How Could I Bear to Refuse? (5K5)

Tick-tock... tick-tock...

With weak breathing, blood fell into the snow, then slid down the grooves in the snow, seeping into the skin of the half-naked man lying on the snow.

And the golden notes on the man's skin, bound by fine silver threads, became even brighter and clearer under the nourishment of the blood.

"You... will be punished." A weak voice sounded. "Lord, the Lord will never forgive someone like you."

Xi Ze slowly opened his eyes and looked at the man and woman he was hanging on the tree to bleed.

"Karma?" Xi Ze said with a light laugh. "Such naive words don't seem like they would come out of your mouth, Professor Ze Er."

"Ten years ago, you clearly told me that the Lord would only value those who possess perfect pitch, and that no matter what others did, they would not gain the Lord's approval... wasn't that right?"

Ze Er slowly closed his eyes, and after a long while, he spoke, "Kill me."

Xi Ze smiled; he was no longer lying down, but standing up from the snow.

Beneath him was a magic array that was in operation.

He walked up to Ze Er and looked up at his former teacher.

"Why would I kill you, Professor Ze Er?" Xi Ze said with a smile. "Didn't you tell me to make the most of everything? I've always followed your teachings. In fact, everything I have now is because of you."

"Have you forgotten?" He pointed to his body, then to the magic circle beneath his feet, "The magic circle that collects all the scores, that adds color to the notes, where did I get all this forbidden knowledge from?"

"I've always wondered, if I had known things would turn out this way, would you have been so 'forgiving' of me ten years ago?"

Xi Ze's smile grew even brighter, while Ze Er kept his eyes tightly closed, but his trembling eyelashes still betrayed his state of mind.

"It hurts... it hurts so much..."

During the standoff between Xi Ze and Ze Er, the female musician on the other side unconsciously emitted a vibrato.

Xi Ze turned his head and looked over.

The female musician was in very poor condition. The reason she hadn't died yet was because Xi Ze used healing musical magic to prolong her life.

Of course, this wasn't because Xi Ze was particularly kind, but because he hadn't finished absorbing the energy, so he couldn't let the female musician die like that.

For the Silver Score, plundering musical notes, especially golden ones, is no easy task. The process is akin to bleeding the person, releasing all the blood carrying the notes, and then smearing it little by little onto the holder of the spectrum before the plunder is complete.

During this period, neither the sound nor the score can be lost.

Xi Ze walked up to the female musician.

The female musician's consciousness was beginning to fade; she could only instinctively utter, "It hurts... it hurts so much..."

Xi Ze slowly reached out and pressed the female musician's head against his own, then gently said, "It'll stop hurting soon, don't worry."

"If you really can't stand it, let me tell you a story."

He murmured.

"Once upon a time, in a remote Seed Zone, there lived two brothers."

"These two brothers don't have any markings yet, let's get rid of them."

"Brother! Brother!"

"Let go of my brother! You bastard, let me go!"

"Wait, this guy has markings on his body."

"Brother." The little boy looked up at the boy who was a head taller than him, his eyes reddening. "Don't you want me anymore?"

"How could this be!"

Xi Ze rubbed his younger brother's head, then looked up at the "noble gentleman" standing to the side, whose attire was completely out of place with theirs.

"Mr. La De, please don't harm my brother. Whether he has musical notes or not, wait until I graduate and come back..."

"I know, I know," La De waved his hand impatiently. "If you can graduate smoothly and become a qualified musician to work for me, I'll help you support your younger brother. But if not..."

Xi Ze could naturally understand La De's subtext—you little brat, you should worry about yourself.

"I'm sure I'll graduate smoothly."

Xi Ze spoke earnestly, then bent down and hugged the little boy, saying "Wait for me to come back" before leaving. Even though the little boy was crying loudly behind him, he did not turn around and walked alone into the world covered in white snow.

"Bronze Music?" The teacher from the Three Academies glanced at Xi Ze sideways. "Bronze Music only has so many courses to choose from. 'Player Basics' is not a course you can choose."

"Why!" Xi Ze exclaimed anxiously. "I've already enrolled, why can't I choose?"

"There aren't that many whys."

"If I can't select 'Player Basics,' how can I use the staff?"

"A staff?" the teacher scoffed. "You want a staff?"

"How can I become a musician without a staff?"

Xi Ze's words amused the teacher, who turned to look at the other teachers in the office, laughing and pointing at Xi Ze's nose.

"Did you hear what this guy said? He doesn't understand anything at all."

Then, he slapped a form in front of Xi Ze.

"The courses for copper music are fixed; you can't choose them. This is the only course you can choose."

Xi Ze looked down and saw that the options on the form were clearly "restaurant" and "toilet" as work locations, and his eyes widened immediately.

"Let me tell you," the teacher said slowly. "There's only one reason why this academy accepts bronze notes. We don't allow ordinary people without musical notes to enter the academy, but there are indeed some jobs that ordinary people need to do... and these are the ones."

"Of course you can tell others that you are a performer from the academy, and we can issue you a graduation certificate."

"But internally, do you really see yourself as the performer?"

"Um?"

Xi Ze understood everything.

He clenched his fists tightly, wanting to turn around and leave immediately.

But he also knew very well that once he left, he would have no choice but to go back to that place.

Therefore, he had no other choice.

"I'm going to... the library."

"These are the rules of the library, understand?" Ze Er looked at Xi Ze. "Anyone who isn't an idiot can understand them, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Ze could only swallow his misunderstanding and forced himself to say, "I understand."

"Okay, then I'll leave the rest to you... I'm very busy."

Ze Er walked out, but before leaving, he turned back and gave Xi Ze a meaningful look.

"You need to know which books you absolutely cannot touch. If you're found to have any problems, you're finished, understand?"

"Especially those magic books about 'advancement' on the third-to-last bookshelf, you know?"

Xi Ze was stunned for a moment.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was the only one left in the library.

Magic that can be upgraded...?

Despite knowing it was dangerous, Xi Ze couldn't help but turn his head and look at the bookshelf in the far corner.

Six months passed just like that.

Xi Ze spends most of his time in the library, especially at night, because he is the only one in the library late at night.

During this time, he greedily absorbed all kinds of Forbidden Knowledge.

He knew things that even normal players didn't know.

Advancement Magic, musical score, and color enhancement.

And various obscure yet powerful musical magic.

He felt that one day he would master all the taboos in this library.

During these six months, Ze Er, the library's nominal top administrator, has barely shown his face, which puts Xi Ze's mind at ease, who was initially uneasy.

Until that day, when Xi Ze was returning to the library from the restaurant, he saw the school janitor standing guard there from afar.

A strong sense of unease welled up inside me.

So he walked from the path in the Forbidden Forest to the window of the library and immediately heard the conversation between two people, one of whom was Ze Er.

"These banned books have all been opened," someone said. "But I haven't received any record of requests to read them. Do you know why, Ze Er?"

"You know, Gu Qi, I have my own things to do. I handed over the management of the library to a student a long time ago," Ze Er replied.

"Oh, really?" Gu Qi said. "Then I don't think he would know that these books are sealed with Magic Power seals and that anyone who opens them without permission will leave fingerprints."

Xi Ze's body stiffened.

Then he heard the sound of pages turning, "Let me see... Heh, sure enough, all these books were opened by the same person. It seems we should investigate your little assistant."

"What a pity, I quite like him, he's such a hardworking young man."

"Diligence is not an excuse for making mistakes," Gu Qi said calmly. "If it's confirmed to be him, then proceed according to the rules."

"Isn't that too cruel?"

"It's not like we're going to kill him, it's just washing away the runes and expelling him from the academy," Gu Qi said. "For Tong Yin, this punishment is nothing, since their notes are basically useless anyway."

That is indeed the case.

"That's settled then." Gu Qi handed the book back to Ze Er, then said meaningfully, "As the nominal manager of the library, you are to blame. So, I'll leave the restoration of these book seals to you. Please don't disappoint me, Professor Ze Er."

Ze Er smiled and accepted the Gu Qi: "Don't worry, Professor Gu Qi, I will report to you personally after I finish."

Gu Qi left with his men, satisfied.

Xi Ze, meanwhile, was hiding under the window, trembling with fear.

To have his notes erased and be expelled from the academy?

No, that won't do!

He had finally acquired the knowledge he had worked so hard for, and he finally had the opportunity to change his fate.

Are we just going to let it all go to waste?!

Is he going to go back to the Seed Zone and become Breeding Male?!

No, no! Absolutely not!

Xi Ze panicked.

He wanted to apologize to Ze Er.

If you're sincere enough, Mr. Ze Er will definitely...

Xi Ze subconsciously stood up and looked into the library.

Then, Xi Ze saw Ze Er opening the books he had read before one by one, leisurely reading them while also copying them down with his Magic Power pen.

He was stunned.

At that moment, he understood something.

As night fell, when Ze Er finished copying all the Forbidden Book, he saw Xi Ze standing in front of him, completely soaked.

"Professor Ze Er," Xi Ze said, trembling, "I saw it all."

Ze Er raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I saw everything you did," Xi Ze said. "You lured me into opening these books for you, and then you kept the spoils for yourself... I saw it all."

"Oh, anything else?"

Xi Ze's eyes widened. "Aren't you afraid I'll report you?! You're a teacher! A believer in the Lord! Do you think the Lord will forgive you for what you've done?!"

"Hehe, Xi Ze. The Lord doesn't care about these things. The Lord only cares about those who possess perfect pitch."

"... But I've also learned those Forbidden Knowledge!"

"Oh, so what?" Ze Er laughed dismissively. "What can you do?"

Xi Ze was speechless.

"This knowledge is taboo only for us." Xi Ze gently patted the books. "For you... can you complete any of these tasks? The only thing you can use is Advancement Magic ... but why don't you use it?"

Xi Ze's body stiffened.

"You wouldn't dare use it, would you? After all, if you fail, you'll lose your identity as a mere Silver Sound Player," Ze Er said, as if he saw through everything. "Even if you succeed, what can a silver-tongued musician do? What are you even capable of doing?"

Xi Ze couldn't answer.

"Having this knowledge doesn't mean you can use it. Someone like you, even if all the knowledge were placed in front of you, you wouldn't be able to do anything," Ze Er said with a light laugh. "You should be grateful that I gave you the opportunity to access this knowledge. This is me making the best use of you, isn't it?"

"Or, why don't you try attacking me and see what happens, using your forbidden knowledge?"

"I'll do nothing, I'll just watch you."

"And what can you do?"

Xi Ze was trembling all over.

He was angry, but also powerless.

Because he knew Ze Er was right. So what if he knew that forbidden knowledge? He didn't even have a staff.

Even with a staff, his bronze voice couldn't ignite any forbidden melodies.

"Heh, since you did help me out, I won't lay a hand on you," Ze Er said. "Run, run fast. By daybreak, by the time the school janitor catches you, you won't be able to keep your bronze-colored tattered musical notes."

So, Xi Ze returned to his hometown.

During this time, Xi Ze repeatedly thought that people from the academy would come to stop him or hunt him down.

So he was very careful along the way, not daring to attract anyone's attention.

But he didn't find anyone who came to hunt him down until he returned to his hometown.

Even their hometown didn't receive the news.

He thus "safely" returned to his small, dilapidated house and found his younger brother.

The college ignored him.

Xi Ze held his younger brother, trembling uncontrollably.

"Brother?" The little boy was very surprised, then happy. "You've come to pick me up, right?"

"Yes, I've come to pick you up." Xi Ze decided to take his younger brother and escape from this place, as far away as possible.

"That's great!" the younger brother exclaimed happily. "Mr. La De said I could come to you when my notes were fully revealed, but I didn't expect you to come back to me before I was even fully revealed!"

Xi Ze was stunned.

My little brother... does he have musical notes too?

He immediately took off his brother's clothes and, sure enough, saw the silver glint on his back.

It was... Gintoki!

Xi Ze opened his mouth, and then a strange emotion welled up in Xi Ze heart.

Why?

Why is my younger brother Gintoki?!

Why is he just a copper voice?

If, if he were Gintoki, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation!

Why is it that he isn't one of them?

Why is it that only his life has been ruined!

Xi Ze unconsciously tightened his grip on his younger brother's arm.

"Brother... it hurts," the younger brother said.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Xi Ze immediately let go of her hand, then forced a smile. "It's my fault."

"My brother is in a lot of pain... Why is that?"

"No... I'm very happy." Xi Ze took a deep breath. "You will definitely become a great player."

"Would that make my brother happy?" the younger brother asked. "Can I help my brother?"

Xi Ze shook his head with a wry smile.

He knew he no longer had that kind of capital.

He didn't even dare to try Advancement Magic.

So, let's leave this place.

As Xi Ze was thinking this, he glanced at his younger brother's back again and saw the silver patterns, but found that they didn't quite resemble the musical notes in his memory.

Because the texture is finer.

It doesn't look like musical notes, but rather like... musical score.

...etc?

Xi Ze's eyes widened little by little.

... Sheet music?

Xi Ze looked at his younger brother's back again, and after studying it carefully, he realized that it was indeed sheet music.

Silver... musical score.

Xi Ze was stunned.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Xi Ze looked down into his younger brother's eyes.

Having read the Forbidden Book for half a year, he deeply understood what musical scores meant.

And so a bold, terrifying idea began to grow wildly, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

He couldn't control his body at all and whispered, "Little brother, you said you would help your older brother, right?"

The younger brother nodded repeatedly. "Of course! I'll help my older brother!"

"Brother... it hurts so much..."

"It hurts..."

"Good."

"The pain will stop soon..."

"Don't worry... it won't hurt for long."

Xi Ze gently stroked the female musician's head.

The female musician did not respond.

Because the other person had already bled to death in his arms.

And the golden notes on his silver musical score were already fully formed.

Xi Ze then looked at Ze Er on the other side, Ze Er was already barely breathing.

He sighed softly, seemingly feeling somewhat bored. "Look, little brother, with your help, none of these once high and mighty fellows can even hold out until I finish my story. It's truly... laughable."

"No, I've heard it all."

Xi Ze's body suddenly stiffened.

Who is it?!

He didn't even notice?!

Xi Ze immediately turned his head and saw a graceful figure clapping her hands as she walked out of the woods.

"... He Wei Ni Ya?!" Xi Ze's eyes widened.

No... that's not right.

That mocking expression, that menacing gaze.

This is not He Wei Ni Ya!

No, that's not right. This body is clearly He Wei Ni Ya's! He couldn't possibly be mistaken!

Xi Ze's heart jumped into his throat.

Meanwhile, He Wei Ni Ya was still leisurely saying, "Actually, what I want to know is, did your brother only say he would help you, or is that the only thing you remember?"

Xi Ze narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I'm just curious," He Wei Ni Ya shrugged, making a very un-feminine gesture, "When your brother was crying out in pain, did you tell him to stop? If so, were you really able to resist?"

"... Who exactly are you?"

"He Wei Ni Ya" sighed, "An elder, just like you, who is reluctant to come out, but couldn't bring himself to do it because someone asked him to?"

"You might as well put it more clearly."

"I've made myself perfectly clear," Bai Wei said with a light laugh. "For the first time, such a strong child asked me to do something for her in that tone..."

When Xi Ze saw Bai Wei's star-like left eye slightly moving, an unprecedented sense of crisis suddenly surged into his heart.

He immediately retreated, but it was too late. The two corpses behind him suddenly moved, using their hand bones as spears, and rushed up from the left and right sides, instantly piercing through Xi Ze's body.

"Aaaaaaah!" Xi Ze let out a painful wail.

Bai Wei smiled and said, "How could I bear to refuse?"