The Pohao County Library is a spacious three-story building with more than 100,000 books, and it is clear that a lot of effort was put into its construction.

But it's a bit of a waste to put it in this vast and sparsely populated place, and there are not many people in the museum.

The four of them quickly borrowed the target book and began to work together.

Jesse flipped through voter registration forms in Poho County decades ago to find all the families with the surname Hartman.

Tsch and Daley rummaged through the Witch's Mallet, the Confessions, the Theologica, the 73-volume Bible in the Catholic edition, and other religious works for clues related to the number 23.

Dean has read a lot of books related to dead skin that Jesse has investigated over the years, including memoirs, county memorabilia, daily newspapers, and the police department's missing persons registration form.

……

The pen swiped across the paper, the pages rustled, and the four of them immersed themselves in the library reading and recording.

Outside the window, the sun gradually changed from a lazy morning light to an orange-red sunset on the horizon, and Dean sketched a clear vein in his mind.

Disappearances do not occur every year in Bohao County, and there is a rough pattern between the years in which there are records, sometimes one year, two years, and sometimes more than ten years.

But if we take 1981 as a starting point, we will work backwards.

1958, 1935, 1912 ... Every 23 years, there will be a missing person in the daily newspaper, and the police station will also have a record of the missing person.

Dean extracted key information from various records and found that the number of missing people in those years was at least 40, and in many cases reached a staggering 60.

In the past many years, the police station and various detectives have entered Bohao County to investigate, and even caught the murderer, but unfortunately only some ordinary criminals have been arrested.

The dead skin who really does evil behind the scenes has been at large.

Dean found that the earliest recorded year of the 23-year rule was October 1682, the 17th century, earlier than the 18th century mentioned by Jesse.

299 years have passed, and the dead skin has revived fourteen times, killing hundreds of prey.

The identity of the prey, the location of the disappearance is not fixed, not only locals, but also outsiders passing through Bohao County.

The list of missing people makes Dean's scalp tingle, but unfortunately, there is really nothing in common.

However, Dean rolled his eyes and finally realized that there was something strange about the founding time of the church where the dead skin was hidden.

At this time, the librarian's lady began to greet the patrons in the library.

Dean realized that it was six o'clock in the evening, and when it was closing time, he called everyone to a Mexican restaurant outside the library to rest and eat and share clues he had gathered.

"So we're fighting an antique that's nearly three hundred years old? They were all old and covered in disgusting dead skin. Daley nibbled on the tortilla and rubbed his sour eyes,

"That's right." Dean chewed on the roast and asked, "You said that the corpses seen in the cellar were relatively fresh?" ”

"If you ignore the stitches on their bodies, most of them are intact, and the skin is smooth, without any wrinkles or decay." Daley recalled, a flash of fear in his eyes,

"The question is, according to the birth time of the dead skin, the earliest victims in its mouth can be traced back to 1682, which is hundreds of years old, and formalin alone can be preserved intact to this day?" Dean looked at everyone suspiciously,

Cui Shi shook his head, "No matter how clever the means of preserving the corpse are, it can be stored for decades at most, not to mention the backward related technology in that era." It has not been corrupted for hundreds of years, and it violates scientific common sense. ”

"Maybe there are other ways to dispose of corpses, such as secreting a special fresh-keeping mucus?" Jesse looked at Dean, "You said that supernatural beings can't be guessed by common sense. ”

Dean nodded, and could only interpret it like this for now, and then he mentioned another clue,

"Is it a coincidence that I have another important discovery, that the burned-down dilapidated church was built in September 1682, and that the first crime was committed by the dead skin in October 1682, just one month apart?"

"By the way, this church has elements such as spires, arches, domes, flying buttresses, etc., and is a typical Roman Catholic church."

The church is a place where people pray to God, but the dead skin is the devil who sends people to hell.

It's like holiness and evil, naturally opposite, but converging in one place.

"You mean that the birth of dead skin has something to do with the establishment of the church?" Trish muttered,

"I have a feeling," Dean stressed, "that Deadskin may have a deep connection with the financiers of this Catholic church, or with the first priests, who may have known something about the birth of Deadskin!" So my next goal is to find both of them! ”

Everyone nodded.

"I'm done, what about you? Found any other 'Hartman'? ”

Dean looked at Jesse, the psychic lady unfolding a form,

"I found a couple of Hartmanns in the registration form: Maggie Hartman, Simon Hartman, Jeffrey Hartman... Maybe one of my relatives is among them, and I'm going to go to the police station and ask Sheriff Tubs about their contact numbers and addresses. ”

"Well, you'll follow that route next."

Dean finally turned to the Tsz siblings,

Daly looked uplifted and spread out the blank paper, "We have found a miracle, the number 23 seems to be unremarkable, but it is actually full of legend and profound meaning. ”

"For example, the medieval Catholic military organization, the famous Knights Templar, had 23 commanders during its existence."

"What is the Knights Templar?" Dean interrupted.

"I don't know?" Cui Shi Wan'er smiled, "Hunters who hunt monsters also have knowledge blind spots? ”

Dean shrugged and threw a cornflake into his mouth,

"I'm not God, so I can't know everything, say it quickly."

"Well, they are considered the real masters of the East in the era of the Crusaders, the main force of the Kingdom of Jerusalem against the Arabs ... There was a time when they could be described as rich. ”

Cuishi's melodious voice echoed in the dining table,

"9,000 estates or territories in Christendom. These include famous churches and castles such as the Temple Church in London, the Temple Palace in Berlin, and even the entire island of Cyprus. ”

"They were the king's creditors in France, with thousands of castles and great wealth, which almost bankrupted the king, and the bishop was very envious and jealous. Therefore, the king of the United Nations fabricated the accusation of 'heresy' to eradicate them, and launched an arrest and purge operation without warning. ”

"The twenty-third head of the regiment, Jacques de Molay, was arrested and imprisoned, confessed to torture for 'denying Jesus Christ and trampling on the cross', and was then burned at the stake and slowly roasted to death, as were the other 54 members of the regiment."

"The last Grand Master is dead, and the Knights Templar are gone."

"It can be said that the Catholic Church single-handedly orchestrated the fall of the Knights Templar in order to appease the bankrupt king."

……

"Wait, roast to death by fire?" Dean raised his eyebrows, "Isn't this exactly the same fate as that poor witch?" ”

Trish nodded, "Yes, in some way, witches are also regarded as heretics who practice evil and worship demons, and are severely burned at the stake. ”

"So, both witches and Templars have been persecuted by the Catholics?" As soon as Dean said this, some inspiration faintly flashed through his mind,

"This is a common trick of the Church," Tsz furrowed his brows, a look of disgust, "without conclusive evidence, to weave a list of trumped-up accusations against people and groups who are not accustomed to it or who affect their interests, label them as heretics, and punish them with capital punishment, even for characters like Joan of Arc." ”

"Shut up! Do you want to be shot in the street by believers? Jesse looked around the restaurant with a solemn face, but fortunately, it was getting dark, and there were not many people in the restaurant, and no one noticed the words of his companion, "Discuss the meaning of the number '23' and don't criticize the church." ”

She roared, and the two suddenly came to their senses.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on, but I found out about the heinous crimes the church has committed when I was investigating the dead skin." Cui Shi looked in a trance for a moment, "It's as if there's an invisible force leading me in this direction." ”

The four of them pondered this sentence and chewed on it.

Looking for the origin of the dead skin, but somehow began to dislike the church.

"Besides the Knights Templar," Dean changed the subject, "what else is the point of 23?" ”

"Dude, I'll do it!" Daley looked at the contours of Dean's orientalized face, and said with a slight ridicule, "The twenty-third hexagram in the Book of Changes in the ancient Oriental country talks about the truth that things must decline when they are prosperous, and things must be reversed. ”

"Hell, aren't you studying Catholic religious writings? How do you pop out of your mouth with a I Ching? The corners of Dean's mouth twitched, and the philosophies of the East and the West were inexplicably merged, and he suddenly had a sense of confusion about returning to his homeland.

"Don't you think it's fitting that a Chinese missionary who was studying the Knights Templar mentioned the I Ching and the 23 in his notes," Cui Shi looked at him with a sharp gaze, "The Templar Order experienced glory and decline until the 23rd Grand Master was completely destroyed. Isn't this the ultimate in prosperity and decline? ”

"Does it have anything to do with dead skin?" Dean interrupted.

Tsz gave him a patient look,

But the demise was followed by a rebirth, and the Knights Templar left most of their legacy to the Knights Hospitaller, who were able to grow and survive to this day. After 23 days of Operation Deadskin, you will fall into a death-like sleep, and after 23 years of dead silence, you will be revived again, which is also destruction and rebirth. ”

"So 23 is the number between destruction and creation,"

A strange brilliance flashed in Cui Shi's eyes, and the hand holding the spoon waved in midair,

"There is always some striking resemblance between everything in the world, and Daley and I searched through the Catholic version of the Bible and found a phrase at 23:23 that had a similar meaning to the 23 hexagram of the I Ching—'What did God create.'"

What did God create?

Dean was shocked, and this series of clues flashed back to his mind.

In September 1682, a Catholic church was established in Hobo County,

In October, dead skins are born and hunting begins.

The church was built and the dead skin was born.

And behind the church stands God.

Call... Call...

A cold wind blew in from the window outside the restaurant, and Dean's body had already been invasive, but at this time, he felt too cold, so it was as if someone was blowing cold air from the back of his neck.

He suddenly picked up the thick soup on the table and poured a large mouthful of corn cream soup, and looked at the two sisters and brothers,

"So you mean that God created the dead skin? In order to show reverence for the creator, Deadskin transformed the church into an old nest and pieced together the sacred Sistine Chapel sky dome from corpses? ”

……

As soon as this conclusion came out.

The table was so quiet that you could hear the pins falling.

Jesse swallowed her saliva, a look of horror appeared on her chubby face, even if she didn't believe in Christianity or Catholicism, she couldn't say such a big rebellious thing.

God created a man-eating monster that could not be destroyed? Obey the 23-year law and keep hunting innocents?

What terrible dark legend is this?

Jesse shook his head at a few people, "That's ridiculous! In every sense of the word, God is a symbol of light, justice, and holiness, and it is impossible for him to do such a dark and dirty thing! This is worse than Satan and the devil! ”

"God will only spit on such behavior, and God will only judge such beings as dead skins!"

Daley sensed that the atmosphere was wrong, and lowered his head and covered his face with his hands and rubbed it for a while, "We misunderstood?" ”

Only Cui Shi is still determined,

"This phrase in the Bible at 23:23 coincides perfectly with 23 years and 23 days, and this is what you are looking for."

Dean rubbed his temples when he heard this, frowning, and muttered Jesse's words,

"If the God that people believe in is real, it will only spit on the dead skin. Yes, there is no reason for God to create a devil who has turned his back on his faith. ”

"Think backwards! So who created dead skin, and for what purpose did it conform to the 23 rules? ”

"In 1682, the seventeenth century... Witch Hunt..."

"Combine all the clues, and then there is another diametrically opposite situation!"

"Dude, don't force yourself if you can't think of it, don't go to the police station anymore, the burned church should have been cleaned up, maybe there are other clues." Daley cautiously made an observation.

Dean shook his head and asked everyone a question unexpectedly,

"If you hate a person so much that you can't hurt him directly, but you suddenly find out that he has a cherished house, what will you do to get revenge?"

"Huh?" Daley was caught off guard and stammered speechless,

Jesse's puffy eyes jumped and he fell into deep thought.

The eyes of the most flexible Tsz lit up, "I will fill the whole house with decorations with the things he hates the most, and I will let the people he hates the most dwell in his sanctuary." ”

"What kind of dumb riddle? I don't understand at all," Daley looked at his sister and Dean with a confused expression,

"What stupid!" Tsch gave him a blank look, his hands on his cheeks, and looked out the window into the night, "The pattern of behavior of dead skin for 23 years and 23 days points to the words of Bible 23:23, 'What God has created.'" ”

"This coincidence is not a tribute to God, but a deliberate attempt to pour dirty water on God's head, satirizing God's creation of a devil who destroys mankind and brings fear and death!"

"The creator behind the dead skin hated God so much that he built the holy church into a nest of evil, and decorated the church cellar as a madman's version of the Sistine vault."

"They are desecrating God's sanctuary and defiling the sacred, thereby trampling on God's dignity!"

Blasphemy!

Trample on God's dignity!

These words were very powerful, and instantly changed the faces of everyone present.

Dean gave Trish an approving look, and raised her voice with a serious expression,

"So the dead skin we are looking for is not created by God, but by the devil created by the enemies who hate God!"

Jesse Huo Ran got up, and under the thick dark circles under his eyes, the bulging eyeballs rolled, "Who is the enemy of God?" The devil, Satan? ”

Dean shook his head, "These are too far away from us, too unrealistic, and the real enemy of God, haven't we already seen and discussed it before?" ”

Daley said, "You mean heresy, the Knights Templar?" Joan of Arc? ”

Dean shook his head, "It's painted on the table where the dead skin is collected." ”

"Witch!" Jesse shuddered as if burned by the flames, and screamed, "Those women who are considered heretics by Catholic lackeys and burned at the stake! ”

Dean nodded heavily, his gaze swept over his companions present, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes, "Witches, many innocent women, in medieval Europe, during the centuries-old witch hunt, were brutally persecuted by Catholics, Inquisitions, and secular institutions, and died in an extremely painful way... They have a good reason to create such a devil as Dead Skin, to slaughter and prey on God's people! Blasphemy! Take revenge with this! ”

"So the creator of the dead skin is a witch from Europe in the seventeenth century!"

"Find her and you'll be able to wipe out the dead skin once and for all!"

"And she must have something to do with the founder of this church!

Progress jumped to 80 percent!

(End of chapter)