Chapter 36 Do You Regret It?
Under the indigo wash of the moon, ti flew quickly, like a waterfall shooting down thousands of ters. And just like that, the oceans turned to grass fields, and bustling cities beca 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 seed to co from all over the world, all from different eras. So were stone tablets and others were wooden stakes. So 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 shimred. They belonged to a heraldry he had seen before, but he could not rember where.
A wind blew from far away, his long silver-white hair flowed, like rcury fluttering in the sky.
"Father?" Ye Qingxuan subconsciously held his breath the mont he saw that face. Very quickly, he realized that it was not his father's face. It had so of his father's characteristics, but it was not truly him. At tis, it looked more like Ye's own reflection, and sotis 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. Sothing was filling him, stopping him from listening to the voice, but as the pain intensified, the voice beca 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 consud 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 fla 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 imnse pain. The pain in his dream must have co 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 an?"
Ye Qingxuan needed sothing to distract him from the pain, so looking at the word beca his savior. With so difficulty, he replied, "Repent. This word cos from the written language of the Sacred City, and is derived from ancient literature. It ans, 'I went astray and sinned. Because of this, I repent.' Related books and references are 'Dogmatic Comntary,' 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 tal rubbing against each other, sharp and piercing. "What...what is wrong with ?" 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 beca cold again, "Have you thought about how to pay for the floor, and your dical 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 ntion 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 cos 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 co and make things worse." Seton continued in a somber voice, "I said before to not give trouble, but you're just too troubleso."
"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 ," he said quietly. "And I'll find a way to pay you back."
"Just give 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 rember anything, you should rember that you also bit her," Seton stated. "You had extre 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, "Rember. 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 soone should be a proud mont, but for so 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 tis, 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 imdiately, 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 soone over. But your eyes were telling 'let 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 beca much easier. Acting like this, she finally seed 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 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 soone 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 at that the Emperor handed out. They wanted to eat stead buns and noodles. In the end, a general poisoned the Emperor's at 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. Sotis, 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.
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