"Yes……"
"Why don't they receive the attention they deserve? Like you said, that's only half of it. The other half should be kept in the walls of a wealthy family? Isn't there a government building here?"
"No." At this point, Daelin Blue's face turned bitter. "I told you that you don't understand this... You may not believe it, but Bartlett has no government body - there is no mayor here, and almost everything is done by the parish."
"…Why is this happening?"
"Because there is no channel for upward mobility." A voice came from the side, from the red-haired nurse Lu Xi'er.
She rarely looked serious and continued to describe: "Officials in Sara are frequently transferred. On the one hand, it is to prevent officials from colluding with local forces and giving those evildoers the opportunity to control an area. On the other hand, it is also because such overlapping resumes are easy to get promoted."
"Or maybe it's not a promotion... After all, everyone has different needs." She changed her description, "But it's true that every chief executive can make a step forward through this position, whether it's joining the military system or entering the Wayne aristocracy, or making connections with wealthy businessmen through this level... At least they can gain something."
"But Bartlett is completely different." She glanced at Knight Blue and found that she looked gloomy. "This damn place... Oh, this damn place has nothing but salted fish and shells. There is no money, no mines, no army, no rich businessmen... You can't get anything by working here, so naturally no one would want to stay."
"This doesn't make sense." Hitzfeld raised his eyebrows slightly. "Isn't this appointment made unilaterally by the royal family? Do those people have the right to choose?"
"That's how it was at the beginning~" Lu Xier waved his hand, showing a sneer, "But they have so many ways... They cooperate on the surface but actually do nothing, what can you do to them? After all, they didn't break the law, and their excuses are very sufficient, that is, this place really can't develop, there is no opportunity, no hope, even if they come here, there is nothing they can do except to eat empty salaries and watch... You can't chop off their heads just for this, right?"
That's impossible.
Although Sarah ruled with an iron fist, she also emphasized the law. This sin was far from being punishable by death, and Bartlett's crime was not a big deal.
Yes - it doesn't matter. She thinks this is the main reason why the royal family compromised. If there were mineral veins, special products or relics of sufficient value in this place, they would have been protected at all costs.
After all, they were able to build a prototype of a town even in such a harsh environment as the Red Soil Plains, and there were no ferocious native species on Bartlett Beach, so it was simply not worth the investment.
It has no value, is not worth investing in, and is not worth falling out with the bureaucracy because of this shabby place. All these factors combined have created the strange phenomenon that Bartlett has no government entity.
Just like what she guessed, Lu Xier said that this place is now a "political island" in the officialdom. The royal family occasionally - about every few years, they would send someone here to show their respect. This person was equivalent to being exiled politically, and this exile would not last too long. They would soon be transferred away, and their next destination would be determined by the sincerity of the repentance letter they wrote during their exile.
Hitzfeld nodded.
She roughly understood: this place might be ten times poorer than she thought. It was normal that there was no library, as most people did not have the relevant needs.
But this is certainly not the reason why those "relic materials" were not properly preserved separately.
“Because of the controversy?”
"Yes."
Facing Hitzfeld's probing question, Daelin Blue nodded heavily, "I told you it's a legend... It's indeed controversial, quite a bit."
"We locals." She held her chest and gestured at the void around her: "I, they, we all believe in this legend... That is, we believe that the underwater city really exists. The Bartlett people once came to the land from the ocean. Our ancestors may have lived in the ocean."
"That's ridiculous..." Hitzfeld heard Ms. Feti retorting in a very, very low voice.
"Except for some whales, how can mammals live in salt water? Not to mention humans... No mermaid fossils have ever been found in the Poussin Crater..."
You can see that she is very angry, which comes from her cognition being offended. It is rare that she can maintain restraint.
"But all the scholars and professors who came here to investigate disagreed with this possibility." The female knight continued, "Some of them scoffed at it, others studied it tentatively, and some of them read the drawings and records I mentioned, but in the end they all thought that the underwater city was a rumor."
"What their arguments are."
"The most direct ones are the holes and cavities. According to what they said, those cavities should have been dug out by some arthropods or mollusks living on the seabed..."
"Or maybe they were corroded by the high-temperature magma in the past!" Ms. Feti finally couldn't hold back and refuted: "I don't think these are human creations. They really can't be called 'relics'!"
“…That’s what happened.”
Dailin Blue first spread his hands towards Hitzfeld, and then began to comfort Ms. Feti in a low voice: "Oh, ma'am, don't be angry. We locals don't pay much attention to this history..."
After all, who would wish that their ancestors were not human?
Not to mention that outsiders find it absurd, many locals now also reject this legend.
"So do you think this legend is related to the 'summoning' she heard?"
Hitzfeld glanced at the sleeping Sixus and continued to ask.
Now, Dalin Blue was silent.
"I'm not sure... after all, this is a bit far-fetched..."
"It's not far." Hitzfeld interrupted her. "According to my understanding, you have checked the entire town during the time I was away. You checked almost everyone and found no problems."
"That's true, but——"
"That means it wasn't done by humans." Hitzfeld stared into her eyes. "It wasn't done by humans - maybe some kind of wild beast. It might be hiding in the mountains, or... I mean there's a great chance it's hiding in the sea. It might be a special species left over from Bartlett's ancient environment. It has the power to seduce people, and maybe it's the owner of the legendary nest."
The atmosphere was a little quiet for a while.
It's not that it's impossible. Everyone standing here has thought about it to some extent, but no one is so straightforward as to put it directly as an assumption.
"I don't understand something." Xia Yibing held her chin up, "Why... must it be stuck at adulthood?"
For a sea monster that can bewitch people, children who are mentally immature and mentally and spiritually weak are undoubtedly easier to hunt.
Assuming that such a thing exists, shouldn't it attack younger children first?
They don’t choose children or adults, but instead choose teenagers and young people who have just reached adulthood at the age of 18.
This doesn't make sense. It doesn't look like hunting, but more like some kind of evil ritual...
"Let's take a look first."
After a moment of silence, the female knight tapped her chin.
"We can carry out the plan we made before. As for whether there are monsters hiding in the water... maybe the soul-calling incense can give us the answer."
There was no better way at this point. Lu Xier left to get the incense making materials and the letter, while Dai Lin-Blue took Ms. Feti to contact the townspeople and look for information about the ruins. Only Xia Yibing and Hitzfeld were left here alone.
Strictly speaking, it's not alone, because this is a ward, and there are many mummies tied up and howling.
"Why don't you go?"
It wasn't until his waist was hugged that Hitzfeld reacted.
Xia didn’t leave?
"I told you, we can't separate now."
Xia Yibing came closer, lowered her head and buried her neck, taking a deep breath of the fragrant scent.
"I'm so scared of that happening again..."
"So don't be like this..."
"Don't chase me away..."
Chapter 17 Sword Dance Two-in-One
Hitzfeld once heard of a saying about "contrasting cuteness", and at this moment she had to admit it - just like she, as a "girl character", deliberately pretended to be mature, that is, choosing black stockings could arouse the desires of others to the greatest extent, when a "mature character" removes all dignity and disguises to act coquettishly to you, the "destructive power" of this behavior is equally strong.
It was undeniable that her heartstrings were plucked. For a moment, she wanted to follow her instinct and turn around to hug her and comfort her in every way she could.
But her reason made her restrain herself, and she just tried to break free: "...There are still many people here."
Xia Yibing smiled.
Hitzfeld's efforts to break free were even weaker than those of a spoiled child. In her opinion, this was a blatant invitation to her.
As for so many people, didn’t Sixus say that these people have almost lost their minds?
So what if they were rational? This damn place was remote, and they didn't need to worry about someone catching up with Wayne and leaking the secret after they solved the case.
"It will probably take some time for Dreyermon to get the information." She hugged the girl's soft body a little tighter. "We should have at least 10 minutes... I think this amount of time is more than enough."
0///φ! ?
She...what the hell is she talking about?
What 10 minutes... Connie is resting nearby, and there are so many people looking at this side... She doesn't want to -
"Practicing swordplay." A calm voice came close to my ear, revealing a hint of smile, "Hey, your face is so red, you are not thinking about something else..."
"..." Hitzfeld was stunned for a moment before he realized that he had been tricked by her.
She was a little angry, and this time she struggled with greater force than last time.
Xia Yibing didn't let go.
Break free again.
Just don't let go.
"I don't want to practice with you here." Hitzfeld had no choice but to say, "And I don't feel comfortable leaving Connie here. I'll practice with you in the yard later, but Connie's bed has to be pushed to the corridor."
Xia Yibing let her go then. Looking at her glaring at him with anger while fixing her appearance, she couldn't help but smile evilly.
The scene of the young female detective giving orders not long ago was still vivid in her mind, but even she was just teased by herself like that... She had no way out and could only tolerate and forgive herself.
There is nothing more pleasurable than this feeling... Really, she doesn't even ask for him to be overly close to her. Even if she can just maintain such a relationship, she feels like she has the most wonderful treasure.
Is it an illusion? Xia's eyes seem to be getting more and more abnormal when he looks at people.
Hitzfeld didn't even dare to look her in the eye. He patted his skirt, walked to Sixus's side, opened the fastener under the bed frame, pushed the wheelbarrow and walked out.
This was originally the prayer room of the chapel, and all the beds were added later. More than half of them are iron beds with wheels underneath, so it is not difficult to move people to another place.
She pushed Sixus to the corridor at the door and placed the bed vertically against the wall. Then she bent down to lock the fastener to prevent the wheels from sliding. She stood at the door and looked at the still "bustling" room. After thinking for a while, she decided not to close the door.
What if something goes wrong during this period?
If it's easier to hear the noise with the door open, then just leave it open.
After everything was done, she walked into the yard and saw Xia Yibing walking towards her.
Why do I feel like a dancer waiting for a dance partner...
Trying his best to shake off those unhealthy thoughts, Hitzfeld glanced around the yard.
The structure of the chapel's backyard is similar to a lying "8". Of course, this 8 has square edges... There is a corridor in the middle leading to the vestibule, dividing the complete rectangular courtyard into two parts, east and west. The one they are standing in now is the east courtyard.
At most this place is equivalent to a large living room. The floor is paved with large square bluestone slabs. There are weeds growing wildly in the gaps between the slabs. It is obvious that the people here have been too busy recently and have no time to even trim the weeds.
So how do you practice this?
Hitzfeld was a little curious when he saw the woman come to stand in front of him and take out a box of matches from the outer pocket of her long windbreaker.
"Here you go." Xia Yibing handed the match to her, raised her hands lightly in the air, closed her eyes, and began to mobilize her spirit.
Silently, gradually, the hazy outline of a long white sword appeared there... It was held flat in the air by the woman's hands, bathed in air and sunlight, looking a little dreamy.
Even now, as she held the knife, she was reminded of that nightmare.
Hitzfeld was slightly moved.
Thinking this way, what was going to happen to me next didn't seem so unbearable.
"This is the state when I use it alone. At this time, it will last forever." Xia Yibing said, then took a step forward and stuck close to the girl, holding the knife in his right hand and hugging her with his left hand.
She hugged me tightly.
His arms held her frail waist, dominating her in a way that did not allow her to escape.
Hitzfeld looked away somewhat unnaturally, and began to mobilize his spirit, then looked at the long white sword.
She could feel that her soul was somehow being infused into Xia's body. She was being embraced and integrated, and then somehow being infused into Chang Xia's body, changing it from the root.
It was as if a layer of white light had been shed, and Chang Xia Dao's true self was revealed.
It was a sharp blade, the handle was similar to that of a fire starter, but the entire handle was longer than the fire starter. The blade was one third longer than the fire starter, reflecting silver light under the sunlight.
Hitzfeld stared at the new Changxia sword for a long while, and made sure that he was not mistaken. Its blade was more curved than before.
The previous Changxia Dao was a straight blade with no curvature on the blade. The current Changxia Dao has a slight curve, and the structural change makes it more suitable for cutting.
It's like I bent it.
Hitzfeld twitched his eyes, looked up at the woman, and found that she was still staring at Changxia, so he quickly turned his head before she shifted her gaze.
"Try to separate them again."
The voice came, and the next moment, Hitzfeld felt himself being pushed away.
The force was very light, but she still felt great panic and loss at that moment.
There is a feeling of being abandoned.
“The structure collapsed.”
Xia Yibing's attention was on the knife at this moment. She held the long Xia knife that had returned to its white light structure and shook her wrist: "The power cannot be retained... It must be in contact with you all the time."
Then she took another step forward and hugged the girl tightly again, allowing the Changxia Knife to take shape, and waved the knife in the yard to test the strength of the blade.
