Whispering Verse

Professor Wood, No. 275

Shad had participated in charity auctions before, such as the one before Iluna's Chosen Ceremony.

The auction process of this charity auction was the same as those he had participated in in the North Country. Different auctions would be held in different rooms, and guests could enter and exit any auction at will with their glasses in hand and bid on the items they liked.

Therefore, there was time left before the auction officially started, so that guests attending the auction could walk around the rooms in the manor and determine the location and auction time of the items they were interested in.

The voices of people standing in front of the glass in the corridor and talking to each other would even be covered by the sound of rain. This was really the best social occasion.

Prince William of Anjou really appeared in the manor as rumored, but Shad just looked at him from a distance and had no intention of contacting him. However, when he was checking on the second floor with Miss Danister, who was holding his arm, before the auction started, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Bennett also appeared here.

The Kant family and the Bennet family are distant relatives, so it is not surprising that they appear. It is just that this time, the Bennets did not have their children around them, which is different from before.

"Their third daughter has just experienced this kind of thing, and acquaintances will definitely gossip privately, so it is a good choice not to bring the children out at this time."

Miss Danister said.

Shad did not pay too much attention to the Bennets either, as they would not be the protagonists tonight. He and the red-haired girl continued to wander around the first and second floors of the manor, which were open this time, and their eyes kept observing the structure of the house.

The fire that year almost burned this place to white, so there was not much black smoke on the second floor of the rebuilt house, but the first floor was different:

"Compared to the daytime, the power of the devil is more obvious now. But if it is only this degree, I still can't be sure whether this is the remnant of the fire three hundred years ago, or the devil has reappeared here."

"So do you think there will be a second fire here?"

The red-haired girl asked lightly, and Shad could not answer.

Part of the items auctioned in this charity auction were obtained through previous fundraising, and part of them were Director Kant's own collection. Among them are not only antiques, but also some modern artworks and music manuscripts of celebrities.

Of course, the origin of each item is legal and clear.

When Xia De and his partner strolled around before the auction, they also paid attention to the auction items. Xia De originally thought that there would be nothing of interest here, and the auctioned Rhodes cards did not arouse his curiosity because they could not be taken out for use by the identity of "Shad Hamilton", but he was eventually attracted by a book:

"Riverwood Town and the World Tree?"

The yellowed book was placed in a glass cabinet in the same room with other ancient books. Hearing Shade read out the title of the book, the red-haired girl who was looking at the knight's armor on display on the shelf beside her also looked over and read out the label below the book:

"Donated by Professor Yuk Wood of the Folklore Department of Vista University, this book was published in 1621 and written by an unknown folklorist. It is in good condition."

Although the surname "Wood" is one of the seven major families in Moon Bay, it is a very common surname in Vista Forest. For example, Baron Cumming's mother, Erica Wood, the lover of little Cumming, had the surname "Wood" before she got married. The word "Wood" also means wood, which generally represents a family of lumberjacks in a lumberjack town.

"This book was printed in 100 copies that year."

A voice suddenly came from behind, and an old gentleman with gray hair wearing reading glasses and outdated formal clothes smiled and nodded at Shade:

"I am Professor Yuk Wood who donated this book. Are you interested in it?"

"Of course."

Shade shook hands with him, and then was reminded that he was a first-ring warlock. At such an old age, he was only at the first-ring level. Either he awakened his talent in old age like Priest Augustus, or the old professor's talent was quite poor.

"I am John Watson, a travel writer, and this is my assistant. We came to this forest city because of the Moon Dance Festival, and it is very interesting here."

Shad said with a smile:

"Can you tell us the general content of this book? Or, is there any story behind this book?"

Professor Wood seemed to be easy to talk to, and was happy to share his knowledge:

"It is a modern thing that Creekwood Town has become as prosperous as it is today. In the era of Creekwood Town, there were rarely outsiders here, and even people passing by by train rarely stayed here.

An unknown traveler came here alone, wrote this book and published it at his own expense. Although there were bookstores in the town at that time, you know the sales of such books. Later, the backlog of more than 60 books was donated to the local library by the bookstore about 50 years ago. After the fire in 1821, only the last three books were left in the library.

I bought this book from a second-hand bookstore, and it is one of the few books left now."

People who usually sell antiques will package their products with stories, and Shad doesn't know whether the story of the old professor is true. However, the starting price of this book is only 1 kroner, which is one of the lowest starting prices of this auction:

"So what is the relationship between Ximu Town and the legend of the world tree? Or, do I have to buy this book to find out?"

"There is nothing to hide. The unknown folklorist who wrote the book believes that the ancient local belief in the forest did not come from the woodcutters' need to make a living from the forest, but from the local worship of the legendary world tree."

Mr. Wood touched the white beard on his chin. This long white beard can easily make people look very knowledgeable:

"According to him, the Church of Nature is an outsider. Although they have integrated the local people's worship of trees and absorbed this part of the belief into the natural worship system of the Church of Nature , but in fact, it extends the belief in the world tree to the forest and nature itself.

In the book, he said that he investigated the woodland and found a lot of interesting evidence here. He even claimed that he found a complete temple related to the worship of the world tree and described the architectural details in detail.

It's just a pity that the book was written too early, and human activities have greatly changed the terrain around Creekwood Town, so it is impossible to find the temple he saw according to the author's description. "

"Is there a detailed description of the temple in the book?"

The key thing that Shade heard was this. After Professor Wood nodded again, he looked at the book again with great surprise. Miss Danister could see that Shade was determined to buy it.

The price of "Riverwood Town and the World Tree" was very low, so it was also one of the first batch of warm-up items in the auction, and it would be sold in the first round after the auction started half an hour later.

So Shade wrote down the time and location, and then chatted with Professor Wood for a few words.

The so-called "Vesta University" was actually called "Carsonrick Forestry College" more than 20 years ago. It was upgraded to a university in recent years.

However, compared with the "Riverwood Music College" which is also in this city but is very famous in the entire Old Continent, Vista University is not well-known, or because there are many schools in the neighboring capital, Vista University is probably not known by many people outside the city.

Vista University inherited the structure of the Forestry College period, and now it still focuses on forestry research. Majors such as literature, history, and folklore are in a very marginal position.

Therefore, Professor Wood's research is limited to Vista City, that is, the local anecdotes and legends that have been circulated since the Riverwood Town era.

Since the topic was brought up, Shade took the initiative to ask:

"Then professor, do you know about the fire that happened in this manor?"

This does not seem to belong to the category of "folklore", but Professor Yuk Wood still nodded:

"Of course, the fire at Hoy Manor three hundred years ago is an important node in the history of this city. In the era of Creekwood Town, the four positions of mayor, bishop, president of the lumberjacks' association and sheriff constituted the core of power in the town.

At that time, the Hoy family almost monopolized all the upper positions of the lumberjacks' association. They were able to influence the economic lifeline of the town, so they could almost be regarded as controlling most of the town. If it were not for the fire, the Hoy family might have directly controlled Creekwood Town at that time, and the history of Creekwood Town would probably be rewritten because of this."

Shade had never heard of this statement. The neighbors around Hoy Manor obviously did not understand this kind of thing:

"So, do you think they were set on fire and killed because they blocked too many people's way in the town?"

The professor shook his head immediately :

"I didn't say that, but if a tree can be ignited, then the tree must be dry enough, or flammable. The fire was obviously not simple, and I don't believe it was just an accidental fire. If it was just an accident, the entire Hoy family should not have been burned to death.

If we look at it from the perspective of who benefits and who is the murderer, other families in the town at that time, such as Bennet, Bronte, Wood, etc., are all suspects. Oh, the Wood family I mentioned has no male descendants, and has no descendants, and has nothing to do with my surname.

But there is also a saying that a group of robbers looted this place, and because of this statement, it is derived that the treasure of the Hoy family is still buried under our feet."

Miss Danister had been acting as Shad's "assistant" and therefore did not speak, but now she asked again:

"Professor Wood, Mr. Watson and I heard from the old residents of the old town that when the fire started, it rushed directly into the sky like a fire tornado. Is this statement correct?"