171 There Should Be Moonligh (1/2)
”Strum the instrument and sing the mournful song with me!” In the hidden room, Red Eye’s head hovered in the air. There seemed to be snakes writhing under his twisted features, and they changed constantly. Before him, the sharp sacred music appeared from the ancient scroll and resounded in the darkness. Waves of hoarse singing followed immediately in the darkness.
In the faraway ”warehouse,” countless empty metal hooks on the ceiling shook…there was nothing there already! Those dead corpses had already started moving again! They crawled, writhed, walked and grouped outside the central security room, pacing through the complex underground palace. Without exception, all of their eyes turned blood red!
When the hymn sounded, all of the corpses began trembling. They turned toward the direction of the sacred scroll in unison. Their red eyes shone with fiery light as if they had been ignited.
The shrill hymn echoed in every corner. Under the music, the corpses raised their heads and opened their mouths, singing the fallen hymn in unison.
This choir of the dead—choir from Hell—hidden in the darkness was the result of Red Eye’s longtime experimentation. He did not care about his physical body because each of these mutants could become his new body. Now, his consciousness jumped out of his shell and flowed in these innumerable bodies. Under his control, the thousands of people were like one.
They sang hoarsely, ”Strum the instrument and sing the mournful song with me!” When the song resounded in the darkness, every Royal Musician looked up abruptly. They saw the shapeless darkness above their heads writhe. An open mouth seemed to form and chant the destructive hymn.
”The wheel of fate turns heartlessly. Destruction falls and pain is here! Do not hesitate now. The most courageous warrior has already collapsed under fate and is crying in pain. Offer petty alms, but for the extortion of greed…”
The Carmina Burana which required dozens of musicians to perform together was now produced by thousands of mouths howling, murmuring, and harmonizing. The fallen hymn moved the darkness and ignited the mercury runes carved into the layers of stone tiles.
In an instant, nightmarish fog poured out of thin air and swallowed the entire hospital. In the darkness, the silhouettes of countless demons danced. They wailed, impatiently waiting to take over the flesh and become substantial.
In the underground palace, mud dripped from the ceiling. A Royal Musician that was raiding outside felt something cold drip onto his neck. He wiped it away, but the squirming mud spread on his hand. The mud shot up his shoulder and burrowed into his heart, traveling through his blood. The flesh and bones in its path were turned into pure blackness.
He yelped and stumbled back. When his companions looked over, they saw him holding onto the wall and vomiting.
”Asa, what’s wrong?” A musician raised his lantern to illuminate the man.
”I—I’m fine.” With his back to the others, Asa shook his head. He wiped away the mud at the corner of his lips and breathed with difficulty. But an empty smile appeared on that stiff face. ”I’m just…a little hungry.”
Outside the central security room, layers of blood-red music notes and scores appeared on the walls and dome. It was as if hemp and rattan were entangled with each other.
The darkness swallowed everything, turning the underground maze into something otherworldly. It was isolated from the outside world! This was the song of despair dedicated to fate. It was the ceremony of death dedicated to Satan.
The entire underground palace was now a giant quagmire. Everyone in it had sank and was struggling. They struggled with all their might, but all that awaited them was hopelessness.
-
”Just immerse yourselves in hunger. Tonight, you can feast here. Everything here is an offering to Hyakume!” The robin gripped his half of the sign. His eyes were eerie and devoid of any pity, but when he looked at the two incoming figures, he felt slightly unsettled. These two—Holmes and Moriarty—must be killed!
”Red Eye, first corrode the two in the final laboratory. The sign must be in our hands!”
Red Eye closed his eyes and his sleeves shook before him. The hymn rippled and the dark mud moved under his control. It was as if the walls had turned into an angry current. It rushed toward the final laboratory instantly.
-
In the laboratory, the sticky black mud surged from cracks in the ceiling, floor, and walls. They transformed and corroded every living thing in its path.
Ye Qingxuan retreated slowly, but the mud was closing in on him. It radiated with a corrosive strength that made his vision go black faintly. Even the tiniest bit on him would have bad results. Now, there was no way for him to leave.
The phrase ”no road towards the heavens, no door toward Hell” was probably made to describe these kinds of situations, right?
”I was too bold.” He chewed on his lips and his brows furrowed. ”Miss Professor, can you not space out now? We can talk about our matter and who the sign belongs to later. But now, do you have any idea how to let us get out of here?”
”Huh, even Holmes is powerless now?” The Professor chuckled, as if she were happy that Ye Qingxuan was lowering himself. ”I have an idea. I’ll tell you if you beg me.”
”Okay.” Ye Qingxuan fluttered his lashes and gazed at her with innocent eyes. ”Sister, please…”
”…” The Professor heard his plea, but she did not feel proud at all. Instead, there seemed to be something caught in her throat. ”Don’t you have any dignity?”
”It’s just asking someone for help. There’s nothing to do with dignity. Life is precious and begging someone isn’t too bad.” Ye Qingxuan turned. He punched the ground and the vibrations forced the incoming mud back, keeping this small space temporarily. ”I’ve done much more lowly things to survive. If you want to see me humiliated, you’ll be disappointed.”
”…” Gazing at his backside, the Professor fell silent, but the look in her eyes was complicated. She could not help but sigh. ”Since you know Black Friday, do you know Moonlight, the advanced movement?”
”It’s in my head, but I can’t play it.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. ”That’s a Resonance level movement. I can somewhat read the overture, but I don’t understand it.”
”What about Jiu Xiao Huan Pei?”
”…It’s here.” Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and showed her the instrument that was now a ring.
The Professor smiled. ”Then, do you want to go into Coherence?” She looked into the youth’s eyes as if wanting to find the hidden fear. ”If you want to leave this place, I can give you some energy. But aren’t you scared of being sucked dry by a demonic musician like me?”
Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment. Then he gripped her hand. Her hand was soft and cool, but it was not frightening. Instead, it felt familiar. There was that feeling of familiarity again…
”Okay,” he said quietly.
”Let’s have a moment of silence for your choice.” She licked her lower lip and chuckled. ”Falling into my hands is worse than death.”
Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, letting her do whatever she needed to. He could feel a cold finger flitting across his neck, bringing a cold feeling. Then sharp teeth sank into his skin, piercing his blood vessel. His life was being sucked.
He could feel his blood being sucked continuously. A strong emptiness appeared in his heart, but Ye Qingxuan still did not feel shocked. He began playing Bolero again, taking in the water vapor and forming perception threads. The threads wrapped around the Professor and entered her body.
For the first time, he could sense the aether in her body. In an instant, his pupils dilated. ”This is your sound of heart?”
-
It was as if he was listening to the morning tide crash onto the shore. The waves overlapped into a symphony. The roaring music filled his ears and the world quieted down. This was her sound of heart!
The sound rushed into Ye Qingxuan’s body through the perception threads. His vision went black, and the hallucination of endless ocean waves appeared before his eyes. He was practically drowning.
”Cleanse your soul.” The Professor embraced Ye Qingxuan from behind. Her voice, gentle and delicate, murmured in his ears, ”Awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and I’ll cooperate with you.”
The waves changed. Her sound of heart was tuned to Ye Qingxuan’s fluctuations.
He felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless sea, falling, falling, falling to the deepest part of the sea…
The sound of heart resounded in his body; the sound of tidal waves flowed endlessly to his fingertips. Burning light radiated from the instrument string and it vibrated without stop! Finally, it let out a crisp sound—a beautiful sound, but in actuality, a weapon responsible for life and death!