musicians of old

Chapter 822 Underground Water Vein Map
"To the study!? But tomorrow is Easter, shouldn't Miss Nessimi be with you right now?"

The head of the guards on night duty at the family residence was somewhat taken aback.

"Yes, she has already gone to bed at the convent, so something came up and I had to make the trip in her place."

"Oh, I see."

For Fanning, this was indeed a lie that was "half true, half false".

I hope my sister will be able to forgive herself someday.

"Young Master, are you sure Miss wants you to go to her private study?"

"Yes."

Whether it was the guards, confidants, or the personal steward, they were surprised by what Fan Ning said, but they dared not doubt it. Even when the steward was summoned, he only asked one more question with some skepticism.

After Fan Ning said "that's right," she didn't dare to ask any more questions.

No one would dare to make such a joke.

"Creak" sound.

The oak door at the top of the tower was pushed open by a guard, and no one dared to linger and look. The butler gestured for Fan Ning to enter, and then closed the door again after Fan Ning stepped inside.

Fan Ning didn't have time to light the candles one by one; she simply opened the six Venetian French windows one by one, letting the moonlight from the observation deck stream in.

For the first time, he stood alone in this study, looking around at everything on display, including the semi-partitioned wall with its oil painting, which vaguely led to the bedroom.

The aroma of boiled apricots seemed to linger in the study. On the table, the manuscript from the poetry collection that the two had discussed a few nights ago was neatly stacked by Qiong Jing, with a violet Escoffier headband on top.

After standing there lost in thought for about a minute, Fanning finally acted quickly, searching through the oak lattice on the left.

First, he carried the Moroccan leather case containing the brass star chart to the table, then moved some small ornaments and bottles aside, and then carefully searched the secret hydrological maps classified by watershed!
"It should be this one."

After identifying the target, Fan Ning quickly moved to the observation deck outside the floor-to-ceiling windows and confirmed its contents by the bright moonlight.

This is a very old "Mertraun Water Vein Map"!
In the history of the Nehemiah family's rise to power three hundred years ago, they did one good deed for the church by uncovering and convicting a hostile family that used the secret waterway of Mertraun to smuggle holy relics and colluded with Gentiles.

"Heh, actually I have no interest in power struggles. I only learned about these past events from my older sister's casual conversation three years ago. But I never imagined that one day I would use them as a 'rescue and escape map'."

Mertraun has a well-developed underground water system, especially in the area where Guido Dalezo Monastery is located, where the underground river branches are exceptionally complex and are said to hold many ancient and mysterious secrets.

When Fan Ning looked at the blueprints, he was indeed dazzled. These underground rivers were intertwined, branching left and right. Some routes seemed to be unobstructed main streams, but in reality, they led to a dead end in a small pool. On the contrary, after crawling along the tributaries for a while, they suddenly opened up.
Without blueprints, it's impossible to walk on this path.

"According to the blueprints, there are several points below the dungeon that connect to the ancient Roman aqueduct. One of these routes will likely pass through the area around the trial bench, but if you choose this route, you'll need to pass through the 'Black Monk Tunnel,' which is currently flooded."

"Hmm, there are some markings with different textures, here, here, and there." "They were probably marked by later family ancestors. Over time, most of the passageways have long been abandoned and dried up, but some areas are still submerged in groundwater? I wonder if they will change again."

Fanning looked at it briefly, but couldn't get a complete look.

His immediate priority was to confirm that this was what he needed, so he quickly put the water vein map inside his cultivator's robe.

"Um?."

The next instant he looked up, he felt as if the swing hanging on the bluestone floor tiles on the viewing platform was swaying in mid-air!
This made Fan Ning's heart tighten suddenly.

But if you close your eyes tightly and then open them again, how could there be such a large swaying motion? It's just a slight natural swaying in a breeze.

On the swing was a Venetian carnival mask, half smiling and half crying. Moonlight reflected off the wooden board and shone through the eye holes of the mask, as if it were winking at Fanning.

It wasn't time to stay any longer, so Fan Ning quickly left the observation deck, closing the French windows one by one, gathering up the moved items one by one, and then leaving the study.

The one-way trip ended at 4 a.m.

Surrounded by a group of family guards and stewards, he boarded the carriage that Bogre had arranged for him once again, and his figure gradually disappeared at the end of the moonlit alley.

Monastery, guest quarters, two hours ago.

"Mr. Vincent!?"

"It's late at night, Fan Ning has sent an urgent letter! Could you please get up and open the door?"

The knocking continued incessantly, but there was no response. At first, Captain Congreve thought it was normal; anyone would be groggy if woken up in the dead of night. But gradually, a sense of doubt began to creep into his mind.

Logically speaking, such obvious knocking and calling of names should have woken people up slowly. Even if it was disturbing their sleep and impolite, there should have been an angry response and reprimand, right?
Moreover, there seemed to be a faint light shining through the curtains of the window.

Congreve paced anxiously down the corridor, nearly kicking over the paint buckets and planks piled haphazardly against the wall, and every now and then bending down to try and see what was behind the curtain.

Remembering young master Fanning's instruction that "Vincent's letter must be delivered immediately," Congreve hesitated for a while before finally making up his mind. He said, "I'm so sorry," and told the guards carrying lanterns behind him to "get out of the way." Then he kicked the door hard!

"Crack!!"

The wooden door of the monastery's ordinary guest quarters was flimsy to begin with, and it wasn't fitted with any metal locks. It was just a wooden bar bolted behind the door. With a kick from the strong and powerful captain of the guard, the door collapsed with a crash!
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Painter?"

Amidst the billowing dust, Congreve didn't forget to apologize once more.

The oil lamp in the small house was still lit, casting a dim, yellowish light. Vincent was lying on the edge of the bed, one hand clutching his throat and the other his chest, looking like he was in pain and unable to make a sound. His whole body was convulsing and tensing up unnaturally.
Captain Congreve stepped forward, and upon seeing the situation, his expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected that the painter would suddenly suffer a heart attack that night! He was lying alone on the bed, unable to even respond to someone knocking on the door!

"Quickly! Does any of you know how to treat this? Get Miss Nissimi's physician here first!"

"Then! Father! Go and call the priests over!!"