Silent Crown

Chapter 312 I Wish You Luck

Outside the door, the young man with a bowler hat climbed into the carriage. One side of the seats in the carriage had been removed and replaced with a wheelchair. The young man on the chair was reading a book. He had plain looks. Other than his defined features, he had no other unique points. However, sometimes his squinted eyes would flash with terrifying steel gray light.

"Aren’t your tricks too gentle?" He closed his book and glanced at Ye Qingxuan.

"It’s just a small punishment." Ye Qingxuan lay on the seat lazily and fanned himself with the hat. "And anyway, I’ve already attended four funerals today. You should at least let me relax at a wedding, right, Mr. Watson?"

Watson shook his head. "When you wallow in that fake mercy every day, don’t you feel like you’re slacking on your duties as the manager of the illegal trade in Anglo?"

"Watson, you’re so heartless."

"Sorry, that’s how I am." Watson scoffed. "If you aren’t willing, you don’t have to throw everything to me. I’ll get onto a ship to Wales, buy a manor, and retire."

"Ah, don’t be like that. Wales is so boring. They only have sheep there. And are you sure you can move around like this?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Don’t you think Avalon is beautiful in comparison? There’s work every day and money to take every month!"

Who do you think did this to me?! Watson’s mouth dropped open but he did not know how to respond. Never in his life had he met someone who spoke so shamelessly while pretending he was doing it for the interest of everyone.

After a long while, Watson sighed dejectedly. "Ye Qingxuan, let’s fight. I really want to kill you right now."

A blue firebird jumped out from his sleeve and sang beautifully.

"To be honest, I just love it when you’re angry and want to kill me."

"Where did you learn to talk like that?"

"That’s just how I am," Ye Qingxuan answered. A thick investigation report was thrown at his face in response.

"This is what you wanted—the investigation on the parliament." Watson clenched his jaw. "People like you cause messes when you’re bored. Please find something to worry about!"

Ye Qingxuan got up and flipped through the report. His expression changed subtly. "The White Crow really exists?"

Watson replied lightly, "The parliament looks like a loose organization that works in the interest of many people. However, there is someone in charge. The participants provide the resources and receive dividends. After aggregating a good portion of Avalon’s resources, all the power obviously goes to the one in charge."

"Using other people’s hens to lay eggs, right?"

"That’s one way to put it. It seems that everyone in the parliament has autonomy, but that’s just the appearance. Once you look under the disguise, you realize that the Parliament is just a dictatorship. All the true power lies in the hands of one person."

Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. "Isn’t that you?"

"You think too highly of me." Watson scoffed. "The Adrian family has fallen for so many years. How would I have the capitol to be the leader? Even my mask was given to me by my father after he failed resonance and was upset. The one who helped me to my position was White Crow."

Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "The former leader?"

Watson smiled. "Yes. In fact, he found the dark musician to host my fallen ritual. He helped open the gates to power for me. To be honest, I’m a bit grateful to him."

"Did he order you to do everything?"

"No, he disappeared after he handed me the parliament. Maybe he was happy to see what I wanted to do." Watson shrugged. "Like you, I once secretly ordered men to track him."

"And?"

"He’s vanished off the face of the planet," Watson said lightly. "Both White Crow and the people who searched for him…they all seemed to have evaporated."

"White Crow put you, someone who does everything for power and authority, into the position to replace him. He must want the results you gave him." Ye Qingxuan pondered. "But if Anglo is destroyed by a natural catastrophe, everyone will be infected. This will turn into a world of demons. How does he benefit from this?"

"Who knows?" Watson replied. "There are more than enough saints who want to save the world and madmen who want to destroy it."

Ye Qingxuan flipped through the files wordlessly. After a long while, he looked up. "According to your investigation, the last time the White Crow showed himself was more than a decade ago?"

"Yes." Watson nodded. "After that, he chose me and went behind the scenes. Five years later, he disappeared. Do you have any clues?"

"No, but this timestamp is meaningful." Coldness flashed past Ye Qingxuan’s eyes.

Was that not the time his family was massacred and exiled? What role did the White Crow play in this?

Sensing the heaviness in Ye Qingxuan’s heart, Watson sighed. "The parliament is already destroyed. All the smuggling channels are either divided up or closed down. The rest are under our control. Even if the White Crow reappears, he won’t be able to do much. If I were him, I would definitely have not showed up during recent times. Ye Qingxuan, you’re doing unnecessary work."

"Unnecessary work is better than doing nothing." Ye Qingxuan tossed the files aside. "Tell them to continue surveillance. I don’t believe someone can just evaporate like that. When I catch him, I’ll show him."

The coldness in his tone stunned Watson. He closed the book in his lap and took off his glasses, rubbing his nose. "Your most important task right now isn’t to waste time on meaningless stuff. Have you finished reading the music theory your professor gave you?"

"I don’t have much trouble on Mind and Illusion." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Right now, I’m reviewing some stuff for the School of Revelations. I hope I don’t fall short."

Watson wrinkled his nose. "It’s my first time seeing someone who learns from so many schools."

"Isn’t the School of Royalty like this?"

"The School of Royalty is just Anglo’s own School of Summoning. The main focus is still Summoning, but we put the characteristics of other schools onto our phantom beasts, like this…" The robin in Watson’s hand flapped its wings and flames jumped.

"I put elements of the School of Modification into my phantom beast. The limit is nine hundred and forty elements. If I utilize this bird well, I can easily burn down a whole house. In other words, I can destroy this entire street with just a wave of my hands."

"Oh?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned; his eyes were impressed. "That sounds cool."

"Thanks." Watson’s expression was cold. He did not seem happy at all. "The most mainstream schools right now are the schools of Modification, Summoning, and Choir. After all, the first is the cradle of battle musicians; the second researches natural catastrophes and demon nature; and the School of Choir studies life. The more medical advancements there are, the more stable their theories, and the more branches they have.

"But the ones you chose to study…perfectly avoided all the realistic schools."

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan finally reacted and counted on his fingers, "Abstinence, Revelations, Mind, Illusion…hey, you’re right. I didn’t learn any of the three. Can I still start now?"

"In your dreams," Watson scoffed. "You think you’re a freak like Naberius and can change schools as easily as changing clothes? Of the seven schools, Modification counters Illusion, Summoning counters Mind, Choir and Revelations don’t counter each other as much but it’s still hard to combine them.

"Plus, the schools you’ve learned already counter Abstinence. If you want to learn new music theory, it’ll be a feat to remain sane. If you want to learn other schools, wait until you reach the ‘completion stage’ before trying for the Scepter level."

"That’s kind of depressing." Ye Qingxuan nodded but he did not seem upset at all. "What does that have to do with my task now?"

"Ye Qingxuan, this is the worst thing." Watson looked at him with troubled eyes. "You’ve already fallen into Hyakume’s eye. When you look into the abyss, it also looks back at you. When you observe each other, you establish some sort of connection."

"That sounds intimate."

"Right." Watson nodded. "So intimate that as soon as you step out of the enchantment he’ll whisper in your ear at any time. He’s hurt now and won’t be able to control the material world. However, once he recovers, do you think he’ll let you go? You don’t want to stay stuck in Avalon forever, right?"

Ye Qingxuan inhaled sharply. "So, my most important task right now is to try for Resonance?"

"Yes, as soon as possible." Watson nodded.

Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time. "I get the theory but how come you talk about the Resonance level like it’s as easy as buying cabbage from the market?"

"Is it not?" Watson eyed him and finally said with mock surprise, "Ah, I forgot that you’ve just become an official musician."

"Is there any point in provoking me here?" Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips and yelled, "Stop!" The carriage stopped beside the road and Ye Qingxuan jumped off.

"Where are you going?"

"Didn’t you say to try for Resonance as soon as possible?" Ye Qingxuan looked back at him. "I’m going to find a former Scepter musician and ask for advice."

"Oh?" Watson arched an eyebrow. Remembering that resentful woman, his eyes turned sympathetic. "Good luck."