The sun sets in the west, and soon after night falls, the entire town is engulfed by boundless darkness. The town, which is relatively shabby and desolate during the day, becomes more and more ghost-like and strange at night. Unknown people come from the forest outside the town from time to time. The roar of wild beasts, the owls staying on the branches, staring at the townspeople who are still walking outside at night, their eyes reflecting the green light, coupled with the darkness that is difficult to reach and the chirping of insects and rats around them , which makes people feel extremely scary. Just walking in such an environment is a test of one's courage.
Due to the remote location of the town, which is located in the mountains and forests, transportation is very inconvenient, and the townspeople generally live a poor life. Therefore, the various infrastructure projects in this closed town are very backward, and there is only one road. The dilapidated cement roads have no infrastructure such as street lights, water pipe networks, and communication facilities. Although the town has temporarily received electricity due to the efforts of the town mayor in recent years, the lives of the townspeople have not been able to survive. The quality has not improved much because of the electricity. Their work and rest patterns are still based on day and night changes.
The reason is simple: not many families in the town have access to electricity. In this small town, apart from the mayor and the church, there are only a few large families who can afford the electricity bill. .
There were only a few houses left in the town, and their lights flickered on and off in the darkness, like sparks that were about to go out. There were no street lights in the town, and Wu Ming and others fled as if they were fleeing. Behind the brightly lit tavern, we can only use the dim moonlight to bring us through the small roads in the town that are a little more difficult for ordinary people to walk than during the day. Fortunately, they all have their differences from ordinary people. Even this darkness can't trouble them. Soon, under the map navigation of the stealth spy plane, Wu Ming and his party arrived at the bell tower spire in the center of the town without much trouble.
Wu Ming looked up at the house next to the bell tower spire, which was as high as seven or eight stories high. When he saw the somewhat dilapidated bell tower, he couldn't help but frown. He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. It was lingering in his mind and ready to come out, but every time he was about to think of it, he always felt that something was hindering his thinking. As a result, the layer of window paper was never pierced. He shook his head and shook the weird feelings out of his mind. After looking around for a while, he finally stopped at the lighted building next to it. It seemed that this was the place, and the only one in the town who could afford electricity was the mayor.
Wu Ming was referring to the small one-story bungalow next to the spire of the clock tower. The light of the electric light shone from the window of the bungalow, dispersing the darkness around the house. The door of the bungalow was also ajar, and it seemed that there was a faint shadow behind the door. There was light coming out, and someone must have left the door open intentionally.
Alex was the first to push open the door with great momentum, and Wu Ming and his entourage also filed in as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They didn't look like they were here to help with the vigil, but rather like they were here to cause trouble. Seeing the painting style of his group of people gradually becoming distorted, Wu Ming's thoughts couldn't help but wander a little: If some townspeople who didn't know the truth passed by the mayor's house at this time, I'm afraid there would be robbers in the town the next morning. Robber, he robbed the town mayor Roger last night. Rumors like this will spread like wildfire.
But knowing that he was not distracted, he immediately stopped his thoughts and returned his attention to what was in front of him.
The furnishings in the bungalow are very simple. There is a table in the living room with many documents on it. Roger is sitting at the table with a pen in his hand and processing the documents carefully. After a brief period of shock and fright, his face His expression immediately changed to one of surprise. He stood up suddenly and walked quickly to Alex in three steps at a time. Although he hesitated a little, he still firmly held the other's generous hand.
It’s great that you and your friends are willing to help!
Although he said that, when Wu Ming entered the door, he clearly saw that Rogge was frightened when he found the old hunter. He also showed some hesitation when shaking hands. It seemed that he was frightened. light
A few people briefly got to know each other and after knowing each other's names, Rogge immediately changed the topic to the main topic: I think Alex, you can see some problems in the afternoon. The situation in the town is very serious now. The chaos, the appearance of the flute player, and the witch curse deeply rooted in the minds of the older generation have made many people panic now. Those who want to
It's okay for people to go to church and pray for peace of mind. The real troublesome people are the older generation who are determined to arrest all suspects and conduct a witch trial to prevent the recurrence of the witch curse.
As the mayor, I could not allow such absurd persecution and lynching in the town, so I formed a vigil team to catch the flute player. However, after the witch trial ceremony was disrupted by another stranger, The situation began to fall into chaos, and many people also quit the vigil team. At this point, Rogge sighed and his expression became a little sad, but he cheered up immediately: So you really helped me by coming. A big favor
When Wu Ming heard the town mayor take the initiative to talk about the witch, he followed his words and asked: What is the witch curse about? Why is it that in this day and age, there are still people engaging in witch trials?
Rogge was a little embarrassed when he was asked, and his expression became wonderful at a speed visible to the naked eye: In fact, most of the people in the town are comparisons.
A stubborn old man who has never seen much of the world, so he is more feudal and superstitious? Wu Ming answered without thinking.
Well, you can’t say that, I can only be regarded as a person who believes in tradition. The mayor of the town looked even more embarrassed, but he still had to explain: In fact, there has always been such an old-fashioned superstitious custom in the town. When misfortunes happen one after another, or something unusual happens, it means that the witch's curse has returned to the town and turned someone into a witch. If left unchecked, the witch will bring more and more troubles. More disasters and misfortunes
According to legend, the witch's curse is something like this. It will turn someone in the town into a witch from time to time, and then bring disaster and misfortune to the residents of the town.
Alex frowned more and more as he listened to his narration: In other words, in order to prevent the witch from causing greater harm, will the so-called witch trial be held in the town?
Well, Rogge nodded heavily, obviously not agreeing with the actions of the townspeople. According to the legends passed down from generation to generation in the town, the witch must be tried to stop the disaster from happening. These legends will be told to children as bedtime stories, plus The town has tried many witch trials before, and it seems to have had some effect, so now many people in the town firmly believe in it. The only ones who don't believe in this kind of thing are the police and doctors who have returned to the town. , and there are some people who have been in other cities for a long time and are more open-minded.
Hearing the town mayor's answer, Wu Ming and Alex immediately exchanged glances, both looking thoughtful.
Otto listened for a long time, and finally couldn't help but said: So your strategy is to let us wait and wait at night, waiting for the piper to commit another crime and send it to our door?
His complexion and energy were much better than in the afternoon, and he obviously had enough rest in the afternoon.
Even things like vigils took a lot of effort to organize. Rogge sighed helplessly. Many townspeople were very fanatical about restoring the tradition and holding witch trials. They didn't listen to any explanation at all and thought wildly. We need to capture the witch and complete the trial ritual so that life in the town can return to normal. We don’t care how many innocent casualties this will cause.
Listening to his helpless sigh, Otto felt that the mayor was quite considerate. For some reason, a feeling of sympathy arose from the bottom of his heart. He couldn't help but reached out and patted his shoulder: "Then we are the only ones keeping vigil tonight." Already?
Town doctor Hesse and Sheriff Gale have already gone on night watch with others. If you want to know, you can go to the area of Abigail's house to patrol and watch the night. By the way, take care of the little girl. She is still a child and also plays the flute. The scope of human robbery, so I am more worried about her condition.
At this time, Wu Ming, who had been thinking for a long time, suddenly said: Rogge, if you have any ideas, you can tell us.
Rogge was taken aback, a little confused by his statement: What?
Wu Ming twitched the corner of his mouth and showed a kind smile, and explained: You see, we are all foreigners who don't understand the rules anyway, so we are not afraid of breaking the rules of your town. If you want to do something, We can just let it go, so
He didn't speak too clearly, but he knew that the mayor should be able to understand the hidden meaning of his words.
Sure enough, although Rogge hesitated for a moment after hearing this, and seemed to have a little ideological struggle in his heart, he quickly realized that he really needed help and nodded and said: I understand, if it comes to that time, still hope you can help
No problem, we will definitely come to help when that time comes. After Wu Ming heard his reply, the smile on his face became even brighter. Then a few people chatted casually about where their patrols were, you know. After entering the patrol range, the mayor helped them dig out two flashlights and a kerosene lamp for lighting, and the few people got ready to start patrolling. But at this moment, everyone in the room suddenly heard a melodious sound coming from the window. A long flute sound!
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