From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

Starsword and Edmund exchanged a glance, then asked, "Did you call the police?"

"I reported it," the old man mumbled in reply. "The police came and said it was done by a wild animal. They have too few people, so they try to cover it up whenever something happens, something like 'avoiding panic'."

The three asked a few more questions, and after confirming that there was no further news, they left the hut.

A moment later, the group arrived at the tombstone that had been pried open and saw the disturbed soil and several deep trenches that looked like claw marks.

The rock at the edge of the claw marks was torn and cracked, which did not seem like the work of an iron chisel, but rather the mark left by some powerful creature in a fit of extreme ferocity.

"The gravedigger wasn't lying." Edmund stood up, dusting the dirt off his hands. "It should be within a month."

Xingjian looked thoughtfully at the illegible tombstone: "If the painter's disappearance is related to the cemetery, then what exactly did he do here?"

"It would be best to split up and investigate," Edmund said, glancing at the sun.

"I think I can go to the library to look up old news about this town; Starsword, you can go buy some weapons and find out some information while you're at it; Turbulent should be able to go to the tavern? You can never keep a secret there."

Jiliu nodded, and Xingjian agreed, saying, "Good plan. Let's meet at the painter's old house in two hours."

The three quickly split up. Edmund found the small public library, learned the direction of the newspaper rack from the drowsy old librarian, and then began to "use his library skills."

The newspaper's densely packed prints documented the town's mundane daily life: fish catches, weddings, market prices... Some old news caught his attention.

Art World Mystery: Sixth Enthusiast Missing

*Grey Gulls police have announced that local artist Heinrich Pick has been missing for a week, and no signs of burglary have been found at his residence. Notably, this is the sixth artist to go missing after being active in Grey Gulls in the past five years. Police do not currently believe there is any criminal activity involved and are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.*

Edmund noted the news down, then continued reading and found a missing person notice in the corner of the latest issue.

*Missing Person Notice: Heinrich Pick, male, 42 years old, painter. He went missing two months ago from his residence in Greygull Town. He is approximately 1.8 meters tall, of slender build, with short, dark brown hair. Anyone with information, please call the number below to contact his family. A generous reward will be offered.*

Edmund closed the newspaper, and just then the library bells rang; it was time to return to the meeting point.

Back in the dimly lit living room of the painter's old house, Xingjian was already sitting on the sofa with two long, rectangular objects wrapped in coarse cloth beside him.

Seeing Edmund enter, Starsword raised his glass, gesturing to a glass of white wine on the table in front of him: "Any success?"

Edmund briefly described the library's findings: "The painter we're looking for should be the sixth artist in the last five years to lose contact after being active in Greygull Town. What about you?"

Xingjian grunted, unwrapped the coarse cloth bundle, revealing two military knives: "Found them at a secondhand shop, in good condition."

As he spoke, he took out a smaller package from the side and handed it to Edmund, who opened it and found that it was a revolver.

Star Sword clearly remembered his self-introduction and prepared a gun for this teammate who had no melee skills.

While Edmund examines the firearms, Starsword continues to explain his findings.

"The shopkeeper mentioned that the painter had bought a series of strange and unusual things from his shop. He remembered: 'a set of silver engraving knives,' 'sulfur and salt,' 'twelve white candles, unscented,' and 'a very old pagan prayer book.' Unfortunately, the shopkeeper's professional habits did not allow him to be too curious, so the painter kept his secret."

Edmund nodded: "There's nothing we can do about it."

Starsword nodded, then brought up another discovery: "There was another interesting development—afterwards, I wandered around the neighborhood near the cemetery and chatted with a few kids."

At this point, he laughed: "The testimonies of children who aren't too afraid of trouble are always terrifying, but with the right methods, they can be easily obtained and effective. They said that on the night of the full moon a month ago, they saw someone crawling out from underground."

"Underground?" Edmund pressed.

"Yes, a boy got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and saw a 'person' walking out of the cemetery through the window. He said the figure was covered in mud and jumped into the street. His exact words were—'It hopped around like a frog, its hands hopping along with it.'"

Xingjian added, "The boy's sister chimed in that she had heard strange noises, and the other children each had their own stories. The only consensus was that it was a full moon night. The boy was quite certain that the moon was big and round that night."

"The night of the full moon..." Edmund murmured, "that's the time the gravedigger called 'the time the tombstone was dug up'."

Just then, the sound of a key turning came from outside the door, and Jiliu, carrying a strong smell of alcohol, pushed the door open and entered, but she seemed to be in good spirits.

"We had a good haul at the pub." Jiliu plopped down on the sofa. "We drank and chatted, and the locals get quite talkative when they've had a few drinks."

She held up two fingers: "First, whether it's a domesticated dog or a stray, they'll tuck their tails and run away as soon as they get near a cemetery. But at night, drunkards have heard a low, chuckling sound that sounds like barking dogs."

Xingjian casually handed a military knife to Jiliu, who took the weapon and continued to talk about his discovery.

"The second piece of information is even more important. The old doctor in town, after drinking too much, revealed some information—he remembered the last time Heinrich Pick came to see a doctor, which was probably two weeks before his disappearance."

She mimicked the doctor's drunken tone: "'That honest painter seems to have contracted some strange hereditary disease. His teeth have become sharp, his nails have become thick and black, he can't tolerate light, and he has a particular interest in raw meat. If he weren't an old friend of mine, I would have really thought he was a hyena.'"

"Alienation." Star Sword's voice deepened. "Alienation into some kind of beastly form."

"So the current clues include multiple missing persons, destroyed tombstones, children witnessing underground creatures, and doctors diagnosing the painter as acting strangely..."

Edmund paced back and forth in the living room: "It seems the painter was undergoing some kind of ritual or being influenced by something, his body began to degenerate, and then he 'crawled out' on the night of the full moon a month ago?"

"But he didn't run far; he went back to his studio?" Jiliu asked.

"Or perhaps he's been around all along." Edmund looked at the stairs leading to the second floor. "We'll keep watch here tonight."

Night completely enveloped the painter's old house. The three of them turned off all the lights in the living room and took up positions in the shadows next to the stairs, behind the sofa in the living room, and in the corner near the door, respectively.

In the silent wait, time slowly passed.

Edmund leaned against the wall, his revolver cocked, ready to activate his "spiritual perception" at any moment.

Around midnight, a strange sound came from the second floor.

It sounded like something was being dragged along the floor, accompanied by a low, panting dragging sound overhead.

Starsword and Torrent both looked toward the stairs, while Edmund had already silently pressed himself against the wall.

The three exchanged a glance and began to move towards the second floor.