Chapter 4 beetle necklace

"White Mist Forest" is located in the suburbs east of Paris. Passing through the path with vineyards on both sides, slightly raised hills spread out in front of you.There are more than a dozen farmhouses scattered on the hill, and the treetops are closely connected. From the depths of the lush green forest, four minarets and a bell tower emerge, which is the city of Aigao. The forest is lush and lush.Parking the car on the edge of the hill, Robin and Mike hurriedly set foot on the path by the river.The lumberjack's hut was built right in front of the swamp, suspiciously quiet.Usually, you can also hear the chirping of birds.But at this moment, the forest has regained its depth and tranquility.Robin had an ominous premonition, and couldn't help speeding up his pace.

"Here we go, boss." Mike pointed to a dilapidated log cabin surrounded by weeds beyond the bushes.Next to the wooden house is a stone sluice built to facilitate drawing water from the river.There are very few people around. Mike pushed open the broken door.The dark room was filled with the smell of dust.Robin slipped in from the door. There are two rooms in the hut.The glass of the window has become old brown, and the light can hardly penetrate.The inside of the shabby house was shrouded in thick darkness.In the room in front of me, there was a dusty wooden table, two chairs, and a pile of firewood.

"Hey, Veronique. Are you there?" Robin shouted. But no one responded, only silence. "Is the old lady not here yet?" Mike said in a low voice, as if a little scared. "I always feel a bit strange. Is it from the room inside?" Robin frowned, and Mike frowned. "It looks like some kind of fur is being burned, it smells really bad." "Oh?" Robin was taken aback, he heard a small sound coming from the room inside. The two pricked up their ears and opened the door carefully. The dark room was filled with the smell of burning charcoal and burnt beast meat, which was very strong.Robin stared intently into the smoky darkness.

A large beam dropped from the ceiling obliquely blocked the front of the entrance.The left half of the room is piled up with broken furniture and waste materials like a hill, and the window on the right hand is blocked by the outer boards.That's why it's so dark. "Is there anyone?" Robin bent down and slipped under the beam.Mike followed behind him. They made their way to the window, weaving their way among the discarded materials, making their way deeper.At this moment, Robin squatted down quickly, and his toes touched a soft object. At first he thought it was a pile of tattered blankets that had been thrown away, but he was completely wrong.

The object groaned slightly, and it was clearly a person.An elderly woman lay prone with her arms tucked under her body. "Veronique!?" Surprised, Robin hugged her upper body. "Boss, I have matches here!" Mike took out a match and rubbed it quickly, the small red flame lit up, vaguely showing the figures of Robin and the old lady. The old woman struggled to take a breath, and moved slightly in Robin's arm.Her hair was disheveled and her face was contorted in pain. "Veronique, what happened?!" Robin asked desperately, and Mike's cry sounded at the same time.

"Wow! Boss, she has a knife in her back!" "I see. You can't pull it out. If you pull it out, blood will spurt out and people will die. Don't touch it!" Robin ordered sternly.The old woman's back was dripping with warm blood.Although it is not known who did it, it is certain that she must have been attacked by someone. "Veronique, who did it?! Tell us! Can you name the criminal?!" The old woman wrinkled her face in pain, she moaned, her lips moved a few times. "Come on, Veronique! You're not going to die." The old woman's eyes opened a crack.Her pupils were hollow and unable to focus.She moved her lips a few times.

"What!? What do you want to say!?" "... help... ladies are in danger... ladies will be killed... all of Vauban's family... killed...revenge...mummy's...." From between the old woman's chapped lips, a voice finally leaked out, an extremely weak voice. It was hard to even say these few words. Her wrinkled face dropped abruptly aside, her whole body convulsed. This is the end. Veronique died in Robin's arms. "what's up……" Mike sighed.The match was about to burn out, so he hurriedly polished another one. Robin stared intently at the gradually immobile old woman.

"Who killed her? Why did you take her life? This kind, innocent old woman, why did this happen?" "Oh shit!" Robin cursed under his breath.Then, he gently laid the old woman horizontally on the floor, and turned around to look at the waste materials behind him. "Mike, there's a smoky oil lamp down there, can you go and see if it still works?" After checking, it was found that some oil remained in the oil lamp.Mike lit the fire. The orange-yellow flames emitted dense light, and the room became clear. At the foot of the corpse, there was a small stove.The smell is coming from there, as if someone burned something there recently.

Robin put his handkerchief to the old woman's back and drew the knife out.Then he looked carefully at the bloody knife in the light of the oil lamp. The thick iron blade is slightly rolled and the hilt is richly decorated and painted gold. "Although the blade is sharpened, it is a rather old knife. Antique." "Is it something from ancient Egypt?" Mike, who was holding an oil lamp, leaned his face over and asked. "No, it's not that old. The era of building pyramids was around 2,500 BC. At that time, people generally used stone knives. This knife should be something long after that era."

Robin has stolen a lot of ancient art, so he knows this kind of knowledge very well. Mike pointed to the wound on the corpse, and said: "This knife was stabbed on the shoulder blade, the handle was tilted upwards, and the cut was deep. It should be a tall, strong guy standing behind her and stabbed her hard. go down." "Perhaps so. No signs of resistance were seen. It must have been a surprise attack from behind." Robin opened her right hand. What the old woman held tightly in her hand was a broken necklace.Attached to a thin gold chain was a curious jewel. This is a two centimeters, slightly oval jewelry.The flat underside is emerald, the raised part is navy blue, and the rest is painted orange-yellow.In addition, around these colors, there is a golden border.

Mike asked, "Boss, what's this?" Robin immediately replied, "Well, it's a beetle." "beetle?" "Yes. This is a beetle from Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that this beetle was the incarnation of the sun god and believed that it possessed mysterious power. Therefore, imitating this beetle created many handicrafts, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, amulets, etc. The orange-yellow part is the solid forewing of the beetle." "Is it worth it?" "Although it has archaeological value, it is not so valuable as a work of art. Maybe this golden lock is more valuable." Robin put the beetle necklace in his pocket.When sorting out the remains of the deceased, a waterproof bag made of Moroccan leather was found from the arms of the corpse. Robin put the contents of the bag on the floor.Mike brought the lamp over. Inside was a folded piece of old parchment, the corner of a worn bandage, and a small piece of stone the size of a cigarette case with hieroglyphs written on it. "There must be something written on the parchment." Robin unfolded the tattered parchment with a few lines written on it.Because the parchment is so old, the writing is pretty much worn off. "It's an old French saying. Well..." Robin read it. The Holy One closes the doors of the twelve and six o'clock. At that time, the water in the mist basin will dry up. In the treasury (pactole), let go of your feathers (plume) and wings (aile).New paths will open up to you. Those who followed the words of the skull's right eye groped their way to the cross. Those who follow the words of the left eye of the skeleton walk out of the room where the sun does not rise. "I don't know what it means." Mike thought about it. Excited, Robin shook his head. "It should be a secret code. There are important secrets hidden in this ancient document. Mrs. Veronique sacrificed her life to give it to you. This must have an important connection with the events that happened in Aigao City." "Is there any meaning?" "I can't see anything based on these alone. Other clues are needed. But, I have to interpret it anyway. For sure." Robin continued to examine the flake.He rubbed his fingers over the part where the hieroglyphs had been carved. "These words must be from ancient Egypt. Perhaps Dr. Vauban obtained them during his excavation." "What's the value?" Mike asked again. "It has archaeological value. However, it cannot be called a treasure. If there are no carved hieroglyphs, it is just a stone." "Can you read hieroglyphs?" "Although I don't understand the meaning, I can know what is written through the engraved pictures under the words. The face is a dog's face, but the torso is a human body. It is the great god named Anubis. In ancient Egypt , he is called the god of the dead." "Huh? Anubis?!" For some reason, Mike was taken aback when he heard it.But Robin, who was engrossed in studying the stone flakes, didn't notice. "...the biggest mystery is why Mrs. Veronique is using these things as her lifeblood? She must have wanted to show us these things. The question is what is the reason? Is it a warning. Or is it with Where are the clues related to the crime? Forget it. Now it’s a fog, but let me find out the truth thoroughly. I want to expose the secret of this incident, catch the criminal, and avenge poor Mrs. Veronique!" His eyes sparkled with vengeance. Mike also nodded: "I'll help you." Robin put all the parchment and other items into the waterproof bag of Moroccan leather, and carefully put it into the pocket of the coat. "First of all, we must find out who killed Mrs. Veronique. Let's look for evidence related to the real criminal first. Mike, please pass me the lamp. There must be footprints of criminals on the floor." Robin stared intently around the body, then moved the lamp to the floor and examined the two rooms carefully. "Thanks to the dust, there are some footprints. Two sets of footprints are obviously our two. There are three kinds of footprints quite different from ours. One of them is Mrs. Veronique. Who is the rest?" I don't know." "One seems to be a woman's footprint. But look at the other one, boss. It's strangely enlarged, and the sole is flat." "Well, it's true. The big ones are weird. Most people have anti-skid pads under their shoes, but this one doesn't seem to have anything... Oh, what is this?" Robin pointed to the broken siding near the door in the house in front of him. "which one?" "Is there a cloth strip or something hanging in front of that broken board?" Robin grabbed the off-white thing and observed it by the light from the door.This thing is about four centimeters wide and five centimeters long. It is gauze-like in texture and has been soiled with dirt and dust. "This is a bandage. This thing is very old. There is a thin layer of blood on it. It is very likely that the criminal was caught while escaping. If so, this is an important clue." "Could it be..." "what?" "No, nothing. Nothing." Mike shook his head apprehensively. "That's it. Wait a minute..." Robin seemed to suddenly remember something, and went back to the inner room again. "What's wrong?" Mike followed suit. "I'll look at the stove. Find out what's burning in it." Robin poked through the smoky fire with a spatula.Among the ashes, there are a few unburned firewood, torn old cloth, ashes of newspapers, burnt fur, small pieces of minced meat, and broken bones... Mike tilted his head and thought for a while: " This should be the cat’s body was also burned.” "I have this feeling..." When Robin said this, he had a puzzled expression on his face, and he touched the unburned ashes with his hand. "What's wrong?" "The ashes have not yet agglomerated, and they are still warm. It should have been burned between yesterday and today." "Did Mrs. Veronique light it up?" Robin stood up and replied, "No. The shovel is on the right side of the fire, but Mrs. Veronique is left-handed. The firewood on the right side is much charred, proving that the fire was lit from the right side. " Mike asked in a small voice: "Has this person lived here?" "There is no indication that anyone has ever lived here permanently. However, it is possible that they are temporarily hiding here." "Who is it?" Robin crossed his arms and answered while thinking. "For example, a vicious criminal escaped from which prison and hid here. Mrs. Veronique didn't know about this situation, and she used this as a place to meet you. Unfortunately, I met that criminal today. The criminal felt that he was trapped. Mrs. Veronique saw it, it was very dangerous, she killed her in order to silence her, and then ran away in a panic." "Is this the murderous demon she mentioned?" "Can't judge. But, maybe." Robin said so, and looked back at the messy room again.