343 Fifty Percen (1/2)
In the evening, crazy Elsa was caught at the fair by the Caligula's servants and taken home to bathe. ”Bye, big dog!” said Elsa, sitting on the man's shoulder, reluctantly saying goodbye to the friend she had just met today.
The dirty boy, known as 'big dog,' copied her and waved. When he giggled, his nose streamed and his voice became vague and hoarse. He squatted on the ground and watched the girl fade away. His eyes grew sad and he whined.
Someone pressed onto his shoulder, pulled out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped his snot. ”Casper, having fun?” Torre squatted down to look at him. Together, they watched as the girl left. He took Casper's hand. ”Let's go back. We can come to her next time, alright?”
Casper looked at him, puzzled. Then he laughed happily as if he understood what Torre had just said. He followed behind his brother, and they disappeared in the crowd.
-
Just before closing, the guest that Ye Qingxuan had been waiting for finally arrived.
”Hey.” Ye Qingxuan, lying on the couch, raised his eyes. ”This is just the third day and you're here? You're less patient than I thought.”
Colt sat opposite him with no expression. They looked at each other across the unorganized swords on the stall. Their eyes were cold like steel and clashed when they exchanged glances.
”How long are you going to stare like this?” Colt asked coldly.
”If you're okay with it, I can keep looking at you until the trial is over.” Ye Qingxuan whistled. ”Anyway, I'm here because an unreliable guy scammed me. At first, I didn't think that I must get the Emperor's blessing. The ancient information here is enough for me to study for a couple of years and get five or six awards and medals from the Sacred City. As a scholar, what else am I unsatisfied with?”
”I'm right.” Hearing him say so, Colt frowned. ”Caligula did give you the information. That guy! I spent so many resources and money to finally see him but he told me that the ancient information about Romulus's history is lost…”
”Sometimes, we have to believe in fate.” Ye Qingxuan smiled. ”What else are you here for? I'm going to close my stall if there's nothing else.”
The boy's words darkened Colt's face again. ”Well, there's nothing to hide now.” He decided to be straightforward. ”Let's work together temporarily, what do you think? This is mutually beneficial.”
”Other than the word 'temporarily', you seemed to have just repeated what you said earlier.” Ye crossed his legs, looking indifferent. ”Although you just added a word, you seem more genuine this time. But do you really think that if we two work together, we'll really be able to to crack the prohibition of Hades' Door?”
”Hades' Door is strong but it was built hundreds of years ago. Its theory is outdated now. As long as everyone cooperates, there may be the possibility to crack it.”
”Everyone?”
”Yes, everyone,” Colt said lightly. ”All the candidates now understand that the battles are meaningless if we can't open the gate, so we decided to join hands temporarily.”
Ye Qingxuan shook his head. ”You know, the number of people doesn't matter in the excavation of ancient ruins. Only few are actually useful. There are not many Revelations musicians here in Romulus. Only you and I are good at interpreting. Hades' Door is a piece of work that spans a number of schools. It's a strategic defensive facility by itself. With the two of us, we can't even break the shell and access the alchemy matrix. We might even lose our lives.”
Hearing his words, Colt just smiled and pulled out a dagger from his pockets to show Ye Qingxuan the music scores engraved on it. ”What if we have this?”
Ye Qingxuan looked at his dagger. His pupils could not help but contract.
”Anti-tune?”
”Yes, Anti-tune.” Colt stroked the blade of the dagger and tapped the ridge. The sword quivered with a shrill noise. This was the ”probe” of the ancient School of Revelations for the large enchantment of the ruins. It looked like a dagger but it was actually rare alchemy equipment for interpretation.
The anti-tune could destroy the music theory and directly break down any defensive matrix to make the musician's induction directly get to the core. The casting method was lost and only six of the anti-tune swords remained. And this was one of them.
Ye Qingxuan mused for a moment and shook his head. ”It can help us damage the outer defense but just the two of us aren't enough.”
”What if I join?” A voice sounded behind Ye Qingxuan. He finally realized that someone was coming towards him. The newcomer, looking unprovocative, stopped five paces away from him.
”Torre?” Ye Qingxuan recognized the musician who he once met in the underground palace. He knew it the moment he sensed Torre's body. ”So you're a discipline musician?”
Torre nodded slightly.