"No, no, I'm just curious."
Xia De defended himself, and then couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Are there craftsmen who specialize in making fruit-shaped stone sculptures?"
"Of course. And it's even harder to carve a nude photo than a photo of a woman with clothes on. After all, we have to consider the proportions and details of the private parts... Don't look at me like that. I heard it from my friends."
Mr. Antonio spoke seriously, and then told the interesting facts he knew in a lower voice:
"I even know that someone commissioned a famous local stonemason to carve a life-size statue of a woman, but the upper part was stuffed with soft cotton and silk, and the lower part... ahem, just treat it as a local urban legend and don't say it was something I said."
Regarding this rumor, Shade didn't even want to touch the mithril cube to confirm it. However, no matter in which world, no matter in which era, men's hobbies really haven't changed at all.
Because the room was so dark, the gas lamps on the walls were lit up, making the atmosphere at 11 o'clock in the morning seem a bit like night.
Xia De's eyes moved away from the painting on the wall:
"Let's not talk about the statue of a woman, Mr. Antonio. I heard that the Stonemasons' Guild once made a movable statue."
"Yes, yes. This kind of rumor appears every few years. There are many legends, such as the stonemason who disguised the corpse as a stone statue to hide it after killing someone; or the soul of the person murdered by the stonemason possessed the stone statue to take revenge on the enemy; or the girl who longed for love died of a serious illness, and the love of the young man turned the stone statue he made into a real person... There are many themes."
Antonio knew even more about this than Shad did, and this kind of story was interesting even to outsiders:
"So what is the truth?"
"Mr. Watson, I'm just a writer, not a detective. I don't care about the truth, I care about the story... Well, I still care about the truth. I came here today to collect materials because I want to write a new script with a similar theme."
Shade smiled:
"That sounds interesting, mind if I come with you? I won't steal your idea, but maybe I can turn it into a pulp detective novel."
Mr. Antonio naturally wouldn't mind.
The playwright actually didn't have any good ideas for investigation. Like Shade, he came to the Stonemasons Association with the attitude of giving it a try.
So the two of them went to have lunch together, and then returned to the Stonemasons Association after lunch. At this time, the police officers standing at the door still did not leave. When they were sure that they were out of hearing distance, Mr. Antonio said to Shade:
“This time, the police will definitely make the association pay the price.”
"At what price? You mean the assassination? But that couldn't have been ordered by the Masons."
Xia De said, the middle-aged man touched his chin:
"But so what? The police don't care who gave the order. My friend at the police department told me that the identity of the assassin has been investigated. He was a victim of the collapse of the Colossus of Willendale more than ten years ago. He is disabled for life and cannot work. His wife left home on a rainy night eight years ago, and his only child died of illness three years ago... Personally, I tend to think that the assassination of Prince William was a personal venting of anger, but if you insist on linking it to the Stonemasons Association, it's not impossible."
"Because you are in the wrong, you want to retaliate against the victim twice as much?"
Xia De said suspiciously, and Mr. Antonio looked around nervously:
"Watson, don't say such things. Besides, this could not have been the idea of the royal family. It is most likely that the people below wanted to please the people above. And since Prince William was attacked, we must find someone with weight to convict him, otherwise the local police department will have to bear the responsibility..."
He gave Shad a look of "you know what I mean". Shad clicked his tongue and turned to look at the police standing at the front door. Mr. Antonio was still nervously reminding him:
"Be careful of the gray gloves... These people always have a way to find out what they want to know. Let's not get ourselves into trouble."
After returning to the Stonemason Association in the afternoon, the two did not continue to look at the stone sculptures waiting to be sold in the hall. Mr. Antonio did not have any clues, but when Miss Shadtorass was helping to collect information, she found out that someone in the Stonemason Association claimed to have seen a moving stone sculpture, and that happened last year, so the two decided to visit the witness.
The target this time was Mr. Peter Tolfor, a middle-aged stonemason in the Stonemasons Guild. He did not have his own separate workshop but worked in the Stonemasons Guild.
When Shade and Mr. Antonio saw him, this dark-skinned, muscular stonemason was taking inventory in the warehouse with his two young apprentices. He didn't want to waste time chatting with strangers, but after Mr. Antonio threw a coin, he stood happily among the densely packed stone statues and answered their questions enthusiastically.
"Yes, it's a moving stone. Last year, in 1853, I don't remember exactly when, but it was probably in late winter. I was drunk... I mean, after I came out of the tavern, I remembered that I needed to take my work apron home to wash it, so I said hello to the gatekeeper and came to the warehouse in the backyard, which is probably here."
He pointed to a shelf against the wall. There was a row of hooks welded on the side of the shelf for hanging things:
"When I got the apron and wanted to leave, I saw a dark shadow wandering around in the warehouse. Oh, I was scared awake at that time."
Mr. Tolfor probably has a talent for telling horror stories. When he is old and no longer works as a stonemason, he can make money by telling stories in the tavern:
"Gentlemen, you are all respectable people. You certainly can't imagine what the warehouse looks like at night. In order to prevent fire, the gas pipeline in the warehouse is closed at night, so the gas lamp cannot be turned on. I was holding a kerosene lamp at the time. God, at that time, all I could see were people in dense shadows, looking at me from all directions."
"I'm sorry, I'm not doubting your story, but are you sure what you saw was a moving stone statue, and not a shadow that was shaking because of the shaking kerosene lamp in your hand?"
Mr. Antonio asked suspiciously, and the middle-aged stonemason shook his head with certainty:
"I'm very familiar with these statues. How could I mistake a shadow for a statue? It's not a shadow, and it's not my eyes playing tricks on me, so it must be a moving statue!"
He had told this story many times to others, so he told it in great detail.
"Be careful! Don't you know the ground is uneven? Which bastard didn't tie the cart down?"
Suddenly, the three of them heard the warehouse manager's roar from the side, and then they saw a stone statue of a nun automatically slide towards the warehouse door, but fortunately the flatbed cart under the statue was pulled by someone in time.
Mr. Tolfor was a little embarrassed, but still emphasized:
"That was certainly not the case, I was certainly not mistaken... and it was not because I was drunk, I know my alcohol tolerance."
His explanation made his story even more suspicious.
"So what's your guess about that?"
Shade then asked again, and Mr. Tolfor nodded again:
"It must be 'Silent Old Fleming' who has appeared again!"
"What is that?"
Mr. Antonio asked, and Mr. Tolfo explained:
"Old Fleming was one of the founders of the Randall Valley Stonemasons Guild in 1108 C.E. He didn't like to talk and was only focused on his craft. His stone carvings were absolute works of art. Someone even auctioned one of them a few years ago for a lot of money."
He probably didn't know the exact number, but he just heard people say there was a lot of money.
"This gentleman was a low-key person by nature, and there were no cameras in that era, so he didn't even leave behind a single oil painting. He carved stone statues for countless people throughout his life, but he never carved one for himself. Rumor has it that old Fleming disappeared unexpectedly one day, and no one has seen him since then. But it was also from that time that people would occasionally see the moving stone statues at the association at night. This was old Fleming coming back, and he wanted to see the place where he worked before his death again."
"I'm a local too, but I've never heard of anyone with the surname Fleming being one of the founders of the Stonemasons Association."
Mr. Antonio raised his doubts, and the middle-aged stonemason said embarrassedly:
"These are all rumors among the stonemasons in the association. I have only heard the elders talk about them. As for whether they are true, I don't have the ability to investigate them clearly. If the stone statues at the auction are nameless ancient stone statues, they will all be named Fleming... But I have always believed that there is definitely a person named Old Fleming!"
This made everything he said just now even more unbelievable.
"Is there any news that I can trust?"
Xia De asked, and touched the silver cube in his pocket, but there was no reaction. Seeing the other party rolling his rough fingers again, he snorted:
"I want to hear the news first, the confirmed news, not your drunken experience or hearsay."
The stonemason rubbed his hands embarrassedly:
"Of course there is reliable news. Some time ago, someone said that the new janitor was turned into a toy puppet. You can go ask him."
There was no need to ask anyone about this matter, Xia De knew it very well:
"We are here to investigate the statue, not the puppet."
He emphasized it, and Mr. Antonio didn't get distracted by it.
The middle-aged stonemason thought hard for a while before clenching his right fist and smashing it into the palm of his left hand:
"I remember that last fall, the Church of the Sun sent several priests to investigate the entire association and performed an exorcism ceremony in this warehouse. I was here at the time and watched the excitement for quite a while."