April 18, 1879

The wind is blowing,

But the rain that drifted in the air did not cease,

A bolt of lightning flashed through the air, and the thunder roared to the world with an indefensible rage.

The dark sky was torn apart by thunder, drowning out the hustle and bustle of the world with the sound of rain and the howling of the wind.

People's vision is blinded by raindrops, and they can't see the distant sun,

Only darkness and the incandescent whiteness brought by the occasional downing of lightning form the dominant color of the world.

Such heavy rain has lasted for three days.

The wind kept trying to blow away the rain in the air, but the rain was like a spider's silk in the wind falling to the ground.

The potholes on the ground of the stone road can no longer fill in more rainwater.

The rainwater mixes with the dust, mud and other debris on the road into a black sticky mud that blocks every corner of the sewer.

The original inhabitants of the sewers, rats, and insects also fled one after another, leaving the filth gathering place.

——————————

Herman House

"Wow, wow, wow!"

Young Albert wept vigorously in disgust with the annoying sound of the rain.

"My dear, can our good son be quiet for a while? My head was about to blow up. ”

Herman whispered to Kirk.

Kirk waved his hand helplessly, indicating that there was nothing he could do, and she said,

"Ever since this rain started to fall,

Albert cried all the time except when he was sleeping and eating.

I've tried playing the piano, but apparently it didn't work much.

It seems that this kid naturally doesn't like rain. ”

——————————

The shops on the street are closing,

Anyway, there will be no other customers except those disgusting cockroaches and annoying flies.

In this stormy battle, it is the people living on the ground who are most affected.

Pvent and Philip worked hard to nail the door of the warehouse with planks and nails, piece by piece.

Who would have thought that this rain would rain for three days in a row, overloading the sewers, resulting in a flooding of the streets.

"Damn, what are the people from the Water Authority doing to eat, they can't even fix a sewer, and they levy our lovely gold mark every month!"

Pvent grumbled.

Pvent is in a very bad mood right now,

In addition to wheat, there are also spices and salt, which are special products that are purchased from various places at a high price.

Wheat will become moldy due to rain, and spices will spoil into useless waste, which may be used as pig food for the last value.

The salt will combine with the rainwater, and eventually the grain will not be harvested.

This means that with the loss of countless lovely gold marks in this storm,

For Pvent, the loss of the Golden Mark would allow him to eat a lot of Mills Boss's black pepper roast pork knuckle.

"Oh no, rat hole!"

Provent let out a wail,

found that the planks had been used up, and this mouse hole could only be sealed with sandbags for the time being.

This means that there is another place where water will enter.

Looking at Pwente's embarrassment, Philip smiled slightly and thought to himself,

"Such a silly dad is really cute."

Pvent gritted his teeth and took apart the chair in the grocery store,

Then the wooden seating of the chair was used to seal the last leaky part of the warehouse.

Father and son were sweating profusely, slumped on the ground, looking at each other and smiling.

Although the relationship between the two is not very good, and there is no interaction like Philip when he was young, but at this time, it seems to be back to the old good, back to the close father-son relationship.

In the past, the young Philip would always ride on Pvent's shoulders, laughing happily as the two frolicked in the streets.

And the red-haired mother, Ariana, would sit and giggle.

It was really warm on a day like that.

Pvent tried to break the silence and said to his son Philip,

"Son,

I know you haven't talked much since your mother died.

You must be very sad,

I also understand,

Because I love her as much as you do, my Ariana.

But I want you to know that you have something to say to me,

You can rely on me, and I want you to open your heart and let me be your dependence. ”

Philip shook his head, looking at his father, who was getting old under the erosion of time,

The black hair on my father's head has been mottled, and silver threads have appeared.

Philip sighed lightly and said,

"Father, I'm not hating you, or blaming you.

I can understand that you like to have a drink once in a while, this is a common hobby for men, not to mention that alcohol is the best narcotic for you.

It would be nice if you could come back a little more sober and not have to change your clothes and go to bed for you. ”

Provent looked at Philip,

There is a feeling that the son has grown up slowly, matured, and will take care of people.

He felt a pang of comfort in his heart.

And it is surprising that Philip uncharacteristically said so many heartfelt words in a series today.

"My dear son, I will drink less in the future, I swear to Golden Mark!"

Pvent patted his chest and swore awt.

"I hope so, my father. Father, what do you think of Mother... She... What kind of person are you in your heart? ”

Philip shrugged helplessly, a little helplessly, stopped talking, and hurriedly explained as if he was in a hurry to cover up some secret.

"You know, when I was seven years old, she was gone from us, and I don't remember much about her other than that she had beautiful red hair."

Philip's words evoked Pvent's memories, and Pvent recounted slowly in the memories of the past,

"She,

In my recollection,

It is the most beautiful flower in the world, the most vivid rose,

In my heart, I will never forget every minute she spent with me.

She has a strong personality, a bold style, and likes to challenge some impossible things.

Maybe that's why she chose to work as a journalist in the city of Umur?

She often likes to rush to the front of the security team's blockade and use her words to record various accident scenes a few meters away.

She also likes to embarrass the mayor with hard questions,

She once had a thick notepad with a messy record of her findings.

Of course, this notepad is still there, and I haven't discarded anything that belongs to her.

It's just that I can't read her scribbled words and symbols.

The reporters had the same set of ciphers or ciphertexts as spies for quick records.

An outsider like me who can't read a few words, let alone be able to read it. ”

Philip pondered the clues that his father had unexpectedly revealed,

He had always thought that there was something strange about his mother's death, but that the bold Pvent was too sad to miss those clues.

Philip's instincts tell him that there is a conspiracy hidden here, but he alone may not be able to solve the mystery behind the incident.

"I'm afraid that my mother will be involved in a troublesome case before the accident happens."

Philip calmly analyzed in his heart.

When Philip was a child, he once saw strange and distorted marks on his mother's notebook,

Although the imprint drawn on the book is incomplete,

But Philip, who has special mental powers, sensed the existence above the nebula,

The incomparably vast figure is no longer enough to describe its greatness.

Originally, this memory has dimmed,

But a few days ago, at Albert's full moon feast, Philip saw that mark again,

This time it was a complete imprint, no longer the mutilated part of my mother's notebook.

Philip was frightened, shocked,

He thought of his mother's death for the first time, maybe it had something to do with this mark, maybe it had something to do with Alfes,

But at the same time, countless muffled voices appeared in his ears,

It is the word of filth, the whisper of the blasphemer;

It is not a human language, but it can understand its meaning.

Kalksa, Kalksa,

The place where the wind spirits of the twins sleep,

When the stars shine in the night, no one hears your song.

Clothed with a crown of sin, clothed in the ragged garb of a king,

Enjoy my soul,

The Lost King of Khalksa.

Give me the pleasure of transcending death,

The Feaster of Kalksa.

Such filthy words almost broke through Philip's soul defenses, and made him go crazy on the spot,

Thankfully, with the glass in his hand, Philip let go of his fingers with what little sanity he had.

The sound of glass shattering interrupts the mental pollution, and Philip inadvertently saves himself and the Udkaw on the verge of collapse.

long ago

Philip had made up his mind not to pursue his mother's death, but when this evil mark appeared in front of him again,

Philip decides to break his vows because the truth is likely to be in front of him.

Behind this symbolic ominous mark may be the culprit who killed his mother.

So Philip has been looking for opportunities to find clues from his father beside him.

He was clever and didn't ask his father directly about his mother's death.

Instead, he chose to use the information his father inadvertently revealed to complete the logical puzzle he had scrutinized.

Because Philip knew his father's character, that kind of thick nerves and big mouth that couldn't stand the secret, maybe he would mention these things in public when he was drunk, and thus be targeted by the mysterious organization of the imprint,

So Philip understood that this time,

Although I really want to rely on my father, I can only deduce it with my own wisdom.

Philip quickly deduced the available clues, and the mark was obviously the most important, but the father should not know.

Hey, in addition to that notebook, there's another key point that has been overlooked!

Alphes. Vasap!

Philips disguised his innocence and asked Pvent,

"So, who is the one at the banquet who has some contradictions with you?"

Pvent was stunned for a moment, and replied,

"That's your cousin,

Your mother's cousin,

I don't like this man, his name is Alfes. Vasap, who seems to be a gentleman-like businessman,

But he gave me the impression that he was like a poisonous snake lurking in the night, ready to pounce on you and bite you at any moment.

I don't like this kind of person, so I don't have much contact with him.

But your mother had contact with him while she was still there.

During that time, I was busy dealing with the merchants of Nanyang, and I don't know exactly what they were discussing.

Hey, tell you something,

Before he managed to become a big businessman, he had a beautiful wife, who later disappeared,

Some speculate that he sold his wife to a wealthy businessman to get the money to start his business.

I tell you, when you see him in the future, you have to stay away, the farther away the better. ”

After Pvent said this, he stared at Philip very seriously.

It's a father's concern, and it's a father-son interaction, Pvent thought.

Philip nodded, indicating that he had understood, but sighed inwardly, in order to find out the truth, he had to contact this cousin.

The rain outside the house is getting lighter, and you can hear the sound of the rain gradually sliding, and it may not be long before the weather clears.

Provent was in a good mood at this time, and he felt that the relationship with his son had a breakthrough like flying,

Maybe when the rain stops, it's a good idea to go to the Black Pepper Bar for a drink and celebrate.

——————————

Black Pepper Bar

As the torrential rain poured down, the Black Pepper Bar was not as lively as usual, with only a few rotten drunks slumped in the corner.

Boss Mills couldn't bear to throw these guys out when he saw the pouring rain outside, and he didn't have much business anyway, so he let them stay in the corner.

Boss Mills and the bartender carefully clean every corner of the bar to ensure that the bar remains spotless, which is the almost morbid cleanliness of Boss Mills.

Squeak.

This is the sound of the door of the Black Pepper Bar being pushed open,

Boss Mills looked up suddenly, and the comer braved the pouring rain to come to the Black Pepper Bar,

Perhaps for a special purpose, Boss Mills went into a taut state, and he sensed danger.

The visitor was wearing a black cloak, and large raindrops could be seen sliding down the sides of the cloak, the result of a non-stop rush from the heavy rain.

"Ahh I'm freezing to death... ”

A familiar voice came from under the hood, and the man reached out and flipped the hood back, revealing his true appearance, which was actually a very embarrassed Dr. Yudekaw.

"Hey, Boss Mills, I didn't expect it, I'm here."

Yudkaw greeted Boss Mills and asked the bartender,

"Is it okay to have a hot cup of coffee, I'm about to freeze to death, I'm sorry for you."

The bartender nodded and went to make coffee.

Mills looked at Dr. Yudkaw and asked,

"Such a big storm, why don't you stay at home, why are you running here for me?"

Apparently Mills, who said this, has not let down his guard yet,

That's a sense of crisis that has been cultivated by years of experience in sea navigation.

Whenever there is danger, it is always right to be cautious.

Although it was the old patron Youdekao in front of him, the instinct of a sense of crisis still prevailed.

"Well, my wicked mother-in-law drank too much again, and she lost her temper at home, and she almost hit me on the head with a beer bottle.

If I don't escape, I'll probably be carried out by the mortuary of the security team. ”

Yudekao laughed bitterly and laughed at himself.

Mills nodded, and handed Yudekaw a dry towel and a hot towel, apparently believing what Yudekaw had said, and letting go of some of his vigilance in such a friendly gesture.

"Go to the bathroom and dry it with a dry towel, and then warm up with a hot towel.

I don't want to see your scrawny body and ugly beer belly in the halls. ”

Mills quipped.

Yudekaw took the towel, said thank you, and walked to the bathroom alone to wipe it.

As Yudekaw walked away, Mills put aside his cleaning work for a moment, and pondered the source of the sense of crisis he had just had.

He wasn't sure if the feeling of being stared at by a poisonous snake came from Yudekaw, and from what he knew, Yudkaw was a cowardly man, and this aura was obviously in great contradiction with himself.

This ominous aura reminded Mills of his own adventures as a sailor at sea.

Their ship almost ran aground and was shipwrecked,

But Lady Luck did not give up their lives at that time,

Instead, they were able to swim their crew to a nearby desert island.

The desert island is deserted, but there are huge stone monuments everywhere, and there is an altar in the middle of the island.

and countless entangled bones, from the skeleton can be seen that there are men, women, old and young, and even animal bones mixed together.

The skeletons twist into a towering tower of bones, some with ribs attached to the skull, and some with mandible bones attached to the fibula. ①

The composition of these skeletons is simply beyond the scope of human imagination, just as these bones should be so twisted and hideous.

At that time, the captain of Mills shared a terrible guess with the group, and they were instantly overcome by fear, and some of them even lost their minds and shouted loudly on the spot.