In the afternoon, in Xiacheng District, the door of a broken bar was pushed open.
The smell of cigarette smoke and low-quality alcohol was so strong that it almost choked you, pouring out from the door, almost making you choke. In the noisy bar, the men smoking cigarettes and playing cards turned back and looked at the door.
In the dazzling sunlight at the door, there is a silhouette holding a cane. He is wearing a top hat and is well-dressed, which seems to be incompatible with this place.
Just the moment they saw that figure, everyone couldn't help but shiver and tense up: in the blur, there seemed to be a pair of eyes looking at them, breathtaking.
Even though he was far away, he saw his own reflection, which looked as pale as a dead body falling into the abyss.
At the end of the bar, the old man with his back to the door turned around. When he saw him, he was stunned for a moment, and then waved his hand to signal everyone to get out.
After everyone left, the visitor sat opposite him, took off his hat and placed it on the table.
"Long time no see, Mr. Guishou." Ye Qingxuan said.
Ghost Hand took a deep look at Ye Qingxuan, and the hairs on his neck stood up, as if he had seen something extremely ghastly.
Not seen for a few days... He became stronger again.
Even Guishou gradually became fearful.
"Mr. Holmes, you have become a lot more scary lately."
"Not what I want."
Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly: "To be honest, I would rather wear sunglasses and come to the door, but unfortunately, wearing them is useless."
"It seems that you gained a lot from Shadow of Avalon." Ghost Hand withdrew his gaze and pointed at the cards on the table: "Want a game?"
Ye Qingxuan couldn't help but laugh, grabbed a ghost card and shook his head: "Forget it, I can't be confident playing cards with ghost hands."
He put down the cards, which fell on the table, but they turned into a red ace at some point, and soon changed back to their original appearance.
Red A has returned to the hands of Ghost Hand.
He dropped the cards and sighed regretfully: "It's a pity. I haven't been out for a long time, and my hands have been very itchy recently."
"How is the shaman's recovery?"
"I really want to say that I have recovered, but unfortunately... it's still the same." Guishou shrugged: "It's half dead, but at least it can last for a while."
"It's normal. With that kind of injury, it wouldn't be surprising if he died anytime."
Ye Qingxuan shrugged and handed him the list of materials in his pocket: "I'm here today. I hope you can help me collect the items above."
He paused and added: "As soon as possible."
Guishou didn't look at it, just waved. The bartender came over and read the note on the table. After thinking for a moment, he whispered a few words to Guishou in a low voice.
Ghost Hand said: "Four days."
"Can."
Ye Qingxuan was about to get up, but he didn't expect the ghost hand to place the wine glass in front of him and pour amber liquid into it.
"Since you're here, why not have a drink? You just scared away all the guys who were drinking with me."
Ye Qingxuan looked at his casual look that was half-smiling but not smiling, shrugged and picked up the wine glass.
"May this day always be yours."
The ghost raised his glass to each other and drank it in one gulp: "Is it still to your liking?"
"Good wine."
Ye Qingxuan nodded: "To be honest, your taste is better than I thought."
"In Avalon, the favorite drink of the lower-class people in the lower town is 'kerosene', a kind of mixed bad wine. They save money and drink just to get drunk. I used to like drinking that kind of wine, because the more drunk I get, the more I drink. The faster your hands are..."
Guishou played with the cards, changing the suits on his fingertips, and seemed to sigh: "Later, I got money and status. Wherever I went, people no longer regarded me as a pickpocket and called me Mr. Guishou. I became a superior Waiting for someone, I don’t know when my drinking became high-end. In fact, until now... I can’t even pronounce the name of this bottle of wine. The shaman always laughs at me, saying that I like to show off. But guys like me , being able to pretend is already very satisfying. Besides, people like me, with money in their hands, seem to have nothing else to do except buy some satisfaction."
Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment and asked, "Have you never thought about finding a woman? Maybe it will be much better after you get married."
Ghost Hand grinned: "I have had two lovers, both of them married, and one of them gave me a child. Unfortunately, the child's name did not last long and was not loved by the gods. These things bring me far more sadness than happiness. , Mr. Holmes, for some people, what ordinary people call happiness does not apply."
"Then you've never been happy?"
"Yes, but rarely."
Guishou poured the wine for himself, and did not force Ye Qingxuan to drink more. He just drank it by himself: "Throughout a person's life, how many times are there truly happy moments? Especially in a ghost place like Xiacheng District... everyone can only... Just try to live a less painful life. People like us who have done evil things may not be able to go to heaven after death."
Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes, "The shaman said that he wants to save you... Isn't there any change?"
"Well, if I have to say it, it's only a trivial one."
The ghost hand scratched his head and said, "A little is enough. Anyway, everyone has nothing. You see, Mr. Holmes, this is a place that the big shots disdain. It is full of stinking ditches, beggars, and prostitutes. Everyone is. There is no tomorrow for people, but the shaman tells us that people without tomorrow should live with dignity. Low-class people should also walk on the street with their heads held high, even if they cannot bathe in the sunshine with the big shots, they will still die. Then he went to the grave with his backbone.”
"Is this the 'rule of the dark world' he calls it?"
"Maybe, I don't understand very well."
Guishou said bluntly. Seeing Ye Qingxuan's surprise, he couldn't help but laugh: "However, I have always been honored to be able to participate in it. The shaman gave me dignity and told me that evil people like me can also have the value of living. Then, I will live for this value.”
As he spoke, he raised his glass: "Mr. Holmes, I can see that you are also confused. I hope you can find your own value one day."
Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment and raised his glass:
"—for your own worth."
After finishing the wine, the boy stood up and said, "I should go. Thank you for the wine."
"If you don't mind, come here and have a drink next time." Guishou said, "I'll pay for it."
"Thank you very much."
The young man smiled, put on his hat, and disappeared into the sunshine outside the door.
…
…
In the sword-railed underground palace, amidst the dark springs, the door suddenly opened in front of the young man.
Behind the door, in the silent library, only lights shine. The sound of Ye Qingxuan's footsteps echoed in the empty hall.
The door closed silently. Ye Qingxuan looked at the deserted place and raised his voice:
"I want to inquire about the Shadow of Avalon."
There was silence, no one responded.
Ye Qingxuan couldn't help but sigh, "I know you're here, don't act like a child and do me a favor. You've all helped me so much, and this one is worthy of me."
Just like a child having a tantrum, after a long time, the silence was broken, and the roar of bookshelves moving on the floor was heard one after another.
It was as if the hall suddenly turned into a Rubik's Cube, with layers of bookshelves changing along invisible tracks, moving from back to front, left and right.
As if changing like a maze, the darkness hidden behind the layers of bookshelves finally emerged, and the wind carrying dust and cold breath blew from it.
Until finally, a heavy bookcase with an ancient style slowly rose from the moving floor tiles and was pushed in front of Ye Qingxuan.
Immediately afterwards, the code hub above rotated on its own, and with the clear sound of metal friction, the six layers of shackles were opened. Immediately afterwards, the cabinet door opened, and the broken pieces of paper sleeping in the darkness floated out and fell to the ground.
They looked like they were pieced together again from the ashes of paper burned by the fire. The writing was dim and blurred, and would break again at the slightest touch.
There were faint voices coming from all directions: "... destroy... there are only so many... the rest..."
"Thanks."
Ye Qingxuan nodded, carefully picked up the broken piece of paper on the ground, and concentrated on reading the fragmented message on the piece of paper - this one was the travel diary of a certain enlightened musician hundreds of years ago.
He came by boat, wanting to see this pure white city, but late at night when he was about to arrive in Avalon, he woke up from his dream. His heart sound talent strengthened the "sixth sense". In the sense of crisis that came from unknown reasons, he panicked and ran onto the deck, wanting to throw himself into the sea and leave this place.
Then he saw that the entire Avalon was illuminated with devastating splendor in an instant. Then the light dimmed and everything was swallowed up by darkness.
In the darkness, he witnessed the entire process through the observation of the ether sphere: a shrill cry came from the dirge that seemed to be on the verge of death, and then, the ether sea stirred up huge waves, and the material world was also uneasy - King Arthur The "scepter" is collapsing.
The huge realm constructed by music theory enveloped the entire Avalon, pulling one-half of the life in the city from the material world into the etheric realm, turning into the shadow of Avalon, and has since disappeared without a trace. .
The remaining records ended here. Ye Qingxuan put it down and picked up a new piece, discovering that it was later scholars' exploration of the blood path and the analysis of the nature of the Shadow of Avalon.
They believe that the Shadow of Avalon did not disappear out of thin air - the basic law of the Change Faction has stated that matter will never be born out of thin air, nor will it disappear out of thin air - therefore, they believe that the Shadow of Avalon did not actually disappear out of thin air. "Another world" does not enter the ethereal state of the soul. It is composed of King Arthur's scepter, merged with the material world...
The next part was burned to the ground.
Ye Qingxuan hammered the floor angrily. What bothered him the most was that he stopped reading halfway through the book. This kind of author deserved to be arrested and hanged a thousand times.
He picked up the other fragments and found that the information recorded on them were all members of the Knights of the Round Table. Among them is "Parcival" who was beheaded by King Arthur...
Although many contents have not been settled, they are not helpful for what Ye Qingxuan currently needs.
He thought for a moment, raised his head and asked:
"Do you have any content about the Elizabeth Tower? I'm talking about the one in Shadow of Avalon."
In the darkness, those small voices were silent for a moment, and then sounded again, chaotic and noisy, like a dozen children talking at the same time, one after another:
"The Elizabeth Tower... is dangerous... scary..."
"Don't go anywhere near there."
"He doesn't like you... He doesn't like anyone... He will kill you..."
"He is very pitiful...don't make him angry..."
Ye Qingxuan was stunned: "Who is he?"
The small voice was silent for a moment, and then a voice with fear came: "He is the successor of the Knights of the Round Table... His Majesty's eldest son... He is a perfect man... He is the Son of Lament... The first inheritor of the curse... "
Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a long time, feeling as if a bowl of cold water was poured in from his skull, and it was cold from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
"who is he? Damn it, who else could he be
"Is he Maud... Red?"
In the darkness, the tiny sounds suddenly disappeared, as if they were frightened by the name and ran away - there was no more sound.
Mordred, Ye Qingxuan chewed this name over and over in his heart, and walked towards the front of the Anglo Historical Zone with a bitter expression.
If it is really him, then this time, I am afraid that I will have a big problem.