"I think I know where the curse comes from."
Chapter 27: Creeping Things
More than ten minutes later, a group of people stood by and watched the workers break the seals of the kiln one by one, pulling out all the pottery, both fired and unfired. They were a little confused for a moment.
"I want to know why?" Fire Boss Jin De became more and more confused.
Hasn't it been found out that it has nothing to do with these jars? Why are they destroying this batch of goods?
There are a total of eighteen kilns in this row. If they all stop working at the same time, how much pottery will he lose?
This is all money... Does this little detective girl understand how difficult it is to do business? Knight Smail is really crazy. He is willing to play with her.
"I want to know, too." Smail's words made him collapse even more. "So can you explain it... Hitzfeld?"
He had already dropped the word "Miss" from his address to the girl, which showed that Hitzfeld had gained a lot of his trust.
"The worm curse was triggered and spread over a large area a month ago." Hitzfeld was still staring at the kilns while speaking. "Maybe our initial idea was wrong. It's not that there is a problem with the fired pottery."
"What's the problem?"
"It's not cooked well."
"???"
When she said this, not only Hughes and Kinder were confused, but even Smail was confused for a while.
Xia Yibing had a calm expression, because she was the one who realized the truth the fastest besides the girl. On the contrary, Darent had an expression of sudden enlightenment... This scene made Smail feel uncomfortable all over.
I can't see where there is anything worth realizing...
Am I...am I such a stupid person?
"There is definitely something wrong with the clay," Hitzfeld said, but she first wanted to clarify her conclusion. "I hope you will suspend this dangerous market after you determine the root cause of the problem."
"If it is confirmed to be red clay... then I will do it, and I will bear all the responsibilities." Smail nodded, "But... Hitzfeld, you have to tell me why? Why is it that the unfired pottery is problematic?"
"Didn't I say that the worm curse was triggered exactly one month ago? The time difference is not that big." The girl raised her eyebrows. "And Mr. Jinde just admitted that the last time the kiln was cleaned was a month ago... and it just so happens that one-third of the employees who had accidents in the fire department were cleaners. Don't you think there is some kind of connection between them?"
"You mean..." Smail's eyes widened suddenly, and he turned to the row of kilns: "...the smoke produced during the burning process?"
"There shouldn't be any other possibility." Xia Yibing also began to help the girl explain, "There are some harmful things in the red soil. Maybe burning will intensify them and make them stand out... But at the same time, the flames will also purify them and drive them out of the pottery."
"They will mix with the smoke and go up into the sky through the chimneys... I think you can do some more research on this aspect to see if those who are infected live in the surrounding areas and are most likely to inhale the most smoke."
Smail immediately called over a knight guard who was following him, gave him a few instructions, and watched him run out quickly.
"I don't think it's because of this!" Jin De walked up with a frown, "According to what you said, there's something wrong with the red clay! But so many people have been doing this business for so many years!"
"Look at Hughes! Isn't it? They are all doing this... digging soil from the plains and using it. How many years has this process been going on?"
Indeed, he has a point.
Smail suddenly hesitated again.
If there really is something wrong with the red soil, why did this strange curse only begin to erupt recently?
"That's a fascinating guess." Darent leaned over to Hitzfeld and whispered to her, "But dear, look at their reactions... I don't think this much evidence is enough."
"Of course not." Hitzfeld raised his chin towards the smoke-emitting operation site, "We can go and take a look."
"What are you looking at?" Jin De shouted angrily.
He disliked the gray-haired girl very much. Although he admitted that she was pretty, she was not satisfied with destroying more than a dozen furnaces of his goods, and even asked Smail to close all clay markets!
Even though the red clay business doesn't account for a large proportion of the fire business, its profits are not small at all! If he shuts down this part of the business, he will lose a large sum of money out of thin air, and the penalty alone can bankrupt him.
"See if there are any surprises among the rescued semi-finished products."
As he said this, Hitzfeld took out a mask and put it on himself, then took a step forward and moved forward.
Xia Yibing and Darent put on masks and followed closely, followed by Smail. Jind and Hughes looked at each other and could only follow with bitter faces.
"Cough cough cough..."
The smoke was still very thick, and many workers picked up iron plates and fanned them vigorously to disperse the smoke and help everyone to clear a path.
In fact, there was no need for Hitzfeld to explain further. Just by getting close to the smoke, everyone could feel that something was wrong.
This is no ordinary smoke.
The air was sultry, but the feeling they had walking in the thin smoke was indescribable.
It was a feeling of being watched by something.
It was like there was something in the smoke.
They are everywhere.
Staring at them with malicious eyes.
Jin De's calves had already begun to tremble. He took out a handkerchief, but instead of using it to wipe the sweat, he covered his mouth and nose tightly with it.
Hughes' handkerchief seemed to have been used up, and he could only cover his face with his sleeves, leaving only two slits of his eyes exposed as he stared ahead.
"what!"
Suddenly, a sharp scream came from the mist.
The group of people immediately quickened their pace. They approached the nearest kiln and saw a kiln worker sitting on the ground, looking forward in horror - at the pile of semi-finished pottery that had just been taken out.
Everyone's eyes turned there.
They clearly saw that the dark red clay was wriggling... They seemed to have life, sticking together one after another to form a larger mass of irregular mud.
Then even more terrifying changes occurred: a human face emerged from the surface of the slime.
It's like a layer of animal sebum, which is stretched tight, and then suddenly a face hits it from behind - it's a similar tightening effect.
The face was struggling. It opened its mouth wide, showing traces of teeth, and roared silently into the air. Then, countless faces similar to it appeared densely, making the mass of slime even more terrifying and hateful.
thump!
thump!
Several furnace workers who witnessed the situation collapsed to the ground, while Hitzfeld ran over quickly, grabbed the iron shell plates they had thrown away, and desperately fanned them around.
Darent and Xia Yibing followed suit, and with the help of Smail, the thin layer of smoke was finally blown away for the most part.
Although smoke was still coming out of the stove, at least I could find a windy angle and stand there.
"Cough cough cough cough!"
Jin De had also fallen to the ground. He covered his mouth and kept coughing, his voice was very hoarse: "What on earth is that...?!"
The smoke dissipated, and the mud finally took shape after cooling.
It stopped squirming, and maintained its fixed appearance with countless faces, countless hands and feet, tentacles, and sharp teeth, like a carved grotesque art, a work of art created by a madman.
"it is true……"
Looking at this terrifying clay sculpture, Knight Smail turned pale and kept whispering.
"Damn it, bastard! It's actually true!!!"
"I'm afraid it's more than that."
There was a loud "crash" noise coming from the side.
They turned around and saw the gray-haired girl raising her foot and kicking the mud seal completely into pieces.
She used too much force, and the entire wall collapsed half a meter, emitting more smoke, vaguely exposing the inner wall of the kiln.
"So much poisonous smoke...are you crazy?"
When Hughes saw this scene, he ran a few steps away, screaming.
"Stand on the wind's side. They can't get through."
Hitzfeld was speechless.
But she wasn't doing it for him to see anyway.
"Knight." She pointed to the vaguely visible inner wall of the kiln and said to Smail, "Do you want to see what it looks like inside?"
"..." Smail frowned, approached cautiously, and poked his head slightly into the opening she pointed to.
The smoke thinned.
Gradually faded.
The knight's eyes gradually widened, and his pupils instantly shrank to smaller than a needle tip.
"I understand..." he said obscurely.
"I'll go right away..."
"Let's close this market now..."
--------
Take a nap first, the third update will be in the afternoon.
It’s not that I don’t want to finish writing it in one go… It’s mainly because someone donated some butter yesterday, and I was so tired…
And now each chapter is more than 2k5, the amount is not bad~
Chapter 28 The Real Root
Bishop Padom, Knight Smail, and General Walker were the three most powerful people in the Plains Diocese. After receiving Smail's report, the other two quickly suspended their work and gathered at the Pus-Onsin Cathedral in the evening to discuss the matter.
"That's impossible! Smail! I don't agree with your decision!"
"Then what do you think is the reason? Didn't you see it this afternoon? Those horrible things in the stove?"
"This can only mean that there is something wrong with the latest batch of red clay! I can't let you shut down the entire trading market!"
"I'm not informing you, Walker! I'm asking you! You can understand this as an order!!"
"Oh? Since when can a mere gold-rank officer directly give orders to the military commanders? It is true that you are the leaders here, but you don't have Padom's support. How can you have the courage to speak like this?"
"I can strangle you in a minute! You better respect me! ... You big, foolhardy fellow!"
Led by Frick into the back hall of the church, Hitzfeld and others heard a heated argument as soon as they opened the door.
They couldn't help but look at the knight who was leading the way.
"Don't look at me." Frick rubbed his temple. "What can I do? They are higher in rank than one another..."
"Are they always like this?" Hitzfeld grinned, feeling a little ridiculous inside.
She had thought about how troublesome it would be if there was a confrontation between the army and the parish, and there would probably be all kinds of secret temptations and sarcastic remarks on both sides.
But reality told her that she was overthinking it. What kind of quarrel could a group of warriors have? It was polite of them not to fight directly.
"They were pretty polite for the most part," Frick said.
The girl raised her eyebrows.
"But in most cases they don't meet each other...Don't dwell on it, this quarrel is not the worst yet."
Perhaps the noise of their talking alarmed the people inside, and the argument paused for a moment.
When Frick lifted the curtain and led the three people in formally, they saw an old man in a white robe sitting in the main seat, and two parish soldiers standing below and looking over at them.
Among them, Smail wore power armor and held a crusher hammer in his hand. He was fully armed except for the fact that he did not wear a helmet.
The other man was only wearing a military uniform, but he was extremely strong and was almost as big as Smail who was wearing armor.
The old man in white robe should be Bishop Padom, and the big guy should be General Walker.
"Welcome." Padom took the initiative to stand up and walked down the steps, with a kind smile on his face: "Kangana often said that your achievements in Blackwood are indeed great. It is a great honor for you to come to Plain Parish."
This was a little old man. He was very short, his body was severely aged and shrunk, and he looked less than meters tall. But his skinny cheeks were inlaid with two bright eyes like gemstones. As soon as he came forward, he stretched out his hand to the girl.
"Uh..." Hitzfeld paused when facing the old man's outstretched hand.
Too enthusiastic... overly enthusiastic, you could say.
No matter what kind of achievements and status she had in secret, she was just a commoner in public. Padom, a bishop of a district, actually took the initiative to shake hands with her as soon as they met. This——
Whether from the perspective of status difference or seniority, she could only accept it.
And the black silk gloves had to be taken off as well, because Padom wasn't wearing any either.
