104 Long Time No See

The dark wailing music was still continuing in the basement, but Ye Qingxuan had sunk into confusion again. He had felt the soul of the dark piece of music, but what was the soul like? He had found the essence hidden in the melody, but he could not describe it!

As the melody resounded, Ye Qingxuan focused on one question: what exactly is guilt? As he fell into a daze, uncontrolled aether was pulled by the melody, gathering from all directions. It was like fog but also like light. The layers of apparitions hovered in the basement, unable to form a solid shape. Because Ye Qingxuan had never thought about what guilt looked like, he still could not find the true nature of the essence.

Was it cold rain? An eerie breeze blew through the basement. Cold water vapor solidified near the corner of the wall and vanished quickly afterward.

Was it a thunderstorm? Dark clouds suddenly appeared in the aether apparition. Roaring thunder shook the charcoal clouds. Heart-stopping lightning flashed at times. But the storm disappeared quickly as well.

Was it the feeling of a thousand blades piercing the heart? But the flashing blades disappeared after cutting through the apparition.

Was it like burning lava? A gust of heat appeared within the music, blowing like foehn wind from Hell.

Illusions appeared and disappeared continuously within the aether, like flashing scenes from a dream, but the changes eventually slowed, becoming more and more difficult.

Finally the illusion froze completely as if something great was brewing within. An untouchable emotion was solidifying, forming its structure. Slowly, there was the pitter-patter of dripping water. Water droplets solidified within the illusion, falling and grouping together, finally turning into a silent torrent! Although it was inside a closed basement, but there was the essence of a lonely sea. It was a river—a black river.

The black water flowed soundlessly inside the aether apparition as if it wanted to cover the entire world. The water gradually rose, flowing over Ye Qingxuan’s ankles, rising to his waist, reaching his neck. It rose inch by inch, flooding the room with cold despair. It flooded into the soul from every pore, invading every inch of empty space. This was guilt—an eternal black river in everyone’s heart.

The black river was like a noose amid the wild melody, tightening ever so gradually, stealing every last breath, casting one into eternal despair and repentance. There was no redemption! When the soul finally suffocated, the quiet river would begin to rumble. It was like a hopeless spirit roaring wildly, crying helplessly, begging and pleading for salvation.

The black river flowed on, crashing against every inch of the walls. Even the insignificant organisms hidden between the floorboards writhed in pain. They were caught by the hopeless melody and sank into the river of guilt.

As the climax neared, explosive crashes sounded continuously. Rats and insects gone wild crashed headfirst against the walls, trying to find peace and relief from eternal death. The desperate souls struggling in the black river passed away just like that.

The music silenced. Ye Qingxuan woke up from the crazed playing with a jump. He gasped for breath, sweat rolled down his back. "Is this-is this how to play complex notes?"

In the silence after the storm, he gazed at his hands in confusion. His hands had lost all strength from the wild playing. Soreness radiated from every finger. It hurt his heart to move them even a little bit.

After a long time, he lowered his head and pressed down on the keys. The piano was silent. The strings had broken. All of them had broken. How could such an old piano survive such a powerful performance? Or maybe a better word would be ‘destruction’?

But for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt much better. Maybe he had emptied all his dark thoughts while venting.

"Yezi, do you feel better?" A calm and cool voice sounded behind him. The voice was like moonlight.

Ye Qingxuan froze. It felt like an illusion, but the voice was so real. He turned around slowly. Seeing something impossible, his eyes widened in shock, "F-father?"

All light had extinguished in the dark room during the wild music, but calm moonlight shone down from somewhere, illuminating the man’s white robe and eyes. Those orbs were clear and quiet like the moon. He stood in the moonlight, gazing around and smiling at the youth. After all these years, his smile was still the same. It was filled with the enlightenment and desolation of having seen fate.

"Oh, Yezi, long time no see." Quietly, he asked, "How are you?"

--

"Is it really you?" Ye Qingxuan rose subconsciously, but was quickly stopped. He finally realized that there was an obstacle between them. It was made of instrument strings suspended in the air. The strings reflected the moonlight, creating an abstract and unclear instrument. It was the instrument that had been completely awoken by the music—Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.

"First, I must congratulate you. You’ve finally earned the recognition of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei." Standing under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhou studied the youth, "Yezi, you’ve worked hard and become a musician."

Ye Qingxuan stared at the man in shock. After a long time, he sat down as if his legs could no longer support him. "It was actually pretty easy." He lowered his head, a bit sad, "I just spent a little time."

"My apologies for not being able to truly be by your side and congratulate you on your most important moment. As you can see, I am just a memory right now." Ye Lanzhou sighed as an apparition in the moonlight, "You’ve awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. This means that you’ve returned to Avalon and found what I have left behind.

"But where did you find this music score? Sharon Hotel? The library? Queen’s Road? Or was it from some old guy? I feared that you would not be able to find it, so I left behind many identical carvings, but I did not actually want you to return. I didn’t even want you to find it."

Ye Lanzhou studied the youth in silence. He said softly, "Sometimes, I even wish that you’ll forget me and live as an average person. How great would that be? You won’t have to experience all these dirty things. All you’ll have to do is work hard and you will be able to live happily."

"Father, what’s the point of saying all this?" Though Ye Qingxuan knew it was just an illusion, he still could not help but question him.

As if sensing the youth’s question, Ye Lanzhou’s expression turned helpless, "There’s no point in everything now, right? Let me tell you what you must remember. Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important."