"Mr. Kraft, I understand that you need some leisure time to rest, but are you really sure that this is where we are going today?"

"What, what's the problem?" Kraft changed into his regular clothes and enjoyed the rare fresh air outside, "It's reasonable to visit more monuments in Tunling." ”

Koop glanced at the half-man-tall wasteland covered with weeds, and the few visitors were hurrying, carrying digging tools and carrying some heavy objects wrapped in strips of cloth, "That's right, does Dr. David know that you have been visiting the cemetery for a long time?" ”

"It's okay, I told him, don't do it if you're not sure, and wait for me to deal with it." It's a small step to fish, and it's a big step for David to take on the big picture. If the latter behaves well, it is entirely possible for the Society to add a peripheral member.

Kraft had been working and teaching for a week, and if he hadn't been curious, he might have remembered that he had to wait until next month.

They were in a rare open space in the suburbs, about half a city from the Davie Clinic and even further from the old town where the university is located. The outward expansion of the urban area deliberately stops at a certain boundary, forming a huge gap around it, and even the streets do not meet the broken paths in the grass.

The coachman of the university was reluctant to go any further, and politely dissuaded the two guests from dissuading them from wishing to be accepted anywhere for the souls who had died of impurity.

"I don't think you're going to jump up because of two bones. In fact, this is indeed a monument, look at our feet, it should be some years. ”

Even if it is arched and cut by the roots of the plants, it can still be seen that the scattered pavement is a structure cut and paved with stones, and when it is complete, it should be better than the road conditions in the city.

Roughly underground, on a corner of the rock, the traces of artificial trimming have finally been cut off, and they have been worn away like natural creations, except from the scattered places of the piles, combined with the equally decaying roads, it can be seen that there was once a large complex of buildings here.

A few decades alone would not have allowed the earth to swallow up a stone building of this scale, and most of it is a remnant of an earlier era.

The special purpose caused the local population to refuse to build new buildings on the foundations of the previous generations, and did not even have access to the nearby stones, as if subconsciously believing that these most powerful inanimate things would also be infected by the invisible epidemic.

So these things just lay still, until their original purpose was unknown.

The two found the entrance to a low stone wall of questionable use, and a hut made of leftover wooden planks, the most formal of which was the emblem that hung outside the door instead of being enshrined.

The old grave keeper with dry and unkempt hair sat on a wooden bench at the door, nibbled on a handful of fruit with more kernels than flesh, and casually threw the kernels into the mouth of the sewer next to him. Seeing the two people who didn't look like they were here to engage in normal funeral affairs, only one of the normal eyes became vigilant.

It seems that even the most hated places are still under the control of the church. The level of control may not be reliable, but it at least makes it clear that cemeteries are not illegal places.

That kind of gaze is really uncomfortable for Kraft, like a security guard at the entrance of a school, who can distinguish between a teacher, a student from his own school, a student from another school, or a social idler mixed in with some kind of experience-formed intuition.

"Hello, we're with the one in front of you." Pointing to the group that had just walked by, Kraft tried to fool himself around.

The old man guarding the tomb moved the chair to the middle of the road and sat down, blocking the way, not understanding why the other party simply climbed over the wall, "Except for those who specialize in collecting corpses, even the relatives of the dead may not follow in, are you?" ”

"Well, we are actually from the medical school, and we want to investigate the number of people who have died of tuberculosis in Tunling, which may help to improve the understanding of the local epidemic of the disease."

"Oh, that's right!" He blinked, even the one with pale and cloudy pupils, revealing a clear look, and then refused without hesitation for a second, "No." ”

"Why?"

The rusty shovel slammed into the ground, indicating the attitude of the grave keeper - why?

Kraft realized that it was probably really difficult to explain, and tried some ways of communicating that could easily open up the gap between people, "For the sake of Heavenly Father, I hope to provide a little material help for the maintenance of the dwelling of these poor people after death." ”

"Do you know what that place is?"

Looking in the direction of the finger covered in a layer of dust, you can see an above-average spire not far away, clearly indicating its identity, "Believe me, the people of the Inquisition sometimes come to visit the church here. ”

"I think six silver coins would be a good price."

"Sir, no matter where you come from, it is delusional to insult my faith in the Father with a silver coin." The old man glanced at the holy emblem hanging on the door of the shack, perhaps in a position that especially needed spiritual protection, it was naturally easier to produce firm believers.

"I'm not talking about black silver coins."

"Neither way"

"Seven, that's enough for you to change a new emblem from the priest's hands, it's better than this thing." Some inexplicable subtle itching, like someone holding a strand of hair to brush the hair on the back of the neck, increased the hot flashes and irritability brought by the weather, and drained his patience, making Kraft instinctively want to end the negotiation as soon as possible and leave.

The hand holding the shovel loosened, and the grave keeper felt that the chair seemed to be a little hot, "You make it difficult for me to do this. ”

"No, I'll change places."

"I don't want to see someone blatantly come out of the main entrance with something." Taking the small object with a pleasant metallic sound, he got up and moved his chair to the side, "Also, did you bring the fire?" ”

This makes people a little suspicious that the other party has lost its function because of its two eyes, and it is no longer possible to distinguish between day and night, "Fire? ”

"Forget it, it's a gift, and if you don't dare to go down later, remember to come back." A blackened lantern was slipped into Kraft's hand, and the grave keeper kindly helped light the fire, without even asking for it to be returned.

Kraft didn't want to linger at the door, thanked the other party for the gift, and hurried in the direction of the mourner in front of him.

The environment inside the dispensable walls of the cemetery is basically the same as the outside, there is no new soil uplifted, buried objects exposed by rainwater, high grass and a small number of hidden traces of carvings are still the theme here.

Obviously, it would be difficult to try to break ground here without discarding a few tools, and it would be impossible to stuff a large number of victims of infectious diseases in a limited area.

Following the cleared road, their questions were quickly answered, and they understood the purpose of the lantern given by the grave keeper.

Half-buried stone arches are embedded in the earth-stone floor, and the deep feldspar spirals down to the unreachable, and the footsteps disappear from view with tightly wrapped human figures around the corner.

The reason why there is only one grave keeper in the huge place has been found, and this is not the cemetery itself, but the entrance.

The catacombs that had been used to deal with the untold dead during the Great Plague had not been abandoned with memory; On the contrary, its doors have never been closed for decades, serving as a place for those whom the kingdom of heaven rejects.

"Koop, I'll make sure again, you're not afraid of bones, are you?"

"I'm more afraid that when they are written on paper, they are more scary than when they move." Koop patted the hammer hanging from his waist, and if there was a skeleton of moving bones in front of him now, he felt that he should be able to communicate with it about his learning.

"Very well, you can carry the lamp and go to the back." Before stepping up the stairs, Kraft looked back at the way he had come one last time, frowning in confusion.

[I always feel uncomfortable]

He paused for a moment, discerning the source of the discomfort, but found nothing, and the feeling vanished for a moment.

"Mr. Kraft, is that the kind of thing?"

"No, it's not, maybe it's just a precursor to cervical spondylosis, let's go down."

(End of chapter)