460 Reques (2/2)

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One hour later, there were no more stars in the deep night sky. After fifteen minutes, snow began to fall under the cold wind. The Sacred City's sharp metallic light was covered. The defined edges and features softened under the white snow. Layers of walls away, Ye Qingxuan raised his head. He heard the sound of snow falling onto the earth above him. He sat on a bench in the hallway and waited quietly. Finally, the lift opened slowly and Wolf Flute walked out. His uniform was covered with a thick layer of snow. Knocking off the snow, he pulled a document out and gave it to Ye Qingxuan. ”Here's what you wanted.”

”Thanks.” Ye Qingxuan's lifted his eyes and accepted the document packet. He opened it and saw the pardon written by the six cardinals of the Papal Church. Charles had achieved a great feat for the Sacred City and proved his innocence and devoutness under God's witness. His crime was pardoned. From now on, he was no longer a criminal.

Ye Qingxuan re-read it a few times in silence and carefully put into his pocket to be saved. Checking the time, he could not help but sigh.

”Forty minutes? Should I sigh because of the Sacred City's efficiency or that Constantine is heavy bait?”

Wolf Flute lit his cigarette and glanced at him in annoyance. ”It only took five minutes on the road,” he said. ”The Papal Church argued over whether Constantine should live or die for thirty minutes and then only hesitated about Charles for five seconds. The rest…heh, they spent five minutes yelling at you.”

”Let me guess.” Ye Qingxuan asked, ”Don't know my own place?”

”Disregards the big picture, unable to shoulder great responsibilities…stuff like that.” Wolf Flute shrugged. He sighed and patted Ye Qingxuan's shoulder. ”Next time, don't negotiate with those big figures. Even if it works out, you might not like it.”

Ye Qingxuan shook his head. ”I think my price was cheap.”

”Idiot.” Wolf Flute looked and shook his head. ”The cheapest is getting it for free.”

Understanding what he meant, Ye Qingxuan stopped talking. Soon, the metal gate at the end of the hall opened. Charles walked out. The guard undid his handcuffs and the metal dropped to the ground.

”Regaining freedom feels great.” Charles rolled his neck and did some gymnastic moves. Finding the prisoner's uniform an eyesore, Ye Qingxuan gave Charles his jacket.

”The Silent Authority gives great treatment, huh.” With the jacket on, Charles could not help but whistle while feeling the wool. ”Such good material. This set is probably at least two thousand pounds, right? And there's so much alchemy in between…is this ritual clothing? I heard your Governor was destroyed. How about I add a new metal skeleton into this for you some other day?”

Ye Qingxuan smiled helplessly. ”Go rest first and we'll talk after sleeping. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the best restaurant in the Sacred City. Eat your fill.”

Charles instantly became spirited. ”Juniors are the apples of the senior's eye. The proverb is right.”

”What kind of weird proverb is that?!” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. But then he realized that Charles was still standing there, not about to leave with him. ”What's wrong?”

Charles hesitated and looked back. ”How is Mr. Constantine? Is he awake?”

”He woke up a long while ago.” Wolf Flute shrugged. ”But he's still unwilling to speak or cooperate. He won't even answer questions. Other than his first request, he hasn't responded to anything.”

”What request?”

After a short pause, Wolf Flute sighed. ”He wants to see Charles.”