Under the indigo wash of the moon, time flew quickly, like a waterfall shooting down thousands of meters. And just like that, the oceans turned to grass fields, and bustling cities became abandoned hills.
At the foot of the abandoned hill, tombs jutted from the earth, staggered and reaching towards the edge of the sky. Under the moon's glow, the mismatched tombstones shone coldly. They seemed to come from all over the world, all from different eras. Some were stone tablets and others were wooden stakes. Some were fit for royalty, while others were broken beyond repair, covered with a spider web of cracks. Under every tomb, there was a different Lamp of Souls enshrined, but more than half of these ancient lamps had gone out.
In this silent world, everything was still as death.
Ye Qingxuan sat on the chair, fearfully gazing at his surroundings before seeing a man facing him, standing among the tombs. The quiet moonlight shone upon him, revealing the silvery patterns of his black robe. The patterns shimmered. They belonged to a heraldry he had seen before, but he could not remember where.
A wind blew from far away, his long silver-white hair flowed, like mercury fluttering in the sky.
"Father?" Ye Qingxuan subconsciously held his breath the moment he saw that face. Very quickly, he realized that it was not his father's face. It had some of his father's characteristics, but it was not truly him. At times, it looked more like Ye's own reflection, and sometimes looked like neither one of them.
Stunned and dazed, Ye realized that the man was studying him too, his eyes unreadable. The man opened his mouth and made sounds. It was as if he was talking, pausing between each word, but Ye Qingxuan could not hear his voice clearly. The man repeated himself again and again, and the wind brought back a strange echo. His voice pushed the world to change, rotating the stars, transforming the winds, raising the earth, letting floods loose…but that thunderous voice was still so unclear.
Ye Qingxuan tried hard to interpret the words, but he could only cry and howl from the pain in his chest. The searing pain spread through his body, and every blood vessel shook madly. It was the pain of being thrown into a pool of lava. Something was filling him, stopping him from listening to the voice, but as the pain intensified, the voice became clearer.
The silver-haired man gazed at Ye, repeating himself.
Drowning in the flood of pain, Ye Qingxuan's was barely conscious, hoarse screams escaping his body. Finally he felt his body rip into a million pieces, and then he fell into a bottomless pit. Darkness consumed his world, swallowing everything.
But just as he fell into the blackness, he heard the man's desolate murmur, "Do you regret it?" His voice was heavy with ancient grief and pain.
--
"Ah!" Ye Qingxuan jolted awake from his nightmare, screaming hoarsely, cause the lone flame of the candle to shutter in the deep night.
He had not realized he was stuck in a dream until now. But why was he wrapped in bandages and lying on a bed? His body was still gripped with immense pain. The pain in his dream must have come from real life. But where was it coming from?
He was going crazy.
"Stop screaming, since you're awake." Seton was focusing on a book at the foot of the bed, sparing him a glance. Holding up the book, he asked, "What does this word mean?"
Ye Qingxuan needed something to distract him from the pain, so looking at the word became his savior. With some difficulty, he replied, "Repent. This word comes from the written language of the Sacred City, and is derived from ancient literature. It means, 'I went astray and sinned. Because of this, I repent.' Related books and references are 'Dogmatic Commentary,' edited by the six generation of popes, and 'Lingua Franca Dictionary'…" He could not go on.
If his voice had been like sandpaper, now it was like the sound of two pieces of metal rubbing against each other, sharp and piercing. "What...what is wrong with me?" He looked at Seton in confusion.
"Don't know. When I found you, you were bleeding from every pore." Seton shook his head and pointed at the floor, "The entire floor was red because of you." His eyes became cold again, "Have you thought about how to pay for the floor, and your medical bills? My shop isn't a charity. If you can't pay up, I can introduce you to a doctor who sells organs…"
"I have to pay?" Ye Qingxuan almost shot up from the bed. "The floor will be fine after we wash it! Why do you have to change it! Sir, can you not be so stingy?"
Seton humphed and did not mention money anymore.
"How long was I sleep for?" Ye Qingxuan asked with a dry smile.
"According to the doctor, you should've kept sleeping and never woke up, or just die from blood loss, but you woke up after six hours, so I guess you're okay." Seton nodded. "Since you're okay, get back to work tomorrow."
"Hey, where's your humanity?"
"You want humanity? So do I! When the owner comes back, he'll see the floor and think that I can't even look over a shop! I was already pissed at that bastard and you just had to come and make things worse." Seton continued in a somber voice, "I said before to not give me trouble, but you're just too troublesome."
"Okay, there's a lot of pressure on you too." Ye Qingxuan wanted to cry. No one had it easy in this world. "But no matter what, thank you for saving me," he said quietly. "And I'll find a way to pay you back."
"Just give me the money. That's all I put in," a voice said.
Seton rose and revealed the person behind him. "She's the one who saved you."
It was Bai Xi. The white-haired girl had been standing there since the beginning, but had been obscured by the burly Seton. She looked at Ye Qingxuan, and unwillingly greeted him.
"She found you rolling around on the ground. If you remember anything, you should remember that you also bit her," Seton stated. "You had extreme blood loss and she was the only one who could give you blood. If not for the fact that Easterners reject foreign blood, I'd think you're a werewolf." With that, Seton turned to leave. "Rest well. You can have a break tomorrow."
Before closing the door, he added, "Remember. Just one day."
--
With the slam of the door, the room sank into overwhelming silence again.
Ye Qingxuan gazed wordlessly at Bai Xi, but Bai Xi turned her head away from him. Old Phil paced between the two of them in confusion, not sure what happened. Saving someone should be a proud moment, but for some reason, Bai Xi was uncomfortable. Under the flickering candlelight, she lowered her head and toyed with the corner of her shirt, like a student scolded by her teacher.
Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth many times, but never knew what to say.
As the silence continued, Bai Xi finally could not stand the awkwardness any longer. She mumbled, "I—I'm leaving."
She turned, wanting to leave immediately, but a voice behind her sounded, "Thank you."
Bai Xi's shoulder trembled, as if she had been startled. Looking down, she stuttered for a while before uttering, "Oh," as if she was very unwilling. "I just called someone over. But your eyes were telling me 'let me die.' Sorry I couldn't fulfil your wish."
Hearing her words, Ye Qingxuan's features twisted. She was still hung up on that small detail? Children who hold such grudges would be powerful later in life. When he was her age, he was far less of an expert at street survival skills.
"Huh, you don't have to fuss over these details," Ye said.
"I'm not being fussy." Bai Xi glared at him.
"Right, I'm just being petty." Ye Qingxuan finally had a thread of thought. This girl was stubborn as a mule, and he could only go along with her. Knowing this, things became much easier. Acting like this, she finally seemed like a kid.
"Are you from the East?" Ye Qingxuan pushed himself up and rested against the headboard.
Bai Xi hesitated before replying honestly, "Pretty much."
"Nice. Can you tell me about it?" He patted the chair beside the bed, his eyes genuine. He suddenly wanted to know more about the East that his father had always spoke of. Maybe it was that strange dream, or maybe he just wanted someone to talk to. "My father got married after coming to Avalon so I've never been to the East. Everyone thinks that I'm an Easterner, but I don't know anything about it."
"It's probably…like here?" Bai Xi was still unwilling to speak, but she obediently sat onto the chair. "But the good thing is that people put free food on the streets. You would not be hungry."
"Really?"
"Of course. Why would I lie?" The little girl rolled her eyes. "People once revolted because they didn't like the meat that the Emperor handed out. They wanted to eat steamed buns and noodles. In the end, a general poisoned the Emperor's meat pie and killed the Emperor."
"It must be hard work to be the Emperor of the East."
"The Emperor is just a figurehead. The people that like to eat wheat follow one feudal lord. People who want to eat rice follow another lord. There's one lord that likes to eat potatoes. So everyone that likes sweet potatoes is forced out. Sometimes, the lords will fight over whether they want to eat sweet or savory food."
"Why do they fight when there's so much food?" Ye asked.
"Doesn't Avalon have people who point and judge because they don't like to eat pork?"
"I haven't seen that before, but you make it sound annoying."
"Yeah, yeah, because they are," Bai Xi replied sassily.
See Bai Xi's earnest expression, Ye Qingxuan could not help but chuckle.