The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 217 The House of the Mist (4k)

"Rua!?"

Kuru, standing beside him, also cried out in surprise, quickly kicked the short corpse away, and then fell to the ground pretending to be dead.

"Are these our bodies? Someone warned us, trying to get us to leave?"

Arthur also recognized the corpse and, after some hesitation, pulled Tang Qi's thoughts back to reality.

Tang Qi looked at the man who bore his identical appearance; his face was ashen and sunken, it was hard to tell whether he had been scared to death or hanged.
"Could it be that they're welcoming us?"

Arthur placed his palms over the corpse's eyes, helping him slowly close them:
"Who would use someone else's corpse as a welcoming salute?"

"Take another good look, is this really a corpse?"

Arthur hesitated and turned around, only to find that the cold, lifeless body that had been unable to rest in peace just a moment ago had now turned into a straw doll:

"Hallucination?"

"The mist in the Dawn Forest is hallucinogenic, remember?"

Tang Qi explained,
"If it's a warning, the methods will probably be more intense. For example, they might make these 'corpses' around us suddenly howl and jump up, and then attack us in an attempt to drive us away."

But this level of illusion seems more like a trick to scare us. Perhaps someone is hiding in the mist not far away, secretly enjoying our doubts and fear?

"Is someone nearby?" Arthur asked alertly, raising the holy symbol in an attempt to ward off evil.

Tang Qi was somewhat helpless:

"It was just a joke—never mind, you'll never understand my humor anyway."

He clapped his hands, intending to continue searching for the way, but then he noticed that Chenxi beside him was staring intently at the scarecrow without saying a word.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I saw a familiar face."

"Oh?"

Thinking that these 'corpses' should be their most basic form, what the dawn saw was perhaps themselves before their bodies were pieced together.

Tang Qi couldn't help but curiously move closer, only to find that the illusion on the straw had dissipated, so he could only look at the dawn:
"You saw yourself? What did you look like?"

Two eyes and one mouth.

"Ha, should I be glad you weren't once a one-eyed cannibal? Be more specific, like long or short hair, hair color, skin tone?"

"Fair skin, long hair, dark brown, blue eyes—like a clear lake."

Are you deliberately showing off how beautiful your eyes are?

"A little," she readily admitted.

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, glancing away from Arthur beside him, and whispered, "I'm not going to gouge out a pair of equally beautiful eyes for you."

After all, she has a criminal record.

"No need. I might be able to find it..."

"Have you regained your memory?"

Tang Qi asked in surprise.

"I only recalled fragmented images. I saw endless war and ruins, flames reflected on the white ice field, and my body was engulfed by the molten fire... but it seems that I have not disappeared yet."

"How could it have been preserved for a thousand years?"

"My body is as strong as steel, and my heart is as hard as iron."

[Refine your body and strengthen your soul].

This is the very creed of [Glory].

As a legendary paladin, it wouldn't seem like an unacceptable thing to forge one's body into an eternally immortal form.

"I want to find that body."

When Chenxi made a rare request, Tang Qi could feel the black mist beneath her helmet trembling violently.

“Stella said you died in the North—we will go there, but not now.”

Although curious about Dawn's past, I've decided to head south, at least to finish this journey.

Chenxi knew it was only a matter of time.

Having received Tang Qi's promise, she quietly stayed by his side, fulfilling her duty as a protector.

Tang Qi picked up Kulu, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, then raised the ring that was emitting a radiant glow, and continued towards their destination.

The further we walked, the more pronounced the feeling of 'welcome' became.

I feel like I'm going uphill.

A cold wind blew against my restless heart and lungs. Although I couldn't see the scenery ahead, I could feel the thick fog curling and churning in front of me, turning into withered claws surging and flapping, as if someone was beckoning to me.

The shrill screams in my ears were sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, accompanied by the grinding sound of teeth, making me wonder if someone was sawing off someone's hands and feet.

The stench of foul blood lingered in my nostrils, mixed with the putrid smell of mold and meat—a smell only found in slaughterhouses.

You can feel them, like liquid or reptiles, clinging to your body, becoming a scent that no amount of magic can wash away.

Looking at the nearby carcasses of wild animals, some shriveled and others reduced to bones, Fied said with certainty:

"This must be the food we offered as a sacrifice; it's all been eaten up..."

After passing through the area where the fog was thickest, the fir trees began to recede to both sides, and the view became vaguely clearer.

But the swirling white mist had merged with the sky, leaving Tang Qi with only the outline of a colossal object in the distance—

It seemed to be a cliff, and they could reach the ancient castle on the cliff by going uphill.

The pointed, cone-shaped top of the tower, like a black spear, pierces straight into the clouds, but its lack of roundness makes people feel uncomfortable.

"Is that it?" Tang Qi pointed to the ancient castle.

"Correct."

In Fide's memory, the castle looked completely different when he first saw it.

She was chased out of the forest and brought to the edge of a cliff, where she caught a glimpse of sunlight—a rare sight in this area.

The white marble brick walls are stacked to form a round and dreamlike castle.

Flowers bloom all over the cliff, vying for beauty, and the air is filled with their fragrant scent.

Even after moving away from the castle, we had never seen it so gloomy and dark before.

The pile of bones formed a straight path, like a carpet laid out after the broken bones were buried in the earth, guiding them to continue forward.

Tang Qi stepped on it one step at a time, and finally glimpsed the true form of the towering ancient castle hidden in the mist.

It sits quietly atop a cliff, pitch black, with a two-story main structure and a spire on the roof that pierces the sky, like a giant that died in the darkness.

The broad and magnificent city walls envelop it, forming the ribs of a giant.

In the center of the wall, the gray stone gate at the entrance is wide open, above which is a broken round window. It may have once had colorful glass, but now only the broken parts remain in the iron window frame.

It was dead, devoid of any life, and Tang Qi saw no one to greet him.

"It seems the welcoming ceremony will only be held on the way up the mountain."

Are there really vampires inside?

Looking at the moss clinging to the stone wall and the weeds outside the courtyard behind the entrance, he said with some uncertainty,
“This place doesn’t look like it’s inhabited. Is it possible that they don’t live here?”

"Possibly, but since we're already here, we should at least go in and have a look around."

Tang Qi looked at Fede,

"You used to be stationed here, will you lead the way?"

Fide surveyed the territory, which had once been the dwelling place of the witch, and asked in bewilderment:
"How are you going to lead the way? We've never heard of any vampires when we lived here..."

"Then you must know what rooms in this castle are noteworthy, right? Like the master bedroom, or the entrance to the basement?"

“Basement? There’s no such place… But as for the master bedroom, I remember there was a large room on the second floor.”

"Then let's go to the second floor and take a look."

Tang Qi took the first step and entered the overgrown manor of the ancient castle.

"and many more!"

Arthur stepped inside, but suddenly raised the holy emblem and began to recite a prayer.

"Stop! Bones that shouldn't exist—" "Hey, stop! What are you doing?"

Tang Qi quickly grabbed his arm.

Arthur angrily pointed at the zombie beside him:

"Didn't you see them?"

“I saw them, but obviously, these zombies didn’t do anything to us.”

Tang Qi gave him a meaningful look, signaling him to take a good look at the behavior of the corpses—

God knows where this corpse was dug up from; most of the skeleton had lost the protection of flesh and blood, with only scattered pieces of skin and flesh still hanging on the skeleton.

They were carrying spears—

The posture looks like he's holding a spear, but there's not even a branch in his hand.

They walked in a procession through the manor, seemingly unaware of Tang Qi and his group's presence.

They must be on patrol.

"These guys weren't here when you lived here, were they?"

“If they exist, Kane will tear them to shreds.” Fied frowned.

"Hey, there it is, torn to shreds—"

Tang Qi pointed to a corner on the left, where several zombies, reduced to mere skeletons, were indeed trembling.
"So, after you left the castle, a new resident probably moved in?"

“The deceased deserve to rest in peace,” Arthur insisted.

"They haven't done anything to us. We don't need to cause trouble before we've confirmed their attitude."

Tang Qi vaguely sensed that things before him were not as simple as he had imagined.
"Vampires don't have the ability to control corpses, and necromancers don't need to command so many minions... It's best to be cautious."

"To disturb the peace of the dead is to defile their souls."

Arthur ignored them, raised the holy emblem, recited a prayer, and a ray of sunset light enveloped the patrolling zombies.

Under the halo of light, their remaining skin rotted away, their bones turned to ash, and they disappeared into the clouds.

Some priests, favored by the gods and endowed with greater divine power, even possess the ability to "guide divine power" and destroy weak undead creatures.

Whether he had lost his vocal cords or was unable to feel pain, Tang Qi did not hear anyone scream.

Seeing that Arthur had driven away the undead creatures in the courtyard, Tang Qi secretly severed ties with them in his heart, then pushed open the castle gate—

"Cough cough."

The room hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and the accumulated dust forced Tang Qi to cough twice. He looked around, but there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy except for the blurry murals painted on the ceiling above him.
"It's a pity that it's been too long and I can't see it clearly anymore. But at least it shows that the owner of this place was very rich."

But why would a wealthy person build such a magnificent castle in the Dawn Forest instead of living as a nobleman in Dragon Gold City?
Tang Qi continued deeper into the hall, but then realized it was somewhat dark, so he gave Kulu a wink.

"Rua!"

Under the effect of [Magic Trick], torches in the castle rose one after another, their fuel seemingly inexhaustible, so much so that they could still intertwine into bright flames.

The hall, supported by four pillars, resembles a fork in the road, with a long corridor in front, a staircase leading upwards on the left, and what appears to be a passageway to another room on the right.

“The restaurant is on the right,” Fede said.

"Then let's go upstairs."

Since no one came out to greet him, Tang Qi could only wander around.

The master bedroom of the castle would definitely be a great place to visit.

Even if the current owner doesn't live there, you can still tell their preferences and even the history of the castle from the decor.

So he went straight to the stairs on the left.

It's very spacious, at least five meters long, spiraling upwards. The handrails on both sides of the staircase have turned into rotten wood, but the carved patterns can still be faintly seen on the parts that haven't rotted away.

The first thing you see when you step onto the second floor is a gilded chair.

It faces the huge glass window, with its back to most of the hall and also to Tang Qi, so all that can be seen is the dark red, blood-like leather beneath the iron, rusty frame.

"Kuru, detect the trap."

"no!"

Tang Qi approached with confidence, realizing that this seemed to be an excellent spot for viewing the scenery—even though the distant landscape was shrouded in thick fog.

The seat frame looks like it's been rubbed by something, now only rust remains, and there's a groove at the top, where something used to be inlaid.

There is a small hole in the leather back of the chair.

"Like it's been poked by something?"

"A dagger."

Fied said,
"We sold it and got a lot of food in return."

More than its value, Tang Qi was curious about why it was here:

"So, someone assassinated someone sitting in this seat?"

Unable to find an answer, he turned back and looked at the oil painting on the left wall—

The paper is also marked by the passage of time, and a section of the frame is missing, but fortunately the content is still clearly legible:
"A family photo? Quite a few people, they must be very fertile."

This oil painting is at least ten meters long. In the center is an ornate, gilded empty chair inlaid with a blood-red gemstone, probably the one on the second floor.
"You sold the gold dust and rubies on it too?"

“If we hadn’t been unable to move it, this painting wouldn’t have survived,” Fede admitted.

"Then I should be glad you didn't destroy history."

As Tang Qi spoke, he began to examine the oil painting from head to toe—

Behind the chair stood an elderly man with gray hair, surrounded by a group of young people of all different appearances, dressed in gorgeous clothes, with a few children occasionally standing in front of him.

Most of them have pure black hair, but occasionally a few men and women with blond or brown hair appear scattered on the canvas, perhaps as sons-in-law from elsewhere or daughters who have married far away.

The large family of over a hundred people stood before Tang Qi as if they were still living on a canvas, each with a different expression—some laughing, some sad.

Regardless, their past glory can be glimpsed through their oil paintings:

"I would believe it if you said it was royalty, but I don't know how many years ago it existed."

Tang Qi sighed, guessing that the history of this ancient castle might be even older than that of Longjin City.

"Rua?"

While observing, Tang Qi suddenly heard Kulu's surprised exclamation.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw the kobold pointing with its sharp claws at a spot in the corner of the painting.

"Don't break it; it's a work of art, after all."

"name!"

Kuru, however, seemed to have discovered a new continent and urged Tang Qi to come closer.

Tang Qi looked closely and discovered that at the tip of its finger, the name "Night Raven" was clearly written, obviously their family name.

"I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before..."

Tang Qi couldn't remember for a moment.

Fortunately, Kulu, who loved reading, was also quite knowledgeable. He pointed ahead and behind Tang Qi, gesturing as he spoke:

"The Guide, the front, the books!"

Tang Qi hesitated and said:
"You mean the book that's displayed in the bookstore before 'The Guide'?"

It dawned on him.

Not long ago, I criticized the behavior of the lame pigeon boss in the "Guide"!
Then I recalled the name of that book:
"The House of Mist written by Mary Sue?"

"here!"

Kuru then pointed to the words next to "Night Raven".

This time, even Tang Qi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

He saw the name of an old acquaintance:

"What's going on—"

The author, Merlin?

(End of this chapter)