He Became a Salted Fish After Inheriting Millions of Secret Arts

Chapter 40: Ghoul(1)

Z shocked "Are you pleading for the ghoul?"

"Ghouls never take the initiative to hurt people! They are just frightened by you!" Duncan choked up, "They are very docile, and they will only fight back when it is absolutely necessary!"

He stared at Z and Duan Feizhuo resentfully, as if silently accusing the ghouls of being the ones who reacted because you disturbed them, and if you don't do anything, you won't die!

The ghouls gathered around Duncan. Duncan stroked their heads lovingly, and those things turned out to be like dogs, obediently rubbing against his hands.

"You see, as long as you don't attack them, they won't attack you."

Duan Feizhuo had never seen such a strange scene in his life. No matter how docile and well-behaved ghouls were, he couldn't accept them as pets—because they were ugly! It feels like a person keeping cockroaches as pets and talking sweetly to them every day!

"You...are the real culprit in the serial murder case in Aberdeen?" Duan Feizhuo asked uncertainly.

"Don't frame good people at will." Duncan was wronged, "I'm not the kind of thug who kills innocent people indiscriminately."

"You think I'll believe it?"

"Believe it or not. I have a clear conscience. Besides, if I want to kill someone, how can I leave such obvious evidence as a dead body?"

This sentence made Duan Feizhu shaken.

He had to admit that Duncan had a point. The ghouls he raised could eat up a corpse in a minute, and the victim would only be treated as missing, and no one would ever suspect Duncan.

Leaving the body and leaving evidence is obviously of no benefit to Duncan.

"It's not suitable for talking here, let's chat in another place." Duncan turned around and waved to his pets.

The ghouls hissed and retreated into the darkness beyond the light of the fire. They dragged away the corpses of their companions. As for whether those corpses would end up in his companion's stomach, Duan Feizhuo didn't dare to think about it.

But a few ghouls remained. They were all slightly or badly wounded, and they staggered behind Duncan.

Duan Feizhuo didn't know whether to keep up with the body restorer. He looked at Z, and found that Z also had a look of hesitation. It can be seen that on the one hand, Z really wants to cut off Duncan's head (and the heads of those ghouls) with a knife now, but on the other hand, he also wants to follow and see what kind of medicine is sold in Duncan's gourd.

"Let's go?" Duan Feizhuo asked in a low voice.

Z nodded slowly, but he didn't retract the sharp blade on the prosthetic.

The two kept a distance from Duncan and followed him far behind.

Could this be a trap? Duan Feizhuo was suspicious. Maybe Duncan was playing the show the whole time, trying to lure them to an easier place, like a ghoul's lair or something.

Z grabbed Duan Feizhuo's wrist and pulled him to his side.

"Don't stay too far away from me, otherwise it will be difficult to protect you."

Duan Feizhuo wanted to say "I have a sword, I can protect myself", but he swallowed the words back. The opportunity to be protected by Z does not come every day, so he should cherish it a little bit.

The three of them waded through the criss-crossing sewers. Duncan knew the terrain as if it were his back garden. He even hummed a little song leisurely. The brisk ballad echoed in the empty and dark underground, becoming extremely eerie and frightening.

Eventually they reached the mouth of a well. There is a crooked iron ladder nailed to the rough wall of the well, but it doesn't look like a sewer well built by the municipal government, but someone dug a well randomly.

Duncan climbed up first, followed by several ghouls. Disgusting mucus was left on the iron ladders they climbed over. I don't know if it's secreted from their skin, or if it's their blood.

"I'll go up first." Z held on to the iron ladder, "If something happens...you run away immediately and leave me alone."

"...Where can I go?" Duan Feizhuo looked sadly at the dark sewer, there were countless ghouls lurking in places they couldn't see.

"... also." Z said helplessly.

He climbed up the iron ladder. Duan Feizhuo inserted the Sword in the Stone into his belt and followed.

The mouth of the well is not on the street, but in a courtyard. Duan Feizhuo looked around and realized that this was the backyard of the coffin shop.

The ghouls squatted motionless in a corner of the courtyard, only their pale and huge eyes blinking from time to time, indicating that they were living creatures, not some weird statues.

Duncan got into the house and came out after a while. He was carrying two dead geese. The two poor animals looked long dead, exuding a faint smell of decay.

He throws the dead goose to the ghoul. The pale monsters scrambled forward, tore off pieces of flesh from the corpse like a storm, and devoured them in big mouthfuls. In an instant, the dead goose was transformed into a skeleton.

Duan Feizhuo covered his mouth, trying not to spit it out.

As the ghouls ate, the wounds on their bodies gradually healed, and the severed limbs grew back.

After eating the dead goose, the ghouls walked around Duncan's feet, rubbed his legs affectionately, and crawled back down the well on all fours.

"You... feed them like this all the time?" Duan Feizhuo's face twisted.

"After I moved to Aberdeen, I found them by accident." Duncan packed up the skeleton of the dead goose. "Ghouls used to live in the cemetery, feeding on corpses and not living things. But times have changed. Now It's not the time when dead people are just buried in mass graves, so it's getting more and more difficult for ghouls to get their hands on corpses. The same goes for these ghouls. With the development of the funeral industry in Aberdeen, their The living conditions are getting worse and worse, and the cemetery can't stay any longer, so they have to hide in the sewer."

Duncan smiled shortly, "They can't find food, so they will venture into human society, digging through garbage and so on. This is very dangerous for them, and it is the same for humans. Humans treat them as monsters. They Although I rarely take the initiative to attack humans, once I am forced to do something, I can’t guarantee what I will do. So I dug a shaft leading to the sewer in my backyard and fed them regularly.”

He threw the skeletons of the dead geese into the trash can, "These geese died of disease, and logically they should all be landfilled or incinerated. The farmer almost went bankrupt because of this. When I offered to buy them all at a low price, then The rancher was almost weeping with joy. The ghouls are not afraid of animal diseases, and are feeding those children with these dead geese. Best of both worlds, isn't it?"

He actually called the ghouls "those kids"? ! Duan Feizhuo today can be regarded as having seen how big the world is.

"I know what you're thinking." Duncan smiled sadly, "You think there's something wrong with me, I'm disgusting, don't you?"

"You really know yourself." Z frowned.

Duncan was not angry, but just shrugged his shoulders, "I have dealt with corpses all year round, and my outlook on life and death is different from that of ordinary people. Things that you find terrible and disgusting are nothing to me. My ability to accept is better than ordinary people Much more, and less prejudiced than the average person."

"You mean, we are full of prejudice?" Z said angrily.

"Humans like to judge people by their appearance. They hate ugly creatures and don't want to understand their nature. Ghouls are one example. They are actually peaceful and much less aggressive than most creatures in the world. In Aberdeen's funeral industry and sewage system were not as developed as they are now. Thanks to them, they eliminated carrion and contained many plagues. They are a great contribution to mankind. And you just want to drive them out because of their ugly appearance .”

Duncan shook his head sadly, "It's okay for ordinary people to be like this. But you," he stared at Z, "you can't even see, so how can you judge people by their appearance?"

"Hey, are you polite?" Duan Feizhuo said loudly.

Z raised his hand to stop him. "When you meet a large group of ghouls in the sewer, it is a normal person's behavior to drive them out." He said coldly, "You are so strange."

"Call it what you want. Since we have different standards for 'weird', we don't have to insist on the same point of view."

"Are you a mystic?" Z asked sharply.

"What is a mystic?" Duncan looked confused. "You mean the kind of person who can tell fortunes and hold seances? I thought you were here to investigate serial murders."

Duan Feizhuo studied his expression. Either he has never heard of the word "occultist", or he is a natural actor with superb acting skills.

"We are indeed." Z said coldly, "We found that the murderer might use the sewers to move around, and as a result, we met you in the sewers—and your cute little pets. Tell me, how can I not Doubt you?"

Duncan smiled bitterly, "I'm really not the murderer. If you don't want to believe it, then I can't help it. However, I may know a clue about the murderer."

After finishing speaking, he stopped meaningfully and looked at Z and Duan Feizhuo meaningfully.

"You want to negotiate terms with us?" Z narrowed his eyes.

"I know you are a policeman. If you promise not to harass me and those children again, I will give you the clues."

"You have to know, I don't need to negotiate with you at all." Z sneered, "Extorting a confession by torture can also achieve the same purpose."

Duncan blinked, "But I don't think you're that kind of person."

Z snorted, "Your clues better be worth your life."

Duncan smiled.

"The children once told me one thing." Duncan walked to the sewer well, looking down at the bottomless underground, "Whenever a murder happened, they all witnessed a terrible person in the sewer, He was covered in blood and the smell of death. They stalked the man quietly and found that he came in from the same well every time."

"Is that person the serial murderer?" Duan Feizhuo blurted out.

"Who else could it be?" Duncan thought thoughtfully, "They say that guy has a human appearance, but he has completely lost his human breath, and is more like a wild beast. That's why he killed so cruelly." Those people, aren't they? Because that guy isn't a human anymore."

Duan Feizhuo thought of Jack the Ripper in London. Because of his desire for human flesh and his inability to control the supernatural powers in his body, he was already insane when he was caught. If Aberdeen's serial killer is anything like Jack the Ripper, does that mean he's the last of the Scarlet Feast Z's been looking for?

"Take us there." Z said.

Duncan climbed down the mouth of the well. Z and Duan Feizhuo waited by the well for a while, and Duncan's voice came from afar from the ground, "What are you waiting for? Come down!"

Z was fearless and jumped directly into the well. Duan Feizhuo didn't dare to imitate him any more, and honestly climbed down the ladder.

The few recovered ghouls still linger down the well. They surround Duncan intimately, like a group of loyal hounds. Duncan patted their heads and muttered a few words that Duan Feizhuo couldn't understand. Those words are not so much human language, but more like animal calls.

The ghouls seemed to have understood Duncan's instructions, and climbed up the wall, like geckos, crawling towards the depths of the passage.

"They'll lead the way," said Duncan, following the ghoul.

As they walked forward, a ghoul hung from the ceiling, and as they approached it darted swiftly into the darkness. When they went a little further, they saw another ghoul. If there is a fork in the road, the ghoul will deliberately wait at the intersection for a while, and then climb into one of the fork roads.

This scene is too weird. A few ghouls lead the way for the night police, looking for serial killers... What a family of police and civilians!

There were a few chirping calls in the darkness. Duan Feizhuo thought that there was a situation ahead, so he subconsciously held the sword in the stone.

However nothing happened. The ghouls babbled, as if talking to them. It's a pity that Duan Feizhuo couldn't understand a word they said.

He asked Duncan "What are they talking about?"

Duncan listened attentively, "They said an interesting thing. Didn't I go to that lady's funeral today? They said that I had a strange smell on me, much like that terrible person."

Duan Feizhuo was struck by lightning, "You mean, you met the murderer at the funeral?"

"I don't dare to say that, so as not to frame good people. I'm just telling you what the children said. And they only said that the smell is 'very similar', not 'exactly the same'. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

In other words, Duncan met someone connected to the killer at the funeral? What kind of similarity is the so-called "breath similarity"? Live and work in the same place as the murderer, so that he has the same smell? Or did he have the aura of the murderer because he had contact with the murderer?

After walking for an unknown time and distance, Duncan suddenly stopped.

"There it is." He pointed to a shaft ahead.

An iron ladder is nailed to the wall of the well, and the top is covered with a manhole cover.

"Are you sure?" Duan Feizhuo looked into the shaft and asked.

"That's what the kids told me," Duncan said, scratching the ghouls' jaws, completely mistaking them for dogs.

"Since the murderer will use the sewer to move, can you let the ghouls monitor him?" Duan Feizhuo asked.

"The children will be hurt," Duncan said quietly.

"It's not about letting them fight, it's just monitoring. Next time you find that person, please come and inform us, isn't that okay?"

"That's not part of our deal."

Z pressed Duan Feizhuo's shoulder, signaling him to stay calm. "We'll just keep an eye on it ourselves. There's no need for him to take action."

Duncan watched them intently. His nonchalant attitude made Duan Feizhuo a little annoyed. Duncan only seems concerned about the safety of the ghouls, and he doesn't seem to care that there is a vicious killer roaming the streets of Aberdeen. He didn't care that others were killed, nor did he care that he might become a victim.

Is it because he is engaged in the funeral industry and has long been used to watching life and death?

Z climbs up the iron ladder. Duan Feizhuo stood below and looked at him. When Z climbed to the mouth of the well, Duan Feizhuo was about to follow, but Duncan grabbed his sleeve.

"What are you doing?" Duan Feizhuo was alert.

"I haven't seen someone like you for a long time." Duncan said in a whispering tone. "I thought I was the last one. I didn't expect that there was such a person alive besides me."

"Don't play charades, can you?" Duan Feizhuo was impatient.

Duncan let him go. "Good-bye. No, we'd better never see each other again."

After speaking, he waded through the water and walked back to the depths of the passage. The ghouls followed him rustlingly, not leaving their master for a moment.

Z's misty shout came from above his head, "What are you still doing in a daze? Come up!"

Duan Feizhuo stuffed his doubts into the bottom of his heart and climbed up the iron ladder.

The manhole cover has been lifted by Z. Z squatted by the well and pulled him up.

"What did that guy tell you?" Z asked seriously.

Duan Feizhuo suspected that he had heard it, but asked knowingly—in order to test whether he would tell the truth.

"He said he hadn't seen anyone like me in a long time. I didn't understand what that meant."

"That's weird." Z commented blankly.

Duan Feizhuo moved the manhole cover back to its original position, straightened up and observed the surrounding environment. He wondered where exactly they were.

It only took him a second to judge his position.

"Ah, **** it." He cursed.

"What's wrong?" Z turned his head and asked, "What is this place?"

Duan Feizhuo looked at the bright signboard in front of the sewer—a huge red cross was drawn, and "Stone General Clinic" was written underneath.

"I just said that old fox Stone is suspicious!"

After returning to the hotel, Duan Feizhuo sat down on the bed and said through gritted teeth.

"Duncan McLean said he smelled like a murderer because Stone kept pestering him at the funeral!"

Z closed the door and said while taking off his coat, "But he said that the smell was just 'similar', not 'exactly the same' as the murderer."

"Could the murderer be someone close to Stone?" Duan Feizhuo thought.

"Who is around him?"

"I remember his wife passed away a long time ago, leaving only one son..." Duan Feizhuo frowned, "Could it be his maid?"

Z said "Why a maid, not a son?"

"Because his son fell and became paralyzed! How is he going to commit murder?"

"Dr. Stone was the only one who could prove that his son was really paralyzed. Maybe he was faking it? The police would never suspect a paralyzed person, would they?" Z said.

Duan Feizhuo's brows became tighter and tighter, "But why did he pretend to be paralyzed?...to get rid of suspicion?"

He looks at Z. Now Z is stripped to nothing but a close-fitting shirt.

"What are you doing?!" Duan Feizhuo shouted in horror.

"Change clothes." Z said solemnly, "Don't you feel that you smell like sewer?"

Duan Feizhuo lowered his head and smelled himself. He had been in the sewer for so long that his sense of smell was almost gone. After Z said this, he realized that he smelled like a cesspit.

"I've asked the boss to bring hot water up."

"Oh." Duan Feizhuo replied blankly.

Wait, is Z going to take a shower in front of him? !

The steam engine in his chest began to work again.

The owner of the hotel came up quickly with a steaming bucket of water with two assistants. They brought a tub into the room and filled it with hot water. Z gave them a few shillings as a tip. They retreated gratefully.

"You first?" Z tilted his head towards the bathtub. He picked up the ashtray in the guest room, "I just went out for a cigarette."

After finishing speaking, he Shi Shi ran out of the guest room and closed the door behind his back.

Duan Feizhuo quickly took off his clothes and jumped into the tub. He faintly smelled smoke. He suddenly remembered that since a certain point, Z never smoked in front of him.

This at least shows that Z knows that there are people in the world who don't like the smell of cigarettes. But Duan Feizhuo hoped not only for this. He hoped that Z could understand that Z should pay more attention to his own health.

He shook his head violently, pushing the complicated thoughts out of his mind. They came to solve the murder case, not to travel together, how could he let those thoughts occupy his mind?

In order to keep his thoughts from wandering to Z, Duan Feizhuo forced himself to recall the case. Dr. Stone is absolutely inseparable from the murder. Even if he wasn't the murderer himself, he must have been involved with the murderer.

Perhaps the murderer was his son, Alexander Stone. That guy has always been psychotic. Duan Feizhuo didn't get along well with him, but his notoriety was like thunder. Because of his mother's early death, he was spoiled by his father and turned into a playboy. Just look at the dogs he keeps. Who can raise such a vicious dog?

Duan Feizhuo remembered that Ruth's younger brother was bitten by those vicious dogs. It stands to reason that vicious dogs that bite people should be culled, but in order to keep his son's pet dog, Dr. Stone gave Ruth's family a sum of money to shut them up.

Duan Feizhuo wouldn't be surprised at all if such a **** and wicked young man evolved into a perverted murderer.

Perhaps Dr. Stone saw his son's bloodthirsty nature and arranged for his son to be "paralyzed" in advance, so that his son would be free from suspicion if he committed murder in the future.

If only it could be proven that Alexander Stone was faking paralysis. Duan Feizhuo knew several methods to verify whether he had really suffered a spinal cord injury, such as knee **** reaction. But how should he go to check Alexander Stone openly? There was no way Dr. Stone would allow him access to his son.

Another phantom leaf? However, the number of phantom leaves is limited, and one less piece is used at a time. Although Duan Feizhuo didn't care about squandering the little inheritance left by Uncle Joseph, he had to save some practical things. What if there is a more important use in the future?

Is the secret of Dr. Stone really just like this?

What about the mystical statues of Hindu gods in his office? Mere coincidence?

With so many coincidences colliding together, I am afraid it is difficult to explain it with "coincidence", right?

Duan Feizhuo didn't know much about Indian mythology, so he really couldn't judge the origin and background of those **** statues. But he knew someone who knew it all.

William Butler Yeats was not only a talented poet and lover of mysticism, but also familiar with Irish and Indian myths and legends. Not only did he create many poems with India as the background, but he even translated the Hindu Upanishads into English in his later years.

If Duan Feizhuo wanted to ask someone about Indian gods, who else would be more suitable than Yeats?

Yeats was far away in London at the moment, and of course it was impossible to move to Aberdeen immediately. There was no way for Duan Feizhuo to fly back to London in an instant. But it's alright. Duan Feizhuo could meet Yeats in a "middle ground" where both of them could reach.

He always carries the magic circle blueprint of the secret trading house with him, because he is afraid that he will need to use the items in the trading house in case of any emergency. Now is the time when the trading bank comes in handy.

When Duan Feizhuo took a shower, the water was already cold. He wiped his body clean, changed into his pajamas, and conveniently put the magic circle talisman paper of the trading house into his arms. Then he opened the door quietly and looked down the corridor.

Z leaned against the wall of the corridor, with one hand in his pocket, holding a hand-rolled cigar in his mouth, and slightly tilted his head. The top buttons of the shirt were unbuttoned, and the line from jaw to Adam's apple was both graceful and fragile.

He already had several cigarette butts piled up in his ashtray. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he crushed the cigar into the ashtray and returned to the house.

"Sorry, the water is cold." Duan Feizhuo scratched his head.

"It's okay, I don't really feel it." Z said.

He unbuttons his shirt.

Duan Feizhuo jumped up like a spring on his feet, "I...I'm going out for a walk."

He lowered his head and fled quickly, leaving Z alone in the room.

How can you watch Z take a bath, it's too... so rude. Last time in Shropshire, he accidentally ran into the scene of Z taking a bath. He still remembers that scene vividly. Although I only saw Z's back, but the scars, the strange metal spine...

No, he didn't run away out of fear of the scars on Z's body. Rather... when he thinks of Z's appearance, he blushes unconsciously and his heart beats.

Duan Feizhuo was sitting in the hotel lobby. A clerk dozed off on the counter.

Now Z is taking a shower, maybe he can take advantage of this time to enter the trading house? But when he entered the trading house, the magic circle talisman paper would be left in place, and it would be bad if others saw it. If Z himself finds out, he will probably be cut into a human stick by Z before the serial killer can be executed.

He needs a place that is safe enough and hidden enough. The hotel has a small public toilet with advanced flush toilets. (In this era, the flush toilet is still considered an epoch-making new invention.) Duan Fei felt that the guy was very sleepy, even if he played disco next to the guy, the guy might not wake up, so he sneaked past the guy and walked into the toilet. into the toilet.

He got into a small compartment, locked the compartment door, and took out the magic circle talisman paper from his arms. It was very late now, and he wasn't sure if Yeats would notice the opening of the Secret Realm Trading House. But he had to try. If he didn't wait for Yeats today, he would try again tomorrow.

He tapped the talisman and entered the transaction bank.

It is now Wednesday morning. Since Duan Feizhuo inherited the trading house, it only opened on Saturdays, and sometimes it was not even open on Saturdays. Customers must have been surprised to discover his unusual behavior.

In order for Yeats to enter the trading house, the customer channel must be opened. But once this is done, other customers can visit at any time. He could only think of a way to drive away customers other than Yeats.

Duan Feizhuo put on the golden mask of the owner of the trading house, set the golden clock to 12:5, and then stood guard at the gate of the trading house, intending to ruthlessly drive away every customer who came.

Soon, the first guest emerged from the guest aisle.

"I'm sorry, sir, the trading house is not open to ordinary customers today, please go back... oops! Al! Let me go!"

The first guest turned out to be Al! Wearing a gray pajamas, with bare feet, he bumped his head into Duan Feizhuo's chest, and then hugged him tightly. Duan Feizhuo's ribs were almost broken by him. He wondered if the kid had practiced some iron head skills while he wasn't paying attention.

"Master! Are you alright?" Al looked up at Duan Feizhuo with tears in his eyes.

Even if something happened, it was hit by you. Duan Fei is clumsy. He pushed the boy away and rubbed his painful ribs, "What are you doing here?"

"I saw that the key of the trading house you gave me turned bright, and I knew the trading house was open. You have been with the night policeman for so many days, and I worry about you so much that I can't sleep every day!"

I see it. It was so late that he could still find out that the trading house was open, which meant that he had been staying up late to practice immortality.

"How could I be exposed so easily. Don't worry about it." Duan Feizhuo said.

"Master is really amazing! You are the only one in the world who can hide your identity perfectly after walking with the Night Policeman for so long!" Little stars appeared in Al's eyes.

Duan Feizhuo didn't take his rainbow fart seriously. "I can't stay here long. I opened the trading house to see Mr. Yeats. You stay here, and if other guests come, you drive them away."

Al was embarrassed, "The guests are all powerful mystics, what should I tell them?"

"Just say that the opening of the trading house today is to welcome special guests, and it is not open to ordinary people."

"What if Mr. Yeats never comes?"

Duan Feizhuo pondered, "Then please pass a message to him."

"I understand!" Al saluted, like a little soldier who received an honorable mission from his superior. With his chest up and his head up, he stood guard at the door of the trading house like a guard.

Duan Feizhuo thought that it was so late, maybe not many guests would come, but he forgot that there is still such a thing as jet lag in the world. The previous owner, Joseph Chester, has business partners all over the world. For the mystics who live on the other side of the world, this time is more suitable for them to visit the store.

Soon came a few Americans. Al told them in perfect East End English that the trading house was closed to ordinary people today. Some of the American guests looked annoyed, but others were interested.

They leaned into the ears of their annoyed companions and said, "Maybe the owner of the trading house wants to buy some special new goods, otherwise why is it not open to the public?"

When the annoyed Americans heard this, most of their anger dissipated. "Then next time we come again, won't we be able to see a lot of new things?"

They left the trading house one file at a time, and before they left, each of them would secretly glance at Duan Feizhuo with meaningful eyes, but the latter was too guilty to look at them. Well, the next time they visit, I'm afraid they will be disappointed. But it doesn't matter, Duan Feizhuo didn't want them to come again. The farther they rolled, the easier it was for Duan Feizhuo.

In this way, Al drove away several groups of guests in a row. Looking at the ticking golden clock, Duan Feizhu became more and more anxious. It has been half an hour since the trading bank was opened, and it is almost time for Z to wash up, so he must go back quickly.

It seems that Al can only send a message to Yeats.

Duan Feizhuo took out a pen and paper from the rosewood counter, intending to write down his questions and ask Al to pass them on. At this moment, Yeats walked into the trading house.

Unlike Duan Feizhuo who came out for business in casual pajamas, he was meticulous in suits and leather shoes, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and holding a civilized staff. There is nothing wrong with this dress even if you go directly to a high society dinner.

I don't know if he washed and dressed up for visiting the trading house, or he was participating in some evening social activities at this time, so he entered the trading house directly in this dress.

"Mr. Yeats!" Duan Feizhuo was overjoyed, "It's time for you!"

He immediately set the golden clock back to 12 o'clock and closed the passenger passage. Al crouched at the door, looking in awe at the owner of the trading house and today's only customer. They will definitely discuss important matters next. Is that something a little servant like him can listen to?

"Did you open the trading house just to find me?" Yeats was surprised, "Are you in danger?"

"Well, that's not the case. I have a few questions for you, and you know the best Indian mythology of anyone I know."

"Just for this?" Yeats sighed helplessly, "Then why don't you send a telegram? Is it really urgent enough to ask me face to face?"

Duan Feizhuo was stunned. That's right, he forgot about the telegram. In his time, the telegraph had long since withdrawn from social life, becoming something only found in history books and museums. So much so that he traveled to the 19th century when the telegraph was prevalent, and still often forgets that there is such a thing in the world.

"It's... really urgent." Duan Feizhuo tried hard to regain his dignity, "When I was investigating a serial murder case in Aberdeen, I found a few statues of Indian gods in a suspect's home, all of which were occult items. But I It’s not clear what their functions are. As far as I know, Indians respect their gods very much, so they don’t attach strange functions to their statues, do they?”

Duan Feizhuo recalled the memory scene he had witnessed on the statue - Dr. Stone kneeling in front of the statue and praying. What is he praying for? Is he not a Christian? Why worship pagan gods? Is he borrowing the power of the idol?

"So I was thinking," Duan Feizhuo said with deliberation, "if those statues really possess some kind of power, will something wonderful happen when the holders pray to them?"

Yeats came interested "Fantastic thing? What do you mean?"

"Such as restoring health to a cripple, or turning a normal person into a beast?"

Yeats thought for a moment, then asked, "Let me venture to guess, is there a human elephant head among the statues?"

Duan Feizhuo was stunned, "How do you know?"

"That's Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, one of the most revered gods in India. Hindus believe that he can bring wealth and happiness."

"If you want someone to recover, you will pray to Ganesha?" Duan Feizhuo asked.

"Not only that. Do you know why Ganesha has an elephant's head?"

"I don't know." Duan Feizhuo said honestly.

Yeats laughed, "There are many versions, one of which is that Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, a girl from the snow mountain, but he was born when Shiva was traveling. One day Parvati wanted After taking a bath, he asked his son Ganesha to guard the door. When Shiva came back from his travels, he found a strange young man standing at the door of the house. He became jealous, thinking that his wife had cheated. So he angrily cut off Ganesha. Sa's head. Parvati, the goddess of the snow mountain, ran out and told Shiva that Ganesha was their child. She was heartbroken and asked Lord Shiva to resurrect Ganesha. But Ganesha's head had already flown there. Where did Shiva go? Because Shiva killed his own child, he also regretted it, so he asked the creator **** Brahma for help.

"Brahma said that when Shiva was looking for Ganesha's head, he could put the head of the first animal he saw on Ganesha. As a result, Shiva saw an elephant first, so Ganesha won resurrected with the head of an elephant."

Duan Feizhuo asked, "Ganesha died and resurrected, so he is a **** of good fortune?"

"Not only that, this legend is also in line with 'turning normal people into wild beasts'. It's just that Indians love elephants, so they think that Ganesha with an elephant head is a **** of blessing. If it is in a country that hates elephants, Ganesha Maybe Ganesha will become an evil god?"

A flash of light flashed through Duan Feizhu's mind. He was somewhat vaguely aware of the general outline of the whole incident, but there are still some places that are not clear...

All the clues and events are connected together with only one missing line.

"That's all I want to ask, Mr. Yeats." Duan Feizhuo said seriously, "I'm going back. If the night police find that I disappeared out of thin air, then I will be in big trouble."

Yeats' face darkened."