Silent Crown

Chapter 306 Indecisive

"Due to Mr. Holmes’ outstanding performance yesterday and his great contribution to Anglo, I shall answer to Mr. Maxwell’s request. We shall open the Stein Chamber for you to choose any item.

"I shall represent the royal family, witness your choice and result, and approve it. Of course, I will not agree if you choose something that affects the nation. Otherwise, you can choose freely." Mary’s voice was polite. It was obvious she was purposely keeping her distance, but the act was not annoying.

"Rest assured that I do not covet Anglo’s authority." Ye Qingxuan looked down and his lips twisted into a self-mocking smile. "I genuinely wish that this country can prosper for a long time."

"That would be—" Before Mary could finish, she tripped and toppled over. They had closed the distance as they spoke and walked in step with each other. However, Ye Qingxuan, troubled and distracted, accidentally stepped on Mary’s dress.

Amidst confused yelps, Mary swayed and her lantern fell from her hands. It tumbled in the air and fell toward the ground. It was about to shatter but the crash did not happen. Someone caught it the moment before it landed. Mary was caught as well.

In that moment, Ye Qingxuan had stepped forward to Mary’s right. One hand held up the lantern while the other held Mary’s left shoulder. The princess who had lost her balance almost fell into his arms.

Flustered, Mary looked down. She was not used to being so close to others. A soft voice sounded from under her veil, "Mr. Holmes, please let go of me."

Ye Qingxuan stepped back and raised his hands, showing his innocence.

Mary lowered her head. Hiding her face behind the brim of her hat, she bit her lip and said softly, "We’re here."

-

The next few minutes, Ye Qingxuan followed the rules and closed his eyes. He did not see anything. He could only hear gears turning. It seemed to be some elevator moving, but he could not sense any changes. When he opened his eyes, he was already inside the large stone room.

Light shone down from somewhere, illuminating the room that was filled with stuff. It was as if he had walked into a huge vintage store. It was a dazzling sight.

There was a mask from an unknown era, an ancient Eastern book, a strange sword with complex patterns, a damaged yet majestic armor, a body wrapped up in ancient bandages and placed in a gold coffin.

"You have this too?" Ye Qingxuan froze when he saw it. After processing it, he ran over and caressed the seemingly plain tablet. He sighed, "The earliest tuning device, Rosetta Stone? This is the foundation of all the current research of ancient texts and music theory. I can’t believe it’s here! And the inheritance knot of the Semitic people from the Theban desert, and this sword."

Attracted by the legendary and precious items, he forgot to remain polite and mannered. Just as Mary had said, there were plenty natural catastrophe level scores here—the handwritten original of Pomp and Circumstance whose inheritance seal had not even been used yet; Nocturne, the core music score of Illusions; remains of the Emperor Concerto left behind by the first King of Red, Beethoven...

The handwritten drafts of various saints were kept carelessly on the ancient shelves as if they were regular books. According to Ye Qingxuan’s guesses, the mummified corpse in the gold coffin was not a relic of a saint. It was a saint’s body!

The main body of Avalon’s enchantment—the blueprint of the Elizabeth Tower bell—was in the center. The Chapter of Golden Victory, King Arthur’s symphony of predestination that combined the essence of both Modifications and Summoning, was placed in a golden box.

Many more things that Ye Qingxuan could not distinguish were scattered about. If they could be in the same room, then they were undoubtedly at the same tier. However, everything had been sealed up. There were no aether waves at all. Without a doubt, this was to better preserve the objects. After all, there were countless alchemy items here. No one knew what weird things would happen if they influenced each other.

This also made it hard for Ye Qingxuan to choose. He did not want to take home something that seemed cool but was actually useless. He could only rely on his eyes?

Deep in thought, something flashed past the corner of his vision. He looked back in confusion but saw a half-transparent shadow walk out from a wall.

It was Gawain.

Mary seemed not to realize anything. Gawain’s shadow raised a finger and made a shushing motion. Ye Qingxuan blinked and kept his poker face. Thinking a bit, he looked over at Mary. "Is there anything that suits me?"

Mary snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. "You should choose personally." She was not planning on helping. It was clear that the royal family was going to let Ye Qingxuan choose by himself. He would not be allowed to choose something too powerful that could affect the nation. But if he chose a relic that a past king liked but was actually useless…that would be his fault.

"So I guess I have to choose by myself?" he murmured to himself while looking at Gawain from the corner of his eye.

The Gawains heard Ye Qingxuan’s voice. They instantly started moving as if sinking into deep thought. A few shadows debated soundlessly with each other. They made hand gestures as if discussing something.

They were the moderators of the Jianlan Underground Palace, in charge of maintaining and cleaning this place. They obviously had knowledge about the things here. Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s needs, they began discussing fervently.

A normal person would just jump between different thoughts in their minds. Gawain, however, suddenly turned into a group of shadows and argued amongst themselves. Like kids, they practically started fighting.

Finally, the victorious shadows proudly chased the ‘others’ away and stood before the places they had decided on. A relic was before each one. They varied in size; some seemed weird while others looked normal. Ye Qingxuan could not tell what some were.

The first item was a crystal bone. It was translucent and seemed to contain some mysterious intelligence. Smoke flowed within the refracted light. Occasionally, a shadow would appear, but it was too fuzzy. Looking at it too long would make one entranced.

This was alchemy equipment from one of the schools of Mind. It was not cheap. According to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, there should be a heart mark in there too. A Mind musician might have sealed his nirvana into his bones before death to pass onto later generations.

The second was a tobacco pipe. It was carved from stone and seemed useless. However, according to analysis of the shape and the autograph within, it was probably something from the School of Summoning. He could summon the spirit sealed within after lighting it. The smoke would give the spirit a body. It probably had the effect of flame transmission as well. It had a wide array of uses—secret kills, investigation, and defense were possible.

The third object was a basic monocle. If one looked from the side, one could see the tiny music notes carved onto the lens. Alchemy equipment like this was probably a rare result from the School of Revelation. It was the best aid in probing.

The fourth was a flat flagon with a lid. It looked to be made of pure copper and was covered with scratches. It was an ancient artifact but there still seemed to be liquid inside it. There was a small sound when Ye Qingxuan shook it. He could not tell where it came from but he felt a strong thirst. Even with the flagon between them, he still had a strong desire to drink the fine liquor.

The fifth item was huge. It was a large piece of armor. The right hand and helmet were damaged; the inside was even more broken. It seemed completely broken but Ye Qingxuan could not overlook it—it was still the armor of a Knight of the Round Table!

He could not tell which one it was exactly and the phantom beast had been taken out. However, it was still a rare masterpiece given by God. If he could find a good alchemist to fix it, its past glory might be brought restored.

Ye Qingxuan paced around the chamber in silence. He gazed at the five items but still could not choose. He was too indecisive. It was too hard to come to a decision.

After a long time, he sighed. He reached out and took the monocle. "This one," he said to Mary.

She flinched but nodded and undid the seal on it. Faint aether waves seeped out. "The Eye of Silence?"

Ye Qingxuan studied the side. It contained the alchemist’s name and a meaningful quote, Sometimes, knowing the truth is not a simple task.

The Eye of Silence was an auxiliary tool created by ancient alchemists. It permanently solidified the realistic vision. It could break all influences of Illusions and increase the musician’s overall sensory range. It also came with zoom and magnification features. However, the most valuable was the special music score carved into it.

This was a complete development took. If the musician recorded the items in the glossary, the monocle could quickly mark the item in the wearer’s vision. This included medicinal plants, alchemy equipment, minerals, animals, and demons. Then it would read and measure the objects.

Measure distance, explore aether waves, estimate the enemy’s ability, analyze…this was like receiving the Starry Eye from the School of Revelations. It was great help for interpretation as well.

"Are you sure?" Mary seemed a bit sad. The Eye of Silence was not the best of the items here. It had a wide range of uses, but only impressive ability was that it could see the realistic world. "If you want to switch, I also—"