Year 922 in the Ingwig calendar.

Emerald Jade.

The heavy bell rings, melodious and deep, as if it is from the aftermath of ancient history, and you can feel the solemn heaviness just by listening.

The setting sun loomed behind the clouds, turning most of the sky into a crimson curtain, and the boys sat on the banks of the Tiber, reflected in the calm waters, as if they were in the sky.

This is perhaps the most reverent moment of the city, when the whole world is covered by a red veil, everything seems so solemn, and the whispered prayers echo dàng) In this magnificent city, accompanied by the constant ringing of bells, it is like a silent mourning for the end of the present.

The two somewhat lonely shadows sat quietly on the shore, one of the few times of the day when they could go out, but although they said they were going out, it was also within the scope of supervision.

The white-robed priests stood far away, but they were well placed at a distance, forming a circle that surrounded the boys tightly, keeping them at the right distance so that they could always be in sight.

The blonde boy looked up and looked at the priests with some annoyance.

"They've been staring at me. ”

"We, to be exact. ”

The boy sitting next to him replied, he swept around, in fact, there were many boys like them, all dressed in the same robes, scattered everywhere, white clothes shining in the sun.

Holy, but like a group of prisoners in custody, it is not the law that binds them, but the divine right.

"It's annoying, they ......"

The blonde boy shook his head, then asked.

"What's your number?"

“042。 ”

The boy on the side responded.

"You really seem to accept the rules they have made?" he looked a little stunned as 042 accepted his share so calmly.

"Or else, they give us food and shelter...... I don't think it's much. 042 replied, "And don't you just want to show off? ”

Indeed, the number of each boy was printed on their robes, and from the time they came here and were accepted into the Gospel Church, they lost their names and were replaced only by cold numbers.

"You are a restless lamb, and the priest knows that you are secretly using your 'name' again, and you will be shut down again. 042 warned.

The priests often describe them as the Lambs of God, and the priests are shepherds, and the lambs don't need names, they just need to be pious and obedient. But there are always restless ones among the lambs, who leap and try to leap out of the besieged fence.

The boy in front of him was such a restless lamb, and since he was "baptized" he has become worse and worse, and every child has seen in that mysterious baptism something strange, some of which is so complicated that even the boy himself does not know how to describe it.

But they did get something in that mystical baptism, some in knowledge, some in psychedelic dreams, and some, like him, got names.

"047 You need to settle down, I don't want anything to happen to you. ”

042 frowned and advised.

He and 047 are very good friends, before they were accepted by the Evangelical Church, they had galloped through the streets of Fei Leng Cui, although they were beaten a lot, and there were no meals, but for these beggars, they lived a free and happy life.

After being accepted into the Evangelical Church, everything was reversed, they were trained, they were taught, they were in charge of food and shelter, but they had a little less freedom, and even looking at the sun had to be under the watchful eye of the clergy.

"No, no, no, people always need something. 047 said.

"For example?"

"Like the name, 042, you've always been like this, a little too cowardly. 047 put his arm around 042's shoulders and said mysteriously.

Sometimes, people need to make mistakes and do things that are taboo, and anyway, they are small evils, and God doesn't care. ”

"Is that why you're so obsessed?"

042 doesn't understand a little, as long as you follow honestly, why do all those superfluous things?

"No name is a beast after all, 042. ”

He continued.

"But I'm different, I have a name, I'm no longer a beast, and I hope you can do the same. ”

042 still didn't care, he replied lightly.

"Look, maybe one day, I'll be changed under your influence......"

The two looked at each other slightly, and then laughed, looking a little reluctant and a little sad.

"This may be the last time we will see each other, the priests have said, the ceremony is about to take place, and only a few of us will survive. ”

042 also imitated 047's appearance, his arms intertwined, holding each other's shoulders, and the shadow reflected in the sun was slender.

"yes, hopefully we can all survive, Imam Lawrence said he was very optimistic about me, and said that I had a good chance of being the best. ”

047 said, he respected the old man very much, he was the mentor of all children, and the mentor who would become the so-called witcher in the future, a sacred red robe, and an extraordinary status.

"That's nice. ”

042 rejoices for 047.

“042！”

A priest shouted.

At some point, another group of people had appeared in the shadow of the building, and they were gathered around an old man, who also had a red robe similar to that of Sheikh Lawrence, bright as if it was condensed red with blood, and the god was not angry and self-threatening, with a solemn solemnity.

047 just looked at the old man from afar, and felt an inexplicable pressure, and he asked in a low voice.

"Who's that?"

"That's what I want to say to you today. 042 looked a little hesitant, as if he didn't know how to speak.

"I was ...... Checked. ”

"Selected?"

"Yes," he said, "they say I'm a qualified person, and I'll be assigned somewhere else." ”

"Is that where he is?" 047 pointed at the old man, but his movements were quickly stopped by 042, it was a high-ranking cardinal, a cardinal in power, any disrespect would be crowned blasphemy and then hanged, this kind of thing, 042 has seen too much.

"Who is he?"

Lorenzo...... Lorenzo Medici. ”

042 replied quietly.

047's expression was slightly stunned, although he had never seen this person, he knew too much about this person's share.

The Medici family, from which several popes have been born in history, and now it is the largest plutocratic family in the entire Holy Gospel Papal States, except for the banking industry, it is involved in other industries, and it has a huge wealth in its hands, serving the popes of the past generations, and managing the flow of wealth throughout the gospel church. Under the operation of this terrible family, wealth snowballed, and it continued to lend to one small country after another, burning contracts in exchange for land.

The old man in front of him was the most outstanding of the Medici in the past, Lorenzo Medici, when he was young, the Medici family reached the peak of power under his leadership, and for a time his power was greater than that of the Pope, and he was the true ruler of the entire Filene.

But even such a person would grow old, and he was standing not far away, except for the bright red robe, the whole person was no different from an ordinary old man.

“042！”

The priests shouted impatiently as they walked towards them.

"Looks like I'm leaving, 047. ”

Looking at the old friend, 042 said a little reluctantly.

"As long as you survive, we'll see you, 042. 047 didn't seem sad, he knew it was better to go to the old man than to stay here, "Still, you know I hate the number. ”

The pace of departure stalled slightly, and 042 turned back, and the pious lamb finally became restless, and he whispered goodbye.

"So...... Goodbye, Mr. Holmes, we'll see you again.

......

Slowly opening his eyes, what caught his eye was not a strange ceiling, but a large amount of sunlight, which shone on the man's face through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Ah......h

Lorenzo let out a strange moan, then adjusted his position on the couch to find a more comfortable angle and nested up again.

Holding the blanket hard, everything is warm and comfortable.

However, it seemed that someone did not want to make him comfortable, and deliberately made a loud noise, but it still didn't seem to wake Lorenzo, so the man walked over a little unbearably, lifted the blanket, and yelled.

"Don't lie down, Lorenzo! Lie down again and you'll rot!"

The kestrel ghost cried, and Lorenzo, who had been lifted up by him, also howled with him, like two crowing roosters.

Lorenzo was thrown to the ground, lying completely flat on the carpet, as if sleepiness was still tormenting him, his eyes were hazy.

However, the kestrel seemed to be unable to stand this guy anymore, and dragged him up hard, but no matter how hard the kestrel tried, the appearance of the great detective's hob was unmoved, and it was useless for him to be stunned by your knives, guns and sticks.

In the end, the kestrel made himself sweat profusely, and sat on the sofa where Lorenzo had nested before, and he looked at Lorenzo on the ground with indignation, and the great detective twisted and twisted like a fat caterpillar.

The whole heart was as if it was being tortured by something, and the kestrel had a hideous face.

How many days is this?Kestrel can't remember, anyway, he's seen Lorenzo go from a terrible and tough witcher to a social waste for so many days, and he wants to get this rotten creature moving, but ...... But he can't beat the dregs of this society.

Footsteps sounded slowly, and devout believers whispered prayers, slight, but buzzing in the kestrel head.

"Stop chattering the robin!

The kestrel said a little crazy.

Apparently ignoring him, the robin glanced at the kestrel and then at Lorenzo on the ground, continued to mutter strange prayers, and disappeared into the stairwell.

"Then Joey, come on! If you sleep like this, Lorenzo will really be a waste!"

The kestrel howled, but like the robin, Joey, who was passing by on the other side, obviously didn't bother with these things, and he looked at Lorenzo's saliva with some disgust, and he shook his head firmly.

"You know I've got a certain cleanliness fetish. ”

"So! I didn't see you when I killed the demon, I didn't think you felt disgusting! Or do you think Lorenzobi is disgusting!"

Kestrel is going crazy.

As if some kind of strange erosion, under Lorenzo's influence the kestrel began to go crazy in some strange direction, and Lorenzo himself did not care, like some strange human observation, which brought him great pleasure in tormenting the kestrels.

But now there is no fun to be found on the kestrels, like a child who has lost a toy, and the great detective is a little lost.

As if he had slept enough, he propped up his hand, propped his head and looked at the snow outside the floor-to-ceiling window, stretched out his other hand and grabbed it indiscriminately, and finally grabbed a plate of dim sum from the low table and ate it casually.

Ignoring the wailing of the kestrel in the future, he sighed faintly as if he had seen through the red dust.

"Life is so good......"

Mr. Lorenzo Holmes, who has lived for so many years and killed an unknown number of demons, is like admitting defeat to his mission, praising the beauty of life.

It's as if you've traveled through some wonderful parallel world, where there are no demons and no ghost churches, these unlucky ghosts are roommates who live under the same roof, and everyone talks bad about warming up in the cold winter.

It's crazy.

Even Lorenzo couldn't believe that there really was such a life, and it really happened to him, but the fly in the ointment was that he lived with a group of rough men, and he would have liked to have a few female roommates if he could.

But perhaps something strange had come to mind, and a tingling pain in his mind made him wake up a little more and more and he couldn't seem to sleep, and that was the end of the nap, and Lorenzo staggered to his feet, and then walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Looking at the setting sunset, the whole world was covered with a red veil, and it was a little familiar, as if Lorenzo had seen it all at some point.

Then a strange picture flashed in my mind, it seemed to be a farewell, a long-lost farewell, and the voice sounded from the depths of memory, whispering.

"Goodbye...... We'll see you again, Mr. Holmes. ”

There was a strange sting, and Lorenzo didn't cover his forehead.

This strange thing has become more and more frequent, and ever since he killed Imam Lawrence, he has always dreamed of this strange thing, a boy saying goodbye to him, and saying that they will meet again.

Lorenzo couldn't tell if it was a dream or a chaotic memory, and sometimes when he thought about it, he realized that his past was like broken glass, difficult to piece together.

He wouldn't have cared about that, Lorenzo was a monster fighting demons, constantly suffering from erosion and pollution, and it was normal to say that there were any nervous problems, but this time was different.

Lorenzo had a strange premonition, as if some prophecy was about to come true, he couldn't remember the boy's name under the red veil, and he didn't remember why they had met again.

But at this moment, the strange feeling is getting stronger and stronger as time goes by, and it seems that he is about to come, to meet him again...... From the depths of that memory.

It was as if something terrible was about to come true.

"We'll see you again......"

Lorenzo muttered under his breath, like in a dream.

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