66 Feeling (1/2)

”That’s right, feeling!” Charles put on a serious expression. ”That’s the difference between geniuses and regular people. Why is it that only a few musicians can stand out from the crowd? Why is it that there are more musicians than I can count, but only Three Kings at the top?

”It’s a subconscious reflex that helps you communicate more closely with the aether. What do you have to do while chanting to group together more aether? Will the length of one syllable cause any changes? How can you use fewer syllables than other musicians to create the same effect?

”These are all things that can’t be taught, because a teacher can’t give his feelings to his student. The student can only search around with his own feeling. You know, the ‘rune’ itself is the power created from the communication between you and the aether.

”Your power comes from the rune’s sentiment. The deeper the sentiment, the more intense the feeling is. You can only use your instinct to control it. Otherwise, you’ll need to spend time adjusting and getting used to it. Geniuses can even skip most syllables and immediately cast a rune. Like this!”

Charles raised a hand and snapped. Immediately, a soft light appeared at his fingertip. It was not blinding like Bai Xi’s, but was rather stable and gentle, with a tinge of blue like moonlight. No matter how he shook or grabbed at it, the beam of light was still gentle as ever, unchanging.

Ye Qingxuan gaped. After a long time, he sighed in defeat. ”What if you don’t have any feeling? Then you’d just be making blind guesses?”

”You can say that.” Charles sighed. ”But your sense of aether is very clear. You can even say you’re at the top. But why do I feel like you’re just blind even with your eyes open?”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan’s expression turned bitter. ”Okay. If I tell you that I was still ‘blind’ three days ago, would you believe it?”

”Are you kidding?” Charles pursed his lips, his eyes turned helpless. ”If that’s the case, then that sucks. Most elites start Meditation under a teacher’s guidance during childhood in order to block out any distracting thoughts, and focus on observing changes in the aether to raise their familiarity of each other. If you’ve just started sensing it three days ago,” he trailed off. They’ve been practicing for more than ten years. You’re far from them.” Charles tried to explain, ”It’s like trying to get a pretty girl. That other guy is her childhood lover, but you’ve just met! How can you compete with that? Are you attractive like me?”

”Charles!” Abraham’s book landed on Charles’s head again. ”You’re getting off topic. Go stand.” And so Charles was kicked to the corner again.

”Actually, your interaction with the aether can be cultivated. Don’t listen to Charles,” Abraham comforted him. As if he suddenly remembered something, he asked, ”I remember you said you knew a rune before?”

”I didn’t learn it,” Ye Qingxuan said, a little embarrassed. ”I looked at some notes. I couldn’t understand at all, but then I suddenly understood something and I got it.”

”Can you use it now?”

Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and nodded. ”I can try.”

--

This rune came from his odd epiphany. When he had sensed the aether that night, his will broke through the seal on the notebook, and he sensed the information contained in those blurry notes.

He had never read any explanation of any melody, but he subconsciously remembered that melody, and recreated the rune without any difficulty. He vaguely understood that maybe the rune had been hidden in that melody. But why did his father do so, and how? He had no clue. And he could not remember anything other than that.

He could only remember that he somehow awoke the instrument. As if a god had been helping him, he played the overture of a musical piece. But the entire process had disappeared from his memory. That’s why he suspected it was just a hallucination. But if it was a hallucination, why could he still remember the first note?

He was a bit nervous as he began the hymn. Under everyone’s eyes, he gazed around and decided to put his left hand on Old Phil. The dog squirmed and sneezed. The youth’s murmuring began.

There were sixteen short syllables in total. They overlapped in Ye Qingxuan’s throat, sometimes vigorous, sometimes faint. Going to the rhythm of his breathing, they expanded naturally as if he had practiced many times.

Like the faint vibrations of an instrument string, the notes left his mouth and scattered into the air, leaving behind a lingering echo.

Sweat beaded on Ye Qingxuan’s forehead. In his heart, a strange power drew a new outline. Like neon lights dancing in the night, it wove the outline of a rune. Was this the so-called ”feeling”?

The rune’s outline had never been so clear before! The rush from his soul pushed him to sing the syllables. Quickly, the aether began to group!

The light appeared in the darkness like stars, grouping toward his right hand. He controlled the pauses and pitch of the syllables, guiding the light to the right place. It had only been a few seconds, but it felt like eternity. Silver light flashed from Ye Qingxuan’s hand and then vanished. The library was still silent, but everyone was holding their breath.

--

Ye Qingxuan’s left hand was still on Old Phil, but there was an identical dog under his right hand! It had the same golden fur, the same open mouth, the same arrogant eyes. There was even a noodle from lunch on his nose. It looked like it had been made from the same mold.

Shocked, Old Phil moved over and looked at the dog which mirrored his actions. They shook their bodies and wagged their tails, but when they turned to the side, their eyes became disappointed. This dog looked identical to Old Phil, but there was not any thickness. It was like a copy printed on paper. No matter how similar it looked, it was not a living creature.

From the side, Charles poked the golden dog that only existed in a two-dimensional world. A ripple formed from his finger and the image blurred.

But after the ripple, the image became clear again. No matter what Charles did, it persisted like the moon’s reflection in water.

”Rune · mirror’?” Charles turned to look at the Professor, his eyes confused. ”Professor, I don’t understand.”

Abraham’s expression was stiff. He did not know what to say.