697 It's Settled Then

You could be bestowed with a miracle without having to pay a huge price.

You need not spend a lifetime saving money to buy a house in midtown Avalon. You only needed to pay a negligible price to rent a new house for your use.

As long as you bowed and pledged your loyalty, you could obtain power...

It was foreseeable that once word spread throughout the world, Ye Qingxuan would become the common enemy of all the musicians in the world, the number one heretic in the world.

Simply no joke could be funnier.

The Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry had become the biggest heretic...

It could almost be predicted that after the next ten years, musicians would be totally overflowing, and their status would fall from that resembling demigods at the moment

to the point of being like civil servants.

Anyone could have power.

As long as Ye Qingxuan was willing to give them power...

Ye Qingxuan who had grasped such authority would totally become their master, their leader, their... god!

After realizing it, the expressions of the four household heads of the Deva bloodline, who were initially grieving over the lose of the legacy of House Ye which had been passed down for millenniums, changed as well. Looking at the crystal Rubik's Cube hanging high behind Ye Qingxuan, their fingers could not help but twitch slightly. They exchanged a look and their gazes changed.

The situation continued until Bai Heng, on the warship in the distance, withdrew his gaze.

"The less trouble the better." With an odd smile, he said softly, "Our goal has been reached, we need not be involved too deeply, as for the rest... just let our Holy See worry about it."

The projection of the Great Wall dissipated. In the grand melody of Yun Men Da Juan, the four household heads took the fragment of the Wheel of Balance and left in an instant.

In the sky, only the silent King of Red was left.

He looked down at Ye Qingxuan for a long time.

Ye Qingxuan also looked up at him.

"Why must you do so?" His voice was cold. "Ye Qingxuan, from the beginning to the end, I have never ill-treated you."

"But you have connived in it, didn't you?" Ye Qingxuan asked softly. "The bad, the ugly, the unsightly, the rotten, the collapsed, they are all the results of other people acting on their own, and have nothing to do with you, because all you have done was just remaining silent.

"You do want to make the world a better place, but you were blinded, manipulated, and could do nothing — So, the world has descended into the f*cking state it is today, in your hands."

"You are no longer a child, Ye Qingxuan." The King of Red opened his mouth, and his voice sounded like dozens of hoarse voices overlapping. "Don't live in a fantasy. In order to maintain the world, necessary sacrifices are indispensable.

"Humans have paid a huge price to make up for the mistakes of the past, allowing the era of humans to survive and continue. We cannot let humanity destroy itself again. "

"Isn't it the outcome that humans deserve?" Ye Qingxuan asked back coldly. "Let human beings judge themselves. If the outcome is destruction, then destruction it shall be. Why should they linger on with their last breath like what they are doing now?

"Let the things that deserve to die die. Remaining in the world in such an abhorrent manner does no one any good. Why bother to keep the world in an iron cage on a stroller? "

So, the King of Red asked solemnly, "— So, Ye Qingxuan, are you going to be our enemy?"

"If you want to stop me, then I will be your enemy." Ye Qingxuan looked at him, his expression indifferent. "I will change the world completely, starting from the musicians, from this point onwards, from now onwards. Your Holiness, a new era will arrive, such is the vow I made to the Originator!"

He paused and declared solemnly, "Let what belongs to human beings return to human beings, and let what belongs to the Originator return to the Originator!"

A rumbling thunder abruptly burst forth, tearing the silence apart and also making the face of the King of Red turn colder.

"Very good, Ye Qingxuan." He withdrew his gaze. "From now on, the Holy City is your enemy."

Seemingly not wanting to stay for too long, he took the fragment of the Wheel of Balance with him and left in displeasure. Meanwhile, a long sigh sounded from the wind tunnel in the distance, and the power of the King of Blue disappeared.

The sea and the skies fell into a silence.

Except for a guy who failed to see the gravity of the situation applauding in excitement.

"It is great, my junior." Charles went over to him, not at all shy, draping an arm around his shoulder. "You were just too stylish just now, for real! As your senior, I support you!"

As if he did not see Charles at all. Ye Qingxuan lifted his head and looked at Paganini not far away.

"Paganini, first of all, congratulations on finding a good organization to accept you after leaving the abyss." He said unceremoniously, "Now, can you please go to wherever you are supposed to be, and give us some time to catch up with each other?"

Paganini didn't care about Ye Qingxuan's scornful tone at all. He just smiled and glanced at Charles beside Ye Qingxuan. Then, his figure turned into a stream of light and flew toward the Caucasus.

The world returned to silence.

Ye Qingxuan looked up, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He turned back and looked at Charles, smiling. "Do you have any cigarettes?"

"Eh? Yes, I brought a packet along, hang on..." Charles looked down and fished around in his pockets, but then he saw the shadow of Ye Qingxuan in front of him move, as if he had lifted something. Then, it was abruptly slammed down.

Bang!

I'll whack your damn head off!

An expressionless Ye Qingxuan lifted the big stick formed with Firebird in his hand and smashed it towards Charles' goddamn head, one blow after another. The sound of bones breaking rang out continuously.

It wasn't until Charles' breathing turned weak that he stopped. Charles, with his head broken and bleeding profusely, lifted his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan with an ingratiating look. "Junior, can we chat properly now?"

Ye Qingxuan sized the big stick covered in blood up, and frowned slightly. Soon, sharp spikes bulged out of the smooth big stick. Then, he continued whacking once more.

In the end, after Charles was battered to a pulp, he finally stopped.

It wasn't that his anger had been vented completely.

It was that he had no more strength.

After so many years, his physical strength had always been his shortcoming, making him feel even more displeased. He kicked the pile of meat on the ground. "Get up, for whom are you playing dead?"

In the crisp sound of bones growing, Charles picked himself up again, wiped off the blood on his face, and set his crooked head right once more. The familiar bitchy smirk on his face made Ye Qingxuan feel like beating him some more.

"Junior, chill, chill." Charles draped an arm around Ye Qingxuan's shoulder and pleaded, "It's all my fault, I'm sorry for what I've done to you."

Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and threw the big stick of Firebird to the side. He turned back and looked at Charles. "Have you had enough fun? If so, go back to Anglo with me."

Charles' expression turned helpless. He looked down and avoided Ye Qingxuan's eyes.

Ye Qingxuan reached out and pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Senior, come help me, okay? Together we can save our teacher from that goddamn place in the Sacred City, all of you can attend my wedding together, and you shall be the chief witness at my wedding."

"I'm so sorry, Little Yezi." Charles forced out a smile. "I've found a new job that suffices to get by, so I won't give you more trouble."

"Job? Sweating your guts out for Gaius, that *sshole?" Ye Qingxuan frowned and raised his voice. "You still haven't had enough of him using you? You still want to continue acting as the son of god for him, continue being his signboard?"

"Don't put it so uglily." Charles scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm also very powerful now, fighting against a catastrophe is just a stroll in the park. Although the title of the son of god is a result of boasting, many still need me after all... Little Yezi, if I don't do anything for them, they will die. Also, Mr. Constantine is not as bad as you think."

"Are you going to tell me that he is also doing it due to having no other alternatives?" Ye Qingxuan snickered. "If he is not a bad person, who is? Is there any fundamental difference between him and the Sacred City? He is using you, Charles, all he needs is a god standing on his side, and what he actually wants is not you!"

"All these... I know." Charles smiled resignedly. "But there really is no other way. And the Caucasus still has many decent people in it. Many of them have nothing to eat, and they are people who can't survive in the world, like me. Everyone are fellow sufferers, but together we can keep each other warm, I can't simply stand aside doing nothing and watch them all die."

Ye Qingxuan was silent.

Charles patted his shoulder. "I believe that Mr. Constantine will create a very good world, Little Yezi, and so will you. You all have strength in your hearts, unlike me.

"But I also have my own things that I have to do. I don't want to continue being a good-for-nothing scum. Believe me, I will find a place that we can stay for our teacher, for you, for people like us who have been abandoned by the world.

"When such a day comes, I will hold my head high and attend your wedding, I want to let the whole world see us standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder! "

Ye Qingxuan said no more.

After a long silence, he reached out. "Do you have any cigarettes?"

"Yes, yes, hang on..." Shire looked down and reached into his pocket, then reflexively slouched his neck and looked up at Ye Qingxuan. When he saw Ye Qingxuan looking at him, expressionless, he smiled and fished out an unopened packet of cigarettes from his pocket. "I specially bought it from a smuggler before coming here, I remember that you like this brand."

"All the brands are the same to me, it's just that this brand is the most convenient to buy." Ye Qingxuan took it, opened the packaging deftly, lit one, and took a deep breath.

The two squatted on the edge of the Net of Aether, quietly watching the tides in the distance.

In the silence, only the sound from the waves could be heard.

Wind blew from afar.

After a long time, Ye Qingxuan flicked the ashes off and said softly, "My father once said to me that some people were born to be sharp blades, giving off a dazzling radiance... Now, I feel that I am not a legendary sword, but more like a stone used to sharpen swords."

Charles asked, "Is it that you are destined to bring about challenges for some people to help them achieve success?"

"No, it's because I always come across bitches [1] like you." Ye Qingxuan spat and threw the cigarette butt into the sea. "And I never seem to be able to do anything about it."

Charles shrugged and laughed softly. "Then, I'm sorry."

"Nah, I'm used to it by now." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Is life alright in the Caucasus?"

"It's quite good, I get meat every meal, as I've a good relationship with the cook." Charles replied.

"Is it? Alright then." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then repeated it again. "Alright then."

Silence descended once more, and in the sound of the waves coming from afar, the wind pushed the dark clouds away. Starlight gradually dimmed and slipped towards the distance.

In the sweeping tides, a ray of sunshine emerged above the surface of the sea in the distance.

A warm wind blew.

The long night was finally over.

"I have to go, Little Yezi." Charles got up and dusted himself off, looking at Ye Qingxuan. "It's really good to see you."

"Go, go." Ye Qingxuan waved, but didn't get up, he didn't even look back. "Take good care of yourself, if I have the chance, I'll visit you in the Caucasus."

Charles laughed.

He laughed like how he used to in the past, his eyes twinkling happily, his spirits high. "It's settled then."

"Mhmm, it's settled then." Ye Qingxuan nodded and heard the sound of wings spreading behind him. The incorporeal wings stirred up a wind in the sea of aether and blew towards the distance.

Charles quietly went away.

The sun leaped out from the sea, spilling a golden brilliance downwards, illuminating the miracle-like cube between the sea and the skies, and the young man gazing into the distance on the edge of the top of the cube.

Ye Qingxuan smoked quietly.

The new era amid the wind and the sound of the waves would finally arrive.

[1] He made a pun in Chinese. The Chinese word for sword is pronounced the same way as the first word in the Chinese phrase for bitch.