They were surprisingly nimble, for these children could break free from the iron grip of the guards of the city in a heartbeat. Like a madman, Finn stamped his feet and waved his hands, completely unable to fit the beat. Jian Ke shook his head quickly and was completely immersed in his own music world. Nick danced in a dazzling manner, swaying smoothly from side to side, stopping from time to time to flirt with a pretty girl. Wen dances the waves, spinning around the dance floor with Cates and indulging in the fun.

The music was so loud that the two couldn't speak at all.

He doesn't care.

The light of the alchemy lamp hit the chandelier, rendering a rainbow, and then scattered into countless diamond-shaped brilliant auroras. Wen raised his hands, as if to hold the light and shadow into his palms. Cates wrapped his arms around his neck and reached out into the air. He could smell the soap and sweat on her body, the scent of the ends of her hair and the heat of her body. He hoped that this moment would never pass.

But it will.

A fat palm pressed against Wen's shoulder. He suddenly realized that the moment had dissipated forever, and a great sense of loss suddenly rushed into his heart. He tried to curse, but the words reached his lips but he held them down—because the tanker guard was looking down at him.

"Didn't I tell you to go back to the gutter?"

Wen glanced at Kates and saw that her breasts were heaving slightly with excitement. She nodded. Although he didn't ask her, her outstretched hand had already answered.

Wen and Cates clasped their fingers together and shouted, "Run!" ”

Like a loach, he shook off his big hand of the gas tank and rushed into the center of the dance floor with Cates as an arrow. Cates screamed wildly, and the two of them dodged between the dancers as if they were playing dodge-hook in a gutter. They held hands and ran wildly, the gas tank recklessly crashing through the crowd behind them, in hot pursuit. But from the moment they knew how to walk, Kates and Wen began to run and jump in the streets of Zaun. They outperformed the guards, the alchemist scoundrels, the ruffians, and so on.

A fat doorman is no problem.

They heard the roar of the gas tank even drown out the music, as if he were singing. The two deliberately led him through the whirling and jumping artists. Cates kept his hand tight. Wen couldn't help but laugh, it didn't matter if the gas tank was getting closer and closer. Then, just as the canister was about to touch Wen's shoulder, Fein stabbed him in an elbow that hit him in the face. The gas tank fell on the dance floor.

They left the gas canister on the ground and rolled around like a pig. Wen had never felt such intoxicating excitement. Every dance he makes, every step he takes, is exactly to the beat of the music. Each progressive chorus seems to have been written specifically for the moment. They laughed like crazy, and held hands in the center of the confused lights and music, never expecting that they would one day be so close.

The music came to an abrupt end. The brilliant lights were extinguished, and only an alchemical blowtorch was left on the stage. Suddenly the dancers let out a soft sigh as a woman slowly rose from the center of the stage. Is this magic or a stage effect? Wen didn't know and didn't care. What a brilliant debut.

"Mother Eletty." Kates said.

Of course Wen knew it was her, but he still couldn't connect the goddess in front of him with the stern middle-aged woman in the Hope House. Her long hair was combed into an intricate braid, interspersed with mother-of-pearl and jade, like a newborn star. She wore a long, glossy green dress with folds that looked like silver silk was woven from shimmering spider silk.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

Mother Eloti raised her face and the music played. A slow, icy pace at first, then a high-spirited heartbeat. She looked up to the music, her dark skin glistening with diamond dust. Her gaze swept over the crowd, and her soul-penetrating gaze seemed to pierce everyone in Babetri. She smiled, perhaps surprised by the sheer number of guests, and the warmth in her almond eyes ironed for everyone who looked at her. Wen felt that she was completely immersed in her divine light, and the unspeakable burden on her body was also lifted layer by layer.

Then she started singing.

He couldn't understand the lyrics, but she was half-singing and half-reading, and the words flowed like honey. Every note is like a blade of grass fluttering in the middle of the hall on a warm summer night. Her singing grew louder and brighter, and Wen felt her skin itch too. He let Mother Eletty's singing rush into his internal organs, and the whole person was clear from the inside out. He felt a great warmth swell between him and Keites. The two looked at each other, and he knew that her state of mind was the same.

But that's not all.

Wen felt that he was connected to everyone in the audience – an indescribable sense of belonging that he could never have dreamed of. Mother Eletty reached out and waved it as if carving the air in front of her. Her voice was full of power, and it filled the whole hall, and the inclusion in it penetrated everyone's flesh and bones, smoothing out all the edges and corners. Her face was covered with beads of sweat, and the veins in her neck were clearly visible.

Wherever her singing comes from, the price is clearly physical harm.

The lights dimmed, and her voice became softer. The notes are like the first thaw of spring snow, and the sunset sinks to the end of the winter sea. Warm burst into tears, and he knew he wasn't alone. More than a dozen men and women, weeping for a long time, stretched out their hands to Mother Eletty, begging her to sing. And she swayed gently on the stage, and the song was coming to an end.

Slowly, slowly, she began to slowly descend from the trapdoor on the stage. The song grew softer and softer, gradually turning into a murmur.

Soon, the murmur also dissipated.

The room was plunged into complete darkness. The lights came back on slowly, and Wen exhaled with a shudder. He blinked, adjusting to the faint glow of the alchemy lamp. How long did Eleti's mom sing? Hours, or minutes? He had no way of knowing. Wen felt exhausted, but at the same time refreshed. His mind was light, and the air in his lungs was clearer than ever. He turned to look at Kates and saw that she had a look of rebirth on her face. After spending this fantastic moment together, people smiled and hugged each other, whether they knew each other or not.

Nick, Finn, and Janeko came together, and several of them seemed to have undergone a deep baptism of soul. Although Wen doesn't know the specifics, the change is obvious to everyone.

"Do you have ......?" Wen said.

"Hmm." Nick said.

Five orphans from Zaun were hugged. They don't know if such a moment of heart-to-heart connection will be repeated in the future, so they can only hug each other tightly in the present. When they parted, they saw the two doormen, Qi Tank and Zilashou, standing with fists clenched. The bridge of the nose of the gas tank is tilted to one side. Wen felt that he had become handsome.

"Did I say that you have to go home?" Zilashou said.

"Damn gutter rats." The gas tank covered his nose, which was still bleeding, and said viciously, "You thought you could trick us, right?" ”

"It's time for you to leave. And I can't guarantee that it doesn't hurt at all. Zila's tone almost turned apologetic.

"There's no need for that." A pleasant voice came from behind them.

Wen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Mother Eletty put her hand on the back of his neck. Her fingers were warm, and there was a soothing warmth.

"Are they with you?" Gas tank asked.

"Yes, indeed." Elety's mother said.

The two doormen looked at each other and wanted to ask more, but they quickly came to the conclusion that it was clearly not wise to argue with their top singer in front of such a mesmerizing audience. The doorman took a few steps back, but his eyes stared at the five of them one by one, making them understand that this time they were lucky to have escaped a good fight, but it would be a very, very bad idea to dare to come next time.

Wen turned to face Mother Eletty. Whatever magic she had wove on stage was now gone. The princess of Ionia was gone, replaced by a housewife of Zaun. She looked at them with a stern look in her eyes, as hard as stone.

"I should have given you two a good lesson." She pushed them towards the front door of the theater. The children hung their heads, afraid to speak in the face of her anger. But only Wen caught the smile that flashed in her eyes. Even so, he had foreseen that heavy chores awaited them.

"You're amazing." Kates said. Mother Eletty escorted them out of the theater and in the direction of the street. The evening lift to Zaun had a stop nearby, so at least they didn't have to venture off cliffs or climb long stairs. Nick, Fein, and Janeko waved goodbye to them, because they were old enough to decide for themselves when they wanted to go back. Wen didn't mind, he happened to be riding the moonlight with Cates and Mother Eloti.

"Where did you learn to sing?" Kates asked.

"When I was a child, my mother taught me." Mother Eloti said, "She's the kind of ...... Old-school Ionian, but her singing voice is so much better than mine. ”

"That song is beautiful." Wen said.

"Every song by Vastaya is beautiful, but it's also very sad." Elety's mother said.

"Why?" Wen asked.

"True beauty is ephemeral. That's why some songs are so sad that people can't sing them. ”

Wen didn't quite understand. Why is there a song that is so sad that it can't be sung? He wanted to ask more, but as they moved farther away from Babet, the less important they became.

He looked up, and the alchemy lamp and the starlight shone faintly on the iron-glass city, and also on the way home from the cliff. Wen saw a silver moon poking his head out from behind the clouds, and he took a deep breath of clean air, knowing in his heart that he might not have a chance anytime soon.

"You're responsible for the floor and the dishes and chopsticks for the rest of the week, don't you need to tell me?" Mother Elody asked.

Wen nodded, but he didn't care. He was still holding Kates' hand. A week's worth of housework is simply insignificant.

"Of course. Sounds good. He said.