Whispering Verse

"Do you feel like something's wrong here?"

There was no need for Shade to express what he heard in a reasonable way, so Professor Katya took the initiative to speak.

Lesia looked at Shade, who blinked and signaled her not to speak first:

"There's something wrong, it's so out of character. In fact, the house itself gives me a bad feeling."

As he spoke, he walked towards the window, then lowered his head to examine the statue with a broken arm.

However, with Xia De's strength, he was unable to lift the statue. And when he tried to turn the statue, blood actually dripped from the statue's mouth.

The statue itself is just an ordinary object that appears to use a clever mechanism that allows it to spray liquid. This wicked decoration once again proves that there is definitely something wrong with Mr. Jude.

Seeing the weirdness of the statue, the alert old professor also came to the window alertly, looked outside, and then asked Shade to look at the door.

Shade quietly walked to the door, leaned against the door and listened to the sounds outside, and raised his finger to signal everyone to be silent. After confirming that no one was there, he carefully grasped the door handle and shook it, and then found that the door was locked from the outside.

"It's really weird!"

The folklore professor was very vigilant and asked his students to try to push the window open. Then the reporter and his assistant explained:

"Those of us who study folklore often encounter all kinds of weird things, so we must be cautious. I'm afraid this Mr. Jude is weird."

"Teacher, the window can't be opened."

Mr. Scott said anxiously.

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious about anything!"

The old professor scolded, and then picked up the cane leaning on the edge of the chair. Holding the body of the cane with his left hand and the handle with his right hand, he pulled it out suddenly and pulled out a very thin stabbing sword. Even in the dim light at the moment, the stabbing sword seemed to be shining.

Seeing Xia De and the reporter looking over curiously, the old professor explained:

"As folklorists, it is normal for us to carry weapons with us when we go on field trips."

Then he said to his students:

"Although you have excellent courses in school, you still have a lot to learn if you want to be an excellent folklorist."

Judging from the expression on Mr. Scott's face, he didn't know that his teacher's cane actually contained such a thing.

"Oh well."

Shade was stunned for a moment, reached inside his coat, then took out a black revolver and explained:

"As a reporter's assistant and bodyguard, I go to such a dangerous neighborhood. It is normal to carry such a weapon. Don't worry, I have a legal gun license."

The explanation of the second half of the sentence reassures scholars a lot.

After everyone felt that something was wrong, Professor Katya tried to escape by breaking the glass of the window. But breaking the glass will definitely make a loud noise. Once the people outside the door rush in, it is impossible for the four people to leave through the broken window in an instant.

The professor searched for the crack in the window with his dangerous weapon, trying to pry it open, muttering that there was no crowbar in the room. Shade and Lesia looked at each other, and after confirming the plan, Shade suggested:

"Now that he is locking us up here instead of rushing in with a group of people and kidnapping us, this means that he will not attack us in a short time. It is better to search the study first to confirm what is wrong with Mr. Jude, and then Make plans.”

Staying in dangerous locations is one of the most dangerous plots in horror novels, but for Shade and Lesia, the current situation is still under control. Even Shade didn't have the opportunity to get up close and personal to confirm Mr. Jude's identity, and it was even less likely that Mr. Jude knew they were ring warlocks.

The professor accepted Shade's opinion, perhaps because he saw the pistol and felt that his side was still safe.

The four of them searched the study together. There were not many things on the desk, but it took a long time to rummage through the bookshelves on the three walls:

"Leave the bookshelf to me."

The professor said quite confidently:

"I have been exposed to books all year round, and I know a lot about these books on the bookshelf. I can definitely find them faster than you."

So Shade searched the desk, Lesia went to search the coffee table over there, and the two scholars searched the bookshelf.

The table was neat and tidy. What was placed next to Mr. Jude was a New World adventure novel with a leaf inside as a bookmark. It was of little value. There are four drawers on the left side of the desk, and a drawer and an openable cabinet on the right side.

As expected, all the drawers and cabinets had locks, but they opened automatically with a light tap from Shade.

"There's another gun here."

Opening the drawers on the left in turn, the top drawer contained a cardboard box, which contained a pistol that Shade could not identify and a few bullets. The old professor knew how to use a pistol, so Shade gave him the gun. In the drawer on the second floor, there were some scattered bottles and cans, and Shade immediately understood that they were casting materials.

The third and fourth drawers on the left contained documents and letters packed in file bags. Shade flipped through them a little and found that they were all related to Mr. Jude's antique business.

So he reached out and opened the top drawer on the right. There was nothing strange when his hand touched the drawer, but just as he opened a gap, a withered, severed hand actually stretched out from the gap, flew up and stabbed Shade's throat. .

"Um?"

Because they were searching the Ring Warlock's desk, Shade had already been on guard. The severed hand had just appeared, and the woman's voice in his heart reminded him. Shade raised his right hand upwards, and the moonlight flew out of his hand, accurately splitting the severed hand into two pieces.

No one noticed the scene as everyone else was checking elsewhere. It wasn't until the severed hand fell to the floor that it made a thud~ sound, and Lesia and the scholars noticed this.

"Oh~"

Mr. Scott, who directly saw this scene, covered his mouth to prevent himself from shouting. Professor Katya also had an ugly look on his face. He did not expect such a thing to happen. Lesia came over worriedly:

"This Mr. Jude really has a lot of strange collections. Mr. Watson, are you okay?"

She was explaining the origin of this hand.

"I'm fine. I just touched something strange and took it out. I didn't expect it to be this thing. I was scared."

This severed hand is an alchemy item. It may be that as long as the drawer is opened, it will fly out and strangle people's necks. This kind of thing is very dangerous to ordinary people who have no knowledge, but it is just a trivial matter to ring magicians.

"Keep looking. I'm afraid Mr. Jude really has a big secret."

Shade said, Professor Katya nodded and whispered something to his student, probably to comfort him not to be frightened by the severed hand. Lecia said softly:

"For the sake of safety before coming here, I arranged manpower nearby. I have a steam bomb on me. As long as the bomb explodes, the Coldwater Port garrison will surround the area within twenty minutes."

"Understood, but don't do this unless you have to, otherwise you won't be able to explain why you are here."

The cooperation between the royal family and Zarath Academy of Literature is not an official one, which means that the Orthodox Church does not know that Princess Lesia is a ring sorcerer.

"No problem, aren't you curious that I carry a steam bomb with me?"

"Isn't that the same for Dorothy?"

Shade said.

There is nothing else in the drawer containing the severed hand, and the top drawer on the right is simply an anti-theft measure. In the end, only the cabinet on the lower right side was left. After opening it, there was actually an iron-gray safe inside.

This kind of safe requires the combination of the password and the key to be opened. Shade touched it with his hand and even felt some elements, which meant that there were other unknown magician methods protecting the safe.

"Key to the door."

Carefully touching the surface of the safe with your fingers, you can clearly feel a force resisting the effect of the spell.

Shade narrowed his eyes and very carefully controlled his spirit to keep the spell running. It felt as if he and an invisible force were pushing a stone against each other. But fortunately, the power of the safe is limited after all, and the power of the spell comes from Shade, so a few minutes later, as the sound of gears running and chains clicking came from inside the safe, the keyhole and some rusty passwords The disk rotates at the same time.

After a click, you could clearly hear the sound of the piston popping open, and then the door of the safe opened automatically.

"Is opening a safe also a skill of a reporter's assistant?"

Mr. Scott, who heard the sound of the safe opening nearby, asked in surprise. The drawers may not be locked, but it is really abnormal for the safe to be opened like this:

"There was a note in the drawer with the password written on it, and I found the key under the cabinet. This teaches us a lesson, don't write down the password casually."

Shade explained vaguely, then looked inside the cabinet:

"oh!"

His surprised cry successfully diverted the young scholar's attention.

The first thing he took out was an oil painting. There was nothing wrong with the oil painting itself, but the problem was the content on it. This is not an abstract painting, but a painting that is quite realistic and even close to line drawing. On the rough red ocean, there is a rock standing abruptly, and on the rock there is a terrifying thing with a human body and a fish tail.

It clearly had the face of a human woman, but that face showed an ugly appearance that Shade had never seen before. The entire upper body seems to be wrapped in a layer of mucous membrane, but it also looks like a layer of transparent scales.

The fishman looked outside the painting with an expression that seemed to be smiling cruelly, but also seemed to be staring at the person looking at the painting. The red ocean, the black reef, the dusky sky, and the pale fish-men. Although the painting itself was an ordinary object, this sense of reality made Shade feel creepy.

The upper body of the fishman on the screen is at least eighty similar to the fishman's appearance after the captain of the fishbone pirate ship transforms. This is a descendant of the evil god.

"Oh! The mermaid in the painting is blinking!"

The young scholar who saw the painting at the same time as Shade wanted to scream. Lesia immediately looked towards the door, and Professor Katja hurriedly came over and covered her student's mouth.

It took at least half a minute before Lecia, who was leaning against the door, shook her head slightly, meaning it was safe for now. The professor let go of Mr. Scott's mouth. The latter's face was pale with fear, his eyes were bulging out due to nervousness, and the blood in his eyeballs looked like he hadn't slept for three days.

And just a few minutes ago, this was a very healthy and energetic young man.