At ten o'clock on Sunday morning, although the city was still shrouded in fog, the Place Sainte-Teresa was still crowded with passers-by as the autumn air deepened.
Last night's heavy rain washed the city. Even in the early morning, the autumn rain was still falling, but it was just a drizzle and did not affect travel that much.
Under the gloomy sky, countless black umbrellas touched each other and then separated, but this did not affect the well-dressed gentlemen talking to each other, nor did it affect the well-dressed young people walking with official documents. A carriage washed dark brown by the rain came from a distance, the horse's hooves stepped on the puddles, and stopped steadily outside the door of No. 6 Saint Teresa Square in the falling rain.
Dr. Schneider, wearing a black coat, got off the carriage and immediately jumped up the steps to the eaves. After paying the fare, he looked at Saint Teresa's Square in the rain and tightened his collar:
"It's raining again. It looks like it's going to get colder."
The carriage drove away slowly, but was soon stopped by Mr. Smith, Shad's neighbor who had just gone out.
The old man was dressed in a proper suit, and he must have something important to do. He also noticed Dr. Schneider, and after nodding to each other, Mr. Smith left in a carriage.
"I seem to have seen that person in the newspaper. Isn't he the former chief secretary of the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance? As expected, those who can live in such a neighborhood are definitely not ordinary citizens."
The doctor thought in surprise, looked up at the raindrops falling from the eaves like pearls, then turned around and rang the doorbell:
After a while, footsteps were heard on the stairs. The door was opened, and Xia De, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, smiled and looked at the doctor outside:
"You are really punctual. It's exactly ten o'clock, not a minute late. Oh, it's still raining. Please come in."
"Of course I'm on time. I charge patients based on the time they spend on the course. I have a strong sense of time."
The middle-aged man with blue eyes boasted, but suddenly twitched his nose when he stood at the door:
"When did you develop the habit of burning incense?"
As he walked into the door, he noticed something was wrong under his feet:
"When did you lay the carpet in the hallway? This carpet is not cheap, is it? I don't even want to lay such expensive stuff in my clinic."
Looking up along the carpet, I saw that it extended all the way to the stairs:
"When are you going to... welcome me? You don't have to go to the trouble of covering the stairs with flower petals. Are you going to borrow money from me?"
The doctor smiled and said, bending down to pick up a petal:
"Still fresh. Are these the flowers from last night?"
He immediately understood, nodded slightly, looked at the young man who was closing the door and said jokingly:
"This must be prepared for the girl. Did someone stay here last night? You really spent a lot of money on the atmosphere."
Xia De held the cat who had been sulking all night, hesitated and nodded:
"Yes."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."
The doctor patted Shade's shoulder:
"I understand young people of your age very well. I won't ask who the other person is, but you should pay attention to your private life. I can't guarantee what Annette will do if she hears about it. Oh, these flowers are not cheap."
They walked up the stairs together, and the doctor noticed that the entire staircase from the first floor to the second floor was covered with flowers, not just the area at the door.
"It wasn't my pound."
Xia De walked in front, rubbing his neck. The memory of last night was chaotic and hot. Recalling it, he still had some doubts that everything last night was just his imagination. However, this imagination was a little too bold.
That was not a dream, and you were still hugging someone and calling another person's name.
"You actually let a lady spend money?"
The doctor was a little surprised and had no idea what Xia De was thinking.
"It was indeed a lady's money, but ... it was one lady's money, for another lady."
The middle-aged psychiatrist frowned. Fortunately, Bill Schneider had rich social experience and was well-informed. He thought for several seconds and understood:
"Wait, there was more than one lady staying here last night? Oh, detective, I led you out of your blindness and stupidity, and I have an obligation to give you some life advice. I always knew that you have a good character, but why on this issue..."
"Doctor, it's not what you think. We won't discuss this! But I want to make it clear that I'm not that kind of person."
Xia De said while yawning. He had actually been up for an hour. He washed, fed the cat, cleaned the house, and prepared breakfast for the girls who were drowsily hugging each other. Although the power of the first fire was not as strong as that of divinity, it could make this body more energetic. He was not sleepy at all. He yawned just to cover up his embarrassment.
He hurried upstairs and changed the subject:
"Let's go to the third floor. I have a way to find souls, so I want to try and see if I can find the souls of Mr. Shelf Tim and Ms. Shana Aya."
When the doctor heard Xia De mention these two names, he was stunned, and then he stopped talking about Xia De's private life.
He sighed slowly:
"Thank you for keeping this in mind, but I don't think it's easy to find."
The two of them went to the second floor together, and then continued to walk up to the upper floors. The doctor saw that the door of Room 1 on the second floor was closed, and knew that the two ladies should not have left. Shad, who was holding Mia, also looked at the door, raised his eyebrows, and thought of his surprise when he woke up this morning and saw people leaning on his shoulders on both sides.
After waking up, apart from being kissed by the sleepy girls, what he was most worried about was what would happen if Luvia found out about this.
When he expressed this concern, Dorothy said nothing, and Resia squinted her eyes and answered drowsily:
"How on earth did she manage to stay overnight alone before... She's really amazing."
Xia De and the doctor entered the corridor on the third floor together. Xia De summoned the Life Ring and used the aura of real death to illuminate the center of the corridor. Two old black iron fences that were out of tune with the corridor immediately appeared.
Dr. Schneider stood hesitantly behind Xia De and heard Xia De say:
"May the end of eternity protect me before the end."
With a rattling sound, the iron chains that tied the two fence gates automatically untied and wrapped around the fence like a black iron snake.
"Shade, why is there always such a strange place in your house? Last time, after I devoured the Fire Demon, you also asked me to go to a door in the basement to calm the risk of losing control... How come I remember that this was originally the boundary between life and death?"
"I scrapped the traveler's travel door and found a way to install a door here. I don't have to worry about the border getting out of control anymore."
Xia De said, and then pushed the gate in front of him. As the door was pushed inwards silently, behind it was not the back half of the corridor on the third floor, but a foggy door with white mist creeping in it:
"Doctor, take my hand."
Xia De held Xiaomia in his arms and walked into the white mist with the doctor.
"This place is very similar to the dark dungeon you sent me to."
There are countless tombstones standing in the white mist. The square stone tombstone inserted diagonally at the foot is the clearest, but there are no letters on it.
Shade told Dr. Schneider about the general situation of the Soul Cemetery. When he heard that "any soul heading for death can be found here", the doctor immediately understood Shade's idea:
"If their souls have been freed, even at the cost of complete shattering, I can see them. If their souls are still imprisoned..."
He took the knife handed to him by Shad and carefully carved Mr. Shelf Tim's name, date of birth and death, and cause of death on the tombstone at his feet, but nothing happened after waiting for a long time.
"Try another one."
Shade encouraged.
The two moved to another tombstone and engraved the name of Miss Shana Aya, but looking at the thick white fog around them, there was still no soul.
This meant that the two souls were only abducted and did not reach their final destination, just like the souls that resided in the material world, which could not be called back here. Although the doctor had no hope, he still felt a little frustrated when he saw that he still failed.
"Doctor, don't worry. I haven't used this place before. Maybe we are doing it wrong. Let me give it a try and see."
Xia De encouraged, then took the knife and squatted in front of another cross tombstone, holding the cat in one hand and carefully engraving with the other:
Sparrow Sparrow Hamilton (Sixth Era, 1812-1853)
Grey Eagle
Eternal Loyalty - Carson Rick Grey Gloves Ace Agent
Died from the terrible death countdown curse
The flaked stone chips fell but soon disappeared. After carving, Xia De stood up and looked around with the doctor. Then he noticed that a black shadow appeared in the depths of the white mist behind the tombstone.
The shadow was far away in the white mist, but was approaching. As he got closer, the figure gradually became clearer.
The middle-aged man wearing a black deerstalker hat and holding a cane, staring at Shad with sparkling eyes, the soul of Sparrow Hamilton really appeared.
"It is indeed possible to summon souls here. It seems that the souls of Mr. Tim and Ms. Aya are at least not shattered."
The doctor tried to comfort himself, but saw Xia De looking hesitantly at the soul he didn't recognize.
Dr. Schneider didn't know what the story was between Shade and Sparrow Hamilton, but he encouraged her:
"Now that you've called him out, talk to him. You've inherited his estate, and you're his nominal nephew."
He knew that Shad was just a tramp and had no relation to Sparrow Hamilton, but he didn't know about the Gray Gloves.
"It's very rare for normal people to have the opportunity to talk to the deceased. Say something."
The doctor said again, then took a careful step back.
Xia De nodded and looked at the former detective standing behind the tombstone, only to find that he was also looking at him. The last time they looked at each other so closely was in the early morning of midsummer, when one person came and the other left, under the shining silver moon.