104 Long Time No See (2/2)

But for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt much better. Maybe he had emptied all his dark thoughts while venting.

”Yezi, do you feel better?” A calm and cool voice sounded behind him. The voice was like moonlight.

Ye Qingxuan froze. It felt like an illusion, but the voice was so real. He turned around slowly. Seeing something impossible, his eyes widened in shock, ”F-father?”

All light had extinguished in the dark room during the wild music, but calm moonlight shone down from somewhere, illuminating the man’s white robe and eyes. Those orbs were clear and quiet like the moon. He stood in the moonlight, gazing around and smiling at the youth. After all these years, his smile was still the same. It was filled with the enlightenment and desolation of having seen fate.

”Oh, Yezi, long time no see.” Quietly, he asked, ”How are you?”

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”Is it really you?” Ye Qingxuan rose subconsciously, but was quickly stopped. He finally realized that there was an obstacle between them. It was made of instrument strings suspended in the air. The strings reflected the moonlight, creating an abstract and unclear instrument. It was the instrument that had been completely awoken by the music—Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.

”First, I must congratulate you. You’ve finally earned the recognition of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.” Standing under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhou studied the youth, ”Yezi, you’ve worked hard and become a musician.”

Ye Qingxuan stared at the man in shock. After a long time, he sat down as if his legs could no longer support him. ”It was actually pretty easy.” He lowered his head, a bit sad, ”I just spent a little time.”

”My apologies for not being able to truly be by your side and congratulate you on your most important moment. As you can see, I am just a memory right now.” Ye Lanzhou sighed as an apparition in the moonlight, ”You’ve awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. This means that you’ve returned to Avalon and found what I have left behind.

”But where did you find this music score? Sharon Hotel? The library? Queen’s Road? Or was it from some old guy? I feared that you would not be able to find it, so I left behind many identical carvings, but I did not actually want you to return. I didn’t even want you to find it.”

Ye Lanzhou studied the youth in silence. He said softly, ”Sometimes, I even wish that you’ll forget me and live as an average person. How great would that be? You won’t have to experience all these dirty things. All you’ll have to do is work hard and you will be able to live happily.”

”Father, what’s the point of saying all this?” Though Ye Qingxuan knew it was just an illusion, he still could not help but question him.

As if sensing the youth’s question, Ye Lanzhou’s expression turned helpless, ”There’s no point in everything now, right? Let me tell you what you must remember. Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important.”