"Besides that, it threatened me that if I told the church about this in any way, my soul would be tormented for eternity."
The old curator's tone showed endless fatigue. Xia De could understand his actions, but he could not understand the devil's actions:
"Even after all this, it didn't even think of killing you directly?"
"You can think of this as teasing me, or you can think of it as arrogance."
The old man bent over and said that Shade knew his whole story, but so far, apart from knowing that the demon was really powerful, he had not gained anything special:
"Arrogant, huh? Disrespecting the gods and killing people wantonly... I am not from the church. You can tell me about this, and I will not tell the church. So, what were the results of your research at that time? What did you know?"
"My memory is damaged."
Mr. Fernandez touched his head:
"I only remember that I found out that 'it' is some kind of evil spirit that existed in ancient times, even older than our universal calendar. Also, the fall of an ancient small kingdom called 'Stonewell Kingdom' that once existed on this land was related to it. This is an existence that is enough to subvert an entire country with its evil power alone."
It was just speculation in the past, but this time it was confirmed that the destruction of the "Kingdom of Stonewell" was related to that demon.
"So how else can I investigate? I need help."
Mr. Fernandez nodded:
"It's afraid of crosses. Not just any cross made of two sticks, but crosses that have special powers. This is the only knowledge that survives in my head. My instinct to protect myself keeps this in mind... Or maybe it's because it wants to give me hope and then plunge me into deeper despair."
As he spoke, the old curator showed Shade the silver cross hanging on his chest. It was made of blessed holy silver and was a relatively simple divine item.
This world does not have the faith of the hometown, but the "cross" itself has a special meaning in mysticism.
"The special cross-shaped relic may be able to restrain the opponent. With such an important feature, the doctor will definitely be able to get clues from it... Where should I find the special cross?"
He thought to himself.
Recall it carefully.
"She" said softly, and Xia De suddenly realized:
"Oh, so I have it! The Secret Keeper-level relic, the Profaned Cross! I obtained the divinity of the Vampire God with that fishing rod at the lake under Mount Sikar, and then I asked Granny Cassandra to buy it. It's the next relic that may absorb divinity! (Chapter 830)"
Xia De then remembered and smiled. This visit was really of great significance.
The old curator hadn't finished speaking yet. He vaguely felt that the young northerner in front of him had completely different characteristics from ordinary people:
"Finally, do you know Mrs. Hela Osenfurt's original family? Before they got married, Hela Watson's parents strongly opposed their marriage. Later, all the Watson family members died, and even the manor where they lived became a famous haunted house."
The old guard at the forest farm also mentioned this matter to Shad, but unfortunately the "Watson's Haunted House" was a rumor that only appeared three years ago, and it was definitely not the target of the Mithril Cube that had activated three stories.
"Young man, maybe you can go to the Watson family's old house. I believe that the Watson family did not resist their fate. Before they were exterminated, they must have obtained some extraordinary treasure. The treasure even had a strong effect on 'it', so that 'it' was so angry that it did something as eye-catching as slaughtering an entire family."
"Watson's Haunted House? Okay, I'll remember that."
This is another clue. Although he doesn't think ordinary people can get any treasure, Xia De is still willing to take a trip.
"Young man, you must be careful. There really is a ghost wandering in that house, and 'it' must have set up some dangerous servants to guard the abandoned Watson House. You must be careful. If you really feel that you can't handle it, run away, the farther the better. Although it is powerful, I can also feel that it is still afraid of the church."
The old man sighed, and he and Xia De turned to look at the snowflakes outside the window that were like goose feathers. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
If the demon could be dealt with in time, although the old curator's lost life span could not be restored, at least he could live the rest of his life like a normal person. Xia De could do nothing now, and could only speed up his investigation.
Of course, before saying goodbye, he did not forget the other two purposes of his visit today, namely the porcelain vase that was one of the three antiques sold by Cassandra Auction House more than ten years ago, and the history of the Granger family.
The vase was not Mr. Fernandez's personal collection, but the property of the exhibition hall, so Shad spent 20 crowns, or nearly three hundred pounds, to buy it.
As for the Granger family history, Mr. Fernandez, who was once a folklorist and has lived in the local area for almost his entire life, really knows more:
"It's a very old surname. When I was young, I had the honor of being allowed by the previous Earl of Granger to look at the family tree in his collection. Just the part I saw can be traced back to about 1,700 years ago. That family tree has no gaps and no omissions. It can be called a history book that records the rise and fall of the Randall Valley."
"What about 1,700 years ago? What was the Granger family like then?"
Xia De asked curiously, but the further back in time involved the changes of eras and even the Fifth Era. Even the old folklorists could not give a definite answer:
"I can only be sure that the Granger family's local history is definitely earlier than the 1,700 years ago that there are accurate records. In fact, among the current indigenous people in Randall Valley City, about one-fifth can be more or less related to the Granger family."
At noon that day, Shad and Luvia went to the Wilde Opera House again and dined with Miss Bernardine and Miss Lasser. The four of them carefully examined the porcelain vase and basically confirmed that it was probably just an ordinary vase, just like the statue that Shad got from Oxenfurt Manor.
Because the correctness of Shad's investigation direction had been confirmed by "Guardian Fleming" on the night of the Battle of Lake Eldron, the clue about the "Heart of the Earth" is most likely on the antique key held by Earl Granger.
Of course, Shad had confirmed from Cassandra's Auction House that the key was a bronze metal key, not the black wooden time key he was looking for.
Although the matter of the devil was important, Shade also needed to make some preparations in advance to break into the haunted manor, such as purchasing another batch of holy water from priest Augustus. Therefore, he did not investigate the matter of the devil that afternoon, but planned to visit Earl Granger again.
It's a pity that although the letter of appointment for the visit was sent out at noon, the letter brought by the servant stated that Earl Granger had been going to the shipyard outside the city that was about to be completed since yesterday to supervise and inspect the last few tasks, and would not return to the city until next week.
Therefore, it would take at least until next week to find out what clues the antique key held. The only thing left for Shade to do was to visit the Night Temple in the mountains and enter the haunted Watson Manor to look for clues.
The former required the assistance of Miss Benanis, after all, the mountain was too far away, and Shade was not interested in going into the mountain to find the way himself. The witch was willing to help Shade, but she was only free on Sunday, so going into the mountain was arranged on Sunday. The latter required further preparation.
So far, Shad had nothing to do before Sunday, so he spent the entire Friday afternoon at the Wilde Opera House with Luvia, and the purple-eyed girl really liked such a date.
Saturday passed peacefully. Shad was woken up a little early in the morning, as if to take revenge on the cat that woke him up a few days ago. Then Shad found a letter sent by Miss Carina, inviting Shad to her manor for dinner tonight, and saying that she had also invited Dorothy.
Although the group meeting was still scheduled for 1 p.m., Shad took Mia to Dr. Schneider's clinic at around 10 a.m. Because they had not told him the time, the doctor was still seeing a patient with severe anxiety and did not see Shad until 10:30.
"It seems you have a new clue?"
"Yes, this is a great clue."
Arriving at the reception room on the second floor, Shade detailed what he had gained in the past half week. Of course, the focus was on his visit to Oxenfort Manor, the night battle at Eldron Lake, and the news he heard from the old curator, Mr. Fernandez.
When Xia De, who was sitting on the sofa, finished describing the situation, the doctor showed an ecstatic expression and walked back and forth excitedly by the window:
"I see, I see, it was that guy. Very good, it looks like we've really made a huge profit this time."
"So, the other party's true identity is..."
The doctor's eyes seemed to be shining at this moment. The last time I saw him like this was when the results were released after the winter exams, when he heard that he had won the "Outstanding Student" award:
"It's the Stone Mirror Demon - Goethe, a very arrogant guy who likes to play with contracts. The so-called demon's true form this time is something similar to a stone mirror. It's not actually a mirror, but it has the function of a mirror. You know, the true form of the demon is always strange."
"certainly."
Xia De nodded and tilted his head to look at the happy doctor:
"So this demon is difficult to deal with?"
“It’s not very difficult, it’s quite difficult.”
Although he said this, the doctor did not show any embarrassment. He was in a very high mood at the moment. Mia was probably in the same mood when she saw the delicious food:
"It's quite difficult for others, but for me, now that we know the other party's identity, the devil can't escape from our hands! Very good, Shade, I said that meeting you is the luckiest thing that happened to me in 1853. Do you plan to visit the haunted manor destroyed by the devil next week? This will be a good opportunity to observe what means the devil has now and determine his current state and strength. You must be prepared for this, because there may be unexpected terrible forces hidden in the manor.