114 Question Session

"Stop talking about useless sh*t!" Furious, the Pyramid King swung his bow, aiming the arrow toward Ye Qingxuan. "Did those gay Lucos hire you? Or do the Indians want revenge? Or is it that son of a b*tch Professor, or that old Shaman?!"

"I’m sorry, but none of them." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and strode over. With his cane propped on his shoulder, he looked like an energetic youth going shopping. He seemed oblivious to all of the arrows that could kill him in seconds. He simply gazed around at the view, "I came for myself. Your Majesty, I only came for some answers."

"F*ck answers!" The Pyramid King suddenly pressed the arrow against the girl’s face. "Kneel or I’m going to put a hole in her head!" He was not planning on making the monster surrender by just using this girl, but there was something between him and the monster, and with her in his hands, the monster would not dare to take a risk. The Pyramid King just wanted the monster to be shaken up. Even just a little bit would give him a chance.

The Pyramid King’s hand twitched behind his back. The small movement was a command. Behind the youth, a shadow crept forward soundlessly. He pulled the dark green dagger out a little. This was the Pyramid King’s best assassin, a hitman hired with a fortune. The assassin had come from faraway Persia. He had taken medicine since childhood to make his bones strong but light. His body was as soft as cotton, but his inhumane training had made him impossibly strong. He could easily kill a tiger in the darkness.

With someone like him, the Pyramid King had no worries, of course. He never had to fear powerful enemies. He only had to worry about people who used dirty tricks like him. What was a dark musician to him? As long as the musician was distracted and his spirit shaken, he could die just as easily from a blade to the heart.

But contrary to his expectations, the shadowy gentleman laughed coldly. He did not even glance at the girl. The cold eyes under the shadow of the hat looked at Sam as if looking at an insect. There was a nuance of pity.

"I told you, it’s best if you don’t do that." Ye Qingxuan stumped the cane slightly, and a vague strumming sounded in the air. A cacophony of piercing noise followed the pounding of the cane against the ground. The sharpness pierced through everyone’s eardrums, making their vision blur.

But the man behind Ye Qingxuan, who had crept over soundlessly and pulled out his blade, started shaking. It was as if his organs suddenly started tearing. His muscles jumped, trying to leave his body, and his veins writhed. The hallucinatory pain attacked without warning. He fell to the ground, shaking and crying out in pain.

The man curled into a ball in pain, not even knowing that he had sliced himself with his own dagger. As he shook, his joints rubbed against each other. His bones had started to lock up.

The man had wanted to make a sneak attack, but he did not know that with Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, the surrounding aether acted as Ye Qingxuan’s eyes when he was on guard. The theory of three hundred and sixty degree vision had confused Ye Qingxuan for a long time. He still was not used to it. The legends of how a musician’s power would multiply with a good instrument was no lie.

Sensing that someone was approaching, Ye Qingxuan quickly moved his tired mind and performed the third measure of Black Friday. He controlled the assassin’s senses, inflicting the burning hallucinatory pain on him!

In the end, the man shrunk to the size of a dwarf, and continued to writhe with difficulty. Veins pulsed on his face like a living organism. He stared up at the Pyramid King in despair. His mouth opened but he could not speak, only making high-pitched gibberish. Chills ran down everyone’s spines. They finally understood what had happened to Kruger.

"Kill him, kill him!" Sam shrieked. His men tried to shoot, but they realized that they could not move their fingers no matter what.

Sam’s shrieking broke off, his voice caught in his throat. His body was no longer under his control. The dark melody rushed in like a river. It dug into their limbs, flowing through their mind, taking away all reason. And then it brought hellish pain.

Under the shadow of the hat, veins bulged painfully on the youth’s face. The extreme performance was pushing his limits. The melody that was meant to be used on one person had been expanded to influence a dozen people. It was just to provoke their negative feelings, but it had surpassed his abilities. Thankfully he was prepared.

Behind his back, Ye Qingxuan pressed the button on the Double Snake Time Meter. He chanted, "All is dark. Only the Tree of Life is forever green." Instantly, a crisp rhythm sounded in his ear, lifting up his dazed mind, erasing the fatigue and pain. He became more in tune with his spirit than before. The sensitivity of his perception suddenly doubled, making him feel as if he had expanded. The three hundred and sixty degree vision freed him from his body. He rose into the air and looked down at the thugs drowning in pain.

The difficult performance had changed too. Now it was as easy as rowing a boat along with the current of the water. With doubled sense and manipulation, Ye Qingxuan’s power soared to the limit of the Rhythm level. Guided by the melody, the aether transformed into nonexistent fire and blades, putting his enemies through hellish pain.

--

Ye Qingxuan was only able to continue this all-powerful hallucination for a few seconds. but these short seconds felt like an eternity to the Pyramid King. The unprecedented pain pushed him to the brink of sanity. When the melody suddenly ended, he screamed as if waking from a nightmare and stumbled back. The girl in his arms had had enough. Jumping up, she slammed an elbow into him and stole the bow, aiming at his forehead. She kicked his crotch angrily, causing his eyes to bulge, and he rolled on the ground in pain.

"That’s for grabbing my hair! That’s for pinching my cheeks!" Venting her anger, Bai Xi kicked him and prodded his forehead before retreating behind Ye Qingxuan. Close up, she could see the veins at the corner of Ye Qingxuan’s eyes and his trembling hands. Panic flashed through her eyes. She wanted to say something, but then saw his glance. Understanding his plan, she did not reveal any panic.

"I surrender…" Sam, panting on the ground, lifted his head and glared at Ye Qingxuan. "Do whatever you want to me. But don’t think I’ll just obediently wait for death. My men will avenge my death, even if you kill me. You won’t be able to leave here unscathed."

"Oh, really?" Looking down at him, Ye Qingxuan laughed lightly. He taunted, "Your Majesty, why are you asking for death so impatiently? Didn’t I say before that I’m just here for some answers? If you answer me truthfully, I might let you live. Of course, if you don’t cooperate, I won’t let you die either. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Sam’s expression changed. He understood Ye Qingxuan: if he was not willing to cooperate, he would experience something more painful than death. He believed this completely. After all, he had just experienced hellish torture.

"Do you swear?" Sam studied the shadow suspiciously. He was terrified, but he still had to grasp the last lifeline. "You want to know? I can tell you everything I know."

"You surrender as soon as you hear that you can live?" The shadow scoffed, "As expected of the Pyramid Scheme."

The Pyramid King’s expression was shameless, as if it was how things ought to be, "As if you’d let me go if I was brave?"

The shadow laughed but did not reply. He asked, "I heard that there was a big commotion in downtown a few days ago. To be honest, I want more details. Would you like to tell me?"

"You’re here for the white-haired kid too?" The Pyramid King seemed to suddenly see the light. "You’re here for the Blood Path too!"

"You’re the one answering me. Don’t get it wrong." Ye Qingxuan’s voice turned icy.

Though he did not get a reply, the Pyramid King was sure. What would make a dark musician ignore the authorities searching for him and come to Anglo’s capitol, other than King Arthur’s hidden treasures?!

"My friend, have you decided?" The shadow looked at his pocket watch impatiently, "My time is precious. Don’t waste it." With that, he moved to start the melody.

"Wait, wait! I’ll talk!" The Pyramid King opened his mouth and spilled the beans on everything he knew. "Ten days ago, we heard a rumor. Avalon’s Shadow, which hid King Arthur’s hidden treasures, is going to wake. The Blood Path leading to it will be activated soon. Some said that the key to activating the path is on the white-haired kid."

Ye Qingxuan scoffed, "You believe this?"

"To be honest, we don’t believe in Avalon’s Shadow. The rumor is strange. The first who spoke of it was the Professor. He wanted to have the kid all to himself and wouldn’t let anyone interfere. The Indians seemed to have concrete information from somewhere. They were willing to anger the Professor just to get the kid. The Lucos and Asgardians were just taking advantage of things…"

"And what about you?"

"We just do dirty work for the elites. We don’t care about the Blood Path. Really!" the Pyramid King explained hurriedly. "But they seem to really care about this news and ordered us to make things messy. Another family also offered a reward to capture the kid.

"The kid wants to kill their heir. They couldn’t influence the academy, so they offered one-hundred thousand pounds to kill the kid in the most painful way…"

For an instant, like an illusion, Sam thought the shadow grew darker.

"Which family?" the shadow asked coldly.

Body trembling, the Pyramid King answered loudly, "Rossi, it’s the Rossi family!"

Ye Qingxuan fell silent, his eyes grew cold. It was Edmund.