Chapter 9 Act V-1

Although it may be too difficult for someone who has never traveled before, it may be too difficult to pack in a short period of time, but because Ivan is by his side, who yearns for the outside world all day long, he feels at ease. There is nothing superfluous in the luggage that Elsa and Ivan packed. If I insist, it is the very old holy book that has been worn out. As a traveler, this is qualified. [Where is the channel? ] [Yes, the mechanism is made into the shape of a wall. ] It is directly opposite to the stairs that go down to the basement, only that section of the wall does not have a bookshelf.

Since it was said that there was a secret passage in the basement, the lack of bookshelves on this side was naturally the main point of suspicion. Lawrence knocked on the wall a few times and immediately knew that the opposite side of the wall was empty.After kicking it several times, some kind of dirt between the stones fell off, and the hole was finally opened. Looking at the wall, the surrounding wall is a complete circle, which makes people feel gloomy and incredible. It is more appropriate to say that it is a cave than a passage. [So, are you ready? ] In the guardianship of the Virgin Mary, Ivan and Elsa nodded to Lawrence's words.

Imma should be monitoring whether the villagers will resort to drastic measures. Lawrence took a deep breath, took the candlestick and walked in first. Heluo followed Lawrence, followed by Ivan and Ai Er. There are still many unfinished books in the basement.There may be a book about He Luo's partner in it, and it's not necessarily true. Moreover, from the perspective of a businessman, a book with such a luxurious binding is also a large fortune. Although he wanted to take a copy as a subsidy for travel expenses, Lawrence didn't have the guts to travel with books full of pagan myths.

Although the strange girl with animal ears and tail can find excuses that even businessmen are ashamed of, books can't speak. Step into the underground passage. At that moment, an unbelievable coldness hit Lawrence.The height of the cave was only to the extent that Lawrence could walk with a slight stoop, and the width was approximately to the extent that he could stretch his arms.Fortunately the air in the cave was neither stagnant nor moldy. Lawrence observed the condition of the cave by candlelight. Sure enough, the cave had been plowed into a strange circular shape, and even the large rocks everywhere had been cut into the shape of the cave.

Moreover, the neatly cut hole is not a straight path, but a winding one. If you don't plan to dig the passage into a straight line, there is no need to go out of your way to level the rock or the like.Lawrence couldn't understand the reason for doing this. Moreover, Lawrence always felt a fishy smell in the passage, which was an unpleasant feeling completely different from the underground waterway in the port city of Pats. Lawrence held the candlestick in his right hand, and held He Luo's hand in his left hand. Lawrence could feel a slight sense of tension from He Luo's hand.

No one said a word in the passage. Because Imma will close the basement entrance at the right time according to the schedule, Lawrence and his party feel very uneasy about whether Imma can be allowed to open the closed entrance again if the end of the passage cannot be exited. And the reason why Lawrence was able to bear the tension without opening his mouth to chat was because although this passage stretched in a tortuous way, there was only one way. If there was a fork in this path, they might not be able to bear the heavy pressure and open their mouths. In this atmosphere, Yixing walked for an unknown distance in the passage in silence, and gradually felt the smell of fresh air outside in the air full of stench.

[It's almost outside. ] After He Luo just said this sentence, Ivan let out a sigh of relief. While taking care not to extinguish the candle in his hand, Lawrence quickened his pace. Lawrence was urged by that unbearable disgusting feeling, but in fact it was only a short time of two or three breaths before he could finally see the moonlight. Although he thought in his mind whether the exit was hidden in the dense woods or among the rocks, Lawrence overturned his thoughts as he got closer to the exit. The exit was completely open, greedily absorbing the moonlight. Lawrence originally thought that the exit would be set up somewhere out of sight, but he didn't expect that the exit would be on some kind of altar.

Looking closer, the flat stone was placed on a large rock with four corners, and pickled fruits and wheat bunches were placed on it. The moment Lawrence saw this, he muttered in his heart: [Could it be. ] He Luo seemed to have noticed it immediately, and his eyes moved to Lawrence. Later Elsa said: [This, this is. ] [Ha ha, this is really good. ] Finally Ivan said that with a smile. The cave extending from the church seemed to extend to the slope of a hill outside the village in the opposite direction from the church. A group of people walked down the slope slowly. There were only a few sparse trees in the woods ahead. The small river flowing through the woods reflected the moonlight to prove their existence.

[What does Mr. Lawrence think of this cave? ] Regarding Ivan's question, Lawrence shook his head and said: [I don't know this either. ] [This cave is the cave where Lord Torueon hibernated when he came from the north a long time ago. ] Although Lawrence guessed that way when he first saw the altar with offerings, he still couldn't hide his surprised expression when Ivan told the truth. [When harvesting and planting every year, people in the village will pray and bless here.Although Elsa and I have hardly participated...but why, the exit of the church is here...] [Although I don't know the reason, but just think about it, I can understand that the exit is in this hole , the villagers decided not to go in. ] But of course Lawrence also noticed something strange.

If this cave was dug by Priest Franz, wouldn't it be strange that it wasn't exposed during the excavation?Moreover, the villagers' belief in Torueon should have started long before the church was built. While thinking about Lawrence like that, she looked at Heluo, but Heluo looked into the cave as if nothing had happened. Lawrence immediately understood the reason. It is incredible that there are no bats in the beautiful cave where the stones are cut neatly everywhere. And that strange stench that filled the air. He Luo, who noticed Lawrence's gaze, smiled, turned to the direction of the moon and said, "Hey, if you stay here, the villagers will find you, let's go down to that river first." ] There was no objection to He Luo's proposal.

Ivan and Elsa trotted down the hillside covered with dry grass. Lawrence blew out the candles and looked around again, then returned to Heluo and said: [This cave is really? ] Because Lawrence couldn't speak in front of Ivan and Elsa, so Lawrence asked when they were away. [It is a huge snake.Even we don't know how long before we stayed. ] Although I don't know if the big snake is Torueon. But the connection between the basement of the church and this big cave may be only accidental. According to common sense, because the basement was built just on the way of this big cave, there should be a continuation of this cave on the opposite side of the passage. Although I don't know if the snake was coiled in a circle when it was underground. But He Luo showed eyes as if he saw happy, sad, and nostalgic memories and said in a low voice: [Cave dug out randomly is also used by humans to worship, even if you want to take a good afternoon nap. ] [……… I, who are superstitious about using the road traveled by the saint as a business route, sounds really harsh. ] He Luo shrank her neck with a smile and said: [Because human beings are strange creatures that will easily worship no matter what they are. ] After finishing speaking, He Luo showed a different smile and said: [You also want to respect us, don't you? ] I hate He Luo who is feared and respected as a god.Of course, what she wanted to express was not the literal meaning of what she said. However, even in that way, Lawrence was speechless to He Luo's question. If He Luo became unhappy, offerings must be made to appease He Luo's anger. As soon as Lawrence sighed helplessly and looked away, Heluo laughed "giggle". And, suddenly grabbed Lawrence's hand and said [Let's go. ] After that, he ran down the slope. The profile of He Luo's face was not filled with satisfaction after successfully teasing Lawrence, but an expression of relief and peace of mind. Perhaps it was because He Luo saw the cave of Torueon, which was worshiped by the villagers, and reminded him of the village he had been in before. Perhaps the reason why he teased Lawrence in the end was to hide his embarrassment due to sentimentality. He Luo running under the moonlight. For Lawrence, he couldn't do anything for her with the weakness he carried in He Luo's heart. The only thing I can do is to stay by her side when He Luo feels pain and pretend not to notice when He Luo wants to hide her sadness. Although Lawrence felt that he was really useless like that, He Luo still held Lawrence's hand. Perhaps this is the shortest distance between himself and He Luo. He Luo's feeling of loneliness can be slightly alleviated, and Lawrence is already very satisfied just like that. Lawrence ran down the slope while thinking like that, and caught up with Ivan and Elsa who had already run to the river for a while. [So, how to escape next. ] Lawrence completely threw Ivan's questioning to Heluo. [Go in the direction of Ebin Ruku first. ] [Eh? ] [Because we walked through Ebin Ruku once, although we intend to hide our whereabouts and escape, we think it is better to take a slightly familiar road. ] Ivan nodded with his original expression. But He Luo seemed to be dissatisfied and kicked the stone at his feet away. When the stone fell to the river, He Luo also sighed and said: [Let's say another word first. ] Then, he turned his voice to Ivan and Elsa who were holding hands and said: [If you dare to be afraid, we will bite you to death at that time. ] Although Lawrence was about to say: "Isn't that sentence itself a threat?" He Luo should also understand that. Lawrence noticed that although He Luo knew that he was playing a child's temper and said some exaggerated things, he still couldn't help but say them. Sure enough, Ivan and Elsa nodded stiffly, frightened by the menacing Heluo, and then turned their heads to one side shyly. [All of you turn around. ] [Yep. ] He Luo handed the cloak, scarf and clothes to Lawrence one after another. Lawrence felt very cold just looking at Heluo like that, but Ivan couldn't hold back because he suddenly heard the sound of undressing, and seemed to turn his head around, but Heluo didn't say anything about Ivan's behavior , but was taught by Elsa. Lawrence couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic to Ivan. [Really, why is it so cold to be human. ] [Looking at you even I feel cold. ] [Humph. ] The shoes were also taken off and handed to Lawrence as if tossed. Finally, he took off the waist bag full of wheat hanging around his neck. In the sparse woods that have lost their leaves in the moonlight. The small river that reflects the moonlight like a mirror in front of your eyes. Standing there is a strange girl with a slender body, a warm-looking tail, and alert animal ears. It is not too much to say that what you see before dawn will be like a dream. A white breath exhaled from He Luo's mouth, and suddenly He Luo's eyes fell on Lawrence. [Want me to compliment you? ] Lawrence shrank his neck and said that to He Luo, but He Luo just responded to Lawrence with a blank smile. Lawrence turned around and moved Realization away from Heluo. Under the cemented moonlight, the maiden transformed into a wolf. The world is not only the property of the church. And there's nothing wrong with that fact. [Sure enough, our fur is better. ] Hearing this deep voice, Lawrence turned around, and He Luo was staring at Lawrence with a pair of slightly red pupils like the moon [If you want to sell, please tell me at any time. ] He Luo raised her lips, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Even so, based on how well Lawrence knew He Luo, at least he knew it was a smile. Next, although I don't know if Ivan and Elsa will be afraid, just seeing their backs caused Heluo to sigh. [Hmph, we don't expect it.It's best to leave as soon as possible, it will be troublesome if the villagers find it. ] Even so, when the bird is stared at by the dog, even if someone approaches it, it will not fly up. Lawrence stepped in front of Elsa and Ivan, raised his chin towards them, and they finally turned around. Even Lawrence was so frightened that he couldn't stand up when he saw He Luolang for the first time. The fact that Elsa and Ivan didn't faint immediately after seeing Heluo made Lawrence admire them in his heart. [This is the dream before dawn.Is that so? ] Lawrence said that to the stiff two while folding He Luo's clothes. Especially to Elsa. But the two didn't quarrel or run away, but slowly turned to Lawrence, walked a few steps forward and said: "Priest Franz didn't lie. ] Hearing Ivan's sluggish muttering, Heluo opened his mouth slightly and laughed. [Okay, sit up. ] He Luo sighed again helplessly, then lay down on the ground. After Lawrence, Elsa and Ivan sat up one after another, each of them tightly grasped the hard-bound hair on Heluo's back. [If it falls off our back, we will catch him with our mouths, so make sure you are prepared. ] It seems that this is the catchphrase when He Luo was carrying people. Hearing He Luo's words, Elsa and Ivan obviously grabbed He Luo's hair more vigorously, but He Luo laughed "giggling". [Then let's go. ] He Luo, who started running, immediately became a complete wolf. Sitting on He Luo's back, it was as cold as being in water. He Luo spared the village and the hills at an astonishing speed and galloped towards Ebin Ruku, and returned to the road that Lawrence had taken when he came. Neither Elsa nor Ivan thought that Heruo's back was not a place to be afraid of. Whether his trembling body was caused by cold or fear, maybe even Elsa and Ivan themselves didn't know. Because they were running on a road that was not a road, the three on He Luo's back felt as if they were floating in the air. Even so, Lawrence desperately grasped Heluo's back tightly, facing Elsa and Ivan Lawrence behind him, he could only pray that they would not be thrown off. Although I don't know how long it has passed, but it seems that a long time has passed, and it seems that only a short time after taking a nap, He Luo slowed down and fell to the ground with a plop. No one even asked, "Have anyone seen it?" The one who feels the least tired right now is without a doubt He Luo who has been running for a long distance with the three of them on his back. The body became stiff, although he couldn't even let go of He Luo's hair, but he could hear the sound of He Luo's tail sweeping the grass. He Luo didn't make a sound to tell the three of them to come down. He must also know that the three of them can't move now. He Luo stopped suddenly, perhaps because he was worried that which of the three of them would be unable to take it first. [………How far have you gone? ] Lawrence also took quite a long time to say this sentence. [half. ] [Is this a temporary break or? ] Just as Lawrence asked, Elsa and Ivan, who were exhausted on Heluo's back, responded slightly. Of course, He Luo should also understand. [If you die, everything we have done will be in vain.Rest till morning.It will take quite some time for the horses to get here, but it is safe here for the time being. ] The news of the disappearance of Lawrence and his party from Treo, no matter how fast the horse is, it has not come and spread. Take a good rest before being overtaken by the speed of the news. After listening to He Luo's words, Lawrence suddenly felt tired. [Don't sleep on us, go to sleep. ] Hearing Heluo's displeased voice, although Lawrence and Ivan managed to get off Heluo's back with their own strength, Elsa seemed to have reached the limit, and finally got down with the support of the two . Although I would like to start a fire if possible, the place where Heluo stayed was in the dry forest separated by a small hill between the road connecting Treo and Ebin Ruku.Although there is nothing wrong with just staying here, it is easy to be exposed if the fire is raised. However, the problem of heating was immediately solved. Because of the warm fur. [We feel like we have become babysitters. ] Lawrence, who was snuggling on He Luo's side, could clearly hear He Luo's voice. Elsa and Ivan were covered with blankets taken out of the church, and snuggled up to Heluo, and the tails placed there seemed to hug the three of them. Lawrence didn't even remember how warm Hero's fur was, whether he smiled wryly at Hero's words, and immediately fell into a dream. Although the merchant can definitely fall asleep no matter where he is, it seems that he cannot sleep soundly in this situation. He Luo seemed to have moved her body slightly, and at that moment Lawrence woke up. It was already dawn, and the early fog had lightened.If it is a city, it is probably already the time for the market to open. Lawrence stood up while being careful not to wake up Elsa and Ivan who were sleeping together, and slowly moved their relaxed bodies. Finally, he raised his wrists and yawned, then lowered his wrists with a sigh. Lawrence's mind was full of future events. No matter which city you go to, you can't just leave the two of them alone.Sure enough, I still have to go back to Camelson first. Only after explaining the situation to the chamber of commerce and seeking protection, can I talk to Treo and Ebin Ruku through the chamber of commerce. Afterwards, take the money that will be stored in the Chamber of Commerce and set off for Reynolds. That's probably it. As soon as Lawrence finished planning, he finally noticed that He Luo had been looking at him. The figure of He Luo, who is huge even when lying on her stomach, gives people an impression of incredulity rather than fear. Hero, who had been staring blankly at Lawrence like an exquisite puppet made by a god on a whim, finally turned his face in another direction not long after. [What's wrong? ] Lawrence stepped on the dry pages and made a "click, click" sound and approached Heluo. Heluo cast a lazy look at Lawrence and raised his chin as a gesture. Maybe it wasn't because she was acting like a baby and wanted Lawrence to stroke her head, but because there was something in front of her. When Lawrence bought it, he thought that not far from the opposite side of the hill, there was a road connecting Treo and Ebin Ruku. [Go and see if it's okay. ] He Luo didn't answer Lawrence's question, but after yawning, he put his face on the two front legs that were close together, and shook his ears two or three times. Lawrence took He Luo's behavior as approval, but even so, he walked towards the hill lightly while burying his body. Who was in a hurry at this time, Lawrence guessed right away. Near the top of the hill, Lawrence buried his head lower, and sneakily shifted his gaze to the road. Lawrence looked around for a while, but there was no one on the road. After walking a little further, he heard many faint voices coming from the direction of Ebin Ruku. Not long after, a line of trains could be seen dimly on the opposite side of the fog. It must be the convoy transporting wheat to Treo. By the way, Treo probably has received Ebin Ruku's order. According to the content inside, the villagers should forcefully open a new entrance and rush into the church to search for Lawrence and his party. Not only Lawrence and his party, but also Imma, who let Lawrence and his party go, will it be all right? Although Lawrence believed that Imma had a strong position in the village and her own safety should be fine, she was still a little worried. But Lawrence and his party will no longer go to Treo. As soon as he thought that way, Lawrence turned around when he heard the sound of "scrubbing" footsteps coming from behind. It turned out to be Ivan. [Has the body recovered? ] Ivan nodded, squatted down next to Lawrence and looked into the distance. [Those are Ebin Ruku guys? ] [seems like it. ] [Really...] Ivan showed a complex expression of "If I have a weapon in my hand, I will rush up" mixed with "I feel at ease because I don't have a weapon in my hand". Lawrence's gaze shifted from Ivan's body to Heluo's direction behind him. Heluo was still lying there, and Elsa was still snuggling beside Heluo. However, it seems that Elsa has woken up and is in a daze. [Is Miss Elsa feeling unwell? ] fainted due to anemia, and forced to march all night. When thinking about the future, Elsa's body is the most worrying thing. [I don't know... Although his complexion has recovered, he seems to have something on his mind. ] [Concern? ] Ivan nodded. Even though Elsa didn't seem to be able to say what was in her heart under such circumstances, no matter who was suddenly involved in a situation where she had to leave her hometown, she would be worried. Ivan turned to look at Elsa, and Ivan's profile showed a dog-like expression that seemed to say "Run to you right now". Even so, Ivan seemed to understand that it was best for him to stay here and not disturb Elsa. As if Ivan was trying his best to endure something, his eyes once again returned to the approaching Ebin Ruku's convoy. [Those guys, there are quite a few people here. ] [Because they plan to return all the wheat bought from the village, the long sticks carried by those people around the carriage are... guns. ] Probably for the purpose of preparing bodyguards when the villagers resisted, but that kind of fuss made the convoy even more disgusting. [That, Mr. Lawrence. ] [Eh? ] [The one who can't ask Mr. Lawrence... is the god who planted us. ] No matter how much Ivan lowered his voice, He Luo could still hear him.