468

The big golden retriever pushed hard against the bushes above his head and struggled to get out of the hole in the fence.

Susie looked around warily, then lowered her head, licked the hair of her paws, and bit off a small tuft.

It examined its body again, spun back and forth a few times, and carefully observed its own shadow

"Well, I'm still a dog, I haven't become a human ......"

It breathed a sigh of relief with great humanity, checked the leather bag on its chest, and quickly ran towards the outside of the manor.

Susie ran briskly, over aqueducts and wide roads for horse-drawn carriages, past roadside wildflowers and odd pedestrians, and made a beeline for Storm Church, located in the bustling northern city district.

However, as it runs, Susie discovers more and more people who don't match their outward clothing and behavior, and it cautiously enters the northern urban area, and the situation not only does not improve, but also intensifies.

Most people won't pay attention to a dog running around, not to mention that Susie hangs a small necklace with gold-rimmed glasses, carries a small leather bag, has a supple and shiny golden retriever, and looks very polite, at first glance, it is a breed dog carefully raised by a rich family instead of a wild dog, and no one will pay attention.

In this way, Susie carefully navigated the loopholes in the rules of "identity confusion" and moved forward.

As it passed through a park, it gradually stopped, sticking out its tongue and flicking its tail like a normal dog, running around the flowerbeds and grass.

A large group of people of various identities strangely ran in a particular direction, as if something was calling them.

Susie carefully followed while playing the role of an ordinary dog, falling far behind, watching them rush somewhere, constantly pushing and squeezing each other, causing many tower stampede incidents.

But the crowd of people did not stop, and the trampled people were constantly trying to crawl forward instead of saving themselves, and this strange image made Susie feel a little uneasy. But soon they stopped in the distance, motionless, without saying a word, and fell into a deathly silence, blocking the road in front of them three layers inside and three layers outside.

"Wang."

Susie restrained herself from human-like movements, put her front paws on the side of the road, and walked around curiously.

It instinctively thought that this might have something to do with the current anomaly, but it didn't rush near because it knew that there must be great danger hidden there, and it would probably remain motionless when it got closer.

After watching for a moment, Susie wagged her tail and continued to run towards the Storm Church of the Tides, which was already close at hand.

As it passed a corner, Susie suddenly braked and hid in the shadows of the wall, her eyes widening in disbelief.

It saw a strange group of people standing in front of it, or rather, a strange group of people, dressed in white coats like doctors, kneeling and sitting together, leaning forward, their hands moving constantly, as if they were cooperating in a common thing.

Susie just glanced at it and immediately turned her head, as it smelled an eerie stench with its keen sense of smell as a dog.

This small corner is dim and oppressive, and a cold breath lingers, and this thick strange smell cannot be dispersed even if there is ventilation around, because there is a source.

Susie rarely smelled it, but its sanity told it that it was the smell of rotten meat, and that it had been rotting for a long time.

This group of doctors around a piece of rotten meat?

The golden retriever could not restrain his curiosity, and he was afraid of possible danger.

Suddenly, it thought of a solution.

It ran towards a puddle of stagnant water, looked into its own eyes in the stagnant water, and "hypnotized" itself:

"In the next half minute, you will forget your identity, forget your own sequence and all your occult knowledge, tightly gather all spirituality, and become an ordinary dog."

"In the next half minute, you will naturally pass by this corner and look over there naturally."

"Just take a look, then leave, go back around the corner and hide."

"These directives take effect as soon as I close my eyes."

Then, Susie took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The psychological suggestion and hypnosis it gave itself immediately kicked in, and after a few short seconds, it opened its eyes, looked around suspiciously, and brought the tip of its nose close to the ground, sniffing back and forth on the ground, looking for the smell of its owner, Audrey.

But there was no smell of the owner around, nor any of the other humans it was familiar with, and after a few turns in place, the big golden retriever turned his head according to his psychological cues, ran out of the shadow where he was hiding, and ran to the corner in front of him.

When passing by the corner, the golden retriever dog smelled a strange smell, it subconsciously looked at the group of strange doctors, as if trying to find out the source, stretched its neck, lowered its head slightly, took a few steps forward while sniffing, and stepped into the corner of the light and dark boundary with its front paws.

The white-coat doctors with wooden expressions suddenly turned their heads in unison and stared at Susie five or six meters away.

Susie, who was just an ordinary dog, was startled by this scene, took two steps back in stress, barked loudly, and retreated as she barked, and finally withdrew from the corner, and ran away into the distance with a puff of smoke.

After passing around a corner, Susie suddenly stopped and closed her eyes.

When it opened its eyes again, it once again had a humanized "thinking" expression on its face.

It looked back to make sure it had passed the corner, so it sat down in a sunny corner and began to remember what it had just seen.

Five doctors in white coats.

They hold needles and transparent threads in their hands.

This line seems to be used for fishing, and Audrey saw others use it the other day when she took it to experience country life.

They surround a piece of rotten meat.

No, not a piece of rotten meat, it's a pile of rotten meat.

They're putting this rotten flesh ......

Sewn together.

Susie suddenly opened her eyes.

The canine instinct caused it to subconsciously clamp its tail in the face of incomprehensible horror, and its ears were close to its head, it almost wanted to jump up, and then run back to the castle to inform Audrey of the news - because Audrey can speak, and she can't tell the Church of the Storm the news!

Not even the personnel of the Hypnotic Storm Church, because the church will definitely pursue the source of this information, and its own hypnosis will definitely not be able to stop the psychological suggestion of the church, and if one of Miss Hall's dogs is found to be spitting out, then he will be completely exposed.

"The seal, this time it must be the seal out of control."

Susie anxiously walked up and down in place, tucking her tail between her legs, carefully recalling what she had just seen.

"There's something next to that pile of rotting meat."

"It's round, it's flat, like a mirror."

"That mirror is a seal that is out of control? Hmm, it affects the people of the city, confuses their identities, controls them, and sews up a ruined corpse? ”

From Hall Castle to the northern city, all of them are within the area of influence of this seal, and according to the classification of churches that Susie knows, this should be a terrifying level 1 seal!

"No, I can't go back to Audrey now, Audrey can't get out, and I'll waste time when I go back!"

Its only advantage in this accident is that it is not a human, but an extraordinary animal, and its identity as an animal makes it natural for others to let their guard down on it, and it can escape the influence of most seals against humans.

After thinking about this, Susie immediately continued to run in the direction of the Tide Church.

After turning a sharp bend in a hurry, a series of loud noises suddenly came from the street ahead, and the sky also went dark.

Dark clouds, thunder and lightning?

Susie remembered the occult she had learned, and was a little happy - the people of the Storm Church had begun to take action!

……

Hall Family Castle.

Audrey sat in her bedroom, trying to keep her mind as calm as she could, and prayed that Susie would bring the church people smoothly.

However, in these short ten minutes, Audrey suddenly heard the sound of footsteps outside the door becoming dense, and the sound of the door opening and closing, as if many people had come out of the room, constantly walking up the hallways and stairs.

However, in such a dense footsteps, no one spoke.

Her heart suddenly rose to her throat, and she quickly gave herself two "comforts" and another "psychoanalysis" to stabilize her state and maintain her ability to think rationally.

She also wore a riding suit that was easy to move around, and stood up cautiously, tiptoeing close to the gate, wanting to hear the sounds outside.

Just when she was only two or three meters away from the door, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Audrey?" Someone outside the door called her name, and the voice seemed so abrupt in the dense footsteps, "Audrey, afternoon tea is about to be cold, I specially finished my official business early today, and I have been waiting for you on the balcony for a long time." ”

Audrey was taken aback - she had asked Hilbert before when she would have time to have afternoon tea with her, chat, and go through some inside information and gossip about the surrounding aristocratic families, but why did it happen to be today?

This is her eldest brother, Hilbert Hall...... Wait, this voice isn't Hilbert's!

Hilbert has spoken in various public forums and has participated in many social and government activities, he has a good eloquence and an excellent voice, and now his voice sounds a little weak, much weaker than Hilbert, this is a man, but definitely not Hilbert...... Audrey felt goosebumps on her arm, and she gently rubbed her arm, letting her voice be as light and active as usual, and replied to the "Hilbert" outside the door:

"Wait a minute, dear Hilbert!"

"It occurred to me that I was going to go horseback riding next week, so I changed into a new riding outfit in advance, and it fits perfectly."

"I'll switch back now."

"Hilbert" outside the door smiled. The real unidentified man gets Hilbert's voice and jokes about Audrey like a real brother:

"My sister is so anxious. Audrey, wherever you go, you're the brightest jewel in the crowd. ”

"We don't need to change your clothes for our family afternoon tea, but if you insist on doing it, I'll be waiting for you outside."

Audrey's palms were cold, but she still smiled and said:

"Then I can't keep you waiting."

She wasn't sure if it was a temptation or a "surprise", so she chose to wear convenient trousers to make it easier to escape.

Pushing open the door, her brother Hilbert was standing outside the door, and Audrey was in a trance for a moment, but immediately came back to her senses.

If she hadn't heard something wrong in the room just now, she would have naturally believed that this was "Hilbert" by now!

Audrey's impeccable smile, her hair tied up and her light riding outfit gave her a bit of a crisp beauty, and "Hilbert" praised:

"Pearl white is for you, Audrey."

"Thank you."

Audrey casually walked up to "Hilbert", and the two walked side by side in the direction of the garden balcony.

Along the way, all the servants in the castle seemed to come out, carrying things big and small to and fro, placing pieces of black cloth in every corner of the castle.

Audrey was puzzled and had a vague bad feeling, but "Hilbert" looked accustomed to it, and Audrey didn't dare to ask.

Finally, in Audrey's apprehension, they reached the third floor, where two servants walked down the floor carrying a huge object from their side.

The wind blew a corner of the black cloth as he walked.

In the moments of staggering, Audrey caught a glimpse of the back of her head in the black cloth - this thing was a giant mirror.

The servants were constantly moving out the mirrors in the interior and placing them in a strange order and at different angles in the castle.

Audrey's feet moved slightly, and the bracket of the mirror just scratched her trouser leg.

She stopped and complained:

"It's a shame that I'm in brand new clothes."

"Hilbert" naturally stopped, followed Audrey's gaze, and comforted his sister:

"These servants are too careless, don't be sad, I'll ask the tailor to make you a new one."

"Forgive them, Audrey, after all, it is the urgent thing to set up the castle."

Audrey heard this, and said "sullenly": "I know. ”

She straightened up again and moved on. Before entering the balcony, she released her clenched right fist and let the sweat in her palms dry naturally, preventing it from attracting the attention of "Hilbert".

As one of the owners of the castle, she knows better than anyone else.

- There is no requirement to "furnish the castle with mirrors" at all.

469

“…… I've heard your name, but I didn't expect that the philosopher who proposed the doctrine that 'man is born free' is still alive in this world. I have also read your books, and your paper "On the 'Human Nature Formed by Man' in the State of Nature" has inspired me a lot and given me a deeper understanding of 'human nature'. ”

Amun, like a philosopher, expressed his opinions in all seriousness.

Standing opposite him was an old man with a white beard, tall and thin, dressed in a simple bishop's robe.

His beard was properly trimmed, his face was amiable and serious, and his ocean-blue eyes shone with a sparkle of wisdom that was almost non-existent among the Storm Cultists.

"Man is born free, but he has always been in chains."

"The goodness of our nature is tested all the time, and our freedom is running in shackles. Realistically, our world is full of danger and chaos, and shackles are both restraints and protections. ”

The general bishop of the professor smiled and spoke to Amon.

There was no rush to wash the floor with lightning, no quick speech to ask the other party for information on the lost seal, and no wary or jealous eyes to this young man who was higher than himself.

"That paper was almost 90 years ago. I used it to get my Ph.D. from the University of Lemburg. ”

He smiled and sighed: "I am honored that my immature work in my youth can inspire you, and your understanding of 'human nature' is also novel and different, if it were not for such a situation, I would like to invite you to discuss it." ”

"One of your points is very interesting...... In the state of nature, human beings live in harmony with nature in the struggle for their own survival, and in their mutual relations with nature, they form a good and simple virtue. There is no uniform moral code, but human nature is natural and perfect, and you think that the development of civilization destroys these primitive virtues, and that man becomes wiser and wiser, and that private property corrupts the human heart......"

Amon then changed his title, using honorifics to try to make himself look more human, more trustworthy, and less like a fraudster.

- However, this behavior itself is naturally a kind of "fraud"!

After saying this, he humorously made a joke:

"If another professor I know well hears this, I guess he can't wait to come and debate with you."

"Oh?"

Lu Ermi asked with some interest, "It seems that the colleague does not agree with my concept. ”

"Not really." Amon shrugged, "After all, he still has your writings and papers in the textbook he gave me, doesn't he?" ”

"Sounds like an interesting person, debating, it was a long, long time ago."

The professor looked at him wistfully, and then he broke away from the atmosphere of academic discussion, looked around at the standing crowd, and spoke:

"What are your thoughts on the current situation?"

"It's presumptuous, but you need to share some intelligence. Your seals have caused a big problem for my city, and you should be held responsible. ”

Amon had no choice but to shift from the topic of "human nature" that he was most interested in to the pursuit of seals that he was not interested in:

"The seal I lost corresponds to the 'thief' path, and has the ability to 'defraud', and the current identity confusion is its effect. The remaining spiritual imprint has strong malice towards me, but I'm not sure if it's going to run away or do it to me. ”

"The crowds you see, the blockades and the car accidents are all behind the scenes, and it seems to be trying to keep me from getting close to ......"

Amon thought for a moment and said:

"Somewhere in the manor district outside the city."

"Well, that's a piece of useful information......"

At that moment, a slight noise caught the attention of the two Sages, who turned their heads together to see a large golden retriever dog with its tongue stuck out in the still crowd.

All they heard was the sound of the big dog's paws slapping on the ground.

"Animals?"

Amon was at first at a loss, then realized: "The animal may not be in the area of influence of that seal. ”

Lurmi had already walked over: "Maybe it represents someone's plea for help." ”

The silent crowd let out a dense sound of footsteps, and they all took a few steps back, revealing the location of the big golden retriever.

The golden retriever was a little nervous and walked in place, Lu Ermi touched its head, and then reached out to open the small leather bag that the golden retriever was carrying, and found a note from inside.

After unfolding, a lady's beautiful handwriting reads:

"There's an anomaly at the Hall family castle, and I'm trapped in the castle."

Lu Ermi looked at it, thought about it, and then said to Amun clearly:

"Your intelligence is correct."

When Amon heard this, he probed over and saw the words on it clearly, and he couldn't believe it:

"It's actually hiding in that area, isn't that a fraud?"

"The northern city is my jurisdiction, and so is the manor district of the nobles. The Hall family is a believer in the goddess, and I will contact the Church of the Night and go over to check on the situation first. If possible, I'll rescue the survivors first. Lu Ermi put away the note and said to Amon with a pleasant face, "I am already an old man with little courage, so I hope you will ...... Protect the people of the northern city on my behalf. ”

He accentuated the word "protection" slightly.

Amon frowned: "My seal, I should deal with it." ”

"And you shouldn't leave the responsibility of protecting the people to me, I'm a wild extraordinary."

He didn't want to take responsibility, and he didn't understand the reason why Lurmi did this, and although the reasons were good, he really couldn't understand the reason why the other party trusted him so much.

Could it be that his "sincerity" succeeded in fraud?

"Citizens need protection, and I don't have the means to control them on a large scale."

Lu Ermi looked at his librarian's uniform and colorful scarf, and smiled kindly again: "I like the municipal library in Stonen very much, and I often go there, and the window seat on the fifth floor is the best. ”

"I also know that in the past two months, Ston's stealing has decreased dramatically."

"I'm already an old man, and I just want to live in peace every day."

TBC

——————

In the afternoon, I will go to the fourth exam, and after taking the book, I will add more today or tomorrow.