyard.

There was only Bai Xi standing in front of Hermes’ tombstone. She stared at the tombstone for a long time and took off her scarf. She wound her scarf around the tombstone, though it looked very ugly.

The tombstone would not feel cold, and neither would the dead.

“I have never been kind to him,” Bai Xi said gently. “He helped a lot, but I have never had the chance to return the favor.”

Ye Qingxuan did not say anything. Bai Xi turned her back to the tombstone and said, “Let’s leave here.”

“Okay.” Ye Qingxuan nodded and walked with Bai Xi, side by side.

Bai Xi said she did not want to take the carriage. “Let’s take a walk.”

“Now?” Ye Qingxuan was surprised.

“Yes, now.” Bai Xi stepped on the snow and looked at him. “Don’t you think it is the perfect time to take a walk around this city? It is quiet and not crowded.”

Watching her serious face, Ye Qingxuan agreed.

Throughout the years, the Sacred City had never been as desolated and quiet as it was then. Few people were walking on the street, and most of the shops were closed. Since the government had adopted the ration system, there was enough food and water for people. Two days ago, there were few luxury goods here, but soon, merchants from all over the world would come with their luxury goods, hoping to make a big fortune.

The construction of rebuilding the city was going on. Soon, the Sacred City would be bustling and prosperous again.

Now, there were ruins everywhere, and apart from the places that had been protected by the enchantment, nothing intact was left.

“Everything has been ruined,” Bai Xi said when she arrived at the sixth scenic spot. “There is nothing but broken churches, ruins… and dead bodies.”

She kicked away a few broken bones that were in her path and looked at Ye Qingxuan. “Cousin, I want to see the Apostolic Palace.”

“…” Ye Qingxuan looked at the sky and did not reply.

The Apostolic Palace was the power center and military-restricted area where the Cardinal Church was located. It was heavily guarded by the Knights Templar and surrounded by three layers of enchantments. Not even a fly could get in, not to mention a person.

“Then show me to the Stela of Destiny?”

Ye Qingxuan still did not reply.

When the Terminal Red Dragon fled, the entire Central Square was burnt, as was the Stela of Destiny. Now, there was only a big hole left there. The hole was also a restricted area, since it was directly connected with the Underground Palace, which was supposed to be secret. From time to time, some devils would crawl out of it. It was going to take at least three months to clear it up…

Apart from the brothels and bars, there was no place that was worth going.

“Not the Apostolic Palace, not the Stela of Destiny, why not just destroy the whole Sacred City.” Bai Xi frowned and said, “How about the Central Holy Cathedral? I have always wanted to go there!”

Go there to do what? Play with bombs?

Ye Qingxuan was speechless.

“Sorry, I can not take you there.”

“F*ck.” Baixi cursed and did not say anything. She walked forward and wandered in the street. After a long while, she stopped and pointed to the crowd in front of them.

“Cousin, I am hungry.”

In front of them was the temporary Food Distribution Zone. Here, people could not only receive the staple goods and daily necessities, but could also eat deli food. People who did not like eating compressed biscuit would come here. The deli was well-supplied and cheap, but it didn’t taste that good…

“Sure, let’s eat some delicious food.”

Although the business sector was not ideal at the moment, over the last two days, many famous restaurants and clubs had opened their doors again. So people could eat many delicious cuisines from all over the world there. The price had gone up a lot however, not that the usual patrons would notice or mind the increase.

I remember there was a restaurant that was the best in the Sacred City.

When Ye Qingxuan was still in the prison, Ludovic often invited him to visit that restaurant and taste the signature dishes. It was really delicious.

When Ye Qingxuan walked to the restaurant, he realized he did not have any money with him. After he woke up, everything had been taken care of by the officials of the Sacred City. In his pocket, there was only some coins.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Xi saw him digging in his pocket for the money and instantly knew what was going on. She did not feel unhappy or angry, instead she pinched her small jaw for a while.

She found another restaurant that was not far away and smiled to Ye Qingxuan. “It is fine, cousin. It is my treat today.”

“What?” Ye Qingxuan was confused. “You have got money?”

“Of course not,” Bai Xi said. “I am going to go back to my profession.”

She cut off the lower hem of her coat and changed it into a mask with Alchemy, then used it to cover her face. Then she snapped her fingers and cut the statue of a saint along the road into pieces. She picked up two swords made from the arms of that statue and walked into the restaurant.

“Do not move!” she yelled. “Give me money!”

Chapter 529: The Hand of God

A cold wind blew and swept across the street.

Dead leaves flew together with snowflakes.

Ye Qingxuan stood dully in the doorway, listening to the loud noises that were coming from the restaurant, and a series of breaking sounds. A few gloomy aether waves were destroyed by a stormy wave as soon as they appeared.

In the end, the wall crashed. Someone laughed and came out of the floating dust and smoke.

“What are you waiting for?” Bai Xi was veiled, carrying a large bag of freshly-made food. Her two eyebrows jumped excitedly. “Go! Go! Run!”

As she spoke, she grabbed his hand and began to run with the stumbling Ye Qingxuan. A sharp whistle came closer to them.

“That’s him!”

“There he is!”

“Don’t let them go!”

While the sharp whistle of the patrolmen approached swiftly, Bai Xi pulled Ye Qingxuan to run along the streets of the Sacred City.

At that moment, Ye Qingxuan was in a trance.

It was like suddenly going back to a time long, long in the past.

In the same unfamiliar city, they ran crazily on the streets.

This time, his hand was held by Bai Xi.

–

–

They didn’t get rid of the pursuers until two o’clock in the afternoon.

The two collapsed on a bench in the street, panting. After hearing their pursuers run past them, they finally felt relieved.

“Ah, they’ve gone cold.” Bai Xi opened the paper bag and took out a lunch box, shaking it helplessly. “The soup also spilled. A lot.”

“That’s alright, it’s stolen. So just eat.” Ye Qingxuan rubbed his hands and felt hungry. “The beef steak’s for you and the smoked fish for me. Okay, you can also have the soup.”

“Why do I have to share half with you?” Bai Xi held the paper bag in her arms, squinting at him. “I was the one who stole them and led the way. You were just waiting there as a lookout. It would be nice enough to give you a piece of cold bread.”

Despite what she said, she still reluctantly put a warm sandwich into his hand.

He could tell at first glance that she had forced the chef to make the sandwich.

Because it was sprinkled with the wrong sauce.

Ye Qingxuan held the sandwich, smiled, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Then he turned his head and took a cold breath.

Why are there so many pickled cucumbers in it?!

Facts had proved that it was not a good idea to irritate chefs. Most of the foods that Bai Xi robbed were full of strange tastes.

“Ah, this bread is so spicy!!!” Bai Xi’s mouth was swollen after eating the spicy bread. When she looked at the miserable face of Ye Qingxuan with her watering eyes, she couldn’t help laughing, spewing bread crumbs into Ye Qingxuan’s soup.

Ye Qingxuan sighed, blew away the bread crumbs, drank a bit of the soup, and finally rinsed the sour taste of pickled cucumber from his mouth.

“Next time, you’d better wait for me to go back and get the money.” Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky and sighed heavily.

A subtle and soft melody came from the distance. The snow had already stopped, and a riot of sound was heard in the dilapidated church.

The girl in white gauze, holding hands with her beloved boy, stepped down from a rented carriage, then went into the church with the cheerful melody.

A wedding.

The smiles of the guests seemed to be the few bright colors in this city.

There were still people who lived in this brutal world, suffering but still smiling.

At the end of a long street, they held a simple wedding ceremony in a dilapidated church. Although the priests obeyed the dispatch of the Order, and were busy working, they still invited a young apprentice of the Order to witness the wedding.

The young man who seemed to be inexperienced was dressed in a robe, holding the Holy Bible in his hands, scrambling to preside over the wedding. Fortunately, the wedding continued although there were a lot of troubles.

The wine was not sufficient, the bread supply was limited, and the banquet was not rich at all. Several old workers who could play instruments formed a temporary orchestra and played the wedding march.

Everything was simple, but all the things needed were there.

“Louis, are… are you willing to marry her as your wife? According…”

The young trainee priest stood on the stage, stuttering over the contents of the note in his hand. “According to the Holy Bible, you shall live with her, in the sight of God… connect with her. You shall love her, respect her, and protect her in the way you would yourself. No matter… no matter…”

His voice was getting lower and lower.

Being stared by all the people present, sweat was gathering on the priest’s forehead, although the weather was cold.

He forgot the words.

The scene was really embarrassing.

The more anxious the priest was, the more he couldn’t recall, and then the more awkward he became…

Standing outside the crowd, Ye Qingxuan could swear to God that this was absolutely one of the top ten embarrassing scenes he had ever witnessed in his lifetime.

“Forget it, I’ll help you out.” Ye Qingxuan sighed and opened his lips silently. A voice fell into the young priest’s ear along with the breeze, which cheered him up like being redeemed. Then he shouted out the final words ecstatically.

“…whether she is sick or healthy, rich or poor, will you remain loyal to her until death do you part?”

Everyone breathed sighs of relief.

The groom nodded, “I will.”

The wedding proceeded smoothly, and the embarrassing moment was quickly forgotten.

The groom kissed the bride.

The guests applauded.

“It’s so nice.” Outside the door, Bai Xi looked at the two people who were hugging, and applauded them.

In the tranquility, the sound of the marching carriage sounded from a distance.

Accompanied by grand horns, a gorgeous carriage was driven out of the Apostolic Palace, and marched on the avenue of the Sacred City.

With trumpets like the burning sun, the snow was rolled up from ground, blown into the sky by the wind of the rotating wheels, and fell massively on the canopy and flags.

The fragrance of incense rose from the copper furnace, spreading in all directions, and enveloped the entire world in a warm spring breeze.

The sergeants dressed in black stood by the two sides of the troop with knives and swords on their waists, holding banners up to the sky. The countless red banners fluttered in the strong wind and snow, like burning flames.

On the empty streets which were covered with yellow silk, numerous servants ran forward to meet that luxury troop that extended to the outside areas of the Sacred City.

Guarded by numerous sergeants, the long and narrow troop marched outwards.

The marching sound of thousands of people converged like thunder, rumbling and shaking the giant city.

It was like an imperial visit.

Ye Qingxuan suddenly looked up and only saw a huge carriage drawn by six three meter high horses among layers of guards. Wherever it passed, everything and everyone bowed humbly, not daring to look straight at it.

The white-haired musicians dressed in robes rode on horses and followed behind the carriage.

A huge honor guard of the East appeared on the streets of the Sacred City for the very first time.

The carriage that should have marched outside of the city parked on the street. Countless people stood silently in the melted snow, seemingly waiting for something.

“The Easterners?”

Ye Qingxuan frowned, staring at the banners hanging up over both sides of the carriage. At the sight of the strange emblem on the banners, he instinctively felt a burst of disturbance for no reason.

“There will be troubles again.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head and took Bai Xi’s hand. “Let’s go.”

But she didn’t move, staring at the newly married couple hugging in the church. After a long time, she suddenly looked up. “Qingxuan, will you propose to me one day?”

“Eh?” Ye Qingxuan thought he must have misheard, but Bai Xi looked at him silently and waited for the answer, causing him to panic. “Oh, why do you suddenly…”

His opened his lips, but no words came out.

He didn’t know what to say, or if he should say anything.

However, seeing his embarrassed look, Bai Xi laughed happily as if it was just a mischief. She kept laughing, then lowered her head.

She said, “Qingxuan, I’m leaving.”

“Eh?” Ye Qingxuan was shocked. “Where are you going?”

“To the East, I think. I’ve never been there. Is that very far away? I would hate to take a ship, my head will get dizzy. Besides, with so many people, it will be annoying and troublesome. However, I shouldn’t need to worry about that,” she whispered, looking at the troop in the distance. In the gorgeous honor guard, someone rushed towards Bai Xi, head down, holding a white fox-fur robe in both hands. He minced forward, but stopped ten steps away from her.

Respectfully and with awe.

Ye Qingxuan looked at him in silence. After a long moment, he looked back at Bai Xi. “What’s happening?”

“It is said that I am now the daughter of the Regent,” Bai Xi said. “They dare not look at me directly and they are afraid that I will kill them. So they are more obedient than those in the Cloud Tower City. If I say ‘kneel down,’ they will kneel down…”

Hearing that, the servant went down on his knees, regardless of the mud and snow on the ground. But he still held the white fox-fur robe high to prevent it from being stained with even a trace of dust.

“You see, it’s great.” Bai Xi smiled. “I will live a good life there. You can rest assured…”

“No!” Ye Qingxuan interrupted her.

However, he didn’t realize that his voice was so loud and sharp, as if he was afraid.

He didn’t know what had happened, and why it suddenly became like this.

But as Bai Xi stared at him, he felt embarrassed and panicked, and didn’t know what to do.

He was doing great. He had already saved the Sacred City, and become a strong person. Obviously, everything had been improving…

However, he found that he was going to lose Bai Xi.

“Why do you want to go to the East… I mean… The East is so far… It will be troublesome and tiring. I can… Hey, I’m not going to drive you away here. I mean, you can stay…”

He stretched out his hand hesitantly, but dared not touch her, fearing that she would disappear like a dream. Just looking at her, he prayed humbly and incoherently.

“Bai Xi, please stay.”

Please stay.

I can do anything for you.

I can even smash the Sacred City again.

I can pay any price.

“Stay here, okay?”

He stopped in front of the servant and separated Bai Xi from the troop in the distance.

He had exhausted all his strength by saying just a few words.

Master, Charles, Ye Lanzhou…

Are you also going to leave me now?

In silence, Bai Xi looked at his face.

“Qingxuan, Hermes is dead… I hadn’t even realized that until now,” she said. “I just thought that he would blame me if I went home late. But he’s dead already.”

“But you still have me!” Ye Qingxuan still wanted to say something, but Bai Xi shook her head and pinched his cheek:

“If I still stay here, Yunlou Qingshu will definitely come up with some wicked idea. And then, I will hinder you, and I will hate myself. Moreover, my character is troublesome. I will be sad if you ignore me. If you don’t take me out to play, I will be bored. If you don’t care about me, I will be angry. If I find out one day that you don’t like me any longer, I will be very sad.”

Ye Qingxuan was shocked.

Bai Xi leaned forward, and hugged him tightly. She buried her face between his arms and clung to his heart, listening to the echo there.

She closed her eyes.

It was like they were back in the long-gone past, in darkness, embracing each other for the first time.

The world was so cold, but when you found that destined person, it no longer was.

Even in a world without moon and light, you wouldn’t fear while embracing them.

“Qingxuan, you know what? I always think you are a hero,” Bai Xi whispered. “There is only one hero in each woman’s heart. After I met you, no one else could get in there. I have lied to you so many times since the begging. Do you hate me?”

“No.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “Never.”

“If I need you one day, will you come to save me?”

“I will.” Ye Qing Xuan hugged her, but could not help crying. “Even if I’m dying.”

Bai Xi smiled, and wiped away his tears with her hands.

In the end, she raised herself on tiptoes and kissed his forehead softly and carefully with her cold lips, as if she exhausted all her strength.

“Then, goodbye.”

She released him and moved backward step by step. She waved goodbye to him with a smile on her face, like the one when they first met years ago.

She was free, as if she had nothing to worry about.

It was like, after passing through the darkness, and stepping out of the cage, she finally stretched her wings and flew through the memories into a world that Ye Qingxuan had never seen.

Wherever she passed, everyone bowed their heads in horror and knelt down on the ground, greeting her arrival with respect.

Step by step, she got onto the carriage.

Gradually, she went away from Ye Qingxuan.

Quietly.

In the silence, the carriage moved forward again.

Ye Qingxuan stared at the troop until it disappeared from his sight.

The snow fell from the sky, and covered the silent city and the last traces left by Bai Xi.

He closed his eyes.

Walked way.

–

–

The troop marched through the streets of the Sacred City, out the front gate, then on to the wasteland.

The sound of the sea came from afar.

In silence, the old man in the carriage put down the book in his hand, then said softly, “He didn’t follow. It seems that you were wrong. Are you sure that he will come to you?”

“Yes, he definitely will.”

Bai Xi nodded with confidence, as if to state a truth.

As if he were hearing a joke, Bai Heng smiled slightly. “You are my daughter now. It will not be easy for him to take you away. He must at least have the courage to fight against the whole Empire of Aurora.”

“I believe that one day, he will come to save me from your hands.” Bai Xi gazed at the Sacred City in the distance, and said softly, “If the Empire of Aurora gets in his way, he will defeat it. If you get in his way, I will help him kill you.”

“Are you thinking of killing your father already now? You really are the daughter of a traitor.” Bai Heng laughed, touching Bai Xi’s long hair. “Hermes didn’t lie to me when he said that you were born like me. If the day comes, you could take my head off. But whether you can take the entire Empire of Aurora as your dowry, depends on your power.”

Staring at the indifferent Bai Xi, he was full of joy.

“After all, it is worthy of being killed by my own daughter.”

–

–

At midnight, in the Apostolic Palace.

Under the dazzling light, the deep noises continued.

The secretaries with documents in their arms kept walking in single file and put the documents from all over the world on a huge round table. The documents were sorted out and awaiting disposal.

Behind the huge round table, some of the tired cardinal bishops were busy dealing with the documents, discussing with their colleagues in low voices.

An ashtray was full of cigarette butts, the pungent smoke floating in the air.

A warm wind blew, but it was both boring and suffocating.

Behind those cardinal bishops, the King of Red, who should have been resting early, remained sitting in his place. The tea in his cup was cold and changed.

In the long silence, he seemed to be waiting for something.

Until someone came close from afar and pushed open the front door of the main hall. The door trembled, sending out a low voice. The biting winds poured in from outside, dispelling the stifling heat, and bringing the low-pitched disputes to an abrupt end.

From outside to the Apostolic Palace, someone arrogantly walked straight through the layers of the threshold to the center, without any notification or etiquette.

He was unwilling to wait even for a second.

The cardinal bishops raised their heads, looked at the uninvited guest, and frowned.

All of them knew the iconic white hair and the indifferent young man. But they were shocked when they saw the old rosary on his wrist.

There was no one who didn’t know what it represented.

In the sight of everyone, he went to the front and bowed to the King of Red.

The King of Red raised his eyes and looked at him.

“Have you made your choice?”

“Thank you for your kindness, your majesty,” Ye Qingxuan said. “Tonight, I will leave the Sacred City.”

The King of Red was silent for a long time and sighed. “I thought what the Sacred City promised you was satisfying enough for you.”

“It’s too slow.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. “I can’t wait.”

The King of Red stared into the young man’s eyes, but suddenly felt that perhaps he was wrong.

He originally thought that Ye Qingxuan would gain insights from it, but what he saw now was definitely not the case.

In that pair of dark eyes burned the fire of resolution and craziness, like spreading lava on wilderness that burned the earth’s crust and steel, and then rose to the sky to light the whole world…

The King of Red lowered his eyes and stopped looking.

“Go ahead.” He waved tiredly. “In thirty minutes, there will be a boat that will send you wherever you want to go. Someone will be there to give you what you want. After that, perhaps only God can bless you.”

Ye Qingxuan smiled and said nothing.

He bowed and then turned away.

The door closed.

The low-pitched disputes sounded again, and the King of Red closed his eyes drowsily, but for some unknown reason, he suddenly remembered Gaius’ favorite poetry.

Since then, we, as humans, have been suffering from great pains and hardships. We Became brutal and indifferent to prove the nature of our real body…

Perhaps that was humanity.

–

–

Late at night, on a quiet wharf outside the Sacred City.

Surrounded by the sound of the tides, Ye Qingxuan waited silently and read the notebook left by Hermes.

Faint moonlight fell from a gap among the clouds, illuminating another obscure figure. The illusory figure stood beside Ye Qingxuan, looked at the young man, and sighed.

“Every musician dreams of the promotion that could bring them everything. Are you sure that you don’t want it?”

“What I want is not here.” Ye Qingxuan gazed at the silhouette of the steel city in the distance, and shook his head slowly. “The Sacred City can’t give me what I want either.”

“Little Yezi, you finally got on board.” Lola laughed. “You should have been like this! Get what you want! Why do you have to worry about so many things? Anyway, this world has been trampled by Hyakume to such a degree. If things go badly, this world will be nothing more than hell!”

A high-pitched whistle, and the iron wheels were ready.

The thump of hooves came from afar, a messenger dressed in white rode a horse and stopped in front of Ye Qingxuan.

“In the name of the Archbishop of the Sacred City, the representative of gods, the highest pope, and the King of Red.” The messenger half knelt to the ground, and handed a red ribbon with green gold trimmings to Ye Qingxuan. “Today, you are appointed the master of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Grand Inquisitor, assigned to rebuild the Religious Court of Inquiry and patrol all countries, and titled the ‘Hand of God.’

“You are crowned with justice. From now on, what you do and say are the principles.”

“This is the will of God!”

“The Hand of God?” Ye Qingxuan stared at the red ribbon for a long time, then laughed softly. “Great, I like this title. Express my appreciation to the king for me, please.”

Saying that, he wore the holy ribbon on his shoulder with majesty, which meant that he accepted the mission given by the God.

The dark pupils were so cold that the messenger didn’t dare to look directly at them and bowed in awe.

“Then, by the will of God, let’s first create a better world from fire and iron.”

He turned and left.

Without looking back.

–

Under the silent moonlight, the whistle burst sharply.

The iron wheels rotated slowly and drove away, stirring up undercurrents and waves.

In the dim light in the cabin, Ye Qingxuan stared at the large and complex design sketched on the note, Hermes’s last legacy. It was a sketch of a huge thing that straddled the whole Physical World and was named the “aether net.”

A photo was stuck to the last page of the notebook.

It was a photo taken by Hermes at an unknown time. In the photo, Bai Xi was standing on a cart being pulled by a running golden retriever. She was on a street of Avalon.

She smiled like a little fool who owned the world, although she would definitely roll the cart over in the next second.

“Wait for me, Bai Xi.”

He touched the smile in the photo and closed his eyes.

Soon, I will find you…

And then, I will not let anyone take you away from me!

–

–

That night, a notification was issued by the Central Temple and sent in all directions.

The Religious Court of Inquiry, which had been damaged for many years, was rebuilt from the ashes.

The light of the burning posts would light up the entire world again.

The young man who was named the “Hand of God” had abandoned his former dreams and aspirations and once again embarked on a long journey.

However, this world had already been immersed in turmoil.

As Ludovic once said, a new era had begun.

It was not a golden age that belonged to mankind, nor the everlasting darkness of the abyss. In the midst of fire and iron, a new prelude started and a new era was coming.

Chapter 530: The Lightless Sea

It was late at night, and a guard stood on the edge of the cliff holding up a storm lantern, lighting the raging sea.

The ocean tide was coming with heavy rain and thunder on its back. A storm was sweeping across the sea, and the air was full of the sticky and cold water vapor. The guard found it difficult to breath normally.

Though it was raining heavily, it was silent. Countless rain drops dropped into the raging seawater. The sea had turned into something horrible, like a monster.

A fog permeated the air of the region. The whole sea was tumbling, as if there was a huge creature stirring the water. The hurricane swept across the sea and blew towards the cliff, creating scary sound. Seeing this, the guard was in a daze. Soon, he felt a bit dizzy and fell down.

He felt extremely cold, which made his mind clear again. He screamed aloud. Suddenly, a man reached out a hand and grabbed him by his collar and pulled him up. He then fell back down on the ground. The cold rain dropped on his face, and he looked pale and began to breathe heavily. His looked at the man lifelessly and said, “I…I…”

“What is wrong with you? Were you petrified?” the man said. “I called your name for ten minutes and you did not reply to me. If I did not come up, you would have already…”

Recently, many guards had encountered this.

“I just came out to have some fresh air, I never thought…” the guard murmured. The man patted his shoulder and said, “You go back and take a rest. Someone has just shipped some food here, and the cook made some soup. You should drink it. I will stay here.”

The guard nodded and backed away. He said with great gratitude, “Niven, be careful, Old Gai jumped off the cliff yesterday.”

“You should go back now.” Niven waved his hands. He quickly laid a waterproof blanket in a cave and lay down on it. Then, he took out a lighter and lit his pipe. He breathed in the warm and wet smoke and finally felt a bit warmer. He relaxed a bit and stared at the sea and the sky in awe.

He looked at his watch and realized it was exactly midnight. F*ck the twelve o’clock. He spat.

As a member of the Fifth Department, he had been doing the hardest and dirtiest work for years. He had retired from the navy, and spent the next ten years travelling all over the world and living in bad environments countless times. Still, he never thought Anglo would become like this.

In the past, the Cloister of Cavern was a famous holiday paradise with a pleasant climate, but now, all the hotels and roads had been flooded by the dark wave. What was left was the Cloister of Cavern that was still sitting in the mountain.

When the fog shrouded Anglo, half of its territories in the coastal area had been flooded. Currently, no one really knew if the islands located in the deepest part of the fog were still there or not.

According to the emergency regulations of the Fifth Department, the current situation in Anglo meant that this city was already in a very dangerous state.

All the institutions around the world had gone into silent mode. Apart from some specially appointed members, everyone needed to gather at the fixed place at the fixed time; everyone else would be treated as traitors.

Currently, around four hundred experienced experts who had known a lot about devils and catastrophes had gathered here. They had been staying in the Cloister of Cavern for over a week.

They were still very disciplined, but some of them were beginning to become a bit worried. In fact, they were all carefully selected elites, and among them were musicians and people with lots of talents. Most importantly, they were very courageous and determined, and would not easily freak out.

This time, things were rather different. Apart from the bad environment and the shortage of food and water, the sea posed the biggest threat to them. They had not seen light in nine days.

The lightless sea seemed to have a sort of magic power. At this point, more than ten people had been lost. A few days ago, four corpses were spotted floating on the sea. Those who came back alive all went insane, and some of them even had to be quarantined.

Two of them had killed themselves. One cut his wrist and drew some graffiti with his blood on the wall. The graffiti was washed away, and later the man who cleaned it also went mad and was soon quarantined.

“F*ck.” Niven spat again. He was a bit afraid. Anglo had already became a living hell, and he had no idea what would happen next if he continued to stay there.

The storm was still sweeping across the sea and pouring rain, but it was very quiet. He was a fisherman’s child; when he was young, his father never allowed him to step onto the boat, or even to touch the net.

He stared at the sea, terrified by this quietness, and finally understood his father.

The deep sea was just like a uterus, where a disaster was growing.

“How scary this is.” He sighed and crawled under the blanket. He stared into the distance, and from time to time, he had an urge to walk into the darkness. If he indeed walked into the darkness, he might become part of it, a tiny part of it…

Instantly, his urge disappeared, since he practiced the Decerebrate Rigidity surgery on himself. In fact, few spies would perform this sort of surgery on themselves. After the surgery, other musicians could no longer read his mind, but the surgery was not easy to do. Still, he never regretted the decision he had made, and now he could calmly watch this atrocious monster-like sea.

He began to smoke his pipe and play sudoku. The visibility was now less than three meters, and the water quality had deteriorated so much that even the fish could no longer live in it.

There is no point in continuing to guard this area!

Suddenly, a cold water drop fell on his forehead. He was alarmed and looked up. Then he saw the rock above his head trembling, as if an earthquake was happening. For the first time, he saw a scary scene in the spot where the dark sea met the dark sky.

The sea was raging and the dark clouds were getting closer and closer to the sea. It seemed like the sky and the sea were going to become one.

All at once, he heard the sound of a siren. An enormous iron and steel-made ship was sailing across the sea.

Around the ship, the distorted music theory collided with the twisted reality, creating a huge swathes of sparks.

The ship was sailing fast. Seeing this, Niven was shocked.

The wave was trying to stop the ship from moving forward, but it failed, as did the rain and the reefs. The head of the ship was already broken and cracks were crawling all over its body.

Suddenly, the ship bumped into the cliff. The next moment, the searchlight on the ship lit and targeted Niven.

The light was so bright that Niven could not even open his eyes. He then heard someone walking on the deck and getting closer and closer to him.

The man stopped in front of Niven and lowered his head to watch him. Niven felt he was in great danger.

Niven jumped up and took a dagger from his shoes, trying to cut this man’s throat. But he felt a sudden pain, and when his mind was clear again, he found he was lying on the ground and his dagger had been taken away by the man.

The man sighed and threw a ring to Niven.

There was an emblem of the Royal family on the ring, and a unique code on the inner side.

Obviously, this man was not a musician. Although Niven could not read his aether wave and the code of his Alchemy Array, he was sure about this man’s identity.

Against the bright light, Niven saw the man’s white hair. It was just like a burning metal.

“Your name?” the man asked.

“Niven,” Niven said. “Niven Taylor.”

“Good boy, now, Niven, just calm down.” The man reached out his hand and pulled Niven up from the ground. He patted Niven’s shoulder gently and said, “Take a breath and go see your official, and do not forget this ring.”

This man looked at Niven rather seriously, his eyes like the lightless sea, dark and deep.

“Tell them I have come.”