Chapter 20 Chapter 19 Sorrow and Divine Joy

The shouting continued to follow Cadderly and Danica as they walked off the bridge onto Lakeview Street.The fog had dissipated quickly, evaporated by the scorching rays of the rising sun. Calaton wakes up and turns into a slapstick scene. Lakeview Street was packed with curious people and city guards.Many turned to look at the young priest and his escort, water dripping from around the brim of Cadderly's soaking wide-brimmed hat.A lot of people pointed at the two, and soon a city guard on horseback pushed through the crowd and stood in front of Cadderly. "Are you the priest of the Mengzhi Library?" the guard asked directly and rudely.

"I am Cadderly, of the Denierian order," the young priest replied.As soon as he said the next few words, he turned to Danica and shrugged sheepishly, almost apologetically. "We're heading back to the Dragon's Fig Leaf, Fedegar Harriman's inn," Danica explained, casting a sidelong glance at Cadderly. "To see if the friend we were forced to leave behind is well." "Forced?" Cadderly and Danica knew the question was a test.The guard kept squinting at them, examining their expressions. "You know what happened," Cadderly replied without hesitation.

The guard nodded gravely, apparently satisfied with the explanation. "Come with me, hurry up," he ordered to them, and he used his horse to push through the crowd standing in the way of the two men. Neither Cadderly nor Danica had an easy time walking slowly through Lakeview Street.Because they are afraid that among the many pairs of eyes watching, some of them belong to the enemy who came to assassinate them.Moreover, judging from the serious attitude of the guards, they were also afraid that the victory in the hotel would also result in casualties. When they passed the inn where Ivan and Pikel were staying two houses away, the fear in their hearts did not go away.The railing at the door, the window above the front door, and the wall next to the door were all destroyed.The owner, who was sweeping up glass and wood shards from the front porch, eyed the two men suspiciously, and stared at them without blinking as they passed.

Cadderly paused and sighed deeply as the "Dragon's Fig Leaf" came into view.He saw the balcony outside his room—the room that had been his sanctuary for the past few weeks, shut out from the grim ugliness of the world.The railing in front of the balcony fell to the street, and the wooden slats that supported Danica's leap to safety jutted out at odd angles.There were no bodies in the street (thank the gods!), but Cadderly could see a crimson pool of blood on the cobblestones below his room, and another, larger pool halfway down Broad Street. Danica clearly sensed his pain at the sight, and put an arm around his, offering him support.But to her surprise, Cadderly broke free.She looked at him, wondering if she had done something wrong, but there was nothing accusatory in the way he looked back at her.

He stood up straight, took another deep breath, and straightened his shoulders. Danica understood the meaning of these simple gestures.This time, she learned, Cadderly accepted what he had been forced to do.This time, instead of running away like he did in Simista, he will face the threat head-on and fight back against those who attack him.But Danica can't help but wonder if he could do this without being haunted by a Barjin-like ghost for the rest of his life? Cadderly walked past her, smiled, and waved as there was an "Ooh!" from the Dragon's Fig Leaf door, and Pikel Stoneshoulder stepped onto the front porch.The dwarf held Cadderly's previously lost staff high above his head, waving a bandaged hand excitedly.

Danica paused for a moment, letting Cadderly walk far ahead of her, thinking about the shift she felt in the young priest's demeanor.The string of violent events forced Cadderly to grow, to strengthen him, and in a very short time.Violence can be mind-numbing, and Danica knows it all too well.After the first fight, the next ones won't be so difficult to bear; and after the first blow to kill someone, it won't be so difficult to strike after that. The young monk watched his lover stride confidently towards Pikel, and was terrified for him. When Danica caught up with Cadderly, he was standing silently inside the inn, and so were the two dwarves (to her relief), and a teary-eyed Fedegar Harriman.However, Danica suppressed her joy at seeing the two dwarves well, for she followed Cadderly's line of sight to a table in the hall, where she saw the sprawled body of Master Avery.His chest was ripped open, revealing a hollow where the heart should have been.

"My Brennan," said a broken Federer, "they killed my poor Brennan!" Cadderly let his eyes drift across the dilapidated room, seeing the damaged staircase, and the broken chandelier that had fallen among the debris; then the charred floor near the long bar, and a young, undamaged The remains of the traces were placed lightly beside the bar, and finally looked at the six corpses lined up, one of which was still smoking wisps of smoke from under the covering cloth. "At least four more of them escaped," Ivan told them. "You'll find another one on the roof," Danica said.

"Ooh," Pikel chirped, snapped his stubby fingers, and motioned for one of the guards to go up and check. "Maybe only three got away," Ivan corrected. "Seven got away," Cadderly said absently, thinking of the three men who attacked him and Danica on the lake, and the other four on the boat that came after them. Yiwen shook his face covered with yellow beard, and then said angrily, "Then you're in a lot of trouble." Cadderly was hardly listening to what the dwarf was saying.The young priest walked slowly across the cluttered floor toward the sprawling body of the man who had been his father for as long as he could remember.However, before he got there, a tall guard blocked his way.

"We have a question for you," the man explained rudely. Cadderly glared at him dangerously, "Wait a minute." "No," the man retorted. "You have to answer everything I ask you, and all of them! I won't do it for—" "Go away." It was a simple word, said quietly and in a controlled tone, but, to the guard, it struck him like a bolt of lightning.The man stood up straight, looked around strangely, and headed for the front door. "Let's go," he instructed the rest of the team, and after exchanging surprised glances, they complied without complaint.

Ivan started to say something to Cadderly, but Danica stopped him by placing a hand on the dwarf's shoulder. Cadderly couldn't listen to what Ivan said either.The young priest walked over to Avery's torn body and wiped the tears from his gray eyes.Cadderly guessed that Avery had been in the way of something that had nothing to do with him, and the thought brought a wave of disgust to the young man, and added another layer of guilt to his mounting burden. However, what was strongest in Cadderly's heart right now was not guilt, but grief.He had never experienced such a deep sorrow.Many images of Avery's life flashed through the young priest's mind: he saw the fat dean on the path outside the Mengzhi Library, wanting to enjoy a sunny spring day, but he was constantly hindered by Percival —the white squirrel throws a twig at him from the trunk above.He saw Avery listening to the Chanticleers' midday carol, a song dedicated to the god he adored, with a contented and peaceful face.

How different is this fatherly face now, with its mouth opened in a final cry, speaking of an unanswered plea, for a rescue that did not come. More importantly, Cadderly remembered the vision of the Master berating him many times, of Avery's chubby face, turning bright red in frustration, as Cadderly was clearly uncaring and irresponsible.It was not until the lurking Curse of Chaos that the Master finally admitted how he really felt for Cadderly, that he considered Cadderly his own son.In reality, however, Cadderly had known this all along.If the Dean didn't care about him, he wouldn't have made Avery angry like that, so many times. Only now, standing beside the dead man, did Cadderly realize how much he loved Avery, the man who had treated him like a father. It occurred to Cadderly that Avery shouldn't have appeared in the hall so early, especially not dressed so casually and without protection.Cadderly absorbed this information almost subconsciously, grouping it together with countless other clues—ever since he escaped from the killer group, he had been collecting and carefully examining them. "My Brennan is dead too," Federja said choked up.He came to Cadderly's side and put his arms around his shoulders, leaning against the young priest. Cadderly was more than willing to give his gentle friend the support he needed, and he followed the innkeeper across the room, toward the bar. The difference between Brennan's body and Avery's was striking.There was neither fear nor any sign of surprise on the teen's face.His body also appears to be intact, with no apparent wounds. It seemed that he died so peacefully. The only possibility Cadderly could think of was being poisoned. "They couldn't tell me how he died," Federja wailed. "The guards said he wasn't suffocated, and there was no blood at all. He didn't have any physical injuries." Federja gasped for breath. in one breath. "But he's dead," said the innkeeper, his voice rising to a howl. "My Brennan is dead!" Federja leaned against Cadderly, the weight causing him to stagger a few steps to the side.Although Cadderly was heartbroken to see Brennan's death, the death had raised a question in his mind that had to be answered.He remembered the ghastly dancing shadow he had seen over Brennan's shoulder that night at dinner, and then he remembered what Danica had said, her dream, and he knew with certainty that someone, or something, had taken over the place. body of a young man before throwing him away. Maybe there are clues left of what happened, waiting to be discovered, maybe those leaked shadows are still on Brennan's shoulders.Cadderly opened his mind and let the song of Denir enter his consciousness again, despite the constant headache that had been beating him. Cadderly saw a ghost. Brennan's soul sat on the bar, looking lonely and lost.He looked sympathetically at his almost mad father, and in disbelief at his own pale corpse.He looked up to see Cadderly, his almost transparent features contorted in surprise. Cadderly pushed himself even more into Brennan's state, and the real world around his soul blurred. Have you been poisoned?His mind questioned the lost soul, though he knew he hadn't said a word. Soul shook his head.I have nowhere to go. The answer couldn't have been more obvious to Cadderly.Go back to your father. Brennan looked at him suspiciously. The song sang louder in Cadderly's aching head, almost unbearably loud.But the young priest isn't about to let it go away, not now.He saw Brennan's spirit tentatively approaching the body, seemingly confused, hopeful and terribly frightened at the same time.The room around the spirit went dark to Cadderly's eyes. All is darkness. "God," Cadderly heard Danica whisper. "Ooooh," Pikel moaned. A muffled sound from the floor beside Cadderly woke him up.He was kneeling on the hard floor, but beside him Federja was completely unconscious. Ahead of him, young Brennan sat up, blinking in disbelief. "Cadderly," Danica gasped.Her trembling hands grasped the trembling shoulders of the young priest. "What do you think...?" Cadderly stammered to Brennan. Brennan's chuckle was like a whimper, turning into a trembling, broken voice that reflected his consternation, as if he really didn't know how to answer the question.How does he feel?alive! The young man looked at his hands and was amazed to see that they were acting of their own volition again.He suddenly clenched his fist and punched it hard into the air, a primitive cry came out of his mouth.The movements, however, drained the lad of his regained physical strength and he staggered and passed out. Ivan and Pikel rushed to catch him. Cadderly steadied himself suddenly, looking across the room at Dean Avery, his eyes shifting.The determined young priest stood quickly, pushed Danica aside, and strode toward the body. "They took his heart," Danica told him gently. Cadderly turned to look at her, not understanding what she meant. "It's their usual method," replied the young monk, familiar with the vile and despicable methods of the Mask of the Night. "Let the soul not be easily recalled." Cadderly snarled, turning back to face Avery, on a mission he couldn't afford to fail.He compulsively conjures the song, because now it doesn't automatically come to his weary head.When the notes came out out of tune, he couldn't help thinking that maybe he should take a break before continuing.Maybe he has used his spells too much today, and he should take a break and come back to the spiritual world. "No!" Cadderly said loudly.He closed his eyes and commanded the music to come on.The room became blurred. Avery's ghost isn't around. Cadderly looked around the room, though in reality his body didn't move.He saw black marks, and supernatural shadows appear on the ground next to the dead killer's body, and felt a lingering evil there. Those souls were gone, and Cadderly had the feeling that they had been forced to travel, that they had been pulled away. Will they be punished in the afterlife? This probably didn't draw mercy to Cadderly.He stared carefully at the few remaining small pools of darkness.Maybe he could call one of these lost souls back and ask it what happened to Avery's soul, but he immediately dismissed the idea as too ridiculous.The fate that awaited these souls was quite different from the fate that awaited the good Patriarch. Cadderly suddenly had an idea.He stretched his thoughts beyond the confines of the room, sending a universal call to the surrounding heavens, to the departed soul of his lost mentor. The response he gets is not in words, nor even in images.A feeling swept through Cadderly, an emotion that Master Alfoy had conveyed to him—he knew it was from Alfoy—a tranquility, a contentment that Cadderly had never experienced before, is holy. A burst of light melted into the invisible... Ivan and Danica helped the young priest to his feet.Cadderly was completely out of trance, looking at Danica with one of the most genuine smiles. "He's with Denir," Cadderly told her, and the joy in his voice held back any response. Cadderly found that his headache was gone.He also found satisfaction. "What did you find?" Ivan asked him, and Cadderly knew that the dwarf was not referring to Avery's fate.Danica looked at the enlightened young priest curiously, too. Cadderly did not answer immediately.The clues to the whole mystery seem to be emerging one by one.Cadderly looked at the dead killers, then at Brennan and Fedegar, who were hugging tightly. Cadderly knew where to turn if he wanted to find more clues. ※※※ The past few hours had given the ghost more certainty that he was sitting quietly in the room, going about his daily activities as best he could.Mass killings were certainly not common in Carraton, but these were chaotic times, and the ghosts were confident that what was still a novelty would soon become obsolete.Then Cadderly would be in his pocket again. The thought of abandoning the mission had indeed crossed the assassin's mind, when he had just learned that Cadderly had escaped - and that many of his Mask of the Night men were dead.However, he later dismissed the idea, opting instead to make the killing more personal.He would kill Cadderly, by the hand of his friend, and the death of the little priest would be sweeter to him. The ghost was a little taken aback when it saw Pogue run away, because, in case Cadderly and his friends unearthed more truths, Pogue could be used as a scapegoat, not because the ghost thought the wizard would have anything to do with it. practical use. The villainous man looked out the window at the afternoon sun reflecting off the calm Lake Impesque.He could clearly see the bridge that connected the island, and the houses crowded there, and looked at the ship and the structure of the bridge, studying the big gap. The ghost shook his head and chuckled.He had been in telepathic contact with Vander at the farm, and knew that Cadderly had made the gap.Four returned to the farm—four of fourteen. The ghost continued to stare at the broken section of the bridge.Cadderly had beaten them, which impressed the ghost. But it didn't worry him. ※※※ Every detail of the fight—Avery's presence in the hall (he wasn't supposed to be there); Zirkan Rufo, who had been strangely avoiding him (who only came out of the room to identify Avery's body) , answering a few questions from the city guard, and then returning); even the strange burn mark on Pikel's tunic was clearly engraved on Cadderly's mind—in the overall picture he was gradually painting slowly assembled. He had spoken to Brennan, though the young man's recollection was vague, like a dream at best.But that alone confirmed Cadderly's speculation about what had happened to Danica.The young priest specifically told Brennan to hide and asked Federer not to tell anyone that his son was alive again. "We've got to get on with it," Cadderly explained to his three companions, who were hiding around him in a remote room. "The enemy is quite confused at the moment, but they are tenacious and will rally." Danica leaned back in her seat and put her feet up on the table in front of her. "You're probably the most tired of us," she replied. "If you're ready to move on, then we'll be fine." "Ooh!" Ivan squealed, getting ahead of Pikel.The yellow-bearded dwarf gave his surprised brother an exaggerated wink, and Pikel immediately yanked Ivan's beard hard. Although it took Cadderly and Danica a while to calm the rowdy brothers, Cadderly was glad that the interlude allowed them to relax in the midst of the exhausting tension. "Have you spoken to the Guard?" Cadderly asked Danica when order was finally restored. "You guessed right," the young woman replied. Cadderly nodded; another clue was right. "The magician won't be here long." "But are you ready to fight that kind of person?" Ivan couldn't help asking. Cadderly chuckled and stood up, smoothing out his trousers, which were still damp from being submerged in the lake just now. "You make it sound like I'm the only one going," he said jokingly. Yiwen immediately stood up, flicking the huge battle ax on one shoulder. "Watch out for that kind of guy," the dwarf explained, trying to clarify that this was an uncharacteristic hesitation. "This kind of person is dangerous." "Beware of angry priests, too," Cadderly retorted, picking up his cane and tossing the frisbee up and down quickly. "This kind of person is dangerous." Danica finished for him, and after seeing Cadderly's powerful magical power today, there was no trace of irony in this sentence.