"Well, may I ask this young lady ......?"

As soon as Gu Qiancheng opened his mouth, the frightened bird flew away.

The man was stunned for a moment, and seemed to have some regret. Then, she turned slowly, a gentle smile appearing.

...... Is it a man?

"Lost, disrespectful......"

"Ahh More than once. ”

The man's voice is also gentle. The moment he spoke, Chonglin shouted as if he was sure of something:

"Boss Qiu!"

“...... Do you know each other?"

Young Master Tao looked at him, and then at Chonglin.

"No...... No, it's just ......."

"Oh, I see. You're amazing, you can read people's hearts. ”

Boss Qiu said unhurriedly, moved his hand to the position of the round-framed gold wire glass, turned the clip sunglasses on it, and looked at him carefully.

The golden eyes shone in the sun.

Then, his grip on the kettle suddenly loosened. But the kettle did not fall, but was caught by an invisible force and continued to float and water the flowers.

"Then re-introduce yourself, under the hatred of Miao, the guardian of time in the second enchantment. Well, you're tired of standing, so I'll take you to the guest room and sit down. ”

He dusted his sleeves and led them to a room. He knocked on the door, and the golden beast-faced knocker rolled his eyes.

Click.

The door slowly opened on its own.

It was dark in the room, and the candles were lit one by one.

They had seen something similar on the first floor—a ghostly existence.

It's as if there's a strange force that's manipulating everything.

Changsheng stared at the moving candle used to light the lamp.

"You seem to have a lot of troubles. ”

Qiu Miao noticed their eyes, shook off a folding fan, and smiled softly.

"There are a lot of things that Frost Que hasn't told you, right?"

“...... That's right. ”

Changsheng nodded.

A plate of tea was served.

Delicate little porcelain cups lined up in front of each of them seated, and teapots poured down one by one, steaming from them.

"They've always been like that...... As long as you don't ask, you default to no need to explain. This way of working is really confusing. However, I have always been very kind. If you have any problems, just say them, as long as I know, I will tell you. ”

Young Master Tao folded his arms and smiled exaggeratedly:

"Hahaha, how do I know if you're lying, and how can we judge your sincerity?"

"You're so rude. But when it comes to sincerity, I don't think people who come with such things ...... What sincerity will you have with me?"

Qiu Miao put down the fan and carefully examined a gun.

A police Type 64 pistol.

“...... When?!"

Tao Zuoci's face turned pale, and his eyes became a little terrifying.

"That's a good thing, isn't it...... However, I was in the arms business in the early years. I also like this kind of thing, but I didn't expect to use it in this day and age. Ah, speaking of guns, I once had a revolver and gave it to a lady whom I looked up to. She seemed to like it - well, I thought girls weren't interested in that kind of thing. ”

Shi Xue whispered to them:

"Maybe he's a good talker. ”

As if hearing this compliment, Qiu Miao smiled happily. He snapped the gun on the table and picked up the fan again.

"This young lady is very pleasant, so let's start with you first, right?"

"This ......"

Shi Xue paused. Within two seconds, she pointed to the teacup on the table and asked one of her many questions:

"These things...... I always feel that it is a force that cannot be seen. On the first floor, I saw a lot of scary shadows in the bar, like ghosts. What the hell are these?"

"Hmm...... Very interesting question. ”

Qiu Miao pondered for a moment, as if looking for words to explain.

"I'm a little surprised that you're here with almost no casualties, and this sense of teamwork is important to you and I hope you keep it up.

The people who have come here are either a group of strangers who don't know how to cooperate, or a group of superficial friends with their own plans.

So, they died here early. ”

Liu Xili interrupted him: "You still haven't answered her question. ”

"This young lady is a little impatient, but can you listen to what others have to say?"

His fan slammed against the table with a loud noise, as if to shock.

Changsheng noticed that before and after Liu Xili closed his mouth, he always had that rich and gentle smile.

It's a little scary.

"Thank you for your cooperation - do you know where the people who died inside the Clock Tower, that is, disappeared, go?"

Frost Que said...... It was distributed among the remaining survivors. ”

"Well, that's good. But do you know where the sacrificers who came to the tower were all destroyed, or if they defeated the Guardians and disappeared as losers?"

Not expecting anyone to know, he continued:

"It becomes the nourishment of the clock tower, it becomes time, it becomes the shackles that keep us trapped here. ”

Changsheng heard Nan Xuan's subconscious swallowing sound.

Qiu Miao said to himself.

"As I said, a lot of people died here. Their souls still remain in the tower, and some of them cannot be processed, like crystals in ashes that cannot be burned through.

These remnants ...... That is, garbage, scrap, or scraps, become hovering ghosts as you call them.

But they can't attack people, and they don't have consciousness of their own. They are just doing simple stress responses in different environments, or mechanically making simple obedience to external commands.

They retain their habits and wander day after day. Just like us - tied up in the tower...... Okay, so is anyone else having any questions?"

If that fails...... We, will we become like that?

Changsheng didn't say it.

"So...... Do these ghosts travel between different barriers, or do the Guardians travel between each other?"

Anseong raised his hand.

"Hmm...... The question is level. In fact, we can't leave our respective enchantments with these dregs.

However, the clock tower comes with a spiritual pillar that allows our thoughts to be transmitted to each other. In other words, I can't know exactly what's going on on a particular level, but I can vaguely sense what's going on.

And, if that layer of Guardians wants others to know, they can do it. ”

"Then, may I ask ......" Gu Qiancheng was the first to pick up the teacup. She behaved as calmly as she could:

"Why is it that you have an enclosed space on the ground floor like an outside?"

"Ahh......hh Actually, I've always liked this kind of yard, and the garden art is so wonderful. Also, I wanted to run my own teahouse, but ...... Oh, sorry, off topic.

In short, the Guardians of each tier can create their own enchantments as they like. Well, it's a privilege. After all, there are so many of you, it's not fair to us. ”

"Hydrangea—"

Nan Xuan suddenly spoke.

Also, the cherry blossoms that are very unnatural red...... What are those?"

“...... Ah. That's a by-product of processing. ”

Really.

Changsheng felt that the nausea in his throat was more obvious.

"Sir, I've been concerned about one thing ever since. ”

Chonglin stood up, his expression very serious. Qiu Miao raised his head and smiled, motioning for him to continue.

"Just now when you answered Young Master Tao, you used the word age. Excuse me, you are actually a person from the outside world, right...... It's like a mocking thrush. So, what era do you live in? What about the concept of time in this tower?"

Chonglin's figure is not very tall, on the contrary, Qiu Miao is a very tall man. Therefore, his gaze was only a little higher than Qiu Miao's.

But even so, this string of questions is full of deterrence.

Qiu Miao closed the clip of his sunglasses, leaned back in his chair, and fell into a brief silence.

The silence is chilling. Just when Chonglin's scalp was tingling from this silence, he finally spoke.

"Actually...... I don't know how long it took.

There is no concept of time inside the clock tower because it is so slow that it is almost static. But time in the outside world is still passing, and we have always relied on the clothes and supplies of the people who come to judge the outside world.

If you use the dial analogy, you can think of the tower as the center of the world, and no matter how the hands move and how the dial rotates, it is relatively stationary.

However, you can also think of it as being at the edge of the world, and every second that passes by the outside pointer is a long way for the farthest frontiers. It can be said that time here is infinite in the finite. ”

“...... What does that mean? So, where the hell is the clock tower? Where are we?"

Konai also stood up.

"Between life and death, waking and dreaming, truth and lies. ”

The same vague answer as the guide.

No one spoke anymore.

After a long time, Chonglin broke the silence and said to his companions around him:

"What he said was true. What he thinks in his heart is exactly what he says. He shouldn't be able to lie to us about these words. ”

Qiu Miao's wrist was raised suddenly, and the fan snapped shut.

Then he leaned forward and lifted his lenses, his jaw resting with his interlaced fingers, his golden eyes interested in something.

"So, it's me asking questions, isn't it?"

"Eh—do people like you have any doubts about us?"

"Ah, long time no see, Calyx. It's good that you're still so young. ”

Calyx blinked inexplicably, Qiu Miao waved his hand, and continued:

"Well, of course. You killed my lovely staff—right?"

The cold wind swept through the half-open door and swept through the hearts of everyone present.

Then, with a sudden turn, it rushed out the door and slammed it shut.

The sound of the door clenching echoed through the empty room.

- To be continued -