Before Jiang Xian could continue, Lin Mo interrupted her, "Do you want to say that it is a kind of witchcraft that circulated in the Middle Ages in Europe?" ”

"Witchcraft in the Middle Ages? What's that? Yin Weiyu asked puzzled.

"This puppet, this picture, what are you selling?" Ai Yu didn't understand what was going on with Jiang Xian and Lin Mo's sudden interaction, but everyone was so unhappy to exchange information today, and they were too diligent in selling Guanzi, which made Ai Yu a little irritable, she put down the water cup in her hand with a little anger, and spilled some tea outside.

"The image of witches has been passed down from Roman literature and Greek mythology, and by the ninth century the Episcopic Statute was believed to exist. In the Middle Ages in Europe, there was a witch hunt that lasted for more than 300 years, and in this activity, the witch people began to use some forbidden techniques for self-protection, with the momentum of the prey movement, the witch people found that it was useless to blindly retreat, they were hunted down and brutally killed, and the fire continued this hatred, so the struggle between humans and the witch began. This witch hunt, which can also be said to be a rebellion, brought a lot of witchcraft back to the world, and Europe was plunged into water and fire, so it is called the Dark Middle Ages. Jiang Xian began to tell the story, "And among these witchcrafts that have been passed down to the world, there is an extremely cruel witchcraft that targets children to seek eternal life. Young children are caught, dismembered little by little in a living state, and made into delicate puppets that match their appearance, and their souls are transformed into the purest power three or seven days after the puppets are made, and the Wiccans use witchcraft to refine this power in their souls and give it to those who hope for eternal life to help them achieve their wishes. ”

"We asked the NPCs about it, and they frequently mentioned puppets and children in their answers, and that's when I thought of this kind of witchcraft. In fact, the town itself is very strange, and the elements it has show a certain background, although it has become very modern, but the various behaviors of the people in the town - speech habits, dress, food, still bear the imprint of a bygone era. Jiang Xian continued, "So far, we can roughly guess the boss of this mission. First of all, the monster we have encountered so often is called the Ethereal, and the information you provide is that the witch was created by the witch as a servant, in the sense that he can do certain things in the place of the witch. And in the song that Lin Mo heard last night, midnight magic was mentioned, and this magic could also be called witchcraft by another name. Coupled with the strange symptoms of children's sleepwalking, can we also understand that these children who suddenly have sleepwalking symptoms are actually controlled by some kind of witchcraft of the witch clan, so no amount of manpower can stop it, because they themselves are two disparate forces. ”

"So now we can identify the boss as a witch?" Ai Yu still asked with doubts, she turned her head to look at Xu Qingran, as if waiting for him to make a final decision, she was silent for several minutes, Xu Qingran nodded lightly, "It can be determined that the next thing we have to pay attention to is - midnight sleep for no reason." If we characterize this slumber as witchcraft for the time being, then we need a way to unravel it. The more a thing is hidden, the more it reveals the importance of the secret behind it, the more complex and difficult the way to hide it, and the more subversive its untold story becomes. ”

Jiang Xian nodded, and then put the yellowed leaflets in the center of the table, "Another thing, it was the little secret that Lily's wife told me, she told me that there would be the answer I wanted on the notice board in the street park, so I just went to see the notice board and found these notices under a pile of freshly pasted paper......

[The mysterious cry that sounded in Moon River Park] [A mysterious castle appeared in the eternal night forest] [New play of the Yongxing Grand Theater] [Five Time Curses of Eternal Sleep Town]

Four newspapers with different stories, the last one being particularly eye-catching, because that's exactly what they need most at the moment.

Time curses!

[Five Time Curses of Eternal Sleep

March 14, 1349

First, time is weakest in the alternation of the sun and the moon, and you who are protected by time, do not be the shadow of the sun, but must return home before the sun sets.

Second, the bell tower is the most sacred embodiment of time, and those who are protected by time, do not disturb the gods wantonly, but must maintain its existence.

Third, the forest is the prison of time, and those who are protected by time, do not easily break into the disturbing seal, and must protect the boundaries of existence.

Fourthly, the theater is a place of communication with time, and those who are sheltered by time, O who do not have a pious heart and the objects they need, do not go to see it with curiosity, but must respect the ceremony.

Fifth, in the territory controlled by time, those who are protected by time must not change at will, but must maintain good order. 】

Eight people looked around the yellowed old newspaper for a long time, Xu Qingran took the lead in raising his head and exhaled a long breath, and the string that had been tightly held in his heart was finally loosened. Jiang Xian did find a very crucial clue, at least the rules provided in this yellowed old newspaper were some of their death triggers, and finding these and knowing these would be of great help to their survival.

"People who are protected by time......" Jun Yao suddenly repeated this sentence, she felt that this rule was still a little strange, what was the problem?

"There's something wrong with the wording, right?" Jiang Xian suddenly spoke, Jun Yao turned her head to look at her in surprise, Xu Qingran was also looking at her, everyone was waiting for Jiang Xian's next sentence, "The format of each sentence is fixed, 'Don't ...... Must ......' this sentence structure, do you think it is strange after reading it for a long time? It seems to be expressing the same meaning before and after, but to different degrees. Think about it, discord is certain, which one should be deeper? When we say that you don't want to do something, it's actually a reminder, or a warning, but in fact, the consequences after it are far less serious. Look at the adjectives that don't follow this half sentence - wanton, easy, casual, these are all a kind of regulation of a certain degree of behavior. Easy means to do it without thinking through your head or thinking clearly, but if you still have to do it after careful consideration, can it still be called 'easy'? The rules on this are simply a huge play on words! ”

Xu Qingran smiled helplessly and nodded heavily, "You're right. Unexpectedly, the most such word games in this task are the most. Now that the key point is clear, then we can be sure that the bell tower is not a forbidden place, but we should pay attention to proportions when entering, and the rules say not to disturb wantonly, I think this disturbance may refer to the volume movement. After all, when Ai Yulin Mo and I broke in yesterday, the method used was very violent and noisy, and when the two worlds appeared later, there were also shouts and loud questions and answers, maybe this kind of behavior disturbed the gods, so I met the ethereal spirit. ”

Ai Yu asked, "So the bell tower has become a priority for us to explore?" After all, it is the source of the matter, there will definitely be a big secret, plus the existence of a small boss like the ethereal spirit, let's go and see it this afternoon! ”

Xu Qingran understood what Ai Yu meant, and he smiled slightly, "Don't worry, our group will go to the bell tower in the afternoon, and you still go and ask the rest of the child about the situation." ”

"But......" Before Ai Yu could say anything to refute, Xu Qingran interrupted her, "The situation on our side has been clearly explained, so what about you?" Did you ask something? ”

Lin Mo stretched out his hand and pulled Ai Yu's hand, signaling her to calm down and obey Xu Qingran's arrangement, after all, he must have done so after careful consideration, and with his own competition, it was almost impossible for Ai Yu to open his mouth at this time to stop the intention to change. Ai Yu sat down slowly, put his hand on his forehead and sighed, then raised his head again, "Regarding George's disappearance, we have received similar information as you. First of all, the puppet element appeared, and we saw George's new puppet, although there was no connection between the puppet and George himself, but after listening to you just now, I thought about it, and it was true that the puppet looked very similar to the child in the family portrait hanging in George's living room. Second, regarding the game of hide and seek, George's mother said that it was the favorite game of the children in the town, and consciously or unintentionally mentioned a little bit of the reason why the children liked to play the game. She said that she also loved to play hide and seek as a child, and it seems that the game is a tradition in Eternal Sleep. ”

"Ma'am, what do you mean when you say it's a tradition in Eternal Sleep?"

"Ah...... Things were a little blurry when I was a kid, and it felt like everyone was playing hide and seek when they got together, but there weren't any other games to play in the town. But I remember playing hide and seek when I was a kid, it was a magical feeling, sometimes hiding in this alley, and then waiting until a round of the game passed, and when I saw the end of the game, I found that I actually came out of another alley. It's like a mysterious space or a space-time tunnel, and I asked the other children, and it seems that everyone feels this way. Say it's tradition...... It's like a concept engraved in my head, when I was a kid my parents always let me play hide and seek, while George was still there...... I also often let him play with his friends. ”

"What exactly is that magical feeling you are talking about?"

"Well, let's say I hid in the street behind my house, and when this round of hide and seek was over, I walked around a corner and tried to get out of the street on the left, but when I walked around the corner, I realized that it was not the street on the left that I was familiar with, but a street next to Mike's house two streets away from us."

"Have you had any unusual feelings during this time?"

"Ah, I really can't remember this...... After all, it's been a long time ago, isn't it? But if you play hide and seek, once you find a hiding place, you can't just move around to avoid getting caught, right? ”

Xu Qingran frowned, the strange effect of hide and seek that this lady said seemed to be closer to witchcraft.

"There is not much information about midnight, and the lady of George's family said that she does not sleep well and takes sleep aid medicine at night, so his father found out about George sleepwalking. We wanted to ask George's father about it, but his father seemed to work in the town's theater and had been rehearsing a new play recently, so he was very busy and didn't come home. Ai Yu paused for a moment, then smiled, "But we did know a big secret about Alice's father. ”