Whispering Poems

Chapter 1304 Letter Statues and Relics

Haila Oxenfurt was not joking when she said that she wanted Shad to be a model for painting an oil painting. After the maid brought the painting tools, she really set up the easel and let Shad stand on the flowerbeds and shrubs in the snow Next to Cong.

As an oil painting model, you can move, but you can't move a lot.And in the boring hour or so that followed, the lady who was still wearing a veil and concentrating on painting stopped talking to Shad, and the maid standing behind Haila Oxenfurt didn't even talk to Shad. the meaning of.

And when the oil painting was finished and only needed to be colored, it was already noon that day.The old butler came from the front yard of the manor and handed a letter to Xia De:
"Sorry, Mr. Watson, the master has something to do at noon and can't come back."

It was a letter from Stone Oxenfurt sent from the city.He was left for lunch by Prince William Anjou, and the two of them had to go to the local club for entertainment in the afternoon, so they couldn't go back to the manor today.

Oxenfurt did not express much apology in the letter, but only said that Shad could make an appointment for another time.He clearly knew that Xia De came to the door, and he must have found at least one of the three items, but he still didn't care much, which seemed a bit weird.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Watson."

Haila Oxenfurt expressed her apology to Shad on behalf of her husband, Shad shook his head:
"This visit, in addition to returning an item, there is actually another thing. I am looking for a statue. This statue is very important to me. It took me a long time to find out that the statue is in Oxenfurt. in the hands of Mr.

As he spoke, he took out a photo of the statue he got from Cassandra Auction House and handed it to the woman:
"Ma'am, since Mr. Oxenfurt is not here, I wonder if you can make the decision and sell it to me?"

But the woman shook her head slightly:
"My husband has bought many statues. He has his own special room to store them. Without his permission, no one can handle these statues. However, I can take you to see if the statue is here."

The maid and the housekeeper listened to their conversation in silence, Xia De nodded:
"Then I will trouble you. Since Mr. Oxenfurt is not here, I will leave after seeing the statue. After that, I will find time to visit again."

The mansion of Oxenfurt Manor has three floors. The highest floor is the living and resting area of ​​the owners of the manor, and the first floor is the area where Stone Oxenfurt and his "friends" play.The room where the statues are stored is on the second floor like the reception room. The former is located in a relatively remote corner. Haila Oxenfurt doesn't even have the key to that room, and she has to ask the old housekeeper to open the door.

When the old butler took the keys from the keychain, Shad noticed that the metal doorknob of this room was darker than the doorknobs of any other room in the house. This is a sign that is often rubbed, which means that the room in front of him is being used. quite frequently.

After the door was opened, Haila Oxenfurt led Shad in, and the housekeeper and maid waited outside.Contrary to what Xia De thought, this is not a collection room, but more like a stonemason's workshop.The statues purchased by Stone Oxenfurt are densely placed in the exhibition cabinets against the wall, while the middle of the room is slightly empty.

In the middle of the floor, there is an unfinished full-length portrait, which looks like a tall woman.The work is just a rough embryo, and the tools for carving and chiseling are placed on a small cart beside it.

"Men like to carve, women like to paint. Says old Huck, who attacked Prince William. Stone Oxenfurt also learned his trade at the Stonemasons' Guild."

He thought in his heart, and asked in his mouth:
"Madam, is your husband fond of carving?"

"When he was at home, if those friends hadn't come with him, he would have been here alone for a long time, shutting himself in his room."

The woman said indifferently, and the fingers that were originally placed together on the chest pointed aside:
"Is this what you're looking for?"

On the cabinet in the southeast corner, there is a bust protected by a glass cabinet.There was a lock on the glass case, so Shad couldn't touch it directly.

"Yes, this is it."

Xia De took a closer look and saw a golden nameplate nailed to the cabinet under the statue:
[May the earth be with you and me——Edward Marcus. 】

The rumored "Edward Marcus" founded the city of Randall's Vale and was the first monarch of Randall's Vale.According to Miss Lassers, a local, the history represented by the name "Edward Marcus" dates back to the dark and chaotic era of the Quaternary Era, and it is even hard to say whether it is the name or not.

According to local legends, Edward Marcus discovered a gold mine in the local area and received the blessing of the earth. With his wealth and power, he opened up human settlements in the river valley that was still a virgin forest at that time.Until about 1000 of the sixth era, there were still festivals in memory of this person in the local area, but not many people today know about these traditions.

Shad and Miss Bernanis believe that this item is related to the "heart of the earth", also because of this legend.

The statue in front of me is about 500 years old. Although it is relatively well preserved, the vicissitudes and erosion of the years are inevitable on the surface of the stone.

Of course, what Xia De is most interested in is not this statue, but this room.He just stepped into the room just now, and he felt an extremely strong and malicious trace of the element.Even if he doesn't bring [Demon Hunting Seal] and [Night Watchman], he can still be sure that the power of demons is everywhere here.

Using thaumaturgy to see the magic again, this time I saw a large number of filthy traces all over the interior of the room, and the gathering point of all the filthy traces was the unfinished statue.The statue is so heavily infested with demonic power that Shad even believes that once the statue is complete, it will itself come to life.

"This statue is the body of that unknown demon?"

Xia De was suspicious, but he didn't do anything. After all, once the demon was disturbed and the other party escaped, things would become very troublesome. His only advantage now was that the demon didn't know his purpose.He firmly remembered everything in front of him, and planned to discuss it with Dr. Schneider when he went back.

As for Xia De's goal this time, that is, the antique statue of "Edward Marcus", it seems to be just a very ordinary antique to see and feel only with the eyes.If it wasn't for the possibility of demons hiding here, Xia De could check it out quietly after nightfall, but the current situation does not allow him to do so:

"Ma'am, is your husband the only one who has the key? It's a pity that I can't even touch it even though I have found it."

Shad said to Haila Oxenfurt again, and the lady was silent.But when the two left the room and returned to the corridor, the old housekeeper proposed to Xia De:
"Perhaps you can go directly to the town, sir, and find the master. If you can get his message, or come back with the key and certificate, you can take it with you."

"That's a pretty good idea."

Xia De smiled and nodded, and after saying goodbye to the hostess of the manor, he followed the butler to the backyard to bring back his horse.Along the way, they also tried to ask the old housekeeper for his personal information, such as what he used to do and whether he was a local, but the old housekeeper used very ingenious words to prevaricate.

When Xia De led the horse out of the gate of the manor, got on the horse and watched the butler lock the gate again, he used the thaumaturgy [Magic Vision] for the last time.

Turning around and walking towards the inside of the manor, the butler's body was wrapped in black mist, and there were dense scarlet eyes blinking in the black mist.Sitting on the horseback, he lifted his sight up to look at the whole of the old manor standing beside the pier. The manor was surrounded by black mist, like a ferocious giant hand, covering the manor.

I have to admit that at least the visual effect of the thaumaturgy [Visionary Vision] is pretty good.

It was already eleven o'clock in the morning, and if he seized some time, Xia De would probably be able to have a lunch when he returned to the Wilde Opera House.But he is not in a hurry to return to the city now. The last time he read the "Book of Sublimation" in [Golden Dawn], he found the sublimation words "the shadow of the silver moon guides the final direction". The language has a peculiar provenance, drawing memories from the land of Randall's Valley (Chapter 1266).

The location recorded in the "Book of Sublimation" is not far from the Oxenfurt mansion, so Shade wanted to drop by to see it.

After riding through the forest, he did not cross the bridge, but rode into the depths of the forest and continued eastward.Not long after, they entered the transition area between the valley plain and the hills at the edge of the forest. Due to the complex terrain, it was not convenient to ride a horse, so Xia De led the horse forward instead.

Fortunately, the destination was not far away. Not long after, a ruined wall was found in the forest.A simple low stone fence surrounds the area, and there is a rusty metal sign hanging on the tree next to it:
[Ancient Moon Worship Sacrificial Site, a second-class cultural relic protection area in the United Kingdom of Carson Rik, forest patrollers, hunters and travelers are not allowed to enter.This area is under the agency jurisdiction of the Church of the Sun, trespassing illegally is at your own risk. 】

The time written on the back is "1803 in the universal calendar".

The so-called "cultural relics protection area" is divided into four levels, and the rating standard is not based on the degree of importance, but the degree of danger.Generally speaking, the "first-level cultural relics protection area" means the historical relics of the Sixth Era, the "second-level" is the historical relics before the Sixth Era and is largely incomplete and basically worthless, and the "third-level" is the sixth The historical relics before the epoch are relatively complete and valuable, while the "level four" are the historical relics before the sixth epoch and are extremely dangerous.

For example, the Kalas Mountain tower that collapsed last spring, which is suspected to be related to the body of the foreigner, belongs to the fourth-level cultural relics protection area.

(End of this chapter)