According to Professor Drake's research materials, he collected the information of those citizens who claimed to have seen the goddess of the lake, and after excluding those who were obviously making up stories, combined with local legends and folk customs, he concluded that See the five rules of "Goddess of the Lake".
First of all, you must appear alone by the lake in the west of Huntington City. You can have mounts or pets, but you cannot be accompanied by other humanoid intelligent creatures;
Secondly, when encountering the Goddess of the Lake, the sun must still be above the horizon, because no witnessing experience occurred in the dark night;
Third, all the people who claim to have met the "Goddess of the Lake" or entered the "Lake of Cherubim", including Professor Drake, are all men, even the rumored protagonists in local folk stories, are also male;
Fourth, those who encounter the goddess of the lake need to carry items to prove their "courage" and "wisdom", that is, a book and a weapon;
Fifth, which is the most important point, always thinking in my heart that I want to meet the "Goddess of the Lake", then I will definitely not meet it. Only when I forget my purpose, can I turn around and see the legendary lake.
The above rules are all summed up by Professor Drake himself. Many people have read these materials, and even the local church has obtained these materials from Professor Drake, but none of them can see the rumored goddess again.
But for Shad, it's better to have a clue than nothing, and the professor's conclusion seems to make sense.
He prepared his notebook, gun and sword, went into the city again to visit Professor Drake in a wheelchair, talked with him in more detail, and had lunch in the city before going out of the city again and headed to the city of the west.
Unlike the great plains and low hills in the east of Huntington, the west of the city is mostly wetlands and lakes because it is adjacent to the Pantanal swamp area. Therefore, it is not suitable for living.
Close to the edge of the city to the west of Huntington, there are several smaller towns, and to the west, you can only see small farms and orchards interspersed between the lakes.
The road here is quite difficult to walk, and even when riding a horse, the horse's hooves occasionally get stuck in the mud puddles on the road. There is no regular maintenance on the dirt roads in the country, and coupled with the influence of the Pantanal swamp, there is almost no infrastructure here.
The clues that Xia De currently has are not enough for him to directly find the lake of cherubim that is rumored to be inhabited by the goddess of the lake. Therefore, according to Professor Drake's notes back then, he planned to retrace the path that the professor walked back then.
The first stop was Lower Luther Village in the west of Huntington City. The professor set off from this village, and there happened to be a witness of the "Goddess of the Lake" in the village. The origin of the village name is because the village is located in the south of Luther Lake, which is just below Luther Lake on the map.
This is a typical small rural village in Carson Rik. When the well-dressed Shade came on horseback, the villagers cast curious eyes, but they did not dare to get too close. It wasn't until Xia De stepped on the mud and led the maroon horse into the village that the village sheriff approached carefully and asked Xia De why he came.
Most of the local villagers had a heavy accent, but the accent of the middle-aged sheriff who seemed to have a strong figure was very standard. When Shad explained his purpose of coming in poor Carson Rico, and hoped to meet the old Mr. Graves who claimed to have seen the goddess of the lake 8 years ago, the sheriff happily agreed:
"Old Graves loved telling the story to people, and we liked it at first, but then he kept repeating it over and over and people got tired of it. You come from a big city, sir, and you may not understand our country life here. Boring It's fun to hear other people's stories, but when that story is repeated for eight years, no one can stand it."
The old Mr. Graves lived a good life in the small village. When he was young, he fished by Lake Luther, and later he dug a fishpond to raise fish artificially. People from the same village who eat food are stronger.
When Shade saw the old gentleman, he was sitting in a rocking chair, basking in the sun in front of the gray clay wall of his house, where there was a bunch of bacon drying on the wall. When the skinny old man looked at Xia De, Xia De noticed that there was nothing in his left eye socket.
Since the language communication between the two sides is somewhat difficult, the sheriff who has nothing to do to join in the fun will translate for both sides.
The content of the conversation was very simple. Shad asked the gray-haired old Mr. Grave about the past. The talkative old man spoke with a strong country accent, and described the "big adventure" eight years ago in as much detail as possible.
The general process is that eight years ago, that is, in the winter of 1845 in the general calendar, because there was nothing to do in winter, on a snowy morning, the 43-year-old Mr. Graves was carrying a fishing rod, a bucket, and a notebook. , intending to go fishing in frozen Luther Lake.
He set off at eight o'clock that morning and found a suitable spot on the lake at half past nine. After breaking through the ice, the first shot actually caught a black snake, and the snake spoke:
"I'm going to kill you—that's what it says."
The old man described it to Xia De very excitedly. When he opened his mouth, Xia De could even clearly count the few teeth he had left.
Most people living in the countryside have seen snakes, but they have never seen a talking snake. In this era of low literacy and relative superstition, the old man was chased by the snake on the ice for more than 20 minutes before finally jumping ashore from the other side of Luther Lake. After entering a forest that is bare in winter, the snake disappeared, but a big furry rabbit jumped out:
"You're on the wrong track—that's what it says."
Old Mr. Graves waved his hands, trying his best to imitate the voice of that rabbit, while the middle-aged magistrate was trying his best to hold back his laughter. It seemed that no matter how many times he had heard it, the story was still interesting to him.
The rabbit had no ill intentions towards old Mr. Graves. Instead, it kindly asked him to leave the woods and told him how to avoid the snake. So, Mr. Graves, who didn't dare to approach Lake Luther, planned to take a detour home, but just after he left the woods, he encountered a raven flying from nowhere on the snow-covered dirt road in the countryside. :
"I'll tell you where you should go now—that's what it says!"
The old man who told the story became more and more excited, as if he had returned to the "big adventure" that day again, and the wrinkles on his smiling face piled up together. Xia De sullenly said nothing, listening to him continue talking.
Under the guidance of the raven, the old Mr. Graves went further and further away eight years ago. After passing through an unfamiliar winter wetland bush area, he unexpectedly encountered a small lake that he had never seen before.
At that time, Mr. Graves seemed to be "revealed by God", and somehow he stepped on the frozen lake and entered the center of the lake, and met a white-haired old lady on the island in the middle of the lake.
"She said at the time, I won her, so allow me to make a wish."
Here, there seems to be a light in the old man's eyes, which is obviously the climax of his memorable story.
"So what did you wish for?"
Xia De asked curiously, and glanced at the sheriff, who was staring at him, as if wanting to see what expression Xia De would show next.
"Yes, I asked for her fishing rod!"
Mr. Grave raised his hands and said, and praised Shad:
"Her fishing rod is really good. I have been fishing for so many years, and I have never seen such a beautiful, strong and convenient alloy telescopic fishing rod. The fishing line and matching fishing hook are also the goods that can only be seen in big cities. .Even if she doesn’t give it to me, I’m willing to exchange my house for that fishing rod, so when she asked me to make a wish, I agreed right away!”
"and after?"
Xia De asked curiously.
"later?"
Mr. Graves was taken aback:
"Later I came back with the fishing rod and the fish."
"Where's the fish?"
"I ate them eight years ago, should I keep them?"
"Where's the fishing rod?"
"Three years ago, I was picked up by my grandson, the naughty little Louis. I was sad for a while, and then the people from the cathedral in the city bought it for 10 pounds."
Because Mr. Grave's story is more like a fabricated fairy tale, Shad had to look at the sheriff who was holding back his smile, and the latter nodded:
"Yes, eight years ago, when Grave returned with that beautiful fishing rod and his own story, it did attract people in the city, but people came to hear the story. As for the magical lake Grave went looking for it by himself, but he couldn’t find it. I bet he fell into the lake that day and was so cold that he lost his head. As for the fishing rod, I don’t know where he picked it up.”
He laughed while talking, and the old Mr. Graves was not angry, but repeatedly explained to Shad that his story was absolutely true. Although there are some processing elements in the details, the experience is absolutely true.
Not only the Orthodox Church and Professor Drake, but many people have heard the story of old Mr. Graves in this village. Most of them are very interested in the "Goddess of the Lake", but no one can find the lake according to Mr. Grave's story.
But no matter what, at least this story is still very interesting, and Xia De thought that he did not waste his time in vain.
He left 1 pound for the old man as a fee for listening to the story~www.mtlnovel.com~ Before leaving the village, Xia De asked the enthusiastic middle-aged sheriff again, what happened to the blind left eye of old Graves The latter asked strangely:
"Is this also related to his story? The left eye was lost many years ago."
"What time is it?"
Xia De asked again, leading the maroon horse, which meekly ate the forage that the neighbors piled up outside the house for the winter, causing Xia De to pay 5 pence. It was just that the woman with the turban on her head waved her hand that she didn't want money, so Shade gave her child a few sugar cubes.
"I really don't know about this. I was transferred from the next town to be a sheriff here, that is, 12 years ago, and his eyes were already blind."
The sheriff walked towards the entrance of the village with Xia De, who was leading the horse, and then called out loudly to the gray-haired old man who was forging iron with his upper body bare at the head of the village:
"Hans, when did old Gretel lose his eye?"
"Damn, how do I know?"
The old blacksmith scolded something Shad couldn't translate in Kasenlik, and then said:
"When you're blind, you're blind."
The middle-aged magistrate then turned his head and shrugged at Xia De:
"You see, country people have no concept of time. If nothing worth remembering happened in that year, it would be difficult for people to distinguish 1853 from 1852. However, it is true that old Graves' eyes were blinder than before the story in his mouth began. much earlier."
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