Old-time musicians

The damaged worm notebook was spread out on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Fanning originally thought that the so-called damage meant that the paper was blackened, crushed or burned, but the situation of this notebook was so strange that it exceeded his expectations.

Overall, it no longer had any relationship with "paper". The main part "sank" into the thick glass layer of the coffee table, showing a turbid crystalline texture similar to frosted glass, and the surrounding plane was supported by layers of proliferating ridges.

Further away from the notebook, some more complex colors and shapes were mixed in. Fanning felt that there might be bright white porcelain color, dark brown coffee color, leather-like black and pipe-like orange-red, but in fact, he couldn't tell what it was. In short, because he couldn't understand it at all and couldn't express it well, it caused a very strange discomfort in his heart.

Judging from the expressions of others, the feelings were similar.

Everyone looked at it for a long time before turning their eyes back to the "corpse ring" on the sofa.

Fanning felt that this strange posture was basically the same as that of Vien's body, but the weather was so cold and the time had not passed so long that the skin did not become dry and dark red, and the head did not have only a layer of scalp left like that, but it seemed that it had shrunk to a certain extent compared to the size of an adult male.

The two investigators checked around and found no fatal wounds.

The mysterious factors must have killed a high-ranking knowledgeable person. If it was not direct injury or distortion, it would be a pure spiritual or knowledge problem.

A deacon who was waiting in advance began to talk about what happened last night:

"It should be around eight o'clock after we received Mr. Lavoisier. We were delayed for a while and reported to St. Perto, and then we dispersed. Father Hester also returned to his residence at around nine o'clock. I found the body at 5:30 in the morning. I originally planned to come in advance to discuss the details of this morning's morning prayer ceremony."

"What did you do after returning to the apartment?" Owen stepped forward and asked Fanning.

"Read the Bible." Fanning looked at the sofa, sometimes standing far away, sometimes standing close.

"Will you start reading the Bible when you get back?" Owen asked.

"Of course not." Fanning shook his head, "Of course you have to take a bath and apply ointment first, calm your mood, and change clothes."

"What's next?"

"Talk to the Lord you love, and go to bed."

"" Owen exhaled slowly again.

Facing a small person who was unmoved in front of the leader of the Aurora, with his temperament, he would definitely rebuke him for "pretentiousness" on weekdays, but with Bishop Tukwell next to him, he really couldn't speak up, otherwise he would go to the discussion group to accuse him of "disrespecting the church's beliefs", and the two sides would argue and add trouble.

Owen just felt that he was so suffocated in his heart during this trip today.

Fanning answered casually, but his thoughts gradually diverged.

He seemed to vaguely capture the commonality between the posture of the corpse and something else.

"Could it be that this is some kind of heretical tribute ceremony?" Tucville was also speculating and thinking. He found that Lavoisier's expression of observation was very serious, so he asked, "Has the organist ever seen or heard of such a death?"

"The Serpent of Truth." Fanning uttered a phrase.

"The ritual of the organization 'about snakes'?" Everyone's face changed.

The Special Patrol Office deliberately concealed the God's Advent Society as an organization "about snakes". Among the official people who knew about it, only the top officials and a few people with special status knew about it. Boglierich seemed to be worried about what kind of mystical influence it would have after being known. Fanning also heard it from "Miss Scarlet" on the day of the "Carnival".

"Why are you so sure of your judgment?" An investigator next to him asked.

"Witness symbol." Owen narrowed his eyes.

After Lavoisier pointed it out, he also instantly realized that if this strange form of "corpse ring" was abstracted several times, it would be exactly the same as the spiral snake symbol of "Serpent of Truth"!

Could it be that the "corpse ring" is used for sacrificial tribute, and the notebook that has undergone strange changes is the target?

"Have you ever been exposed to this secret ritual when you were living in the South?" Owen, who really couldn't continue the previous inquiry, finally had a new question.

"Yes." Fanning nodded and recalled, "In the past, there were false prophets among the people of the South. Now there must be false teachers among Janus, who privately introduced heresy that harmed people, just like the Geminis who made promises to the people and then persecuted them. Even the master who bribed him did not recognize him. In my opinion, whoever believes in their words will fall into their tricks."

He squatted down and carefully checked everywhere, and the wrinkles between his eyebrows twisted into a ball again.

"" Owen's mouth twitched. He felt that Lavoisier always gave people a feeling of insinuating something, but he couldn't get angry or ask questions. Whoever got angry would have a problem, which would have a more opposite effect.

At this time, Tukwell placed mirrors in several places in the reception room, lit candles and recited a prayer.

This is a method of seeking enlightenment related to the Holy Sun Church and "candles". At first, relatively strong sunlight shone in from outside the room, but within a few breaths, all the mirrors, including the floor-length mirror in the living room, shattered with a few noises.

"What interference exists? The divine power I can pray for is not enough." The white-robed bishop of the first level of profound understanding frowned.

Sure enough, the status of such events is so high that it is unimaginable. Owen recalled the leader's serious reminder about the "worm".

In this case, it is difficult to confirm whether it was Hester's own accidental pollution outbreak or the connection with a second person by relying on this group of people at the scene. As a person who has passed through the "Flashing Blade Gate" of the "Exhaustion" phase, he is not as good as Tukwell who has passed through the "Light Shadow Gate" of the "Candle" phase in the ability to seek enlightenment.

"Hmm?"

Fanning used his full spiritual perception to gain insight into the noteworthy details with the help of Tukwell's ritual.

The broken floor mirror still had more than ten centimeters intact at the bottom, which just reflected a pair of shoes on the floor.

It was originally a pair of ordinary black leather shoes, but the image in the mirror gradually changed, the color changed from pure black to a special dove gray, and the shoe mouth gradually widened.

The change was fleeting like an illusion. After Fanning blinked a few times, the mirror still showed the pair of black leather shoes.

"Your Excellency, it is seven fifteen now," a civil servant pointed to the clock in the corner and whispered.

The morning prayer time is seven thirty.

"The faithful have called, right?" Tukwell asked.

"Two days in advance."

"Has the death been announced?"

"It was posted."

"Today you are going to sing mass, so is the organ playing or resting?" This was asked by Fanning.

"With accompaniment." The civil servant answered without a doubt.

Owen on the side always felt that it was no coincidence that this person's visit was so close to Hester's strange death.

The proportion of survivors in the southern continent with problems is too high. I don't know how many examiners were exhausted during the intensive search period when the accident just happened.

"Today's mass music is accompanied by an organ. Mr. Lavoisier is an expert, so I guess he can make some criticisms?" Seeing Fanning suddenly ask about the organ, he stared into the other person's eyes and spoke.

Fanning was recalling the dove-gray shoes he had just seen in the fragments of the floor-length mirror.

That was a pair of special organ shoes!

The width of the sole is narrow to prevent the adjacent keys from sticking when playing the pedalboard. The heel and toe are basically level, which is used to bring the same touch feeling when playing the black and white keys of different lengths. The whole texture looks very light and soft, so that the soles of the feet can better grasp the changes in timbre.

Dove gray organ shoes?

Facing Owen's scrutinizing eyes, Fanning once again showed a calm and upright smile and praised:

"I think it's good."

""

The morning prayer in the church is about to begin. It will be difficult to get results if we stay here for a while. A large number of believers have gathered here, and the ceremony must proceed as usual. Bishop Tukwell immediately signaled everyone to move to another place temporarily.