Whispering Verse

"No, no, I'm just curious."

Shade defended himself, and then couldn't help but asked curiously:

"There are also craftsmen who specialize in making fruit-body stone sculptures?"

"Of course, and the whole body is even more difficult to carve than wearing clothes. After all, you have to consider the proportions and details of those private parts. Don't look at me like this, I also heard what my friends said."

Mr. Antonio spoke seriously, and then in a lower voice told the interesting anecdote he knew:

"I even know that someone commissioned a famous local stonemason to carve a one-to-one statue of a woman, but the upper part was filled with soft cotton and silk, and the lower part... ahem, just think of it as a local city Legend, don’t say I said it.”

Shade didn't even want to touch the mithril cube to confirm this rumor. However, no matter in which world or in which era, men's hobbies have not changed at all.

Because the room was really dark, the gas lamps on the walls were already on at this time, making the atmosphere at eleven o'clock noon seem like it was already night.

Shade looked away from the oil painting on the wall:

"Let's not talk about the stone statue of a woman. Mr. Antonio, I heard that the Masons' Guild once made a movable stone statue."

"Yes, yes, this kind of rumor will appear every few years. There are many legends. For example, after the stonemason killed someone, he disguised the body as a stone statue and hid it; or the soul of the stonemason who murdered him was possessed by the stone statue. , to take revenge on the enemy; or a girl who longed for love died of a disease, and the young man's longing for her made the stone statue he made turn into a real person... There are many themes."

Mr. Antonio knows even more about this than Shade, and this kind of story is interesting even to a foreigner:

"Then what's the truth?"

"Mr. Watson, I'm just a writer, not a detective. I don't care about the truth, what I care about is the story... Okay, I still care about the truth. I came here today to collect materials, just to use something like Write a new script based on the theme.”

Shade smiled:

"That sounds interesting. Mind if I go with you? I won't steal your idea, but maybe I can adapt it into a pulp detective."

Of course Mr. Antonio won't mind.

The playwright actually didn't have any good ideas for investigation. Like Shade, he came to the Masons' Guild with the intention of giving it a try.

So the two of them went to have lunch together first, and then returned to the Masons' Guild again after lunch. At this time, the police officers standing at the door still did not leave. Only when they were sure that they were out of hearing distance, Mr. Antonio said to Shade:

"This time, the police will definitely make the association pay."

"At what cost? You mean the assassination? But that couldn't have been ordered by the Masons."

Shade said, the middle-aged man touched his chin:

"But so what, the police don't care who gave the instructions. My friend at the police station told me that the identity of the assassin has been investigated clearly. He was the victim of the collapse of the Willendale Colossus more than ten years ago. The person was permanently disabled and unable to work. His wife left home on a rainy night eight years ago, and his only child fell ill and died three years ago... I personally prefer that the assassination of Prince William was a private vent of anger, but if he insists on fighting with the Masons, It's not impossible to get involved.

"Because you were wronged, do you want to retaliate against the victim?"

Shade said suspiciously, and Mr. Antonio looked around nervously:

"Watson, you don't dare to say such nonsense. Moreover, this matter cannot be the idea of ​​the royal family. It is most likely that the people below are trying to please the people above. Moreover, when Prince William is attacked, we must find out who is responsible. It is up to the responsible person to convict, otherwise the local police department will be held responsible..."

He gave Shade a "you know" expression. Shade clicked his tongue, then turned to look at the policeman standing at the front door, while Mr. Antonio was still nervously reminding:

"Be careful with the gray gloves...these

People always have a way to find out what they want to know, so we'd better not get ourselves into trouble. 「

After returning to the Masons' Association in the afternoon, the two of them did not continue to look at the stone sculptures waiting to be sold in the hall. Mr. Antonio didn't have any clues, but when Miss Shadtorasse helped collect information, they found that someone in the Masons' Association claimed to have seen moving stone sculptures, and that was last year, so the two decided to visit that person. eyewitness.

The target this time was Mr. Peter Tolford, a middle-aged stonemason in the Masons' Guild. He did not have his own separate workshop but worked in the Masons' Guild.

When Shade and Mr. Antonio saw him, this stonemason with dark skin and exaggerated muscle lines was taking inventory in the warehouse with his two young apprentices. He originally didn't want to waste time chatting with strangers, but after Mr. Antonio threw the coin, he stood happily among the densely arranged stone statues and answered their questions enthusiastically.

"Yes, a moving stone sculpture. Last year, 1853, I can't remember the exact time. It was probably the end of winter. I was drunk... I mean, after I came out of the tavern, I thought I got up to take the apron I used for work home to wash, so I said hello to the gatekeeper and went to the backyard warehouse, which is probably where it is."

He pointed to the shelf against the wall. A row of hooks for hanging things were welded to the side of the shelf:

"When I got the apron and wanted to leave, I saw a dark shadow wandering in the warehouse. Oh, I was frightened and woke up."

Mr. Tolford probably has a talent for telling scary stories. When he gets older, instead of being a stonemason, he can make money by telling stories in taverns:

"Gentlemen, you are all decent people. You can't imagine what a warehouse looks like at night. In order to prevent fire,

The gas pipeline in the warehouse is closed at night, so the gas light cannot be turned on. I was holding a kerosene lamp, and God, my eyes were filled with people in dense shadows, looking at me from all directions. "

"I'm sorry, I'm not doubting your story, but are you sure that what you saw was a moving stone statue, and not a shadow that was moving because of the kerosene lamp in your hand?"

Mr. Antonio asked suspiciously, and the middle-aged stonemason shook his head with certainty:

"I'm very familiar with these stone statues. How could I recognize the shadow as a stone statue? It's not a shadow, and it's not my eyesight, so it must be a moving stone statue!"

He had told this story many times to others, so he told it quite carefully.

"Be careful! Don't you know the ground is uneven? What bastard didn't tie the cart down?

Suddenly the roar of the warehouse steward came from the side of the three of them, and then together they saw a stone statue of a nun sliding towards the door of the warehouse on its own initiative, but luckily the flat cart under the statue was caught in time.

Mr. Tolfo was a little embarrassed, but he still emphasized:

"That was definitely not the case at the time. I definitely saw it correctly. It wasn't because I was drunk. I knew how drunk I was."

His explanation made his story even more suspicious.

"So do you have any guesses about this?"

Shade then asked again, and Mr. Tolford nodded again:

"It must be 'silent old Fleming' again!"

"what is that?"

Mr. Antonio pressed, and Mr. Tolfo explained:

"Old Fleming was one of the founders of the Randall Valley Masons' Guild in 1108 GCE. He didn't like to talk, he only focused on his craft, and the stone carvings he created were absolute works of art. Someone even auctioned one last year and sold it for a lot of money."

He probably didn't know the exact number, but he just heard people say there was a lot of money.

"This gentleman was low-key by nature, and there were no cameras in that era. He didn't even leave an oil painting. He carved stone statues for countless people throughout his life, but he never carved for himself. Rumor has it that old Fleming died one day He disappeared unexpectedly and no one has seen him since then. But from that time on, people occasionally met him at night

Late in the association, I saw moving stone sculptures. This meant that old Fleming was back and wanted to see the place where he worked during his lifetime. "

"I'm also a local. Why haven't I heard that one of the founders of the Stonemasons Guild had a surname named Fleming?"

Mr. Antonio raised his question, and the middle-aged stonemason said sheepishly:

"These are all rumors among the masons of the association. I have only heard it from the old people. As for whether it is true, I don't have the ability to investigate clearly. The stone statues at the auction, if they are unknown ancient stone statues, will also have names. It’s just Fleming...but I have always believed that there must be old Fleming!”

This made everything he just said even more unbelievable.

"Is there any news you can trust?"

Shade asked, touching the silver cube in his pocket, but there was no reaction at all. Seeing the other party rubbing his rough fingers again, he snorted:

"I want to hear the news first, the confirmed news, not your drunken experiences or hearsay stories."

The mason rubbed his hands in embarrassment:

"Of course there is news that can be believed. Some time ago, someone said that the new janitor was turned into a toy puppet. You can ask him."

There is no need to ask others about this matter. Shade himself knows very well:

"We are here to investigate the stone statues, not the puppets."

He emphasized it, and Mr. Antonio was not distracted by it.

So the middle-aged stonemason thought hard for a while before clenching his right fist and hitting the palm of his left hand:

"I remembered that last fall, the Church of the Sun sent several priests to investigate the entire association and performed an exorcism ceremony in this warehouse. I was also here at the time and watched the excitement for a while. "

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