It was after the bell rang that Emera, the Autumn Master, who had basically maintained the state of "not seeing, not hearing, and not speaking", suddenly spoke, contrary to her usual behavior.
She even changed her lip movements to modify what she was actually going to say, directly expressing that she was "scared" and begging Haratini to stay with her with this reason.
Then the third bell rang.
This time I also heard it, just when the two of them just entered.
Well...after entering, I was so focused on comforting Aisuen and caring about her mental state that I didn't pay attention to the exact time. But soon they landed on the top platform of the Holy Oak Palace and found that the atmosphere in the entire flashback was wrong.
At the Hour of Spring, the Green Dragon Queen unexpectedly died tragically on the plains outside, and her body was torn into pieces, leaving only blood and a sword on the ground.
Is that her sword?
Or is it her essence, blood, or even bones?
I don’t know. Everything remains a mystery... This is definitely not because they noticed it too late. After all, even the other three Si Chens who arrived earlier did not see the process - they didn’t even know how Ahoin died.
"I have some doubts about the 'First Hundred Years'..." Hitzfeld said softly, "Some of the rules in it have been changed."
"Don't talk about patterns." Xia Yibing sneered, "If it weren't because it involves the descendants of gods, I would even suspect that half of the four goddesses you saw when you first entered were fake!"
"You are much bolder than before." Hitzfeld raised the corner of his mouth.
She actually thought about this.
If the equation of bell = death is true, that is, every time the bell rings, it announces that a person is about to die, then why did Emera, the only one who could perceive this, only remind Haradini?
She racked her brains and thought of many possibilities, but in the end she had to admit that the most likely possibility was that Emera felt there was no need to notify the other two.
Why not?
Because they are already dead.
The moment these words came out of his heart, Hitzfeld really felt... a chill from the soles of his feet to the back of his head.
Even though she was soaking in slightly hot water, and even though she shouldn't feel cold at all, she still felt that way.
It's downright creepy.
I haven't felt this kind of horror for a long time.
In particular, she held on to this assumption and substituted it into the scene she saw in her first flashback, recalling the scenes when the four Si Chens gathered together - Emera always shrank to the edge and said nothing.
Eyes, closed.
Not a word was said.
The only two shots in which her head is shown are when Haratini enters the hall. Although she has her eyes closed, she turns her head to that side, making Haratini feel that she is "being watched."
The second time was to ask Haradini to stay...
So why... the more they look alike, the more they resemble each other?
She seemed to only pay attention to Haratini and even have the desire to communicate with her the whole time. Obviously, in terms of personality, both Ahoin and Kefan were more unrestrained and outgoing than the Queen of Winter, and it was easier for them to win Emera's favor, but she only paid attention to Haratini the whole time.
So... is it really because... she thinks the other two sisters are "unimportant"?
So what would cause her to think this way?
“There are a lot of contradictions.”
Hitzfeld took a deep breath.
"First, if Ahoyin and Kefan were already dead when the Four Seasons Plan was being discussed, then what about the two Sichens who were standing there and were seen by Haradini and me? Who were they?"
"Secondly, if we follow this assumption, that is, assuming that Ahoin and Kefan were already dead at the time, and that the people standing there were their ghosts, or something else... such as an outer god, then why did Ahoin die again?"
This doesn't make sense, does it?
Death bells.
The living dead.
These can all be explained by certain rules or by the tampering of cognition.
After all, they are very familiar with this thing and they have even experienced it themselves.
But since these things have been tampered with, it doesn't make sense that the tampered things should kill themselves, right?
The third ringing of the death bell actually killed the Green Dragon Queen who was "already dead" and "no longer considered a relative by Emera"?
What is the reason for this?
"What's more noteworthy is that isn't it true that such an influence also works on us?" Xia Yibing slightly grinned - when she made such an expression, it basically meant that she felt her life was threatened.
"Let's make another assumption. Many things in the 'first hundred years' may be false and unreal. Only Emera, who 'cannot see, hear or speak', understands the truth."
She paused, then waved her hand and slapped the water.
"…That should also be an illusion, right?"
"Even if we were to go back to the Red Earth Plains case and 'look down' from our current height, we should not be affected. We should be able to directly see that those underground residents are all human beings!"
That's why she felt "threatened".
Because essentially, cognitive tampering has no effect on objective reality.
I have tampered with your cognition. I have made you have the illusion of being "upside down". You will eat noodles upside down because you trust this illusion, but you will never be able to walk on the ceiling relying on this illusion.
If I look back from the future and look down at the past, I should be able to see you eating noodles upside down instead of sitting normally at the dining table.
Because this modification is effective on you...
Why...
The power that was effective only in the past actually traveled through time and space to blind them? They were even less clear than the person in the painting - Emera?
Then let’s think further, where does this power come from?
If the source of this power is "alive" and "thinking", then will this life and this thought also cross from the past into the present?
Will the act of looking back at history and viewing the scrolls bring out some buried horrors?
"If I want to answer your question, I'm afraid I'll have to wait until next time."
Hitzfeld nodded.
"Emera's silence, silence, and silence... maybe this is the secret to seeing the 'truth'."
"I have some thoughts on your question." Xia Yibing raised a finger, "For example, is there a possibility that... the so-called 'Ahoin' is not dead at all?"
Hitzfeld was stunned for a moment, then realized that the 'Ahoin' here refers to her who has died, that is, the hypothetical illusion being played.
"We didn't see her, did we?" Xia Yibing spread her hands. "There's no body, no process, no traces, and no idea of the murderer... If such a case happened in real life, the police wouldn't even take it, right?"
After all, who knows who the blood came from?
With so much blood spilled there and no body in sight, how can we tell who was unlucky?
If you say so...
Hitzfeld followed his train of thought.
"If that pool of blood was just a deception, just an illusion... then that means..."
"It means 'the destined death has not happened yet'!" Xia Yibing grabbed her shoulders and looked at her excitedly, "It should be like this... Ahoin and Kefan are dead! Those standing there are all undead! They are monsters! They are the invisible 'enemies' that Haratini has been searching for for hundreds of years! All the sadness and pain are false, and the real goal of those things is to kill Haratini and Emera!"
If this is the case, then Emera should have been clear about this from the beginning to the end.
Hitzfeld stared at his and his lover's reflections in the water.
Ahoin's death was a deception, and Ke Fan's departure was also a deception. Emera, who saw through the truth, took the initiative to promote development for the first time... So what was the meaning of her chasing Xia Tian and leaving?
Is it protection?
Protect yourself? Or protect Haradini?
If her pursuit of Ke Fan is understood as surveillance or a search for the truth, then Haratini, who stayed in the winter, has defended her foundation.
It's not just the order left to them by the Sun King Amen-Hawin, it should also be a form of protection.
After all, Haradini never left Hollyoaks.
Considering Emera's invitation to stay in the palace overnight, perhaps there is another kind of rule shrouding that palace?
The rules left by Amen Harwin?
In Holm Oak, the Hour Goddess cannot be killed? Cannot be harmed?
So that is not actually the cage that imprisons the Queen of Winter, but her protective umbrella, the unpredictable wall of life...
Standing up from the water in an instant, Hitzfeld was shaking something and was about to bend down to get a towel.
It is actually very simple to verify these things. You have to know that there is another "medium" at this moment - the one that Xinde brought with great effort is placed on the table.
The truth seemed to be within reach. It would be fine if she didn't know it, but how could she bear it now?
No more washing!
I can't stay in this bath for even a second!
⊙a⊙！ !!!
Is this too——
Xia Yibing's eyes suddenly widened, and her soul was directly attracted by the shaking object.
It’s just… another round thing is reflected in the round eyes.
My eyes are blurry...
It's really dazzling...
Holy white, as beautiful as a ball of mutton-fat jade...
Even though we have been together for such a long time, this kind of direct appreciation, and from this rare angle... is not always available...
"Do you want me to say you are innocent, or do you want me to say you are hypocritical?"
Hitzfeld picked up the towel, without any intention of covering himself, and walked in front of Xia Yibing, looking down at her condescendingly.
Xia Yibing: I hope time can stop at this moment and at least stay for a few hours so that I can fully understand the mysteries of the human body and the beauty of sculpture.
"I've never seen the instigator or the murderer be obsessed with the crime scene."
Being stared at like this all the time, the silver-haired goddess finally blushed slightly.
"I'm going out first."
"If you still want to come with me, then hurry up."
It took her a few seconds to understand what that sentence meant, and Xia Yibing suddenly felt a heat rising up.
Yup!
Damn it, I've been holding it in for seventy or eighty years in the flashback, and what I urgently need to satisfy is not only my appetite but also my desire for cleanliness!
But when I think of that hidden threat...
Forget it, forget it, business is important.
Restraining something that was eager to move, Xia Yibing quickly packed up and returned to the bedroom.
It is a real bedroom - no longer a studio with a bed, but a place where the two of them usually live and sleep.
"Does it have to be on the bed..."
Hitzfeld was browsing and consolidating the documents, and when he looked up, he found that she had already slipped into the quilt.
"Where else would you like to be?"
Xia Yibing lifted a corner of the quilt and patted the bed sheet.
"The chair can only seat one person... Come on! Let's get started!"
Hitzfeld: “…”
I always feel like there’s something wrong with this scene. What’s going on?
After thinking about it, if they didn't do it this way, and the two of them wanted to go in together, either Xia would have to continue to shrink into her own shadow, or they would have to squeeze into one chair, and one of them would definitely have to sit in the other's arms.
Considering the difference in body shape and height, she definitely couldn't be the cushion, so she might as well lie on the bed. Thinking of this, she no longer hesitated.
They squeezed in quickly, snuggled together, put their heads together, and browsed through a manuscript that was brought up.
The manuscript was copied, and it described the process of the winter dragon freezing a sea tornado with ice that swept across the land. The wording was very imprecise, but the key meaning was in place. It was sufficient as a medium.
"Are you ready?"
