134 Bolero

When Charles said, "Isn’t the notebook there?" a bad feeling arose in Ye Qingxuan instinctively. When he looked in that direction, his heart sank and he fell into silence.

Charles had pointed to the corner of the living room. There was a painting on the wall; a cupboard; two chairs; and a finely-decorated, well-made, high-grade, amazingly warm and comfortable…dog bed!

The long-missed Old Phil was sprawled out on its bed, side-eyeing its first and third servants. Its eyes were arrogant as if he were the emperor in his palace. As it enjoyed the stupidity of mankind, it chewed on its breakfast—a leather-bound, beautifully made, and familiar…notebook?

"Senior, am I seeing things?" Ye Qingxuan asked after a long time. "Why am I seeing Old Phil eating my notebook?"

"Ah, that’s right!" Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was close to breaking down, Charles decided to give him a push. "He’s been eating it for half a month! He doesn’t even eat dog food these days. He just eats two pages per day. He’s finally finishing it today! Old Phil loves studying. Junior, you can’t lose to him!"

"…I feel like I’ve lost at the starting point." Speechless, Ye Qingxuan bent down to pick up the shreds with shaking hands. In the end, fate’s cruel arrangement pushed him to his limit.

"Old Phil!!" Putting the dog in a choke hold, Ye shook it violently. "How can you just eat it? This is a relic that my dad left behind for me! A relic! A relic! How can you just eat it? At least tell me! Do you know how hard life is for me? Y-you...spit it out!" His features twisted as he tried to open Old Phil’s mouth and save the last shred of paper.

Old Phil’s mouth opened and then closed.He closed his mouth tightly around Ye Qingxuan’s leg, causing him to fall down with a strangled cry. Old Phil was Old Phil after all. He never displayed any mercy when he was biting. His mouth could definitely go down in history. It had never failed, from biting the crown prince to its servant!

And this b*stard had chose the meatiest parts to bite, ensuring that one bite was enough for a scarred mind, and two bites were enough for mental trauma…no one could hide from it!

With that fatal bite, Ye Qingxuan practically passed out, and just rolled to the other side of the living room. 

Taking advantage of this, Old Phil walked over to stand on Ye Qingxuan. It slapped the youth without any hesitation, making sure that Ye Qingxuan would never talk back to his ‘boss.’ His action was so furious and straightforward, sending chills down one’s spine, but it was understandable! Ye Qingxuan had broken the rules and offended his ‘boss!’

--

When Ye Qingxuan woke, it was already noon.

"Hey, Junior. You awake?" Charles squatted beside him, eating a durian. Smiling, he asked, "Want one? It’s fresh! I just got it from the backyard of the Royal School…"

"What just happened?" Ye Qingxuan asked in a daze. "Why am I here?" He looked around and realized that he was lying on the living room floor. There was a mess around him, and his body hurt as if he had been beat up.

"Oh, you forgot?" Charles gave him a sympathetic look. "This morning, you tried to steal Old Phil’s dog food and got punished. Even though you were beat up pathetically, I respect your courage! Come, good man, have a fruit!"

"…" Ye Qingxuan refused with a polite shake of the head.

"Oh right, Professor said to go to the library after you wake up." Charles pointed at the closed library door. "There’s something important to discuss."

--

Ye Qingxuan walked to the library nervously. He was ready to be scolded by the Professor for not going to class for the past few days.

However, Abraham seemed to be busy, seated behind his messy table with a giant stack of revised drafts. He did not look up until Ye Qingxuan coughed. "Oh Yezi, you’re here? Sorry, I was working…"

"It’s okay, it’s okay!" Feeling guilty, Ye Qingxuan had the urge to rush over and give his teacher a massage. "Professor, I shouldn’t disturb you, but what are you writing? You look so focused."

"Oh, this…" Abraham chuckled shyly, though a glimmer of pride appeared in his wooden expression. "I got new inspiration for the translation method. I realized that if I use this method to decipher Voynich’s Manuscript, I might be able to translate the fragment at the end. If I’m successful, I can apply for a bigger budget! And then our budget won’t be so tight…"

"Voynich’s Manuscript?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Professor, you’re going to be big!" The Voynich Manuscript had always been an important piece of literature for researching the history of the Dark Ages. Deciphering it had been a challenge for many scholars and Revelations musicians. Unfortunately, other than the scholar, Champollion, from centuries ago, and Miss Lola from recent years, nobody else had made progress on it. Others would go astray or be seen as fakes…

If someone were able to use another method to decipher the remaining passages, it could be significant enough to shake up the entire academic world. Abraham’s translation method would receive the sacred city’s recognition and become its own discipline. The idiots at the School of Revelations would not be able to belittle them anymore.

Maybe Abraham would receive commendation from the sacred city, and the academy’s funds! If the Church thought this method was an innovative breakthrough, he would definitely become a master musician!

As his student, Ye Qingxuan felt honored as well! He might have been doubtful if someone else had said those words, but he believed Abraham completely. With the Professor’s wooden personality, he would never lie. He would never say anything he had no confidence in either. Since Abraham had said so, it would work!

Thinking that Abraham would not be abject, and would receive recognition by everyone, riding the School of History of its awkward status, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel overjoyed. His happiness at his successful robbery from the night before was nothing compared to this good news.

"Professor, you’ve hit gold!" Ye Qingxuan cheered. Then fluttering his lashes, he said, "Let’s eat a good dinner tonight! Senior keeps asking for meat. I can go out and buy a kilogram or two and make something good!"

"Uh, there’s no need. It’s not very certain yet," Abraham said, a little embarrassed. "Wait until I publish it. What if I miscalculated? It’ll be bad to celebrate for no reason."

"Professor, don’t be so modest. I believe in you!" Ye Qingxuan danced, already planning a celebration.

"Let’s talk about the important matters first." Abraham organized his notes and coughed. His expression turned serious. He studied the youth. After a long silence, he finally said, "Yezi, Charles said that you’ve already grasped the performance of complex notes. Have you thought about what school to follow in the future?"

"Huh?"

"Look, you are considered to a Rhythm level musician now. You have to plan for the future." Abraham scratched his head. "I don’t have that much experience, seeing as Charles has been stuck on the Rhythm level all these years. I feel like…he’ll be stuck for a few more years, so I haven’t prepared anything in that aspect. But if you have any schools you’d like to research, we can discuss it."

"Uh, to be honest, I haven’t thought about it…" Ye Qingxuan felt cold sweat forming. "There isn’t a school that I really want to learn. Other than Black Friday, which I somehow learned, I haven’t looked at the music scores from other schools. So I want to wait until I have a sturdier foundation."

"Reinforcing your foundation is one thing, but the earlier you choose your school, the better. Don’t be like me and waste half your life before finally becoming a musician," Abraham said, a bit ashamed. "I was the best at the School of Abstinence, but I signed a confidential agreement with the military for this material, so I can’t teach it. I started researching the School of Revelations halfway. You can see that I haven’t accomplished much now. Don’t be like me!"

"Professor, I think you’re really awesome already. If anything, just let me learn Revelations with you. Our major is with the School of Revelations anyway!" Ye Qingxuan shrugged carelessly. "I can read and decipher ancient texts easily, so I can be a scholar in the future."

"…" Abraham knocked the side of Ye Qingxuan’s head. "This is about your future, not some meaningless thing. Yezi, be more serious about it."

"Or you can just teach?" Ye Qingxuan suggested. "I’ll learn whatever you teach. I’m just at the Rhythm level now, and there’s still a long time before I get to the third level. Maybe I’ll find something that suits me as I learn."

"That is very irresponsible, but I guess there isn’t a better solution." Sighing, Abraham warned, "But you must keep in mind that different schools have opposing principles. You can’t venture too deep when you’re still experimenting.

"Take the School of Mind and Summoning for example. The first focuses on will and humanity, while the latter focuses on instinct and the beastly nature. If you learn the two at the same time, they will contradict each other, and you’ll make no progress. The same applies to the School of Modifications and Illusions. One researches substances, and the other, emptiness.

"Compared to those, the differences between the School of Choir and Revelations aren’t too obvious, but the former focuses on the nature of life, while the other focuses on the outside world. It’s difficult to put them together as well."

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan became curious. "What about Abstinence? Is there nothing that contradicts the School of Abstinence?"

"It opposes every other school," Abraham sighed. "That’s why I don’t want you to be like me." With that, he pulled out the blackboard and began to write with his prosthetic arm.

"The focus of the School of Abstinence is on the nature of aether, so it contrasts with other schools. I am best at countering and deciphering, which is why I can find something similar in the School of Revelations. Other than these two fields, there isn’t much I can teach you.

"Here is a score that I’ve deciphered myself. It consists solely of common basic runes, which is rare. Musicians from any school can learn it. It can help you form your foundation." As he spoke, he wrote the name of the score on the blackboard—Bolero.