silent crown
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Big cousin, the money’s here. Run!!”
In the turbulent flow of people, a child stuck a package into Ye Qingxuan’s arms, then disappeared quickly in the crowd as if they had been slicked down with oil.
“Don’t run, you little devil!”
“He also has a helper! Break his legs!”
“Kill him!!!”
Ye Qingxuan looked back blankly. A group of grim and brawny men were running towards him, holding daggers and chairs. They were staring at the package in his arms in furiously.
“Uh, wait…What is going on here?” Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling.
－
Half an hour earlier.
In the morning of the third day after leaving the town of Lute, the breeze blew in from the distance, and the waves were quiet.
The outline of the island could be seen in the distance now, and on the deck of the Titan were many people hustling and bustling about.
“Dear passengers please do not leave your seat until the boat stops!” The waiters tried to maintain order with bitter faces. They shouted over the speaker, “Because of berth restrictions, we are temporarily unable to enter the harbor. Please be patient! During the meantime, let’s look to the right. That white ship is a brother boat of the Titan named Nick which was created at the same time.”
The passengers did not care about what the waiters were saying. They continued nibbling peanuts and laughing. In the crowd, babies wailed, and big men roared with deep voices.
In the crowd, the white-haired teenager was squeezed against the stern, squatting with a group of sailors smoking pipes.
The sailors did not mind sitting in the sun with a little child. Ye Qingxuan also had nothing to fear. Compared with the well-dressed rich folks, he felt more relaxed in front of the sailors.
“Hey, sir,” Ye Qingxuan asked, “Do you have to wait so long every time?”
“It’s because the berths are all occupied.” Next to him, the sailor smoked a pipe, pointing in the direction of the port.
He was vaguely able to see warships guarding a white ship slowly entering the harbor. Not far from the sea, several ships together were also waiting.
“Are those all occupied?” Ye Qingxuan took a look. “Are you sure?”
“Can’t help it. Those are ships from Yunlou, escorted by the Royal Navy.” The man blinked with his ambiguous eyes and with a tacit smile, said, “And, have you heard that the one on board…”
“What?” Ye Qingxuan was confused.
“Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Yunlou! Don’t you know? The news is all over Avalon!”
“Yunlou? I’ve only heard that it’s an enclave in the East. It only has a governor. Where does the princess come from?”
“You are far behind, little boy.” The sailor patted his shoulder. “The governor is no different from the king. Plus, Yunlou dominates the sea trade in the East and the West. They control tea, spices, and silk which makes them very rich. The people from the East even said that their emperor’s treasury had been moved to the sea.”
“Hehe.” Someone next to him suddenly laughed, “This time, will they borrow money again?
“The more the debt, the less the worry! They had borrowed tens of millions, but there would be tens of millions more to borrow. They can’t pay it back anyway,” the man scoffed. “I say, the empire on which the sun never sets will be gone soon.”
“Uh…” Ye Qingxuan felt that they were talking about some dangerous topics.
“I heard the princess of the Yunlou is a beauty, only seventeen years old, but is already a musician at the Resonance level. What a pity,” The sailor next to him sighed.
“What is?”
“It is said that the royal family wants the prince to marry the princess.” The sailor sneered. “But everyone in the Anglo kingdom is aware that the prince likes sheep more than women…”
“Sheep?” Ye Qingxuan was in shock.
“Yes, sheep.” The smoking sailor nodded and softly sighed, “Sheep.”
“Sheep!” The sailors around exchanged looks with each other and started laughing together. At that very moment, from the bottom of the cabin came a sheep’s cry.
Not knowing why, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt that the adult’s world was really dirty.
—
Fifteen minutes earlier.
“Come, do not hesitate, do not be confused! Pay fifty coins pay, you will get five hundred in return!”
Within the tavern in the harbor area, everyone was moving and hurrying about.
Through the tobacco smoke and the sweat in the air, there was a child’s voice.
Many rough sailors that had just gotten off the boat now surrounded a table, counting the money in front of them with bitter faces. At the center, a dirty child shuffled the cards in his hands. He looked very happy.
“That round of Blackjack was all thanks to you all for taking care of me. It’s rare for so many powerful men to think highly of a kid like me, so let me entertain you and play another round.”
He looked about thirteen years old with a soft hat. His face dirty was thin like a little beggar. But his actions were so fast, comparable with a professional dealer.
This little kid had entered the pub an hour ago. No one knew where he got those forty dollars from. He began to bet on the dice with the guests in the pub. Now, he had already gotten almost half of the gamblers’ money, and lured the other half of the gamblers to his own table.
In the back, the bartender wiped the glass with cold face, indifferently watching how much money the little devil could cheat into his pocket or if a red-eyed sailor pulled out a knife and threw the kid into the sewer.
“Come, come, do not quit!”
The kid did not realize his situation at all. He reached out, grabbing all the money that he had won, and smiled.
“Buy big, win big; buy small, win small. Life’s opportunity is in front of you, the success is near!”
On the opposite side of the table, a group of red-eyed grown-ups bared their teeth and dropped all the silver coins from their pockets onto the table.
“Again!”
“I have four hundred here. If you are able to, you can take tit all!”
“Okay!” The kid laughed so hard that his eyes would not open. “I like you, big brother. You are so straight forward. Let’s do it again…”
—
The island of Avalon was the capital in the Kingdom of Anglo.
Three hundred years ago, the musician Arthur controlled twelve phantom beasts by the “Chapter of the Golden Victory,” and opened up the island of Anglo. Since then, the aristocratic blood had passed on from generation to generation on the island.
For centuries, the territory of the Kingdom had continuously expanded – it had already done so from the Avalon Island to the surrounding continent. Half the territory was now ocean, the other half land.
Avalon, the capital island, had also become more and more developed after hundreds of years of repair.
Shrouded by perennial white fog, the city was built with the white stone of the mountain. From the palace on top of said mountain, the city was divided into nine ring areas and then circled around, until the end, spreading into the sea.
Nowadays, the temple of the old age had been buried under the sea. But the crown of the city still stood above the ocean, surrounded by the thirty-two outer city islands.
Every traveler who set their feet on the outer ring of the harbor would see the huge stone the King Arthur left, inscribed with the giant’s handwriting, “God bless the Kingdom.”
Unfortunately, God never blessed tramps and little beggars.
If someone had no money to ride the carriage, when he stepped on the pier, his first step would be in the mud and he would be surrounded by old women who held all sorts of strange local specialties and empty-handed beggars.
After a wave of shopping, the traveler, holding all sorts of poor quality souvenirs, would be enticed by a gypsy for the chance to see a glimpse of his future, not having realized that his wallet had been taken from the big hole cut in his pockets.
Ten minutes ago, Ye Qingxuan set his feet on the port, sniffing the slightly smelly air, suddenly feeling that he missed his old home.
He took out a soft hat from his pocket and stuffed his glaring white hair into his hat. He bent over, staring at his reflection in the water to make sure there was nothing suspicious on his body.
“Don’t got anything?” Ye looked back at the beggar who was groping his pocket. “You’re late. I want to know where my wallet is too.”
“Pooh, such a cheapskate.”
A few beggars spat at him, gave him a couple of rude gestures, and moved on to the next target. Ye Qingxuan proudly laughed. He simply did not have any money on him as all the money was with Old Phil.
He finally released Old Phil from the suitcase. The stir-crazy Old Phil bit him on his hand, hurting Ye Qingxuan so much that his mouth started twitching. However, Old Phil did not bite too hard for the sake of Ye being its servant for such a long time.
Then the big dog shamelessly started playing around on the muddy road in Avalon city. Soon after, it had become a very dirty dog.
“Avalon is still the same. I won’t be surprised no matter what happens here,” Ye Qingxuan murmured, looking around.
He had hardly finished speaking when he heard continuous loud noises of ping-pong balls from behind.
A figure ran into his arms and put a bulging package into his hands.
“Big cousin, the money is here!” The child secretly winked at him, heavily breathing. “Run fast!”
“Well…wait …” Ye Qingxuan stared at the package in his arms, turning back, and then felt something whiz by him. The dagger flew through the air and gently scratched his ear and landed on the street.
“What is going on?!”
A group of angry men were holding beer cups, chairs, two axes, and several daggers. They rushed out from the bar growling, and dashed toward him.
“Catch him! They’re together!” Someone’s red eyes were locked on him.
“No way?” Ye Qingxuan scalp was tingling. “What’s the situation?”
Something bad was happening, right?
Bang!
Another ax barely hit his hand then hit the wall behind him.
“Kill that cheater! I’ll pay the killer five hundred pounds!” The one who lost the game roared.
There was no time to say anything. Ye Qingxuan turned around quickly and ran as fast as he could!
－
“Hey! Don’t run, little boy! Come back!”
With all his might, Ye chased the kid who was crazily laughing in front of him.
For a long time, he ran down the streets where he used to be chased countless times. In the front of him was the naughty kid, next to him was his own dog, and behind him was a group of people calling for his death.
He was swept into this mess somehow…
In the rush, Ye Qingxuan could not help but roar, “When did this place become like this?”
“It’s always been like this!” Facing the smelly sea breeze, the naughty kid turned to see him. He could not help but grin, happily running in front of him. “Hey, country guy, welcome to Avalon!”