after being offered to the devil

Chapter 7

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Unexpectedly, when Lin Qiao woke up, it was already the next morning.

The night passed, and it was still raining heavily.

It was gray outside the window, and the fog surrounded the castle, bringing a gloomy and ominous premonition.

Lin Qiao opened his eyes and saw a strand of dark red hair hanging from the tip of his nose.

Looking all the way along the hair, a shadow fell from the side.

Arthur half-kneeled by the bed, with his head slightly lowered, the peripheral light of the kerosene lamp fell on his face, looking quiet and pious.

He seemed to be asleep, but he didn't.

Lin Qiao was not sure, so he relaxed his movements and moved his arms a little bit, trying to sit up.

But as soon as he moved, Arthur noticed it.

The crow feather-like eyelashes fluttered, revealing a pair of calm and dark pupils.

Lin Qiao simply knelt down on the bed and asked, "Why didn't you call me?" Because he just woke up, he had a nasal voice, as if he was acting like a baby.

Arthur said, "You, you are sleeping."

Lin Qiao's eyes widened slightly, in disbelief: "So, you just looked at me like this all night?"

Arthur nodded.

It seemed that he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Lin Qiao hesitated to speak: "..."

Why are you so stupid?

Didn't you agree to take turns on duty at night?He fell asleep, just wake him up!

Lin Qiao wanted to say a few words, but when he met Arthur's blank gaze, he was discouraged again: "Forget it... next time you have to listen to me, and you can do whatever I ask you to do."

Arthur didn't know if he understood, so he nodded slowly: "...OK."

Lin Qiao sighed inwardly.

It is really a miracle that Arthur is so ignorant and simple that he can live in the abyss until now.

He loved Arthur more and more, and reached out to touch the slightly curly red hair: "Did anything strange happen last night?"

Arthur thought about it carefully.

Strange movement?

He described it with difficulty: "Someone is arguing."

Lin Qiao: "Is someone arguing?"

Arthur thought about it and nodded.

Lin Qiao: "What are they arguing about?"

Arthur's tone was flat: "I'm crying, I'm screaming."

From this description, it does look like they are arguing.

Lin Qiao thought it was weird, but when he saw Arthur's calm appearance, he thought maybe he was thinking too much

He changed the subject and asked, "Are you sleepy?"

Arthur turned his head blankly, as if wondering what "sleepy" meant.

He didn't sleep all night, but he couldn't see any tiredness.If it weren't for the faint breathing ups and downs, people would think it was a beautiful and ruthless stone statue.

Lin Qiao felt that he couldn't understand Arthur, so he simply pushed him on the bed: "You sleep, I will watch over you."

Arthur lay awkwardly.

The bed was very soft.

Still with residual temperature.

He didn't know what to do, he could only watch with his eyes wide open.

Lin Qiao and Arthur stared at each other for a while, then asked without any hope: "Sleep, will you?"

You can't be so stupid.

Arthur let out a short question: "Ah...?"

Of course he knew how to sleep.

His body has been sleeping in the abyss, and it will last hundreds of years when he closes his eyes.

But that is different, the abyss is shrouded in eternal night, there is only the eternal cold loneliness, in order to pass the time, all you can do is sleep.

But now...he has so many things to do, why waste time on sleeping?

It's just that before Arthur could answer, a white and soft palm covered him.

Arthur's eyes went dark, and then he heard Lin Qiao's voice in his ears: "Go to sleep."

Arthur remained rigidly lying on his back, and slowly closed his eyes.

He heard Lin Qiao whispering again: "Should I still want to sing a lullaby? I don't know how to do this..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Arthur was hugged into a warm embrace.A hand rested on his back, patting gently.

"Sleep, sleep—"

Arthur couldn't help but relax.

There are many voices in the abyss, such as the roar of demons, the cry of harpies, and the wailing of ghouls...

Those are painful, hopeless.

For the first time, he heard voices other than pain and despair.

Is this a congratulatory speech for sacrificial offerings?

The tune is very strange, and the words sung are also difficult to understand.

But... he thought it sounded good.

Because, this is what Jojo sang to him.

Offering sacrifices and singing congratulations again, does it mean that Qiao Qiao is willing to believe in the abyss?

……

Lin Qiao staggered and sang an out-of-tune lullaby. Hearing the continuous sound of rain outside the window, he also felt drowsy.

Just go back to sleep and feel better.

He lay down and just closed his eyes when he heard a shrill and panicked cry from downstairs.

"Someone is dead!"

Lin Qiao lost all sleepiness.

He turned his head and found that Arthur's eyes were also open, so he reached out and patted: "You sleep, I'll go out and take a look."

With that said, Lin Qiao got up and got dressed.

After putting on his clothes, Arthur followed behind him step by step, never leaving a step.

Lin Qiao asked, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Arthur shook his head and followed stubbornly.

Seeing that he was stubborn, Lin Qiao touched the tip of his nose and said, "Forget it, follow if you want..."

Push open the door and go out.

The sound came from downstairs.

Lin Qiao came to the corridor and looked down.

The second floor was chaotic.

Merchants gathered around the door of an open room, their faces flashing with anxiety and doubt.

Going down the stairs, a strange smell came to the face. After careful identification, it was the smell of blood mixed with the smell of mud, which made people sick.

Lin Qiao's heart beat faster, he grabbed Arthur, and carefully told him: "Follow me, don't walk around." He paused, "There is danger here."

Arthur lowered his eyes, dazed.

Is there danger here?

Isn't there just a few small insects that have shed their skin?The kind that can be crushed to death with a light pinch.

Arthur didn't understand, but since Jojo said so, it was dangerous.

Besides, he liked the feeling.

He is being "protected".

So Arthur leaned towards Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao thought he was afraid, and comforted him, "It's okay, I'm here."

Arthur: "...OK."

……

Lin Qiao pulled Arthur to the second floor.

Businessmen are discussing.

"God of Light, what happened here?"

"A businessman from Wangcheng lives here, and he played his accordion on the terrace last night."

"Oh, that damn accordion, it kept me awake all night!"

Lin Qiao squeezed into the crowd.

He saw the crime scene.

There is a series of muddy footprints on the floor of the room, all crooked, leading to the window sill.

The window was not closed, and the wind was blowing loudly, and there was a blood-stained coat hanging on it, which seemed to belong to the owner of the room.

The merchants speculated: "Is it a thief? Or an enemy?"

Lin Qiao glanced at it.

The crime scene was not protected immediately, there were many people coming and going, and there were different footprints on the ground.

There is no obvious blood in the room, only a piece of clothing, which does not mean that the businessman in the room has been killed.

He analyzed it with the investigative theory he learned from TV dramas, and finally came to a conclusion: "Why don't you ask the patrol knight to take a look?"

Patrol knights are equivalent to the police, a violent institution affiliated to the royal family.

But this proposal was unexpectedly rejected by the merchants.

"no!"

"Those savage and stupid patrolling knights? Don't be kidding, a murder happened in the countess's territory, and the countess should handle it."

Just when there was a lot of commotion, an arrogant voice sounded from behind: "Get out of the way."

Lin Qiao turned around.

Yesterday, the noble son walked out with his head held high.

Today he was dressed up in fancy clothes, and he sprayed a lot of perfume on his body. He was like a peacock with its tail open, showing off everywhere.

Noble son: "God of light, I really don't know what you are afraid of? Look here, don't you see a noble and brave knight of light here?"

A voice whispered: "...he is a Knight of Light who has not yet been awarded the title." ——Reserve, you can become a tribute to the Holy Court of Light by paying some gold coins, which is one of the methods used by nobles to gild.

The noble son Gora raised his voice: "Shut your mouth. Immediately, within three months, I can accept the bishop's baptism and title!"

He paused on his chest, as if the medal representing the Knight of Light had already been hung on it.

The noble son entered the room, and soon came out again. I don't know if he was frightened, and his face was pale.

"It's a ghoul," he concluded quickly. "A ghoul crawled in."

There was an uproar.

Ghouls are demons crawling out of the abyss, feeding on rotting corpses.It appears in rainy days and dark nights, usually wandering around the edges of forests and cemeteries.

But I have never heard of ghouls actively hunting and killing living people.

Faced with the businessmen's doubts, the nobleman raised his jaw high, and instead of convincing them with evidence, he directly scolded: "You lowly businessmen, dare to question a nobleman, I will use a duel to cleanse your slander !"

No one dared to speak anymore.

Lin Qiao: ... Is this the way to solve crimes in this world?It's funny enough.

Lin Qiao: Soybean Sweating.jpg

In the silence, there was a harsh sound of closing the door below.

Everyone looked over subconsciously.

The two gates of the castle slowly closed, and finally there was a "bang", leaving no gap.

The maid appeared out of nowhere, bowed slightly, and explained, "The rain was so heavy that it washed away the cemetery in the forest, and ghouls ran around."

"For the safety of all the guests, the countess ordered me to close the gate of the castle. Please don't worry, all the guests, as long as the doors and windows are closed, ghouls cannot come in."

The noble son added from the side: "Don't forget, there is also a brave knight of light."

Lin Qiao: Having said this, it makes people even more uneasy.

The maid continued: "The countess knows that the guests have been frightened. In order to express her apology, the lady will attend tonight's banquet in person."

The merchants hesitated for a moment, but decided to stay.

It's not always safe to leave the castle - there are ghouls roaming the forest.Besides, they brought valuable goods, and if they just returned empty-handed, those heavy taxes and debts would kill them.

In this case, it would be better to stay in the castle.

Didn't you say it?Just keep the doors and windows closed.

Businessmen even found reasons spontaneously.

The victim believed in the God of Wealth, so the God of Light did not protect him and allowed him to be captured by the ghoul.

But they are different, the God of Light will definitely bless them!

Lin Qiao listened carefully: ...feudal superstition is not a good thing.

There have been homicide cases here, and they kept talking about the gods.

He looked at the closed door.

Continuous rain.

Guests trapped in the castle.

Coupled with a headless murder case, it can be said to be a typical Blizzard Villa model.

Is the death of the merchant in Wangcheng the beginning or the end?

Lin Qiao always felt that this castle was not as simple as it seemed.

He turned his head.

There is an oil painting hanging between the corridors on the second and third floors. The aristocrat in the oil painting smiles implicitly and mysteriously, and his eyes are lowered under the white gauze, as if he has a panoramic view of the farce in front of him.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but Lin Qiao always feels that this oil painting is looking at him.

He felt a little cold, and subconsciously leaned against Arthur.

The coldness is fleeting.

Lin Qiao touched his arm and returned to the original distance.

Arthur remained silent, just looked at the young man who was approaching and moving away, his pupils sank, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

……

The crowd in the corridor dispersed.

The merchants did not dare to go back to the room, so they gathered in the hall again.

The noble son was stopped by the maid.He asked: "What's the matter?"

The maid lowered her head docilely: "The Countess invites you to today's afternoon tea."

The noble son was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't stop his joy.He tugged at his collar and coughed: "I accept the countess' invitation."

The maid bowed slightly: "Please come with me."

The noble son looked around at the people around with his nostrils, and walked away triumphantly. It seemed that he had already regarded the countess as something in his pocket.

In order to expel the haze of death, the businessmen spontaneously talked about other topics.

"It seems that this noble young master is about to become the Countess' distinguished guest."

"I heard that the countess is still as beautiful and charming as a virgin when she is over forty. The noble young master has a small body, so I don't know if he can bear it."

"Speaking of chasing women, the noble young master is too tender. What's the use of just giving some gold, silver and jewelry? You should make women unable to leave him, so that you can truly take the initiative..."

The businessmen chatted more and more outrageously, and even drove the car inexplicably.

Lin Qiao: Just, it's quite unexpected, but I can also listen to pornographic topics from other worlds.

He said to Arthur, "Don't listen."

Arthur raised his head in confusion: "What?"

Lin Qiao simply went over and covered Arthur's ears with his hands.

In his opinion, Arthur is simple and dull, and has been continuously brainwashed by cultists. He believes everything others say. What if he listens to the businessmen and learns badly?

Arthur didn't pay attention to what these people were saying, he just felt that his ears were wrapped in gentle palms, itching.

He turned his head and rubbed lightly.

If Qiao Qiao won't let him listen, then don't listen.

But what the merchants said before had already fallen into Arthur's ears.

He was thoughtful.

Sending something is useless.

Only if Qiao Qiao couldn't leave him would he be able to do so.

How can I make Jojo unable to leave him?

Like... dangerous.

Another example...fear.

Let Qiao Qiao know that staying by his side, under the protection of the abyss, is safe.

Arthur raised his eyelids and met the lady in the oil painting.

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The author has something to say:

感谢在2022-04-1417:00:22~2022-04-1515:55:15期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angel who threw mines: Magic 1;

Thanks to the little angel of irrigation nutrient solution: 567396451 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!