Shade stood up, but did not walk towards Mr. Lathers, instead he walked towards the restored pulpit. He came to the holy emblem, holding both sides of the platform with his hands, and looked at the soul under the moonlight as if judging it:
"Stone Oxenfurt is the second candidate, and your daughter, Miss Sirius Lathers, is the third candidate."
He paused, then asked:
"I have already informed you of the rules for the Chosen One and the Candidates. So, is there a situation where your daughter must be killed, and must die before Stone Oxenfurt, in order to prevent the guy who signed a contract with the devil from becoming the Chosen One?"
“Yes, that is the case and it has something to do with its planning.”
Mr. Lathers said, and Shade narrowed his eyes:
"I see, so that's how it is. I understand. So, you are actually..."
He didn't say anything, but stared at the soul. All the questions he had when he met the guardians several times were answered:
"You guys are even more amazing than I thought."
"Judging from your deeds, it is actually you who is truly remarkable."
Mr. Lathers said calmly, looking at Shade under the holy emblem:
"Ordinary souls cannot protect this land. We just did what we should do. Compared to the chosen one you described, you are more like..."
"No, I'm not."
Shade took out the red gem and the key from his pocket:
"You know them?"
Mr. Lathers nodded slightly:
"I originally thought that it would be Sirius who would eventually find it... Well, that's fine. The four gems can open the cemetery, and the key can open the door deep in the cemetery. That door... leads to the center of the earth in the Randall River Valley. The legendary heart of the earth is right there."
Xia De didn't smile, he had already guessed:
"What does it take to enter that door?"
"Heavy enough to understand the earth."
Therefore, Xia De still needs to continue to strengthen his "healing aura", but he does not have to wait until the source of the black mud appears before trying. As long as he gets the remaining three gems, he can try it at any time.
"Don't enter that door until you defeat the demon, or it will cause disaster."
Mr. Lathers warned again.
"I understand. If I'm not mistaken, you should usually be next to the Heart of the Earth, right?"
Shade asked, and Mr. Lathers did not answer:
"The guardians appeared in the early days of this era. There is no point in exploring the emergence of the first guardian. We all volunteered to protect this land. We are the same. The cemetery was built in the Fifth Era. People at that time discovered the door and built the cemetery as the second guard in front of the door. If possible, please do not destroy the cemetery. The owner of the tomb is also a respectable person. The first guardian is also the ancestor of the Granger family. He entered the depths of the earth because he knew the deeds of the owner of the cemetery."
"The owner of the tomb, Mr. Fred Lyman, is my friend, just like Sister Saint Perry in the Fifth Age."
Mr. Lathers closed his eyes:
"I see."
Shade squinted his eyes and looked at him. Mr. Lathers bowed his head slightly and prayed again. Shade actually had many questions he wanted to ask, but when he wanted to open his mouth, he found that he had already guessed the answers to most of those questions:
"Where should I go to prepare on Tuesday? Can I notify the Orthodox Church?"
So under the moonlight, the transparent traces of light gathered into a map, which indicated the location, which was quite close to the old cemetery of the Granger family:
"We can get the church involved. They can lighten our burden. If the source of this pollution is not properly handled, earthquakes and petrified plagues will accelerate."
"Okay, you guys have to be careful too. On Tuesday, maybe the devil... I don't know the full content of the chosen one's ceremony yet, but you can prepare first. Leaves, flowers, and fruits in spring, flowers, stones, and souls in autumn."
"OK."
The two fell silent again. Shade didn't know if the other party was thinking as much as he was. He only knew that maybe on Tuesday, he would be able to fully confirm the truth about the guardians.
Suddenly, they both heard sounds coming from the church courtyard, boots stepping on the snow in the courtyard, and gradually approaching the steps of the church.
"See you on Tuesday then."
Mr. Lathers said, but Shade stopped him:
"Don't you really want to meet her? Even if she blames you for throwing all the responsibilities to her, you should still meet her. At the very least, compliment her on the good job she's done over the years."
Mr. Lathers said nothing.
"Or, in order to thank me for purifying this land, I will meet her."
Mr. Lathers nodded slowly:
"OK."
So, the young blonde girl who came to the Forgotten Church on this night, after opening the door of the church, saw a familiar face standing under the beam of skylight, and saw Shad leaning forward and looking at her under the holy emblem in the distance.
Hillis Grande Lathers stood there in a daze for a moment, and didn't care that the small bag in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.
A moment later, she walked quickly into the church, but because she was in such a hurry, she accidentally fell under the moonlight.
She did not stand up, but sat there, covering her face and sobbing quietly. Mr. Lathers looked down at her expressionlessly, and waited for a moment before speaking:
"You've done a great job over the years."
The crying sound suddenly became louder. The soul turned and nodded to Shade who was high up, then slowly sank to the ground.
In the empty church, there was only the man behind the pulpit and the crying girl. It was cold and quiet here. The edge of the moonlight illuminated the hem of Miss Lathers's skirt, but it could not illuminate the sad soul wrapped in the skirt.
(Little Mia is running...)
"So, this is why you stayed in the Forgotten Church until one in the morning with Miss Lathers in your arms last night, and then were almost scratched by the cat at home?"
On Saturday morning, on the first floor of the Land of Plenty Inn, Luvia held a soup spoon and said with a smile to Shad who was holding Mia across from her.
"Miss Lathers was crying really hard."
Shade explained, taking a bite of buttered bread:
"For the first half hour, she hugged me and sobbed, then began to tell me about the hardships she had experienced over the years. From eleven o'clock, she began to scold her father for being irresponsible and leaving the cult to her... Actually, it wasn't a scolding, there were just some slang in her words."
Shad said, and after being nudged by Mia, he tore some bread and fed it to her. Dorothy didn't go to Shad's house last night, so the cat was left alone at home, and didn't see Shad until one o'clock. When Shad came out of the hidden wall, he saw Mia lying on the steps of the basement with a stinky face, looking at him:
"Luckily, Miss Benanis noticed that Miss Lathers hadn't returned home so late. She knew that Miss Lathers had gone to the church to get something, so she went directly to the church to find Miss Lathers and 'rescued' me. Otherwise, Miss Lathers might have stayed in the church all night. At that time, my shoulders were wet from crying."
"Miss Lathers just cried in your arms?"
Luvia asked suspiciously.
Xia De was a little embarrassed:
"Well, actually she was lying in my arms... Then I don't know why, I was comforting her, and she suddenly kissed me. You don't know, Miss Benedict came into the church and saw us kissing in the dark, her face was very bad. She must be very angry with me..."
"I'm not angry with you."
The purple-eyed girl murmured.
Xia De said with emotion:
"In my opinion, Mr. Lathers is really irresponsible. When he disappeared, Miss Lathers was still a minor. If she hadn't met Miss Benanis later, she would probably have suffered even more than she does now."
"Mr. Lathers must have his reasons for doing this. I think he must have encountered something more important."
Luvia held her face and said:
"And according to your description, his emotions towards Miss Lathers last night were obviously abnormal. How could a father treat his daughter like that?"
"Maybe we'll have the answer on Tuesday. I'll go to Miss Benanis later and ask her to notify the church and let them know where the big trouble will happen on Tuesday."
As Xia De was speaking, Luvia warned him again:
"You will be there too, so have the witch warn the church and don't get too close."
"I see."
Shade ate the last piece of bread and looked around:
"What did the association say about last night's earthquake?"
"The essence of the earth is decaying."
Luvia said a very scary sentence in a casual tone:
"The association had already determined this, but last night's earthquake was the final proof. The association headquarters has sent two 12th-ring fortune-tellers to assist the Church of the Sun and Earth in surveying. It is currently believed that the frequent occurrence of the 'Crazy Earth' phenomenon is the first stage, and the appearance of petrified plagues and small-scale earthquakes is the second stage. There should be unpredictable third and fourth stages next, and each stage is centered on a large-scale earthquake. In the fifth stage, the Crazy Earth spreads to the entire material world, and the material world is in chaos. Years of plague, poor harvests, and unpredictable earthquakes will destroy the foundation of our civilization. Although this will not directly destroy the world, it is already a weaker doomsday."
Shade sighed:
"The previous incidents were only regional, but this time it has escalated directly to a global scale... I understand. I have a meeting this afternoon, so I won't stay in the Randall Valley for long. On Sunday I will visit the captain mentioned by Stone Oxenfurt, on Monday I will go to the old cemetery of the Granger family, and on Tuesday I will deal with the matters mentioned by the guardians."
He put down his fork:
"When Yin Luna comes next week, the pressure will probably be less. However, it won't last too long. The Starry Moon is in the second half of the month, and early spring is very close."
"Spring..."
The purple-eyed girl tilted her head and looked at her lover across the table:
"It feels like so many years have passed since the spring of 1853. This winter is really long. When I return to Tobesk, I can take off my cotton clothes. I want to grow some flowers at number 6 Saint Teresa's Square. Is that okay? There are no living things in that house except you and your cat, not even spiders and mice. It's so dull. Oh, you don't have to take care of the flowers. I'll water them."
She smiled at Xia De, and Xia De felt that she had other intentions:
"I'll water it regularly."