Xia De and the young scholar quietly discussed today's weather, Professor Katia looked at the oil painting with great interest, and Leia tidied her hair.
Without waiting too long, the gloomy male servant returned with another tall maid, inviting the four of them to the study to meet Mr. Jude.
The maid, who they were meeting for the first time, seemed to be around the same age as the male servant, a bit plump, but equally gloomy.
Xia De understood them perfectly; anyone living in such an old and oppressive house would inevitably experience emotional problems. That's why Xia De paid great attention to ventilation and sunlight in his own home, to prevent his cat, who was often home, from developing psychological issues.
But at least there were no inexplicable bloodstains in Mr. Jude's house, and Blood Echo couldn't detect any obvious blood aura.
Led by the two servants, the group of four left the entrance hall, passed through the living room, and then went upstairs.
Not only the entrance hall area, but the entire house had no lights on. This might be a special habit of Ring術士, as it's common for Ring術士 to be mentally unstable.
The living room was empty, with a few newspapers on the coffee table, while the walls of the staircase were adorned with oil paintings in unusually depressing colors. Unlike the paintings in the entrance hall, the staircase paintings predominantly used cool-toned paints to fill the canvas with distorted patterns. However, Professor Katia, among the group, could eloquently analyze the origins of these paintings. According to her, this was a unique local painting style of Coldwater Port, which, after merging with abstract painting decades ago, gave birth to several abstract painting masters from Coldwater Port.
Finally, they arrived on the second floor, where the dampness was still heavy. The four prepared themselves, tidying their clothes. The male servant carefully knocked on the door and, upon receiving permission, pushed it open and invited the four inside.
The door opened, and the light from a gas lamp finally appeared in the study. All four felt uncomfortable due to the oppressive atmosphere in the house. After exchanging glances, the theoretically strongest, the reporter's assistant “John Watson,” was the first to enter.
It was an ordinary study. On the wall directly opposite the door were two closed glass windows, through which one could see the dim light of the rainy outside. A low cabinet was placed against the wall between the two windows, but instead of a vase, it held a stone statue.
It wasn't a Mermaid statue, but a statue of a curly-haired man, nude, with his left arm broken off and his right arm bent upwards. At the statue's feet, a stone fish was biting a severed arm. Xia De glanced at it and then looked away; this strange artwork once again proved Mr. Jude's unusual personality.
To the right of the room was an antique-style sofa set, while to the left were three walls of brown solid wood bookshelves. The bookshelves surrounded a desk, and Mr. Jude was seated in front of the desk.
The gas lamp light in the room came from a desk lamp on his table, but the light wasn't very bright, only covering the desk and a very small surrounding area.
Mr. Jude was a middle-aged man, about the same age as Professor Katia, a bit 胖, and balding. His features weren't prominent, like a melted wax figure. He wore a white shirt and a black coat, sitting behind the desk, waiting for the four. The desk was neatly organized; judging by the placement of items, this gentleman had likely been reading.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, please be seated.”
Unlike the servants, who spoke with weariness, Mr. Jude spoke with ample vigor, and his eyes were bright. He warmly invited the four to sit down, and the servants brought chairs, seating the four in a semicircle in front of the desk.
Leia was closest to the door, next to her was Xia De, and further in were the two folklorists. The servants pushed in a dining cart, prepared tea for them, and then closed the door and left.
Leia's visit was by appointment; Princess acted the part completely, not allowing anyone to suspect her identity. The two scholars, however, had arrived unannounced, but after hearing their purpose, Mr. Jude expressed understanding and suggested that the two matters could actually be handled together:
“You all want to hear me talk about the legends, nursery rhymes, and local customs of Coldwater Port’s Old Town, so why don't we discuss them together?”
Leia signaled Xia De not to make any moves. Their purpose in coming was to confirm whether the other party had truly expelled the curse. In the current situation, it was inconvenient to test this with ordinary people present.
“Mr. Jude.”
Leia spoke first, holding a notebook in one hand and a fountain pen in the other, looking very professional:
“We are here to consult you on the ancient illicit beliefs of Coldwater Port, which are related to the development of the southern Old Town. Coldwater Port has only developed in the last five hundred years, and it was only with the discovery of the New World that it achieved its current prosperity. But before that, among the local fishermen and coastal villages, there seemed to be some illicit beliefs not recorded in professional historical and cultural materials. We are currently working on a special feature on this topic.”
“That’s a good question.”
Mr. Jude nodded, and Professor Katia, from the side, also said:
“Actually, this issue is also being researched in our project.”
He also took out a notebook, ready to record.
“Coldwater Port City was actually built upon three large fishing villages that originally existed in the area. This can be proven by currently unearthed artifacts, dating back about 1300 years ago. As for ancient beliefs, the three neighboring villages, in order to compete for offshore fishing rights, each worshipped three different deities.”
Mr. Jude paused:
“These three deities were, of course, evil gods. They were hostile to each other, leading to deeper conflicts among their human followers. We don't know what happened in ancient times, but those bloody and cruel wars must have been terrifying.”
Mr. Jude picked up a piece of paper from the table, drew something, and then pushed the paper to the others on the other side of the table.
Xia De got up, took it, and let the four of them pass it around.
Mr. Jude continued speaking, his right thumb and index finger pressing on the copper Ring on his left index finger, unconsciously turning it:
“After Miss Princess wrote to me saying she would come for an interview, I also looked through my collection of ancient books in advance. There is reason to believe that the gods worshipped by the three fishing villages are related to the three patterns I have drawn for you.”
“Are these the divine emblems?”
The young scholar asked curiously, and Mr. Jude smiled and shook his head:
“Of course not. Even if I knew the divine emblems of those evil gods recognized by the Orthodox Church, I wouldn't dare to draw them for you. What you see are patterns I copied from artifacts in my collection, hieroglyphic writings from the old era used to refer to those gods.”
The three patterns were a tilted human figure, a Mermaid, and a storm. Xia De believed these respectively referred to the evil gods God of Drowned in the Deep Sea, lord of the scarlet spiral, and raging storm, which the old man Edmund, who guarded the lighthouse, had mentioned.
From that pirate ship, Xia De already knew that the Mermaid curse was related to the lord of the scarlet spiral among the three evil gods. He intended to test Mr. Jude's views on this god, but unexpectedly, Mr. Jude himself brought it up:
“I do antique business locally and have come across some information related to these three gods. Among them, the god referred to as the Mermaid is the one I know best. Professor Katia, I imagine you are not unfamiliar with the local Mermaid worship tradition and the various legends and stories.”
“Of course.”
The folklorist pushed up his glasses:
“Concrete evidence proves that the Mermaid worship tradition existed even before the establishment of Coldwater Port City. We once collaborated with the school's archaeology department to conduct excavations near Coldwater Port, and human settlements dating back to before the 1300s, as you mentioned, were found. Similar patterns appeared on gold artifacts from that time. However, there is no evidence proving this is related to evil gods, and the Church has refused to provide any assistance.”
The Church, of course, would not provide any assistance to ordinary people researching evil gods.
“Yes, that’s right. We have reason to believe that even in modern times, the worship of this god related to the Mermaid still exists in this City.”
Mr. Jude clasped his hands together and said to the reporter and scholars. He seemed to have consciously chosen this moment to say this, and then was very satisfied to see the surprised expressions of his visitors.
The antique collector smiled:
“Although it sounds a bit sensational, I have always believed that ancient fishing village families participated in the establishment of Coldwater Port and have always existed locally. They established the original Coldwater Port City, lurking in its shadows. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and I cannot provide you with evidence.”
“It’s alright, when I write the article, I will be vague about the source of this statement.”
Leia was still playing the role of a reporter. Both she and Xia De were very interested in what Mr. Jude had said. Although the two scholars could not use statements without evidence, such novel perspectives could still be useful for their research reports.
“A few days ago, I got some interesting things that I can show you. Please wait a moment.”
He nodded apologetically to the four and then left the room.
The scholars gathered and quietly discussed the previous topic. Xia De also tilted his head and conversed with Leia:
“At least from the current state, this person doesn't have a curse on him. I must touch his forehead or heart to confirm this conclusion.”
“I’ll create an opportunity for you later. We’ll leave immediately after our investigation. This old house is really peculiar.”
Leia also felt uncomfortable in this place.
But since it was a place where a Ring術士 lived, some peculiarities were normal, just like Xia De's place was a haunted house registered with the Church.
The two folklorists were quietly discussing Mermaids. Their current project was on Coldwater Port's local marine worship, a type of nature worship. Approaching it from the perspective of Mermaids and ancient gods could add at least one chapter to their project.
Xia De and Leia naturally joined the discussion. The two scholars were knowledgeable and had profound insights into Coldwater Port's customs and nature worship traditions inherited from a thousand years ago.
So, after receiving a hint from Leia, Xia De guided the conversation toward nursery rhymes and then inquired about the four-line nursery rhyme of Sea Return.
According to Mr. Edmund, the lighthouse keeper's analysis, these four lines of nursery rhyme corresponded to a complete ritual. The first line, mermaid's song, had already appeared. The second line, pirates related to the evil god, had appeared, but because they unexpectedly encountered Xia De, they gained nothing.
Xia De hoped to learn more from the folklorists, but since they were not Ring術士, the scholars couldn't connect the nursery rhyme with the occult.
Professor Katia, from the perspective of an ordinary person, understood it this way:
“The first line, the Mermaid’s song, refers to the sound of the horn before the pirates appeared; the second line is its literal meaning, pirate ships docking and plundering Coldwater Port; the third line, the red ocean, refers to their killing staining the seawater red; and the last line, the girl walking into the ocean, refers to the pirates leaving with their spoils.”
This interpretation of the nursery rhyme was also reasonable, but using only an ordinary person’s perspective still had limitations. Xia De wanted to talk more with Professor Katia about the local people's beliefs outside the Five Gods Church, but an unexpected male servant walked in and interrupted their conversation:
“Sir, Mr. Jude wants you upstairs to help him get some things. He doesn’t want us to touch those valuable antiques, so he kindly asks for your help in bringing them down.”
He spoke very respectfully to Xia De.
“Me?”
Xia De pointed to himself in confusion, then turned to Leia. Seeing her slightly shake her head, he directly refused:
“Sorry, I cannot leave this lady.”
He said very directly:
“Before leaving today, the editor-in-chief told me to stay with Miss Princess. Can we go upstairs together?”
“How about I go too?”
The young scholar Lim Scott suggested, probably wanting to make an impression on the elegant young lady. So Professor Katia also nodded:
“Then let’s all go upstairs together. It’s the same for us to see Mr. Jude’s collection upstairs.”
“This…”
The male servant lowered his head, hiding his face in the shadows:
“I’m sorry, I need to ask the master. Strangers are not allowed to approach the upstairs area casually.”
The servant quickly left the room, and the four guests in the room all frowned. Outside, the wind howled and the rain poured, and the light from the only gas lamp in the room seemed to dim significantly because of it.
Just now, the Ring術士 Mr. Jude was in front of him, so Xia De had not used Miracle in this room. Now that the owner of the house had left, he blinked, and then saw that the broken-arm statue was actually full of a red aura.
Then he listened carefully, and Echoes of the Past made a voice from another end of time appear in his ear:
“So, don’t lure ordinary people anymore recently. The Sea Offering Ritual has already begun, and we have transformed enough of our kind over the years to handle various situations. Besides the Ring術士 I lured with the news, don’t…”
It seemed this visit was not going very smoothly.