nashuaworldcup Chapter 52 Variety Show Chapter 6
Chapter 52 Variety Show Chapter 6
The candlelight, the size of a small soybean, slowly moved forward in the gloomy castle.
The footsteps of the four people in the rear unconsciously lightened up. Several pairs of feet stepped on the smooth and tidy marble floor, but there was only a slight sound of chaotic footsteps.Borrowing the glimmer of light in front, You Yunran silently looked at everything in the castle.
Above the walls covered with brown and yellow complex patterns, many obscure old stains that have gone through countless years can be clearly seen.A single red candle wall lamp was attached to the wall, but no one stepped forward to light it up.The majestic and majestic giant armor statues stood on both sides of the aisle, gazing coldly at everything in front of them in the dark.Occasionally, a few clocks with owl carvings on the top can be seen, standing silently somewhere in sight.
Judging from the traces of many buildings and furnishings, these are undoubtedly the existence of dozens or even hundreds of years.They are dilapidated, decayed, and full of traces left over from the years. At a glance, they seem to be able to glimpse the dust of time attached to them through the appearance.
But under careful observation, no dust can be found on the top of each item.Their surfaces are shiny and clean, as if they have been carefully wiped again and again.
This strange sense of contrast makes people unconsciously feel a mystery.
If there are people living here, why is the building so old and damaged that it is not replaced.If no one lives here, why is the dress so neat and tidy?
What's more, the most important thing is the person who leads the way ahead.
The flickering candlelight stopped moving, holding a glass lantern with a grille surrounded by black iron metal, the man in the tuxedo turned around slowly, his cloudy gray-white eyes, which seemed to contain breathless will-o’-the-wisps, met Several people behind.
Annie, who was the least courageous among them, clenched her fists unconsciously and took a few steps back, unwilling to look directly at the opponent.
This is like a mummy.
The withered and tightened muscles and skin, wrinkled like bark, stuck tightly to the bones below.The sunken cheeks and eye sockets are like a skeleton decorated with a layer of horrible skin. With its black mouth open and closed, it utters a hoarse and strange elongated and empty tone.
A tuxedo that should fit properly was swaying empty, like a black cloth hanging on a bamboo pole.The two palms exposed outside the clothes are slender and thin, like living branches, revealing a terrifying and gloomy atmosphere in their fragility.
Is this really human?
Traveling through the vast snow-white land, after experiencing many difficulties, he finally arrived at a dilapidated safe haven.After the door was pushed open, what came out was such an existence that it was not right for the guests to enter or retreat.
In the end, they still couldn't bear the urging of the boundless frost and snow. Everyone suppressed the fear in their hearts and made a request to enter the castle to avoid the snow and wind.
Unexpectedly, the guy who claimed to be the butler didn't mean to welcome him at all. He said the message of "walking a few more miles, and there will be a town", which meant to let them leave here and walk for several hours in the ice and snow to find the next boarding house. land.
But in this case, how could You Yunran and others leave.Annie bit the bullet and stepped forward, taking on the role of making a request, hoping that the other party could take her in on the grounds that she was "weak and unable to endure the wind and snow."The butler persisted several times, and seeing the decisive attitude of the four people opposite him, with the attitude of "you won't let us in, we'll just wait outside you", he had no choice but to let them go.
Just as the butler said at this time: "The masters are resting, please lower your volume and movement, and don't disturb them."
He held the black iron lamp, and the dim candlelight hit everyone's faces, and the dull and restless emotions spread silently, and no one was willing to speak for a while.
The butler continued on his own: "I will send you all to your respective rooms to rest. During this period...don't walk around casually, and don't touch anything in the castle."
While everyone was listening carefully, the butler paused, turned around, fixed his deep eye sockets on the four of them, and said slowly and warningly, "...especially the mirror in the castle."
When Annie looked up, she happened to see the floor-to-ceiling mirror standing right behind the butler. The moment her eyes touched the picture in the mirror, the hairs on her back exploded, and her heart jumped into her throat instantly.
For a moment, panic overwhelmed everything, and she couldn't even make a sound. Annie could only stare at the picture on the mirror with her eyes wide open.It seems that someone is dipping their fingers in blood, and slowly writing a line of writing stroke by stroke. At the end of the writing, dripping blood is still slowly flowing down, like the fingers of a struggling deceased sliding down the mirror. .
[i...see...you...]
Annie's fair and beautiful face was almost distorted: "!!!!"
The housekeeper with his back to the mirror continued expressionlessly: "Please follow me."
Annie was nailed to the spot like a wooden stick, her breathing gradually became heavy, her fingers tightly held onto the corner of Daxiu's clothes, and she remained motionless.
Daxiu looked at her inexplicably, and said, "Why?"
Annie felt like falling into an ice cave, tremblingly said: "Mirror, mirror, mirror...!!!" When she finished speaking, her voice was a little hysterical.
Daxiu said impatiently: "I can hear it, isn't it a mirror, no one has seen it before. When I get here, I still want to look in the mirror..."
He shook off Annie's hand and followed closely behind the housekeeper.
The candlelight moved away bit by bit, and the darkness quickly spread to Annier's body. At the moment when the darkness was about to engulf her, Annier shuddered and subconsciously ran in the direction where the light existed. There was a little crying: "Wait, wait for me!!"
You Yunran noticed Annie's movement, he looked back at the other party, stretched out his hand to signal Annie to move forward, and come to his side.Annie seemed to have met a savior, and hurriedly chased after her. The sound of pattering footsteps caught the housekeeper's attention.
With a hoarse voice, he turned around, stared at Annie and said gloomyly: "Take your steps lightly."
Annie's figure was shocked immediately, her high raised feet fell lightly, and she walked quickly to You Yunran's side in aggrieved way.
Annie couldn't help but whispered to You Yunran quickly: "I saw that mirror just now..."
iseyou, I see you, I understand your mind, I follow you, I will not let you disappear from my eyes, I am only interested in you...
Who is "i"?Who is leaving such a line of text to "her" or "them"?
To Annie's surprise, You Yunran said, "I saw it."
"What?!" Annie exclaimed in surprise, "Then why..." There was no reaction at all,
You Yunran stretched out his index finger, made a "shh" gesture, looked at the butler in front of him who said "my master is resting" again and again, said "don't make a loud noise", and said in a soft tone: "We don't Way to get out of here."
Annie fell silent after hearing this.
The blizzard outside the castle does not know when it will stop, the lost people who have no means of survival and can only be frozen to death, and the wonderful animals that brought them here along the way, as well as the next new one that needs to be conquered. "Copy".
In reason, they can only stay.
At this moment, a lingering foreboding appeared in Annie's heart.She seemed to have seen what might happen next.
An expression of anxiety and fear appeared on her face.
You Yunran asked: "We have walked all the way, and our clothes are covered with ice and snow. I wonder if there is a heater for us to keep warm?"
As soon as I heard this, I was asking the housekeeper. The housekeeper walked ahead with a well-proportioned pace and a very stable hand. A lamp that should have been shaking as the body moved forward, did not shake at all except for the flickering candlelight.He said with a hoarse voice like a saw pulling wood: "Yes."
You Yunran turned around and gestured to Annie and the others, "Do you need anything else..."
If it was in the past, Annie would definitely be eager to put forward her needs.Warm food, sweet drink, comfortable bathtub, soft bed, neat clothes.
But now, she wants nothing.
Not to mention that she couldn't eat anything in this environment, she was even a little afraid of what she would eat next.
The surrounding air was undoubtedly very cold, but at this moment, the bone-chilling chill in her heart made her even forget about her physical discomfort for a moment.
The butler took out four heaters from the warehouse, took out charcoal, put them in the fireplace and lit them.Annie and the others had never seen this kind of "ancient" heating method, and they didn't know what the other party was doing for a while. They only thought about a few small charcoals, and they couldn't see any flames, and they couldn't feel it at all when they were placed in the fireplace. How warm it is, I don't know why.
Until the butler used tongs to take out the charcoal from the fireplace one by one, placed them in small black copper-colored stoves, and handed them to the hands of the four.The heat from the charcoal that was continuously emitted from the stove was transmitted to everyone along the palms of their hands, and the expressions of several people all relaxed, at least in the severe cold, they felt a little comfortable.
The butler took the four of them to their respective rooms and said to them, "Please have a good rest."
"Wait a moment." Following the guidance of the "npc", You Yunran said among the four people who were somewhat depressed and silent along the way: "Excuse me, is there any clothes that we can change."
You Yunran looked at Daxiu and Annie, the snowflakes that had accumulated on their bodies had already melted, and the snow wet their clothes, dyeing the fabric several layers darker.In this cold weather, wearing such wet clothes is undoubtedly a kind of torture, and it will not be good for the body.
The surrounding environment is terrifying, but You Yunran is still the same You Yunran after all.He habitually pays attention to the situation of the people around him all the time. Many places that he has not noticed carefully and has no time to notice. feel better.
Annie's panicked emotions froze for a moment, and her restless rationality gradually returned to reality. There was an inexplicable sense of solidity that was pulled back to the ground by You Yunran's words when she lost her mind, and her pale and emptiness gradually became tainted. There was a hint of agility.
Daxiu was rarely taken care of in such detail. He did feel uncomfortable, but in such a situation, he didn't have the heart to think so much. Now that You Yunran suddenly mentioned it, he really felt a little embarrassed. Be considerate of your feelings.
Although the butler looks eerie and inaccessible, his professional quality is undoubtedly very good.As a housekeeper, he abides by the politeness he should have when dealing with guests, abides by the basic principle that he must never lose face to the host, and he will naturally agree unconditionally to You Yunran's request that he will not go too far.So he nodded silently, and responded to You Yunran's request of "please change a set of clothes for each of us", turned around and prepared to leave, looking for suitable clothes.
"Wait a minute." You Yunran stopped him again.
Annie and the others watched all this silently, got used to You Yunran's way of doing things, and believed that You Yunran still looked normal in the face of the weird guy, and no one would stop him at this time.
You Yunran looked at the sunken gray-white eyes, and said to the housekeeper, "Please leave us a lamp."
As soon as these words came out, Daxiu and the others realized that the only light source in front of them was the one in the housekeeper's hand.If the housekeeper left, what would they do? Could it be that they could only fall into the dim darkness, fearful and struggling?
If they rushed out of the room and yelled for the other party to stay after they had gone far away, the guy who repeated "lower the volume, the owner is sleeping" repeatedly, who knew what would happen to them next.
What if we drive them all out?
After listening to You Yunran's request, the butler paused for a while, then directly handed the lamp in his hand to You Yunran, and looked at him silently.
You Yunran reached out to take it, and smiled at the skeleton face that seemed to be rotting in the next second, with several layers of broken skin falling off, "Thank you."
The butler lowered his head, turned his back to the candlelight, and left step by step and steadily.
He walked into the darkness like this, and the sound of his light footsteps was not messy, as if human beings stepped into the sunlight and he returned to the darkness, it was extremely natural.
He seemed to have been used to this dark and dim environment for a long time, and he was used to it.
Holding the lamp, You Yunran silently watched the butler leave, then recovered and smiled at everyone. That familiar, relaxed and calm smile was undoubtedly very inspiring and stabilizing at this time.He didn't move in the slightest, he looked around the room with a lamp, found several wall lamps attached to the wall, and said to John, who was the tallest among them, "Please light the candles in the house. "
John naturally would not refuse.
He opened the upper opening of the lantern, took out the flickering candles, lifted them up, and lit them one by one against the red candles on the wall.Although the candlelight is far less bright than a light bulb, it is still a vehicle that can drive away the unknown darkness and bring people a sense of security.After the eight large and small wall lamps in the house were lit one by one, the living room of the huge suite was immediately dyed with a hazy yellow light like afternoon and dusk.
You Yunran found several compound candlesticks placed on the coffee table. These candlesticks are exquisite in appearance, and several vines, flowers and typical styles with contemporary characteristics are carved on the handle frame.
You Yunran signaled John to light these candles separately, and the light in the center of the room finally became completely bright.This level of light can bring people a sense of security, and even Annie's tense face gradually became calm because of it.You Yunran reached out and took the lamp handed by John, carried it, and walked towards the bookshelf placed in the house.
This should be a very well-to-do aristocratic castle. Even in the guest room, the bookshelves inside are full of very expensive books for that era.You Yunran reached out and took out a few books from the bookshelf to have a look, and found that each book was filled with rich text, not pure props.
Among them are books on architecture, psychology, art appreciation, religious beliefs, etc., covering all aspects of that era, large and small.
You Yunran's attention quickly focused on a brown newspaper that was folded and randomly placed in a corner of the bookshelf.
The newspaper presents a brittle texture that has been yellowed and rough after being placed for a long time.You Yunran immediately looked at the date at the top of the corner of the newspaper, stared slightly, then restrained his expression, and roughly browsed the content recorded in the newspaper.
His attention quickly locked on a corner of the newspaper, a report on local news.
"Five members of a family of villagers died tragically at home, their blood was drained from their bodies, their bodies were shriveled like paper, and there were mysterious demon circles painted inside the house"
Leaving aside the rest of the trivial and useless articles about politics, gossip, scandals, pornography, etc., the news about the local area is undoubtedly the place that needs the most attention at this time.The content recorded above looked very weird and bizarre, so You Yunran had to pay more attention.
So You Yunran followed this clue and set his eyes on the book about religious culture on the bookshelf.
This book is not too thick, at a glance, it is about sixty or seventy pages long.Daxiu and the others noticed You Yunran's movements, and subconsciously surrounded him. John asked, "Did you find anything?"
You Yunran turned around, took the newspaper, spread it out on the table, and said to them: "We seem to have come to a not-so-good place."
Annie and the others leaned closer and looked over, and after a while they all showed expressions of taboo and disgust.
"This is too unlucky." Daxiu pointed to the content recorded in the newspaper and said, "'The house near the edge of the forest' should be the forest we just passed through, right? It's not far from here."
"Yes, but here is what needs attention." You Yunran raised his index finger and pointed at the date in the corner of the newspaper: "January 1896, 1."
"It's today..." Annie murmured to herself, and asked You Yunran puzzled, "What's wrong with this date?"
After hearing this, You Yunran raised his eyebrows slightly, and was about to say something, but Daxiu said in distaste: "Can't you see that?"
John explained: "The date is today, but the newspaper has aged like this, which means the time is wrong."
Annie suddenly realized, and said, "So that's how it is!"
Then she was puzzled and said, "Hey, why? Did we cross time?"
After hearing this, You Yunran fell into a brief silence.
Everyone was discussing in low voices, and at this moment, there was a "knock knock" sound outside the door.Everyone looked at the door together, and then, without any surprise, they were startled again by the strange "figure" standing outside the door.
Annie jumped up from the sofa in horror, and subconsciously ran to hide behind Daxiu who was the closest to her.
The butler walked into the room after a few people's acquiescence, put the clothes neatly and carefully on his arms, and handed them to the people in front of him.
You Yunran stretched out his hand to pick up a few pieces of clothing, and found that the weight was quite heavy after he got it.
And this kind of clothes, the housekeeper took four sets of them.Still lightly, like lifting a piece of paper, without any feeling... How powerful is his pair of arms that are as slender as chopsticks.
You Yunran carefully observed the clothes in his hand, and handed them to Daxiu.Daxiu paused when he saw this, and said, "What are you doing?"
You Yunran pointed to the pattern on the clothes, and said to Daxiu: "This is the same pair as the pants you are holding."
The clothes of John and Annie are very recognizable, one is women's clothing, and the other is the largest size among them.Only Daxiu and You Yunran have the same body shape and almost the same height, so after the clothes are mixed together, it is difficult to recognize who is whose without careful identification.
The two suits were similar in color, both quite dark.The patterns, materials, and materials, if you don't look carefully, you can't see much difference.That is to say, You Yunran is careful, observes this kind of things very carefully, and recognizes the differences quickly and accurately.
Daxiu picked up the trousers in his hand and compared them carefully. Seeing that it was indeed the case, he took the jacket in You Yunran's hand, and took it with an "oh".
You Yunran held his own set in his hand, and said to everyone who got their own clothes: "Then let's go back first and change the clothes...then the room inside should also have no light source, remember each Take a lamp, change clothes, and then meet in the living room."
"Okay." This proposal was agreed by several people. Annie took away the candlestick on the coffee table, John took two wall lamps from the wall and distributed one, and You Yunran just continued to use it just before the housekeeper took it lantern.
They each chose a room and went in. Before leaving, You Yunran nodded to the housekeeper, took another book from the bookshelf, and brought it into the bedroom together with the religious books just now.
He moved very quickly, and it didn't take many minutes to change a few clothes.
When putting on the last coat, You Yunran's fingers seemed to have touched something hard from the clothes, so his movements paused slightly.He fumbled around on his coat, and finally took out a small round hand mirror from his pocket.
After accidentally touching the picture in the mirror, You Yunran turned the mirror over subconsciously, and turned the side carved with delicate metal patterns to face the top.
Just now……
Who is that man in the mirror?
You Yunran frowned slightly, falling into short memories.
Short blond hair, blue eyes, treacherous pale expression, staring at the person on the other side of the mirror expressionlessly...
Why did this mirror appear here? Did the housekeeper give it to them on purpose?
still is……
You Yunran thought for a moment, instead of throwing the mirror far away, he put it in his pocket.Picking up the two books he placed on the table, holding the black iron lantern, and leaving the room shrouded in darkness by the dim light.
After arriving at the living room, the housekeeper still stood silently, waiting for the next order from the guests.The others haven't come out yet, You Yunran should be the first one to get dressed.He put the lantern on the table, and sat on the sofa in a slightly relaxed posture, holding another book besides religious beliefs in his hand, flipping through several pages quickly and carefully.
After about a minute or so, Daxiu, who had a fiery temper and was also impatient in his work, opened the door in a hurry, with his coat crooked on his body, pushed open the door and yelled at the butler standing outside: "Fuck you!" What's the meaning!"
He smashed the small metal mirror in his hand to the butler's feet. If the environment was not really suitable, he would almost rush forward and grab the butler by his collar to make trouble for him.
Seeing the look of shock and anger on his face, he must have been taken aback by that weird little round mirror.
The butler looked down at the mirror silently, picked it up without saying a word, put it back in his hand with a hint of demeanor in his movements, and stood straight on the spot without answering anything.
Daxiu was shocked and angry, facing a guy who seemed useless to beat and scold, he couldn't get angry at all.He looked back at You Yunran who was sitting on the sofa, seeing that You Yunran was still calm and unafraid, he raised his eyebrows.
He stared at the writing in You Yunran's hand, and said in a provocative tone: "You are really leisurely, at this time, do you still have the heart to read these?!"
You Yunran's eyes lingered on the last page of the book for a long time, with a thoughtful expression on his face, as if thinking about something.But just as Daxiu said, reading "such a book" at this time is really inappropriate, so he put down the book and said to Daxiu with a smile: "Just read it."
Then he continued to pick up the book of religious beliefs, and started to read it from the first page.
Seeing that You Yunran seemed to be getting down to business again, Daxiu frowned and stopped talking.He randomly found a single sofa and leaned on it, crossed his legs, tapped his knees with his fingertips irregularly, and waited impatiently for the other two people to appear.
John didn't keep them waiting long, and he quickly changed his clothes and appeared, also holding a mirror in his hand.
Seeming to have found some important clues, You Yunran looked down at the book for a long time, the pages kept flipping down at a regular pace, and he didn't raise his head for a long time.
As time passed, the impatience on Daxiu's face became more and more obvious.John also raised his head in doubt, and looked at Annie's room in the house again and again.
Daxiu finally had no patience to wait any longer. He couldn't bear it anymore and stood up from the sofa, rushed forward, smashed the door panel with "Kang Bang Bang", and shouted to Annie inside: "Have you had enough! It doesn't take much to change clothes!" If it takes that long, Smug Beauty should give me a place!"
There was no reaction in the house.
"Damn!" Daxiu thought for such a long time, it was long enough for him to change his clothes back and forth two or three times, Annie must have been dawdling in there again to dress up, so he was reluctant to come out for a long time, and shouted loudly: " Come out! Otherwise we'll just leave, you stay here alone!"
You Yunran quickly read all the content in the book, closed the book, and looked up in Daxiu's direction.
But no matter how much Daxiu yelled, Annie inside still didn't respond.
You Yunran stood up from the sofa, walked all the way to Daxiu's side, stopped the noise from Daxiu's continuous hammering on the door, listened carefully to the sound inside the door, and said to Annie: "Miss Annie, can you hear me?" ?"
"..."
Still no sound.
This situation seems a little weird.
Judging from the performance in the snow and after entering the castle just now, Annie is not the kind of person who doesn't care about priorities and likes to play petty temper, not to mention that she is not very courageous. When one person doesn't care," he should respond no matter what.
You Yunran reached out and pressed the doorknob, and said to the people inside: "Annie, we are coming in, if you are still changing clothes, please answer us."
"..."
You Yunran counted silently for three seconds, but still couldn't hear a response, so he grabbed the doorknob and quickly pushed the door open, and rushed in with Daxiu and John who surrounded him.
In the house, there is no one.
Annie, just disappeared out of thin air.
You Yunran turned back immediately, turned to the housekeeper and said, "Answer me, where is she!"
The butler stared blankly at Annie's room.Looking at the bedroom that was swept by darkness, his gaze slowly shifted to You Yunran and the others.
With a hoarse and gloomy tone, he said indifferently with a cold expression: "Are you really taken away?"
Daxiu was furious, no matter how restrained he was, he rushed forward and grabbed the housekeeper by the neck, and asked loudly, "What did you do to her!"