151 Long, Long Ago

No. 221 B, Baker Street was a graveyard. The fog suffused the gloomy night. This was the lowest place in Avalon. After summer ended, the wind and currents from ocean would be gone, and this place would be covered by mist. It was extremely hazy, even during the daytime. After tonight’s rain had pierced through the fog, it seemed to become thinner. The rain fell down on the ground with audible pitter-patters. The decayed soil full of water became muddy like a bubbling quagmire.

The carriage stopped before the graveyard. Ghosthand opened the door for Ye Qingxuan. "He is waiting for you in the yard," Ghosthand said. "Don’t keep him waiting too long."

"How long do you think I’m going to take for such a short distance?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at Ghosthand, put on his hunting hat, and strutted into the cemetery.

The cemetery was vast and silent. There were few people. Shadowy figures occupied the surrounding high points and entrances, sealing the entire cemetery. Ye Qingxuan looked away and walked forward, treading on fragments of white flowers.

There seemed to be a funeral. There was no priest or guests but an emcee in a black gown stood beside the tomb, leading the sacrificial ceremony. Beside him was an open coffin. The coffin was covered with white petals and a brocade but it was empty.

The emcee stood beside it, studying the tombstone in deep thought. The men stood far from him, not daring to interrupt his trance. But he was not so mysterious and scary. Instead, he looked just like an average old man. He was the Shaman.

"Whose funeral is this?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the empty coffin, and interrupted the Shaman’s trance.

"Well…I haven’t decided yet." The Shaman slowly shook his head. "Funerals are serious matters and the protagonist’s identity is always the biggest puzzle piece." With that, he turned around and his eyes fell on the strange and young dark musician.

"There are many small gangs that have been instigated to rebel against my rules. They are troublesome little rats. I sent out six assassins to clean them up and I’m looking forward to finding out whose head will be the first to be brought back." He stared at the youth’s face with his rheumy eyes. "Who do you think it’ll be? Take your time guessing it. There’s nothing fun about spoilers."

Ye Qingxuan responded coolly, "What did the infamous Shaman invite me here for? Is the coffin for me?"

The Shaman was silent for a moment before chuckling softly and changing the topic. "It’s our first meeting and it’s not appropriate to talk about these unpleasant things. Let’s talk about something else. Mr. Holmes, what do you think of this city?"

Ye Qingxuan was stunned. After thinking for a while, he shook his head. "I don’t know. I always have a feeling that this place is like an old widow who’s moody and vicious."

"Pretty much." The Shaman nodded in agreement, but his expression grew dismal. "Even though it’s an old widow, it was once a charming beauty. In its youth, gentleness and charm exuded from its body. Heroes gave it their swords; Musicians appraised its holiness and mercy.

"At that time, the King of Destiny was ruling his mighty kingdom. All land was peaceful then and Anglo was in the most western point of the world. But when the man died, everything changed."

He sighed and offered a cigar to the youth. Ye Qingxuan waved his hand, rejecting it, so the Shaman lit the cigar for himself. In cloud of smoke, his eyes became blurred. "Mr. Holmes, let’s talk about the city’s history. I want to tell you about this city’s past, this country’s past—its greatness and glory."

Ye Qingxuan leaned on his cane, prepared to take it all in.

-

"You know, King Arthur built this place to commemorate his love, the Maiden of the Lake. That was when the Dark Ages had just ended and the golden era of the Renaissance had just arrived. This was the most brilliant pearl of the West, heaven on Earth—Avalon!

"He gathered worldly treasures, countless poets, mighty knights and legions, the most magnificent brocade and the most fragrant incense here...But not even the beauties of the world could express his love for the Maiden of the Lake, because everything he had was gifts from her.

In the darkness, the Shaman told of the other history hidden behind the known history, the past buried in past. This was a secret hidden behind a heavy curtain.

"Before he met the Maiden, the great King Arthur was just a fisherman’s son. He was a commoner. But when he strayed into the Shadow World he met the Fairy of Lake. Nobody knows what happened during that time but all that matters is that King Arthur won her feelings. It’s the thing that is most worthy of appraisal, the so-called ‘love.’" Shaman chuckled, mockingly or in praise.

"The Maiden gave Arthur her love and strength, so he became and expanded his territory. With her help, he forged the Sword in the Stone, became the strongest of the strong, and created Anglo. He became the true King of Destiny!

"It was his era. The Knights of the Round Table galloped above the sky and the demons hid from their radiance. Even the natural catastrophes were banished one by one. The Western frontier of the human world had never been more peaceful.

"Everyone dressed in brocades and no one went hungry. It was such a beautiful age. Brilliant, great, and worthy of all good words to praise it. It was like a fairy in a fairy tale.

"Then everything changed." The Shaman paused. His voice grew hoarse. "Arthur went mad. The power was so strong that it drove him mad. But at that time, no one knew that the man sitting on the throne had gone crazy.

"The older he became, the more he hated his son for being younger than him. He thought that the child was stealing his life. He drowned his son in boiling oil. When he was sober, he felt guilty and depressed and cried for three days and three nights.

"He suspected that his wife was unfaithful to him, so he ordered his men to strip her, and forced her to walk naked on the street to be humiliated by all. The street still retains its original look, but some people have forgotten that this is why it is called ‘Queen’s Road.’

"In order to maintain his sovereign authority, he executed almost half of his Round Table Knights. His relatives gained those rights and shot to power. This became what is known as the glorious blood of the Empire. In order to become King of kings, he could not even allow the existence of the sacred city. He enlarged his army to prepare for destroying the sacred city.

"In the end, the Maiden also disappeared because of his madness. The brilliant Avalon, the city of glory, fell to the state of a ghost city." Shaman's voice was hoarse and odd, emitting real darkness and madness.

"At that time, the entire city was covered by his distorted projections from the aether world. This formed the eerie space known as Avalon's shadow. In that world, gallows were erected everywhere like a forest; the guillotine became a fountain from which the blood extended, meandering out the gate as the Blood Path.

"At last, mad King Arthur was deserted by all and was killed by his greed for power. All that remained was the Blood Curse, which is passed down the generations."

"This is the city's past. It was once beautiful and brilliant, but now it has become a gloomy, fickle, and dying crazy woman. It stares with her cloudy eyes, cursing the inhabitants with her vicious gaze.

"So far, all you’ve seen were the problems on the outside, but the real blight and the cancer, the root, are hidden in the shadows of the city. The evil had been planted hundreds of years ago …" He sighed and snuffed out the cigar, his rheumy eyes growing nostalgic.

Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time. Then he asked quietly, "Did you tell me all this to make me give up on the Blood Path?"

The Shaman shook his head. "No, I’m just worried about the city. If I wanted you to give up, I would say it directly."

Ye Qingxuan glanced at him and sighed. "I never expected that the Shaman was so concerned about the country and people."

"Everyone wants to make their living environment better. Aren't you the same?" Shaman asked lightly. "Even if your fortune and fate are bad, you’ve been working hard all this time, haven’t you?"

Ye Qingxuan fell silent but the Shaman chuckled. "I think you've felt something vaguely, haven't you? Mr. Holmes, or should I call you by your other name?"

"I've thought about the possibility before and now I’m sure." Ye Qingxuan looked up to the Shaman, or rather, the ‘old guy’ his Father had mentioned. "I just never imagined that my father’s so called friend is the former Dark King."

"I never imagined that the son of the evil hunter, Moon Chant, would be known as a dark musician." Shaman patted his shoulders and sighed nostalgically. "I’ve had my men keep an eye on you ever since you returned to Avalon, but I didn’t expect that this would bring you so much trouble. When I heard of the melody you use, I knew that you were back. You’re better than I expected."

"I'd rather know… what my father had done to set me in this situation."

"I don't know." Shaman shrugged and said, "When he was on the run, I was still hiding in the Southern Isles. When I came back, I realized that he had vanished, and you and your mother had been banished from Avalon. Unexpectedly, even the famous Lan..."

"Don't say that name." Ye Qingxuan interrupted. "Don’t say that name if you want to continue to talk."

-

Shaman was taken aback. He studied youth’s face and shrugged as if he perceived the indifference and anger behind those gloomy eyes. "Well then, I won’t say it."

He sighed. He wanted to say that someone had been caring for Ye Qingxuan all these years and wanted him to go back... But this child probably would never return. Who would trust the so-called family again after being betrayed once?

He had wanted to meet Ye Qingxuan and talk about the stories of him and Ye Qingxuan’s father as an uncle and comfort him. But it seemed that it did not matter to Ye Qingxuan. It would never matter.

He sighed. He inhaled the smoke of the cigar and blew out the memories of the past. Ye Lanzhou was known as a unique gentleman and a peerless musician with a son who seemed to be made from steel. Would he be content or sad, seeing the current state?