Mysterious journey

"The most recent person was the owner of Yinsha Castle thirty years ago. We don't know exactly which antique of bad luck it is. This time we went there specifically to check out the specific situation and see if we could find the hidden antique of bad luck." Tari Mercury added.

Garen nodded.

He did know that the so-called antique of doom was most likely the Bronze Cross he carried with him. Although the potential that the medal currently provides is very small, and it only takes a week to improve a little, it is better than no improvement at all, and it is better than nothing.

Garen was also very curious as to why potential antiques could provide potential and why they were called doomed antiques. So it was also based on this idea that I agreed to Tali Mercury's invitation and went to Yinsha Castle together.

The carriage drove from noon to the afternoon, and the orange-red sun had already sunk halfway below the horizon. It finally stopped at the top of a yellow-green slope. Below the slope was a continuous green grove.

The four people got off the carriage and stood at the top of the slope looking forward.

In the distance of the continuous dark green woods, on the same higher sloping hill, a gray-white dilapidated castle is clearly visible.

The castle looked like it had been burned by fire, with gray and black traces of smoke everywhere. No trace of greenery.

The exterior of the castle, the lawn surrounded by railings, and some surrounding small trees were all gray and black, as if they had just been hit by a fire not long ago.

The entire castle has three peaks, shaped like a mountain. The surface is densely covered with square cross windows. Looking from a distance, it is dark inside the windows and nothing can be seen clearly.

"This is Yinsha Castle. It is said that there was a fire thirty years ago, and the subsequent owner did not have the money to repair it, so it became what it is now. Unfortunately, it was still a famous garden castle in the records. Yinsha means The surface seems to be covered with a layer of silver gauze, which is beautiful and dreamy, hence the name.”

Tali Mercury pointed at the castle and sighed.

Grace wondered on the side: "Isn't that right? Mr. Tali, there was a fire thirty years ago. Why is the castle still so gray and black now? How is it possible that not even a little bit of green plants have grown?"

Miss Silan took over. "No one knows this. Some people speculate that the ashes covered the growth of surrounding plants. Others speculate that there are no plants on the land itself that can grow. There are even a few weird rumors, but they are not credible."

"Have you asked the people around here?" Grace frowned.

"There is no human habitation within a radius of thirty miles around the castle. The surrounding terrain is relatively complex and not suitable for growing crops, so the nearest farms and small towns and villages have to be traveled a long way to get to."

Garen touched the fake beard on his chin.

"In other words, we may have to rest here all night? Is it okay to eat and drink?"

Tali Mercury nodded.

"No problem, Si Lan and I have been resting here for many days. Apart from the inconvenience of going out and communicating with people, the environment here is still very good and suitable for self-cultivation. Okay, let's continue walking and look closer from here. , in fact, we still have to walk a long distance, at least half an hour’s walk to reach the castle.”

"What about the carriage?"

"Bundle it here, and someone will pick it up later. I have made all arrangements. It's just that we can take a carriage when we come here, but if we go out, we can only walk. It takes more than four hours to walk from here to the nearest town of Konu. Only then can we get there." Tali Mercury explained. "So we have to plan to stay here for a few days."

"This is not bad, it is equivalent to a vacation. Grace, you go back to the city and let me know." Garen lowered his voice, "Just say that I am a guest at a friend's house, so don't worry at home. I will go back in a few days."

Grace knew what he meant, and he asked her to help hide it. After all, Garen was only a high school student, and running too far would make people worried.

"Then why don't I just drive back and get the carriage back to town?"

"That's fine." Tali Mercury nodded in agreement.

The three of them watched Grace driving the car back until it gradually disappeared into the curve of the driveway before they came back to their senses.

"Let's go, it's getting late. If you arrive early, you can have a good night's rest." Tali Mercury held a long black bag in his hand, "I brought a shotgun, so I can hunt some game around. barbecue!"

"That's really good! You're so thoughtful." Garen also laughed.

Silan smiled and lifted the red bag in her hand. "I also brought some spices and tea leaves and coffee beans. There is a small river nearby where I can get water to make tea and coffee."

"Badly ground coffee is not a good thing."

"I have a secret weapon! Haha" Silan smiled mysteriously. "Mr. Kelly rarely goes out for picnics, right? Unlike us, sometimes we chase criminals into deep mountains and forests, so we have to learn these preparations."

"That's true." Garen shrugged, "I just brought some emergency tools and a set of casual clothes. I also brought some seasonings and other things, but I'm not as thoughtful as the two of you."

"Okay, let's go. Go to the castle early and tidy up the room. Here we will use the oil lamps we brought earlier." Mercury in the tower looked at the sun that had completely set and said in a low voice. "Otherwise it would be too late and it would be inconvenient."

"Right."

The three of them walked quickly along the slope to Yinsha Castle.

*******************

Entering the iron gate of the castle, the ground is a strange color of black gray mixed with white powder. It looks like a road paved with ashes from a fire.

There is a triangular cone lighting fire platform on the left and right sides. It is built with a black metal frame and has a brazier on top. I don't know what kind of metal it is. The fire platform is connected to the black fence, dividing the castle and the woods outside into two sides, like two worlds.

Outside are dark green dense trees, and inside the fence is a scene like a fire burning through it. The lawn inside the castle shows a pale yellow color, and a few large black trees that are about to die give people a sense of lifeless silence.

The three of them walked into the gate carrying their things and walked along the straight road paved with black and gray until they reached the gate of the castle.

The door is an arched wood-clad iron door, dark, with a pale circle in the center, and inside the circle is a wide keyhole.

Tali Mercury took out a brass key and inserted it, turned it several times, and then pushed the door hard.

With a bang, the door opened inwards, revealing an empty hall inside.

Garen followed Silan into the hall and looked around. There was nothing in the entire hall, no furniture, no decorations, no carpets, even the wall lamp holders had been stripped off and sold. The whole thing is gray and black.

A beam of reddish sunlight slanted down from the skylight facing the door, and it was projected on the black ground, making the entire hall even more empty and silent.

"Let's book your bedroom first." Tali Mercury closed the door and hung the key back on his waist. "You pick a room to rest in. Then we have to prepare dinner ourselves."

"It's quite novel to have a picnic in the castle yourself. Haha."

Under the leadership of Silan, Garen chose a room on the right side of the castle as a bedroom, arranged the iron bed inside, and put in a spare bed before sleeping.

After hurriedly finishing dinner, it became completely dark. There was not enough kerosene in the castle to light it for a long time, so the three of them made an appointment to rest early and get up the next day to explore the entire castle.

Entered the room, sat on the bed and rested for a while.

The room was unusually quiet. A rectangular door-like floor-to-ceiling window was opened on the side. The ground was covered with light red hexagonal stone tiles, densely packed into a flat floor. There is nothing else in the room except a big bed. There is also an iron frame for mosquito netting around the big bed.

Galen sat on the bed and didn't dare to move much. If he moved a little, the rust on the iron frame might fall off.

The kerosene lamp beside the bed was placed on a makeshift stool, emitting a pale yellow flickering light.

Garen walked to the window wearing only his underwear and looked down. It was dark outside the window.

Not a single person could be seen on the gray-black lawn at night, and there was no human habitation at all when looking toward the mountains in the distance. No sound was heard throughout the castle. Mercury and Silan in the tower went to bed early in two rooms respectively.

It seemed like there was only one room in the whole castle with people and light.

Garen opened the window, and the cool air outside suddenly rushed in, and the faint sound of an owl could be heard in the distance. The dim moonlight shone down, and I could barely see the scenery outside.

"It's better to go to bed early. Tomorrow we'll see what clues Tali Mercury finds here. This guy might have figured out that I put on makeup. Let's not talk about my brain, but my observation ability is not that strong." Standing. After practicing boxing in the room, Garen slowly stopped, closed most of the windows, and lay down on the bed to rest.

I don’t know how long it took.

Garen turned over and was drowsily asleep. Suddenly, the door of the room opened with a creak, as if someone pushed it open quietly from the outside.

He was suddenly startled, sat up and looked towards the door. The door was ajar, he couldn't see outside, and there was no movement at all.

He stood up and walked over, closing the door gently.

"Maybe it was blown open by the wind." He guessed.

I returned to bed and fell asleep again, when suddenly there was another soft sound.

squeak

The door opened again.

Garen sat up suddenly, unconsciously grabbing the table lamp beside the bed, and stared at the half-open door.

Still can't see anything.

"Who's kidding me?" he asked, raising his voice. "Tali?"

The sound spread into the corridor outside the door, echoing in the empty space.

No one answered. There was silence outside the door.

Garen walked out of bed, put on his slippers, carefully carried the lamp to the door, closed the door gently, then locked it, hung up the chain, and bolted the door.

Snapped.

As the last bolt was inserted, the door was completely locked.

Garen took a long breath and turned back to the bed. He didn't sleep, he just sat on the bed and listened vigilantly to the sounds and movements around him.

Suddenly, there was a sound of fiddling with the keyhole coming from outside the door.

Garen stood up suddenly, rushed to the door and opened it suddenly, and the sound suddenly stopped.

There was nothing outside the door.

Suddenly he was slightly startled.

"Didn't I lock the door?" He looked back at the door latch and was suddenly startled.

"I obviously locked the door and inserted a few bolts!!??" He clearly remembered that he just opened the door when he opened it!

"What's going on!!?" "What's going on!!?"

He slammed the door shut, backed up with numbness, his feet hit the bed, and he sat down on it.

"If I find out who is playing a prank on me! You will be dead!!" He shouted loudly.