Silent Crown

Chapter 464 Holy Cauldron

In the quiet restaurant, gentle piano music hung in the air.

Ever since Ye Qingxuan saw Yunlou Qingshu come to the Sacred City, he felt unsettled. He did not know what would happen.

While he was deep in thought, someone hobbled over on a cane and tapped the table. Ye Qingxuan looked up to see someone with a head of white hair. He was dressed in formalwear and seemed unable to walk easily. His face was serious and his eyes were strict. He looked familiar.

Handel.

Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He never thought he would meet one of the saints staying the Sacred City and one of the controllers of the Silent Authority here.

"Can I sit here?" Handel glanced at Bai Xi's seat.

Ye Qingxuan squinted. After a pause, he shook his head and rejected him directly. "No, someone's sitting there."

The simple word 'no' had never been said to a saint before. If someone witnessed his impoliteness, his reputation would be ruined again. No one ever dared to reject a saint's request, especially a seemingly well-intentioned one. However, Handel did not lose his temper.

He nodded. "There is still some time before she returns."

Without waiting for Ye Qingxuan's reaction, he sat on Bai Xi's seat. Placing his cane to the side, he slid a document packet across the table.

"Take a look."

"What is this?" Ye Qingxuan lifted the flap and looked at the thick stack of papers.

"Merely a contract for you." Handel took off the copper enamel pen from his collar and placed it before Ye Qingxuan. "Sign it and you'll become the manager of the Anglo branch of the Silent Authority. When necessary, you can use one-third of the organization's resources. Six grandmasters will follow your orders at any time. You will only have to answer to me. This is the best treatment I can give you."

Ye Qingxuan was stunned into silence. He had never thought that such a large piece of cake would fall from the sky and land before him with the tempting smell.

The manager of the Anglo branch of the Silent Authority…in a way, this position represented unimaginable power and richness. If he signed it, he would have six grandmasters, countless musicians, and the Silent Authority's money and power…

Seeing his shock, satisfaction flashed through Handel's eyes. No one could overlook the power and influence that came with this position. Musician or not, everyone on Earth knew the importance of power—and this document was the path to that power.

Ye Qingxuan seemed scared. He stared at the tempting pen but did not move. After a long while, he shook his head and sighed. "Sorry, but I will turn you down."

The second rejection. Within a few minutes, the shockingly arrogant rejection had happened twice.

The smile stiffened on Handel's face. "Ye Qingxuan, are you sure?" he asked quietly after a while. "I know we have had an unhappy encounter before but I hope you understand the importance of this. Once you miss this opportunity, you probably will not get a second chance in your entire life."

Seeing him like that, Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head. "This must be your first time experiencing this. Who would've thought that the high and mighty alms would be looked down on?"

"Are you dissatisfied by this contract?" Handel frowned. "If you have your own conditions, we can revise the specific terms. However, I do not like your clashing attitude."

"Everyone knows that, other than a musician and noble, I was originally a scholar of ancient academia." Ye Qingxuan smiled. He sipped at his wine and said something unrelated, "When I was reading ancient texts, I once saw a phrase. An author described a stupid woman saying, 'at that time, she was still too young. She didn't know that every gift given by fate had already been secretly marked with a price'."

Ye Qingxuan set down his glass and stared deeply at Handel. "May I ask, how much do I have to pay for this gift from the skies?"

Handel studied him quietly. After a long while, he said, "Ye Qingxuan, I hope you understand that, to me, there's nothing worth coveting on you. This position requires you to work when needed but compared to what you receive, you won't give much."

Ye Qingxuan nodded and asked, "For example, selling Charles to you? Or, when needed, become something you threaten Charles with? Constantine's uncontrolled rise is probably threatening to many, right? You need something to balance his existence. I believe that before Charles agreed to become Constantine's secretary, this contract never existed…"

"You're overthinking." Handel's voice turned frigid. "Ye Qingxuan, everyone must sacrifice for this world when necessary."

"Do you still remember what I've said?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him. "Charles has nothing to do with you anymore and I hope you'll stop getting ideas about him. Mr. Handel, you are saint. You are above tens of thousands. Logically, I should respect you. However, don't think I don't know what you said to Charles…" His tone was calm and he said to this old man, almost indifferently, "If I have the chance, I will make you experience what he had felt."

They were undisguised words.

The atmosphere quickly turned cold.

Handel looked at him without any anger. Instead, his eyes grew disappointed, filled with regret. "Ye Qingxuan, the Sacred City has not treated you badly. Why do you fight back against it? Or do you still think Ye Lanzhou was innocent?"

Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows.

"Don't underestimate the Sacred City. When Bann returned to the Sacred City and registered you as his student, the City had already became clear about your identity," Handel said coldly. "All this time, the Sacred City has been tolerated you and never looked too deep, instead rewarding you. What right do you have to think the Sacred City has wronged you?"

Ye Qingxuan laughed. He looked at Handel with a familiar gaze. It was like looking down at dust. With this gaze, it was as if everything in the world was under his control and had to sacrifice for him. There was no care about the dust's sadness and hatred.

"What Ye Lanzhou did has nothing to do with me," Ye Qingxuan said. "If not wiping out a sinner like me is the Sacred City's tolerance and blessing to me, then I'm sorry. I will have to disappoint you. You think everyone must make sacrifices but sadly, I never thought that I owe anything to the world. Instead, it's the opposite…"

Looking at the man with a dark expression, he said, emphasizing each word, "Mr. Handel, this world owes me too much."

-

When Bai Xi returned, more than ten minutes had passed. Ye Qingxuan and Handel's quick meeting had ended unhappily long ago.

"Where did you go to play?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and petted her messy hair. Without realizing, her hair was down to her waist now. If she did not take care of it, it would turn into a mangled bird nest. She allowed Ye Qingxuan to mess with her hair and then comb it again. Feeling the warmth of his hands, she could not help but giggle.

"When I went out, I saw an old beggar. I felt bad and gave him some coins."

"Why is your shirt torn?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the small hole in her sleeve.

"It got stuck in the doorway." Bai Xi's expression grew cheery. "This means I have to buy a new one this afternoon."

"You can't spend the embassy's money like this." Ye Qingxuan admonished. "And whenever I make them give me office supply receipts, they all look at me weirdly! Why do you want to get reimbursed for buying bras?!"

"Cousin, even though you refuse, you're still obedient when paying money."

"Think of a new excuse for me!" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Thanks to you, the embassy has enough office supplies to last until next year! No matter how blind the financial department is, they won't reimburse that!"

"There's also food and transportation!"

"Hey, where did you learn that from…" Ye Qingxuan could not help but shake his head. Everyone said that one would join a group of elites in the Sacred City but everyone beside him was weirder than the last. Charles had fallen fast but now, even Bai Xi had learned how to lie to get reimbursements.

Whatever. Thinking of the embassy's depressed and annoyed treasurer, he gave up on reimbursements. He still had a bunch of dirty money after all, from the smugglers in Avalon. Ye Qingxuan did not have much material greed and most of the things he wanted could not be bought with money. If Bai Xi wanted to spend some, it was like helping him.

However, he couldn't let her find out. Otherwise, she would take Ye Qingxuan's checkbook and empty all the luxury stores the next day…

Thinking of this terrifying scene, Ye Qingxuan's heart in the aether world quivered.

-

The black metal box was forty millimeters long, thirty-five millimeters wide, and fifteen millimeters tall. It seemed to be designed specifically for something valuable, which was why it was intricate yet compact. When locked, it was closed tightly without any seams visible. The inside was carved with an alchemy array. It ensured that the object inside would be unharmed even if the box was assaulted, burned, or drowned.

Nobles would usually carve their family emblem on these boxes and put items related to their wills, precious jewelry, or evidence for safety. However, this box had nothing other than the Sacred City's symbol. Now, it was placed carefully onto Constantine's table, gently as if it was a rare gem.

"This is what Mr. Ludovic told me to bring." The middle-aged priest sighed. "Fortunately, I have completed the mission. Please accept it."

"Thank you." Constantine shook his hand.

Despite already handing it over, the priest still looked at the box longingly. "According to Mr. Ludovic's orders, we must give this to you. But I must add, I hope you will look after it well." He looked away unwillingly and sighed. "After all, no one has been able to create such a perfect replicate after alchemist grandmaster Orwell passed away."

"Thank you for your reminder. I will." Constantine politely saw him to the door. "Charles, see the guest off."

When the mysterious guest left, Charles could not help but slip back inside, poking his head in. "Sir, did that guy come to give us money?"

"Money?" Constantine was taken aback and smiled. "In a way, yes, but no money can buy what is in this box."

Sensing Charles's curiosity, he did not keep it a secret. Turning the box's lock, he said lightly, "You have never seen this man before but you must have heard of his fraternity before." Pausing, he uttered, "The Sacred City Ecclesiastical Order."

"The legendary Ecclesiastical Order with boundless authority is real?" Charles asked curiously.

"The Order was born four hundred years ago under the order of the second pope. The members were all family leaders of monks with true archbishop power. They began as a think tank for the pope and were a crucial weight to balance the political scale between the Sacred City and nations.

"But as time went on, the Ecclesiastical Order went out of control…Now, it has become an immense entity that can fight back against the pope. If the second pope knows, he must be disappointed."

"They came to give you gift?"

"Not quite. After all, you can't drink or eat this, or even put it out for decoration. You must care for it cautiously." Constantine opened the case and studied the content. "It's a troublesome thing."

Charles moved over, only to see a crystal block. He could tell that it was precious material made from the School of Modifications and was as valuable as gold. However, he didn't understand why something so precious was used to seal a thin piece of paper.

Inside the block was an ancient piece of paper. It seemed to have gone through a lot and the paper had aged considerably. If not for the crystal block, it would have disintegrated through time. It contained some sort of music notes but Charles could not tell its source.

He studied it for a while. His teacher Abraham was one of the best ancient scholars in the world. Even so, he could not decipher the words on the paper.

"What is this?"

"This is the original version of the Rune language. It is a product of music notes and languages. After so many years, it no longer contains any meaning. It's okay if you do not understand it."

The Rune was the written language closest to the Dark Ages of all western languages. Other than scholars who studied it specifically, it only existed in a few faraway villages of Asgard. 'Till this day, it still retained some grammatical points from the Dark Ages, allowing one to see the era from a millennium ago. It was known as the living fossil.

Charles had never thought that the Ecclesiastical Order would bring it here, and its original at that. Did they want Constantine to study academia with them? Charles laughed at his own thought.

"A long, long time ago, people believed that this was the language of natural catastrophes," Constantine said. "This is the oldest language known to humanity and the source of all music notes. What you see is just a replicate of the remains of an old book. This book is known as the 'Book of the Ultimate.' It is the source of all human civilization and the foundation of the Golden Age."

Charles was stunned.

"All this time, the Order's position has been unshakeable because of its control over the Book of the Ultimate and its final interpretation. With this replicate, they had complete advantage in theology. It can be said to be the precious item of dreams for all upper level clergymen."

Constantine held the block up. Reflecting under the sunlight, he studied the faint writing. Rather than power, it had the heaviness of history. As if only one who controlled fate could become the King of Red, something known as 'orthodox' had given it irreplaceable meaning.

Anyone who yearned for the truth of history and the source of all would find glory in laying eyes on it.

"It represents strength and honor comparable to Hyakume," Constantine murmured as he caressed the block. "The Three Pillar God ·Holy Cauldron."

In the silence, Charles gulped. "Is the legend real?" he asked quietly. "That humans first found the Holy Cauldron from the Ultimate?"

"Perhaps. After so many years, who knows?" Constantine returned the block to the case. "I've heard of countless legends. Some say that humanity created gods to protect their people during the Dark Ages and past the terrifying abyss. Some say that the Holy Cauldron is only a dream of ancient poets. Other musicians believe that the crowns of the three kings were made from the Cauldron…

"All the viewpoints seem to make sense but all are different. I can only tell you one thing, Charles: the Holy Cauldron truly exists."

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