"How did you find me!" it yelled, refusing to cooperate. "Go away! Leave me alone. You guys are such a nuisance."
"Okay." Uriel replied, "Xin Senna, you go out first."
"Don't you understand? I want to be alone!"
"If I were gone, there would be no one in this room. You've been dead a long time, Ash. You have to accept the fact."
The ghost stared at him: "What crazy talk are you talking about? I'm not Ashe. Who is Ashe?"
Uriel could tell she was lying without the scroll of oath. "Indeed. You are just Essie's soul, not herself." He said as he approached, the ghost hissed resentfully, and the apprentice turned a deaf ear. "Don't be silly, Ms. Ash, normal people don't crawl into walls. Do you want to see for yourself?"
So she turned her head.
A section of the woman's calf stuck out of her skirt and dug into the brick wall of the mansion. She stared at it blankly, then suddenly pulled her foot back like an electric shock, as if this would make her forget the previous scene.
"I'm sorry, Ashe." Uriel lowered his voice, "But now it's so far away from your lifetime..."
"A thousand years." The ghost interrupted him, "The girl who channeled me said it, and I even laughed at her." She looked down at her palms. "I'm such a fool."
"Don't think so," Della said. "It all depends on who you're competing against. You've done a good job. My last deal was terrible! The guy wouldn't leave and gave his son a slap on my arm. Slap." She wrinkled her nose at the memory. "You're one of the few ghosts who can communicate, Ash. What do you think?"
"I...it's okay." Ai Xi gradually calmed down. Along with her emotional stability, her body was no longer blurry.
A middle-aged woman appeared in front of them. Her eyebrows were haggard, the tip of her nose was pink, and her face was pale. She wore a long brown woolen dress, and her arms were wrapped in a soft cloth, which was bulging with small items. She wore a ring on her finger and earrings on her cheek. These two ornaments did not add grace to her face, for they were old, dirty, and much worn. But Uriel has seen the era of the ancestors, and in terms of dressing up, she actually has a rather aristocratic temperament.
The ghost's appearance arises from consciousness. The apprentice thought. She thought that after a thousand years, the jewelry on her body would be old. But clothes are a person's face, so they haven't changed to this day.
Ash quieted down.
A good start, Uriel was sure. Even in visionary dreams, things rarely go so smoothly.
"My son." Ashe said, "Is he there too? Can you find his soul, young lady?"
"I'm afraid not." Della replied, "You die here so that I can find you. I want to see your son, unless you know where his grave is..."
"I know where it is."
"You know?" Della was surprised. According to common sense, Ashe should grow old before his children and grandchildren, rather than the white-haired person sending the black-haired person away. "sorry."
"It doesn't matter. We went to death together, my mother, my husband and his brother. Anyway, we didn't leave each other behind." Eich has completely regained her composure, and she doesn't lose control when talking about the death of her family. "You came to my house, awakened the souls of the past without permission, and tried to communicate. What's the matter?"
"Just for the past." Uriel spoke before Della, who turned to glare at him angrily. The apprentice pretended not to see it. "I would like to know the history of Mortus. I heard that you lived during the time when the evil dragons invaded Nox, Ms. Ash."
"No." The ghost said, "The brown elves told me about the evil dragon. They can't see me, but I can hear them. It's a strange thing. If I hadn't died, I would never have found out. I have so many foreign neighbors." She wrinkled her nose. "I lived when Lord Morkin was presiding over government affairs. Not long after he inherited the title, he was taken away by the messengers of the Three Gods because he believed in a cult."
"Evil God?" Della raised her eyebrows.
"Messenger of the Three Gods?" Uriel said at the same time.
"Obviously, they can't coexist," the ghost pointed out scornfully. "Which one do you want to ask? Wait, aren't you two together?"
"It's not important." The apprentice once again took over the conversation before Della, earning a glare from the latter. "I want to understand that it doesn't matter when Morkin Hesser was the lord. Let's talk about the evil god first." She gave up.
"In my time, there were only three faiths in Aurenia, Otto, the god of destiny, Gaia, the goddess of order, and Lucia, the goddess of light. All mortals are the objects of their mercy and grace, so our faith belongs to them. "
Even in his dream, Uriel never expected that she would say this: "Goddess of Order? Shouldn't it be Lucia?"
Della rolled her eyes. "Let's be clear, Ash. You have a missionary from Gaia right in front of you."
"I'm not passing..."
"Maybe I remembered it wrong." The ghost replied nonchalantly, "I don't believe in Gaia anyway. I have only been to Lucia's church. Whatever." She glanced sideways at the apprentice, "I guess you are the same. Pious missionaries won’t bother us.”
Uriel never talked to the dead. "What is the evil god?"
"Beliefs other than the three gods count." Ai Xi replied, "Because only the three gods protect mankind."
"What about the natural elves and dwarves?" Della asked curiously, "What about the demi-humans and orcs? They also believed in three gods during the ancestors' period?"
The ghost looked at her in surprise: "You mean slaves? They are not Aurenians."
"There is no more Oregna now."
"I know." She didn't care. "The brown elf said it too. But that doesn't mean that I think the same as you. I lived during the Empire, under the rule of Malkin Husse and his stupid evil doctrines." , the latter is not very reasonable, but it is true. When I was killed by evil gangsters, my fate ended."
"What a mess," Della muttered. "Savage and chaotic."
The apprentice was sure that she was talking about the ancestors and Aurenia, but the ghost obviously understood wrongly: "That's right. All the alien races are slaves. Even if they are free, they will all become thieves and liars."
"From Lucia's point of view, they became thieves and liars obviously because they had nothing but freedom." Uriel pointed out, "Their 'masters' don't pay, right?"
"I don't know." Ghost said, "Our family has never dealt with foreigners."
After all, the ancient times were different from today, so Uriel tried his best to understand Ashe's thoughts. I cannot live in Aurenia in her stead. So he asked, "What will be the consequences if we don't do this?"
"This house once belonged to another Lucian believer. They loved everyone, including foreigners. Later they went bankrupt and had to mortgage the house to the old lord. I couldn't redeem it until I died." The ghost shook his head, " You deserve it! We were still fighting the dwarves at that time. How can we care about the enemy?"
"How is this going?"
"They sold grain to aliens," Ai Xi said indifferently. "They were then reported as collaborators. A foreign prisoner testified and swore that the family provided food for the enemy... so the judicial authorities raided their home."
"A foreigner testifies?" Della couldn't believe it, "This family is helping them."
"There is probably a conspiracy here." Uriel concluded.
"Conspiracy? No. Help chickens and dogs, and they will reward you with loyalty and eggs; help aliens, and you can only gain this." Ashe said coldly, "Master Malkin should drive these guys out of the city! He is a Trash. My son was killed by them."
The apprentice shut his mouth.
"This is his fault. There is no doubt about it." So the ghost continued, "Morgin Hesser is a complete idiot. He was born in the Hesser family, and he was able to abandon the three gods and worship the evil god! I know, he I want the power of eternal life so that I can stand out among the brothers."
Della couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, but Uriel stopped her in time to ask about the unreasonableness in Ashe's words. Otherwise the topic will extend to other areas, and there is no need for me to waste my time.
"And that evil god... let me tell you the truth, it is simply a deceptive thing passed down by witches! They relied on it to trick people into eating and drinking, and received all the benefits. Then when the war came, they fled back to the south and took them away. The so-called believers who are favored by God are left behind. This is the envoy trusted by the lord. Bah!"
"Witch?" Uriel asked. In the dream, the ghost made no mention of the source of his faith. It doesn't matter, he has learned to guide the other person's confession. "She must not be the Lyre Witch of Otto, the God of Destiny."
"Yes. They called themselves the White Moon Witches. Later, the three gods sent their real envoys to prove that the White Moon Witches were Alan Wo's spies, and gave Mojin a good lesson." The ghost said happily, "Since then From now on, such a huge and stupid thing has never happened in Mortus."
"But it's a pity that you didn't live until then." Uriel pointed out.
Ash's face darkened. “The Brownies recorded these things,” she told them, “these little alien bastards who came in uninvited and tore through my house. They used my loom and my son’s sheets and never cleaned them. Hygiene. Fortunately, the Silver Song Knight drove them all away. If I am still alive..."
"Those people are the Paladins of the Glorious Council, not the Knights of Silver Song." Della corrected. "The Silver Song Knights have long since disappeared with the disbandment of the alliance. The Holy Knights will destroy ghosts, so you must not run into them."
"Disappeared? No. The Silver Song Knights may have been disbanded, but the Silver Song Knights will always exist, especially the 'Victors'." Ghost didn't believe it.
"Lord Veronkar died after the Dawn War. It is believed that his death caused the schism of the Mysterious Realm."
"There are obviously many reasons for this." Because of his dream experience, Uriel quickly interrupted the psychic, "We can't jump to conclusions. Okay, now that the origin of the evil god is clear, now it's time to talk about the messengers of the three gods. Yes. Whose messenger is she?"
"Otto, God of Destiny." Similar to the dream, this answer surprised Della. If I didn't have "spiritual vision", I should have the same reaction as her.
"Cloe Tower?" The psychic was confused. "You said it, Ashe. The tower in the Ancestors era was the detection station of the Aurenia Empire. It doesn't care about these things."
"That's true. We also thought it would be the Judgment Agency or the Mercury Temple. They had to send someone to deal with this matter! But it was a tower messenger who came."
"Maybe others don't have time? There was a war going on at the time."
"There is the Church of Gaia in Mortus. Although it is not guarded by the Silver Song Knights, the nobles never dare to take advantage of it."
Uriel examined the ghost: "You are very familiar with the upper class of Mortus, Ms. Ashe. Are you also an imperial noble?"
"It used to be. I married a very unlucky fool who opened a tobacco shop in his home. I persuaded him to switch to a more respectable business, but he thought I was just a talkative crow." The ghost woman shook her head, " This damn fool can't even do this! He offended someone and brought our family to this end."
Anyone who is in a hurry and has a clear goal should not be interested in the ghost's trivial matters, but the apprentice subconsciously asked: "Is that letter...?"
"A letter to my brother. This matter has something to do with him too! Darash. He shouldn't have come back. His studies have not been completed yet, and he should have had a better life." Ai looked at the spinning wheel, "We are the ones who are involved. Got him."
"what happened?"
"The previous owner of this house. They were sold and went bankrupt. Judge Pilker awarded the mansion to Cohen, and our family moved in." Cohen was probably Eich's husband, a tobacco shop owner in the ancestor times. "Later, Lord Malkin will execute the criminals in the prison as sacrifices to his evil god."
Uriel and Della looked at each other, seeing the shock in each other's eyes. "They died for this?"
"This is Master Malkin's decision. It's his fault! It has nothing to do with us." The ghost said sharply. It can be seen that she still feels wronged. "Black Bear killed the Lugers, not Cohen. Not me and my son! No. It's all Morkin's fault. He should have caught every Luger..."
"'Lugger the Locksmith.'" Della said, "It turns out he also lived in this mansion." Her look at Essie became strange. "And your husband, Cohen. Everything matches up! So you are the Cohen family."
Uriel was confused: "What locksmith?"
"The legend of Locksmith Luger's revenge. Oh, you are not a local and don't understand this story." The psychic explained to him: "Luger was a young locksmith, a decent man, and his guests and neighbors trusted him. Until one day One day, he fell in love with an elf girl. They had trysts in the garden every day, and Luger used the skills of a locksmith to unlock her slave chains, hoping to set her free."
"Sounds good." Uriel couldn't say he liked it.
"But this is illegal. Then he was reported by the elf girl's owner and escaped from Mortus overnight. People thought he was dead, and the elf girl was no exception. What a cruel man! He left his hometown without a trace. He told no one where he was going, so the master's search only caught the elf girl. The poor girl was soon sold to the lord, and no one came to save her. She was completely desperate, and under the full moon Commit suicide by drowning yourself in the river at night.”
"By Gods." The apprentice frowned.
Ash stared at them coldly. "It's Master Malkin's doing again. No doubt about it. Although I have never heard of such a thing."
"But this is not a tragic story. Luger fled to the outskirts of the city and was attacked by free riders in the highlands. He escaped by hiding in a tree hole and found a traveler with a knife in the chest. His blood had already The murder weapons dried together. The traveler died with his eyes open, unable to find this shelter before being injured. Thus Luger received his inheritance."
The plot starts to get interesting. "heritage?"
"The deceased was a rich man, and he had a plantation left to him by his grandfather outside the city. He took the suitcase with the seal and property certificate with him, and was going to Mortus to receive the ancestral property. However, these ancestral properties are now It also became a legacy. The locksmith buried him, used his superb craftsmanship to pry open the suitcase containing the seal, and took away all the belongings inside. With this god-given wealth, Luge settled in Grainstone City."
Uriel couldn't help it anymore: "God-given wealth?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention it. Luger was originally a believer in Gaia, but he later converted to Heather for that girl, who was one of the evil gods at that time."
Nowadays, no one dares to call Heather the evil god. Uriel thought to himself. Saint Valoran is one of the seven fulcrums of the mysterious realm, standing far above mortals and their kingdoms.
"Well, anyway, Luger needs this money to consider his future, and no one can resurrect the dead." The apprentice said, "What happened next? What happened to him in Grainstone City?"
"Lu Ge impersonated the identity and seal of a traveler and became a local rich man. During this period, he encountered dangers one after another. The traveling companions who came to Grain Stone City also had the idea of pretending to use their identity, so Lu Ge was attacked. He was framed and almost ended up in a dungeon. Fortunately, he broke free by picking the lock and was rescued by a kind-hearted widowed noble lady. They fell in love at first sight. Luger not only relied on the noble lady's family power to survive the crisis, but also became her new husband. "
Uriel didn't know what to say. Time was tight in the dream, so he didn't ask for details at all. Now that he listened to the story again... there were too many elements, and his face became stiff. "oh."
"What follows is a long emotional drama." Della shrugged. "The locksmith Luger still remembers his first love with the elf girl and did not dare to accept the noble lady's heart. His hesitant mood - he was afraid of the new love. The longing, the reluctance to let go of past memories - all are described in detail by the author. I dare say that the bard who sang this story was probably a delicate woman."
"But he accepted her in the end, right?" Ai Xi couldn't help but ask. Although we all guessed it, her husband did not play any serious role in the story.
Uriel rolled his eyes.
"Yes." Della replied, "They got married and spent a leisurely and happy time. But soon, the plague came, and the noble lady died of the disease together with one-third of the common people in the city, and Luger He was strong and survived death. Now this lucky locksmith has become the heir to the noble lady's inheritance, but he does not want to die alone in Wenshi City. He longs to return to his hometown and reunite with his family. He even wants to Find the elf girl from back then and renew our relationship with her."
Essie's expression was full of pity: "He still thinks about her?"
"Yes. Luger didn't know about the girl's death. He only thought that his sweetheart broke free from the chains and is now living in the forest near Mortus." Della sighed, "What a twist of fate."
Uriel didn't think so. This person's life style is really unflattering... The development of the story became boring, and he just wanted to leave quickly. Ultimately, what I care about is not the emotional life of the protagonist at all.
But Della was oblivious to his feelings. "So Luger returned to his hometown. He had changed his appearance, and no one could recognize him as the locksmith back then. But Luger also sadly discovered that his family and friends had already been executed by the lord, because the person he offended was the lord's relative."
"Is it Malkin Hesser?"
"I'm afraid it's this guy." The psychic said with disgust, "But the story uses pronouns and does not mention names. After all, this is an old story. When the bards sang it, they couldn't point to the lord's Nose." At this point, she couldn't help but laugh.
"What happens next?" The apprentice became slightly more interested.
"When Luger learned that his family had died in vain and the family property had been taken away, he believed that the slave owner had played a trick. Relying on the traveler's seal, he became the owner of the plantation and managed the business to flourish. In the aristocratic circle of Mortus Be famous.”
Ash's face turned cold. "This guy is targeting us."
"In fact, when the Lugers went bankrupt, your husband bribed Judge Pilke and asked him to move his fingers and force the Lugers to sell the mansion to you." Della pointed out, "To add insult to injury! It's a common occurrence in the Black City."
"It's Malkin Hether's fault!"
"But you are by no means innocent," Della said. "There is a large chapter about you and your husband, Ms. Ashe. And your brother Darash. Luger controlled the richest plantation, and he took you He was cornered and even planned to hire a murderer to kill someone. I think you know best what Cohen did."
Ash's outline becomes transparent.
"He wants to deal with this kid." The ghost confessed with difficulty, "I know this is not what the gods want to see, but we have no choice." She looked at her hands and watched them penetrate the wall. "It doesn't matter. I have been dead for a long time. Now, I can even talk about scandals."
"You didn't succeed?" The direction of the story is obvious.
"It happened that the messengers of the three gods arrived and predicted that a murder would occur there that would shock the whole city. Luger was able to detect the conspiracy in time."
Uriel understood: "He escaped murder."
"No. The murder still happened. But it wasn't Luger. The prophecy spread throughout the town, and even Cohen realized that the plot had been exposed. He fled the city overnight with his family, only to be attacked by free men on the way, killing his entire family."
Speaking of free men, Uriel inevitably thought of Joey. But Morkin Hesser, the lord of Mortus, was in his prime at the time, and there was at least twenty years difference between him and the old lord in the dream. This matter could not be related to the messenger... But when did Joey come to Mortus? Tusi's? The apprentice didn't know the answer.
"...In the end, Malkin Hesser was taken away by the messengers of the three gods and was punished. The locksmith Luger recovered his original appearance and spent the rest of his life on the bank of the river where the elf girl threw herself. ” Della gives the ending of the story. "'Lugg the Locksmith' became a household name in Compass Heights."
"It's better to say 'Good Luck Luger.'" Uriel made a pertinent comment, but no one matched it.
"No, that doesn't make sense!" Ash yelled, "It's just a lie!"
"Of course, my evaluation cannot be subjective..."
"Who cares about your opinion? That girl lied! It was the damn locksmith who hired Nightingale to murder us in the mansion. He wants revenge on us."
