3 Birthday (1/2)
It was early in the morning.
The sounds of waves came from afar.
The morning sun shone at an angle from the end of the sea, and shed light onto the towering spire of the church. Above the spire, the sage's statue held a trombone, playing silently to the sky.
However, the angry roar that had started at the beginning of the night was still raging on in the church.
”Damn you, Eastern b*stard! I'm gonna kill you!!”
”Open up, Ye Qingxuan! If you have the guts to curse us, you'd better have the guts to open this door this instant!”
”You're dead, Ye Qingxuan! You know what? No one in the town of Lute can keep you safe!”
The three Thomas brothers banged angrily on the door of the church, holding hammers and shovels, cursing loudly. The beam of light from last night was like a slap on their faces, as well as their family's, in front of the entire town.
The worst part was that the little piece of garbage continued the light show with all sorts of curse methods, along with various other word choices. He had taken turns with all the languages that he had learned in the church to curse the Thomas family with the beam of light, and had cast it onto their front wall. It provided a vivid and refreshing language class for all the hooligans in the town.
Now the Thomas family didn't dare go out. No matter where they went, there would always be people murmuring behind their backs, ”See that one? That's the son of a bitch Thomas.”
”That damn Ye Qingxuan. Damn Eastern half-breed!”
But no matter how hard they cursed and roared, the church was still unresponsive. After a long time, they finally grew tired, threw some more threatening shouts, and then left in anger.
Outside the church, silence was restored, but within the chapel, the tall and slim priest's expressions was still cold.
-
The priest seemed to be old, but still burly--only his beard was silver. His face, as always, was indifferent. Whenever he bowed over others, his eyes were serious and harsh, and his voice was smoky, giving people great pressure.
In front of him stood two trembling teenagers and a large dog that looked like it was smiling.
”Victor you can go to the back for now.” Father Bann waved, ”I have something to say to Ye.”
Thus, the blond teen felt that he was relieved of the pressure. He quickly picked up the dog and escaped, leaving the embarrassed Ye Qingxuan.
”Ye, you got in trouble again?” the priest asked coldly.
”Haha, not a chance, that Thomas misunderstood me.” Ye Qingxuan looked away as he drew the holy emblem on his chest. ”Under the teachings of the Church, I shall not do anything unrighteous.”
Last night, his look had been indifferent, with his eyes assured, so he did everything calmly. But in front of the priest, he had a hard time keeping his calm face.
Only at times like this did he actually look like a teenager.
Since the beginning, everyone thought he was a quiet and smart child. He was calm and never caused mischief like the other kids his age. You only had to give him a book to read and he would quietly sit there all afternoon reading it. Since he had wandered here and was adopted by the church five years ago, he had always been the model 'kid-next-door' that was better than all the other kids. He had perfect grades and excellent manners. He was also gentle, kind and hardworking. Because he knew how to read, write, and organize, he was already the library administrator despite his young age, responsible for copying the scriptures. Plus, he also taught himself mechanical engineering in order to take on the lighthouse maintenance every month.
These are the very reasons that made him a bit of a headache.
Since he came to this town, sixty percent of teen fights had something to do with this seemingly harmless young man.
Though, he was the innocent victim every time.
”I heard that last night, there was a light from heaven shining down with horrible words written onto the Thomas family's wall all night long.” The priest's tone was cold, ”Ye, your mechanical structure was good, I'm pleased.”
”Haha! That's because I learned from the best mentor. . .” Ye Qingxuan did not finish, as he could not continue through the priest's cold gaze.
”I have not taught you anything; these things you have learned on your own. You are a smart child, so I have always been very pleased, but you made a mistake this time.” The priest said with a low voice, ”The birth of mechanical technology was to help other people have a better life, not to give you a way to carry out revenge!”
The teen stood in silence, as he was not able to justify his own actions.
Like a silent resistance, his silence made the priest even more disappointed. The priest slowly shook his head.
”Ye, you can go now. I will explain this to the mayor; however, as discipline, you will not have lunch this week.” The priest waved, dismissing him. ”I hope you recognize your own mistakes. You have always been a qualified apprentice, but your actions last night made me very disappointed.”
”Thank you for your forgiveness.” Ye Qingxuan bowed to leave, but the priest stopped him.
He turned his head and saw the priest's iron grey eyes staring at him.
”Ye, never mess with the lighthouse again.” The voice of the priest was still cold, with no concern nor compassion, the same as always. ”If someone insults your parents, you can come find me.”
Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, and scratched his head, then let out an embarrassing laugh.
”No thanks.” He then whispered to himself, ”Why bother adults with childish things?”
-
In the backyard of the church, next to the fountain, Victor saw his friend coming back in low spirits. He cracked up, laughing with joy.
”Hey, Yezi, finished getting a lesson in discipline? How was it?”
He and Ye Qingxuan were both orphans raised by the church. Victor had it better though, because he was at least half local. His father was said to have been a Lord who tried to commit suicide because of poor investments and bankruptcy. The huge debt had left Victor wandering the streets, where only the church would take him in.
But two years later, Victor moved out due to conflicts with the priest.
Now, he used his own fists to gain the position of a pier manager, who pumped water for people to make his living. His days were happy and simple; free from the troubles of learning transvribing skills or theology.
Occasionally, Ye Qingxuan came to him, and Victor would leave his job to help him cause trouble or fight together. Sometimes he gloated about not getting in trouble with the priest.
For example, he imitated the expression and tone of the priest now, pointing at Ye Qingxuan and saying, ”I'm gonna hang you up, sinful child, and hit you!”
”Then you'd have been killed many times.”
”No way, I run really fast. He'd never get to me!” Victor proudly arched an eyebrow. ”Honestly, the priest's rules have long been outdated. You're the only one that listens to that huckster talk. In this world, if you want to do big things and succeed, counting on the teachings of God won't be of any help. Old Phil, Old Phil, do you think I'm right?”
The big dog was awakened by Victor's strokes, and used his tail to hit him since he was annoyed. Victor, who had suddenly noticed his mistake, massaged the dog to flatter him. ”Don't be angry. Don't be angry, I know you own all the credit.”
Old Phil was disturbed so badly that it could not go back to sleep. It rolled its eyes at the two teens, got up, jumped into the fountain, and rolled around. It quickly climbed out, splashing water droplets onto the faces of the two next to it.
Finally satisfied, it wagged its tail in an elegant manner, like an emperor coming out from his hot bath.
The whole process was amazingly natural and as easy as drifting clouds or flowing water.
”Old Phil is looking better by the day. Where'd he learn all these expressions?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
”How should I know? He looked like that when I was ten and saw him for the first time.”