Silent Crown

“If I didn’t do that, would you all have tried to seek help from Newton?” A gentle voice could be heard in the experimental site. Everyone’s faces turned pale and their bodies stiffened.

“What do you mean… I don’t quite understand.” Ronald forced a smile as he looked around the companions around him, “This formula is the result our collective efforts. How does it have anything to do with Newton? Am I right? Everyone, say something…”

No one spoke. Everyone had just become aware of the presence of tens of dark figures that had appeared from the shadows and were watching all of them intently. They wore solemn-looking masks and were clad in uniforms from top to toe. Only the golden badge on their chest gave away their identity as the Royal Hounds.

Ye Qingxuan sighed and shook his head. “Have you heard of a saying that ‘the writing mirrors the writer’. Formula and literary works are the same. I am very clear what kind of person will create what kind of product.” With that, he tapped on the data on the ground with the tip of his toe, “You are all researchers, gentlemen, and you have all been used to working under the constraints of all sorts of rules and conditions. The things that you can produce will be dull and uninteresting. How can you possibly think of something out of this world?”

“Tell me, you are all either lunatics or schizophrenics.” He saw the look of despair on Ronald’s face. He stretched out his hand and smoothened his collar. His expression was gentle, “Or you could try lying in front of the Heart Musician.”

“Where is Newton?” There was dead silence. Ronald’s face contorted. His lips were quivering but he could not make a sound.

Ye Qingxuan shook his head in disappointment. He sighed and got up slowly. Just as he raised his palm and was about to give an order, a hoarse voice rang out from the loudspeaker in the experimental site.

“Don’t make things difficult for them anymore, Mr Ye. I’m here.” Very soon, what was once a smooth and flat wall gradually opened, revealing a secret passageway behind it and an old man who must not have seen the sun for a very long time. The previous Dean of the Royal Institute of Research, Newton. He looked at Ye Qingxuan without any expression on his face. “They are all innocent. They had no idea what they were doing. Let them go, Mr Ye.”

Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and smiled, as if he had just witnessed something funny. Newton, who had been arrested by the Church and given up on by Anglo, had been hiding in the Royal Institute of Research all along. In a place that he had built from scratch, this was probably the safest place for him.

Anglo would never allow anyone from the Church to conduct a search here, and even organists and secret agents would never be able to find the secret entrance and passageway hidden hundreds of meters underground. Besides, complicated limits of authority and decades of countless piling of digging works were more than capable of creating a secret shelter for hiding. Underneath this massive underground facility, the routes were well-established and could link to every corner of Avalon. Even if one was discovered, it was still possible to escape unscathed. In addition, he had a group of researchers that have remained loyal to him… Where else could be safer than here? Otherwise, how was it possible for an old man as reliant on others as him to be able to escape the Church?

Ye Qingxuan turned his head and looked at this old man from head to toe. Even though he has been in hiding, he did not look down and out at all. Instead, he looked well-fed and there was even the smell of alcohol. It was as if he was on a vacation.

“It is so good to see you, Mr Newton.” Ye Qingxuan waved the Royal Hounds away, “Bring these gentlemen away and find some Heart Musicians to give them a thorough inspection to see if they are hiding anything else. Look at how Anglo is spending so much money to feed a bunch of traitors.”

The last sentence was directed at Newton, but his face remained expressionless, as if he had not heard it. Very soon, the entire experimental site was just left with the two of them.

“Why didn’t you escape?” Ye Qingxuan teased, “It is not like you to be so loyal.”

Newton laughed coldly and looked at him, “What do you think?”

Ever since Ye Qingxuan entered this place, more than a hundred Royal Hounds had appeared out of nowhere to take over every corner of the Royal Institute of Research by force and the Transformation Musicians had begun to look for secret entrances hidden behind walls. This was different from the superficial inspections conducted in the past. This time round, it was as if they had no qualms tearing down the entire place in order to find what they were looking for. There were even a large number of Abstinence Musicians that set up layers of perception enchantment. Within half an hour, by the time Newton finally realized what was happening, every possible exit has already been blocked off. Only the researchers in the experimental site were still kept in the dark.

Newton was completely trapped. Ye Qingxuan’s intention for locking up the entire place was to prevent news from getting out. He certainly did not expect such a huge catch.

“Looks like you have some conscience after all, since you have chosen not to let those researchers take the blame for you.” Ye Qingxuan looked at Newton. His expression turned cool, “If only you had done the same thing back then.”

Newton knew what he was talking about. He already knew about the relationship between Ye Qingxuan and Charles when the latter reported for his first day of work. This was also why Newton could not remain calm and a tinge of helplessness flashed across his face, “I’m sor…”

Bang!

Before he could complete his sentence, his body was already sent flying towards the wall. It slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground and coughing violently. He raised his head with difficulty, only to see Ye Qingxuan gripping onto his staff. There were veins protruding everywhere on his arms. It was clear that rage was coursing through his entire body.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bang!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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