488 So-called Humanity (2/2)
”You're just a creature with a human's skin! Even if you become a pope, it won't change anything!”
In the dead silence, someone started clapping. Behind Ye Qingxuan, crisp claps sounded in the distorted black shadows. Ludovic's old face appeared once again. He still looked elegant and full of grace. After hiding his anger and cruelty in the darkness, he regained the composure of a pope.
”Very good, Ye Qingxuan. Very good.” He patted the boy's shoulder and mused, ”You're beyond my expectations, truly. You've successfully resisted the temptation. You did better than I expected, even better than your father. But you didn't think of one thing…”
He bent over and studied Ye Qingxuan's face. He uttered, ”Even if she is just a puppet after resurrection like you said, I will resurrect her for you. That puppet with your mother's face, your mother's memories, and your mother's personality, who even thinks that she's your mother, will appear in every brothel in the world.
”She'll be played by those disgusting men for free, raped by those who had once looked up to her, be impregnated and continue to accept clients. She'll become a cheap whore but…she'll still remember you, Ye Qingxuan. She'll still love you deeply even as she falls lower every day until she becomes a pile of rotting meat that even a beggar looks down on. What do you think?”
Ye Qingxuan looked at him indifferently. He was not angry or furious. He just stared at Ludovic with his dark eyes.
”You won't dare.” Ye Qingxuan stuck his face closer and told him, ”Ludovic, your words have successfully angered me but you won't dare. You won't even dare to let something like this happen. Your humanity has allowed you to understand the weaknesses of humans but sadly, he won't give you the courage. You. Won't. Dare.”
In the silence, Ludovic laughed. ”Why won't I?”
”Then why did you put in so much to persuade me?” Ye Qingxuan asked back. ”I'm not your father, Ludovic. Yes, I'm a prodigy and I have Deva's blood. I'm the sword bearer of Anglo and the youngest demi-grandmaster in the world. But so what? So what?
”I'm not worth enough for you to pay so much, sacrifice everything, and do those lowly things to make me surrender. Ludovic, answer me. You paid such large costs to solicit me. Why?”
”Do you think you can understand my intentions with your human thoughts?” Ludovic looked at him with disdain. ”No matter what, you're just an ant limited by your mortal body. You can't even imagine what my original shape is like.”
”Stop using the logic of being unable to understand a deity,” Ye Qingxuan scoffed and shook his head. ”If humans can't understand deities and are meaningless, then why are you here? You sacrificed so much to come to this world so why do you use such laughable logic to disguise your intention? Why don't you just say that you were in a good mood and wanted to satisfy our wishes?”
He paused and sneered. ”But since you're hiding yourself, then let me guess. You said you value my thinking abilities. So are you trying to solicit me because…” Ye Qingxuan paused then said, ”Ye Lanzhou is still alive, right?”
”Just that?” Ludovic snickered. ”Interesting thought. Very clever.”
He did not receive an answer but Ye Qingxuan could not hold his laughter in. He was so happy, like an old wolf who had stolen a chicken from the butcher. He was almost crying from laughter.
Ludovic froze. His smile stiffened and fell apart, becoming menacing. He squeezed out from his teeth, ”You're fooling me?”
”What a disappointment for the incarnation of humanity, Ludovic.” Ye Qingxuan wiped away some tears. He was so happy he could barely speak. ”Had anyone told you that a good Mind musician will instinctively sketch anyone around them, even if that person is the pope?
”Congratulations, you are a very successful 'human' but your only flaw is that you talk too much! You've spent so much time pretending and taking advantage of how you can read minds that you probably never thought of this, right?
”You see Ye Lanzhou as someone you're grateful to but do you truly understand him? Analyzing personality through micro-expressions and sketches is his best skill! Okay, now you can start lying to yourself. You actually lost to Ye Lanzhou. This has nothing to do with the ant before you. You totally aren't trying to win over his son to act as a shield because you're scared of him…”
He rudely stared at Ludovic's twisted face and sighed, shaking his head. ”I'm really curious how many of your weaknesses and secrets he knows that makes you so scared.”
”Scared? Me?” Ludovic's expression trembled like a pile of furious mud. At the same time, he was trying to plaster on expressions of anger, mockery, and menace. If his face was a pot, these expressions were all stirred into a mess that made one nauseous.
This was the deity that humans could not understand trying to show his fury to Ye Qingxuan through his human incarnate.
”I'm scared of Ye Lanzhou?! Stop joking, you idiot! You don't understand how far I am from you insignificant things! Even if he knows my weakness, so what? No matter what he does, I won't be hurt at all! At most I'll just sleep for one hundred years!”
”Just sleep for one hundred years?” Ye Qingxuan scoffed. ”You're the one joking, aren't you? You know you can't bear the cost of that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so careful.”
Ludovic did not reply. He did not even spare Ye Qingxuan a glance. The writhing expressions quickly recovered. Once again, he looked intelligent and composed.
”I underestimated your arrogance and wildness, Ye Qingxuan. It seems that this conversation cannot continue today.” He sighed with mock sadness. ”Congratulations, you won this round. You have intelligence rare in humans. Sadly, it can't save you. You're still a prisoner. Ye Qingxuan, there are many ways to control someone. Since you rejected the best one, there won't be such nice actions waiting for your now.”
He returned to his seat and knocked on the table. All strange sights disappeared. The setting sun returned outside the window, casting down dusky light.
The door opened. Two figures with black smoke walked in.
”Give him to Samuel.” Ludovic waved.
Samuel. Hearing this familiar name, Ye Qingxuan frowned. He quickly remembered that Samuel was the grandmaster who had failed his scepter sublimation and turned into a beast…
Sneering, Ludovic ordered, ”Tell Samuel that I'm giving him a descendant of the Blood Tribe. I'd like to see if Mr. Ye, who has such a bright future, will still be so adamant after becoming a beast that is addicted to blood…”
The shackles tightened. Ye Qingxuan could not struggle. He was yanked up from the chair and dragged outside. But before the door, he stopped. Ignoring the pulling, he looked back to behind the table.
”Hey, Ludovic—or rather, that thing.”
”Huh?” Ludovic looked up. He saw Ye Qingxuan's genuine smile.
He said, ”Thank you.” But he did not say what he was thankful for because they both knew.
Thank you for the misery, thank you for telling the truth, thank you for telling me you designed all of this… It was hard to tell whether he was genuinely grateful or if it was an almost tangible hatred and thirst for bloodshed.
”You're welcome.” Ludovic chuckled coldly.
Ye Qingxuan still did not move. Ignoring the bloody marks from the shadows pulling on his chains, he looked at Ludovic curiously. ”What kind of thank you gift would you like?”
Ludovic gave him one last glance and waved impatiently. ”If you think you still have the chance… I'll be waiting for whatever you prepare.”
Ye Qingxuan was dragged out. His footsteps faded at the end of the hall. Ludovic stood before the window. He watched indifferently as Ye Qingxuan was shoved into the prison car. Then, a black-clothed priest with a sword walked in. He unsheathed his sword and cleaned out everything that was still alive.
He destroyed the last marks.
”In the end, still incapable…”
Ludovic narrowed his eyes and turned away. All that remained was silence. Under the setting sun, there was no more sound in the office behind the window. There were only a table and three chairs, refracting the dying light.
-
At dusk, someone entered the antique store. Bai Xi was shocked by the bell.
”Is anyone here?” It was an unfamiliar voice.
These days, Bai Xi rarely slept soundly. She was always awakened by nightmares. Now, she had sprawled on the counter and finally slept well. Hearing the voice, her temper came. She angrily picked up whatever was next to her, felt the weight, and hurled it!
”Shut up!”
The heavy candelabra tore through the air with a whistle. Totally shocked, the intruder caught it. The sharp points almost stabbed his eyes.
”Uh…sorry, I guess I'm in the wrong place.” The man awkwardly set the candelabra down and smiled. He walked out, looked at the sign, and pushed the door open cautiously. Sticking his head in, he asked, ”Hey, I don't think this is wrong. Is Hermes here?”
Bai Xi could not fall asleep anymore. She climbed up, wiped away her drool, and sat blankly for a while before her mind was running. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the intruder. It was a dusty man wearing a dirty jacket that seemed to have gone unwashed for years. The original color was hard to see. His face was hidden by a wide brim hat. Despite being hidden in the darkness, he still felt attractive.
”Who are you?” Bai Xi asked in confusion.
”Just an old customer.” He chuckled and tossed his ragged backpack onto the ground. Rubbing his hands, he scooted toward the fireplace. ”I haven't been here in a long while. I can't believe the Sacred City turned into this mess. I was lost for a while and I'm freezing… Ah, right, you're Bai Xi, right?”
Bai Xi cocked her head. ”You know me?”
The customer smiled. He reached out his dirty hand to ruffle her hair. Like a senior seeing a cute kid, he was gentle and loving. ”I've heard of you. You're a good girl.”
For some reason, Bai Xi felt happy instead of disgust. Even the depression from these past few days disappeared.
”Is Hermes upstairs?” the customer asked. ”Please tell him that his old friend is here to take something I deposited.”
”What thing?” Bai Xi glanced upstairs and pursed her lips. ”If I call him down, he'll just talk nonsense with you and then scam you out of a bunch of money. He probably won't even give you the thing. Tell me and if I know what it is, I'll get it for you.”
”Thank you so much.” The customer smiled, seemingly embarrassed. He gestured with his hand. ”Probably this big inside a jar. It's not that rare of a thing and you can find them anywhere but it's important to me. Simply put, uh…” He paused and said seriously, ”It's just a head.”