Chapter Text
The dirt in your lungs suffocates me,
I feel the bite of the worms in your bones.
Death took you from my hands
And I can’t wait any—
"Next stop: Maple Hill."
— more.
Xie Lian’s eyes flutter open.
Cursed with a beat—
"Destination: Capital Main Station."
—ing heart,
I've wan—
"Doors will open to the right."
—dered long…
"Mind the gap between the train and the platform."
… enough.
With a sigh, Xie Lian pauses the song playing on his phone and sits straight to look out of the window.
"Thank you for travelling with Ox Cart Railway."
If they are in Maple Hill, that means there’s about… half an hour or so before they arrive at the final station, where he has to get off. Maybe less than that, considering the high speed train. Seeing how small the place where they just stopped is, though, he wonders if this can be considered an express journey at all. That would explain the suspiciously cheap ticket.
It doesn't matter; he’s not in a rush. Actually, he doesn’t even want to arrive in the city. It can’t be helped, though —there’s only so much one can get done with a public office through the internet. It will be a matter of two weeks at most, and as long as he steers clear of that crowd and that area, he should be fine. Besides, while the city is expensive, it offers countless job opportunities, and no matter how much Xie Lian dreads the place, he is happy to feed his starving bank account.
Speaking of which, he’d better check his messages and then look for some gigs.
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COMMARRAY | 41% — 14:45h | 31.08.2022
4 new message(s)
__________
USER: ScrappedSounds
USER ID: 17318001
In regards of the following submission:
-Title: Buried Together
-Songwriter: Xie Lian
-Recording artist: Withering Lotus
-Record label: -null-
Thank you so much for your submission to Fragmented Core, the most reliable music distribution company for independent musicians. Unfortunately, we will not be able to incorporate the song to our platform due to a Copyright Infringement violation detected in relation to the following song:
-Title: Bury Your Enemy
-Songwriter: [Protected]
-Recording artist: Winds of War
-Record label: Immortal Records
-Music distribution service: Upper Court Music
Please read our Terms of Service and Copyright Policy to ensure that your future submissions comply with all the relevant laws and regulations. Note that your account may be suspended if more Copyright Infringement violations are detected.
If you think this is a mistake, follow our Appeal Guide and submit all the pertinent documents to our system by [02.09.2022] at [18:00]. Please understand our workflow doesn’t allow extensions.
Disclaimer: Fragmented Core does not provide legal services or intellectual property registrations. Our appeal process doesn’t have legal scope.
Sincerely,
Fragmented Core
Digital Music Distribution
__________
Two days to appeal… Xie Lian reasons that it makes sense. Most musicians would have a certificate of registration for their song already at hand, which would make them able to go through the process in a matter of minutes. The fact that he can’t get his compositions registered at the moment (the very reason that brings him to this place) is entirely his business.
He is aware of how impatient he has been with Buried Together . His registered songs struggle enough to reach any audience due to constant unlawful strikes and mysterious reports, so releasing a song before sorting the copyright certificate is setting it up for failure. He knows this very well, and yet…
Ever since the basic idea of the song came into his mind, he’s felt a pull to share it, to throw it out there because there’s someone who needs it, who’s waiting for it. He feels a bit of that urgency whenever he’s about to finish any metal song, which partially explains why he keeps writing for the genre despite everything that has happened, but it has been a while since it was so intense. Maybe it’s just that he wants to release it like a call for help, blindly throwing a rope into the storm to see if it will anchor to something solid, at last.
While he normally uses long trips to put on his old headphones and work on his laptop, he decided to rest this time and dozed for most of the journey. Even so, he feels exhausted. The last couple weeks have been hectic and the ones that come next don’t look too promising. At least he knows a warm nice bed is waiting for him. The B&B he managed to book this time almost looked too good to be true.
__________
COMMARRAY | 36% — 14:52h | 31.08.2022
3 new message(s)
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Dear Mr. Xie,
The reservation you made for [PRIVATE ROOM IN WATER CHESTNUT CREEK] from [31.08.2022] to [05.09.2022] has been cancelled by your host because [OPTION 2: ACCOUNT NOT VERIFIED].
In order to verify your account, make sure your profile is complete and that you have linked a valid payment method.
Still visiting the area? Browse the best rooms for your stay.
The world is in your hands with Travel Seal, the most efficient transportation and accommodation service.
__________
Well, it ended up being too good to be true. Xie Lian reasons that it makes sense. He knows how important it is to verify his accounts on apps like that, which is why he almost never relies on them for accommodation. It's not that he wants to play tricks on B&B hosts, it’s just that his bank is always giving him trouble and his card gets rejected by most services.
He didn’t expect to have to worry about anything besides the paperwork and the music gigs available in the city while the issues were sorted, but it seems he’ll need to resort to ShrineGate in order to get a roof over his head. The app usually means hard work, but it’s been a true life saver over the years, as it offers accommodation in exchange for services like cleaning, pet sitting and gardening, taking money out of the equation. Xie Lian got his profile verified when he first started using it around seven years ago, and now, even if there’s always a notification asking for data updates, he has so many good reviews that he almost never struggles to find somewhere to stay.
Xie Lian sighs, mourning the B&B room. It had a bathtub, which is a bit of a rarity, and he was really looking forward to taking a hot bath. At least, with ShrineGate, he’s likely to meet a cute new pet or two. He likes animals and animals like him, so even if their games and chases tend to end in tragedy for fragile house items and Xie Lian’s savings alike, looking after pets is always a nice thing to do.
__________
COMMARRAY | 21% — 15:04h | 31.08.2022
2 new message(s)
__________
Hi, Withering Lotus.
The following video(s) from your account have been disabled for violation of the SpiritPower Community Guidelines:
- Withering Lotus - Stake to the Heart (Funeral Doom)
- Withering Lotus - Gilded Banquet (Atmospheric Doom - Lyric Video)
Your account has received [2] Community Guidelines warning strike(s), which will expire in three months. Additional violations may result in the temporary disabling of your ability to post content to SpiritPower and/or the termination of your account.
For more information on SpiritPower Community Guidelines and how they are enforced, please visit the help centre.
Review our Terms of Service
Appeal this decision
Thank you for trusting SpiritPower.
This is an automated message. Please do not reply directly.
__________
Nothing as vague as a community guideline violation. Xie Lian tries to reason that it makes sense, but he can't think of anything wrong in those two songs and their videos. Sure, the lyrics Xie Lian writes nowadays are not bright or optimistic, but they don't incite the listeners to violence or contain explicit themes either. He has never engaged in hate speech and both videos have a drawing of a dry lotus as the only visuals. A dead flower can't be so offensive as to grant a report, can it?
Anyway, there is nothing he can do besides waiting for the strikes to expire before posting Buried Together in SpiritPower, so any action taken against that song doesn't endanger his account. It’s a shame, but at least it gives him time to edit the lyrics into the video. After almost a decade of refining and diversifying his vocal distortion skills, using them profusely on his compositions, he knows a written guide can come in handy for listeners to understand the words, even if he never neglects proper diction. He thinks the sound texture is satisfying enough to make the songs work regardless, but if the words weren’t relevant, he’d be better off doing instrumental pieces, wouldn’t he?
__________
COMMARRAY | 18% — 15:16h | 31.08.2022
1 new message(s)
__________
Dear Hua Xie,
Please find below the latest vacancies and opportunities that Merits & Blessings has for you:
Commercial Jingle Producer
Important supermarket chain requires the production of five custom commercial jingles to play on loop at the stores. Each tune will be themed after a natural element (water, wind, earth, fire, thunder) so the use of traditional instruments is encouraged. Applicants must submit a portfolio and proof of having the required equipment and interpreters to execute the entirety of the project, from composition to mastering, as this is a remote job and no recording equipment or instruments will be provided.
-Application deadline: 08.09.2022, 17:00h
-Salary: Disclosed after selection.
Apply to this opportunity | Bookmark | Why am I seeing this?
Traditional Music Performer
Exclusive restaurant ‘Chance Encounters’ in the Yu Jun area requires a sanxian, pipa, guqin or erhu player for a three hours long event happening on 02.09.2022, starting at 17:00h. Must have a good repertoire of traditional and folk music that includes “The Butterfly Lovers”. PA system provided on site.
-Application deadline: 31.08.2022, 18:00h
-Salary: 25/h plus tips.
Apply to this opportunity | Bookmark | Why am I seeing this?
Didn’t find a suitable offer? Try changing your preferences or adjust your location.
This message was sent to you on behalf of the Merits & Blessings career and employment network. If you do not want to receive more job alerts, please unsubscribe.
__________
Due to the portfolio requirement, Xie Lian will need to wait until he's on his laptop to apply for the supermarket jingles job, so he races against his dying phone battery to apply to the restaurant. He knows how to play all the listed instruments and would love to offer a sanxian performance, but unfortunately, he had to pawn his last sanxian a few months ago. In terms of traditional instruments, he's only travelling with a rather cheap pipa at the moment.
Xie Lian sighs, remembering how he grew up surrounded by top quality musical instruments from all around the world. Next to his mum's singing in the kitchen (which, in contrast to what she cooked, was absolutely delightful), that’s what he misses the most from his time back home. He spent his days training to become a classical performer and jammed to old hard rock during the nights, dreaming of sold out stadiums with his friends Feng Xin and Mu Qing. At the time, Xie Lian's father —a hugely successful producer in the film and television industry— didn't agree completely with Xie Lian's taste for metal and rockstar aspirations, but he thought a hobby couldn’t hurt, especially not if it was still related to music, so he supported his son with the necessary equipment and education. He even signed in representation of Xie Lian and his band with Immortal Records, the biggest and most famous record label for rock music in the continent, because he decided to bet on Xie Lian’s aspirations of bringing folk and metal music together.
Eleven years have passed since; three of flying in bliss, eight of… crawling, at best. But Xie Lian reasons that it makes more sense this way, because one needs to crawl in order to learn how to walk, and only after walking can a man learn how to run. By taking off and trying to reach the sun as soon as he started his career, what Xie Lian unknowingly did was jump off a cliff, leaving everybody who cared about him behind before he fell and broke his wings and legs. His path has become very long and difficult because of these self-inflicted wounds, and yet Xie Lian perseveres, even if he doesn't know exactly why.
Maybe it’s just that, against all evidence and rationality, he feels there is someone out there who still listens.
What might that person think of Buried Together? Xie Lian hopes that they like it, even if it is a bit full of yearning. Thinking he has just enough battery left to finish listening to it, he opens his media player and makes it resume.
I’ll take care of this on my own,
And bury myself…
"Next stop: Capital Main Station."
… alive…
"Dear passengers, we are about to arrive at our final destination. Doors will open to the left. Mind the gap between the train and the platform.”
… Next to…
"Please make sure to take all your belongings with you. Thank you for travelling with Ox Cart Railway."
… you.
Xie Lian squeezes his eyes shut for a moment and then stands up, gathering his luggage with the efficiency and skill that only people who live out of a suitcase can master. The train doors open to reveal the seemingly endless building of the main train station, cleaned and polished to the point the walls look like they’re glowing and the colour of people’s clothes reflect on the floor tiles.
Bright and noisy. As usual, the city is as spectacular as it is unwelcoming. Keeping his head low, Xie Lian carries his massive bags with ease across the building, staying out of the way of other people to the point that no one even seems to notice him.
He reaches a free charging station, crowned with a small LED screen blasting an ad for ice cream, and rummages in his bag for the cable to connect his cellphone so he can book a ShrineGate place. Distracted by that, he doesn’t see the face of a stranger that reflects on the LED screen when the ad is over and the surface turns black. He doesn’t feel the gaze of a single eye over his dark hair, tied in a messy bun with little stray hairs sticking out, and how it moves from there to his long neck and the worn-out backpack that obscures part of it. He misses the heart wrenching mix of awe, longing, perplexity and impotence in that eye until it's one second too late and he lifts his head, startled, to be greeted by a yoghurt ad that starts playing on the LED screen.