"Oh, you actually beat him?"
The old curator was not curious about the strange profession of "Demon Scholar", but was very surprised by what Shade said:
"This is impossible. Stone Oxenfurt can lose?"
"But I really won, so I got into a lot of trouble later and came here to seek help. Madam Hela Osenfurt didn't want to tell me more, but it seems that you know something?"
Mr. Fernandez swallowed and turned to look at the holy emblem of the old man with the lantern again, as if it could give him strength.
Of course, this can really give him strength, after all, this righteous god really exists and is constantly influencing the material world. Under the holy emblem, even if he talks about demons, he doesn't have to worry about being discovered by the other party.
"Young man, would you like to listen to my story?"
He suddenly asked.
"certainly."
Xia De nodded immediately. He came here today just to listen to the story.
"It was not very long ago, about two years ago, in the winter of 1851. Stone and Hella Oxenfurt had just been married, and I was the curator of this exhibition hall."
The two got married two years ago, but this was the first time Xia De knew the exact date of the wedding.
"I can't forget what I did then, and I always hope that time can go back so that I can stop myself then... ... I learned from my acquaintances that Stone Oxenfurt has a very valuable antique stone sculpture in his collection. It is a full-length statue, which was unsealed from the stone about 200 years ago by a famous sculptor from the Randall River Valley."
The old curator had a sad look on his face, and Xia De understood what he had done:
"You visited Oxenfurt Manor?"
"Yes, I wrote to Oxenfurt, hoping to buy the statue, but he ignored my letter. I thought it was because I was not sincere enough. Although Oxenfurt's business was not as good as it is now, he was still a well-known businessman in the Randall River Valley. So I brought gifts, made an appointment in advance, and on a snowy day like today, I took a carriage to Oxenfurt's old house... That place is really remote."
Shade imagined the scene two years ago when the carriage pulled the old man in front of him through the snow and arrived at the gate of Oxenfurt Manor:
"What happened next?"
Fear spread across the old man's face again. He closed his eyes and prayed again before he had the courage to continue the story:
"I met Oxenfurt and his so-called friends at the manor. Oh, God, I thought I had come to a robber's den. They surrounded me and asked me to go to the reception room on the second floor. Oxenfurt was sitting in the reception room with a bottle of wine. Although he was not drunk, he was definitely not sober. I knew I had picked the wrong day. He was in a bad mood that day."
The old man tells of a day he will never forget:
"Although I also felt something was wrong, since I was already there, I still expressed my request to buy the statue. But Stone Oxenfurt ignored me. Instead, he leaned on the sofa, holding a bottle of wine, with his legs apart, cursing in a low voice, as if he didn't care about me at all."
"What did he curse?"
"I just wish I was deaf, but my hearing is pretty good. He just mumbled a few words in the ancient tongue and then started cursing... the devil. He used some very vulgar Randall Valley slang and some sailor words."
Shad knew that Oxenfurt had been a sailor before.
"A civilized person wouldn't use that kind of language. He didn't look like a businessman, but more like a highway robber. Although I was still thinking about the statue, I also knew that if I stayed there, my safety would be in jeopardy, so I wanted to leave."
The old curator, Mr. Fernandez, shuddered suddenly.
"He won't let you go?"
"He held the bottle of wine, took my hand, and took me to his sculpture studio on the second floor, where I saw the statue I wanted."
Xia De had also been to that workshop.
"In the middle of the room was his own work. He asked me to evaluate it, and then in front of me, he smashed a statue of a slender woman that was only missing the eyes. I can't describe what happened next. After the statue was smashed, the whole house seemed to shake. I thought it was an earthquake at first, but then I felt dizzy and had horrible visions that were difficult to describe with human senses. Oh, those visions still appear in my nightmares. I saw many dead people wailing, and heard screams that seemed to come from the world of the dead..."
The old man covered his forehead, as if he was a little dizzy. Shade then gave him a small glass bottle filled with a transparent colorless liquid. After Mr. Fernandez drank it, he immediately felt much better.
It was Holy Water No. 4 after all.
"See, as a demonologist, I do have some skills, otherwise I wouldn't have found this place."
Xia De smiled and said, and the old man was able to continue his story:
"The discomfort and the pain of my soul being shattered almost made me beg Oxenfurt to smash my head with the hammer that smashed the statue. But he just laughed, and I saw more and more strange scenes, black stone roses, color blocks without any logic, and twisted and dancing transparent human figures."
He held the empty bottle tightly, his knuckles turning white:
"If you hadn't shown up today, I would never have told this story to anyone again in my life. I gradually collapsed. Yes, I remember it very clearly. I was heading towards a complete collapse. If I hadn't seen some terrible things as a folklorist in my youth, and if I hadn't vaguely understood that the world is not as simple as most people think, you probably wouldn't be seeing me today."
Shad showed an expression of admiration. The fact that Mr. Fernandez could still remain rational under such circumstances two years ago was enough to show how strong his will was.
"I tried to escape from the house, but Ossenfurt stopped me, put the carving knife in my hand, and asked me to kill him with the knife. Although I was still rational at the time, I could no longer understand what was happening in front of me."
"Did you actually stab him?"
Xia De asked curiously, and the old man trembled and shook his head:
"No, I used to be a scholar, and now I'm the curator of the statue gallery. Neither of these two identities allows my hands to be stained with blood. I threw away the carving knife, hugged my head and huddled against the wall, wailing, and Oxenfurt got angry."
The old man gasped and turned pale:
"But fortunately, his wife showed up at this time. She stopped Stone Oxenfurt and told me to leave quickly... I can't remember how I escaped from the manor in such a mess. After returning to the city, I fell seriously ill and stayed in bed for a long time. It was not until the end of the spring of 1852 that I could barely get out of bed and walk normally."
"During this time, Oxenfurt didn't come to see you?"
"No."
"So you didn't go to the local church for help? You should also realize how unusual your situation is, right?"
Mr. Fernandez shook his head again:
"I was very ill and couldn't even speak for the first few weeks. After I regained my mobility, I'm sorry, I don't want to express my weakness, but I... I didn't dare go to church. I had seen the most terrible thing, the most incomprehensible scene. I just wanted to forget it, completely forget it, and never have anything to do with him again."
"But it looks like you didn't succeed."
"Yes, in the summer of 1852, driven by curiosity, I wanted to investigate the ancient words that Oxenfurt used when he first cursed the devil. I was really confused at the time. If I had done nothing and treated it as a nightmare, I would not have become what I am now... ... I really found out some things. Yes, I couldn't believe it myself. I actually found out such a horrible truth with just a few pronunciations. It was at that time that someone visited me..."
"Oxenfurt?"
"Yes, but also no."
Shade raised his eyebrows suspiciously, and Mia stood on Shade's shoulder and looked around. Because of the existence of this cat, the "horror story" told by old Mr. Fernandez was not scary at all. This cat has a magical ability, and every time Shade sees it, he feels very comfortable.
"The thing that visited me on that rainy summer evening with the black umbrella did look like Stone Oxenfurt, but I knew it was definitely not Stone Oxenfurt. It looked exactly like Stone Oxenfurt... maybe a little darker in skin, and completely black eyes. Yes, no whites in the eyes."
The old curator bowed his head and prayed again, and Shade waited patiently.
"He took away all my research materials and praised me for being very talented, but I knew too much and I shouldn't have gotten involved in his research. He didn't kill me, but he cursed me."
"What curse?"
"I must be watched by four different stone statues at the same time, all the time. If I fail to meet this condition, my life will pass four times faster."
The old man said softly:
"I'm not kidding. Look at how old I am. On the one hand, it's because of the serious illness, on the other hand, it's because of the nightmares, but more importantly, it's because of this curse. It didn't kill me directly, but it has worn away the remaining value of my life. I can't leave this statue exhibition hall. I'm imprisoned here by the statues. I think I probably won't live to see the next winter."
He coughed a few times, and Xia De blinked in surprise. When he shook hands with the old curator just now, he felt that the other party had a strong curse, but he didn't expect it to be in this form.