Chapter 134 Bolero
When Charles said, "Isn’t the notebook there?" a bad feeling arose in Ye Qingxuan instinctively. When he looked in that direction, his heart sank and he fell into silence.
Charles had pointed to the corner of the living room. There was a painting on the wall; a cupboard; two chairs; and a finely-decorated, well-made, high-grade, amazingly warm and comfortable…dog bed!
The long-missed Old Phil was sprawled out on its bed, side-eyeing its first and third servants. Its eyes were arrogant as if he were the emperor in his palace. As it enjoyed the stupidity of mankind, it chewed on its breakfast—a leather-bound, beautifully made, and familiar…notebook?
"Senior, am I seeing things?" Ye Qingxuan asked after a long ti. "Why am I seeing Old Phil eating my notebook?"
"Ah, that’s right!" Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was close to breaking down, Charles decided to give him a push. "He’s been eating it for half a month! He doesn’t even eat dog food these days. He just eats two pages per day. He’s finally finishing it today! Old Phil loves studying. Junior, you can’t lose to him!"
"…I feel like I’ve lost at the starting point." Speechless, Ye Qingxuan bent down to pick up the shreds with shaking hands. In the end, fate’s cruel arrangent pushed him to his limit.
"Old Phil!!" Putting the dog in a choke hold, Ye shook it violently. "How can you just eat it? This is a relic that my dad left behind for ! A relic! A relic! How can you just eat it? At least tell ! Do you know how hard life is for ? Y-you...spit it out!" His features twisted as he tried to open Old Phil’s mouth and save the last shred of paper.
Old Phil’s mouth opened and then closed.He closed his mouth tightly around Ye Qingxuan’s leg, causing him to fall down with a strangled cry. Old Phil was Old Phil after all. He never displayed any rcy when he was biting. His mouth could definitely go down in history. It had never failed, from biting the crown prince to its servant!
And this b*stard had chose the atiest parts to bite, ensuring that one bite was enough for a scarred mind, and two bites were enough for ntal trauma…no one could hide from it!
With that fatal bite, Ye Qingxuan practically passed out, and just rolled to the other side of the living room.
Taking advantage of this, Old Phil walked over to stand on Ye Qingxuan. It slapped the youth without any hesitation, making sure that Ye Qingxuan would never talk back to his ‘boss.’ His action was so furious and straightforward, sending chills down one’s spine, but it was understandable! Ye Qingxuan had broken the rules and offended his ‘boss!’
--
When Ye Qingxuan woke, it was already noon.
"Hey, Junior. You awake?" Charles squatted beside him, eating a durian. Smiling, he asked, "Want one? It’s fresh! I just got it from the backyard of the Royal School…"
"What just happened?" Ye Qingxuan asked in a daze. "Why am I here?" He looked around and realized that he was lying on the living room floor. There was a ss around him, and his body hurt as if he had been beat up.
"Oh, you forgot?" Charles gave him a sympathetic look. "This morning, you tried to steal Old Phil’s dog food and got punished. Even though you were beat up pathetically, I respect your courage! Co, good man, have a fruit!"
"…" Ye Qingxuan refused with a polite shake of the head.
"Oh right, Professor said to go to the library after you wake up." Charles pointed at the closed library door. "There’s sothing important to discuss."
--
Ye Qingxuan walked to the library nervously. He was ready to be scolded by the Professor for not going to class for the past few days.
However, Abraham seed to be busy, seated behind his ssy table with a giant stack of revised drafts. He did not look up until Ye Qingxuan coughed. "Oh Yezi, you’re here? Sorry, I was working…"
"It’s okay, it’s okay!" Feeling guilty, Ye Qingxuan had the urge to rush over and give his teacher a massage. "Professor, I shouldn’t disturb you, but what are you writing? You look so focused."
"Oh, this…" Abraham chuckled shyly, though a glimr of pride appeared in his wooden expression. "I got new inspiration for the translation thod. I realized that if I use this thod to decipher Voynich’s Manuscript, I might be able to translate the fragnt at the end. If I’m successful, I can apply for a bigger budget! And then our budget won’t be so tight…"
"Voynich’s Manuscript?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Professor, you’re going to be big!" The Voynich Manuscript had always been an important piece of literature for researching the history of the Dark Ages. Deciphering it had been a challenge for many scholars and Revelations musicians. Unfortunately, other than the scholar, Champollion, from centuries ago, and Miss Lola from recent years, nobody else had made progress on it. Others would go astray or be seen as fakes…
If soone were able to use another thod to decipher the remaining passages, it could be significant enough to shake up the entire academic world. Abraham’s translation thod would receive the sacred city’s recognition and beco its own discipline. The idiots at the School of Revelations would not be able to belittle them anymore.
Maybe Abraham would receive comndation from the sacred city, and the academy’s funds! If the Church thought this thod was an innovative breakthrough, he would definitely beco a master musician!
As his student, Ye Qingxuan felt honored as well! He might have been doubtful if soone else had said those words, but he believed Abraham completely. With the Professor’s wooden personality, he would never lie. He would never say anything he had no confidence in either. Since Abraham had said so, it would work!
Thinking that Abraham would not be abject, and would receive recognition by everyone, riding the School of History of its awkward status, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel overjoyed. His happiness at his successful robbery from the night before was nothing compared to this good news.
"Professor, you’ve hit gold!" Ye Qingxuan cheered. Then fluttering his lashes, he said, "Let’s eat a good dinner tonight! Senior keeps asking for at. I can go out and buy a kilogram or two and make sothing good!"
"Uh, there’s no need. It’s not very certain yet," Abraham said, a little embarrassed. "Wait until I publish it. What if I miscalculated? It’ll be bad to celebrate for no reason."
"Professor, don’t be so modest. I believe in you!" Ye Qingxuan danced, already planning a celebration.
"Let’s talk about the important matters first." Abraham organized his notes and coughed. His expression turned serious. He studied the youth. After a long silence, he finally said, "Yezi, Charles said that you’ve already grasped the performance of complex notes. Have you thought about what school to follow in the future?"
"Huh?"
"Look, you are considered to a Rhythm level musician now. You have to plan for the future." Abraham scratched his head. "I don’t have that much experience, seeing as Charles has been stuck on the Rhythm level all these years. I feel like…he’ll be stuck for a few more years, so I haven’t prepared anything in that aspect. But if you have any schools you’d like to research, we can discuss it."
"Uh, to be honest, I haven’t thought about it…" Ye Qingxuan felt cold sweat forming. "There isn’t a school that I really want to learn. Other than Black Friday, which I sohow learned, I haven’t looked at the music scores from other schools. So I want to wait until I have a sturdier foundation."
"Reinforcing your foundation is one thing, but the earlier you choose your school, the better. Don’t be like and waste half your life before finally becoming a musician," Abraham said, a bit ashad. "I was the best at the School of Abstinence, but I signed a confidential agreent with the military for this material, so I can’t teach it. I started researching the School of Revelations halfway. You can see that I haven’t accomplished much now. Don’t be like !"
"Professor, I think you’re really aweso already. If anything, just let learn Revelations with you. Our major is with the School of Revelations anyway!" Ye Qingxuan shrugged carelessly. "I can read and decipher ancient texts easily, so I can be a scholar in the future."
"…" Abraham knocked the side of Ye Qingxuan’s head. "This is about your future, not so aningless thing. Yezi, be more serious about it."
"Or you can just teach?" Ye Qingxuan suggested. "I’ll learn whatever you teach. I’m just at the Rhythm level now, and there’s still a long ti before I get to the third level. Maybe I’ll find sothing that suits as I learn."
"That is very irresponsible, but I guess there isn’t a better solution." Sighing, Abraham warned, "But you must keep in mind that different schools have opposing principles. You can’t venture too deep when you’re still experinting.
"Take the School of Mind and Summoning for example. The first focuses on will and humanity, while the latter focuses on instinct and the beastly nature. If you learn the two at the sa ti, they will contradict each other, and you’ll make no progress. The sa applies to the School of Modifications and Illusions. One researches substances, and the other, emptiness.
"Compared to those, the differences between the School of Choir and Revelations aren’t too obvious, but the forr focuses on the nature of life, while the other focuses on the outside world. It’s difficult to put them together as well."
Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan beca curious. "What about Abstinence? Is there nothing that contradicts the School of Abstinence?"
"It opposes every other school," Abraham sighed. "That’s why I don’t want you to be like ." With that, he pulled out the blackboard and began to write with his prosthetic arm.
"The focus of the School of Abstinence is on the nature of aether, so it contrasts with other schools. I am best at countering and deciphering, which is why I can find sothing similar in the School of Revelations. Other than these two fields, there isn’t much I can teach you.
"Here is a score that I’ve deciphered myself. It consists solely of common basic runes, which is rare. Musicians from any school can learn it. It can help you form your foundation." As he spoke, he wrote the na of the score on the blackboard—Bolero.
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