My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 83 Innsmouth (First Order Request!)
Although promoted by the Steam Church, the train was limited by its own technology and its speed was still not fast.

The smell in the first-class cabin is quite pleasant, perhaps because the train attendant specially sprayed fragrance here, which forms a sharp contrast with the other carriages.

However, Jules felt that the biggest reason was that there was almost no one sitting in the first-class cabin - it would be better to say that now there were almost only people who escaped from Ireland, and no one had voluntarily entered.

He is an outlier.

In the rain, the hills we had come from melted into a misty gray, which made Jules feel a little melancholy.

But he quickly adjusted himself, opened his briefcase, took out the documents, and began to read them carefully.

Suddenly, he felt a poke in his arm.

"Uncle Jules, can we sit somewhere else?"

Jules looked at Lolita helplessly, and seeing that she was staring out the window, he naturally understood that her curiosity was aroused by the unfamiliar scenery again.

After the two exchanged positions, Lolita excitedly pressed her head against the glass window, staring intently at the ever-changing scenery outside.

Jules looked around and after making sure that no one was around, he gently flipped through the document.

Above, information about Tian Nie is recorded.

"When mortals ascend and become immortals or even named ones, they become immortal to a certain extent.

The birth of a mortal is another kind of immortality, but the two kinds of immortality cannot coexist.

Because of this, if immortals or above give birth to offspring, they will be dominated by the devouring desire of the Cup Code and try to end their own immortality with their own hands.

An immortal who devours his own offspring will be transformed into a terrifying monster, and this transformation is almost irreversible."

Afterwards, some vague cases recorded by the Prevention and Suppression Bureau were also recorded, but most of them were just fragments and speculations of the events, without any definite truth.

At the very end, the document mentioned a point that caught Jules' attention.

"According to scholars' reasoning, even Sichen cannot avoid the evil of heaven. If so, what will they devour? No one knows."

After putting the information away, Jules fell into deep thought.

As it stands now, the concept of natural disasters is not complicated, but the level of power it involves is terrifyingly high - at the very least, it is at the level of an immortal.

It was indeed wise of me not to get too involved with Elizabeth before.

After reading this information, he deeply suspected that Elizabeth's mother was actually an immortal who was influenced by the evil spirit of heaven!
Besides that, what concerned him more was the last sentence.

Even Si Chen is restricted by Tian Xie?

Jules couldn't help but glance at Lolita beside him.

The evil of heaven will restrict immortals from giving birth to offspring, but why has Lolita, the daughter of the waves, not shown any abnormalities?
Moreover, Chibei once left behind descendants in the world. If he was also restricted by the heavenly evil, how did he do that?
It seems that the truly high-ranking beings seem to have some ways to avoid the influence of natural evil.

After thinking for a while, Jules just felt a little sleepy.

He touched the area where his heart was, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

The power of secret history is still fading at a slow and steady pace.

At this rate, it can probably last about a month.

He must find the remaining power of the wave within this month and repair his heart!
"Innsmouth... I want to see what Innsmouth is like here..."

The misty drizzle intertwined like a mother's lullaby, making Jules fall into sleep unknowingly.

In his dream, he saw a city standing at the end of the sea.

He could see the river, banked by coral, spreading all the way to the city walls of ice and snow.

The huge bell made of mountain copper shook, but did not make any sound.

No matter how hard he tried in his dream, he could not get close to that city.

……

When Jules woke up again, he was shaken awake by Lolita.

"Uncle Jules, get up..."

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Lolita looking at him helplessly.

"Uh…how long have I been asleep?"

Next to me, the conductor's voice came:
"Sir, we have arrived."

Hearing this, Jules's face became a little embarrassed. He quickly picked up his suitcase and got out of the car as if escaping.

The pier was not far from the train station, and the two quickly arrived at their destination.

However, the two of them had completely changed their clothes at this time.

Yule's attire had been changed into a dark golden clerical robe, inlaid with a unique emblem of the Steam Church.

On both sides of the robe, there is an image of an iron hammer and a flame sewn on the left and right sides, which is consistent with the principles of forging followed by the Church of Steam.

When the dock managers saw Jules, especially the badge that symbolized his status, they immediately looked at him with more respect.

He checked Jules's ticket and whispered:

"Are you a priest of the Church of Steam?"

Jules nodded without changing his expression.

Hearing this, the manager smiled happily:

"Please be careful on your journey. Things are not peaceful in Ireland lately."

Yule naturally knew what was happening over there, so he just nodded calmly.

After he and Lolita boarded the ship, in the corner of the cabin, Lolita tugged at her nun's uniform and muttered:

"I feel stuffy and uncomfortable wearing this."

Jules smiled and said comfortingly:
"Be patient. We need a cover when we go to Innsmouth."

The priest of the Steam Church is the fake identity arranged for him by the Anti-Suppression Bureau.

But it is not appropriate to say that it is a fake identity - because he is indeed going to replace the previous priest, but his professionalism is almost zero, and he has other purposes.

"Everyone, prepare for inspection! The Queen has ordered that no grain be smuggled into Ireland!"

The staff shouted, and several strong men came onto the boat and began to check everyone's snakeskin bags, suitcases and other containers in an unfriendly manner.

Jules remained calm throughout the inspection by the ship's crew.

Under the rough inspection, the suitcases, pockets, etc. of the people around were turned into a mess, but they could only be angry but not say anything.

Finally, it was Jules' turn to be examined.

As soon as the strong man put his hand on the suitcase, Jules slapped it open.

"Hey, kid..." The burly man had obviously never been so rudely confronted by a passenger before. When he looked up and saw Yule's outfit, he immediately choked back his words.

His expression suddenly became much more respectful:

"Father, I'm sorry for offending you. But routine inspections are a rule, after all. Could you please... make some concessions?"

Arrogant at first and respectful later, it makes one laugh when thinking about it... Jules said calmly:
"Are you questioning my loyalty to Imperial law?"

"No, no, no, of course not," the strong man waved his hands quickly, "If you don't want to, then forget it, it's not a big deal anyway..."

Seeing the annoying inspector leave, Lolita's eyes brightened.

"Is this dress so useful?"

"Of course." Jules leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face.

In the eyes of mortals in England, the priests of the Steam Church possess supreme authority.

If he behaves timidly, it will arouse suspicion.

……

After more than ten hours, the ship that Jules was on finally docked at the port of Ireland.

As soon as we got off the boat, the salty, fishy smell of moisture and decay hit us in the face.

"Sir, please be kind..." A hoarse sob came from not far away. Jules saw a skinny old woman huddled beside the mooring pile, two cloudy eyeballs embedded in her sunken eye sockets.

The swaddling clothes in her arms had already become stiff and blue, but she still held it stubbornly.

The policeman lowered his head, cursed, and used his baton to push the old woman's hand away. He kicked her away and walked away without looking back.

The old woman didn't say much after being kicked. She just hunched her back and walked towards a nearby alley.

Looking at this scene, Jules sighed.

England, the most powerful country in the world at that time, allowed the famine to occur on its doorstep and it lasted for several years.

He doesn't believe that there is nothing fishy about this.

He even suspected that the famine was part of some horrific ritual.

Lolita pinched the corner of Jules' clothes, looking reluctant.

Although she had not received formal education, her innate peculiarity, coupled with the influence of her surroundings over the past few days, had given her the most basic empathy.

"How could those people be so bad..." she murmured somewhat disappointedly.

She couldn't understand it. She wasn't even a human being, and she couldn't bear to see those people suffering so badly. How could her fellow human beings be so cruel?

Yule patted Lolita's shoulder and said softly:

"Let's go."

……

"What, you're going to Innsmouth?"

The ticket seller was a little surprised when he heard Jules' request.

Yule frowned and said:
"Is there no more trains?"

The conductor shook his head and said:

"Yes, but to be honest, I haven't seen outsiders take the initiative to go to Innsmouth in a long time. This line is almost entirely occupied by Innsmouth people."

He helped Jules and Lolita to stamp their tickets and asked casually:

"I wonder what you're going there for?"

Jules smiled slightly:
"I am a priest of the Steam Church. I came here specifically to spread the gospel of the Lord."

He had rehearsed these answers in advance.

The conductor looked at Jules and nodded thoughtfully.

"Then you might not be very successful."

"Oh? Can I ask why?" Jules looked interested.

Although he knew what was in the area, someone who had more contact with the locals was likely to reveal some unknown information.

The conductor looked around, pulled Yule closer, and said mysteriously:
"Old folks say the folks at Innsmouth made a deal with the devil."

……

As soon as he entered Innsmouth, Jules felt a suffocating atmosphere coming towards him.

In the distance, gray-green foam floated on the sea, like the swollen skin of a drowned person.

On both sides of the muddy street, the ridges that should have been planted with potatoes were covered with dark purple spots.

Several children squatted beside a moldy ditch, scraping the slime seeping from the cracks in the stones with rusty spoons.

Although it was not yet dark, the streets were eerily quiet.

He frowned and took Lolita with him, quickly heading towards the steam church in the town.

Not long after, the two of them stood in front of the gate of the Steam Church.

However, it was very different from the churches Jules had seen in London before - the church was covered with moss and the surrounding metal decorations were rusty.

If it weren't for the candles still burning inside, he would have thought that the steam church in this place had closed down.

"Is anyone there?" He reached out and gently knocked on the metal door of the church.

After a while, a somewhat nervous voice sounded:

"This...this church is temporarily closed. Please come back later."

"I'm the priest who's here to take over. You don't have to be nervous."

As the words fell, Yule only heard a muffled "bang" and the heavy metal door was instantly opened.

An old priest immediately rushed out and asked tremblingly:

"Are you...really here to replace me?"

"of course."

Jules looked at the old priest and frowned slightly.

He always felt that the old priest smelled a little strange.

It was different from the normal steam church priests who always had the smell of motor oil.

Although the old priest was dressed like a clergyman, he only exuded the smell of the sea.

"Oh, thank God..."

The old priest didn't notice the change in Jules' expression at all. He just covered his face, and the whole person relaxed a lot. He said excitedly:
"Please come in with me and remember to close the door."

He turned his head, hunched over, and walked into the church.

Jules noticed that there were wrinkles on the old priest's neck and his skin was shining with a strange light, as if there was mucus attached to it.

After entering the church, he found that the church was even more dilapidated than he had imagined.

Although there were believers coming to worship, it was obvious that there were only a few of them - the few clean chairs were enough to prove it.

The old priest turned around and said:
"Please wait for me for a moment, I'll go clean up."

Yule nodded and found a clean seat to sit down.

Lolita looked around in the church with an interested look on her face.

Everything here is quite new to her.

After a while, the old priest reappeared.

However, what surprised Yule was that the other party was also carrying a lot of bags and a suitcase in his hand.

"What are you doing?"

The old priest shook his head and said:

"I don't have much time to explain to you. I have to leave quickly before it gets dark."

After reaching the church door, he seemed to remember something, turned around, and said earnestly:

"Remember, don't go out at night! And don't try to proselytize with the locals. Just muddle through life!"

After saying this, he turned around and ran away, looking relieved as if he had been freed from some guilt.

"That's interesting... Is it because of Dagon's beliefs? Or does the Deep Ones only move at night?" Yule raised his brows slightly, chased after them, and asked loudly:

"Who should I ask if I want to know what's going on in this town?"

The old priest's voice came from afar:

"There are a few outsiders working in the square in the center of town. Just ask them!"

Jules nodded thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Lolita's strange voice came from behind her:
"Uncle Jules! Here's a strange necklace. It's exactly the same as the Heart of the Ocean I had before!"

(End of this chapter)