My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 119 Brancug
A crow landed on Jules and pecked at the carrion on his body as if no one was around.

He didn't move, but just stared at the direction of the sound.

"Columba, come back." The old man's anxious call came from the other side.

A young man and an old man walked out of the woods, one in front and one behind.

The old man's face was full of wrinkles left by the years, like reefs washed out by the waves.

The crow seemed to understand the old man's words. It chirped twice, flapped its wings, flew over, and landed steadily in the old man's hands.

As the crow returned to the old man, the atmosphere on the scene suddenly became a little weird.

The first person to break the strange silence was the young man who had screamed earlier.

At this moment, he was holding a rusty shovel in his hand, and his legs were shaking.

"Grandpa, Grandpa...why don't we go home first?" He couldn't help swallowing.

The old man hesitated for a moment, shook his head, walked up to Jules, and saluted:
"Sir... I'm sorry, I thought you were dead."

There was obvious fear in his eyes, but also a kind of expectation that Jules could not understand.

Jules could see that these two men had obviously made a wrong judgment and thought they were dead, so they came with shovels and wanted to bury their bodies.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, may not be a bad ending.

Unfortunately, he didn't die at all.

But then, his eyes flashed, and he realized something was obviously wrong——

His own body has become such a horrible state, why does this old man look indifferent?

Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the old man in front of him to see if there was anything special about him.

The old man was frightened by his stare, but he still pretended to be calm and tried to smile.

"Do you have any questions?"

Yule stared at it for a while but didn't see anything unusual, except that the crow seemed to have some hidden power of winter.

After thinking for a while, he slowly said:
"Excuse me, is this London?"

Hearing Yule speak, the old man seemed relieved and said quickly:

"This is Brancurg, Cornwall."

Brancug? Jules's brows knitted together slightly; he had never heard of this place before.

He had some impression of Cornwall, however - it seemed to be in the west of England?

How could he have drifted here from Ireland? He couldn't help but wonder what had happened in between.

However, now is not the time to delve into the past. We should deal with the current situation first.

Jules held onto the beach and tried to stand up, but as soon as he stood shakily, he almost fell down again.

There was no severe pain, only a feeling of powerlessness that came from the bottom of my heart.

The old man hesitated and whispered:

"Sir, why don't you come to our house to recuperate first? You look..."

He showed an embarrassment and glanced at the terrible injuries on Jules' body.

Jules looked at the two of them leisurely:
"Aren't you afraid?"

The old man has been very calm. The boy was very scared when he first saw him get up, but now he seems to have calmed down a lot.

Before the old man could speak, the young man next to him answered first:
"I thought you turned into a ghoul at first, that's why I was so scared."

Hearing this, Yule raised his eyebrows slightly and said in surprise:

"You...know about ghouls?"

This time, it was the turn of the two to look at Le strangely at the same time:

"Isn't this common sense in Brancug? Don't you know it?"

Common sense? Jules was taken aback for a moment, then realized something was wrong.

This kind of extraordinary knowledge should be banned. It is impossible for mortals to have access to such things, let alone make it common sense?

It seems that this Brancug is more interesting than he imagined.

Seeing that Jules was lost in thought, the old man winked at the young man.

The young man understood what he meant, put down the shovel, and went forward to support Jules.

Jules did not refuse. He relied on the young man's strength to stand firm and followed the old man with unsteady steps.

The crow landed on the old man's shoulder, tilted its head and stared at Jules. A faint light flashed in its eyes, as if the light was just refracted on its dark pupils.

Soon, the three of them left the beach, walked through the woods, and entered a winding path.

Along the way, Jules carefully observed the surrounding environment.

The vegetation does show the typical characteristics of the British Isles, but unlike those places that have been ravaged by industrialization, there seems to be no trace of industrialization here.

No, rather than saying that there are no visible traces of industrialization, perhaps a more appropriate statement is that there is no visible pollution covering the sky.

The stone walls are low, the fields are continuous, and the ears of wheat sway slightly in the wind.

In the distance, smoke was rising from several small, pointed-roof cottages, and flocks of sheep were scattered on the grass, with intermittent bleating sounds coming from them.

The scene before me is as standard as a painting, tranquil and simple.

Soon, the destination cabin came into view.

The wooden door creaked, and when it was opened, the smell of firewood hit my nose.

The room was dimly lit, and the flames in the fireplace flickered, casting the shadows of the old man and the young man swaying on the wall.

The crow flew to the wooden shelf in the corner, folded its wings, and watched everything quietly, as if it understood human nature.

"Sit down." The old man pointed to the wooden chair against the wall, turned around and took out a piece of dry bread and a pot of water from the cabinet.

The boy put down the shovel and stood aside, glancing at Jules from time to time, as if with curiosity, but also with caution.

Jules sat down, took the bread and took a bite.

The dry and hard taste made him frown, but he didn't complain. He just asked in a low voice:

"Does everyone here know about the existence of ghouls?"

You know, if this kind of genuine extraordinary creature were to come from a self-taught extraordinary person, I'm afraid many people would not know about it.

As a creation of the Winter Code, he has never had the opportunity to see such a thing.

The old man nodded and sat down opposite him, the firelight casting shadows on his wrinkled face.

“Outsiders only think it’s a legend, but the people of Branquage know that this legendary creature really exists.”

As he said this, he laughed:

"You asked about London before. Could it be that you were shipwrecked in London and drifted here?"

Jules shook his head slightly:

"No, I'm from the island of Ireland."

Hearing this, the old man was a little surprised:
"Ireland? Wasn't it blocked off a long time ago? How did you get there? It's more than hundreds of miles away from here!"

Hearing the old man's description, Yule frowned and said:
"How long ago was it closed?"

The old man shook his head:
"I don't know. Few outsiders come to Brancog, and not many people go out either. I only know it was about two or three months ago."

Has it been so long? Jules had a bad feeling and asked:

"What about London? How is London doing now?"

Judging from what Matilda said before, London may have undergone earth-shaking changes!
The old man's words also confirmed his guess:
"The Empire has entered a state of war. While Brancugar hasn't changed much, London is different. No one is allowed to enter or leave London without special procedures."

After hearing this, Jules fell into a long silence.

Seeing this, the old man and the young man looked at each other and didn't ask any more questions. The wind outside the house was getting stronger and the window frames were creaking.

The fire flickered and the atmosphere became quiet, with only the crackling of firewood in the fireplace as the sound remained.

"Let's rest first."

The old man stood up and patted the boy on the shoulder:

"Let's talk about it tomorrow. I'll go clean up the unused room for this guest."

Yule leaned back in his chair and said softly
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any money to repay you."

It seemed that he had been drifting on the sea for at least several months, and all his money and property had disappeared long ago.

The old man waved his hands quickly:
"You're worrying too much. I won't ask you for money. If you need any help recovering from your injuries, just tell me. I know you're not an ordinary person."

He turned and walked into a small room not far away and began to clean up, making a clanging sound.

After the old man left, Jules slowly closed his tired eyes.

The sleepiness in his body came over him like a tide, but his mind was unusually clear.

It’s a great blessing that I’m not dead.

Although he was still very weak at the moment, he could clearly feel that the Heart of the Wave was slowly and steadily recovering, so he was not worried about the injuries on his body.

He was worried about another thing - what about Matilda and Lolita? Did they escape successfully?
The lockdown in Ireland has begun, and it has mostly become a living hell.

As for the town of Innsmouth, Jules couldn't even bear to think about its miserable state.

Perhaps there are no living people here now, he thought.

As the night deepened, the fire in the cabin gradually dimmed, leaving only a few sparks flickering in the fireplace.

The wind came in through the window, bringing with it the chill of the fields.

Jules wrapped himself tightly in his worn clothes, closed his eyes, but was not sleepy at all.

He wasn't cold, he just had something on his mind.

The crow stood on the wooden rack, occasionally shaking its feathers and crowing softly, as if responding to the silence outside the house.

The old man finished cleaning the room and came out with a thin blanket in his hand.

"The house is simple, just make do for one night."

He handed the blanket to Jules, his tone calm but with a hint of sincerity.

Yule took it, nodded, and said:

"Thank you very much."

Maybe he didn't need it, but he was touched by the thought.

The boy next to him had already fallen asleep against the wall, with the shovel lying beside him, breathing steadily.

The old man glanced at the young man, turned around and sat back in front of the fireplace, staring at the fire in a daze.

"You said Ireland is under blockade," Jules said, breaking the silence in a low voice. "How much do people outside know?"

The old man shook his head and said:
"Brancuog is remote, and news travels slowly. I heard there was chaos in London, some people escaped, some were trapped, but I don't know anything else."

He paused and glanced at Jules.

"Where you're from, I'm afraid you've seen a lot."

Yule stroked the wooden bowl in his hand and suddenly said:
"If I want to go back to London now, what can I do?"

The old man was slightly startled and said:
“It’s not easy to go back… London is difficult to get into right now.”

Just when Jules was feeling a little disappointed, the old man continued:

"However, in a few days the tax collector will come here to collect taxes. Then we can send people to London to transport our goods there."

Tax collector? Yule raised his eyebrows slightly and said:

"If I want to go to London with the team, what are the conditions?"

"I don't know about that," the old man shook his head. "But the Baron might know something. He's most interested in people like you."

Jules looked at the old man deeply, then suddenly stood up and said:

"I'll go back and rest first. You should go to bed early too. Thank you for your hospitality."

……

At midnight, Jules lay on his side in bed, but could not fall asleep.

Everything here is so unfamiliar that he needs to be extremely vigilant.

The sound of wind and rain gradually grew louder, crackling against the window, as if forming a certain rhythm with his heart.

The Heart of the Wave was severely damaged, but he was relieved that it was not as broken as before.

Even when used to initiate the "Sad Ending" ritual, his heart was still functioning.

From the side, we can see what kind of power Chibei used to completely destroy his heart!
"The incarnation of the Blood Cup Master should be dead. I don't know if he succeeded in ascending..."

Jules pondered, evoking the message of the poignant ritual of the ending.

[The ending is sad]

[Effect: Bring everything present to a poignant and beautiful end.]

[Introduction: My breath turns white mist, and my gaze becomes soft. The light in the room is the light of the last sun, and I am a poignant ending.]

This time was not like before. He had no memory of what happened at all. He still knew that he and the Blood Cup Leader fought to a draw.

However, the other party was just a clone, so he did not feel any sense of accomplishment.

Only when one day he personally kills the Blood Cup Cult Master, can he avenge his previous shame!
Jules didn't want to sleep, but at some point, his breathing gradually became steady and he fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already the next morning.

In the early morning, a thin mist covered the fields, and the lowing of sheep could be heard outside the cottage.

Jules pushed open the wooden window, and damp and cold air hit his face, mixed with the scent of soil and grass leaves, without any trace of fishy smell.

He stood up, his body still weak, but the faint pulse from the heart of the wave gave him peace of mind.

Inside the house, the old man had lit the fireplace, and the firelight reflected on his face, making him look even older.

The boy squatted aside, poking the fire with a wooden stick, occasionally looking up and glancing at Jules.

The crow stood on the wooden rack, tilting its head to stare at him, its shiny black feathers glowing coldly in the morning light.

"Good morning." The old man handed over a piece of black bread and a glass of water, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Did you sleep well last night?"

Jules took it, nodded and thanked him:
"Not bad, thank you."

He took a bite of the bread, and the dry taste made him frown, but he swallowed it anyway.

After all, it's their good intention.

After a moment of silence, he said:

"Come to think of it, I don't know your name yet."

The old man was about to answer when he was interrupted by a noise coming from outside the house.

"What's wrong?" He quickly got up and opened the door, but was stunned by the scene he saw.

The crowd outside the house was not densely packed, but it also surrounded the doorway so tightly that no one could get in or out.

The leader came forward, frowned, and said in a low voice:
"Old John, we won't make things difficult for you. We are here to look for someone."

"...Who are you looking for?" As he spoke, Old John subconsciously glanced at Jules behind him.

"The High Priest has received a revelation to purify the ghouls that bring death."

(End of this chapter)