My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 125 Clues to Black and White Pigment

"anyone there?"

Jules stood in front of the house and gently knocked on the wooden door.

No one responded, but the sound of a chair being pushed and pulled could be heard.

He was wondering what was going on inside when a cautious face suddenly appeared next to the window.

"I don't know you. What do you want with me?"

The face was younger than Jules had imagined, probably only in his twenties, but it carried an age that was inconsistent with his age.

His beard hung haphazardly, his clothes were disheveled, and he was unkempt.

In stark contrast to all of this were those bright eyes.

Yule smiled and said:
"Excuse me, are you the lighthouse keeper?"

Upon hearing this, the person behind the window's eyes flickered slightly:
"Did the priest send you? May I return to the lighthouse?"

“I suppose so,” Jules said, pulling the paper from his pocket and showing him the signature on it. “However, I have a few more questions for you.”

The administrator silently observed Jules for a moment, then said:

"Then come in."

After he finished speaking, his face disappeared from behind the window, and the door slowly opened.

As soon as you step into the house, the smell of paint that had already seeped outside becomes incredibly strong.

Jules had a feeling that if he breathed in here for too long, his nostrils might get stained with color.

The room was dimly lit. Apart from the first window, the other windows were covered by heavy curtains, making the sunlight that came in dim and lackluster.

The walls were covered with various paintings, colorful yet strangely styled, with paint piled up quite thickly, and in some places even cracked and peeled off.

Easels, palettes, and paint bottles were scattered haphazardly on the floor, with spilled paint everywhere.

The administrator walked to a table piled with papers, cleared a small space, sat down, pointed to the chair opposite him, and gestured for Jules to sit down as well.

Jules sat down quite naturally, while looking around at the paintings and paints.

Unfortunately, to his disappointment, he did not find any trace of black and white pigment—but he did smell the powdery substance.

【Black and white pigment】

[Quality: Third-level rare item]

[Effect: Can be used as a ritual base point for the third-level promotion ceremony of the "Traveler" sequence, or the third-level promotion ceremony of the "Barber" sequence.]

[Introduction: Made from the wings of rare Lepidoptera insects hatched from the corpses of Transcendents, crushed and ground. "Whether you want black or white, this pigment will do."]

Could it just be a coincidence? After all, while black and white pigments inevitably involve insect wings and scales, scales are not necessarily related to black and white pigments.

It was only because this place belonged to a painter that he couldn't help but put in a little more effort.
Just as he was pondering, the lighthouse keeper spoke up:

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

His expression still carried a great deal of caution and prudence, but the initial aloofness was gone.

Jules glanced around and casually remarked:
"When I saw your paintings on the lighthouse, I guessed you were a painter, and I was right."

The lighthouse keeper paused in his packing, looked up, and said with some surprise:

"Have you ever been to a lighthouse?"

"The priest led me there."

Upon hearing this, the lighthouse keeper's expression became somewhat subtle.

"Ah... there are indeed some works that I drew when I was bored while guarding the lighthouse."

He looked up, somewhat puzzled, and said:
"So, I still don't know what you want?"

It seems this person doesn't like formalities... Jules smiled helplessly and said:
"I'm very interested in a painting on your lighthouse, I'd like to..."

Before he could finish speaking, the lighthouse keeper waved his hands repeatedly and said:
"Not for sale! Not for sale! All my paintings are not for sale!"

Jules was slightly taken aback, then found himself both amused and exasperated.

"No, I don't want to buy it. I just want to ask some questions about the painting."

"That's it..."

The lighthouse keeper pondered for a moment, then said:
"Could you tell me which painting you're asking about? Describe its features; I remember all my paintings."

"Golden seawater, pink metal, icy and snowy banks. I want to ask, is the scene in that painting something you imagined?"

Jules did not ask directly, but rather probed indirectly, trying to get him to reveal as little as possible about his knowledge of these things.

Upon hearing Jules' description, the lighthouse keeper frowned slightly and said:
"You mean this painting... I didn't expect anyone to be interested in it."

He closed his eyes, seemingly lost in distant memories.

"You could say it's just imagination, but you could also say it's something I saw with my own eyes."

"That day, as usual, I was keeping watch alone on the lighthouse, but I was so tired that I fell asleep without realizing it."

I had a dream in which I was a solitary visitor, walking on a road made of moonlight, and visiting that city.

Much more was lost in the dream. When I woke up, afraid of forgetting that night's dream, I quickly drew it, so the quality is a bit rough. I didn't expect you to be interested in it.

After listening to what the administrator said, Jules fell into deep thought.

He originally thought that the other party had seen the so-called "specific moonlight" and thus coincidentally saw the reflection of Isu at sea.

However, just like in the beginning, the other person was someone I met in a dream.

But the other party was clearly more in-depth than I was, and even had close contact with the city, unlike me who could only observe from afar.

"So, you really did see it in a dream, right?" he asked.

The lighthouse keeper stared at Jules with a strange look:

"It seems you know something I don't? Is it related to the occult?"

Jules nodded slightly.

The other party clearly had some knowledge of the occult, so they didn't seem surprised.

Just as he was about to inquire about matters related to black and white pigments, the lighthouse keeper suddenly frowned slightly and said:
"Now that you mention it, I do remember. After that dream, one night while I was watching the lighthouse, I vaguely saw a similar scene in the distance."

"However, it only lasted for a very short time, leading me to believe it was just a hallucination. Now it seems there's more to it than meets the eye?"

In other words, this lighthouse keeper did indeed see Ys in the waking world?

Jules pondered for a while and said:

"Will there be time that day?"

"I don't remember, but it might be recorded in the lighthouse's booklet."

“I see,” Jules nodded slightly, “then may I visit the lighthouse again to see if there is any record of that date?”

The lighthouse keeper smiled, stood up, and said:
"Since you are the priest's friend, you are naturally my friend as well. You are welcome to come anytime."

Is there anything else? If not, I'll see them out. I need to pack up and go back to work.

Jules quickly replied:
"Wait a minute, I have another question that I hope to get answered."

He also stood up and said in a deep voice:
"May I ask what kind of paint you usually use for painting?"

Noticing the subtle change in Jules' tone, the lighthouse keeper raised an eyebrow and said, "It's just ordinary paint, of course, but occasionally we use some relatively special paints to achieve unique effects."

“If that’s the case,” Jules glanced around, “do you know of any pigments made from insects?”

The smile on the administrator's face froze instantly, and the already dim light in the room seemed to grow even dimmer.

His eyes flickered for a moment, then quickly returned to calm, though his slightly clenched fist betrayed a hint of tension within him.

"Insect-based pigments?"

He repeated it, his voice slightly strained:

Why are you suddenly asking this?

Jules did not answer his question, but simply looked at him quietly.

The lighthouse keeper avoided Jules's gaze, turned and paced around the room, occasionally kicking up paint bottles scattered on the floor with dull thuds.

“I guess I use it occasionally,” he finally said after a while, his voice a little unsteady. “After grinding the wings of certain insects, you can mix unique colors that can create a strange texture when painted on canvas.”

Jules nodded slightly, his gaze wandering around the room, not missing a single corner.

He noticed a small box covered by a cloth in a corner of the room, which he hadn't noticed before.

The box wasn't big, but it looked very heavy, covered with a thin layer of dust, as if it had been deliberately forgotten here.

Just as Jules was about to walk towards the box, the lighthouse keeper, as if sensing his intention, suddenly rushed forward and blocked the box, his face full of vigilance.
"what are you up to?"

Jules stopped, his gaze falling on the lighthouse keeper's face, and he smiled easily:
"I just wanted to see what was in that box."

The lighthouse keeper bit his lip and said:

"It's just some paint residue, nothing to worry about."

The more the other party acted this way, the more curious Jules became.

Why did the other person react as if they had been caught stealing when he asked about it?

"Don't worry, I mean no harm. I just smelled insect scales and wanted to see what the pigment made from insects looks like."

Perhaps because of the sincerity in his tone, or perhaps because his reasons were indeed convincing, the lighthouse keeper's tension gradually eased, but he still remained somewhat wary.

“I… can show it to you, but you must promise not to tell anyone else, not even the priest.”

"I promise," Jules said with a slight smile.

Seeing this, the lighthouse keeper pursed his lips, finally sighed, picked up the dusty box, and placed it on the table.

He slowly opened the box, and what appeared inside made Jules pause slightly in surprise.

There was indeed a paint palette inside, and it also smelled of moth scales.

The only problem was that the paint palette was almost empty, with only a few bits of residue clinging to the bottom.

“I’m not lying to you,” the lighthouse keeper said, his voice tinged with weariness. “This pigment is very difficult to make; even I have trouble obtaining it, and it hasn’t been replenished in a long time.”

Upon seeing this, Jules hesitated for a moment, then said:

How did you obtain this paint in the first place?

The lighthouse keeper pursed his lips and said:
"Can I not say it?"

His expression was somewhat frightened, as if he was afraid of causing some bad consequences.

Jules shook his head and said:
"Don't worry too much. I don't want to dig into your past. It's just that I need this paint too."

The lighthouse keeper was slightly taken aback, and his gaze toward Jules changed drastically.

After hesitating for a moment, he stammered:
"I used the corpses of ghouls to cultivate insects, and then..."

He didn't continue, believing that Jules should understand.

Upon hearing this, Jules was somewhat surprised:
"Ghoul corpses? Aren't their corpses already desiccated?"

The lighthouse keeper shook his head and said:
"These insects grow by drawing upon the laws of winter."

Jules nodded knowingly:

"Then what's the reason your paint has dried up and hasn't been replenished for so long?"

The lighthouse keeper remained silent.

"Because even if the raw materials for the corpse come from ghouls, living people are still needed as sacrifices."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole room seemed to grow colder.

Jules narrowed his eyes and said:

"You mean...you've killed someone?"

“No, no,” the lighthouse keeper denied almost instinctively, “it was just… in self-defense.”

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head, not even daring to look up at Jules.

Jules wasn't interested in these old stories—he just wanted black and white paint anyway.

"Do you have a systematic training manual? I plan to create one myself."

"No, you can't kill people, I won't let you kill people." The lighthouse keeper suddenly raised his head, his reaction more intense than he had imagined.

He stared at the lighthouse keeper and shook his head, saying:
"Don't worry, I have a moral bottom line and I won't use living people as sacrifices."

The lighthouse keeper stared at him for a long time, and finally, dejectedly said:
"Since the priest believes you, I will tell you... Actually, the method is very simple. The difficulty now lies in how to obtain the raw materials."

"If you can get your hands on a ghoul's corpse, there's another way to solve the human sacrifice problem. Give me the corpse, and I can help you cultivate enough insects to make paint."

"I was extremely lucky to find that ghoul's corpse back then. Finding a ghoul in the outside world is as difficult as climbing to heaven."

Yule raised his eyebrows and said:

"Aren't there plenty of them in the ghoul graveyard?"

"No, please don't think like that!"

The lighthouse keeper shook his head repeatedly and said:
"It's extremely dangerous inside, and the priest won't let you in! Besides, the ghouls inside are all alive; they haven't died. It's not difficult to simply go in and come out, but bringing out a ghoul's corpse is probably much harder than finding a ghoul in the outside world!"

“Thank you for your explanation,” Jules said with a slight smile and a bow. “Your explanation has been of great help to me. Given time, I will certainly visit the lighthouse again.”

"This is a small token of my appreciation; I hope you will accept it."

To everyone's surprise, the lighthouse keeper simply pushed Yu Le's hand away firmly and shook his head, saying:
“I’m not interested in these things. Your praise for my painting is the best reward you can give me.”

Jules laughed twice and said:

"Then I'll take my leave."

After leaving, he took one last, deep look at the houses behind him.

The cabin still looked dilapidated, but he knew that an artistic soul was hidden inside.

"He's quite a remarkable person..."

He smiled, turned and walked towards the cemetery.

Since he was looking for a ghoul's corpse, and he happened to have seen a ghoul in the cemetery a few days ago—what a coincidence!

Let's see if we can find that ghoul again...

(End of this chapter)