novelHold On
| ← Ch.398 | Ch.400 → |
Five days later, the rail carriage parked at a station in southern Asgard. Afew minutes later, a light carriage departed from the station, bypassing the peripheral of the city and finally entering the manor along the mountain path.
The door opened and soon closed in the night.
Lola pushed open the door and heard the tide.
People in the big manor were hurrying to and fro. Everything was illuminated. Someone hurried down stairs of the doorway. He reached out to help Lola get off the car like a thoughtful and gentlemanly housekeeper.
"Professor Lola, it must have been a tiring journey!"
"Richard, did you ever smile so warmly when you were in college?" Lola said gently."Alas, your smile is too fake and disgusting like your boss."
Richard's face twitched. He looked away."I am just a temporary public employee. I haven't even signed any agreements. Please don't embarrass me."
"Really? Then shall I go to the Fifth Department to talk to your boss?" Lola asked in return.
Richard did not dare to respond but just walked a half step ahead to show her the way. He looked carefully and cautiously as if the person beside him was not a noble maiden but a cannibal or an aether bomb that would explode at any time.
Recently, many people had been suffering because of this event. He would absolutely not want to become one of them. Even Maxwell had to control his temper, let alone a small employee like Richard.
As early as the day after Ye Qingxuan's event happened, the principal found that when his personal barber was about to shave for him, the shaving cream in the box was replaced by green drugs of the most poisonous kind... The threat was quite palpable.
No one knew how many hints this woman would plant for self-destruction. If she went crazy, half the Anglo would have to jump into the pits of hell with her. Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan did not die, so she had no chance to go mad.
All the way, Richard's whole body was chilled by that cold sight from behind. He had to speed up, walking forward along the manor's road and corridor. The sounds of the tidal waves approached with the cold winter wind. The green plants on both sides of the road were covered with a layer of white frost, gradually withering.
"He's waiting for you inside." Richard opened the door for her, took a few steps back, and left quietly.
The light behind the door fell on Lola's face. The gloominess and madness in her eyes disappeared. Her look changed, hesitating like a timid little girl.
"Lola?" a slightly hoarse voice sounded from behind the door."Don't stand at the door. Come in." The room behind the door was empty. The heavy scent of disinfectants still lingered. The crash of waves came from the window. Lola walked in and realized that someone did live here.
Finally, she looked at the terrace. There, a thin figure was sitting on the chair, silently watching the tide outside the terrace. His white hair that reflected the moonlight had become so long without her realizing. They had been apart for just half a month but it felt like much longer. Lola could still faintly distinguish his appearance but he had changed a lot.
Sighing softly, she took a thick blanket from the chair and covered him. Ye Qingxuan's wrists looked skinny and pale. There were still traces of pinholes there. Perceiving Lola's sight, he hid his wrist under the blanket.
"Sorry, I was supposed to be better today, but the doctor was not willing to give some effective medicine. I can only recover slowly like this."
Lola did not speak. Of course she knew what kind of medicine Ye Qingxuan wanted. Those drugs that seemed to be surprisingly effective were always at the expense of body and life. If it were for other times, she could understand. But now, with his condition, Ye Qingxuan would die if he took any of those drugs.
Not receiving a response, Ye Qingxuan smiled and changed the topic. He reached out to the railing. In the distant sea, the surging tides made faraway and quiet sounds when collided with each other. The lights of the seaside city in the distance were like stars. When the lights reflected in the sea, it was as if the stars had fallen into the sea, majestic and serenely beautiful.
"This is Maxwell's private property. Cool, right? I didn't expect that he could enjoy life in this way until now." He sighed."No wonder he always says how poor he is. If I were him, I would definitely embezzle school's funds to buy such a good manor too. If we need money, we can write a report to the royal family. We can get a bonus too."
Lola pursed her lips but didn't speak. She looked down at Ye Qingxuan and reached out to touch his white hair. Ye Qingxuan look back at her with silent eyes. He did not look like the young boy she had first met anymore. Now, he was like a stone statue with chiseled features, silent and quiet. He was neither na?ve nor weak anymore. Somehow, facing that pair of eyes, Lola couldn't help but feel sad.
"As long as you're alive." She reached out to stroke his hair and hugged his shoulder from behind."I wanted to hit you before I came. If you listen, I won't hit you anymore."
"I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He reached up and patted the back of her hand. He just let her hold himself, silently gazing at that broken moonlight in the sea. After a long while, he hesitated but asked softly, "Lola, Can people live without a heart?"
Lola froze and looked up at him. After the sub-originator was broken, Ye Qingxuan lost his heart. It would be very difficult for him to live, let alone be a musician.
The Knights Templar rescued him in all force. They had spent a lot of precious materials to save him from a dying state. The doctor told her that it was a miracle that he could survive. But no one knew how long this fragile balance could last.
Everyone was waiting but how long could Ye Qingxuan wait?
Ye Qingxuan looked at Lola with pleading eyes, waiting for her response as if he was waiting for the final trial.
"Yes." She gazed at Ye Qingxuan and whispered, "You just have no heart. Believe me, Yezi, you can live."
"Really? That's good." Somehow, Ye Qingxuan smiled and looked comforted."That would be great. I was worried about being treated like a freak." He stretched out his hand to lift the thick blanket. Untying the coat, he revealed his chest. Dense stitches remained where the heart once was. Underneath the sutures, a faint red glow burned silently. It replaced the heart in his chest, sustaining his life and breathes, helping him escape from death and hell.
"What is this?" Lola looked at his chest blankly. Her sight penetrated the flesh and fell on it. She saw the scarlet crystal that was embedded in his body. It was a substance condensed from myriad complex music theories. It was the organ that had replaced the organ. She could not believe it and almost stopped breathing.
"That's probably what's keeping me alive, " Ye Qingxuan pressed his chest, whispering softly.
It was the crystallization of miracles, the legendary creation, and the power that all alchemists had dreamed of for so long. It could transform metal into gold and give life to dead things... The Philosopher's Stone!
Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and once again recalled that young face, that girl who had woken from the dream and looked at him with smiling face. She had reached out, wanting to touch his face.
"I recognize you."
She had recognized him, so she put the Philosopher's Stone in his arms.
"Don't die. Ye Qingxuan." Those were the last words that she had whispered in his ear.
So Ye Qingxuan survived even without heart, even with a broken sub-originator, because Elsa gave him a new life.
"Help me up, Lola." Ye Qingxuan buttoned up again and raised his hands."The time for rest is over."
Lola pursed her lips. She reached out and pulled him from the couch but she felt little weight. His body was as light as withered wood.
Ye Qingxuan put on his coat and held the wall slowly to lead the way. Finally, he pushed open the downstairs door.
In the spacious hall, everyone was bustling around quietly. A dozen hurried recorders leaned over the corner table to record, looking up the files that brought from the archives by carts. They left manuscripts all over on the floor and labeled on a huge map on the wall.
On the other side of the hall, half of the wall had been forcibly dismantled. The original unified style of exquisite decoration was destroyed. A giant tuning instrument that had just been delivered took up the space.
The tuner wedged into the ground like a monument. Its metal wires attached to the outside of the manor wall and extended to the sky, catching the complex signals from the aether sea and delivering the messages. Several discipline musicians were debugging it to make sure it works.
Richard came forward and gave him a letter he had just received. The letter was sealed with black wax. Ye Qingxuan frowned.
"The Whale Hunters failed. They couldn't keep him."
Ye Qingxuan nodded."After all, they are the maritime smuggling regiment. We can't have too much expectation when they disembark. What did they say?"
"They would have wanted the remaining half of the money." Richard shrugged."But after your deputy, Mr. Watson, cut off their leader's nose, they returned the advance payment."
Ye Qingxuan took a knife to open the letter. After reading it, he understood the situation."They want to make money but don't want to get into trouble, so they decide to deal with the easiest side... Richard, we gave the money so readily that they thought we were weak. I'm afraid it's not enough to just cut a nose."
Richard seemed to know a lot about the 'ex-medic. ' He smiled wryly."Since you said so, I'm afraid that other parts of that guy, like his nose, that can't be left behind."
"We all know that this is a work to trade lives with money. If the money is earned, then what's the point of keeping the life?" Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He tore the letter into pieces and threw it into the trash."Where are our guests now?"
He looked up at the huge map before him. On the map were many red dots as if someone used blood to mark out a tortuous road. From south to north, the road twisted and turned toward the center of the world—the Sacred City.
So close...
"You're almost there, Colt. You must hold on."
Ye Qingxuan smiled and leaned on the chair. Closing his eyes, he put himself into the huge map. He reached out to move the chess pieces, full of anticipation.
He whispered softly, "You must... hold on a little longer..."
| ← Ch. 398 | Ch. 400 → |