Elena nodded, "It's true that we all need time, so we shouldn't continue to do these unnecessary battles. ”

"Since you left Huaxia, the news that you planned to go to Britain to find the Dunhuang code has been leaked. I'm not the first to target you, and I won't be the last. I don't think you know until now, you've already encountered the Elder of the Empty Sect of the Ghostless Sect, right?"

I frowned slightly, and Elena pulled out a stack of photos and threw them in front of me, which was Fan Chongyi's note for me.

"Notes, the flight attendant?" I suddenly came to my senses, and the only person I had ever come into close contact with was the flight attendant, who had quietly stolen my notes when she touched my forehead, and returned them when she poured water for me. And I didn't even notice any of this.

The master of the empty door really lives up to his name.

I tapped lightly on the table and said, "You go on." ”

"Before I can state my purpose, I must state one thing beforehand. The ancestors of the Scarlet Tulip family were pirates in the truest sense of the word. However, they never went to China, let alone Dunhuang. So, in a sense, the Scarlet Tulip family is the innocent victim of the Dunhuang curse. ”

I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally, and Elena continued: "Compared to other adventurers, the Tulip family is not interested in substantial treasures, we focus more on the secrets behind the treasures. This is very similar to Huaxia Detective Hand. ”

I turned my head to look at Lu Xinyao, who nodded slightly and said, "Western adventurers pay more attention to treasure hunting. Gold and jewels have a fatal attraction to them, and they don't care about leaving civilization in the secret realm. ”

I understood what Lu Xinyao meant: adventurers and explorers belong to two extremes, the former is for plunder, and the latter is for revealing secrets.

Elena continued: "Since the ancestors saw the Dunhuang cultural relics, they were addicted to the Dunhuang culture and could not extricate themselves, and they began to collect Dunhuang cultural relics by any means, and he did get a lot of Dunhuang cultural relics. But it also brought back the curse of Dunhuang. The Scarlet Tulip family almost perished because of this, and it was an Oriental who helped me find a way to stop the curse and allowed the family to survive. ”

I heard this and interrupted: "I have a few questions for you. First, what kind of curse has your family suffered, and second, what are your ways to stop the curse from spreading?"

Elena said, "Regarding the family curse, if I say it, you probably won't believe it. Because I don't know what the curse is?"

Elena opened her shirt and pointed to the tulip tattooed a little lower on her left shoulder, "Once the curse begins, this tulip will turn red and bloom." The family members will know that the curse has come. At the same time, they will also feel that their body is discovering lesions. ”

"At that time, the family members will secretly leave and go to the dark castle hidden in the deep mountains of the family, and never appear again. ”

Elena closed her shirt and said, "This is the Oriental man's way to stop the curse from spreading." He didn't allow any members of the clan to bring up any talk about the curse while the curse was ongoing, and he had to get to the castle as quickly as possible. It never happened again. ”

I looked at Elena, "The solution you said is quarantine?"

You can understand it so simply. Elena didn't object: "You must want to ask, what is the place of the Dark Castle?"

Elena looked at me with a serious expression and said, "The Dark Castle can be said to be a forbidden area of mythology in the West. It was originally an ominous place, home to countless undead spirits, and it was a forbidden place for the living until the family brought the curse into the castle. ”

"I can tell you responsibly that a long time ago, adventurers sent cursed things into the Dark Castle. To this day, there are still people who throw hoodoo into the castle. Over time, it became a veritable place of death. No one can come and go at will. ”

I immediately caught a loophole in Elena's words: "What do you mean that no one can come in and out at will?

Elena laughed, "Many adventurers have been in, but they never came out. That's what I mean when I say you can't come in and out at will. ”

I hugged my shoulders and said, "Really, we're working together." ”

Elena took a deep breath and said, "Well, I've heard that there are wizards who have entered the Dark Castle. Of course, just legends. ”

I frowned, but Elena continued: "Don't think that only you Huaxia have strange people, there are countless masters hidden in Europe. It's just that they're not adventurers, and they're not the people you call them. ”

I nodded slightly: "In other words, you can't guarantee that you will definitely find the Dunhuang Curse when you enter the Dark Castle, right?"

Elena nodded and said, "Although, I really want to bite the curse of Dunhuang in the Dark Castle." However, I don't want to ruin the partnership between us. So, your entry into the Dark Castle is also a gamble. ”

I groaned and asked, "What's the name of the man who taught you to stop the curse?"

"Zhang Zuiyuan!" When Elena said three words, she suddenly sat up straight: "Who?

I asked tentatively, "Are you talking about Ghost No Sect Elder Zhang Zuiyuan?"

Lao Diao mentioned Zhang Zuiyuan to us, he has an extremely close relationship with Tie Qing, and he is also the elder responsible for guarding the Tianshakou of the Ghostless Sect, did he secretly infiltrate Europe, or did he return to the headquarters of the Ghostless Sect?

Elena shook her head and said, "If the person you are talking about lived sixty or seventy years ago, maybe it was him." ”

Ye Xun and I looked at each other and saw each other's shock.

If, according to Tie Qing's age, Zhang Zuiyuan may really be a figure from that period.

I reluctantly calmed down and said, "Since my whereabouts have been revealed. Is that the Ghostless Sect and the adventurers also fighting the idea of the Dark Castle?"

"Well, I don't know!" Alina shook her head, "The Dark Castle is like a spell in the eyes of adventurers, and no one will approach the Castle easily. Unless they've been cursed to the point where they have to go. ”

I nodded slightly before I said, "I have one more question to ask." How did Stein die?"

Stein's full name is Marc Orel Stein. Originally from Hungary, he was a Jew and became a British citizen in 1904. Known as a renowned archaeologist, art historian, linguist, geographer and explorer, he is in fact a thief and a thief. It was Stein who was the first to steal the scripture cave in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and he was also the thief who stole the most cultural relics from Dunhuang.

Elena said, "It is documented that he died of illness on the way to the expedition. Stein arrived in Kabul on October 19, 1943, unfortunately caught a cold on the 21st, then developed bronchitis, suffered a sudden stroke on the night of the 24th, and died of illness in the Legation of Country M in Kabul on October 26, 1943, and was buried in a nearby Christian cemetery in Kabul. ”

I frowned and said, "Didn't he die of the Dunhuang curse?"

Elena said: "Regarding this point, the family has done an investigation, and even sent someone to find Stein's body, but to no avail. The cemetery had long since been destroyed by the fighting, and we couldn't find any clues. ”

Whether Stein died of a curse or not, I can't say for sure, but I can be sure that Stein had searched for the ancient kingdom of Loulan, and that he was the discoverer of the tomb of Xiaohe in the ancient kingdom of Loulan.

Stein's adventures seem to have been along the Silk Road, and Dakabul, where he died, was one of the most important towns in the Mughal Empire on the Silk Road.

After the weakening of the Mughal Empire, the Western powers began to fight frantically for colonies, and finally the old empire Britain turned the Mughals into their puppets. Was Stein's death in Dakabul a coincidence, or was he searching for the lost ancient kingdom of Loulan along the Silk Road?

If it is the latter, it means that he has peeked into some of the secrets of the Dunhuang Book of Heaven.

I tapped my hand on the table and thought for a moment before I said, "Give me the map to the Dark Castle." Our cooperation can continue. ”

Elena shook her head and said, "No, this time, I'm going to come out of the Dark Castle with you." ”

Without waiting for me to speak, Elena said, "Not long ago, the family curse broke out again, and many people were preparing to leave the family. I need you to send them to the castle. Of course, it's better to bring them out as well. ”

Elena said, "Although the family has always claimed that the members of the family who broke out of the curse entered the castle of their own free will. In fact, everyone was sent to hell under the secret escort of the family. ”

"It's a secret in the hands of the patriarch of the family, and I happen to be one of the family succession candidates. ”

Elena shouldn't be lying, the hardest thing in this world to figure out is human nature. Especially before the threat of death, a person with a broken heart, not knowing what to do. Some people may obediently walk into the castle and wait for death, but there are also people who will slip away in the middle of the process, and some people will even deliberately hide the fact that their curse is attacking. It makes sense for the Scarlet Tulip to send people to spy on them

Elena said: "The patriarch will tell me the secret in advance, because this time the curse is too violent, sixty percent of the Tulip family members have broken out the curse, if, they can't come back." The Tulip family lineage will be difficult to maintain, and after a few years, either the family lineage will not be pure, or the Tulip family will disappear forever. Either case is not what the family wants to see. Do you understand what I mean?"

I can probably understand Elena's meaning. The older the family in Europe, the more emphasis is placed on bloodline. Even if they were pirates and slaves in their former past, once they became nobles, it meant that they became the ruling class, and they began to pay more and more attention to their family lineage, as if bloodline could bring them a real sense of security and maintain their nobility.