Whispering Poems

Chapter 3276 "Carnation House"

"Ha~"

Yawning lightly, Shade, wrapped in a black coat, got off the carriage in boredom. The night was already quite dark, and the city was still hazy with gray fog. There were fine snowflakes floating in the air, and the wind blowing through the streets was more biting than usual.

There was no one under the gas lamps on both sides of the street. The driver collected his fare and left quickly. With a long sigh, white mist came out of his mouth like a long dragon. Shade looked around again and then pushed open the door of Old John's pawn shop.

It was Friday night. After Shad collected the fused dice and said goodbye to Danister in the evening, he had dinner with the cat at home and came over.

Now, only the pub on the corner and this pawn shop are still open on the whole street. It is said that the pawn shop's business is better at night than during the day because some customers do not want to be seen by others that they are forced to pawn their belongings.

Of course, Old John opened the shop so late tonight not because he was expecting business, but because Luvia wanted to trade the information she wanted tonight. Luvia said in advance that she would find some people to help, but Shade didn't expect that as soon as he entered the shop, he saw Father Augustus, Dr. Schneider and Dorothy were all there.

Luvia was discussing something with Old John at the counter, Dorothy pointed to a vintage hat on the shelf and asked the priest about the clothing style of more than 30 years ago. The blue-eyed middle-aged psychiatrist was bending over with his hands behind his back to examine a plaster human skull model, looking very interested in it.

"Doctor, you don't really want to buy this?"

"Good evening, Detective. I want to use it to decorate my clinic and make it look more professional. Don't remind me that I run a psychological clinic. Ordinary patients always think that such things are only used by professional doctors. After all, the development of psychology is still too young."

"Good evening, Detective."

"Good evening, Shad!"

Seeing Shad coming, the priest and Dorothy also greeted him. Luvia turned around at the counter and said with a smile:

"I've been waiting for you, so we can start right away."

"I wasted some time out of town in the evening, but why did you call everyone here?"

The delay was because I actually took a bath at Danister's place in the end, and Shad was very hesitant when he asked the question.

"Of course it's for safety reasons. Besides, we don't have much to do after the exam week, so acting together is also a way to strengthen the unity of the group. What? Do you think I'm making a big deal out of nothing?"

"No, no, of course not."

Shade shook his head:

"But if I had known that everyone was here, I would have taken with me all the other weapons and relics I could get, except for the Night's Watch."

The method that can help Luvia obtain the [Space] Spirit Rune is not a relic, but a space-specific area. Although the space of the material world has become much more stable after the Green Lake incident, the frequency of space anomalies in various places is still much higher than in normal years.

The place where Tobesk appeared was discovered by a local ring wizard. Because its structure was relatively stable, it was sold to the black market as an information resource. Old John helped Luvia to acquire it, which led to tonight's group action.

"From the fate I interpreted, as long as I enter that spatial anomaly area and successfully leave, I will definitely be able to obtain spatial power."

Luvia explained this to Shad, and then she saw Shad frowning with a worried look on his face. However, he did not voice his worries. With Dorothy, the Chosen One of the Quarter, present, it was actually okay even if there was danger. Moreover, Shad could play the flute to call Grace and Helen for help.

He asked:
"The four of us followed you into that space-specific area, right?"

Luvia shook her head:
"Of course not. I can only rely on myself for this operation. Otherwise, I won't be able to gain power even if I get out of that abnormal area. I'm worried that after I enter it, the real space will undergo unpredictable changes because of the activation of that area, so I want you to help me keep an eye on the outside."

"It's a small matter, but are you sure it's really safe?"

Dorothy was also a little worried. Luvia nodded gently:
"There is no such thing as 100% safe. I can only say that it is probably safe."

"No, it's absolutely safe."

The old man behind the counter spoke at this time:
"I checked that area. That space is connected to another space. When you enter, it is equivalent to entering the gap between the two spaces and the mixed space. You need to get out of that 'maze'.

This kind of thing is not dangerous, at most you can't get out, and let the four of them go in to look for you. But don't say you are in danger, I'm afraid the detective will smash my shop afterwards."

Everyone laughed, but Xia De did not forget to defend himself:

"Father John, I'm not the kind of person who would implicate others. Besides, I won't let anything happen to Luvia."

There was a carriage in old John's backyard, and the group set out from the pawn shop to the north end of Tobesk, arriving at the rather shabby little "women's shelter" half an hour later.

The so-called "women's shelter" is a charity organization that emerged after 1800, mainly providing temporary shelter and basic support for married women, unmarried mothers, victims of sexual exploitation and poor women who suffered from domestic violence, abandoned women.

Noble women are the main donors to such charities, but such charities are often criticized for "indulging immoral behavior" because they sometimes help unmarried mothers give birth. [Snake Heart Hospital] can actually be classified as a "women's shelter", but because [Snake Heart Hospital] cooperates with the government, it is much more formal than this small shelter.

In short, the women's shelter in front of us, called "Carnation House", located in the slums in the northern part of the city, has long been abandoned. At this moment, the fence gate is locked, the walls in the courtyard are covered with withered morning glories, and there is no light in the empty three-story building. Dorothy commented that this place is suitable as a location for horror scenes.

The carriage was parked in the alley, and the five people entered the courtyard. Then, they followed the information sold by Old John and went all the way inside. Finally, they found the abnormal space area that had been bound by the ritual and would not expand in a short time in the ward on the southeast side of the second floor of the building.

"Isn't this a shelter? Why is the interior decoration so much like a hospital? Look at these iron beds with white curtains."

Xia De asked quietly, and the doctor explained softly:
“Most of the women who come to seek shelter in places like this are suffering from illnesses.”

Moonlight poured in from the window. After entering the room, the five people checked behind the curtains, under the iron bed, and inside the crooked cabinet. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the place except for dust, empty bottles, and debris, Shade handed the Night Watchman in his hand to Luvia, but Luvia waved her hand and refused:
"I will rely on my divination ability to get out of here. Even if I encounter danger, I will rely on divination to avoid it instead of rushing forward with a sword. You just wait for me to come back for an hour. If I don't show up within an hour, you can go in here and find me. Xia De has a way to sense me. Even if I run to the end of time, he will know where I went."

She smiled and waved to everyone, then checked her belongings for the last time and turned to the place in the center of the room where the light and shadow were distorted. As soon as she approached, she disappeared immediately. Shad sighed and looked at Dorothy, who nodded:

"No problem, Luvia has entered. The internal space is now stable enough to last for an hour."

The doctor was guarding the door, Shad and Reverend Augustus were guarding the windows on both sides, and Dorothy was near the twisted zone. The four of them had nothing to do, so they chatted about what happened after the year-end festival. Shad also shared his many experiences about Fattomunster Island.

Because she was extremely bored, Dorothy later found a diary wrapped in blood-stained bandages among the scattered bedside tables in the room. After quickly reading it, she realized that it was a private diary left by the last batch of women sheltered in this asylum.

Apparently, more than one person has read this diary, but it is left here because it has no value. However, Dorothy is very interested in this kind of story, and after reading it, she did not forget to share it with everyone:
"This shelter was originally established by a wealthy widow who sold her late husband's property 23 years ago. Later, the widow died of illness. Although the shelter lost its main sponsor, it was still able to operate with the many properties left by the widow.

The widow's name has always been praised in the nearby neighborhoods, and her grave is worshipped every year. She has always had a good reputation. But two years ago, a middle-aged man in his thirties with a disabled right leg appeared here and claimed that he wanted to take back his father's property.

Then she was satisfied to see that the three of them were looking over here curiously.

"The man was sent away by his stepmother when he was young. Later, he heard that his father had passed away and never came back. He suffered a lot while growing up. When he grew up, he returned to Tobesk based on his childhood memories and found this women's shelter through a private detective.

The widow had in fact embezzled all her husband's property, leaving not a single coin to her stepson, and most of the wealth held by the asylum over the years belonged to that poor man.

He finally obtained the ownership of the place with the help of detectives and legal means, and refused to continue operating it, so the "Carnation House" fell into decline.

Although this scandal was not spread because of its bad influence, the widow was honored by the city hall after her death, but all her honors were confiscated. Her stepson even took out her bones on the grounds that he was the only heir, saying that he would bury them elsewhere, but in fact he threw them directly into the Terrarelle River. "