Whispering Verse

This time it was still a tiger that appeared, and it was the same tiger just now.

It came out of the woods again, but this time it wasn't to attack Shade and Mia. Behind it, there is a young man dressed in summer clothes, or the soul of a young middle-aged man. There was something wrong with the latter's neck, which seemed to be his fatal injury.

Looking up at the bright afternoon sun above the tree branches, Shade murmured in surprise:

"A ghost that can appear during the day?"

Such ghosts either have special encounters or are quite powerful themselves.

"Can you really see me?"

There was an expression of surprise on the man's face. Shade nodded and looked at the tiger who obviously didn't want to get close to him anymore:

"Did this tiger kill you?"

As he spoke, he wanted to take action, but the young man shook his head hurriedly:

"No, about two years ago, when I came to the nearby area for inspection, I accidentally slipped and fell down the hillside, and then broke my neck. Although it later ate my body, I was already dead by then. I don't know. Is it because of this reason that I can always follow it, or that it follows me, and I help it scare those small animals such as hares, and it follows my instructions and moves in the forest."

Shade had never heard of this strange symbiotic relationship.

"At noon, I couldn't move around, so it ran out on its own. Just now it ran back to me with injuries, and I knew that we had finally met those people who were rumored to be able to use witchcraft and magic. . To be honest, even though I was a folklorist when I was still alive, I actually didn’t believe in these things.”

He stood in the shadow of the thick tree trunk and said. Shade nodded. Seeing that the soul was not strange and had not been corrupted by killing anyone, he took the initiative to propose:

"You can't leave after death, so you should still have some wishes, right? You can tell me what you want to do, and I can send you away and let you really go on."

The man immediately smiled and nodded:

"That would be great, oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Benjamin Erfurt, a scholar from Orik River University in Willondale City. I also know my wish, a very simple wish."

He showed an embarrassed expression:

"I have been inspecting the Randall Valley for a year, and I have learned a lot about the local folk customs and festivals that worship the earth. I have already written an article and only need the final revisions and polishing. Please help me submit it. ? I have already chosen a journal, and I should be able to win. If this article can be published during my lifetime, I will probably be able to get the associate professorship before I am thirty-five years old."

Shade didn't hear the last half of the sentence clearly, but he could also feel the sadness of the soul:

"You are already dead. It is impossible for me to publish this article using your name. Otherwise, it will cause trouble."

Shade said, and Mr. Erfurt immediately shook his head:

"No, no, you don't need to use my name, just thank me first in the acknowledgments. After all, it has been written, and I lost my life for it. If I don't publish it, I really..."

Shade understood what he meant. It was a very simple matter:

"No problem, I'll get it published by Delrayon, no problem?"

"Thank you so much."

Just when Shade wanted to say no need to thank him, he immediately remembered what Dorothy had said to him that morning. Therefore, he was a little embarrassed:

"Speaking of which, would you mind if I published under my name? I'm currently seeking an honorary degree. Oh, please lead the way. Where are your notebooks and materials now?"

So Mr. Erfurt's soul rode on the tiger. The tiger came to Shade with its head downcast and its eyes drooping, and then led the way. The direction it was going was the same direction that one man, one tiger and one cat had come from just now.

"It's okay, I don't know if I can tell, the honorary degree you are working towards is"

The soul riding the tiger asked curiously.

"Honorary Doctorate of History."

Shade said:

"With this degree, I can feel confident in front of female friends. Moreover, my current job can also give me a degree subsidy."

This is a benefit for public employees, and degree subsidies are paid based on the degree. The subsidy for an honorary degree is about three-fifths of that for a formal degree.

"That's it."

Mr. Erfurt nodded and said in awe:

"I thought that someone with extraordinary power like you could not care about these things that ordinary people care about."

"Even if you have extraordinary power, you still have to live in a house at night, eat during the day, turn on the gas light and have to jump the clock, and raising a cat still costs money."

Shade said while following the tiger forward, while Mia looked at the tiger and didn't know what she was thinking:

"You can't imagine how high the housing prices are in the city where I live. If it weren't for the house left by my uncle to inherit, I would even have to rent a house to live in, which would make it inconvenient to do many experiments. "

This topic immediately resonates with the soul:

"The housing prices in Willondale are not low. Although I can get a position in the college, I am not promoted to associate professor or tenured. My fiancée is not even willing to marry me. But fortunately, I haven't been able to get it yet. Get married, otherwise it will harm her now.”

As he spoke, Mr. Erfurt sighed. Shade knew that his sadness was mentioned, so he changed the topic:

"I will publish the paper as soon as possible. Your name will be mentioned in the acknowledgments, and the corresponding author will be named another old professor."

"No problem, but my article is biased towards folklore. If you want to publish it successfully, you'd better find a respected old professor to help you."

Professor Tiris Manning is obviously that kind of respected old professor.

The two of them walked and chatted, and after crossing the ice of the frozen Elrond River, they actually returned to the place where Shade and Mia met the tiger just now. However, they did not approach the mountain where the Night Temple was located, but continued deeper into the forest. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, after sliding down the snow slope with difficulty, we stopped on top of a not-so-hidden gravel pile.

This is a very common but also very hidden hillside in the mountains. If it is summer when the vegetation is lush, it is indeed possible to slip down accidentally.

The tiger did not dare to jump into the gravel pit in this season when there were no climbing plants, so only Shade jumped. Because the deceased was nearby, with the help of "Echo of Blood", Shade easily found some human bones and a waterproof cloth satchel in the rubble.

He did not open the satchel immediately. Instead, after returning to the top, he first found a place with sufficient sunlight and buried the human skeletons. Then he sat down, opened the satchel in front of Mr. Erfurt, and examined the contents.

The waterproof effect of this bag is quite good. Except for the white bread wrapped in brown paper that has become moldy, and the ink bottle and glasses are broken, other items in the bag are still intact.

Mr. Erfurt was grateful to Schade for burying his body, and was quite happy to say that everything in the bag belonged to Schade.

The tiger lay above the place where his bones were buried, and his soul leaned on the tiger, explaining to Shade the information in the notebook, the recorded documents, and the article that had been drafted.

He actually did most of the work and only the polishing was left in the end. Shade also felt sorry for Mr. Erfurt's experience, but two years of ghost life made Mr. Erfurt think about many things. At least he would not be resentful because of his death, and thus degenerate. Evil spirit:

"To be honest, it's much easier to die than to be alive. You don't have to think about how to deal with students who don't hand in homework honestly, you don't have to think about whether this year's research work has been completed, and you don't have to think about writing projects all the time. Application, just for those poor funds."

Shade and Lihuhu's soul sat across from each other, listening to each other talk about their lives when they were still alive. Death is often so sudden. Compared with others, at least Mr. Erfurt was lucky enough to meet Shade.

He quickly finished explaining his article, and the wallet with little money left in the satchel, the room key of the Fertile Land Hotel in Randall Valley City, the leftover food and his personal letters were not Particularly important. Especially the room key. Room 303, which was rented by Shard so that there was a mailing address next to it, had already been rented to someone else.

Shade respected Mr. Erfurt's wishes, burned his personal letters and a small number of personal belongings, and promised to take away the pocket watch with the photo on the cover, whether Shade would use it for himself or find an opportunity to put it away. You can come to this gentleman's fiancée's doorstep.

And in the end, Shade actually took out a Rhodes card storage box from the side pocket of the satchel, and inside the box was a complete deck of cards.

“It’s also very interesting to go out and play cards with strangers in a pub or on the first floor of a hotel.”

Mr. Erfurt said embarrassedly. Shade originally planned to send him away immediately after counting these items, but at this time he changed his mind. He raised his head and suggested:

"Thank you very much for giving me that article. How about we play one last round of Rhodes and then I send you off?"

[You really want to thank him, not that you want to]

"It's a good suggestion. Before I really die, I can play cards with a stranger who I met by chance in the winter mountain forest. Although I don't know the specific identity, but he can use extraordinary power. This is simply the best life I can imagine. One last thing before the end.”

For special reasons, he can affect reality with his soul, so he can also touch his own Rhodes deck:

"Among these cards of mine, there is a special card. After this game, it belongs to you."