Whispering Verse

Shade and the young scholar whispered about today's weather. Professor Katya looked at the oil painting with interest, while Lesia arranged her hair.

Without waiting too long, the gloomy-looking manservant came back with another tall maid and invited the four of them to the study to meet Mr. Jude.

The maid she met for the first time looked about the same age as the male maid, with a somewhat plump body, but the same gloomy look.

Shade understood them very well. No matter who lived in such an old and depressing house, they would inevitably have emotional problems. Therefore, Shade is very concerned about the ventilation and sunlight issues at home to prevent cats who are often at home from contracting mental illnesses.

But at least there are no inexplicable blood stains in Mr. Jude's house, and there is no obvious halo of blood in [Echo of Blood].

Led by two servants, a group of four people left the foyer, passed through the living room, and then walked up the stairs.

There were no lights on, not just in the foyer area, but in the entire house. This may be a special habit of ring magicians. After all, it is common for ring magicians to be mentally disturbed.

The living room was empty, with a few newspapers placed on the coffee table, and some oil paintings with unusually depressing colors hung on the walls of the stairs. Different from the oil paintings in the foyer, the oil paintings on the stairs mostly use cold-toned paints, filling the picture with distorted patterns. But Professor Katya among the group was able to analyze the origins of those paintings in a clear and logical manner. According to him, this is a unique local painting style in Coldwater Port. After merging with the abstract painting school decades ago, several artists were born. A master of abstract painting who was born in Coldwater Port.

Finally arrived at the second floor, the humidity was still so heavy. The four people who were preparing to place the clothes arranged their clothes. The male servant knocked on the door carefully and got permission before opening the door and inviting the four people in.

The door was opened, and the light of the gas lamp finally appeared in the study. All four people felt uncomfortable because of the depressing atmosphere in the house. After looking at each other for a few times, "John Watson", the theoretically strongest reporter's assistant, walked in first.

In an ordinary study room, there are two closed glass windows on the wall opposite the door, through which you can see the dim skylight when it rains outside. There was a low cabinet in front of the wall between the two windows, but instead of a vase, there was a stone statue on the cabinet.

It's not a statue of a mermaid, just a statue of a naked curly-haired man with his left arm broken off and his right arm bent and raised. At the foot of the statue is a stone fish biting the broken arm. Shade glanced at it and looked away. This weird artwork once again proved that Mr. Jude had an unusual character.

On the right side of the room is an antique-style sofa set, and on the left side are three walls of brown solid wood bookshelves. The bookshelves surround the desk, and Mr. Jude is sitting in front of the desk.

The gas light in the room comes from the desk lamp on his desk. The light is actually not very bright and can only cover a small area around the desk and surroundings.

Mr. Jude is a middle-aged man about the same age as Professor Katya, a little fat, and bald. His facial features were not prominent, like a melted wax figure. He was wearing a white shirt and a black coat and was sitting behind the desk waiting for the four of them. The desk was neatly arranged. Judging from the placement of the items, this gentleman should have been reading.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, please take a seat."

Unlike the servants who spoke tiredly, Mr. Jude spoke with confidence and his eyes were bright. He warmly invited the four of them to sit down and talk, and the servants also moved chairs so that the four of them could sit in an arc at the desk.

Lesia was closest to the door, next to Shade, and further inside were two folklorists. The servants brought the dining cart and prepared tea for them, then closed the door and left.

Lesia's visit was by appointment, and Her Royal Highness the Princess performed all the tricks so that no one would doubt her identity. The two scholars came to visit rashly, but after hearing about their intentions, Mr. Jude also expressed understanding and believed that the two things could actually be done together:

"You all want to hear me talk about the legends, nursery rhymes and local folklore of the old town of Coldwater Port, so let's talk about it together."

Lecia signaled Shade not to make any move. The purpose of the two coming was to confirm whether the other party had really expelled the curse. In the current state, it is not convenient to test it in the presence of ordinary people.

"Mr. Jude."

Lesia was the first to speak. She held a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, looking very professional:

"We are here to ask you about the ancient illegal beliefs in Coldwater Port, which are related to the development of the old city in the south. Coldwater Port only developed in the past five hundred years, and it was not until the discovery of the New World that it prospered now. But before that, local fishermen and coastal villages seemed to have some illegal beliefs that were not recorded in professional cultural and historical materials, and we are making a special column on this topic."

"That's a good question."

Mr. Jude nodded, and Professor Katya on the side also said:

"Actually, we are also studying this issue in our project."

He also took out his notebook to record.

"Lengshui Port City was actually established on the basis of three large fishing villages that originally existed locally. This can be proved from the cultural relics unearthed so far, which happened about 1,300 years ago. As for ancient beliefs, the three nearby Villages believe in three different gods as they compete for fishing rights off the coast.”

Mr. Jude paused:

"Of course these three gods are all evil gods. They are hostile to each other, which leads to deeper conflicts among human believers. We don't know what happened in the ancient times, but those bloody and cruel wars must have been very terrifying."

Mr. Jude picked up the paper on the table, wrote and drew, and then pushed the paper to the people on the other side of the table.

Shade stood up, picked it up, and passed it around to the four people.

Mr. Jude continued to speak. The thumb and index finger of his right hand pressed the copper ring on the index finger of his left hand and turned it unconsciously:

"After Miss Princes wrote to me and explained that she was coming for an interview, I also read through the ancient books in my collection in advance. There is reason to believe that the gods believed in by the three fishing villages are related to the three patterns I drew for you. "

"Is this the holy symbol of God?"

The young scholar asked curiously, and Mr. Jude smiled and shook his head:

"Of course not. Even if I knew the holy emblems recognized as evil gods by the Zhengshen Church, I would not dare to draw them for you. What you see are the patterns I printed from the cultural relics in my collection. They are the patterns of people in the old era. Pictographic writing of names for those gods.”

The three patterns are a tilted human body, a mermaid, and a storm. Shade believes that these refer to the old Mr. Edmond who guards the lighthouse, the evil gods mentioned before [The God of the Deep Sea Drowned], [The Lord of the Scarlet Spiral], and [Furious Storm].

From that pirate ship, Shade already knew that the mermaid curse was related to the [Lord of the Scarlet Spiral] among the three evil gods. He deliberately wanted to test Mr. Jude's opinion of this god, but he did not expect that Mr. Jude himself mentioned:

"I am in the local antique business and have come across some information related to these three gods. Among them, the one I know best is the god named after the mermaid. Professor Katya, I want you to know about the local mermaid worship tradition, as well as the large and small gods. Little legends are not unfamiliar.”

"certainly."

The folklore professor pushed up his glasses:

"Conclusive evidence proves that the tradition of mermaid worship existed before the establishment of the city of Lengshui Port. We have cooperated with the archeology department of the school and carried out excavations near the seaside of Lengshui Port. The humans you mentioned before 1300 have appeared. In the settlement, similar patterns appeared on the gold vessels at that time. But there is no evidence that this is related to the evil god, and the church is unwilling to provide any help."

Of course, the church will not provide any help to ordinary people in studying evil gods.

"Yes, that's right. We have reason to believe that even in modern times, the belief in this god related to mermaids still exists in this city."

Mr. Jude clasped his hands together and addressed reporters and academics. He seemed to have consciously said this at this time, and was very satisfied to see the surprised expressions of the guests.

The antique collector smiled:

"While it may sound horrifying, I have always believed that the ancient fishing village lineages were involved in the founding of Coldwater Harbor and have continued to exist locally, establishing the original city of Coldwater Harbor and lurking in the shadow of Coldwater Harbor. Of course, this is just It’s my personal opinion and I can’t provide you with evidence.”

"It doesn't matter. When I write the manuscript, I will be vague about the origin of this statement."

Lecia is still playing the role of reporter, and both she and Shade are very interested in what Mr. Jude has to say. Although the two scholars cannot use claims without evidence, this novel perspective can also play a role in research reports.

"A few days ago, I got some interesting stuff that I can show you. Please wait a moment."

He nodded apologetically to the four of them and walked out of the room.

The scholars gathered together to discuss the topic in a low voice. Shade also tilted his head and talked to Lesia:

"At least judging from the current state, there is no curse on this person. I have to touch his forehead or the position of his heart to confirm this conclusion."

"I will create an opportunity for you later. We will leave immediately after investigating. This old house is really weird."

Lesia also felt uncomfortable with this place.

But since this is a place where ring magicians live, it is normal to have some weird things. For example, the place where Shade lives is a haunted house that is listed in the church.

Two folklorists were talking quietly about mermaids. The topic they were working on was the local ocean worship in Coldwater Port. The so-called ocean worship is a kind of nature worship. From the perspective of mermaids and old gods, we can Add at least one chapter to this topic.

Shade and Lesia were also naturally integrated into the discussion. The two scholars were knowledgeable and had profound insights into the customs of Coldwater Port and the tradition of nature worship inherited from thousands of years ago.

So, after Shade got a hint from Lesia, he guided the topic to the direction of nursery rhymes, and then asked about the four nursery rhymes of "The Sea Returns".

According to the analysis of Mr. Edmond, the lighthouse guard, these four nursery rhymes correspond to a complete ritual. The first line of the mermaid song has already appeared, and the second line of pirates related to the evil god has appeared, but there was nothing gained because of the unexpected encounter with Shade.

Shade hoped to learn more from folklorists, but because he was not a ring magician, the scholars failed to connect the nursery rhymes to the occult.

From an ordinary person’s perspective, Professor Katya understands it this way:

"The song of the mermaid in the first sentence refers to the sound of the horn before the pirates appeared; the second sentence is the original meaning, the pirate ship docked and plundered in the cold water port; the red ocean in the third game refers to their killings dyeing the sea water red; the last sentence of the girl Going into the ocean means that the pirates left with their harvest.”

This kind of analysis of nursery rhymes is also reasonable, but there are still limitations in using only the perspective of ordinary people. Shade also wanted to chat with Professor Katja more about the local people’s beliefs outside the Five Gods Church, but unexpectedly The male servant who walked in interrupted their conversation:

"Sir, Mr. Jude asked you to go upstairs and help him get some things. He doesn't want us to touch those precious antiques, so I take the liberty of asking you to get them for him."

He said to Shade respectfully.

"I?"

Shade pointed at himself doubtfully, then turned to look at Lesia. When she saw the latter shaking her head slightly, she refused directly:

"Sorry, I can't leave this lady."

He said it very straightforwardly:

"Before going out this time, the editor-in-chief asked me to stay with Miss Princes. Can we go upstairs together?"

"Why don't I go too?"

The young scholar Lim Scott suggested, probably because he wanted to show off in front of the young girl with outstanding temperament. So Professor Katya also nodded:

"Then let's go upstairs together. The same goes for us going upstairs to see Mr. Jude's collection."

"this"

The manservant lowered his head and hid his face in the shadows:

"Sorry, I want to ask sir for permission. Strangers are not allowed to approach the area upstairs."

The servant quickly left the room, and the four guests in the room frowned. There was a strong wind and heavy rain outside, and the light from the only gas lamp in the room seemed to be much weaker because of this.

Mr. Jude, the ring magician, was in front of him just now, so Shade did not use thaumaturgy in this room. Now that the owner here left, he blinked, and then saw the red halo on the broken-arm statue.

Then I listened carefully, and the echoes of the past made a voice from the other side of time appear in my ears:

"So, don't kidnap ordinary people anymore recently. The Sea Return Ceremony has begun, and we have transformed enough of the same kind over the years to be able to deal with various situations. Except for the ring warlocks who were attracted by the news I released, don't do it anymore."

It seems that this visit did not go very well.