Morris carefully opened the letter sent from afar with a letter opener.
On the envelope, the stamps one after another and the stamps representing "purified" silently told him an extremely long wandering journey.
With the slight sound of the paper being unfolded, lines of beautiful and neat handwriting appeared in front of Morris, and it was indeed the handwriting of a friend he was familiar with:
"To my good friend and academic partner:
"It seems that several years have passed since the last contact. This act of alienation is really inappropriate. I feel that these years have been chaotic and busy. I always seem to be doing meaningless things. It was only recently that I suddenly realized that I
Time wasted...
"...Many wonderful things have happened recently. I'm sorry that it's difficult for me to describe some of the changes in my life to you... Hanshuang is an incredible place. There are not only cold and long winters here, but there are many more worthy of our seriousness.
Something to study...
"Do you remember the topic we discussed during our last meeting about some ancient legends in the frozen seas of the Far North? These topics came into my mind again recently, and I suddenly felt that I seemed to have grasped some keys to be able to
It helps us sort out many of the unresolved issues that were originally discussed, such as whether there were ever city-states on the frozen sea, and the origin of many mysterious customs in Frostbite...
"Frost is really an incredible place, my friend. I realize this more and more clearly in my mind. There are many mysterious pasts in this cold sea that are worth exploring. I plan to see some people who are in history and folklore."
A highly respected person in the field has plans to visit Cold Harbor in the near future, but most importantly, I want to invite you to be a guest here...
"We haven't seen each other for many years, Maurice. I said you don't like the cold air in the north, but I think you will like the warm fireplace in my home and my collection of fine wines. Think about it seriously. We can spend some time together in the warm air."
Let’s revisit those fascinating mysteries by the fire. Believe me, Frost is an incredible place...
"Don't you want to come and take a look? Come to this incredible frost city...
"Your most trustworthy friend and intellectual companion, Brown Scott, written at 42 Hearth Street, 1900-12-2."
Morris' eyes silently scanned the last line of letters in the letter, and then he said nothing for a long time.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that he muttered, as if talking to himself: "It's his handwriting, and the discussions he mentioned did happen."
"Today is December 17th, and this letter was sent half a month ago," his wife said next to her, with a hint of uneasiness in her voice. "Considering the distance between Hanshuang and Pulande, this is quite normal.
time."
"Yeah, the time is normal, the postmark is normal, but what's abnormal is that the person who wrote the letter died a few years ago," Morris said slowly, "I still remember the day I received the obituary - it was also a letter from Frost
A letter from one of his favorite students. The student said in the letter that her teacher unfortunately fell into the sea while taking a boat to Cold Harbor, and his body could not be recovered. "
"...I don't remember this incident. It happened during those years when I was confused." The wife came over and held Morris's hand. "We should report this incident to the church. The content and wording of this letter
It seems normal, but it’s also very disturbing when you look deeper.”
Morris held his wife's hand and exhaled softly: "Of course, it should be reported to the church...but not just to the church."
…
In the captain's room of the Lost Home, Duncan put his hands on the navigation table and looked attentively at the mist-filled chart and the gradually extending route on the chart.
The phantom representing the Lost Home is slowly moving in the center of the chart, and the thick fog around the Lost Home is gradually dissipating as the ship moves forward. At one end of this route, you can see the ship that has been temporarily left behind.
The city-state of Puland, and in the mist outside the route, another slightly glowing bright spot can be vaguely seen.
Duncan's eyes fell on that bright spot.
That's the Seamist.
Since the last "Plague and Nuclear Twilight" mutual fire coverage, the mark of the Sea Fog has appeared on this chart.
In Duncan's own perception, he can also roughly feel the current direction of the Sea Fog, and even the general status of the ship.
This perception is very vague, but it does not seem to diminish as the distance between the Lost Home and the Seamist increases.
Obviously, just like those "marked ones" who had been contaminated by the spiritual flames, the Sea Mist, whose face was covered in cannonballs by the Homeless, also established a connection with itself.
However, this is only a "connection" after all, rather than complete control like the Lost Home, so the Sea Fog can only show a bright spot on the chart, and cannot dispel the fog covering the route.
"Are you deciding the next course?" The goat-headed voice suddenly came from the edge of the navigation table, "Then I have about one hundred and forty very useful suggestions. I can..."
"No, you can't," Duncan interrupted very skillfully before the other party started to press, "No need for any suggestions, I have my own plan."
The goat head shook its head, as if it wanted to say something more, but just before it spoke, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, and then the door to the captain's room was opened from the outside, and Alice walked in.
.
Then Miss Doll was stunned for a moment, and before Duncan could speak, she quickly turned around, closed the door, and knocked on the door.
"...You've already come in, so there's no need to knock. You should knock before opening the door." Duncan glanced at the other party with a blank expression, "Have you finished cleaning up 'over there'?"
"Yeah," Alice nodded immediately, "The shelves on the first floor have been tidied up, the counters and stairs have been wiped down, and the kitchen has also been tidied up!"
"Well," Duncan responded casually, "Where's Ai?"
"After you sent me here, you went to the kitchen," Alice said. "When you flew away, you kept shouting about Mad Thursday..."
"It's quite free and easy," Duncan smiled and shook his head, then suddenly noticed that Alice's neck seemed to be stuck when she nodded, and subconsciously frowned, "Why does it feel weird when your neck turns...
The glue in the joints hasn’t been removed yet?”
Upon hearing this, Alice shook her head from side to side, and her neck felt obviously stuck and sluggish.
"It seems... it's a little bit," Miss Doll seemed a little embarrassed, "It feels stuck."
Duncan's eyes trembled, and he looked helplessly at the puppet, which held his head with his hands, and after a while he let out his signature laugh: "Hehe..."
"Stop it," Duncan sighed, "Come here and I'll help you clean it up. The remaining glue will further damage the joints, and I see it's really uncomfortable for you to get stuck every time you nod."
"oh."
Alice immediately walked over obediently, reached Duncan's side, grabbed her head, shook it from side to side twice, and then pulled it off with a "pop" sound.
The headless doll held its own head in both hands: "Ship...Ship...Captain, here you go."
A vague feeling of weirdness could not help but come to mind, but Duncan still reached out to take Alice's head, and took out the scraper, brush and soft cloth from the small drawer under the navigation table. He sighed and began to study this
What's going on in the idiot's joints.
He couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
I can actually face these weird scenes so calmly, and I can even participate in them naturally.
Human beings' ability to adapt is truly amazing.
Picking up the scraper, he gently shoveled away the remaining glue marks in the joints that were no longer so stable. Duncan raised his eyelids and glanced at Alice's face.
Silver hair spread out on the nautical table, and the doll blinked and met his eyes.
She is really beautiful, with an exquisite and perfect face. Even in the weirdest situation, it seems that people can ignore the weirdness and can't help but admire this beauty in their hearts.
But it's a pity that this guy's temperament usually exceeds a certain limit, so that while Duncan admires her beauty, he also regrets that she has such a long mouth...
"Is there anything uncomfortable?"
"No, no, no, it's just a little, a little itchy, but very... very light." Alice stammered.
Then she became quiet, and even the goat head next to her miraculously became quiet, leaving only the slight sound of the scraper scraping and the soft sound of the waves coming from the window.
After an unknown amount of time, Alice suddenly opened her mouth again.
She stammered, with a little hesitation and a rare sense of loss in her tone: "Ship, ship, captain, I am, am I very, very stupid?"
Duncan's movements suddenly stopped.
He was surprised that this doll could still have such self-awareness and perspective.
But then he just shook his head expressionlessly: "Why are you feeling this suddenly?"
"I, I, I always fail to learn what you teach me, and I always mess up things and waste your time."
Duncan was silent for a moment, then raised the spatula in his hand again.
"I don't think you are wasting my time," he said lightly, "Besides, you are indeed a bit stupid."
"Yes, this is it, this is it."
"But that's okay. Everyone has their own things they are good at and things they are not good at. Everyone is just a little 'stupid' in the areas they are not good at, and you may just be bad at a few more areas," Duncan glanced at Ally
Si's eyes asked, "Do you care about this?"
"I, I, I don't know, I haven't thought about this, but I'm worried that it will delay, delay, drag down your affairs..."
"Then put away these useless worries and continue to live happily." Duncan shook his head. "If you encounter something you can't learn, then learn it a few more times."
"Then, then, will you teach me more, more, more times?"
"...if I have time."
Alice blinked, as if thinking for a moment, and slowly laughed.
"hey-hey……"
Listening to this signature laughter, Duncan couldn't help but smile. Then he picked up a brush and a soft cloth and cleaned up the dried glue debris that had been scraped off.
At this moment, a distant but clear call suddenly appeared in his mind.
That's Morris's voice.
(The fever is gone, the pain all over my body has subsided, my throat is still sore, I can’t sit for long, I feel weak because I can’t rest well, I feel groggy all day long... The good news is that it is indeed getting better.)