Since the police have found the murderer and believe they have discovered the truth, the case is closed. According to general rules, the innkeeper still needs to go to the police station to make a statement, but when Shad said he needed to talk to the boss, the sheriff immediately said that the statement could be made tomorrow.
"Well, I want to learn something about the local fire-worshiping tradition."
After the police and the murderer were sent away, the body was carried away on a stretcher. The anxious innkeeper, Mr. Thales, invited Shad to the backyard of the inn, which was the only place empty now. The two had a conversation next to the chicken coop.
"Well, I thought it was a tax inspection... Ahem, I mean it's no problem."
Mr. Thales was obviously relieved:
"I believe in our Lord, the Lord of All Things. This is the belief of my fathers. As for fire worship, I think it can also be regarded as part of the belief in the Lord of All Things. After all, fire is also a part of nature."
"But I want to know if there are any strange legends about fire worship in the local area? I am actually a writer..."
The bearded shop owner obviously didn't believe it. He thought for a long time before hesitating and saying:
"Indeed, my parents mentioned this when I was a child. It is said that under Mount Xikar, there is a huge creature that can spit fire. A long, long time ago, it protected the ancestors who lived on this land."
"How many messy things are there under Mount Xikar? Could this be the ancient one who sealed the passage on the top of the mountain? A flame-spraying... dragon?"
Xia De thought about it, and then asked hesitantly:
"What is that giant creature?"
"I don't know about that."
Mr. Thales shook his head, but added:
"My father mentioned that before the Church of Nature came to Tobesk, our ancestors believed in and worshipped fire. Later, our ancestors accepted the beliefs of the Church of Nature and recognized that fire was a part of our Lord. But even so, some symbols and records were left behind during that primitive period of fire worship, and were accepted by the Church of Nature as part of itself. Now in the Midhill Castle area, some Aboriginal people whose ancestors lived there would write specific symbols on the walls of their kitchens to pray that there would be no fires. This is also considered part of the local architectural style and folk customs."
What Mr. Thales described was the process of religious integration in the West Carr Mountain area. If studied carefully, it would even be enough to write a good paper such as "A Study on the Primitive Fire Worship and Religious Integration in Midhill Castle."
Unfortunately, Schade is not a folklorist:
"Can I see the inn's kitchen?"
"Of course, this way please."
He took Xia De into the kitchen, and Xia De indeed found some ancient or modern texts related to "flame" on the wall, but these did not make much sense.
He wanted to ask Mr. Thales something, but the innkeeper suddenly slapped his head:
"I remember that my father also left me a red stone to bury under the kitchen floor. He thought it would ward off fire."
"No, no, there's no need to dig it out."
"No need to dig. I don't believe in such superstitions, so I didn't bury it at all."
Mr. Thales said with a smile, and then he searched in the warehouse alone and found an irregular, nearly round red stone. It didn't look like a ruby, but rather like some kind of crystal:
"This is for you. Thank you for helping to deal with the troubles with the police."
Mr. Tyers said, but Shad still insisted on paying.
"If you look at it against the sunlight, you can sometimes see beautiful patterns inside. This is probably some kind of optical phenomenon."
Mr. Thales reminded him again, so Shade picked up the stone and pointed it at the sun. He kept trying to adjust the position of the stone, and finally, he saw a scene in the red stone.
It was a huge bird with its wings spread.
He put down the stone with a hint of surprise:
"This doesn't look like a pure-blooded dragon. Could it be a phoenix?!"
It was already 3:30 in the afternoon when he left the hotel. Shad was going to the intersection of Oak Street and Punjab Street to wait for Father Augustus. With his hands in his pockets, he looked left and right at the empty carriages parked on the street, then turned his head to look at the Sikar Mountain in the distance:
“Is there a phoenix in this mountain? In the local traditional fire worship, is the flame worshiped actually this?”
That shouldn't be a god, but just an extremely powerful ancient being.
"It's really interesting. How many secrets can this mountain and this city have?"
At 4:20 in the afternoon, Shade successfully waited for Priest Augustus at the street corner. He was still worried that the church would send someone to follow the priest, so after seeing the priest from a distance, Shade nodded to him cautiously, and then turned around and walked to the first alley on the left side of Oak Street.
Unexpectedly, the old priest caught up with him immediately:
"Oh, why are you walking so fast? Do you really think I'm a young man of your age?"
The priest asked, and when Shade expressed his concerns, he immediately shook his head:
"Don't worry, I haven't aroused any suspicion. After all, what's the difference between me and other missing persons?"
Since the priest said so, Shade felt relieved.
The two of them first sat in a tavern on the street for a while, and the priest told Shade what happened after he escaped from the narrow gap between life and death with the missing people yesterday. Then it was dinner time, and Shade unceremoniously asked priest Augustus to treat him to a meal at a restaurant in the city.
Shad risked great danger and went deep into the narrow gap between life and death to rescue the priest, which moved Priest Augustus very much. Of course, it was no problem for him to invite him to dinner.
The old priest, who was quite familiar with the city, finally chose the Mandongus Restaurant at the foot of the mountain in the south of the city. This restaurant is located in the southern suburbs of the city, a little remote, and is built against a cliff. The restaurant uses a pure wooden structure, with stairs and dining space built on the rock wall. Except for the relatively spacious first floor, each floor is a small room, and the size of the room is affected by the protrusion of the rock wall. At the other end of the room are several large windows made of glass. From the room on the top third floor, you can barely see half of the city.
The terrain here is very high, and it is not in the city. In addition, the prices are a bit high, so the people who eat at the Mandongus Restaurant are all rich people. People in formal clothes and dresses in the restaurant shuttled under the light of gas lamps. In comparison, the Augustus priest who changed into casual clothes and Shade who had no clothes to change looked very inconspicuous.
The cuisine of Midhill Castle incorporates the characteristics of the North, South, and mountains, forming a style that is different from the typical North cuisine of Tobysk and the seafood cuisine of Coldwater Harbor. In the current autumn, the price of mountain products is particularly low. In Tobysk, expensive game is added. Although it is still not cheap here, at least it is affordable for both Shade and Augustus priests.
This could also be because the Royal Capital region itself has a premium.
During the meal, Shad told the priest about what he had seen in the afternoon, and lamented that there were so many Carsenrick people in Midhill Castle.
"In fact, there are quite a few foreigners in Tobesk, but most of them are not within your range of activities. As for Midhill Castle, most of the foreigners who come here are businessmen, so you usually see a lot of them."
The old priest said cheerfully:
"I heard from the bishop of the local church that at least 20% of the permanent residents of Midhill Castle are not locals."
"Oh, that number is really exaggerated."
"It is one of the largest cities on the eastern border after all."
The old man stirred the thick soup in front of him with a spoon.
"If these people knew what was beneath our feet, Fort Midhill would probably not be as lively as it is now."
Shade stamped his feet, and Father Augustus shook his head and lowered his voice:
"Regarding the narrow gap between life and death and the possible outbreak of death shock, it is currently impossible to evacuate the citizens of this city in advance."
"Why? For the possible political and economic impact?"
"Of course not. Because... allowing a prosperous city to exist above the gap between life and death is itself part of the seal. The gap between life and death is connected to the real death, so there must be enough living people on the other side, so that it can be formed..."
"balance."
Shade said, understanding what the priest said.
"So, is that really... unknowable?"
He asked again, after all, the spiritual sects that were not Orthodox churches were just guesses.
The priest nodded cautiously:
"The narrow space itself contains three passages, which is considered to be a complete unknowable level."
The Desire that Shade had encountered in the basement of Aurora's mansion in Coldwater Harbor was also at the Unknown Level. At that time, Desire did not show any combat power. Now think about it, even if it had been sealed by divine power for hundreds of years, the opponent's ability could definitely not be as simple as what Shade saw.
“What is the church going to do now?”
Xia De also lowered his voice and used a knife to clean the steak on the plate:
"Behind that door, in the open space before the water, a red-gold bonfire is burning. Before that bonfire goes out, there will be no problem with the door at the foot of the mountain. And when that bonfire goes out, I will feel something."
The bonfire was the external manifestation of the "Kiss of the Tree" sealing the Death Gate. Because it was Shade's puzzle lock, even if the two were in different worlds, Shade could vaguely know the general situation. Moreover, his magic Death Gate could open a gap at any time, allowing Shade to look "over there" and confirm the burning status of the bonfire, so he could know the situation of the passage at the foot of the narrow mountain at any time.