Heath closed the door, and the noise outside fainted, as if at once separating the two worlds from the inside and outside.

By the light of the fire that came through the cracks in the planks, Fang Ou surveyed the room: a small workshop, no more than a dozen paces to the other end, with a low ceiling, a dye vat in the center of the room, a birch square table, on which were stacked large and small pottery plates and tools, and the shelves on both sides were more or less similar, but mostly jars and vases.

There was a faint smell of earth in the air.

Fang Yu noticed that the furnishings in the house were covered with a thick layer of ash, and it seemed that no one had touched these things for a long time. The girl placed the basin on the ground and carefully lit a lamp on the table with her hand.

She picked up the wind lamp and adjusted the brightness to outline the room in a dim light, before she turned around and said to the plover with some apologies: "These things haven't been touched much since Dorifen became like this, there are a lot of things, be careful not to stumble on your feet, sir." ”

"You've always lived here?"

The girl nodded, then shook her head again. "I live in the city, but it's not this place, and I come back here once in a while to have a look."

"Are there any other residents in the city?"

The girl suddenly shook her hand at him and motioned for him not to speak. Fang Yu heard a commotion in the darkness, and he turned his head back to the source of the sound, and saw the scene outside through the gap in the door panel.

Countless undead were slowly walking through the streets, in one direction, like a river of ghosts, in which floated the bones of the forest, and the ghosts were silent, the sound of skeleton footsteps.

He held his breath as he watched as the vast army of the undead took several minutes to pass. When the last ghost disappeared from view, he turned around and asked, "Why didn't they notice us, where did they go?" ”

"They can't see the people in the building, it's supposed to be going to the town hall, where the demon controls them."

"The demon, Nicol Bolas?"

"Shh," Heath nervously raised a finger to her lips, "Don't mention the demon's name, sir, she'll hear it." ”

Fang Yu thought to herself that she couldn't get in if she heard it. But he didn't say this, only asked, "Do you know her?" ”

Heath replied, "There is no one here who does not know her, she was the one who destroyed the city thirty years ago. ”

"Here? Anyone else in town? ”

Heath nodded again.

Fang Yu was faintly strange, how could there be other people living in this ruin for decades, he had never heard adventurers mention this, and neither did Jita.

The girl carried the wind lamp, walked aside, picked up a picture frame from the table, wiped it with her hand, and after wiping off the dust, it was a portrait of her and a middle-aged man who had made a fortune, it was supposed to be her father, the owner of this handicraft workshop, the man put his arm around his daughter's shoulder, and smiled happily.

"This is my father, everyone calls him Old Git, and before he left us, everyone said he was a good man." She said as she carefully wiped the frame clean and put it back in place.

Fang Yu looked at this girl silently, she put her hand on the simple long skirt, her face was very thin, and her complexion was not very good, obviously life was very hard, but her expression was very calm, her brown eyes looked firm and persistent, not the kind of character that can easily be overwhelmed by difficulties.

He asked, "Why don't you take it away?" ”

"Because it's right here."

"I want it to stay the way it is, as it was in the past," Heath said. ”

"It's the same as in the old days."

Fang Yu silently chewed on this sentence.

He looked back at the golden gaps between the planks in the darkness and asked, "But what if the fire burns this place?" ”

"No," the girl shook her head. "The fire will only burn down the block, and it will recur every few months for thirty years, and it has never changed, not even the demon."

"Is it the old again?" Fang Yu thought to himself.

He glanced at the girl carefully before asking, "Thirty years?" ”

But the girl didn't answer him.

She picked up the lantern again and said, "All right, we can get out of this place, sir." ”

Fang Yu paused for a moment before realizing that it had completely quieted outside, so he nodded.

But he took another look at the workshop, and as he scanned every detail, he realized that something was pressed under the frame. While Heath was opening the door, he walked over and picked it up, and found that it was a thin piece of parchment:

Letter of Acceptance from Hollitt College

'Dear Miss Heath, your talent and efforts have been unanimously recognized by our tutors and guides, and you are hereby approved to be appointed to the ......'

The handwriting below was stained with dirt and seemed to be unclear, and Fang Yu wiped it with his hand to no avail, so he could only skip a paragraph to read.

‘…… Before April 15th, please prepare all your personal belongings and go to ...... Reported. ’

The parchment was covered with mottled marks, and Fang Yu frowned and glanced at the person who made the payment, which was also blocked by dirt. He wanted to read through it again, but the sound of the door opening behind him was already heard, and he hurriedly put down what he was holding.

At this time, a small object slipped down from behind the picture frame, and Fang Yu was slightly stunned and picked it up.

The girl opened the door, looked around the outside for a while, and after confirming that it was safe, she turned around and said, "Sir, where are you going, it's not safe in this city, I'll take you there." ”

"Call me Eddard, Miss Heath, and thank you for your help." Fang Yu silently put away the thing and walked out of the house. But he shook his head: "But I'm going to the town hall next, it's too dangerous for you." ”

"City Hall?" Heath looked at him with some surprise, "Mr. Eddard, what are you doing there?" ”

"My companion is in that place."

Heath was silent for a moment, then nodded suddenly. "I see, I'll take you somewhere, Mr. Ed."

Fang Yu was slightly stunned.

He didn't want to implicate anyone else, but Heath's next words dispelled his doubts.

"The town hall is the work of the master architect Rogerta, by the way, Lord Rogetta is also one of the four craftsmen of the Elpahim Artisan Association, because he is a dwarf, so he also designed an underground defense for Dorifin's town hall, I happen to know one of the tunnels leading to the town hall, through which we should be able to avoid the undead outside."

The girl explained to him.

Fang Yu was a little surprised, but after weighing it for a moment, he nodded, with his current combat power, there was really nothing he could do when he encountered the undead.

If the road is really safe, it's not out of the question. "Then I'll trouble you, Miss Heath." He replied.

"You're welcome, it's so hard to see outsiders in this place, and everyone should help each other." The girl smiled slightly and replied.

The two of them passed the street one after the other.

Fang Yu looked back, and a few blocks away, the firelight was still soaring into the sky, staining the night sky red. It should have been three or four o'clock in the morning, but the night was so deep that I couldn't see what it was before dawn.

He even wondered if there would be a second day in this illusion, which might last forever until everything dissipated.

Led by Heath, the two went around the back of an alley, and the girl stopped in front of a rusty iron fence and examined the lock.

"This is it, Mr. Ed," she said, turning back, "this is the entrance to the sewers, and the tunnel is in there." ”

Fang Yu stepped forward and pulled the rusty chain with his hand, and the lock fell in response, and decades of experience had already made it rust to the point that it could not be seen.

Seeing this scene, Heath didn't seem surprised, and only opened the door with a 'squeak'.

But Fang Yu looked at the girl's back, and suddenly said, "Miss Heath, Mr. Rogetta is now the president of the Elpahin Artisan Association. ”

"Huh?" The girl was slightly surprised. "Has Lord Rogetta become the president of the Craftsman's Guild? Sorry, the news here is too closed. ”

Fang Yu nodded. "About ten years ago."

The girl closed her mouth suddenly, looking a little cramped and uneasy.

Fang Yu looked at her, but didn't continue to ask, only said, "Let's go, Miss Heath, I have a chance to talk to you about things outside." ”

The former nodded.

At the entrance to the sewer was a mutilated leaflet, long mottled and faded, with a peculiar emblem drawn:

A dragon's head missing a horn.

The emblem was black and heavy, like the color of dried blood.

‘…… To our Gospel, Church of Lofen Lille...... Our brothers, brothers, and sisters, all salvation will come on that day......

The handwriting on the back has long been blurred.

Fang Yu only glanced at it, and there was a faint realization in his heart, he looked at the girl who was walking into the sewer, and followed.

The rest of the road was a bit lackluster, and Dorifin's sewers were nothing more than a wadge through the darkness, and there were no surprises, not even a single rat in the sewers.

But that's weird in itself.

The girl walked in front with a wind lantern, and seemed to be very familiar with the road, rarely hesitated at the fork in the road, and often chose the right route without thinking.

It was quiet, like an isolated world, and the gray light passed through some of the bones that seemed to have been there centuries ago.

Buried in the dust.

Fang Yu didn't know if it was a victim from thirty years ago, but he had a question in his mind a long time ago as to why there were so few survivors of Dorifin.

Where did Starlight go?

The answer seemed to be hidden in the darkness ahead, and for some reason, a picture suddenly flashed in his mind:

In the darkness, a pair of golden-red eyes were staring at him indifferently, chilling to the bone.

Then there's the brightly lit hall of the Traveler's Rest, where the air is filled with the thick aroma of cinnamon that makes your saliva accelerate.

An old man with a pale face and meticulously combed hair stood beside him and said to him:

"Be careful, the dragon's wings are a sign of death, and those who see the dragon's wings often see the signs of death."

He fought a cold war, and only then did he come back to his senses from the illusion, and subconsciously pressed the back of his right hand, and the mark on the back of his hand was slightly hot.

By this time, the girl had already led him to the exit of the tunnel.

There was a cliff in front of him, and a ladder hung down from the top of the cliff, and Fang Yu looked up, and there was a black hole on it, and he didn't know where it led.

He tested the firmness of the ladder with his hands, and was surprised to find that there was almost no sign of loosening, and it looked very strong.

Heath put the wind lamp on the ground before she said to him, "Above is the courtyard of the town hall, the undead cannot enter the town hall, and it is generally very safe inside. ”

Fang Yu turned his head: "Are you going back?" ”

Heath nodded. "I can't be away from home for too long, I've been out for a long time."

Fang Yu saluted her and said, "Take care, thank you, Miss Heath." ”

"Don't worry, the way back is safe," replied the girl, "I'll wait for you to go up, Mr. Eddard, and I'll take the lantern later." ”

Fang Yu nodded, reached out and grabbed the ladder, and prepared to climb up.

But then the girl's voice asked again, "By the way, is Mr. Ed a friend of Hudi?" ”

"Hudi?" Fang Yu was slightly stunned, and turned to look at her: "Do you know him?" ”

"I've met Mr. Hudi a few times, and he's a very nice guy."

Fang Yu was silent for a moment and asked, "Then may I ask you a question, Miss Heath?" ”

Heath nodded.

"You're a trainee alchemist?"

The girl had a surprised look on her face, "Mr. Ed, how do you know?" ”

"I saw the notice."

Heath lowered her eyelids, and when she heard this, the expression on her thin face seemed to be a little shaken. She clenched her fists before she looked up and replied, "Yes, when my mother was seriously ill, my father always sighed, and there was nothing the family could do but pledge the workshop out." ”

"In Dorifin, the only way for ordinary people to get ahead is to become an alchemist. I know I'm just a girl, but I also wish I could be stronger and help my father take some of the pressure. ”

"I can rely on my own efforts to redeem the workshop little by little, and if that incident hadn't happened, everything would have slowly improved......"

She babbled on things that seemed completely irrelevant.

But Fang Yu looked at her and didn't speak for the first time.

After a while, he asked, "Miss Heath, you also came to see me because of Hudi?" ”

The girl shook her head, "Not exactly, Mr. Eddard. ”

"Not exactly?"

Fang Yu nodded, as if he had a kind of realization in his heart, and his previous doubts seemed to have been answered at this moment. "I see."

He looked up and looked overhead, which was the direction of the town hall.

Chess game? He thought to himself.

Heath forced a smile. "Mr. Ed, if you see Hu Di, can you help me thank him."

"Thank you?"

"Because thanks to Mr. Hudi, it was he who helped me a lot in my most desperate time, my father's workshop...... It's all thanks to his efforts. ”

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Fang Yu asked.

Heath shook her head and took a step back.

"Okay," Fang Yu sighed and replied, "I promise you." ”

"Thank you, Mr. Eddard."

The girl bowed to him, and then turned and ran into the darkness, ignoring the lanterns.

Fang Yu saw her disappear and didn't stop her. He lowered his head and opened his palm, which was a brooch—a pitch-black round shield topped by a dark silver dragon head missing a horn.

When he opened the system, he could clearly see the label of the brooch.

The Sacrifice Mark of the Zealot.

Fang Yu raised his head, thinking back to a past incident he had learned about when he was in Kapka, when he was studying the history of alchemists.

In the Cloud Sea region, there was once a thriving school of alchemy, the Hollitt School, whose members called themselves the Eternals, and unlike the magicians, this school was known for studying the art of immortality.

However, the school's downfall came about a decade ago, when it was finally defined as a cult by the kingdom due to its involvement in the Battle of Byrne, its alleged collusion with the Orsian Empire, and the scandal of its use of 'forbidden alchemy', including biological modification and demonic blood sacrifices.

Howlitt College arose more than half a century ago.

It seems to have been born in Dorifin.

Fang slowly recalled the name of the founder of this school - Hollitt Manlo.

He took one last look at the road in the darkness and put away the mark, not expecting that this matter would have something to do with Hu Di. Then he turned around and grabbed the ladder and slowly climbed up.

This huge chess game seems to have gradually become clear in his mind.

……