525 Loneliness (1/2)
The noise came from a distance.
When the noise arrived, after spreading across several streets and corners, it became a tiny ripple. Everything was quiet.
Having experienced the chaos and turbulence of the attack by Hyakume, the city had just restored its stability and re-established order with a lot of effort. Everyone was busy rebuilding the city and restoring production and work.
Hardly anyone could be seen on such a desolate and silent alleyway, let alone in the antique store there.
In the afternoon, a light snow fell again. A thin layer of snow covered the blood, the dead, and those empty pupils like a shroud. People had just forgotten the catastrophe had ever happened and continued their own lives.
In the early evening, a rare guest came to the alleyway and the old antique store.
Someone pushed in, knocked on the counter, and waited patiently.
Behind the counter, Hermes was writing on the desk. He waved to the guest without looking. ”Our shop is going to shut down for a while. If you want to buy something, please wait and come after this period.”
The comer stood by the fireplace and smiled. Then, he took off his thermal hat and revealed his silver hair.
”I don't want to buy anything,” he said. ”I'm looking for someone.”
He was an old man who took good care of himself, his silver hair combed behind his head tidily. His voice was slow and sturdy without anxiety.
Although he had walked all the way here, there was no snow on him nor water marking his black cloak.
”Oh, it's you.”
Hermes was shocked at hearing the voice. He looked up, raised his eyebrows, and said with his usual mockery of a smile, ”Mr. Bai Heng, your highness, long time no see.”
”Long time no see, Hermes.” Bai Heng nodded, and pointed to his wine rack. ”Can you offer me a drink? I see a lot of good wine there.”
”Enjoy yourself.” Hermes shook his head: ”You are worthy of them.”
Hearing that, Bai Heng picked a bottle from the rack, wipe the dust off with his hands, and opened it skillfully. He poured a glass for himself, and placed another one in front of Hermes.
Hermes picked up the glass and glanced at him. ”You came to the Sacred City quietly at this juncture. Aren't you afraid that the pope will guess your motivation, or the relationship between you and me?”
”For me, there is only one pope, and he's not in the Sacred City.” Bai Heng took a sip and put the glass down. ”Although it's not the right time now, I still have to deal with the things that have dragged on for too long. The dispute between you and Tung Wang Kung should be settled.”
”Got it.” Hermes nodded and suddenly asked, ”Can I resist?”
”As you like.” Bai Heng threw up his hands. ”As you can see, although I belonged to the Bai Family, I have never been cultivated as a musician since I was born. So I am just a rhythm controller. Killing me would be easy.”
”I am very glad to hear that, but why are there still two people standing outside the door?”
”Just in case,” Bai Heng answered indifferently.
In the following silence, Hermes turned the pen between his fingertips to Bai Heng, with the tip aiming at his throat intentionally or unintentionally. After a long time, he put the pen down and sighed.
”Forget it, it's too troublesome.” Hermes looked up and asked, ”Are you in a hurry?”
Bai Heng thought for a moment and replied, ”Although the schedule is tight, I still have two hours for this.”
”Then await me for a while.”
Hermes picked up the pen again, looked at the notebook on the desk and whispered, ”It's almost done.”
-
-
When Bai Xi came back from the intensive care unit of the Silence Governance, it was already after dusk.
The chorale musician told her that Ye Qingxuan was in good condition, the aether fluctuations tended to be stable, and he was going to revive someday in the near future, which made her feel much better.
The massive attack by Hyakume a few days ago was called the ”Night of Forever Darkness.” Under the wise leadership of the Imperial Palace, humans counterattacked very hard and finally defeated this evil god, which was a great triumph. As a result, the support rate of the new pope, Ludovic, increased rapidly.
When the event happened, Ye Qingxuan stepped out and not only repaired the enchantment of the Sacred City and prevented the Sacred City from being destroyed by demons, but also rendered aid to many of the city's people. Therefore, he was cleared of suspicion, and highly praised by the pope.
Even though the current situation was still uneasy, and the war between all the countries and the heaven catastrophes was not yet ended, Ye Qingxuan's name still spread throughout the whole world.
He was so well-known that only Gaius could be compared with his rise to power. So, it was just a matter of time before he took up an important position in the Sacred City.
Even in the ward, there were greetings from the important institutions of the Sacred City. The cardinal made a special visit. Even the King of Red made a secret visit while Ye Qingxuan was still in a coma, awarded him the ”Sacred Medal” to prove his impeccable character, and left a Bai Xi robe for him.
The ecclesiastical robe of the Archbishop.
That was a hint.
If Ye Qingxuan was willing to take that on when he woke up, he would be the youngest bishop in the Order's history. There would be no problems at all for him to work for any factions or take a place in the key departments of the Sacred City. He would definitely have a great future and rise all the way.
Therefore, the chorale doctor in charge of treatment was too hospitable, coming in and checking on Ye Qingxuan every three minutes, which annoyed Bai Xi very much.
Bai Xi hadn't had a good rest for a long time, and she fell asleep in the carriage on the way home after Ye Qingxuan's physical condition had stabilized.
When the coachman woke her, she only remembered that she had a nightmare.
But she couldn't remember what happened in the nightmare.
It seemed that some terrible things happened in a place that she never noticed, and destroyed something that belonged to her quietly. When she looked back unintentionally, she saw a scene of devastation.
It was too late to do anything.
She stood in the alleyway with anxiety.
The snow fell on her body, melted into water droplets, and infiltrated through her collar as if the coldness had sunk into her bone marrow.
She shook her head and stopped thinking, speeding up to the door under the light. Through the door, she felt the temperature of the fireplace, so the panic in her heart was slightly calmed down.
The soft light seemed to free her from the gloom.
She pushed the door open and saw the blood.
The dripping blood flowed out through the door slot, down the steps, and into the snow.
In front of the fireplace behind the door, Hermes was sitting in a chair by the warm flames. He seemed to be asleep with his eyes downcast. The wine glass had fallen to the ground from his hand, and the wine had already dried up on the floor under the baking of the fire.
The scarlet blood dribbled out through the slit in his shirt, fell on his body and the ground, then ran in a stream towards the door.
Bai Xi was shocked.
”Hermes?”
She stepped on the sticky blood and moved forward, bending down and touching his cheek carefully. He lifted his heavy eyelids, but it seemed that he couldn't see things clearly, so he squinted his eyes to see the blurry girl in front of him.
”It's you, Bai Xi.” He laughed. ”You're back?”
”Hermes, you...you...”
”It's no big deal, I'm just dying.”
Hermes looked at the blood on his chest, and shook his head tiredly. ”In every sense, I'm a man of failure. I speak bad things and have offended a lot of people. I haven't done anything good. There are many reasons for me to die. Fortunately, the debt I owed was paid off...”
Bai Xi only felt that her consciousness was solidified.
A dark fault appeared in her consciousness, engulfing all her thoughts.
Is Hermes going to die?
Hermes and death were the two words that would never be linked.
This heartless, vicious bastard always looked at the world indifferently. Even when the world was about to be destroyed, he only guaranteed his own safety. Even if all humanity died, he would never even consider offering a hand.
For such a long time, the son of a bitch has been staying out of sight and watching others perform on the stage, and he just laughed and applauded.
As if he could do that for another several decades, or several hundred years...
But now, he was going to die.