A common tavern that connects all fantasy worlds

But since the Headless Horseman represents "beheading" here in Sleepy Hollow, he will also be bound by this concept.Uncle Ninth couldn't think of any relative concept to restrain this, but it can completely prevent the "beheading" from being completed: he won't run away or resist, but the knight can't cut off his head!

"Fortunately, this dress is big enough..."

Uncle Jiu thought silently, and didn't dare to breathe hard or make a sound, but used an awkward posture to support the shoulders of the clothes as much as possible, listening to the movement outside.

Sure enough, the Headless Horseman didn't wait long before he raised his sword again and stabbed in the middle of his jacket.Uncle Jiu had expected this move a long time ago, he had already dodged in this narrow space, and he also threw off the shoulder joint of one arm, and managed to avoid the thorn with the so-called "shrinking bone" technique in the folk, and he didn't hold back the thorn. The head sticks out of the neckline.

The headless horseman from Hessen backed up again, this time he was going to hold the sword in his backhand and stab down directly from the neckline, he seemed to be very cooperative with the problem that Uncle Nine posed for him, and he didn't even think about chopping off his feet first or even stabbing people Take this option with the whole garment split in half.

Before he could take action, Ikab finally arrived with the townspeople lighting the torch.He asked a lot of information from Mr. Hardenbrook, and was about to tell Uncle Nine that he didn't need to bother to identify the parent-child relationship of the two deceased, but when he got near here, he saw the headless horseman coming out to kill several A Chinese, hurried back to find the brigade.

The townspeople's fear of the knights had been deeply rooted in their bones, but the numbers finally brought them courage, and they lit the torches and followed Ichab here.

This was the first time that the real body of the Headless Horseman had appeared in front of everyone, and that terrifying image made many people shy away.

Ichab encouraged everyone: "Don't be afraid! We have nothing to be afraid of when we are united. Drive this demon that hurts people's lives back to hell!"

Brom next to him didn't want to lose courage to a foreigner. With a loud cry, he rushed forward with his family's sharp long-handled ax and spear, and stabbed the headless horseman in the waist.

Uncle Jiu poked his head out quickly, threw his whole body on the ground, knocked his dislocated right shoulder back to its original position with the impact of the fall, rolled sideways again, and performed a move called "ape leap" With the lightness method, he bent his body and kicked his feet, and he was already more than ten meters away from the headless horseman.

Ichab hurried forward to help him up, and shouted back, "Come on! Kill the Headless Horseman!"

Chapter 26 The Scourge of Witchcraft

When Ichab woke up again, he was still a little confused about the situation.

Ninth Uncle was right next to him, as well as Master Fantaso with a gloomy face and Miss Fantaso with the same sad expression.Sleepy Hollow had a rare day of sunshine today, shining on him through the curtains, making him feel a long-lost warmth.

"F, what happened? Why can't I remember..."

He said.

Uncle Jiu replied: "You surrounded the Headless Horseman and drove him away...but Mr. Brome died heroically, and your finger was cut off by the knight."

Only then did Ichab feel a little pain in his left hand, and when he lifted it up, he realized that under the thick bandage, the little finger of this hand was gone.

"At least I didn't lose my head." He laughed at himself, and realized that it was not the time to laugh, and turned to Miss Fantaso to apologize: "I'm so sorry...Katrina...for making you lose a brave fiancé .”

"That's not all, Officer Corin." Master Fantasso, contrary to his friendly attitude a few days ago, accused him with a sullen face, "I heard a terrible news from Mr. Hardenbrook, saying that you are suspicious of our Fantasso family. ...Now that you have seen the knight with your own eyes, who took the lives of Reverend Brome, Reverend Steenway, and my wife who has disappeared in last night's riot, I hope this clears me of this baseless accusation Excuse me."

After speaking, he strode out of the room.

Uncle Jiu glanced at Katrina, then at Ikab, and said in a low voice, "Qiu Sheng, Wen Cai and I are all fine, come find me when you are ready."

When Uncle Jiu also left the room, Ichab sat up and leaned on the pillow with Katrina's help, and wanted to apologize again: "Katrina, I really..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl's slender fingers had gently pressed his lips: "Ichab, shhh. I understand, I understand."

Ichab closed his eyes in pain, he had completely remembered what happened last night.

Many townspeople mustered up their courage to rush up, and he and Brom rushed to the front.But that knight, that knight is simply unimaginably powerful, he blocked all attacks with a sword and an ax like a windmill, and wanted to hunt down Uncle Jiu; in the end, it was Ichab and Bro Tom took out two sickles and hooked him one left and one right, and then gave everyone a chance to greet the knight with spears, machetes and the like.

The knight finally got impatient, turned his head and swiped the axe, and opened the heart of Brom, who was the fastest rushing man with blood on his head. The incision was opened from the lower left abdomen to the right shoulder.Ichab retreated in time, but even so, his little finger was cut off by a sword.

The knight's war horse, the legendary famous black horse "Not Afraid of Death", was rushing through the crowd at this moment. The knight jumped onto the saddle as soon as he lifted the rein, knocked down Iqabu who was blocking the way, and walked away.

After that, Ichab, who was in pain and dizzy, also lost consciousness.

"What about Reverend Steenway?" Ichab asked again.

Katrina carefully wiped the cold sweat off his cheeks with a hot towel, and replied softly: "We found his body outside the town this morning, and the headless horseman also took his head. Someone saw him in the church last night. The gate refused the two young Chinese to enter, and then ran out of the town in a hurry..."

Ikab, who thought he had already solved the puzzle, seemed quite frustrated. He turned around and hugged his head, wondering why the priest and Uncle Ninth were hunted down by the knights.

Katrina approached and hugged his shoulders, and whispered in his ear: "You are resourceful and brave enough, and your friends are kind and good people. Brom is a brave man, and I am My fiancé, but I am not overly saddened by his death, and you certainly don’t have to blame yourself! I believe you will find a way to subdue the Dullahan, that is your destiny.”

"I have never believed in fate, and I refuse to believe in gods." Under Katrina's gentle gaze, Ichab gradually relaxed and replied.

"Then what do you believe?"

"Science, logic, cause and effect, empirical evidence. But after this period of experience, I also seriously considered whether to use faith in God to fill the fear of the unknown like you..."

Ichab said, but seeing Katrina in front of him smiled and shook her head: "I don't believe in God either."

"I'm sorry, I thought you were a devout believer?" Mr. Corian frowned suspiciously and asked in a low voice.

"Just like the reason I got engaged to Brome, I didn't want to disappoint my father, so I kept going to church with him." Katrina's eyes looked a little sad, she gently touched the thin cheek of the handsome man beside her, and continued to explain Say, "I got a different kind of education from my mother...one I like better..."

Katrina then told Ichab about her past experiences. It turned out that her mother was not Mrs. Fantasso whom she met that day...but another woman who had died of illness long ago.

She just started to remember things when she and her parents came to Sleepy Hollow to join relatives. The only thing she can remember is that although Master Van Garley took them in, he didn't give them any help in terms of property. The thatched huts where the serfs used to live were handed over to the Fantasso family.

Master Fantaso did not feel humiliated by this, but used his legal knowledge to serve the townspeople and help them resolve disputes, and slowly accumulated a lot of property and a great reputation in the local area; after New York State joined the United States , He even negotiated with the federal government on behalf of the local area, so that the private property and land of all the townspeople were recognized by the federal government, and a large piece of unowned wasteland near the thatched hut was placed under the name, and the land was developed, produced, and traded. , opened a bank, and saved the current family business from scratch in the past 20 years.

In order to make a living, he became more and more busy and went home less and less. Katrina spent all her childhood with her mother.

The mother had learned a great deal about what the church called "witchcraft," and she certainly taught her a lot during her time with her daughter.

While talking, Katrina also took a booklet and handed it to Ichab.

"This is what my mother left me... My father and stepmother don't know, so I will give it to you."

Ichab looked at the booklet with a blank cover, smiled, and asked Katrina, "Is this book very precious to you?"

"Yes." Katrina nodded, stared at him too, and laughed with him.

Knowing the young lady's intentions, Ikab did not refuse, but said to her in a soft voice: "My mother used to be like this, she is the 'child of nature', she will make fun tricks for me, tell me A witch's tale...but..."

"but what?"

"But my father, who was a biblical tyrant and hypocritical moralist, convicted my mother of 'witchcraft' and killed her, saying it was to save her soul. He put her Imprisoned in the 'Iron Maiden'... I was seven years old, and since then I have abandoned my previous beliefs."

Ichab narrated, her body trembling uncontrollably: "She is innocent... If she is really a witch with magical powers, how could she succumb to ordinary violence so easily, how could she be killed so easily!"

Katrina hugged him tightly, sharing the sadness of the memory with him, rubbing her beautiful face against his temples, calming him gradually.

"Do you believe in witchcraft?" she asked.

"When I came to Sleepy Hollow, I had to believe..." Ichab said, "because a little witch gave me her magic kiss, and I was completely fascinated by her charm."

In another room, Uncle Jiu sat on the table by the window and lit a cigar.

Yesterday was more than just what Ichab could think of. Max, who hadn’t waited for a tissue sample for a long time, came back to find them. After learning about the situation in Sleepy Hollow, he left his suggestion and a box of cigars, and then rushed to the hospital. The maid of Fanta Suo's house quickly slipped back before she found out.

His suggestion is simple: "Think about it carefully, who knows what you are going to find the knight's cemetery."

Apart from Qiusheng, Wencai, and Ikab, the only people who knew about it were Fantasuo and his wife; before going to the tavern last night, Ikab personally told them who were having dinner, because Master Fan needed to mobilize manpower.

The knight did not kill people randomly, and this possibility has been ruled out by the will and marriage certificate that Ichab found.Then, the reason why the pastor and the three of them were hunted down by the knights... could only be because the people behind the scenes wanted to kill people and destroy the evidence.

When Ikab, who was frustrated in the battlefield but proud in love, walked in, Uncle Nine solemnly told him this deduction, and at the same time presented another piece of evidence.

Qiusheng and Wencai ran to the church last night, wanting to hide in this "foreign temple" according to Master's order, but found that Pastor Stingway who came out was just what he saw at the party at Fan Ta Suo's house a few days ago That man who was messing around with Mrs. Fan outside the window.

Because of this, the two people tried to catch the pastor and wanted the master who could communicate to come and ask for clarification, which caused Stingway to run into the field in a panic, and finally lost his head under the sword of the knight.

Ichab, who had just warmed up with Katrina, quickly lowered his face and sighed.

"...so far the biggest suspect...is Katrina's father, our Master Fan Taso. He is now the first heir to the Van Garley family property, and he has the most motivation to kill Pastor Stingway and There is Mrs. Fantaso... However, there is only a 'motivation' in the current case, there is no 'evidence', and there is no way to convict. We still have to go to the woods, at least to find the bones of the knight and the woman who knew."

Ichab said, covering the wound on his hand, shaking his body.

"Don't you need to rest for a few days?" Uncle Jiu asked worriedly when he saw that he was not in good condition.

"No need...every night, another person may be killed. I'm ready to go." Ichab stuffed the witchcraft booklet that Katrina gave him preciously into his arms, and straightened up. Back said.

listed

Thank you friends for your love, I never thought that 20 words would be reckless in the blink of an eye, and it will be put on the shelves now.

Newcomers and new books, at the beginning, I was always apprehensive, afraid that no one would read what I wrote, and no one would like to read it. Now it is really emotional to have a day on the shelves.I don't even know what operations the author will do in the background after it's put on the shelf, so I have to try slowly...

Although not many people have read it, the support and encouragement of every reader, even silently, has been conveyed, and I am deeply grateful.

The next goal is to code smoothly according to the concept until the end. I will continue to maintain enthusiasm and work hard to improve the text. I hope everyone will continue to support it.

At last……

Thank you for reading my book.

Chapter 27 Lin Xiaying

The forest on the hillside was as silent as ever, only the sound of horses' breathing could be heard from time to time.

There were still only a few people who came to the forest on horseback, Uncle Jiu, Qiu Sheng, Wen Cai, and Ikab.Master Fantaso was angered by Ikab, so naturally he would no longer arrange for him; even if other people wanted to come, they didn't want to offend the most powerful master in the area, and being able to lend them horses was already the limit.

Ikab's face was pale, obviously the wound on his hand still affected his state, what he should do now is lie on the bed and rest instead of going into the woods with Uncle Jiu and the three of them. ,

But when Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai asked him, he only said: "I must come, I must end all this with my own hands."

This time there was no guide, and a few people wandered around the forest for a long time before looking at the mark Qiu Sheng had made before and finding the obviously strange place.

There was no sign of the Headless Horseman, and the strange woman did not appear last time either. Several people got off their horses immediately and stood on the edge of the tree line to observe carefully.

"I originally wanted to find more people. Everyone walked along this line in two ways, and roughly measured the size of the place, but now we don't have enough people. It would be too dangerous if we spread out again."

Uncle Jiu led the horse, smoking a cigar, and said so.After he tasted it once, he fell in love with this kind of strong and mellow smoke. He also thought that he must go to the provincial capital to look for it after he went back, to see if there were any for sale in China at that time... If not, then he had no choice but to ask Max to cross World purchasing agent.

"Manpower is not necessary." Ikab, who had been looking up, came back to his senses, took out a pen and paper from his arms, drew a rough line, and said, "This tree line is roughly a standard arc... this piece The woodland is also very flat, and we can use a handy reference line to measure the radius of the arc, and the center of the circle should be where we are looking for."

Then, he took Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai aside and taught them how to draw lines on the ground.

First follow the tree line, trace a short section on the ground with a branch, and push away the fallen leaves on both sides; then pull the ink fountain line from one end of the arc to the other end, and spring a horizontal line.

Go down along this arc and draw a section of the same distance in this way, and then add a horizontal line, measure the length and intersection angle of the two horizontal lines, and then calculate the radius.

"...Let me see, even counting the steepest slope of the mountain, it's almost a mile in that direction."

After Ichab finished his calculations, he looked at the compass in his hand and got on his horse, grinning because of the injury to his finger.

"Come with me……"

As he said, he stepped into this deserted and unusually deserted area first.

In order to grasp the direction at any time and try to keep going in a straight line, several people controlled the speed of their horses and stopped and stopped while making marks along the way. After a long time, Ikab at the front shouted: "Look over there!"

Uncle Jiu and the others immediately raised their heads, and immediately noticed a raised hillside in the front right of their field of vision.

That sloping top was too conspicuous, except for a huge dead locust tree, all trees within a hundred feet were dead, and even the fallen leaves on the ground were rotten and black.

Uncle Jiu stopped his horse, frowned and said, "This place is so dark!"

Wencai caught up, and while looking at him in fear, he asked, "Master, don't scare me. Aren't you unable to open your Dharma Eye?"

"Do you still need to open the Dharma Eye?" Uncle Jiu raised his hand, and the two apprentices only saw that the hairs on the back of the master's hand to the wrist were standing on end, and there was a layer of goose bumps.This is not to say how scared he is, it's just a human instinctive reaction when encountering a crisis, which cannot be controlled.

There were more strange things... When a few people parked their horses outside and walked in with their tools, the sky seemed to darken suddenly, and there was even a faint rumble of thunder starting to sound in the distance.When we got closer, it was even more cloudy and cold, and there was no rain, but there was thunder and lightning, and the dark clouds all over the sky seemed to be pressing down in this direction, and we couldn't see clearly without lighting a lamp The ground is gone.

Uncle Jiu thought to himself, this headless horseman is not too ostentatious... It seems that his body is buried under the locust tree. Look at howling ghosts and gods, and the world is changing color!But speaking of it, the Headless Horseman I met the night before wasn't that strong, and it was subtly unworthy of this way of appearance.

He exchanged glances with Ichab, took out two shovels from the tool bag he brought, and threw them to Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai behind him.

"This piece of soil is a bit thicker than other places, so we dig down from here."

After the master gave the instructions, he asked the apprentice to work hard, and he walked around the locust tree a few times, observing this big tree that was more weird than other trees.

People in the world often rumor that locust trees are unlucky, but Uncle Jiu knows that there is nothing wrong with locust trees except for the yin energy, and even the location in the yard has more influence than what kind of tree you plant; but if you plant locust trees on the grave, it will be true. It is not very auspicious, and if the pagoda tree on the tomb dies, it is an even more ominous omen.

The locust tree in front of me is not only dead, but also very uneasy. From the trunk to the branches, they are twisting and twisting in unreasonable directions. It was completely empty, except for a long piece of bark and a short piece of bark. From a distance, it looked like the mouth of some wild beast.

Just as Uncle Jiu was facing the dead locust tree and thinking about things with his hands behind his back, a woman sighed faintly from behind: "You guys are still here..."

Uncle Jiu immediately took a step forward, turned around, and pulled out a musket in his hand... It was given to him by Ikabu. After being attacked by the Headless Horseman, he felt that he had no magic power to get close to him. To protect myself, I chose the most commonly used weapon by Americans in this era.

"Where is the evildoer?"

He shouted and asked, but Qiu Sheng, who was digging a hole under the tree, saw the woman's appearance clearly, and hurriedly dropped the shovel, ran to Uncle Jiu with hands and feet, and whispered: "Master, she is the woman I was in the town before." The female ghost I met!"

"...not a ghost." Uncle Jiu replied, and then asked the woman in front of him, "What did you say, why are you here?"

"I told you..." The woman pointed at Qiu Sheng, and the voice under the veil seemed a little distorted: "Don't come into the pine forest, don't disturb her... But you still brought disaster to her."

[33. No. 33]

Qiu Sheng stared at her tongue-tied, still not understanding what she was talking about; Uncle Jiu understood, and turned around to ask his apprentice: "Did you hear her talking to you when we came to the forest last time?"

"Now that I think about it, there seems to be another...but I don't understand it, Master. I thought it was the strange noise made by that pretending woman, so I didn't pay attention." Qiu Sheng explained.

Uncle Jiu nodded, not blaming his apprentice.Now he also wants to understand that this "thing" in front of him was only seen and heard by Qiu Sheng a few days ago... Because Qiu Sheng bumped into a ghost in Renjia Town, and his yang energy had not recovered when he arrived in this world, so it was easy to bump into it. these things.Now several people have been attacked by the headless horseman, and there is a wounded person in the team, and it is in such a place full of yin, so this thing can show up in front of everyone.

"Master, it's not a ghost. Is this a human being? She is dressed like the woman before. Is she also a witch?" Qiu Sheng asked again.

Ikabu and Wencai behind him also stopped what they were doing and came around, hoping to hear the answer from Uncle Jiu.

Uncle Jiu put down the musket in his hand, and replied in a low voice: "She is a tree spirit. Didn't you notice the soles of her feet? The bottoms of her skirt are not feet, but roots!"