Whispering Verse

"Oh, you actually beat him?"

The old curator was not curious about the strange profession of "demonologist". Instead, he was greatly surprised by what Shade said:

"This is impossible. Stone Oxenfurt can also lose?"

"But I really won, so I got into a lot of trouble until I came here to ask for help. Mrs. Helena Oxenfurt didn't want to say more to me, but it seems like you know Issues?"

Mr. Fernandez swallowed and turned to look at the Holy Emblem of the Righteous God [Old Man with the Lamp] again, as if it could give him strength.

Of course, this can really give him power. After all, this righteous god really exists and is influencing the material world all the time. Even if you talk about demons under the holy symbol, you don't have to worry about being noticed by the other party.

"Young man, would you like to hear my story?"

he asked suddenly.

"certainly."

Shade nodded immediately. He came today just to listen to the story.

"That was not that long ago, probably two years ago, in the winter of 1851. At that time, Stone Oxenfurt and Helena Oxenfurt had just gotten married, and I was in this exhibition hall at that time. The curator."

The two got married two years ago, but this was the first time that Shade knew the specific wedding time.

"I can't forget what I did at that time, and I always hope that I can turn back time and let the me now stop me at that time. Through inquiries from acquaintances, I learned that Stone Oxenfurt collected a very precious statue. Antique stone sculpture. It is a full-length statue that was unsealed from the stone by a well-known sculptor from the Randall Valley about 200 years ago."

The old curator had a sad look on his face, and Shade understood what he had done:

"You visited Oxenfurt Manor?"

"Yes, I wrote to Oxenfurt, hoping to purchase the statue, but he ignored my letter. I think it was because I was not sincere enough. Although Oxenfurt's business at that time was not as good as it is now, it was still good. He is a well-known big businessman in the Randall Valley. So I brought gifts and made an appointment to visit in advance. In a snowy weather similar to today, I took a carriage to the old house of Oxenfurt. The place is really remote. "

Shade imagined the scene two years ago when the carriage pulled the old man in front of him through the snowflakes to the gate of Oxenfurt Manor:

"What happened next?"

Fear once again spread on the old man's face. He closed his eyes and prayed again, and then he had the courage to tell the story:

"I met Oxenfurt and his so-called friends in the manor. Oh, God, I thought I had arrived at the robber's den. They surrounded me laughing and asked me to meet on the second floor. The guest room. At that time, Oxenfurt was sitting in the guest room, with a bottle of wine in his hand. Although he was not drunk, he was certainly not particularly sober. I knew that I probably picked the wrong day. He was in a very bad mood that day. not good."

The old man told about a day he would never forget:

"Although I also felt that something was wrong, now that I had arrived, I still expressed my request to purchase the statue. But Stone Oxenfurt ignored me and leaned on the sofa, carrying He was holding the wine bottle, spreading his legs, and cursing in a low voice, as if he didn't care about me at all."

"What did he curse?"

"I just wish I had been deaf, but I've always had good hearing. He muttered a few words in Archaic, and then started cursing the devil. He used very vulgar Randall Valley slang, and Some sailor’s vocabulary.”

Shade knew that Oxenfurt had once been a sailor.

"Civilized people would not use that kind of statement. He didn't look like a businessman, but like a robber who had robbed someone on the road. Although I was still thinking about the statue at the time, I also knew that if I continued to stay there, I was afraid that my own safety would be affected. Something went wrong, so I just wanted to leave.”

Mr. Fernandez, the old curator, trembled violently.

"He won't let you go?"

"He held the bottle of wine, held my hand, and took me to his workshop on the second floor where he was carving sculptures. I also saw the sculpture I wanted in it."

Shade had also been to that workshop.

"His own work was placed in the middle of the room. He asked me to evaluate his work, and then in front of me, he smashed the sculpture of a slender woman with only the eyes missing. I can't describe what happened next. After the statue was smashed, the whole house seemed to shake. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but then I felt a huge dizziness, and there was a terrifying thing in front of me that was difficult to describe with human senses. Visions. Oh, those visions still appear in my nightmares. I saw many dead people wailing and heard screams that seemed to come from the world of the dead."

The old man covered his forehead, as if he was dizzy. Shade then gave him a glass vial filled with a clear, colorless liquid. After Mr. Fernandez drank it, he immediately felt much better.

After all, it was Holy Water No. 4.

"Look, I still have some skills as a demonologist, otherwise I wouldn't have found this place."

Shade said with a smile, and the old man was able to continue his story:

"The discomfort, the soul-crushing agony, almost made me beg Oxenfurt to smash my head with the same hammer that smashed the statue. But he just laughed, and what I saw There are more and more strange sights, including black stone roses, color blocks without any logic, and transparent human figures that are twisting and dancing."

He clutched the empty bottle, his knuckles turning white:

"If you hadn't appeared today, I would never have told anyone about this incident in my life. I gradually collapsed, yes, I remember it very clearly, and I went to a complete collapse. If it were not for my youth as a folklorist, see I have lived through some scary things, and I also vaguely understand that the world is not as simple as most people think, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to see me today.”

Shade showed an expression of admiration. In this situation, Mr. Fernandez two years ago could still maintain his sanity, which is enough to show how tenacious his will is.

"I tried hard to escape from the house, but Oxenfurt stopped me, thrust the carving knife into my hand, smiled and asked me to kill him with the knife. Although I still maintained Reasonable, but I can no longer understand what is happening in front of me."

"Did you really stab him?"

Shade asked curiously, and the old man trembled and shook his head:

"No, I used to be a scholar, and now I am the curator of the Statue Hall. Neither of these identities allow my hands to be stained with blood. I threw away the carving knife, hugged my head and huddled against the wall and wailed, while Ossenfer Very angry."

The old man took a breath and turned pale:

"But fortunately, his wife appeared at this time. She stopped Stone Oxenfurt and asked me to leave quickly. I can't remember clearly how I escaped from the manor in embarrassment. After returning to the city, I was seriously ill and rested in bed for a long time. It was not until the spring of 1852 was coming to an end that I could barely get out of bed and walk around normally."

"During this period, Oxenfurt didn't come to see you?"

"No."

"So you didn't go to the local church to seek help? You should also know how unusual what you encountered is, right?"

Mr. Fernandez shook his head again:

"I was so ill that I couldn't even speak for the first few weeks. When I regained my mobility, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be vulnerable, but I was afraid to go to church. It was the scariest place I'd ever seen. I have witnessed the most incomprehensible scene. I just want to forget that incident, completely forget it, and no longer have anything to do with him."

"But it looks like you didn't succeed."

"Yes, in the summer of 1852, driven by curiosity, I wanted to investigate the ancient words that Oxenfurt said when he first cursed the devil. I was really confused at the time, and I didn't do anything. Treat it as a nightmare, and it wouldn't be like this now. I really found out something. Yes, I can't believe it myself. I actually found out something like that with just a few pronunciations. The horrifying truth. It was at that time that someone visited me."

"Oxenfurt?"

"Yes, but also no."

Shade raised his eyebrows suspiciously, and little Mia stood on Shade's shoulder and looked around. Because of the existence of this cat, the "horror stories" told by Mr. Fernandez are not scary at all. This cat has a magical ability, and Shade feels very comfortable every time he sees it.

"The thing that visited me that rainy summer evening, holding a black umbrella, did look like Stone Oxenfurt, but I knew it certainly didn't. It looked exactly like Stone Oxenfurt. Same. The skin is probably slightly darker, and the eyes are completely black. Yes, there are no whites."

The old curator bowed his head and prayed again, and Shade waited patiently.

"He took all my research information and praised me as a very talented person, but I knew too much and I shouldn't get involved in his research. He didn't kill me, but he put a curse on me .”

"What curse?"

"I must be watched by four different stone statues at the same time, all the time. If this condition is not met, my lifespan will pass four times faster."

The old man said softly:

"This is not a joke. Look at my old appearance. It's partly because of the serious illness, partly because I'm tortured by nightmares, but mostly because of this curse. It didn't kill me directly, but it wore me down. With the remaining value of my life, I cannot leave this statue exhibition hall. I am imprisoned here by the sculptures. I think I may not survive the next winter."

He coughed a few times, and Shade blinked in surprise. When he shook hands with the old curator just now, he felt a strong curse on the other person. He didn't expect it to be in this form.