Chapter Ch120.2 - Piano Playing

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

Caesar was the first one to squeeze his way out of the crowd, using his powerful assault position body to his advantage to grab onto the grand piano. This 300 pound White Moonlight trainee blocked the way to the piano’s mechanical box and guarded it tightly.

The court musician’s ghost was so angry that it immediately gave up harassing Wu Jin to roar at Caesar.

Let go! Get lost!

Stay away from my piano! You vulgar person––

A quarter of an hour later, Caesar had unsurprisingly defeated a series of piano instance competitors with his strong fists and won the ‘privilege’ of doing business with Wu Jin.

The ghost had long become so angry it had gone into seclusion and disappeared.

In the corridor of the palace that was lit up by the early morning light, Wu Jin picked up the oil painting again. Caesar slapped his chest proudly and assured him, “Little Witch, isn’t it just a Wei Yan? Even if there were ten of him, your big brother can still block them for you––”

Wei Yan suddenly became portrayed as a big, ignorant bully who bullied precious artists.

Off-site, in the Crosson and Hyacinth Show live broadcast room.

The camera replayed the moment when Wu Jin took over the piano stool, and the director selected the best angle out of the six cameras there for the replay––

The youth who’d just fought his way out of the gallery set aside his machete and sat in front of the grand piano in the morning light. The small scratch about half a finger length long along one side of his cheek hadn’t yet been healed, and his eyes were cool and calm.

This violent aesthetic was smoothed out by the sound of the retro mechanical piano.

The performance was gentle and soft.

Ying Xiangxiang whistled softly, smiling as she covered her chest, expressing exaggeratedly that her heart was thumping hard.

The barrage of scrolling comments was thick and dense, and the mama fans who had their hearts shattered from love all expressed that they were bursting into tears because they were so moved by their son.

“#Surprise! My son can actually do this kind of thing to the piano––”

“#Treasure trove Little Witch!”

“#One person, one credit point, crowdfunding Little Witch’s show business debut!”

Blood Pigeon frowned and thought aloud, “I don’t see Contestant Wu carrying the score with him… how did he do it?”

Ying Xiangxiang explained, “Being able to play the score after reading it once, we call it the ability to read and play. This is related to the music theory knowledge reserve of a person and their auditory responses. Of course, Little Witch’s actions just now also involve the ability to recite the score––”

Ying Xiangxiang laughed, “Little Witch’s memory has always been one of his special points.”

The screen focused.

They cut back to the live broadcast.

The door to the Royal Chapel squeaked open. Vera entered first, encountering an unexpected scene.

Wei Yan was already standing next to the portrait of Lemoyne. He had his hands down, and the machete behind him. It seemed as though with one flash of silver light, he would be able to rush up and snatch the painting.

Caesar swept in from the door, holding up a machete identical to Wu Jin’s and shouting, “Come, fight!”

Vera fell into a defensive support position.

Wei Yan’s pupils contracted, and his expression was a little stunned.

This human-shaped weapon’s first reaction was to report an illegal team formation, but the wristwatch showed that everything was normal. Before Wei Yan could react, Caesar had already made a sudden assault and forced him back––

“Three minutes!” Vera estimated quickly.

Wu Jin nodded silently.

Wei Yan’s hand no longer held that small, broken sword, but rather an excellent machete. At this time, given that it was two A-level trainees against an S, this was the amount of time that Vera would be able to hold Wei Yan back. She had estimated that to conservatively be only 3 minutes.

Wu Jin set down the oil painting, quickly opened up the painting of Lemoyne on the wall of the chapel, then picked up the frame again and rushed down the secret passage.

One and a half minutes.

170×140. The painting of Lemoyne’s dead wife was closely related to the task. Wu Jin removed the blank frame and replaced it with the lady on the funeral bed––

5 seconds.

Outside the secret passage, Wei Yan finally found a flaw in Caesar and Vera’s siege. He used his long sword to shock Vera’s arm numb, and the sound of fighting gradually grew closer to Wu Jin.

Wu Jin’s breaths were extremely rapid in the stale air. The airtight location and dim lighting in the passage seemed to trigger some kind of memory and induce an instinctive reaction from him.

He closed his eyes slowly, and when he opened them again, his hands were finally stable.

The locked password box.

Eight letters. The court painter and his charming fiance flashed back in his memory, with the painter repeatedly calling for the young woman to sit in front of the easel, and the young woman laughing like a silver bell.

Her name was Stiémart.

On the letter panel, he adjusted the fifth letter, and a faint light came out from the side. Wu Jin looked back and was almost given a scare.

Lemoyne stood quietly beside Wu Jin with blood all over his body and stared sadly at the painting of his dead wife.

Outside the secret passage, Wei Yan seemed to be only one step away from breaking through their defenses––

“Brother, I’m sorry.” Wu Jin no longer tarried and quickly spelled out the last three letters. He patted the nonexistent ghost in the arm.

The sound of gears sounded out, growing louder until the password box suddenly opened up!

A dark blue card lay in the middle of the box. It had a soft, yet thick texture.

––Character Card – François Lemoyne (1688-1737).

Wu Jin quickly picked up the card and slid it into his combat suit. He reached out for a spare machete and kicked open the door to the secret passage––

Light streamed in from the chapel.

The ghost of the painter approached the frame, kissed the Stiémart who was lying on the funeral bed, and finally dissipated into the morning light of Versailles.

Instance cleared.

A click sounded from both Vera and Wei Yan’s pockets at the same time as the original clue cards shattered. Wei Yan looked up abruptly, and Wu Jin leapt out of the exit of the secret passage to join the battle––

The three A-level trainees joined hands.

It was once again difficult for Wei Yan to break through their defenses and catch Wu Jin. He pulled back his blade and retreated quickly, leaving no trace he’d been there.

Wu Jin let out a long breath and reached for the card in his combat suit, sending Vera a nod.

Vera’s eyes flashed.

Caesar chuckled as he flicked the blade, “Little Witch! Is brother handsome or not?! Now, about that locked box…”

Wu Jin smiled and said, “Let’s go, to the library.”

Caesar wailed, “What are we going there for!”

Wu Jin explained, “To obtain the score. I only remember the first movement––also, to confirm the password.”

The scent of pine, moss, and incense drifted out from the bookshelves. The three of them avoided the crowd and drew out the musical score from a dull wooden bookshelf.

<Te Deum>, Jean-Baptiste Lully.

Caesar quickly dusted off the score and stared at it with wide eyes, “That is his name…”

Wu Jin followed Lully’s name and searched through the archives, pulling out two additional books. Vera came closer and also flipped through the books.

“Most of Lully’s lifetime was spent writing music for King Louis XIV. The Italian composer who’d arrived in the palace for the first time as a child was captivated by the King’s charming temperament…”

Caesar: “??? Lully was a woman? That ghost is a man!”

“……” Vera’s expression was dazed as she pointed to the book, then looked at Caesar. “Lully was a straight man with a family. Moreover, Louis XIV was also a straight man.”

Caesar pondered, “Yet they could still fall in love at first sight––”

Vera slapped the table, “Admiration, adoration. Do you understand or not!”

Wu Jin pointed to the royal portraits of the Bourbon royal family to one side of the lower part of the library, “The second one to the left.”

Caesar: “Holy shit, this loli looks good!”

Wu Jin quickly corrected him. Due to the oil painting card, he and Vera were somewhat familiar with all the paintings in the Palace of Versailles, “…This painting is called <Prince Louis XIV> and depicts the King when he was a child.” He looked at the materials in hand and explained further, “Lully was 6 years older than Louis. The young prince was introverted, and Lully taught him music and made his first pair of dancing shoes for him. He encouraged him to perform ballet in front of the aristocratic court in order to cultivate his self-confidence.”

Caesar understood, “I get it! They were playing at raising up––”

There was the sound of rustling as they flipped to the end of the material, and Caesar suddenly thought of something, “There’s a hint on this card. Something about 1687, and the password is 11 letters…”

Vera flipped to 1687 and found a well circulated phrase from Lully––

–“Where there is sun, there is meaning to my existence.”

“He’s referring to the Sun King.” Wu Jin opened up the book. When Louis XIV fought wars in Europe, and his fame was evident, Lully was undoubtedly proud of his glory. When Louis XIV fell into the water, and his life was in danger, Lully left his wife and children to play piano for him outside of his window.”

“1687.” Vera leaned in and whispered, “Louis XIV recovered from surgery in 1687… Lully rehearsed <Te Deum> to celebrate the King’s recovery. This was the last composition Lully created for Louis XIV. However, the musician had lost the King’s favor and waited alone for the Sun King to arrive at the concert room.”

“Louis XIV was absent from the entire performance, yet the King had been the only intended audience. Lully played the entire song <Te Deum> to the empty audience and died of serious illness after this performance…”

Lully died from gangrene, having struck his foot with his long conducting staff during the performance of his Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIV’s recovery from surgery. He refused to have his leg amputated so that he could still dance.

Wu Jin nodded, “His ghost floats in the Palace of Versailles, playing <Te Deum> at night, waiting for the king to come. He’s eager for an audience, so the second mission for the piano instance was to ‘find 200 listeners’.”

“However, he only wants one particular audience.”

Vera sighed, “Louis XIV, the code is Louis XIV.”

Juurensha: I…feel kind of bad for Lully. Not only did the king not come see his performance, but now in his virtual afterlife, some kid takes over his piano????

xiin: welllll despite their ‘apparently platonic’ relationship, Lully really did have an affair with young man… hmm.