439 Preparation

In the chilly and narrow room, a single ghastly light illuminated a face covered in stubble.

"Name," someone in the dark asked.

The middle-aged man sighed. "Andre. Andre Wilson."

"Gender."

Andre's face twitched. He unwillingly answered, "…Male."

"Oh." The man in the dark nodded and said mockingly, "I can see that. Age?"

Andre lost his patience. "Can you ask something meaningful?"

"Good, it's nice to see you go straight to the point." The man flipped through the records and said casually, "Oh, you're married. I heard that you're close with another woman. Are you cheating?"

Andre froze. His expression darkened. "Ye Qingxuan! Don't cross the line! Who are you trying to scare?"

"You, of course." A pale hand reached out of the darkness. It held a stamped and signed permit right before Andre's face. "Look at this clearly. You're going through the internal investigation of the Silent Authority! I ask and you answer! Otherwise I'll send you to the Judgement Tower right now!"

Andre roared, "Do you dare?!"

The hand froze. After a long while, he retracted the permit. Ye Qingxuan sighed, seemingly powerless. Andre could not help but want to smile. However, before he could do it, the hand reached out again and grabbed his hair, slamming him to the table.

Bam! Andre's vision went black. He struggled instinctively but then a dagger buried into the table right by his face. It twanged. A pale face was reflected in the blade. He seemed to not have slept in a long time. His bloodshot eyes had pure black pupils. They were chilling as they looked at someone.

"You're right," Ye Qingxuan said. "I do."

"You—" Andre opened his mouth on instinct but the blade was tilted, stopping his mouth.

"My best friend, my senior, the man who wanted me to host his wedding in the future, was forced to be a spy by you f*cking useless *ssholes. Because of one of you, he has disappeared for six days without any news. And you pieces of sh*t who just sit in your office with the air conditioning and read the news dare doubt my right to interrogate you?" The voice was chilly like a blade. The fingers pressing down Andre's head were icy without any warmth. Ye Qingxuan stared at the reflection in the blade.

Looking at the trembling eyes, he uttered, "Andre Wilson, I am now an examiner authorized by the Papal Chamber to be in charge of everything related to the leak. I ask and you answer. Otherwise, I'll give you a thirty-year break and a trip to the Judgement Tower, understood?"

This b*stard was telling the truth! The eyes told Andre that the man had gone crazy but everything was true. The idiots at the Papal Chamber had given this crazy man a sword to placate him. Now he held the sword, ready to hack at anyone.

Who would be the first victim?

Now, bitterness emerged in Andre's heart. He regretted it bitterly. If he knew this would happen, why did he piss this man off to save his dignity? Everyone knew that this guy had beheaded Colt before so many people, and all the evidence was there. But then he was let go without any punishment. Now, he had a high status. Even if he killed Andre, would Andre be able to run to the Amnesty Ministry to complain?

"I think you understand now." Seeing his expression change, Ye Qingxuan smirked. "You should've been like this earlier. Good, now let's start over. Oh right, you know what happens if you lie to me, right?"

Clenching his jaw, Andre closed his eyes.

-

Thirty minutes later, Andre walked out soullessly with blank eyes. He was instantly surrounded by his colleagues who had been waiting. They clamored asking about the situation. Some patted his shoulder with pity, obviously guessing what had happened.

Andre held a cup of hot coffee. He did not snap out of it until a long while later. He sighed as if waking from a dream and did not say anything. If he was knowledgeable about Eastern culture, he would definitely tearfully recite 'the past is unbearable.' Sadly, he probably did not even know any Western sonnets. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally ended in silence.

Being with that white-haired *sshole for thirty minutes, every bit of him had been investigated. Ye Qingxuan had asked about everything since his childhood, even his sexuality. His family, lovers, previous wife, kids, and even bank account were now recorded in that guy's notebook with simple sentences.

Andre shivered. He subconsciously grabbed the man closest to him. "Don't let him keep fooling around! Otherwise…Mr. Wolf Flute, where is Mr. Wolf Flute?"

Everyone exchanged glances. With bitter expressions, they all fell silent.

-

The air was filled with a rotting scent. The door of the copper door opened with difficulty. Metal grated. The smell of dust poured out. In the dimness, Wolf Flute held his nose, a lantern in his other hand, and walked down the small path. The lantern illuminated two towering bookshelves on each side filled with ancient scrolls. Even the path was filled with books and scrolls from who-knew-where. Only his footsteps echoed in the vast underground square. It was so quiet that even his breathing was loud.

This was like a large archive but there was no light. It was a mass of dead silence in the darkness. Even insects could not survive in a place as cold and quiet as this. This was one of the Silent Authority's institutions in the Sacred City. It belonged to the department of sacred weapons—Taboo Book Archive.

In the beginning, books regarding forbidden music theory and scores were kept here. Later, musicians expanded it and turned it into an immense library. Music theories, scores, and technologies from every school, every branch, and every dark musician were copied before being destroyed and kept here just in case. Hundreds of years had passed. No one knew how many things were actually kept here. Tens of thousands of scrolls? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?

This was not a library anymore. It was a cemetery for books. Once they arrived here, they would never see daylight again. It was like burying books into coffins. Like people, books would gradually die as they sat in the dark, collecting dust, their text fading. Maybe this was why it smelled like death here.

Covering his mouth, Wolf Flute finally found a dusty table. He pressed the bell lightly. The crisp sound spread in the darkness.

After a long while, a hoarse behind him said, "You wolf kid again?"

Wolf Flute turned around and saw the dwarf. Only one-third of an average man's height, the dwarf sat on a wheelchair. His face was covered in wrinkles and moss. Vitiligo covered his eyes. He seemed like a spirit that lived in this vast cemetery. He had been here for too long. He even seemed to have melded into the wheelchair. The chair was rusted but moved soundlessly like a wraith in the darkness. Seeing his annoyance, Wolf Flute felt a little unsettled. No one would be happy if he was disturbed every few days.

Squeezing out a smile, Wolf Flute took out a list. "Mr. Librarian, I'm here to borrow some books. Thanks."

The dwarf glanced at it and tossed it to the side. "Wolf Flute, we're the only ones here, so stop pretending. These books aren't for you, right?"

"Uh…" Wolf Flute awkwardly stuttered out, "My friend is a supernumerary member. This isn't breaking the rules."

"Oh? Your friend seems special." The dwarf nodded nonchalantly. "Huh, half a grandmaster. Seems to have a bright future."

"Yeah…huh?!" Wolf Flute gaped in shock. "Half a grandmaster? Are you sure?"

"That's why I hate you guys. Aren't you tired of pretending?" The dwarf glanced at him and slapped a few papers onto the counter. "Look at the books you've borrowed these past days. Look…"

Wolf Flute obeyed but he was still confused.

Annoyed, the dwarf explained, "Over six days, you borrowed seventeen forbidden scores from different fields and schools and more than thirty books on music theory. There's also techniques and music theory of dark musicians. Nothing is related.

"Two days ago, you friend was still reading elementary books like 'Shallow Exploration of the School of Modifications from the Four Changes in Alchemy.' Now, he's already jumped to professional and uncommon topics like 'Aether Simulation of Fission Elements.' There are also outlines of other schools like 'The Sacred Beastly Nature' and 'The Path of the Church.'

"A beginner musician would not worry over these complex fields. There is no organization to it and he's learning everything. It would ruin his future unless…"

Unless?

Unless what?

The dwarf stopped but Wolf Flute finally understood. Embarrassed at himself, he said, "Unless he's already at the peak of the Distortion level and has entered the completion stage, right?"

During the completion stage, a Distortion musician would have reached the peak of his own school. Before writing his symphony of predestination and becoming a grandmaster, he had to go through this stage. Even a grandmaster who specialized in only one school would have to learn the basic music theory of the other six schools and combine them with his own music score. This way, he could receive more inspiration and thoughts, completing his own system.

One needed to have all seven schools of music theory to create a symphony of predestination. It was the stage of completing oneself and was aptly named.

"Correct." The dwarf nodded. "Then what's with your friend?"

"Uh…" Wolf Flute's expression was complex. "He only resonated half a month ago. To be honest…even he doesn't know what level he's at now."

"Resonance?" The dwarf's white eyes widened. "Then what's he looking at all that for? Suicide?"

Wolf Flute looked away and said lightly, "He said that he wants to compose so he's reading some books in preparation…"