105 Old Guy

"Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important," Ye Lanzhou said. "First, since you have awakened Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and received its recognition, you are now the master of the Ye family.

"In other words, every word you say and every action you perform represents the Ye family of the Dragon Bloodlines. I messed up and ran from the East, but you don’t have to worry about that.

"But this zither is something passed down from your great-great-great-grandfather. You know, it’s an old thing, and old things have a lot of rules. Unfortunately, you can only use a portion of its features before you become an official musician, so just deal with it. At least you don’t have to buy an instrument so you can save some money.

"But if you really don’t like it, you can get another one. It’s an old thing. Just keep it as a memento," Ye Lanzhou calmly said such obscene things, as if he was not scared of their ancestors striking him with lightning.

"To be honest, the Dragon Bloodline isn’t as good as you think. There are a lot of annoying things. That’s why I came to the West. I sealed your talent when you were born because I wanted to let you choose what to do with the seal when you became of age. If I’m not around, you can only wait until you reach Resonance level and it will unlock automatically." Ye Lanzhou shrugged, "If you need some secret tricks or talent, then all I can say is sorry."

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan almost coughed up blood. He had never heard of a father who could ruin his son’s life this much!

"Ha, sorry, that was my mistake, don’t mind me. But there is one thing that I hope you’ll pay attention to." Under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhou’s expression turned serious. "Listen, Yezi. Before you reach Resonance level, you cannot, must not research anything about me.

"I’ve already wiped away many people’s memories of me, but there are some strange creatures that I can’t reach. Don’t delve into these things before you’re powerful enough to truly protect yourself. This is for the good of you and everyone around you. My only advice to you now is: if you are still in Avalon, leave as soon as possible. It’s best to not have anything to do with Avalon.

"The sins that the crazy King Arthur had committed centuries ago have put a curse on the Royal family. Anglo will pay for it. So, before that day comes, you must not enter Avalon’s Shadow, understood?"

Ye Qingxuan listened to Ye Lanzhou’s message in shock. After a while, he could not help but chuckle bitterly, "Father, you’re too late."

Ye Qingxuan had already become tightly connected to Avalon. He had already almost entered Avalon’s Shadow. All of the thugs and gangsters in downtown knew that he had something to do with Avalon’s Shadow.

"Your life must be hard now, right?" Ye Lanzhou suddenly said, "I created a key to unlock this melody. You can only truly understand it in your most confused and painful state. If you need help, go find that old guy. Even though he’s heartless sometimes, he’s the most trustworthy man in Avalon. He owes me a lot, so go and annoy him."

Old guy? Ye Qingxuan blanched. He had seen this nickname in Ye Lanzhou’s notes. It was mentioned on Black Friday’s sheet music. The inspiration for this composition had come from talking with this old guy, but who was he?

Ye Lanzhou stroke his chin in deep thought, "What’s his name? I suddenly can’t remember. I think he’s called…" Here, his apparition wavered. The moonlight began scattering.

"Oh? It seems like we’re running out of time. This is all we have." He smiled helplessly and waved at the youth, "Goodbye, Yezi." A faint cacophony, like explosions and angry roars, came from the shining illusion. Ye Lanzhou looked behind him and sighed, eyes darkening, "These guys are faster than I thought."

As if Ye Lanzhou could not hold it in anymore, he lowered his head and covered his mouth, and coughed lightly. Blood seeped through his fingers, dripping onto his ivory robe, turning it bloody yet beautiful.

"Sorry, I have a cold these days," he chuckled with difficulty. Touching the corner of his lips, he had a careless smile on his face and waved at Ye Qingxuan, "Take care of yourself, Yezi. Don’t be like me." Ye Lanzhou retreated slowly. Dust fell onto his white robe, making it look worn and sad.

The moonlight gradually dimmed. His smile blurred, but as he looked at the youth, his eyes were filled with longing and satisfaction. The basement returned to pitch black darkness. In the scattered moonlight, the last farewell from a long time ago sounded, "Yezi, it’s so great that you can become a musician."

The youth stared at the spot where the moonlight had been. He lowered his head after a long time, "Yeah."

--

Late at night, the basement door opened soundlessly. Ye Qingxuan peered out from behind the door. After making sure that no one was around, he nodded in satisfaction. Good, everyone was asleep.

He crept toward the empty living room. Starlight illuminated the deserted table and chairs. The only sound in the silence was the crickets outside. Taking his jacket from the hanger, he quickly put it on. He stuffed his hair inside a hat.

"Thank god nobody saw me." Looking at his blurry reflection in the mirror, he nodded in satisfaction, "This outfit should do."

A hand suddenly reached out from the corner of his vision, and slung over his shoulder. Ye Qingxuan flinched at the sudden touch, barely stopping himself from yelping.

A drunken smile appeared. The man hooked an arm around him and waved at the boy’s reflection in the mirror, "Hey, Junior, you still awake?"

Looking at Charles, Ye Qingxuan forced a smile, "Senior, you’re still awake?"

"I keep getting nightmares about bloody things these days and it scared me awake." Charles shrugged, "I was just getting ready to drink a bit and I ran into you. Want to come with?"

"It’s okay." Ye Qingxuan chuckled, shaking his head.

"Where are you going? You’re all bundled up."

"I’m…going for a walk." Ye Qingxuan racked his brain for an excuse and stated seriously, "I’ve been in a bad mood these past few days so I wanted to take a walk. Maybe then I can think everything through."

"Really? Then you have to be careful." Charles said lightly, "You know a ton of people in downtown want to get you to get rich."

Ye Qingxuan looked into Charles’s drunk eyes and asked awkwardly, "You know everything?"

"I haven’t been getting around these years for nothing." Charles picked his nose and studied the kid before him, "Let’s put it like this. It’s like all of downtown got drugged with aphrodisiacs over the past two days. They’ve practically captured all of the old guys with white hair to find you. All they’re missing is a ‘wanted’ poster with your face plastered all over the city.

"Are you trying to hand yourself over, wrapped up with a bow on top? Listen to my advice and stay in the academy. Here, at least the professor can protect you. If you don’t leave, what can they do?"

"But I can’t keep hiding here, right?" Ye Qingxuan pulled down his hat sadly, "Look, I’ve been hiding here for so long. I’ve flipped through so many books, trying to find an explanation, but I still don’t have a solution.

"I can hide here for ten years—I don’t care. But what about you guys? You and Bai Xi can’t stay here forever, right? We didn’t do anything wrong. Why do we have to run for our lives when we’re just going out to buy something? Someone has to solve this. If I don’t go, who will?"

Charles did not reply. With a bottle in his hand, he gazed at the youth wordlessly. After a pause, he sighed and downed the bottle with a tilt of his head, "Okay, don’t say that I won’t help you. Follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"The basement."

--

Charles turned on the lights one by one, illuminating the entire basement. He pushed the now-useless piano to one side of the empty basement and walked over to a pile in the corner, covered by a dust cloth. The pile of what looked like broken machines took up a good portion of the basement. When Charles lifted the dust cloth, the smell of oil and rust radiated from it.

"Senior, what are you looking for?" the youth asked curiously, seeing all of this.

Charles glanced at him tiredly, "Yezi, this was my workshop. You’ve been here for a month. Have you never wondered what all this was for?"

"No…" Ye Qingxuan said, a bit embarrassed. "I don’t usually touch people’s things without their permission."

"Are you always so polite for such unnecessary things?" Charles tugged at the dust cloth with difficulty, "Come on, give me a hand." With both of their efforts, the heavy dust cloth was finally lifted and thrown to the corner. The sleeping workshop was finally revealed under the light. Ye looked at all of the unfinished items.

They seemed to be a giant handicapped iron bat; a machine-powered carriage missing two wheels; an article of leather clothing that could cover the entire body, including the head, with two glass lenses for the eyes. There was also rusted copper full-body armor, but the chest piece was filled with chains…

"What is this?" The youth reached over to feel the inside of the armor, observing a sequence inside, "This conductive structure is to make it move?"

"This…I made this when I was thirteen or fourteen." Charles squatted beside Ye Qingxuan and scratched his head in embarrassment, "I was confident that I could create a mechanic puppet to play with me. I even decided to name it Pinocchio. But sadly, I never succeeded. It’s so hard to get the center of gravity right."

"You used all of these parts just to create a machine that can walk?" Ye Qingxuan could not comprehend it.

"Haha, who knows how kids think? I guess I was just bored…" Charles stared deeply at the puppet’s heart. On it were the words: my friend, Pinocchio.

"It’s all in the past. I don’t need it anymore." Charles pulled the dust cloth over the junk, covering the armor. "Come with me. I have something to give you."