Night’s Nomenclature

Chapter 12: Return

When Ye Wan heard this, he stood up and dispersed the crowd of people around them, allowing the two to talk in peace.

"A reward for winning that endgame? Sure," said Li Shutong.

"Are you the one who played the harmonica just now?" asked Qing Chen.

The question caught both Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao by surprise. They thought that Qing Chen took advantage of the victory to ask a difficult question, but rather, Qing Chen chose to ask about music?

The tune indeed sounded very nice, and it hadn't been heard outside, but why would Qing Chen squander such a valuable opportunity?

Li Shutong raised his head with a smile and said, "It is me, what's wrong? Is it your first time hearing this song?"

Qing Chen thought for a while and said, "It sounds very nice."

"Yeah," Li Shutong nodded and replied. "The founder of our group made the music, and he even penned some lyrics that go along with it," he said after waiting for the crowd to disperse completely.

Qing Chen was dumbfounded for a long time and couldn't speak. He wanted to say: Let me guess… The founder you’re talking about is also from the Earth!!

Also, this "founder" appears to be pretty brazen in claiming credit for other people's work.

Hold up, how long has this organization been founded? When was the first transmigrator brought into this world?

Qing Chen asked again, "Can you sing the full song for me? I want to hear it."

"Sure," Li Shutong said, "But I don't know the lyrics to the complete version. Many years have passed, and things tend to get lost."

"It's alright, I'm just curious," said Qing Chen. He just wanted to confirm if the lyrics of this song were the same as the one he remembered from Earth.

Li Shutong held the cat into his arms and sang quietly, "Outside the long corridor, along the ancient road, the green grass seemed to connect with the sky. Under the gentle night breeze, swung the willows and resonated the melancholic melody from an old flute, whilst the descending sun illuminated mountains by the mountain. At the edge of the sky and the corner of the land, parting troubles many…"

As he finished, Li Shutong smiled and said, "This last phrase is added on by people recently, but no matter how close it gets, it just doesn't sound perfectly to the point."

After standing there for a while, Qing Chen suddenly suggested, "How about changing to ‘The friends in hearts have gone their separate ways?"

"The friends in hearts have gone their separate ways?" Li Shutong repeated thoughtfully.

For whatever reason, he always thought that the song’s last phrase should be a short sentence.

Farewell, farewell. The image of a loved one, fading away like the sunset; the true friends, all the way at the edge of the world.

When we were young, we drank wine with no worries, and our lives were as strong as the summer heat.

Not knowing that night was our last farewell, we never saw each other again.

Li Shutong appeared to be sitting in this prison when he saw the orange-red sun setting over the horizon, his friend waving to him from afar

After the wave, he turned and left.

"Thank you," said Li Shutong, "This is perfect. This appears to be the original intent of the song."

"You're welcome," Qing Chen accepted the compliment, knowing it wasn’t directed to him.

Li Shutong expressed his longing, saying, "Sometimes I am really surprised. Our founder is truly amazing, and it was said he wrote as many songs as an ox has hair. All was gone in the passage of this era, leaving only this one."

"Only one left? What a shame," said Qing Chen. Since Li Shutong directly mentioned the previous era,the transmigrator must have arrived a long, long time ago.

An era was not a unit of time but the division of time. It marked the start and end of a significant civilization.

It seems that the humans here have gone through the change from the previous era to this one. I’m curious what happened…

"There is one more song, but only the name was kept, not the lyrics itself. Many have tried to search the ancient ruins, but none succeeded." Li Shutong shook his head.

"What's the name of that song?" Qing Chen questioned tentatively after a brief pause.

Li Shutong glanced at him and said, "Canon."

If Qing Chen had any lingering doubts whether this “founder” was a transmigrator, he could now rest assured.

But Canon was a musical genre and technique. Many symphonic works use the technical structure of Canon, such as Beethoven's Symphony of Destiny (Symphony No. 5) and Bach's Five Canon Variations.

If the music came from the Earth, then it should be referring to Pachelbel's "Canon in D major".

From Li Shutong's respectful attitude toward the founder, Qing Chen wondered if he could give Li Shutong the Canon in exchange for his extraordinary path.

He wasn't sure. In fact, he couldn't even explain where he got the music from.

He would have to wait as he never saw Canon's score before, so he had to return to Earth first.

At the end of the conversation, Qing Chen went straight past the crowd to the reading area. He was in desperate need of a good night’s sleep, choosing to forego a meal in exchange for some extra sleep.

Only with a conscious and alert mind could he maximize his brainpower to analyze the situations around him at any time.

However, Lu Guangyi creepily approached him not long after he sat down on the table in the reading area.

Lu Guangyi wanted to come over to talk to Qing Chen, but he was afraid of being seen by others with Qing Chen, so he stood outside the reading area, not knowing what he should do.

Qing Chen looked up at the person and said blankly, "You don't have to pretend to be so careful. Li Shutong has some idea of what we’re up to. But don’t worry, he doesn't seem to mind much. Also, give me some alone time."

There were surveillance cameras throughout the prison; even the novice prisoner ceremony had to be held in the cells. For the time being, he figured that sleeping in the reading area was the safest option.

In fact, Qing Chen was eager to talk to Lu Guangyi to find out what the Qing Family's mission for him was.

But with the return date approaching, he didn't want anything else unexpected to happen.

He first sent Lu Guangyi away and was planning to use the time back on the Earth to think about a plan to get information from Lu Guangyi.

However, Lu Guangyi did not leave but whispered, "Boss, I have been thinking about it for a while now, but I just don't know what you call you. The best I have come up with is just boss."

"You probably heard about me from Qing Yan before that I was raised in a poor family. My dad even sold my kidneys for some extra money and replaced them with a cheaper bionic one. Following that, I spent my days in complete despair, but I heard from Qing Yan that you appointed me to serve as a guide in the prison for you, and he said you found my talents to be useful. I was ecstatic! No need for concern, Boss. I, Lu Guangyi, am willing to risk life and limb to help you complete your mission!"

"But before I die, I still have a tiny regret. You know, I haven't been able to go to school for long, and I have always envied those educated people, even when I was young…"

Qing Chen could no longer take it. He interrupted, "Just tell me what you want!"

"Could you please teach me how to play chess?" pleaded Lu Guangyi.

Qing Chen was stunned. "Why do you want to learn chess?"

"Because it's so cool!" exclaimed Lu Guangyi, "Boss, even people like Li Shutong couldn't stand equal to you, how cool must that be?"

"You think you can gain reputation by playing a couple games of chess?" said Qing Chen, while shaking his head

"Of course, given thatI can't beat him in a fight, beating him in a game of chess is the next best thing!" Lu Guangyi said as if it was the only logical thing for him to do.

This intrigued Qing Chen. Hearing this, it seems like Li Shutong's combat skills are quite good?

Lu Guangyi went on, "I never expected that you would get acquainted with Li Shutong so soon after you came in, but now you two are getting along fine. With his position in Prison 18, perhaps he might know where the item we’re looking for is, and if you can learn a few things from him, you will have a much better chance of becoming a Shadow."

The amount of information in this sentence was tremendous, and Qing Chen finally realized what he was here to do… find an item.

More significantly, he was in some kind of competition to obtain a position.

He didn't know what he could learn from Li Shutong, but he would worry about that later.

Qing Chen thought about it for a while and said, "Fine, I will teach you how to play chess, but for now, could you kindly leave me alone?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Lu Guangyi disappeared into the entertainment area moments later.

…

Return countdown: 00:05:00 that night.

Qing Chen sat peacefully on the ice-cold bed, his arm displaying a white countdown.

He could feel the countdown's gears churning, and there were just five minutes remaining.

He wasn't sure whether he would come back or not. The past two days were like a dream for him. He met several fascinating people and saw a different world.

The unique personalities of Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Shutong made him eager to return to this world.

This was a whole new universe that had opened up for him.

Qing Chen thought about it for a while and used the pointy end of the toothbrush to carve "BEEN HERE" on his wooden headboard.

Then he pinched a blue-purple mark on his arm, curious as to what would happen if he returned to Earth injured.

Return Countdown.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

The world fell apart once more, and the usual blackness reappeared.

He had returned.

…