Whispering Verse

"However, even if it is just to gain favor, I will give this as a gift."

Dorothy's eyes lingered on the pearl on the table. This look was very similar to the cat caught by Shade:

"It's a pity to give such a beautiful pearl to Keke. I mean, if you want to please the queen and get a possible title in the future, this is just the right thing to give."

"A title? Dorothy, I don't care about that."

Shade shook his head and said:

"If you like this pearl, keep it."

Although Shade always felt that he was short of money, in fact, he still had many precious items that could be cashed in.

"No, no, let's send it out. Although you don't care about the title,"

Dorothy looked up at Shade, and Shade looked at her. The blonde girl did not continue speaking immediately, but waited for the two sides to look at each other for several seconds before looking at Shade and continuing to finish the sentence softly.

Shade really couldn't guess what kind of thoughts were hidden in her beautiful eyes:

"Lecia cares."

"Meow?"

The cat being held by Shade stared at Dorothy with eyes that were more beautiful than those of pretty girls. Shade opened his mouth slightly to express surprise.

Because of these words, Shade has been thinking wildly all day long. Even Professor Garcia's "Closed Space" course report paper, which was planned to be completed during the day, was delayed until the evening.

Although the report is very long, there is also a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when the final period is clicked on that roll of parchment:

"Mia, step aside!"

The cat was trying to use its claws to smear the ink that hadn't dried yet.

He made an appointment with Priest August to meet at midnight, but the meeting place was in the northern suburbs of the city, so Shade set off early at around ten o'clock that night. After much thought, he decided to go out with Mia, who wanted to stay at home and didn't want to go out. In Shade's view, Priest August was a very reliable person. Since he said it was no big deal, it really shouldn't be a big deal.

The night in Tobesk in mid-August was still not very cool. I found a carriage at the intersection of St. Teresa Square. I heard that I was going out of the city to the suburbs near the cemetery, but the coachman refused to take Shade out despite anything.

Even if Xia De promised to double the fare, the cautious driver was unwilling to do this business. In the end, Shade could only ask the coachman to take him to the Psalm Square in the north of the city, and then find another carriage near the Psalm Square in the lower city, which was also very lively at night, and take him to the edge of the city, and then walk towards the Hanged Man's Trail. .

The night in Saint Teresa Square in the center of Tobesk is quiet and peaceful. Only the patrolling police and the occasional wild cat will make some noise. The strange light of the three-wheeled moon and the light of the elegant gas street lamps together illuminate the earth. ;

The area around Anthem Square in the Lower Town is noisy and dangerous, with vagabonds, gamblers and drunkards wandering around, and the light of gas lamps and kerosene lamps is dangerous and full of temptation;

As for the small villages and towns outside Tobesk, it is completely silent. It is still a civilized area. It is even physically separated from the urban area by the low city walls remaining from the old era, but the fire of the steam age is still here. Stop.

Residents outside the city don't have the spare money to waste kerosene lamps at night. As for whether the gas pipeline of the city's infrastructure project is connected here, only the civil servants of the city hall know.

Even the carriages in the lower city were unwilling to send Shade out of the city at this time. So just like the last time he and Dorothy visited Mr. Copps' cemetery, Shade walked through the small village outside the city.

The building is low, but the straw beside the wall and the chicken coop beside the yard make the place full of life.

What Shade was most dissatisfied with was not the bad smell that made neither he nor the cat want to breathe, but the uneven ground beneath his feet. Fortunately it didn't rain in Tobesk yesterday, otherwise it would have been a swamp.

The small village he passed through at this time was called Upper Glen. Like Lower Glen, a few miles away in a low-lying area, it was an out-of-town village adjacent to the lower town of Tobesk. After passing the small village in the north of the city, and then further north, we completely left the royal capital, and that was the real Tobesk countryside.

The road called "The Hanged Man's Trail" is not far from Upper Glen Village. Apart from the road signs erected, Shade could only confirm that this road actually existed at the edge of the detailed city map left by the previous detective.

The unmarked cemetery that the Hanged Ghost Trail leads to is a public cemetery for several nearby villages. Although it is a country cemetery, it is well-equipped with a cremation site, a gravekeeper's hut, a church, and an underground tomb.

The dead tree on the Hanged Man's Path where Priest August and Shade agreed to meet is located at the end of the path, and further ahead is the gravel road paved by the villagers for the cemetery.

The dead tree was far beyond Shade's imagination. He originally thought it was just a small dry sapling, but he didn't expect it to be a towering tree that didn't grow any leaves even in summer.

It stood naked in the center of the Hanged Ghost Path, with branches extending in all directions along the main trunk, like spreading tentacles in the dark night, or the hands of the old witch in fairy tales.

"But speaking of it, most of the old witches in existing fairy tales seem to be based on witches from the Fifth Age."

Shade thought in his mind, but it was difficult to equate a beautiful lady like Miss Feliana with a stooped old witch.

This tree obviously looks lifeless, but it is still standing here. There were a few crows parked on the branches at night. Accompanied by Mia's cries, they flapped their wings and flew into the distant night sky.

Shade came twenty minutes early. He held the cat in the night wind, stood under the tree and looked up at the trunk. I have to admit that if anyone wanted to hang themselves, this tree would be the best place to do so.

Not only can people of all heights easily find the location to tie the rope, but it is so close to the cemetery that there is no need for a carriage to carry the body out, and the tombkeeper can drag the body into the tomb area himself.

The cat, who was usually very timid, was very interested in this strange environment. He was held in Shade's arms and kept looking around. Shade guessed that Priest Augustus came to him for help. Although the priest was not a magician of the church, he could use the name of a church clergy to ask for help when he encountered trouble.

Unless he doesn't want the church to know about it, or there is a huge benefit in it, or the priest thinks he can solve the trouble.

Just as he was thinking about it, the priest finally appeared on the other side of the hanged ghost's path. He was still dressed like a clergyman, panting and walking over with something on his back. When he saw Shade under the moon and the mysterious cat in his arms, he waved his hand as a greeting.

When the priest came closer, Shade saw that he was actually carrying two shovels:

"Oh, my Mr. Dawn, this thing, this thing is much heavier than imagined."

The priest threw the shovel under the tree, then held on to the trunk and gasped for air.

Shade handed over a test tube filled with water. The priest thanked him and drank it in one gulp.

"Spade? Priest, do you want to dig something?"

Shade asked curiously. The priest held the tree with one hand, panting heavily and nodded to Shade:

"Of course, otherwise, would I have moved such a heavy thing and sold it to the tombkeeper?"

"So what are we digging for? Is there something under this tree? Treasure? Relics? Or a corpse?"

Shade and the cat were both curious about this.

"Who said we were going to dig up trees? We went there and dug them up."

Priest August pointed to the dark cemetery not far away.

"What is buried in the corner of this cemetery? Or is there a secret in the underground tomb or the tombkeeper's cabin?"

Shade asked again.

"Don't think too much, we are just here to dig graves."

The priest finally adjusted his breathing, threw one of the two shovels to Shade, and held the other one himself:

“Follow me and be quick, the best time for the ceremony is over at two in the morning. I noticed you brought your cat, which is great, smart cats help increase the success rate of the ceremony. "

"Wait, priest, are we really going to dig someone's grave?"

Shade hurriedly followed the hurried priest. The two left the Hanged Man's Path and officially walked onto the gravel road in front of the cemetery.

"It goes without saying that you really have to dig, I understand."

The old priest turned his head and looked at Shade in the moonlight:

"Do you have a mental disorder?"

"No, of course not."

Shade immediately shook his head:

"I'm just surprised that you led me to do such a thing. If it were Dr. Schneider, I wouldn't be surprised. In my heart, you are the kind of person who abides by church rules."

"Don't be stunned, detective, come with me. Also, why do doctors have such a bad image in your mind? We are not desecrating a corpse tonight, we are dealing with an accident. I have always believed that human nature is evil, but If it is for doing good deeds, then it is acceptable to have some problems with the means, everything is for the sake of dawn and justice."

Naturally, there are no competent gravekeepers in the unknown cemetery in the countryside. Priest Augustus originally wanted to knock the opponent unconscious to make tonight's operation easier. But when the two of them used Shade's illusion to lurk outside the window of the gravekeeper's hut with the kerosene lamp on, they discovered that the old gravekeeper was already drunk and was lying unconscious on the bed holding a bottle of wine. .

Even when Shade and the priest August broke into the hut, they failed to alarm him.

So Shade kindly covered the old tombkeeper who smelled of alcohol with a quilt, and then kicked his shoes to the bottom of the bed. Priest Augustus kindly extinguished the kerosene lamp in the room and took away a portable horse lantern to prevent fire.

In an era when most poor people suffered from night blindness, even if the gravekeeper woke up and couldn't find his shoes, the first thing he would do was not look outside the house, but light a kerosene lamp.

In this way, Shade and Priest August can know whether the other party is awake at any time.

In addition to the drunken gravekeeper and the sneaky two people, the living creatures in the cemetery include the cat on Shade's shoulder, as well as the wild animals living here. Shade was glad that little Mia didn't have the habit of barking, otherwise he would definitely be frightened if he suddenly heard a cat meowing in the cemetery with the night wind blowing.