"If you know the clue to the Girl's Shadow, if I can do it."
Amidst Pusius' uneasiness and Catalina's vigilance, Lu Li answered calmly.
"There is a batch of books hidden under the ruins of the Belfast Library, and a wraith with a power close to that of an evil spirit is guarding it. Only by completing her test can we enter the basement and take away the batch of books and herself. Passing the test allows us to enter
Get those books back.
"Get close to the guardian of the evil spirit." Lu Li repeated in a low voice, as if asking a rhetorical question.
Saint Elena leaned back into her seat: "I know what you are thinking. Don't worry, she will only ask some questions, and she will not hurt you regardless of failure or success, unless you offend her. I don't think you will be so
Made.”
"No one else has succeeded."
"Then you don't need to do it."
Saint Elena's low laughter echoed in the church.
"They are not suitable for storing knowledge in their heads. After all, some don't even have brains."
Faced with the belittling of the superiors, the believers around them curled up the tentacles on the edges of their robes in guilt.
"I want to know more news and the content of the test."
"Take him...what's your name?" The saint who waved her hand to the believers remembered that she still didn't know this man's name.
"Lu Li."
"Take Lu Li and his companions to the ruins and let those losers show him what to do."
The cultists were short and wriggling tentacles led Lu Li away from the church.
The church hall became quiet and empty again, with only the figures in the throne-like seats remaining. Fluorescent eyes fell on the church, like gods gazing at the world.
…
Belfast library basement.
Lu Li had been there before.
When he first arrived, he needed books to understand the world, so he went to investigate and escaped from there after encountering a ghost in the basement.
Lu Li was not sure if the resentful spirit currently guarding the place was the same one he had encountered before, but it would not be a coincidence that two resentful spirits would appear in the ruins.
He took out a notebook from the inner pocket of his coat. It seemed that it had fallen into the water, and after drying, the pages were wrinkled and uneven like leaves that had lost moisture.
Lu Li's old notes had been kept in the drawer of the desk at the refuge.
The humidity in Wanghaiya corrodes everything, and it is no exception. Fortunately, the drawers that swelled due to moisture blocked the gaps, and the notes were not corroded into a pile of paper.
After taking it out to dry, except for the deformed appearance and adhesion of many pages, it does not affect reading.
Lu Li turned to a page with the results of previous investigations.
Number:ofTum-1
Form: Humanoid ghost with a charred and carbonized appearance
Level: Wraith (undetermined)
Lifetime: Name was Ophelia Green; 29 years old; height 1.75 meters; employee of Belfast Library; orphan, adopted by Miller Green (Miller Green died three years ago);
Personality: Often feeds nearby stray animals; buys some food to send to the orphanage when salary is paid; occasionally goes to Keizer Tavern at night (one of the sailor pubs in Rodster Port, where women go to the pub, and there are male performances every night
Dance); a neighbor saw her buying "Joseph and Me"
He also read books such as "The Love History of Lord Catherine" and "Empress Catherine and Her Male Companions"; after Mrs. Miller died, she preferred to live in the library rather than go home; she would ask neighbors to introduce young men; she often went on blind dates with young men, but did not
Successfully, he once beat her because it made her feel sick.
Location: Ruins of Tulip Street Library
"Have you seen the true form of that resentful spirit?"
"Burned..." A flood of vague words came from under the squirming black robe.
It's probably still it.
"What do you want a book for?" Lu Li continued to ask.
"Water the farmland..."
Lu Li looked at the cultivated farmland in the northwest corner. There was only a piece of black fertile soil with no crops growing there.
"There are enough books in real libraries."
"The more books, the better..." the believer's answer was still brief.
The believers who lived near the houses near the edge of the gathering place looked at Lu Li, or the believers next to Lu Li, and bowed slightly.
The Tentacle Cultists came to the gate of the city where they gathered and spoke words that made them smell like rotten sludge.
"shum o fur."
Pagans of different heights and clad in black robes approached silently, and the door to the gathering place slowly opened.
A wide, empty street leads straight into the distance.
“shum o fur……”
Pusius, who was following Lu Li closely, couldn't help but imitate in a low voice. A strange wave suddenly surged through the hyena's body, with a strong smell of sea.
Pusius suddenly felt his butt itching and turned his head. He was horrified to see a swinging tentacle emerging from the base of his tail, like a bare and stunted second tail.
"kio fu nur..."
A big pagan whispered, and the overwhelming smell of the sea was like being next to a school of rotting fish.
"It says it can become a new believer." The believer translated for it.
"I...I don't want to..."
Pusius shrank his "two" tails and said fearfully.
The big pagan lost interest in Pusius.
"How should I make it disappear..." Pusius asked with a cry. There was an ugly tail on the soft tawny fur, which made him uneasy and ugly.
"This is the gift He casts His gaze upon and bestows," said the Tentacle Cultist.
It means it cannot disappear.
"This teaches us not to be curious about things and not to talk nonsense." Katerina gloated without any malice.
"Are there any side effects?" Lu Li asked.
"breath."
With ambiguous words, they walked out of the gathering place.
The following pagans escorted them on both sides, and the streets were empty and deserted. This feeling was uneasy and strange. No weird things dared to appear, or the area around the gathering place had already been cleaned up.
The ruins of the library were only one block away from the gathering place. They soon arrived at the ruins, and the pungent burning smell loomed.
The ruins had been burned to the ground twenty-four years ago, and all they could smell was the breath of resentful spirits.
As we got closer to the collapsed corridor, the burning smell became stronger.
At the end of the corridor, the iron door leading to the basement was closed.
Under the watchful eyes of the pagans and Catalina Pusius, Lu Li held an oil lamp and stepped into the darkness behind the door.
After a while, Lu Li walked out calmly, followed by a burnt black figure.
He passed the test.
It's incredible that everything goes smoothly, as the Ever Dreamer said, they will have a good ending.
On the way back, an extra figure appeared in the procession as they returned to the gathering place. The charred figure followed Lu Li and re-entered the church with them.
Bang bang bang bang——
The church echoed with the applause of Saint Elena. She looked down at Lu Li in the hall with approval: "I know you are responsible for this matter, and you have done a good job. Then the second thing -"
"It's time for you to tell me the clues about the Girl's Shadow." Lu Li interrupted her with a frown.
