April 18, 1879
The wind is blowing.
But the rain in the sky never stopped.
A flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and the thunder roared to the world with its unexpressable anger.
The dark sky was torn apart by thunder, and the sound of dripping rain and howling wind drowned out the hustle and bustle of the world.
People's vision is obscured by raindrops, and they cannot see the sun in the distance.
Only darkness and the occasional bright white brought by lightning formed the main color of the world.
Such heavy rain has lasted for three days.
The strong wind kept trying to blow away the rain in the sky, but the rain fell to the ground like spider silk in the wind.
The original potholes on the cobblestone road could no longer hold more rainwater.
Rainwater mixed with dust and dirt on the road and other debris into a black, sticky mud that blocked every corner of the sewer.
The original inhabitants of the sewers, rats, and insects also fled upwards one after another, leaving that filthy place.
—————
Hermann's
“Wow wow wow wow!”
Young Albert hated the annoying sound of rain and cried hard.
"Honey, could our good boy be quiet for a moment? My head is about to explode."
Herman said softly to Kirk.
Kirk waved her hands helplessly, indicating that she was powerless. She said,
"Since the rain began to fall,
Albert cried all the time except when he was sleeping and eating.
I tried playing the piano, but that obviously didn't help much.
It seems that this child doesn’t like rain.”
—————
The shops along the street were closed one after another.
Anyway, there won't be any other customers coming here except those disgusting cockroaches and annoying flies.
In this battle of wind and rain, it is the groups living on the ground who are affected the most.
Provent and Philip worked hard to nail the warehouse door with planks and nails.
Who would have thought that this rain would last for three days in a row, causing the sewers to be overloaded and resulting in flooding in the streets.
"Damn it, what are the people in the Water Bureau doing? They can't even fix a sewer, and they still collect our lovely gold marks every month!"
Purvent complained.
Puwente is in a very bad mood now.
In addition to wheat, the warehouse also has spices and salt, which are specialties purchased from all over the place at great expense.
Wheat will mold due to rain, and spices will deteriorate into useless waste. Perhaps we can use their last value as pig food.
The salt will combine with rainwater and eventually nothing will be harvested.
This means that with the loss of countless lovely gold marks in this storm,
For Puvent, the lost gold marks were enough for him to eat many of Boss Mills's black pepper roasted pork knuckles.
"Oh no, rat hole!"
Puvent uttered a wail;
I found that all the wooden boards had been used up, so I had to temporarily seal the rat hole with sandbags.
This means that there is another place where water will enter.
Seeing Puwent's embarrassment, Philip smiled slightly and thought to himself,
"This silly dad is really cute."
Puwente gritted his teeth and dismantled the chairs in the grocery store.
Then he used the wooden seat of a chair to seal the last leaking spot in the warehouse.
The father and son were sweating all over, sitting on the ground, smiling at each other.
Although the two usually don't have a very good relationship and don't interact like they did when Philip was young, at this moment they seem to have reconciled and returned to that close father-son relationship.
In the past, young Philip would always ride on Purvant's shoulders, laughing happily, and the two would play and fight in the streets.
And the red-haired mother Ariana would sit nearby and giggle.
Those days are really warm.
Puvent tried to break the silence and said to his son Philip,
"son,
I know you haven't talked much since your mother passed away.
You must be very sad.
I understand,
Because I love her as much as you do, my Ariana.
But I want you to know that you can tell me something.
You can rely on me, and I hope you can open your heart and let me be your support."
Philip shook his head, looking at his father who was getting older and older with the erosion of time.
The black hair on my father's head has become mottled, with streaks of silver.
Philip sighed and said,
"Father, I don't hate you or blame you.
I can understand that you like to have a drink occasionally. This is a common hobby among men. Besides, alcohol is the best anesthetic for you.
It would be even better if you could come back sober without me having to help you get dressed and put you to bed."
Pwente looked at Philip;
I have a feeling that my son has grown up, matured, and can take care of others.
He felt a sense of comfort in his heart.
Moreover, Philip, contrary to his usual behavior, actually spoke out so many of his true feelings in a row today, which was really surprising.
"My dear son, I will drink less in the future. I swear on Gold Mark!"
Puvent patted his chest and said confidently.
"I hope so, my father. Father, what do you think of mother...what kind of person is she...in your heart?"
Philip shrugged helplessly, a little helpless, hesitant to speak, and explained hurriedly as if he was in a hurry to cover up some secret.
"You know, she left us when I was seven years old. I don't remember much about her except that she had beautiful red hair."
Philip's words evoked Purvent's memories. Purvent was immersed in the memories of the past and narrated slowly.
"she,
In my memory,
The most beautiful flower in the world, the brightest rose,
In my heart, I will never forget every minute she spent with me.
She has a strong personality, bold style, and likes to challenge impossible things.
Maybe that's why she chose to work as a journalist in the city of Umr
She often likes to rush to the blockade of the security team and use her writing to record various accident scenes a few meters away.
She also likes to embarrass the mayor with pointed questions.
She once had a thick notebook in which she kept a messy record of her discoveries.
Of course, the notebook is still there, and I have never thrown away anything that belonged to her.
It's just that I can't understand her scribbled words and symbols.
Those reporters, like spies, have a set of codes or secret codes for quick recording.
It is even more impossible for an outsider like me who can barely read to understand it.”
Philip pondered over the clues his father had inadvertently revealed.
He always thought that there was something fishy about his mother's death, but the rough-minded Puvent was too sad at the time and missed those clues.
Philip's intuition told him that there was a conspiracy, but he alone might not be able to unravel the mystery behind the incident.
"I'm afraid the mother was involved in a troublesome case, which led to the accident."
Philip analyzed it calmly in his mind.
When Philip was a child, he saw strange and distorted marks on his mother's notebook.
Although the marks on the book are not complete,
But Philip, who had special spiritual power, sensed the existence above the nebula.
The figure was so vast and majestic that the word "majestic" was not enough to describe its greatness.
This memory has already faded.
But a few days ago at Albert's full moon party, Philip saw the mark again.
This time it was a complete mark, no longer the incomplete part in my mother's notes.
Philip was horrified and shocked.
The first thing he thought of was his mother's death. Maybe it was related to this mark, or maybe it was related to Elphis.
But at the same time, countless low voices appeared in his ears.
It is the language of filth, the whisper of the blasphemer;
It is not a human language, but its meaning can be understood.
Carcosa, Carcosa,
Where the twin spirits of the stroke sleep,
When the stars shine, your song goes unheard.
Wearing the crown of sin, and the rags of a king,
Enjoy my soul,
The Lost King of Carcosa.
Grant me the joy of transcending death,
The revelers of Carcosa.
Such filthy words almost broke Philip's soul defenses, driving him crazy on the spot.
Fortunately, he was holding the glass in his hand at the time, and Philip used his remaining sanity to loosen his fingers.
The sound of breaking glass interrupted the mental pollution, and Philip inadvertently saved himself and Yudkau, who was on the verge of collapse.
Long ago,
Philip has made up his mind not to pursue his mother's death, but when this evil mark appears before his eyes again,
Philip decides to break his vow because the truth may be right in front of him.
The person behind this ominous mark might be the culprit who killed his mother.
So Philip has been looking for opportunities to secretly seek clues from his father.
He was smart enough not to ask his father directly about his mother's death.
Instead, he chose to complete the logical puzzle he had figured out step by step with the help of information his father inadvertently revealed.
Because Philip knew his father's character, that kind of thick nerves and big mouth that couldn't bear secrets might mention these things in public after being drunk and thus be targeted by the mysterious organization of the mark.
So Philip understood that this time,
Although I really want to rely on my father, I can only use my own wisdom to infer.
Philip quickly deduced the available clues in his mind. The mark was obviously the most important, but his father probably didn't know it.
Hiss, in addition to that notebook, there is another key point that has been overlooked!
Elphis Wassap!
Philip pretended to be innocent and asked Pwente,
"So, who was the one you had some conflicts with at the party?"
Puwente was stunned and replied,
"That's your cousin.
Your mother's cousin,
I don't like this man. His name is Elvis Wassap. He looks like a gentleman businessman.
But he gave me the impression of a poisonous snake lurking in the dark, ready to pounce and bite you at any time.
I don't like this kind of person, so I rarely interact with him.
But you had contact with him when your mother was still alive.
During that period I was busy dealing with businessmen from Southeast Asia, so I had no idea what they were discussing specifically.
Hey, let me tell you something.
Before he became a successful businessman, he had a beautiful wife who later disappeared.
Some people speculated that he sold his wife to a wealthy businessman to get the funds to start his business.
I'm telling you, if you see him next time, stay as far away from him as possible."
After saying this, Puvent stared at Philip very seriously.
This is the care from the father and also an interaction between father and son, Puvent thought.
Philip nodded to show that he understood, but he sighed in his heart. In order to find out the truth, he had to contact this cousin.
The rain outside is gradually getting lighter. You can tell from the sound of the rain that it is gradually becoming less and less. Maybe the sky will clear up soon.
Puwente was in a very good mood at this time. He felt that his relationship with his son had made a breakthrough.
Maybe it would be a good idea to wait until the rain stops and have a drink at the Black Pepper Bar to celebrate.
—————
Black Pepper Bar
As the rain poured down, the crowds in the Black Pepper Bar were not as lively as usual, with only a few drunkards slumped in the corner.
Boss Mills saw the heavy rain outside and didn't have the heart to throw these guys out. There was not much business anyway, so he just let them stay in the corner.
Boss Mills and the bartender carefully cleaned every corner of the bar to ensure that the bar remained spotless. This was Boss Mills' almost pathological cleanliness.
Squeak.
This is the sound of the door of Black Pepper Bar being pushed open.
Boss Mills suddenly looked up. The visitor came to the Black Pepper Bar in the pouring rain.
Perhaps for a special purpose, Boss Mills entered a tense state and sensed danger.
The visitor was wearing a black cloak, and large raindrops could be seen sliding down the sides of the cloak. This was the result of him rushing on the road in the heavy rain.
"A-choo! I'm freezing to death..."
A familiar voice came from under the hood, and the man reached out and lifted the hood back, revealing his true face. It turned out to be the very embarrassed Dr. Youdekao.
"Hey, Boss Mills, I'm here, didn't you expect it?"
Yudkau said hello to Mr. Mills and asked the bartender,
"Can I have a cup of hot coffee? I'm freezing to death. Please."
The bartender nodded and went to make some coffee.
Mills looked at Dr. Yudkau and asked,
"It's such a big storm, why are you coming to my place instead of staying at home?"
Apparently, Mills, who said this, had not let down his guard yet.
That is a sense of crisis developed from years of experience at sea.
Whenever you encounter danger, it is always right to be cautious.
Although the person in front of him was an old customer, You Dekao, his instinctive sense of crisis still prevailed.
"Oh, my vicious wife drank too much again and was angry at home. She almost hit me on the head with a beer bottle.
If I don’t escape now, I will probably be carried out by the coroner from the security team.”
Yu Dekao smiled bitterly and laughed at himself.
Mills nodded and handed Yudkau a dry towel and a hot towel. It was obvious that he believed what Yudkau said and let down some of his vigilance, showing such a friendly attitude.
"Go to the bathroom and dry yourself with a dry towel, then warm yourself with a hot towel.
I don't want to see your skinny body and ugly beer belly in the hall."
Mills teased.
Youdekao took the towel, said thank you and went to the bathroom to wipe himself.
As Yudkao walked away, Mills temporarily put down the cleaning work in his hands and thought about the source of the sense of crisis just now.
He wasn't sure whether the feeling of being stared at by a poisonous snake came from Yudekao, and based on his understanding of Yudekao, Yudekao was a cowardly man, and this aura was obviously in great contradiction with himself.
This ominous aura reminded Mills of an adventure he had as a sailor at sea.
Their ship was nearly stranded,
But the goddess of luck did not abandon their lives at that time.
Instead, their crew members were able to swim safely to a nearby deserted island.
There is no one on the deserted island, but there are huge stone tablets everywhere, and there is an altar in the middle of the island.
There are countless skeletons entangled together. From the skeletons, you can tell that there are men, women, old and young, and even animal skeletons mixed in.
These skeletons were twisted into a towering bone tower, with some skeletons' ribs connected to the skull and some jawbones attached to the fibula.
The structure of these skeletons is beyond human imagination, as if these bones are supposed to be twisted and hideous.
At that time, Captain Mills shared a terrible guess with everyone. They were instantly conquered by fear, and some of them even lost their minds and shouted loudly on the spot.