Returning from the abyss

Chapter 266
Until the people dispersed, the head of the Turner family didn't say anything about Lu Ning.

She did deliberately use a relatively vague method to say this, but it would not be impossible if the Turner family desperately used that statement as an excuse to try to accuse herself.The other party did not adopt such a method, that is to say, he had some concerns.

As for the mayor's words like "witches can be killed" and "witches have limited magic power", just listen to them. Now the main threat to the town comes from the devils. How can they know the weaknesses of the devils better than her?

Following the dispersed crowd, Lu Ning walked towards the hotel. However, this night was destined to not be too peaceful, because the demons had already begun to discover the benefits of attacking the people in the town first.

A horrified scream came from the blacksmith's shop she had just passed, and then she saw the blacksmith's son crawling out of the blacksmith's shop, which also alarmed the surrounding crowd.

"Help! Help... my father, my father! That woman! That witch! She is a witch!"

The boy's speech was incoherent, and the townspeople rushed up and lifted the curtain of the blacksmith's shop with the courage they had just heard from the preaching.

The forge was still burning, and small items such as nails and nuts were scattered on the ground. The long wooden table used by the blacksmith to place these items had been emptied, and a "corpse" was placed on it.

And there was a person standing beside the long table. She raised her gloved hands and raised the arm of the "corpse".

Seeing this scene, Lu Ning couldn't help but feel her scalp tingle.

The thing placed on the table is actually a huge human-shaped piece of meat, with internal organs and even bones growing outside, the fragile capillaries ruptured during the collision, and the heart stopped beating long ago, and the lungs no longer expanded. A corpse indeed...not even an autopsy.

It's just that there is no normal way to turn a person into this look.

"The man was turned over."

Fujii Yukine put that hand down and made a cold judgment.

"The cause of death was suffocation. His mouth and nose were blocked by his own skin and he was unable to breathe normally. It is difficult to guess his identity and time of death from this appearance, but he should have been killed during a speech in the square. His identity... according to his muscles It is indeed the blacksmith himself, judging from its strength."

The blacksmith's son burst into tears, but the people in the town crowded at the door, but no one dared to go in. After all, the smell of blood could be smelled from outside the door, and a person who was turned inside out was more curious than beyond the upper limit of acceptance by most people.

With a swipe of Fujii Yukine's foot, she swept away the odds and ends beside her feet.

"It's reasonable to doubt the person who first discovered it. I don't intend to pursue your judgment in a hurry, but who was not in the square at the time of the incident? Does anyone know?"

"How do you prove that you didn't kill someone!" Someone shouted.

"This is not a method of killing that human beings can use. When you started the rally to fight back against the witch, the witch also used this method to show her existence. Isn't it obvious? Do you think I am a witch? And that part of you all Do you want to deal with me like a forgotten history?"

Fujii Xueyin's words directly hit the pain points of the townspeople.They really want to get rid of that period of history, and if they kill the suspected target indiscriminately, it is tantamount to returning to the original state, which is exactly what the witch wants to see.

"... Forget it, it seems that no one will pay attention to who is not present." Fujii Xueyin shook her head, "It's okay, I'm a detective, and when I find out any suspects, I will come to the door one by one for questioning Yes. Now you decide what to do with this body, I believe he will not be the last."

She walked out the door, and people automatically moved out of the way.

At the end is Lu Ning.

"Is there something wrong?" Fujii Xueyin looked at Lu Ning and asked.

"When did you come here?"

"About 10 minutes ago, shortly after the plaza broke up, do you want me to recap what was said?"

"It's meaningless, you can tell a lot of information even if you leave early. I want to ask why you came here?"

"The smell of blood." Fujii Xueyin turned her head towards the door, "I am very sensitive to the smell of blood, and the blacksmith was obviously alive when he was turned over, and he broke many blood vessels when he struggled."

"The hotel register, what did you find?"

"Why would I tell others casually?" Fujii Xueyin shrugged, "The inquiry should end here. The two of us suspect each other, and I have no obligation to tell you everything."

"...Okay." Lu Ning stepped aside.

When Fujii Xueyin passed her, she slowed down a little and lowered her voice.

"If the devil can only change the state of the dead, then is the change of the living caused by the witch, or is the devil's ability improved?"

"What did you say?" Lu Ning tried hard to maintain her facial expression.

"It's nothing, it's going to be smooth sailing tomorrow."

Fujii Yukine nodded slightly, and then left.

The death of the blacksmith made Sivis and others unable to rest. When Lu Ning returned to the RV, many patrols had already appeared in the town. The streets and alleys also made Lu Ning unable to sleep.

Slightly irritated, she got up from the bed, put on a coat and walked towards the tin flagon.

The tavern will be open very late. During this period, people will come into the tavern in groups to get some supper to fill their stomachs.

Lu Ning walked to a seat she was familiar with and sat down. Immediately, Sera put a glass of soda in front of her.

"Thank you, give me a glass of mead." Lu Ning breathed out into her palm, then took a sip of soda water.

"If you think this place is dangerous, just leave." Sera quickly brought a glass of mead and sighed slightly.

"You seem disturbed, too."

"No one will be at ease. After all, such a murder has happened... The witch, even the mayor has said, so it is likely that she will come back."

"Do you know the story about the witch?" Lu Ning suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked Sera about the specific legend.

"It's all told by the elders, and there are several versions of the story, and I don't know which one is correct." Sera shook her head and said, "We were just warned not to think about moving out without the permission of the mayor. .Now it seems that maybe the witch will prevent the people in the town from moving out?"

"Serra, don't you think some things in town are very suspicious?"

"We grew up in that environment."

"So what about those stories? The original rumor was that a witch came to the town. People discovered her extraordinary power and executed her. But why did the execution frenzy in the town happen? According to me As far as we know, the number of outsiders who came to this town has never been large."

Lu Ning took a sip of the mead and smacked her lips.

"So who was the town executing at that time? Or 'what'?"

Sera's expression was slightly shaken.

"This matter is not that simple, so I will not let go of every clue... Sera, can you tell me in detail what you know about the witch, since you have this cup of 'Return of the Witch' here wine, then there must be a story behind it, right?"

After a while, Sela lowered her voice and began to tell.

The Witch's Return really means that the witch returns several times inexorably, but it also records a personal experience of the inventor.

It is impossible to test who this person is. The only thing Sera knows is that this person is one of the very few people who have spent a long time with the witch.The meeting and parting of the two are all in winter, which is a story with a bit of magic.

In front of this man, the witch made an oak tree sprout in the middle of winter. This action did not scare him away, but instead made him obsessed with such a skill, and pestered the witch to learn such a skill.

And in the winter when the witch was hanged, he took a piece of wood from the dead oak tree and used it to age a barrel of their favorite wine, which had a bitter taste that he had never brewed. , and never reproduced.Even if he used the same materials and steps again, he couldn't get the same wine. In desperation, he tried every means to make a substitute brewed wine, which he named "Return of the Witch".

As for the remaining brewed wine, they disappeared after the death of the bartender. Since no one except him had tasted that taste, no one knew how much the return of the witch had restored, and why the original wine It fascinated him so much.

"Does that brewed wine... have a name?" Lu Ning asked.

"Most are rumors, and I can't be sure. Some say the bartender named it 'The Witch's Oath,' in honor of their original vow and fragile end."

"Where did you hear this story? You can tell it in such detail, it must not be hearsay?"

"Yes, my father told me this story when I was a child." Sera nodded, "Now, the witch is really coming back, and the bartender's wish will come true."

Lu Ning didn't care what his wish was, what she cared about was the oak tree in that story.

"Do you know where the oak tree is in the story?"

"After so many years, I'm afraid it's gone. At least I haven't heard of any dead oak trees in the forest. Generally, such trees will be cut down by woodcutters within a few days."

Lu Ning nodded, ordered another glass of wine, rested her chin on the bar counter and meditated, while Sierra went to deal with other guests.

There was the sound of water hitting the roof overhead, and the drizzle had already begun. This weather change was a big blow to the patrolling people, and soon two groups of people flooded into the tavern, and the three sisters were very busy for a while. open hand.

It happened that Lu Ning could be quiet for a while.

"Heart, oath, key, eyes, what do the other two represent? Where is the location of the initiation ceremony? What kind of process will be carried out? Or will the witch notify me when I actually get those items? If so, then It can be inferred that the personal secrets and clues held by the tourists can be extended to one or two items, and the devil needs to compete for these things... The witch has not really returned, and who attacked us before?"

She glanced suspiciously at the busy Selah. She spent most of her time checking the people present during today's rally, and she did not have short pale blonde hair as obvious as Selah.

"But the devil can pretend to be someone else, and the witch should be able to do it too. But in this way, is she dead or alive? Where is the main body?"

Lu Ning rubbed her temples, at this moment, a person blocked the light.

Adams Turner, this man still had a straight face, staring at Lu Ning with sharp eagle eyes, holding a glass of wine in his hand, standing with the backlight, looking a bit gloomy.

"Doctor Lu, I already know the warning you gave us."

However, as soon as he opened his mouth, Lu Ning found that Adams's mood was obviously not as calm as his expression.

"Please... tell me, how did you know that plan didn't work? Or...you already felt the resonance?"

"Resonance?" Lu Ning came into contact with a new word.

"The witch whispers in your ear, she is always there, when our spirits are in a fragile state...tell something whether you want to know it or not." Adams sat down next to Lu Ning, "This kind of thing is It is not uncommon in the town, but it is the first time that outsiders have such a situation."

"What do you mean?"

"The development of this town today is inseparable from the witch." Adams squeezed his wine glass, his voice squeezed into a line, "Whether we want to admit it or not, the whispers of the witch in our ears have brought great benefits to the development of the town." To great benefit, she imparts knowledge to everyone who strikes a chord, sometimes even thinking it’s her own inspiration.”

"Don't tell me that even those executions..."

"At the time, everyone thought we had invented something by ourselves, but in retrospect, the first few torture devices became popular in the whole town overnight, which is not normal. And after that, people went crazy Going to catch people like witches in the same way, the feeling of certainty is like getting the result first and then deducing the identity of the other party." Adams's speech speed gradually became faster, "But after the town gave up that kind of past, This resonance has gradually become less, I didn't expect it to appear again, tell me, Doctor Lu, did 'she' tell you?"

"Before that, please answer me a question." Lu Ning shook her glass, "Your response to the witch was so quick and organized. Did similar things happen in the past few decades?"

"In my life, I have experienced a total of three suspected witch return incidents." Adams nodded, "And these incidents all started from similar situations, such as strange deaths, a large influx of foreign tourists, and some people started It resonated... but each time we managed to defuse the crisis."

"Resolved the crisis? How did you do it?"

"When the tourists left, the town was strictly patrolled by martial law, and there were some back-up measures ... In short, after people stopped resonating, everything returned to calm."

Tourists leave?Lu Ning didn't believe these words.

I'm afraid those tourists either died or lost their memory.

(End of this chapter)