Silent Crown

A torrent of water fell from the sky. Raindrops collided with the earth, and thousands of shattering sounds overlapped, turning into a roar that engulfed the heavens and the earth.

Steam rose up thickly in the deep night. Even if you held an umbrella with all your might, you would still feel suffocated.

As the ground shook, the huge arched gate slowly opened, and the lightning in the sky illuminated the hideous palace in the distance.

The imperial secretary holding a lantern stood in the rain. He lowered his eyes.

“Please come here, my lord.” The secretary led him through the violent rain. His scarlet robe was made dark red by the rain, like blood.

In the dark night, under the cover of heavy rain, waves of aether fluctuated one after another in the palace. They intertwined, shaking the rain curtains as if they wanted to reach the firmament, casting down limitless pressure.

It was suffocating.

After passing through countless palace gates, he finally came to the front hall of the palace. Rain poured down off of the eaves. The dark palace was illuminated by a faint light that lit up his somewhat pale face.

At the palace gate there was a hoarse, forbidding voice, “His Majesty beckons.”

He took a deep breath, shook the raindrops off his clothes, bowed and entered the palace. He walked 15 paces then stopped under the jade steps and then bent down with the other two musicians.

“Your humble minister, here to see Your Majesty.”

An old voice came from behind the curtain, “Tai Changqing, These are the men of outstanding talent that you recommended to me?”

“They are the disciples that I trained myself.”

The old man sitting next to the jade steps responded with a sigh of relief. “Even if they are not the blood of devas, they are still not inferior to the Dragon Bloodline at all!”

“Then let’s follow your idea.”

The frail old voice sighed. “Just please be quick, Tai Changqing. I am old, and cannot wait too long.”

Beneath the jade steps Tai Changqing said nothing, he just bowed deeply.

This musician who had helped the Emperor manage the empire for 30 years was quite old, but there was no trace of his age on him. There was none of the white hair that the devas were so proud of on his head, as it had been completely removed, replaced by an array that was carved into his flesh.

No one was there to assist him, and so the Emperor personally descended the steps to place a blood-stained scroll into Tai Changqing’s hands.

“This is the map that Wu De risked his life to bring back,” said the old Emperor. “Go 100,000 miles to the west. The thing rests in India.”

Tai Changqing sighed and kowtowed. “I beg you to reconsider, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor smiled and sat wearily on the jade steps. He sighed softly. “So you are old, Tai Changqing, just like me. How long will you live after I die? After the two of us are gone, what will happen to everything?”

Tai Changqing said nothing.

The hands holding the scroll trembled, but he refused to accept them.

Those on the floor heard a hoarse voice. “Look up at me.”

When they dared to look up, they saw a pair of deep eyes reflecting their faces and the dim light within the palace.

The stooped Emperor sat on the steps. His luxurious crown and imperial robes could not cover up his age and weakness.

He did not have many days left.

“Who will take charge of the situation after I die?” The Emperor toyed with the supreme imperial seal that he held. “Who will support this country that is about to collapse,” he said to himself. “Will it be that pack of ambitious dukes and nobles just waiting for me to die? Or will be it be my few good nephews? Or maybe my daughter or was born deep within the palace and raised by my wife? No, they can’t do it. No one can. No one can control the Empire of Aurora. After I die, the floods will rise.”

The Emperor raised the seal in his hand, letting them see the supreme symbol of authority clearly, and told them, “Everything will collapse.”

A cold light burst forth in the Emperor’s eyes like a flame from hell, making everyone there bow in awe and kneel to the floor.

“I can’t save it, but someone can. Someone who is ten times stronger than me, a hundred times, ten million times stronger than me can.” The Emperor looked at the minister who had been the right-hand man of three emperors. He said in a hoarse voice, “Tai Changqing, bring it back. Bring that thing that is called the Monster of Truth back!”

Bring the heir who can revitalize the Empire of Aurora, the wise man who can reorganize the chaotic world to me!

In the silence, the wizened musician nodded sadly.

“I will not fail you!”

At that time he obeyed his master and kowtowed. He did not know that he would regret this far-away journey for the rest of his life.

…

In the early morning, the gate leading to the Imperial District of Heaven’s Gate slowly opened.

Mr. Hu saw Ye Qingxuan through the gate, and the attendants brought a horse. Mr. Hu patted the white horse’s neck and handed the reins to Ye Qingxuan with a parcel.

“These are my orders. They’ll let you pass through the Imperial District without any obstacles. This is my letter of introduction, give it to His Majesty and he will be happy to help you.”

“I really don’t need a horse.” Ye Qingxuan smiled. “I could just fly there.”

Mr. Hu shook his head. “Even though you’re the King of Yellow now, this is the Empire of Aurora, it’s best to lay low. The Imperial District is the land of the Dragon Bloodlines. If you have the help of the City in the Sky you don’t need to use your movements casually, which can lead to some unfortunate misunderstandings.”

Ye Qingxuan looked up into the sky, and his line of sight passed through the realm of aether. He was able to see that far away city high in the sky and the majestic Great Wall. He also saw Mr. Hu’s serious expression.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Ye Qingxuan sighed.

“Then I won’t keep you. Go on.” Mr. Hu took a few steps back, and Ye Qingxuan took the horse’s reins and turned the horse. He waved to Mr. Hu. “Then let’s say goodbye here. I hope the road will not be too far.”

“Have a good trip,” Mr. Hu waved. “Don’t waste your time here. It’ll take two days to get the capital from here. After you find Bai Xi, take here away from here quickly. Don’t worry about what’s going on here. And…” He paused as if he had thought of something embarrassing. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head. “Never mind. Go on, go on!”

Ye Qingxuan glanced at him in confusion, saw his smile, and laughed as he rode away.

He watched Ye Qingxuan leave until he disappeared at the end of the road.

Mr. Hu grinned and looked relieved.

“Goodbye,” he whispered and turned back towards Heaven’s Gate.

Your era has come, Ye Qingxuan.

If I wasn’t there to give you some extra pointers, would you be able to wake up from your confusion?

You still have a chance to recover from your mistakes, better than I did at that time, and better than those people in this world for whom it is too late to repent.

No matter what you face, I hope you can find Bai Xi.

And…

This was what Mr. Hu had not said: “…don’t give up your desire to become a hero.”

…

Two days later, the earth moved and the mountains shook.

The sky was covered by dark clouds, as if an iron curtain was slowly pressing down wherever the projection of the Great Wall covered, falling heavily upon Heaven’s Gate. Countless movements and arrays emerged from the void, and waves of aether burst forth one after another, turning into bonds that linked heaven and earth together tightly.

They made the sky and the earth meet once again, leaving only the smallest gap.

Heaven’s Gate.

“…ah, Heaven’s Gate.” Upon his warhorse, Bai Heng stared at the gate that he had traveled through countless times. Now he was going to attack it himself. He had mixed feelings.

“Master Zhangsun, according to our previous arrangement I will leave this to you.” He turned his horse and threw a tiger tally [1] to the blue-eyed Master Zhangsun. He yawned and then rode into the vast army where he disappeared.

Even though Master Zhangsun did not think he would, Bai Heng was so assured that he had tossed military authority into the hands of someone else without the least bit of nostalgia, not even considering how he would get it back.

The sharp sound of horns shook the earth, and armored horses swept out as the vast army advanced like a dark-grey iron blanket covering everything on the earth bit by bit.

The white-robed Master Zhangsun rose up, driving forth the projection of the moon in the well, and looked at the man standing alone upon Heaven’s Gate. He made a slight bow. “Long time no see, Mr. Hu.”

Before the two armies, Mr. Hu sat casually upon the city wall. He did not care about his own safety, he just glanced up at him lazily. “If you have something to say then say it. Did you come here to attack Heaven’s Gate or to chit chat with me?”

Master Zhangsun smiled indifferently. He did not feel embarrassed because he had lost face, but his eyes became solemn, and his low voice rang in Mr. Hu’s ears.

“Tell me, Mr. Hu, what happened to you and Tai Changqing 15 years ago?”

Even though he certainly would not answer that, he still held out a small hope.

“No comment.” Mr. Hu looked indifferent as he tapped his iron flute against his knee. The steel sound of lingering music carried a chill, making Zhangsun Jigui look disappointed.

“Then I’d like to ask for you to condescend to instruct me.”

Mr. Hu shook his head. “You are my elder. I’ve never taught you anything. It’s not right for you to call me ‘mister’. It’d be better if you called me by my name.”

Zhangsun Jigui was stunned, plunged into silence.

Mr. Hu thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed as if he had realized something.

“All these years after my master died, everyone has called me ‘Mr. Hu’, and so they forgot my real name.” He slapped his knee in mirth, shook his head and sighed. “It’s not a good name, but to have it forgotten by everyone is a little annoying. And that pack of bishops, their thoughts are so preposterous. Not only do they take people’s surnames to be their given names, but they also call people ‘Sun’. Even though the pronunciation is almost the same, they’re completely different things… Forget it, forget it. Let’s skip over this link to my name.”

He rose, brushed the dust off, and spun the iron flute, making a light and scattered sound.

“I’m ready, how about you?”

He looked Zhangsun Jigui up and down, and his expression became scornful. “It’s just you? It won’t be enough.”

“…” Zhangsun Jigui’s smile stiffened. His many years of decorum and self-restraint did not let him lose control of himself, but he was irritated, and his blue eyes grew dark.

“Alright, Mr. Hu, then let me ask you… to instruct me!”

Bang! At that moment, the iron flute shrieked, and an outline that looked like a blazing sun emerged behind Mr. Hu. Violent, blazing light shone down, suddenly making everybody start to fade.

On the outline of the scorching sun, every ray of light that shone down was an extremely thin line of aether. These numerous lines had unimaginable piercing power, like a blade that was so thin it was difficult to detect.

In a flash, the ground in front of Heaven’s Gate shook. The sturdy road that thousands of people had walked on over the years turned into shredded dust in an instant as a storm blew from the sky.

A sorrowful lament came from the huqin Moon in the Well. Compared to the blazing sun it was like flowing water. It filled everything in all directions, and then rose into a thick fog.

The unobservable mist filled the sea of aether, and after it was cut off from the blazing sun, its nature interfered like an iron hammer, forging the aether into the outline of a monster.

The music theory that governed summoning and banishing that came from the Moon in the Well was not for the ghosts and spirits of the Liu family, but of the other extreme of bestial nature—the divinity formed from the Bloodline of the Dragon.

In a flash, the fog dissipated, and the mighty door of heaven emerged from the sea of aether. Numerous giant spirits came out of the door, garbed in iron, blank-faced, and holding giant halberds they strode upon wind and lightning as they roared towards the sky.

They emerged from the fog. They were not as violent as ordinary summons but were bound by the strict path of commandment. After a hundred paces, the giant spirits took the iron bows off their backs and the sounds of bowstrings tightening came one after another, making the hair stand up on the back of people’s necks.

At a glance, the giant spirits had already occupied the sky.

At that moment, bronze arrows inscribed with many notes fell like violent rain with a sound like the buzzing of a colony of bees, covering all of Heaven’s Gate.

This was the military power commanded by Master Zhangsun, and the reason he was leading the attack on Heaven’s Gate.

After centuries of bestial nature being poured into them alternately, after they were bound by the commandment, the giant spirits were like puppets with the power of a large-scale war.

Among them, they had 100,000 suits of armor, 500,000 bows, countless arrows… And all of them were extraordinary items. Their only limitation was that Master Zhangsun was not good at mobilizing aether from long range. If he had enough power to control them, then even by himself he was strong enough to attack Heaven’s Gate!

Under the wind and thunder, facing the arrows inscribed with Dragons’ Attack Music Theory, Mr. Hu raised the iron flute in his hand. The blazing sun revolved, and flames spurted out of it.

The sun.

The sun descended.

The cruel sun truly appeared in the physical world at that moment, spreading endless light and heat, making the sky burn red and scorching the earth.

Everything within a hundred paces was completely evaporated under the violent Music Theory of Change and turned to dust.

Along with Mr. Hu’s movements, the layers of seals on his body came unraveled and the compressed, collapsed arrays were once again smoothed out. They covered his body like a burning iron brand and spread over his face.

A huge illusion slowly emerged from the blazing sun. It had the outline of a human, but it had a trace of inhuman bestial nature. The tyrannical ape was bathed in flames as it stretched out its body.

From the scorching sun, he cast a scornful glance at the world. Then, he raised his hand along with Mr. Hu and let it fall towards the illustrious Heavenly Palace!

[1] A tiger-shaped tally issued to generals as imperial authorization for troop movement in ancient China