Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 88 Unless you really will be resurrected
Although it was springtime, the weather in St. Petersburg was still very cold, and the ice on the Moika River had not even thawed in March.

As the sun rose, a large number of citizens gathered by the river. They pointed to a high spot on the bridge where a person, whose entire body was bound with iron chains and who was only wearing underwear, was standing.

A short man carrying a bag approached and whispered, looking at the scene on the bridge, "Hey, find out what that guy on the other side did to deserve such a harsh punishment?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" The man in the trench coat pushed him aside impatiently. "This is Mr. Harry Houdini, the great magician from America! He's going to perform a public demonstration of breaking free of his handcuffs under the ice!"

"Oh, that startled me! I thought we were going to execute political prisoners again." The newcomer looked around and saw that everyone else's attention was focused on the bridge. Then he tugged at the sleeve of the man next to him.

"Hey buddy, I've got some good stuff here, want some?" The man said, revealing yellow teeth that looked like corn kernels.

"Good stuff? You... hiss~" The man in the trench coat gasped.

The small bag in the man's arms was partially opened, revealing its contents—white sugar, flour, kerosene, and some unknown oil.

These items are in high demand in St. Petersburg today. (The official name has been changed to Petrograd, but the common name still exists.)
The man in the trench coat looked around and pulled the guy in front of him into the alley. "Where did you get this stuff? What's the price?"

"Ten rubles for white sugar, three for flour, and two for kerosene. These are all good stuff from the supply depot. If you want them all, I can give you a discount."

"You're a deserter?!" The man in the trench coat frowned.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I'm just going out normally!" The short man pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Here, I have a pass!"

"But why have the prices gone up again?" The man in the trench coat frowned, seemingly finding the prices too high.

"This is a fair price!" the man exclaimed. "You don't know what's going on at the front, do you? I heard from the quartermaster that Warsaw is about to fall, and who knows how long this war will last. You should be thanking your lucky stars if you can even sell something!"

"Are you familiar with the Quartermaster Department?"

"Hey, why are you asking so many questions? Are you going to buy it or not?" The man with yellow teeth began to get alert.

The man in the trench coat took out his wallet, counted out a few bills, and handed them over, but took them back halfway as the other person was about to take them.

A revolver was held in the hand of the man in the trench coat and pressed against the forehead of the person opposite him.

"Secret Police!"

"According to Article 7, Paragraph 4 of the Wartime Regulations, anyone who resells supplies from the front lines shall be punished for treason!"

"Spreading false fear-mongering statements deserves at least a bullet!"

"Those who forge documents will be prosecuted as espionage!"

"These three charges combined are enough for you to go to the gallows!"

The man in the trench coat showed his identification from inside his clothes.

The other person immediately knelt down, pleading, "Please spare my life! I really didn't know those were frontline supplies!"

"Wait until you're in hell, then tell the devil you don't know you're dead!" the man in the trench coat said sarcastically.

The man with yellow teeth rolled his eyes and began rummaging through his pockets. "Sir, please spare my life, I will do my best."

A wad of banknotes was slapped into the secret policeman's hand, with a few coins mixed in.

The man in the trench coat felt the thickness of the banknotes, nodded in satisfaction, and picked up the scattered package on the ground. "So you found these pieces of evidence on the roadside?"

"Evidence? Oh, yes, evidence." The yellow-toothed man immediately and cleverly continued the conversation.
"Yes! Yes, sir, I found it by the roadside and was just about to confiscate it!"

"In that case, you can leave." The secret policeman put away his pistol, counted the banknotes in his hand, and waved casually.

"Yes, sir."

"Wait a moment!"

Just as the man with yellow teeth was about to leave, he was stopped by the secret police.

"Do you often sell things on the street like this?"

"Sir, this is my first time..."

"Stop talking nonsense, what I mean is, are you even familiar with what's going on on the street?!"

"Of course, I make my living this way, and I know a lot of people around here..."

"Do you know Father Putin? He must be quite famous on the streets now."

Whether it was a misperception or not, the secret police felt that the other person moved slightly when they asked for that name.

"Yes... sir... Father Pugin has a very good reputation on the streets. May I ask what brings you here?" At this moment, the yellow-toothed man bowed humbly, so his expression could not be seen.

"I want to know his usual whereabouts. Tell me everything you know." "Yes..."

The yellow-toothed man talked for a while, but the secret police felt it was all meaningless information, so they waved him away.

As he left the alley, the yellow-toothed man who had almost knelt down stood up and shook the dust off his clothes.

"What bad luck! This business is doomed. There are more secret police than dogs on the street now. I almost lost everything!" Old Pavka took off his shoes and pulled out a few banknotes that smelled of salted fish.

"Fortunately, I had a backup plan, so I managed to save some capital."

"But the secret police want to see the priest?" The veteran stuffed the banknotes into his pocket and hurriedly hid in the alley.

thump! ! !
Oh oh oh!!!
As the person on the bridge leaped off, the audience gasped in shock!
Wow!

Harry Houdini stood up from the icy water in the bathtub, and his wife quickly handed him a towel. The American slowly dried the cold water off his skin.

"This is the final step: slowly restore the body's functions with slightly different temperatures of cold water to avoid putting a strain on the body due to sudden temperature changes."

Houdini picked up the pen on the table and wrote down the last words in his notebook.

"Unlocking, hiding the key, visual deception, assistant disguise, plus the magic trick to finish... I've written down everything I know."

The black-robed priest beside him remained silent, his head bowed as if fiddling with something.

"Hey, Putin! I'm talking to you!"

"Just a moment, I'll be done soon," the priest in black robes said, but his hands didn't stop moving.

About ten seconds later, with a soft click, a pair of metal handcuffs fell to the ground, and the priest in the black robe was holding a small pin in his hand.

"My God! Incredible! Just over half a minute! I thought you were just trying it out! Father Pugin, you really have a talent for this!" Miss Beth exclaimed in amazement.

"It's only half a minute. If it were a performance on stage, the audience would be getting impatient," Houdini said, pouring cold water on the idea.

“Harry, Father Putin was a beginner; he only practiced this three times! Speaking of which, it seems you used…” Ms. Beth put her hands on her hips to speak up for the man next to her, and even intended to reveal her husband’s secrets.

“Okay, okay, I surrender, darling, I admit he really is very talented.” Houdini raised his hands in front of his lover, then turned around.

"You've done a really good job, even better than I did when I first started out. If you weren't so tall, you might be at my assistant's level in the near future." The American said what could barely be called a compliment.

"Thank you! I didn't expect I would actually like this kind of thing." Qin Hao bent down and fiddled with the handcuffs on his hands.

Perhaps the chess pieces really do have some kind of transformative power, because he is now quite adept at handling these props.

Thinking about this, he pondered for a moment, "If, I mean if, I want to successfully escape from under the ice like you, how long would it take to practice?"

"Please don't do that!" Houdini turned around without thinking.

“Performing underwater and unlocking locks in everyday life are two completely different things. Even if you succeed a hundred times, the one hundred and first failure will kill you!” Houdini’s expression was extremely serious at this moment.

“Every underwater performance is like playing hide-and-seek with death. Even today, I almost couldn’t find the exit underwater! And I’ve practiced hundreds of times!”

Looking into the other person's sincere eyes, the priest in the black robe shrugged. "Alright, I won't try it lightly, but I'd like to know, how did you find the exit while underwater?"

Houdini took a deep breath. "You might not believe it, but it was my deceased mother."

"your mother?"

“That’s right. Whenever I’m in danger, I always feel my mother guiding me, and today is no exception.”

After saying that, the American unexpectedly put his hand on the black-robed priest's shoulder and said, "Hey, listen! Although I can't stand your secretive way of doing things, I know you're actually a good guy. Since our deal went fairly well this time, promise me one thing."

"Although I have fully taught you the principles of magic, unless you are truly protected by angels or can be resurrected, do not attempt such a dangerous thing!" Houdini said solemnly, staring into the eyes of the black-robed priest.

"Alright, alright! Harry, your expression is too fierce." Beth stepped in to ease the tension. "We haven't even talked about the most important thing yet."

"Would you like to join us for dinner? I think we'll have a pleasant afternoon," the female magician said with a smile, acting as a "lubricant" between her husband and friend.

"It is my pleasure, madam! May I ask where the meeting place is?"

"Oh, right here where we are staying now, in the small banquet hall of Yusupov Palace, the host has allowed us to use it."

Upon hearing the agreed-upon location, Qin Hao felt the corners of his mouth involuntarily begin to shrink back.

Although Yusupov Palace was a magnificent place, it was a place he subconsciously avoided, and he wouldn't even go near it unless absolutely necessary.

Because historically, there was a guy with the same name who was killed there!

(End of this chapter)