Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 21 Heresy
By the time Luzer's carriage arrived at Old Neil's house, it was already late at night.

The detached house had two floors, and the windows on either side of the main entrance were still lit, casting light into the passageway in front. They walked through a garden filled with roses and mint, inhaling the fragrance of the plants, and faintly heard the sound of a piano coming from inside. The music was beautiful and light, resonating gently in the quiet night.

This old man can play the piano? I didn't realize!
Lu Ze thought to himself, but then he saw that the expressions of Dunn, Luo Yao, Dai Li and other people who were familiar with Old Neil had changed.

"Old Neil can't play the piano."

Luo Yao and Lu Ze offered a low explanation.

Lu Ze was startled. Who could be playing the piano in the middle of the night?

“The spirits around me are very uneasy.”

Dai Li closed her eyes, sensing something.

"Ah."

"Then let's begin," Krestai said calmly.

He didn't go inside, but stood in the passageway in front of the main entrance and began to sing softly. It was a ballad without lyrics, just a simple melody. His voice seemed to echo the night, and the roses and mint in the evening breeze swayed their leaves, everything was so peaceful and serene.

Luze felt a sudden heaviness in his eyelids, but thankfully the singing wasn't directed at him, so he shook his head slightly to dispel the drowsiness. He saw a semi-transparent object float out from inside Krest's raised collar, silently flying forward, passing through the front door, and entering Old Neil's house.

And so the piano music in Old Neil's house gradually stopped.

"Okay, you can go in now."

"Crestais said calmly."

Wow, that's impressive. He took control of the target without making a sound. That's what a high-ranking butler is all about.

Lu Ze couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. He followed the others to the front door, and as Luo Yao grasped the doorknob and pulled it open, the scene inside the house was revealed.

The house was spotless and tidy, almost unlike what one would expect from an elderly person living alone. Beyond the porch where coat racks and umbrellas were placed, there was a spacious living room. In the center of the living room was a patterned rug, upon which sat a heavy round table. Around the round table were comfortable benches, a rocking chair, and a piano.

Lu Ze subconsciously looked towards the piano, and he seemed to see a transparent figure there.

At that moment, old Neil was lying on the round table, his head resting on his arm, sleeping peacefully, quite a distance from the piano, and there was no one else around.

Behind him, the familiar, eerie eye still floated, but now another transparent object entangled it, causing it to tumble up and down, unable to direct its gaze toward Luze. Luze immediately recognized it as something released by Krestai.

He couldn't help but look at Krestai, and then realized that the other man was looking at him too.

Tell me, what are you going to do next?

Krestai asked calmly.

While in the carriage, Lu Ze had said that Old Neil might still be saved. This wasn't just empty talk; he had observed something during the past few days—Old Neil didn't seem to have completely degenerated into a man out of control. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the eyes were only currently attached to Old Neil's body, constantly eroding his physical form, but hadn't yet invaded the depths of his mind.

However, Neil's defense is already very weak, and it's uncertain how much longer he can hold on.

"I need two candles and a dagger."

Lu Zedao.

Luo Yao immediately got up and entered a room in Old Neil's house with practiced ease. A short while later, she emerged carrying two ceremonial white candles and a silver dagger.

“Until last year, we often visited Old Neil’s house.”

Facing Lu Ze's probing gaze, Luo Yao replied, his eyes somewhat dim, "But back then, his family didn't have a piano yet." Lu Ze remained silent, reaching out to take the candle and dagger.

"Captain, please lay Old Neil flat on the floor, and then take off his shirt, make sure he's completely naked."

Dunn nodded, his expression grave, and lifted old Neil by the shoulder, taking him off the table. Old Neil was fast asleep, his body as limp as a rag doll, and it took him some effort to pull him to the floor.

He was propped up by Old Neil's body and couldn't free his hands, so he frowned, seemingly considering whether to ask Daly or Luo Yao for help to take them off. At that instant, Krestai's hand holding the silver-white briefcase trembled slightly, and Old Neil's clothes seemed to have been cut by a sharp and invisible blade, turning into countless strips of cloth that fell down, revealing his old and thin upper body.

Suddenly stripped of his shirt, old Neil's body twitched slightly, and he groaned a few times, as if he felt the cold. But his eyes remained tightly closed, and he could not wake up.

Luzer then sat down on the floor, lit two candles between himself and Old Neil, and looked at Dunn.

"Captain, as you know, I've only recently become a Night Watcher, and my understanding of the occult isn't deep enough. This method was deduced from the ritual provided by the potion, so it might not work."

"It's okay, just do your best. No matter the outcome, I won't blame you."

Dunn said calmly, "I'm already very grateful that you've helped old Neil like this."

That's all you need.

Luze nodded, then glanced at the silent Krestai beside him, swallowed hard, and said, "Um... this method might involve using evil forces, so please don't consider me a heretic."

Krestai stood behind him, looking down at him, his dark green eyes like a lake at night. "I'll be watching from here. Whether he's a heretic or not is my own business."

That doesn't really count as a promise.

Lu Ze thought to himself, then steeled his resolve and raised the dagger.

"Captain, please step back."

Seeing Dunn retreat a certain distance, Luze slashed his dagger in the air, and then something invisible shot out from the tip of the dagger. His movements were somewhat clumsy, but he still managed to create an invisible barrier, separating him and Old Neil from the outside world.

Old Neil was a decent coach, what a pity.

He looked around and thought to himself.

This barrier, called the Spiritual Wall, separates the inside from the outside, preventing them from influencing each other. The invisible force used comes from within him and is called spirituality in mysticism; it can be intuitively understood as mental power or spiritual energy.

Having successfully built the spiritual wall, Lu Ze no longer hesitated. He gritted his teeth and slashed his finger with a dagger. The wound was so deep that blood immediately gushed out.

Hiss, it hurts.

Despite the pain, Luze placed his bloodied finger on Old Neil's chest and began to draw rapidly. His finger moved swiftly, drawing a simple emblem of the True Creator on Old Neil's chest skin, then adding a small circle around the emblem, enclosing it.

After finishing the drawing, he calmed himself down and nodded toward Krestae outside the wall.

With a wave of his hand, the transparent object that had been entangled with the eerie eyes broke free and instead passed through the wall of spirituality, flying back into Kreste's body.

The giant eye, now free, immediately floated up and cast its cold and cruel gaze upon Luze.

"puff."

Lu Ze's nose gushed blood instantly.

(End of this chapter)