Monument of Life and Death

  Chapter 513 Visiting the Minaret at Night

  Xiaolan’s smile disappeared little by little.

  "The night before yesterday, you found a pigeon that was hit to death upstairs. The blood of the pigeon dripped down the window sill and dripped on the edge of my window. Did you forget?"

   "Nothing like that..." Yrel retreated to the door angrily, "There are no dead pigeons here."

  There are no pigeons.

  Neither did she tell Lily a story.

   Is everything an illusion of oneself?

   "Did you... have a nightmare?" Yrel clenched his hands, "You are too tired these days, you should take a good rest."

   Xiaolan nodded in compromise, "It should be...I'm too tired."

   "After dinner, you can go back to your room and rest."

   "Okay, I will come back to rest after dinner," Xiaolan said dullly, "I won't tell Lily a story every night."

   "Yes," Yrel was relieved, "You don't need to go every night..."

   Xiaolan looked at Yrel keenly.

  Irel's expression froze, and the conversation turned, and said, "I mean, you have already told Lily the night before. You didn't go last night, and you don't have to go tonight..."

   Xiaolan nodded hesitantly.

  After the meal, Yrel explained Xiaolan's physical condition to the two children. The two children cared about Xiaolan with a few words, and they were sent back to the room by Yrel.

   Xiaolan returned to her room.

  She opened the window, and the air was still filled with moist and fresh fragrance of grass.

   Xiaolan leaned toward the outer window edge, lay on it, and smelled it carefully.

  The smell of blood is gone.

   looked up, there was no trace of pigeon blood flowing under the window edge on the third floor.

  But she doesn’t believe these are just hallucinations.

  Across the rain curtain, Xiaolan looked at the garden on the east side of the manor. The minaret was at the end of the garden, out of sight.

  The bird in the cuckoo clock made a series of calls.

  It's late at night.

   Xiaolan put on the black cloak in the corner of the closet and opened the door.

  The corridor was quiet, with only a few candles burning.

   Xiaolan walked out the door, pulled out a piece of hair, tied one end to the screw in the door, and the other end wrapped around the handle outside the door.

  She locked the door, put on her hood, and walked to the stairs on her toes.

  The wooden door locked with a wooden latch.

  There must be a secret in the door.

   Xiaolan walked through the garden and walked hurriedly under the trees by the stream. The rain was not too small. Even in her cloak, Xiaolan’s hair and clothes were almost wet.

   Soon, she bypassed the east side of the castle, and the black tower spire appeared at the end of Xiaolan's line of sight.

  Under the dark purple sky, the sharp spire of the tower.

  She walked to the other side of the castle.

  While walking, Xiaolan looked at the front of the castle, these gray-black brick walls, the glass that had been washed by raindrops for days and nights...

  Suddenly, Xiaolan saw something.

  In one of the windows, there seemed to be a white shadow.

  The white shadow is vague, and outlines a faint human form.

  A flash of lightning flashed across, and the sky and the earth suddenly brightened for half a second.

  But Xiaolan saw it.

  That is Lily.

  Raindrops fell on Xiaolan's face and in her eyes.

  She stood on the bank of the river and stared at Lily, who was standing by the window on the second floor.

   Xiaolan knew she was watching her.

  In the middle of the rainy night, the little girl, wearing a white nightdress, stood upright in front of the huge window glass, looking at the tutor in the courtyard.

  Some minutes have passed.

   Xiaolan saw Lily raise her right hand and seemed to wave at her. The little girl put down her hand, turned and walked back to the room, and disappeared in front of Xiaolan's eyes.

  Lily saw herself.

  Will she tell Yrel?

  Even if Lily would tell Yrel, she had to rush to see the things in the spire before she was stopped.

   Xiao Lan turned his head, pulled his hood back, and ran to the spire.

  It was pitch black near the tower, and no night light was on in the empty corridor.

But here is different from the place I saw last night. There are a few huge camphor wood boxes on the open space under the tower. The ground in the tower is higher than the outside, and the rain cannot come in. Xiaolan walked to the side of the box and looked at it. , Without a lock, the lid can be opened easily, and there are some cans and various other packaged foods inside.

  Irel said that the servant found himself at the bottom edge of the steps.

   Xiaolan stood in the corridor and looked towards the steps. In the impression, he had indeed fallen near here. After washing by rain, there were no traces of it, including the broken clay flowerpot.

  Xiaolan walked up the spiral staircase.

  The road leading to the top of the tower has passed several levels of platforms, and now, each platform is full of debris.

  The smell has also changed.

  Until I reached the top of the tower.

   Xiaolan stared blankly at the left side of the stairs, the door with a wooden latch last night.

  The door opened.

  To be precise, the door is missing.

  There are no more wooden doors here, only an empty door frame, and the entrance to the inner space is so exposed.

  Last night...obviously...

  Isn’t you really dreaming now?

Xiaolan slowly moved towards the entrance. There was a small space inside. There were also a few camphor wooden boxes stacked. The four walls of the room were covered with strange wooden boards. There was no light in the whole space, but it was for Storage, it makes sense...

  The edge of last night...

The flower pots on the edge of the   堞 are arranged in a neat row, without any gaps.

nothing left.

   Xiaolan stood on the Yinyan, staring at Yinyan and the ground under the tower.

  Everything here is preventing oneself from finding the truth.

  What is the truth?

   Xiaolan smiled bitterly.

  Stay here for ten days, ten days only.

  It’s certainly not that simple.

On the way back, Xiaolan didn't encounter any voyeurs in the castle. The candle in the corridor was still burning quietly. Xiaolan looked at the door of Lily and Moses's room, knelt down, and checked the door lock of her room. .

  Insert the key and twist the handle.

  Through the burning candle in the room, Xiaolan could clearly see the hair hanging on the door lock.

  Hair is intact, indicating that no one has come in.

   Xiaolan breathed a sigh of relief.

  She carefully rounded the strand of hair and walked in the door.

  But as soon as he entered the door, Xiaolan felt a strange breath.

  The window was closed properly, the candle burned to the center, and the warm light was shaking and crackling.

   seems to be no different.

  But...the strange atmosphere in the room...

  No, no stranger.

   is the smell of blood, fresh, the smell of blood.

   Xiaolan walked into the room step by step.

  Passing around the draped bed, Xiaolan saw her dressing table.

  In the bright makeup mirror, I was wearing a black cloak and covered in rain.

  But there is more than oneself.

  On the mirror, there is a line of blood-red words.

  "The Seventh Bride"

  (End of this chapter)