Silent Crown

Chapter 334 Good Cooperation

Baro stepped back. However, it was apparently just because of his fear of Sam. Surrendering in such a situation made his mood worsen and grow manic again. Just like beasts, Summoning musicians were easily angered. Except those who had no emotions since birth, few people could suppress this beastly nature and control the agitation. The stronger the musician was, the more difficult for him to manage this.

"That d*mn b*stard," he muttered. He indignantly grabbed a lemon, squashed it, took the glass, and drained it.

The musician beside him filled the glass up for him wordlessly and handed him a new lemon. Angered, Baro drank cup after cup.

During the long wait, Sam stared blankly at the glass while Miller looked up at the dust on the ceiling.

After several cups of gin, Baro's patience finally reached its limit. He angrily smashed the table so that the whole hall was shocked into silence.

"How long do we have to wait for that guy? Does he want us to wait for half a night?" He angrily squeezed the lemon in his hand and threw it on the ground, reaching for the gin on the table. But he grabbed nothing. That bottle of gin was taken away by someone. The remaining liquor shook in the bottle, reflecting the light like amber.

"Don't be angry. The most important part of life is to be happy." The musician sitting next to him handed him a glass of water. "Come on, drink some hot water. Are you hungry? Let me cook some noodles for you."

Baro froze. He turned and looked to the man beside him. The man was looking at him too, smiling politely. He had been sitting there in silence since the very beginning, filling the glass for Baro and handing him lemons, smiling and listening without a word. The squashed lemons were piled into a small hill before him like a hapless but organized family.

It was only then that Baro felt the sour and stinging pain in his mouth as well as the turbulent churning in his stomach like the pain after eating dozens of lemons. But, more importantly, how did he not notice this guy if he had been sitting there for such a long time?

Snap! His fingers sharpened, scratching five deep gouges into the table. He stared at Ye Qingxuan angrily. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The young man smiled helplessly and took off his hat. His long silvery hair reflected the light like metal. "I'm the heaviest burden you were talking about."

Looking at his smiling face, Baro's face twitched and he growled softly like a furious lion restraining itself. Now, he finally understood Miller's complex expression and Sam's daze when he was speaking. The youth had been sitting here since the beginning, quietly watching his restlessness for fun.

Thinking of this, he could not help gritting his teeth. The grinding sounds were jarring. "Ye Qingxuan, what do you want?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to be involved in your bad luck." Ye Qingxuan piled the withered lemons into a small tower and carefully placed a small umbrella onto it. Well done.

Facing Baro's furious gaze, the young man lowered his eyes, gazing at the little umbrella. He said softly, "Mr. Baro, perhaps the most important thing to you is strength, so you despise powerless people. But you need to understand that the strength you're proud of...means nothing to me."

Boom! A lion roared in the void. It was overwhelming like a hurricane that almost overturned the table. It also destroyed the pagoda of withered lemons.

"Ye Qingxuan, you'd better shut your mouth!" Baro was on the verge of losing control. The beastly nature in him was about to absorb the aether and condense into phantom beast.

"Mr. Ye, I think that..." Miller stood out to smooth things over, but when he turned back, he saw that Sam was motionless. He froze for a moment and his expression changed subtly, shaking his head helplessly. "Forget it. Do whatever you want."

Seeing that they would not meddle in the matter, Baro smiled. He rubbed his fingers and harsh notes burst out, almost sparking in the thin air.

"Should we go out and practice?" he said with a challenging smile. "If you're a man then be a man."

"Go out?" The youth shook his head. "No, let's just do it here."

Baro was stunned but immediately laughed out of extreme anger. "Do you think the ban of the Sacred City can protect you? There are locals around here, so I can't do anything to you? You're too na?ve, I—"

"You think too much," Ye Qingxuan interrupted him. He looked up and there seemed to be a quiet moonlight flowing in his eyes. He said, "I'll admit defeat if you can use any music score."

Baro froze. His face twitched as if he was either furious or grinning crazily.

"Good!" Crimson light shot from Baro's eyes. "Very good!" His voice was followed by a lion's roar. An impassioned melody sounded. The head of a giant pure white lion emerged from the void. Its hair was like knives reflecting light of the metal. In the blink of an eye, half a body had appeared. The giant mouth covered half of Ye Qingxuan and suddenly shut. It could be seen that he did not want to end Ye Qingxuan's life. However, he also needed to teach this guy some lessons!

Bang! The big lion's mouth closed but the scream was Baro's.

The lion vanished like dust and dissipated in mid-air. The beastly nature returned to Baro's mind; the conflict between the beastly nature and rationality made his vision go black. It felt as if his head was about to burst.

"The white lion is the representative phantom beast of the School of Dragon Rock, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked lightly. "I can see that the beastly nature has other parts mixed within. You have an iron lion in your mind? Very creative, I like it. But what a pity."

"You—" In the throbs of pain, Baro covered his face. Veins bulged on the back of his hand. The eye visible between his fingers had become red. It trembled as it focused on Ye Qingxuan's face. In his lethargy, Ye Qingxuan's face was as illusory as mist in his eyes. The youth seemed close to dissipating.

Dimness surrounded them, leaving only a solitary lamp for illumination. Behind the lonely lamp, Ye Qingxuan's smile was very secretive.

"Illusion!" Baro gritted his teeth. "Your illusion...is Winterreise?"

"Yeah, I learned it on the road for self-defense." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. "As you know, it comes from Winterreise. The movement is called T?uschung, which means deception. Its effect is to construct illusions while make the enemy's movement lose target, sending it back at the enemy. It is quite good against the School of Summoning." The white-haired youth seemed defenseless. He told Baro every detail about his movements and secrets. Then he pushed the lonely lamp to Baro.

"I can tell you one thing: its 'fulcrum' is this lamp before you." In the crackling sound of the burning light, the hum of the teenager came faintly. "There was a fire, swinging lovingly before me. I followed it around and followed it close, watching it wander around, luring the vagabonds to come. Oh, how pitiful am I to be deceived so happily. I see a warm and bright house in this dreadful night. The one I love is inside-even if all I see are just illusions..."

"Do you think this illusion can trap me?" Baro gritted his teeth. "Even the 'Voodoo Crypt' candidate, that b*tch Rebecca, doesn't dare to expose her fulcrum to me!"

"No, I just want a fair fight." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I got the geographical advantage while you don't need to worry that the destructive phantom beast will hurt the innocent. It's good for you, too. What do you say?"

"Just what I need." Baro grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth. A shadow slowly surfaced behind him.

It was a huge and hideous black organ. The six-layered keyboard was engraved with countless beastly claw marks. The flowing notes transformed into different music theories, performing the war between a great beast and dragon. This was the wuthering sound, the trademark instrument of the School of Dragon Rock.

Baro's eyes were crimson. They had absorbed the beastly nature and seemed to burn. He had entered the phase of deep resonance. "You'll regret it, Ye Qingxuan," he uttered, emphasizing each word. "I'll tear you to shreds."

"Then you must hurry." Ye Qingxuan smiled and closed his pocket watch. "We still have the time to play a few rounds before the dinner. I hope I can convince you."

-

Late at night, there was only the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard in the silent hall. Before the already cold dinner, the musicians were silent. Only Baro was staring at the lamp before him with a pale face drenched with sweat.

"Shall we eat first?" Sam sighed. "The dinner's getting cold and we have to pay to heat it again. How much longer did Baro want to hold on for? He did not mind eating cold food, but he did mind spending money. It had cost a lot to get the best table here too. If this was in the past, he would not care about it, but he had just wasted a lot of money for the rain in Oz. Now his wallet was empty. If Ye Qingxuan had not said that he would treat them, Sam would have stolen food from Miller.

"It won't be long before Baro runs out of strength." Miller stretched out his hand to hold Baro's wrist and shook his head with a sigh. "I hope Ye Qingxuan can persuade him. Is the School of Summoning filled with stubborn guys like him? Researching beasts really messed with their heads."

"At least the School of Dragon Rock is so. My teacher told me that if I met a psychopath from there, I should just beat them up. Otherwise, it's not possible to talk."

"Your teacher tells you to beat them up no matter what school they're from!"

The two reached a stalemate for a long time. Finally, they decided to eat first. Ye Qingxuan reached out to pinch out the light on the table and the light dimmed.

Baro shook and almost slipped from his chair. He was sweating like a pig and panted heavily. He gasped as if he had broken free of asphyxiation under the sea. His lips faintly flushed with purple, his fingers trembled, and sweat fell from his hair to his collar.

Miller stretched out his hand to check but was refused by his waving.

"I surrender." Gasping for breath, he looked up at Ye Qingxuan. He was not content but he still squeezed from his teeth, "I'll listen to you in the relic."

Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Then, let's cooperate well."

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