Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 304 Look, the Curled Eyes

It took Adele a long time to persuade the Whites, so much so that when she left the Whites' mansion in the southern continent, it was almost noon.

The White family's manor house is located outside the city of Berens, and is protected by a special wall. On both sides of the road leading out, you can see tenants employed by the White family busy collecting medicinal herbs.

Adele rejected the Whites' proposal to send a carriage to take her back. She planned to experience the customs and culture of the southern continent up close and also to prepare for her further plans.

Anyway, this place is not far from the urban area, and there is an obvious man-made river as a landmark. As long as you follow the river, you can soon see the urban area.

Adele changed into a comfortable casual outfit at White's house, which consisted of a long coat with a three-quarter waist, a well-tailored cotton vest, and boots covered with shiny iron sheets. The gray hood on the back of the clothes could partially cover her pretty face so as not to cause a sensation.

Due to the deforestation by the colonial residents, the rain forest near the manor had long disappeared, replaced by sparse mountain forests. The sky became clear and open, the population along the way became dense, the land became fertile and easy to cultivate, and the rough farmland was distributed along the canals.

About ten minutes later, Adele saw a small lake at the tributary of the artificial river. In the middle of the lake was a field that looked like a floating island.

The edge of the floating field is a circle of supporting fixed fences, half of which is submerged in water. In the center is a neatly crisscrossed waterway that cuts the floating island into small, even pieces. On the fields of the floating island, three staple foods, corn, pumpkin and green beans, are densely planted, and on the sides are peppers, sunflowers and some herbs that Adele has never seen before.

Before leaving, the Whites told Adele that after seeing the "Chinampa" in the middle of the river, they would officially return to the city of Berens.

Sure enough, not long after Adele walked forward, she saw this port city with the characteristics of the Balam Empire.

When Adele first came here, she entered the city directly from the more developed port area; on the way to White House, she was always worrying about her clothes and didn't pay close attention to the surrounding environment.

There are certain similarities between the East and West Districts of Loon, and there are also obvious differences in the architectural composition of the Port of Berens. The North District close to the port is closer to the style of Loon, and most of the factories and public facilities are concentrated in the North District.

The southern district was more seriously influenced by the architectural style of the Balam Empire. Originally, Berens was not a port city and had its own city walls, but after the Loen colonists landed and occupied this place, they built the northern district based on the edge of the original city wall, and the original buildings were thus preserved.

Looking at the city of Berens from land, you can see a circle of four or five meter high trapezoidal earth and stone walls, carved with dark red patterns, which are said to be the result of colonial blood sacrifices hundreds of years ago.

Crossing the city wall, you can see the pyramid temple located in the middle of the southern area. It is dozens of meters high and was once a place dedicated to the god of death.

But now, four chimneys taller than the temple stand at the four corners. They are several metallurgical plants in Rune, and the black smoke coming out of them always covers the sky above the temple.

It doesn't seem like a coincidence. The buildings of these factories seem to have some mystical meaning... Adele evaluated them based on her witch's intuition.

The four chimneys were not distributed evenly, but were some far and some near, maintaining fixed distances from each other.

Their heights are also different, the shortest is almost as high as the temple, and the tallest is almost twice the height of the temple.

With the help of the mystical meaning of buildings in daily life, a mystical suppression was constructed, which effectively prevented the temples that once worshipped the god of death from any abnormal changes... The people who were responsible for building these factories back then were probably not simple people.

Adele narrowed her eyes and carefully examined the mystical meanings symbolized by the four chimneys and the smoke. Only after confirming again and again did she feel relieved.

Adele then walked in through the open gate, paid a penny to enter, and walked along the cross street that ran through the South End.

Below the pyramid temple is the central square of the southern district, which covers an area of ​​several thousand square meters. In the past, this was a square where the indigenous people who believed in the god of death performed large-scale living sacrifices. Although it was transformed into a trading market by the colonists, after hundreds and thousands of years, some vengeful spirits still occasionally appear here.

Outside the farmers' market are small stalls owned by villagers and citizens, with a wide variety of goods. Farmers brought turkeys, dogs, rabbits, black bean paste, pumpkins, peppers, sunflower seeds, and last year's avocados.

The vendors here sell a local type of tortilla, which is handmade from cornmeal, wrapped with chopped meat or animal offal, topped with chopped onions and coriander, and finally sprinkled with bright red freshly squeezed chili sauce. It smells fragrant and very tempting.

Adele danced for the whole morning and walked back to the city center. She was a little hungry, so she spent one soli to order a burrito, a bowl of chicken and corn soup, and a handmade chocolate for dessert at a street stall, thinking that she would fill her stomach first.

Since this is currently a colony of Loen, the currency of the sovereign country is very strong here, and its purchasing power is much higher than in the mainland.

There was food at the White family's party, but in such an occasion, people's appetite would naturally decrease. At least Adele couldn't eat to her heart's content while being the center of everyone's attention. This would remind her of a monkey in a zoo.

After taking a sip of the spicy red chicken soup, Adele felt that the chilliness in her body from all the way was driven away by the chili.

Although this place is in the tropics, it is still the end of January after all, and the temperature is only about 10 degrees Celsius. Coupled with the strong gusts of wind, continuous walking outdoors will cause the body to lose both water and heat quickly.

"Chopped lettuce, shredded radish, and avocado... there's also this combination. I've learned something."

Soon, Adele finished her main course, took a sip of her hot cocoa, and then started coughing violently.

Because the intensity was too great, her hood slipped off, revealing her pretty face. At this moment, her fair face had turned slightly red due to the sudden stimulation.

Why do we add chili peppers to hot cocoa?!
It’s not that Adele can’t eat spicy food, but as a staunch sweet lover, adding chili to cocoa, which subconsciously should be a sweet food, gave her an abrupt feeling and she almost choked.

After finally adjusting her state of mind, Adele looked around apologetically, only to find that the people around her were looking at her with dull eyes.

So, this is the bad thing about witches. If they don’t cover their faces, they might be stared at even when they go out on the street...

Adele sighed inwardly and no longer wanted to stay at the stall. She handed the remaining cocoa to a child on the roadside, put on her hood, changed direction a few times in the crowd, and left the stall.

After walking around for two more rounds, Adele gradually lost interest.

After filling her stomach, the things at the market became less attractive to Adele.

Although the pottery made by the indigenous people is exquisite, it is not easy to preserve during sea voyages, so I don’t buy it;
Although the handmade obsidian tools and statues were very commemorative, she already had a set of ritual knives from Gagran, so there was no need to buy more;

As for the Grim Reaper-style clothing... Adele doesn't feel comfortable with a bunch of gorgeous feathers stuck on her body.

After becoming an Extraordinary Person, and especially after being promoted to a "Witch", Adele paid special attention to preserving her original character, which included properly controlling and releasing her desires, including her extravagant desire to buy everything.

Now, Adele is too lazy to even buy anything that is not related to the occult... Although she thinks this doesn't seem very good, it is better than wasting money.

Without the corresponding temptation, Adele just glanced at the surrounding environment, and felt that she had seen all the new things, so she prepared to leave and head to the northern district where the military headquarters and the port were located.

Along the way, both the residents' dress and architectural styles have undergone subtle changes.

The clothing style of the male residents in the South District is gorgeous, and the male natives with a little status wear colorful shawls and feather crowns; and the closer to the North District, the more the residents' clothing becomes Loen-like, becoming a combination of cropped trousers and taraba shirts. When Adele walked to the north wall of the South District, gentlemen in long dresses were everywhere.

There is also a coffin-carrying service on the street, which is a very famous means of transportation locally. It originated from the legend of the god of death. For a maximum of two soles, you can have someone carry you from the South Gate in the South District to the North Gate.

However, Adele had no interest in trying. After all, when she lay down, her face would inevitably be seen by the other party. She did not have a very optimistic estimate of the conscience of the natives here. If she lay down like this, there was no guarantee that they would carry her to somewhere.

——Of course, Adele was not worried about her own safety, but she did not want to cause trouble. After all, she now had the important task of helping Emlyn solve the subsequent problems. If she herself was caught by others, it would be troublesome.

Adele walked around the corner of the street and looked at a corner in surprise. There was an exquisite tent, and a group of people were gathered there, smoking comfortably and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere together.

There seemed to be a stall selling various kinds of aromatic herbs. The owner burned fresh tobacco leaves, mandrakes, wormwood and some kind of cactus that was a specialty of the southern continent in an open-air incense burner, emitting a strange fragrance that even Adele felt refreshed when she smelled it.

This recipe is not simple, could the stall owner be an extraordinary person?
Adele thought for a moment and ruled out this possibility. It was obvious that the other party had been setting up a stall here for a long time. If he was a Beyonder, he would have been caught by the "horticulturist" of the Church of Mother Earth to have tea with him if he openly burned plants with spiritual materials on the street to attract customers.

They should be some folk occult enthusiasts who have some knowledge of herbal medicine... Adele quickly made a judgment in her mind.

There are actually many ways to get started with mysticism. Before extraordinary ways were summarized, humans had mastered the way to utilize supernatural powers to a certain extent through ritual magic, and herbology is one of them. Some set up rituals based on the type of herbs, some set up rituals based on the arrangement of their positions, and some set up rituals based on the ratio of herbs, and so on.

Adele stopped in front of the stall and picked up a cigarette on the table to examine it carefully. This kind of cigarette was carefully wrapped with local leaves, and inside was dried tobacco leaves, and herbs and spices that could not be identified.

"Welcome, beautiful lady." A friendly voice sounded, "Would you like to try this sacred smoke from the rainforest sacred land that was passed down from the Balam Empire?"

Adele looked up and saw a deformed head that was twice as long as her own. The skull curved backwards from the forehead, extending into a slender skull cap decorated with circles of feather ornaments and dangling silver ornaments.

Adele couldn't help but take a step back in caution. This was one of the bad customs circulating among the nobles in the southern colonies. This custom was often retained by the descendants of noble priests.

From birth, they press the child's skull on two wooden boards tied together, tightening them every day. After three years, when a child's skull is completely deformed, they will remove the device. Of course, there are also people who wrap the skull with cloth to force it to grow upwards, but the principle is similar.

After Loen occupied this place, he was shocked by this barbaric and backward custom, but he banned it repeatedly. It was not until the past hundred years that this custom gradually disappeared.

I didn't expect to see you here... Adele frowned and began to think about what reason she could use to leave.

"This is the sigh left by the god of death in the world. Just a small one can allow you to establish a connection with Him for a quarter of an hour and feel the beauty of the kingdom of God."

Seeing Adele hesitate, the descendant of the priest seemed to think that Adele was interested, and continued to introduce excitedly: "This bag of holy cigarettes has five in total, and it only costs you one pound. If you are not satisfied, I also have the ayahuasca passed down from the priest's family, which can make you feel incredible tranquility and pleasure..."

"It seems that He is indeed effective. At least He has saved you from being captured by the people of the Goddess Church until now."

Adele replied sarcastically, preparing to pull away.

"I'm telling the truth!" When the businessman saw Adele turning to leave, he suddenly burst out with unimaginable speed, grabbed Adele's wrist with one hand, and grabbed a glass bottle on the table with his other hand, which was filled with black ayahuasca.

Before Adele could stop him, he swiftly opened the cork and took a big gulp.

His expression suddenly became dull, and his body twisted on the spot like a zombie, heading towards the direction of the four chimneys.

His mouth opened abnormally wide, and black liquid, far more than he had drunk, spit out of his mouth. Fortunately, Adele dodged quickly and was not sprayed on.

With black liquid flowing from the corners of his mouth, he spoke in a hoarse and intermittent voice:
"I saw... white bookshelves, black shadows, and, those curled-up eyes..."

(End of this chapter)