The two of them soon arrived at the entrance of the cemetery. Although they were in the wild far away from the village, the sultry summer night was not quiet at all. The wind brought the chirping of cicadas and the rustling of treetops to their ears, but it was dull in their pockets.
But I couldn't feel the coolness of the wind inside the hat.
Of course there are no obvious lights near the cemetery, but the light of the gravekeeper's cabin in the center of the cemetery can be vaguely seen.
The cemetery is surrounded by an iron fence. Due to heavy rains in the past few days, the path is covered with dried mud. It seems that the fence gate is locked, but when I get closer, I find two fence gates with spikes on the top.
They are just tied together by iron chains.
Although it is a village cemetery, it looks relatively formal probably because it is close to the city. Unlocking the chains and entering the cemetery, a straight path less than thirty steps long leads directly to the tombkeeper located in the center of the cemetery.
Cottage, while the rest of the cemetery houses graves of the past and present.
Different from the hometown of outsiders, according to the tradition of Delaraion and the burial regulations of the Tobesk region, the height of the mound of a general grave cannot exceed the length of the thumb, but it is allowed to use long strips of white stone on the ground to surround the edge of the grave.
, making it easy to identify the location of the graves. Following Miss Louisa and looking at the cemetery under the moonlit night, I could only see graves with similar appearances lying there, and there was a frightening chill in the silence.
The styles of tombstones vary. Most of the small stone tombstones are embedded directly in the soil in front of the tomb. This is a cheaper burial method. Although Shade has not visited Detective Sparrow in the city public cemetery,
But his tomb is probably like this.
Tombstones that can be erected on the ground represent that the deceased had something worth recording during his lifetime, or that relatives are willing to pay to choose an expensive tomb. Just like Shade himself, if he died tragically, then with the current savings and the upcoming tomb,
As a member of the Order of Honorary Knight of Delrayon, he is entitled to have a standing tombstone.
"Huh? What am I thinking."
He asked himself silently.
After entering the cemetery, it seemed that the temperature suddenly dropped a bit. The woman's voice in my heart once asked Shade if he was afraid of ghosts. Although Shade was indeed not afraid, he still couldn't help but feel a little worried in this environment.
"However, in this mysterious world, visiting the cemetery at night seems to be a good story plot."
He was amusing himself with this thought, but Miss Louisa suddenly stopped and looked to the left of the road.
Shade also looked over. Two long and two short white stones surrounded the tomb. Then, in the moonlight, he could vaguely see the words on the tombstone. The unlucky guy lying here died 24 years ago. The cause of death was a peanut stuck while eating breakfast.
His trachea was blocked. It was already three days before people found his body.
What was unusual was not the cause of death, but that the stones on the tomb were shaking. But this was not an earthquake. Under the gazes of Shade and Miss Louisa, a rotten finger stretched out from the soil first, followed by a foul smell.
The corpse's palm also pierced the ground.
"Mr. Copus, why not scare me next time with an evil spirit?"
Miss Louisa shouted loudly to the lit gravekeeper's cabin, and there was a match in her right hand under her robe. She just twisted the match and flicked it in the air, and the match head lit up.
Then he threw the burning match at the hand stretched out from the tomb. Almost the moment the flame touched the rotting corpse, the fire lit up like a firework. But that was only for a moment. When the light disappeared, there was only the green smoke of the match.
Rising from the ground, the tomb was intact, and the extinguished matchstick lay there quietly.
"It's this little trick again."
Miss Louisa commented dissatisfied, and then the two of them heard a bang. They turned their heads, and the door of the tombkeeper's cabin was opened.
Contrary to Shade's imagination, even in the village cemetery, the gravekeeper's hut is not simply made of straw and seems to fall down if it is blown. It is a real stone house, with the dim light of a kerosene lamp inside the door, and a like
It was a thin middle-aged man with a pale face who had indulged in too much sex. He walked out of the light in the room and looked at the two people in black robes impatiently:
"I knew there would be no peace tonight. What do you want?"
Although he looks strange, Mr. Copps, the gravekeeper, speaks normally.
Miss Louisa pushed Shade, and Shade knew it was better not to stay here for a long time:
"A small bag of bone meal, a bone whistle made from human hand bones, two eardrums, thirty ears worth of corrupted blood, and a human face stone."
"Human Face Stone" is a stone cultured from corpses using special techniques. It is more like some kind of alchemical material than a mineral, and it is also the most expensive of these materials.
"Have you brought enough money?"
The impatient middle-aged man asked. Shade noticed that he was wearing a black apron, which made Shade think of the butcher inexplicably:
"How much?"
"Twelve pounds."
"Payment is now available."
"Then wait."
After a brief conversation, Mr. Copps turned and returned to his cabin. The two people outside the door could hear the sound of him rummaging for something. Not long after, he came out holding a paper bag.
He walked towards Shade, and as the two approached, Shade smelled a familiar smell of corpses (note). This was definitely a smell that could not be washed away after being exposed to corpses for many years.
After handing over the money and delivering the goods, Mr. Copps returned to the hut and closed the door, with no intention of talking to the two of them again. If he were running a store normally, he would probably never get rich with this attitude.
Even including the time Mr. Copus spent searching for things, the entire transaction process did not take more than 10 minutes.
"Don't forget to put the chain back on when you leave."
These were the last words he said to the two of them.
Miss Louisa shrugged at Shade:
"He's always like this, so don't be surprised."
After leaving the cemetery and entering the grove, Shade directly used the materials in his arms to learn thaumaturgy. He didn't want to walk around holding this pile of things.
"Shad, you will come into contact with more ring warlocks in the future, and then you will find that Mr. Copus is definitely not the weirdest person."
This was Miss Louisa's evaluation of Mr. Copus. She leaned against the tree and watched Shade checking the bag of bone meal. Among the three effects of the thaumaturgy [Soul Echo], the only one that requires active "channelling"
The casting material is bone meal. Fortunately, the amount used is very small, so this small bag is enough for Shade to consume for a long time.
Then he put the stone on his ear.
"But the ring magicians I've come into contact with all seem normal...except for Lasoya."
Shade was talking, but his attention was mainly focused on the human face stone in his hand. This strange stone is made from corpses. According to the alchemist, they have the ability to speak because they absorb the broken souls. Thaumaturgy learning
One of the steps is to listen to what the stone says.
As for the bone whistle, eardrums and other miscellaneous materials, they are all for auxiliary purposes.
"Detective, that's because most of the ring warlocks you come into contact with are those trained formally by academies and churches. Ring warlocks who work informally are at greater risk of losing control and have weirder personalities."
She said this, and then yawned. When Shade looked over, she turned her head with a blush. Although she had taken off her hood, the moonlight in the forest was dimmer, so Shade couldn't see her expression.
"Why, haven't you ever seen a lady yawn?"
asked the blonde girl.
"...I've seen ladies hiccup."
Shade joked, and then he knew that the joke was inappropriate, because Miss Louisa reached out and broke off the branch above her head and threw it at him.
(Little Mia is running...)
In the blink of an eye, Sunday came again. When he opened his eyes from the bed, Xia De couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Starting from the Monday when he joined MI6 on Monday, this week has passed so quickly.
The most important thing today is to go to the royal manor outside the city in the evening to attend the commendation dinner. If not for this incident, Shade would have used the white stone crystal during the day to conduct the first space teleportation.
Of course, he did not waste this day. After breakfast, he wrote another letter to the client, Mrs. Le Maire, to confirm more details about receiving the inheritance next week.
Later, Captain Rades came to visit again. Although the captain did not receive any medal or other awards, he was still on the commendation list, so he invited Shade to set off with him in the evening.
After seeing off the captain, I originally planned to go out to send a letter, and then go to find Priest Augustus. I would go to Dawn Church to listen to the sermons, and at least become familiar with him there.
Unexpectedly, before he had changed his clothes to go out, Shade's boss, Mr. Anlos, actually came to the door.
He did not enter the door, but was standing in the foyer talking to Shade:
"Hamilton, the situation has changed. You may not be able to get the 'Delarion Honorary Knight Medal' originally mentioned."
This gentleman probably ran over in a hurry, sweating profusely as he grabbed the doorframe behind him.
"Why? Oh, please come upstairs with me and we can sit down and talk."
"There's no need to go upstairs. I'm busy with other things. You know, our department is never idle. As for your medal..."
He suddenly approached Shade, his eyes widened but his voice was very soft:
"I heard the news and I want to give you a heavier reward than a medal."
Then the body returned to its original position, and the middle-aged man wiped the sweat with the back of his hand regardless of his appearance:
"Speaking of which, your home is really cool...so you must arrive on time in the evening and be well dressed. Never be late."
"Is it more important than a medal? The royal family wants to give me a knighthood?"
Shade was stunned for a moment and then asked in surprise.
"What good thing are you thinking of?"
Mr. Anlos smiled and waved his hand at him:
"The news I heard may not be correct, but the Dawn Church has made great efforts. You are really smart and know how to get support from the Zhengshen Church. Oh, and there is also the royal family. I don't know who it is, but there are people there.
I will try my best to help you win the reward. No, it’s not Queen Diana or Miss Carina, it’s another important member of the royal family..."
He looked at Shade, as if he wanted to get to know the young man in front of him again:
"In short, never be late at night. Remember, never be late."