317 Smooth and Calm

Three days later, all was calm in the blueness of the sea and the sky. The ship cut through the still sea, leaving behind ripples that spread in all directions. The sea wind was moist with a slightly fishy smell; it was relaxing.

Under the afternoon sun, Ye Qingxuan leaned against the mast. He squinted up at the end of the sky and sea. He was both spacing out and focused.

"Mr. Ye, it’s dangerous there!" The second mate looked up at him from the deck with concern. Putting a smile on, he asked, "Can you come down?"

Ye Qingxuan leaned against the mast at the top of the sail and looked down. "You don’t have to worry," he said. "Let me stay here alone."

"O-okay." The second mate’s expression stiffened but he sighed. Official musicians were all weird. If Ye Qingxuan wanted to be somewhere, then let him be. The sailor just hoped nothing would go wrong. He did not know how to answer to the captain; he just hoped he would not get screamed at again. He prepared himself to return to the cabin with a bitter expression when he heard a voice from above him.

"Also," the young man said calmly while looking into the distance, "the boiler in the kitchen is going to explode. If you send a repairman within five minutes, it can still be fixed."

"Huh?" The second mate froze. When he processed the message, he scrambled into the cabin, screaming. The sailors fell into a flurry. After a round of broken sounds, some ashen repairmen walked out. It was clear that the hot-tempered captain had screamed their ears off. However, their gazes grew reverent when they looked up to the mast.

The youth in the air seemed to be napping. However, a majestic melody hung over his fingertips. The powerful melody resounded with the sea wind and blew to all directions. It even traveled higher into the sky. It was hard to hear.

However, countless water vapor lines spread from Ye Qingxuan’s hands. Hundreds upon thousands of water droplets were woven into a beautiful radiance, sensing all changes within a radius of countless nautical miles. At this moment, all changes within that range were under Ye Qingxuan’s control. It was the tenth measure of Bolero!

The water vapor lines thrummed with his breathing. They wrapped around the large ship and spread into the sea, leaving behind fine ripples as the ship moved forward. The ripples were interwoven like a heartbeat.

The beat was rhythmic and strict—sixty beats per second, never more or less. It was precise to the nanosecond. Though the ripples were small, they spread at an incredible speed to impossibly great distances. However, they quickly rippled back to Ye Qingxuan with feedback. The come and go created a simple and fast loop.

On the mast, Ye Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes. His raspy voice echoed throughout the bridge along the perception threads. "Sailors, get ready. There’s a rogue wave at nine o’clock direction coming in two minutes."

Commotion erupted. The first mate in charge of steering frantically adjusted the direction. Soon, just as Ye Qingxuan had said, wild waves suddenly appeared on the calm waters in the nine o’clock direction and swept toward the ship.

Usually, the sailors could only raise the sails and speed up to dodge the full hit or move passively. However, they had a warning this time. The ship had already adjusted direction and charged past the rogue wave. The wave collapsed and they dodged the worst hit. Shocked cries sounded across the cabin.

"Thank you, sir!" The second mate happily climbed up the mast just to say thank you. He even brought a bottle of red wine. The captain had just taken it out of the cold storage and it still had cold smoke. "This is a gift of gratitude from the captain."

"No need for the wine," Ye Qingxuan said. "I still have to thank him for opening the ship’s large-scale observational aether ball for me. These opportunities are rare and I’m glad to help."

The middle-aged second mate was a Rhythm level musician from the School of Revelations. He was responsible for observing and whiled his days away on the ship. After learning that Ye Qingxuan was the student of Abraham who had recently been awarded by the Queen, he was extremely attentive. He took care of all the details, from pouring tea to massaging Ye Qingxuan’s leg.

When Ye Qingxuan mentioned that he wanted to see the ship’s aether ball, he had hesitated for a long time but still asked the captain. The captain had screamed at him but gave Ye Qingxuan authority after the second mate vouched for him.

Even without the second mate, a request from an official musician was already enough for the captain to consider seriously. At first, he feared that Ye Qingxuan would mess around. Soon he felt he was fortunate for making the right decision. It was clear that Ye Qingxuan’s observation skills and interpretation speed were much better than the second mate. With his help, the ship’s speed was sixty percent faster than usual. They had not run into any trouble either.

The originally tense and long twenty-four hour ride had now become a relaxing vacation trip. The captain was so happy that he practically smiled in his sleep. If not for Ye Qingxuan’s status as a musician, he would probably have had him sleep on the bridge and work without rest.

"Tell the captain to drink less." Ye Qingxuan steadied his monocle and gazed at the ocean. "In a few hours, we’ll leave the yellow zone and enter a red zone. My perception range will shrink."

Different from land, aether zones in the sea changed like tides. The majority were slightly chaotic yellow zones. Sometimes, they would turn into red zones for silent sailing. Other places were the unapproachable black zones. If a ship accidentally ventured into it, the ship would have to power off and pray they could float out of the area. Otherwise, they would remain there for eternity and become a ghostly ship. Therefore, ships were required to land occasionally or use lighthouses to receive the newest star map from the Sacred City. This way, they could avoid the most chaotic aether currents and find the most stable path within the tides and aether.

Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s words, the second mate pulled out his small aether ball. Connecting it to the bridge, he scanned it and sighed in relief. "With our speed, we should pass through it within half a day. Mr. Ye, there’s no need to worry."

Ye Qingxuan nodded. "You can go now."

The man hesitated. He asked quietly, "About lunch…"

The gaze behind the monocle seemed to reflect some absolute truth with a cold and distant shine. The second mate froze. He looked away respectfully and did not dare to say more. Climbing down timidly, he ordered the kitchen to work overtime and prepare the best food for the man.

-

Actually, Ye Qingxuan did not hear his question. He was thinking.

He needed to travel by ship for five days from Avalon to Auschwitz. He would go from west to north and, after passing by Burgundy, go from north to south. Then he would ride the train for one week and finally, travel by foot for half a month. He had never traveled as far as practically half the human world.

The further he was from Avalon, the livelier the aether’s power. In the first few hours, Ye Qingxuan had the auditory hallucination that his body kept popping quietly. As if chains were breaking apart, his power kept rising. As the aether’s density rose and he left the restrictions of the enchantment, his suppressed power was quickly recovering. After increasing more than thirty percent, there was still room for growth.

Having his strength increase rapidly felt good, but Ye Qingxuan wished it would stabilize. He forced it to the point of one-third more than usual and let it out slowly and gradually. Once past this threshold, his precision of the manipulation would decrease. Perhaps some musicians would be overjoyed by the increase in strength. However, this was nothing good for Ye Qingxuan who needed precise control.

Thankfully, the sub-originator in his heart gave him the best aid. It had weakened a bit after leaving Avalon but it quickly recovered with the immense amount of aether. It even helped Ye Qingxuan control his explosive strength.

Without the enchantment’s restrictions and with the increased strength, he was also unprecedentedly sensitive to aether. This was the best opportunity. After destabilizing, he would be able to reconstruct his music theory and explore the Seven Questions for Musicians. He had been thinking for all these days.

The Seven Questions for Musicians were actually just one’s summary of music theory. One could only answer the question if one truly grasped the changes in music theory and essence of one’s school, understood deeply, and explored it.

Compared to the blind searching from before, he discovered many places he had neglected and unclear parts of his understanding after being given the question. These were holes in his foundation.

The music theories of the seven schools were like a giant web. They came from different places but reached toward the same goal and tangled with each other. In this process, the Seven Questions for Musicians represented the focal points of each school. The ‘unknown,’‘between life and death,’‘origin of dreams,’‘abandonment of oneself’…

While deciphering the music theories repeatedly, he discovered that the distance between the different questions had lessened. They gradually merged into one direction and were linked together by some power. This power told Ye Qingxuan that the propositions were all on one important axis! This power came from his blood.

Ye Qingxuan looked down at his palm. Through his Eye of Silence, he could see the silvery aetheric blood flowing silently. It crashed against the walls and shone vaguely.

"Deva’s blood."