Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 629 Calling Name
The candlelight was bright, and the silence in the study lasted for several seconds.

Ashida stared at Thales expressionlessly:
"Is this question so important that you're so eager to know?"

Thales smiled:

"Not necessarily, it depends on how much you want to see my 'magic tricks'."

Ashida lowered her head and looked at the crumpled, sky-blue invitation on the ground.

“This is not a deal,” he said coldly, “let alone using your magic as a bargaining chip.”

“Then this is not a transaction,” Thales said with a smile that remained unchanged, responding quickly and readily to the suggestion, “but rather a mutual assistance and learning between teachers and students.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Thales immediately sensed something was wrong: the surrounding air slowly stagnated.

"And this is no joke."

The mage spoke slowly and expressionlessly:
"Your magical powers are unpredictable and their consequences are unknown. One wrong step could cost you your life—"

Thales gently raised his left hand.

Aishida's words came to an abrupt end.

The sky-blue invitation on the ground has disappeared.

At this very moment, it was held between Thales' fingers.

“Not bad,” Ashida’s eyes flashed blue, “Impressive.”

“A few months ago, when I was forced to knock on doors and thus learned this trick,” Thales put down the invitation in his hand, his smile gradually fading, “I was in the dungeon, being chased by some unreasonable mental patient with a knife, playing hide-and-seek all night long.”

The mage remained silent, while Thales continued softly:
"It's because he stubbornly believes that I am a product of your 'Three Calamities Alliance' conspiracy, even though I was born five years after the Year of Blood."

Aishida's eyes flickered!
He spoke slowly, his tone chilling:

"He discovered your secret?"

My secret.

Thales gazed at Ashida with a wistful look.

Damn secret.

"Don't worry, he's dead," Thales said nonchalantly, shaking off the image of that weathered yet lonely figure from his mind.

It died a long time ago.

The boy's tone changed:
“But before that, it wasn’t just a ‘possibility,’ but a real threat to my life.”

"The reason I'm still able to sit here and listen to your condescending lectures, instead of turning into a prince-branded cake..."

Thales lifted one side of his bangs, revealing a bald scar on his scalp.

"It's all because I bowed my head quickly enough."

Ashida gazed at him silently, her thoughts unreadable.

“So this is indeed not a deal, not a bargaining chip,” Thales sneered, holding up the invitation and waving it, “but proof that I was harmed by your ‘glorious past,’ implicated by the sins you committed, and driven to the brink of despair by old grudges I knew nothing about, and almost lost my life!”

Thales's movements seemed to have disturbed the guests on the ceiling, as sporadic rat noises could be heard, but neither of them paid any attention.

"This bad thing made me realize that magic power is not just about itself, but also about magic users."

Ashida didn't speak, but the lines on his face grew sharper and more serious.

Thales took a deep breath: "Compared to the so-called 'unpredictable and unpredictable' magic power, perhaps the things you've been hiding from me pose a greater threat to me?"

"Therefore, for my own life, I need to know, I must know, I demand to know."

Thales held the invitation high and, with a flourish, tossed it to the other end of the room:
"Now, who is Freylan?"

After he finished speaking, the study fell silent, and the two faced each other in silence.

The Duke stood by the window, letting the moonlight cover his shoulders, leaving only a shadow on his face.

The mage stood in the room, the candlelight bright, but it couldn't overshadow the deep blue in his eyes.

Only sporadic sounds from the ceiling proved that this place was not completely silent.

Several minutes later, Ashida stirred slightly and spoke:

"You are indeed different now."

Thales gave a soft hum.

“No matter how many times you repeat it, you’ll still be number twentieth,” the Duke shook his head. “There’s no prize.”

rustling...

The increasingly tense atmosphere was somewhat suffocating, and the noises from the ceiling became increasingly unsettling.

"What if I say no?"

The mage said calmly, his voice still elegant and pleasant.

Thales gave an "I knew it" look and shrugged helplessly.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that."

"After all, you are the incomparably powerful magic master, and I can't force you."

The next second, Duke Xinghu's smile vanished, and his eyes focused:
"But for the sake of my life, and to avoid being harmed by your old debts, I had no choice but to try to save myself by using all sorts of means and channels to probe into that period of history."

Aishida remained silent, and the only response the Duke received was the increasingly agitated noise above his head.

Thales curled the corners of his mouth:
"And did you know that there's an ancient library in the Sunset Temple in the capital, and the royal guards of the Restoration Palace keep all sorts of records? And of course, don't forget the Kingdom's secrets—"

Before Thales could finish speaking, the air mage's eyes flickered, and a bright blue light shone forth!

"Ah! Damn it!"

The blinding light forced Thales to turn his head away, raising his hand to shield his eyes amidst curses.

Fortunately, the intense light in Ashida's eyes only lasted for a moment before it immediately subsided.

Thales awkwardly raised his head, blinking repeatedly, waiting for the afterimage in his vision to disappear.

"What exactly are you doing—"

Thales was stunned as soon as he uttered the words.

Ashida simply stood there, elegant and composed, gazing at him with a quiet, serene expression.

but……

Thales realized something and slowly looked up.

Quiet.

No, it was deathly silence.

I don't know when it started, but the study was no longer filled with any extra noise, only a chilling silence remained.

Thales stared blankly at the ceiling.

“They’ve been cleared out,” Ashida said, her eyes slowly returning to normal, her tone unsteady. “Including those from their nests and those that were just passing by, a total of fourteen rats.”

"You're welcome."

Cleaned up?

It took Thales a few seconds to understand the sentence, and he couldn't help but swallow.

Damn.

How am I supposed to explain this to everyone?
A new stray cat has arrived at Starlake Fortress? The kind that catches mice?

“If you want to be thorough, then the area around the castle, including the rat burrows in the fields, I can…” the understanding Ashida continued.

“Wow, uh, thanks, thanks,” Thales quickly stopped him, “Well, you don’t have to go that far, my men need to have something to do…”

Ashida nodded happily:
"Please forgive me, I was distracted by this matter. What were you just saying?"

Thales clapped his hands.

“Oh, well, anyway, what I mean is, Your Excellency Mr. Sakorn,” the high-ranking Duke said with a beaming smile and affable manner, “we are teacher and student, mentor and apprentice, companions on the long road of magical energy, therefore it is necessary to strengthen communication and mutual trust…”

Thales looked at his mentor, whom he respected and admired from the bottom of his heart, his eyes filled with anticipation:

"What do you say?"

The room fell silent once again.

A few minutes later, the mage spoke softly:
"Your Highness, are you saying that you just tried to use yourself to blackmail me in exchange for my compromise?"

Thales coughed and his smile vanished.

"Sorry, I only discovered this recently myself."

Thales exhaled and said as sincerely as possible:
"Using yourself as a bargaining chip is quite effective."

Thales weighed the "covenant" in his pocket and thought sarcastically.

After all, everyone loves Thales.

Aishida's eyes flickered, and she stared intently at Thales.

But a few seconds later, he suddenly laughed.

"You should really look in the mirror and see yourself right now."

The mage's smile—which looked like a puppet with its lips sculpted into an arc—sent chills down Thales's spine.

"The bedroom mirror is broken, I wonder when we'll get a new one." Thales forced a smile to match the mage's smile.

It depends on Bachelor Julio's ledger.

"Wait a minute, besides exterminating rats, you don't happen to know how to repair mirrors, do you?"

The next second, before Thales' smile had faded, a blue light flashed in Ashida's eyes again!

Thales felt a powerful force surge towards him, and before he could react, he was lifted into the air and then plummeted down!
Oh shit!

Seeing the ground rapidly approaching, Thales angrily raised his hands to protect his head and face: I knew that bastard was petty—

thump.

With a muffled thud, Thales opened his eyes and came to his senses:
He landed on his feet, then floated on his back, his whole body awkwardly "sitting" in the void.

Ashida had already sat down next to him, leisurely enjoying the night view outside the window.

“Then, let’s talk,” the mage said calmly.

"Same as always, no notes."

Talk?

Thales realized what was happening and frowned as he touched the "air chair" under his buttocks.

He calmed his pounding heart and looked incredulously at Ashida, who had suddenly become much more talkative.

Well, it seems he's not so petty after all?

"very good."

Thinking of this, the boy smirked:
"But before you ask me to sit down, perhaps you should ask this first—"

thump!
Thales fell heavily to the ground, rubbing his backside and wincing in pain.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Damn it!

“Then, may I ask,” Ashida said calmly, looking at him as a blue light appeared to his left, outlining the shape of a chair, “Your Highness, would you like to sit down?”

Thales clutched his backside and gritted his teeth as he got up.

Screw you!
But just as he was about to say "no," he caught a glimpse of the old, crooked chair behind the desk, which belonged to the Duke.

The noble and majestic Duke of Starlake could only smack his lips in displeasure and, with a sullen expression, plop down in the "chair" that Ashida had prepared for him.

Made.

petty and narrow-minded.

"Freland Sanchet".

Inside the room, Ashida gazed at the small patch of night sky blocked by the window, her eyes distant.

"That's her name, at least the part I know about it."

Freylan Sanchet.

Thales silently repeated the name in his heart.

"She was born at an extremely young age and is said to have witnessed the empire at its peak. I suspect that even among her fellow magic users, there are very few who can surpass her in seniority."

Aishida's words tightened:
"Before becoming a mage, she was a magic apprentice at the Alchemy Tower. After becoming a mage, her threshold is called 'Senses'."

“The Alchemy Tower, I know it,” Thales raised his hand excitedly, “'The path to omniscience,' right?”

But Ashida did not give him a positive response:
"What did you say?"

“The Alchemy Tower, their motto,” Thales recalled, repeating, “'The path to omniscience,' right beneath that strange eye sign.”

Ashida squinted and looked at him strangely.

“This,” Thales had no choice but to stretch out his hand and draw a sentence in ancient imperial script in the air, “Towards, Omniscience?”

The mage remained silent for a long time.

"Did they teach you Imperial script?"

"Of course, why?"

"So, you failed?"

Thales's face darkened.

Try having classes eight days a week?
What, you're asking where that extra day came from?
Of course, it has to be squeezed out of sleep time!

Thales asked in confusion:

"Where is the error? Or is it better to translate 'omniscient' as 'omnipotent'?"

“Languages ​​in this world are not one-to-one,” Ashida said coldly. “If that’s the case, then why don’t we just learn individual nouns and, when we need to use them, simply say ‘you, study, grammar, class, idiot’?”

Thales shrank back into his chair and blankly crossed his arms.

You really don't need to be so harsh.

"And if you could be a little more generous and magnanimous, Your Highness, you are noble, studious, knowledgeable and ambitious."

Aishida said quietly:

“Slightly release some of your touching sentiments about being diligent in government affairs, worrying about the country and the world, and having the well-being of the people in your heart; squeeze out a little bit of your spare time when you stand by the window and admire the magnificent kingdom and the splendid landscape; or spare a little bit of your heroic courage when you are bargaining with me with great passion and fearlessness. Then, generously and mercifully, you might give them to some boring grammar lessons that you consider unimportant. Then you might be lucky, coincidentally, unexpectedly, movingly, and miraculously notice a trivial point in an inconspicuous corner: the ‘direction’ you mentioned in this sentence is a simplified combination of a noun and a verb in the ancient imperial text.”

Thales was dizzy and disoriented from listening. It took him a while to process this long passage before he finally managed to say, his lips twitching:
"Um, you, you only need to say the last sentence, that's enough."

Ashida ignored him.

Therefore, the ancient imperial motto of the Alchemy Tower is not literally "the path to omniscience".

To uphold his academic integrity, Thales had no choice but to pull himself together and begin swishing through the air again:
"If 'direction' is a noun, then it is not 'direction' but 'pathway' or more simply 'road'."

"Add a verb, 'The road leads to omniscience'?"

Thales looked at the guide with anticipation.

Aishida didn't even look at him, and spoke indifferently:
“Look at the grammatical structure of ‘omniscience’.”

Thales scratched his head and continued scribbling:

"Okay, let me see—oh!"

Thales realized: "So 'the path to omniscience' modifies 'path' alone! Hmm, 'the path to omniscience'?"

Aishida snorted coldly.

“Let’s look at the word case of ‘road’ again.”

Thales frowned.

“Let’s look again? But there are only a few—oh,” the boy’s expression changed again, “I understand, ‘road’ is a passive object, it has a corresponding subject and verb!” But Thales was immediately confused:
"But there's nothing in this sentence that can function as a subject or predicate..."

Aishida let out another soft hum.

This time, Thales had a sudden inspiration without needing to be reminded:
“I remember now, in the poems and proverbs of the ancient Empire, certain elements are omitted depending on the context and logic, such as—'I' 'I am'.”

Thales slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly:
"So the Tower of Alchemy says, 'I am on the road, and the road leads to all knowledge'?"

Ashida remained expressionless.
"Do you usually talk like this?"

Thales coughed and adjusted his speech:

"'I am on the path to omniscience,' not simply 'on the path to omniscience,' right?"

This time, Ashida remained silent.

Towards omniscience.

I am on the path to omniscience.

Thales silently recited the two sentences, recalling the strange eye symbol of the Alchemy Tower, and felt a sense of realization: "They are different."

“A big difference,” Ashida suddenly said.

Thales paused for a moment, then nodded.

"I understand."

"The path to omniscience—this is like a nameplate on a door."

"You just need to open it, and behind the door is omniscience."

Ashida remained noncommittal.

“But ‘I’m on the way to omniscience’—that’s more like a signpost halfway through a long journey,” Thales’ eyes lit up. “You pass it, you know you haven’t arrived yet, but you know you’re heading in the right direction, and then, and then you keep going.”

The former is a self-satisfied master who guards the gate carefully.

The latter is a traveler carrying a heavy burden, on a long and arduous journey.

They are different.

Thales seemed lost in thought.

“Muscle-bound guys may be rigid and stubborn,” Ashida said softly, looking out at the moonlight, “but they are mages too.”

Thales snapped out of his daze.

"Muscle man?"

The mage turned his head away.

"The Soul Tower is a derogatory term used to mock them."

"I understand. So what do they call you?"

"Thinker".

“A thinker?” Thales raised an eyebrow. “Why not a bookworm?”

"Because it's ironic."

Thales squinted.

Aishida snorted coldly:

“We use the most direct and simple terms, and they will never confuse or misunderstand the derogatory terms.”

"What they use to insult us is irony that can only be understood by connecting it to context, history and reality, and separating it from a layer of meaning."

Thales was in high spirits:
"Interesting. Even their derogatory terms for each other, the Soul Tower and the Alchemy Tower, use completely different logics! Isn't that right, Thinker?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ashida looked at him expressionlessly.

The surrounding air grew heavy.

Thales realized what was happening and had to cough forcefully.

“Ahem, back to the point,” the Duke said sternly. “So, Mr. Sahn, Freylan, she is a highly experienced mage—Senses?”

"Don't."

"What else?"

The mage's tone instantly turned cold:

"Don't call her that."

“You can either call her by her common name or use her full title ‘Senses Mage’, or you can even casually mention ‘senses’ in a sentence.”

The blue light in Aishida's eyes was incredibly sharp:
"But one thing, one thing, is to never use such a pure, simple, and crude method to call a magic user by their first name when you know who you are calling."

Don't use the lexicographical name directly...?
Thales was puzzled:
"why?"

The Qi Mage remained silent for a while, seemingly considering something.

But he finally spoke.

"Because we do not know the current situation of Freylan: whether she is sealed, whether she is intact, what her condition is, whether she still walks freely and exists in the world, we do not know."

"If you know what your words are referring to, and you single-mindedly call upon the name of a mage—if the other party is normal, you will sense it."

Thales' expression hardened.

If you call out the name of the person in question earnestly, alone, and intentionally, the other person will sense it.
That means……

“Once or twice, maybe it’s no big deal, but if it happens too often… believe me, no matter how quiet it is, nobody wants to have their window knocked on for no reason.” Ashida ended her sentence with a warning tone.

Thales had a sudden inspiration:
"That's amazing? Let me try yours, Qi—"

In that instant, the surrounding air compressed as if a tidal wave had crashed down!

"No, no, no—" Thales gasped for breath, his face flushed, waving his hands wildly, "Ha—ha—"

The next second, Ashida lowered her fingers, and Thales resumed breathing, gasping for breath in pain!

Grass!
He definitely did it on purpose!
"First of all, this move is not friendly."

Aishida snorted coldly:

"Secondly, remember, the Magic Queens stand at the pinnacle of magical power. I strongly suspect that they can sense and monitor known thresholds in some unimaginable way. Once any magical power user reacts to excessive summoning, the bitches will be able to detect the anomaly."

The Magic Queen.

Are they monitoring the threshold name?

Thales loosened his collar and said unhappily:
"So evil?"

The mage did not answer, but simply stared at him coldly.

Thales had no choice but to continue asking:
"So, a threshold name is like a website address—I mean, a URL? Once you call it, it's like throwing a stone at their window?"

"And the two emperors live in the tallest villa, like hunters with sniper rifles and crossbows, standing on high ground. If anyone's window rattles, they pull the trigger and take them out in one shot?"

Upon hearing this, Ashida let out a deep sigh, seemingly dissatisfied.

"Metaphor, analogy, inference, it's always like this."

But he only paused for a few seconds before his eyes gleamed blue:

"Do not."

“In a sense, the Threshold Name is more like a gate with a sign, using markers to distinguish our territory and boundaries, and to warn others,” the Qi Mage’s eyes shone brightly, seemingly looking nowhere, “to prevent us from clashing, vying for power, and killing each other.”

Distinguish between territory and boundaries.

door.

Thales frowned and pressed on:
"But if calling someone by their given name would make them aware of it, then it's like setting up a door on purpose, inviting people to knock on it?"

Ashida turned her head:

"Isn't this precisely the reason why a 'door' is stronger than a 'wall'?"

"It serves both as a warning and a deterrent to prevent intrusion," the mage's voice seemed distant and indistinct, "and also leaves room for future visitors."

Thales blinked painfully: "Something's complicated?"

"You'll understand."

The blue light in Ashida's eyes slowly faded: "When you understand."

Thales nodded, forcing a fake smile.

Thanks for your nonsense.

But he suddenly realized that after he demonstrated his magical abilities and firmly expressed his opinion that "I don't want to be burdened by your old debts," this time, Ashida seemed to be willing to teach him more, more deeply, and more difficult to understand.
In the study illuminated by candlelight, two people, one tall and one short, hung side by side in mid-air. One was quietly deep in thought, while the other was clenching his teeth and hugging his arms, creating an extremely eerie scene.

"So, is the Cleansing Project from seven hundred years ago, which aimed to erase the records of magic and history, related to this?" Thales asked, remembering something.

The mage turned his head away.

“When fewer and fewer people remember you, and fewer and fewer people call upon you,” the boy slowly sorted out the logic and gradually felt it made sense, “then when your names are heard, they will be extremely conspicuous, making it convenient for the two emperors to search for and hunt you down?”

Ashida was silent for a short while.

“Perhaps,” the mage murmured, “but it’s not just that.”

Before Thales could ask a question, Ashida spoke first:
"Whether it is when demons bewitch people and make their victims shout their names, or when religions spread their faith and make believers repeat the admonitions of the gods, or even when emperors rule the four directions and make millions of people shout 'Long live the empire' over and over again."

The mage seemed to have become engrossed in his own world again:

“Using symbols is always the most direct approach to strengthen connections, establish habits, and build authority.”

"The same is true of magical power, and even more so."

Thales was completely confused.

"Actually, I don't quite understand."

Aishida raised her head, with absolute certainty:
"You'll understand."

"sooner or later."

Thales could only hug his arms and chuckle.

Thank you.

Another piece of nonsense.

"And that's why, Mr. Sakun, you've refused to tell me about the Twin Emperors, including the unsealed magic master Yu Ming?"

"That's one of the reasons."

Aishida said seriously, "And you must be careful, especially since you have already made initial contact with magic power, and even knocked on the door—the difference between a mortal calling out a threshold name and a magic master calling out a threshold name is completely different."

Thales snorted, rolled over in the air chair, and turned towards the guide.

“You know, you could have told me sooner—you could have just said what you can and can’t do, and that would have been enough,” the prince said, pursing his lips. “It has nothing to do with magic itself.”

The mage remained silent for a moment.

"Trust me, Thales."

Aishida spoke softly, which made Thales somewhat nervous:
"Everything that happens in this world, everything, everything..."

"They are all related to magical energy."

Strange, he's been acting so strangely all day.

Thales frowned, but decided to roll back over and look at the ceiling—no, the thought of the fourteen dead rats on the ceiling made Thales roll back over to the other side, facing the doorway.

"So, even among magic users themselves, they usually don't address each other by their first names?"

"One."

Thales frowned: "What?"

The ethereal voice of the mage rang out again, this time with a mechanical and indifferent tone:
"As far as I know, since the advent of magic, there has only been one, the only magic user, who has never hesitated to call his colleagues by their first names without any regard for the consequences."

"It's as if that's our only name."

"It was as if that was his creed for living."

For some reason, Thales felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing those words.

He instinctively turned around and looked at Ashida.

"And each time, the feeling of him calling out my name..."

The Qi Mage was seen lying in the void, his blue eyes, which flickered erratically, staring intently at the ceiling.

But it doesn't feel like you're staring at the ceiling.

Rather, it is something else above that, beyond that...

Thales rarely saw Ashida like this.

"Who is he?" the boy couldn't help but ask.

Ashida made no move.

But the next moment, a flash of blue light appeared, and the blue-glowing gaze of the Qi Mage locked onto him.

This startled Thales.

It's like flipping through a comic book, changing to the next page in the blink of an eye.

"Fortunately, he and his brother have been confirmed to be sealed away."

The blue light in the magician's eyes overflowed from their sockets, spreading like cracks across his face.

"Before they destroy the world."

The two beams of blue light made Thales extremely uncomfortable, and he instinctively turned his head to avoid them.

The next moment, the Qi Mage instantly turned to the sky, coldly and woodenly uttering a single word:

"exist."

presence.

exist……

Existence, existence, existence...

The word seemed to possess some kind of power, echoing faintly as Ashida called out to it.

The next moment, Thales had a strange feeling—all the sounds and colors in the world disappeared at once!

Even his thoughts came to a standstill.

It's all over.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt something move.

Soon, the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the door... everything before my eyes and in my ears gradually and slowly returned to normal.

The next second, the boy took a deep breath and sat up!
Thales then came to his senses and found himself drenched in cold sweat.

Ashida sat beside him, as always, calm, elegant, and serene as she looked at him.

Thales was breathing heavily and blinking his eyes frantically.

everything is normal.

normal?

The only thing that's extra, or rather, left over...

It's a force that permeates everything, from the inside out...

A deep palpitation.

Eat first, then we'll revise it later.

Point out bugs or give suggestions?

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(End of this chapter)