novelonline Chapter 4135 [Martha's Old House Oil Painting]
Chapter 4135 [Martha's Old House Oil Painting]
Chapter 4135 [Martha's Old House Oil Painting]
After seeing Xia De nod, Wei Ge finally tasted the pleasant-tasting red wine. Her eyes were also searching for potential targets that might be her mother, and then she began to wonder if the girl singing in front of the water lily pond might be her mother in disguise. Then she thought that she might be being intimate with Xia De in front of her mother, and so she started to have wild thoughts about whether she could receive her mother's blessing.
However, the current situation is quite normal. Even if Peggy Lemaître had actually arrived, there's no reason for her to contact Vigo now.
Then came more leisure time. Listening to the girl sing and smelling the fresh floral scent in the air, Xia De half-embraced Wei Ge on the sofa, and for a moment even felt that this kind of night was really nice. Wei Ge obviously felt the same way, and even boldly kissed Xia De there, then blushed and snuggled into Xia De's arms. Kissing in public was still a bit too bold for her.
The book club, which started at eight o'clock, was quite interesting; not everyone had to attend, and people could continue doing their own things. Those who wanted to participate gathered on the east side of the water lily pond in the center of the greenhouse, where the area had already been set up. To avoid arousing suspicion, Viggo took Shad with her and went over there.
The book club was hosted by Madame Butterfly herself. People shared some "immoral" poetry collections, novels, and forbidden love stories. Then Madame Butterfly brought out a novel describing a murmuring relationship and had the girl who had been playing the violin read it aloud for everyone.
Xia De remained curious about the girl's identity, and just like yesterday when he suspected the great-granddaughter of the "Mourning Sister," he began to suspect that the girl might be Viggo's mother in disguise.
Viggo wasn't interested in the novel being read aloud; she was quite interested in the one in her hands—a novel about young men and women eloping. Shad had seen this book before; Lacey had found it in Adelina's study. Although Shad hadn't read it himself, he knew that it described the things young men and women did in the heat of passion in far too detailed a way.
After the book club ended and all the chairs by the water lily pond were moved away, the masked ball officially began that evening.
Of course, those with special invitations were more concerned with their own objectives. Besides the "Leatherworker" and "Blood Feast," the club had other clandestine activities tonight, and a third of the guests in the greenhouse would leave in batches to attend these events later in the evening.
After seeing Mr. Bernhardt and his companion being reminded by the maid, Shad saw them walk together towards a hidden door on the side of the greenhouse. Their target wasn't the tanner, but the vampire; Shad hoped Mr. Bernhardt would make some progress tonight.
As for Xia De and Wei Ge, they waited a full twenty minutes before Madame Butterfly personally informed them. Wei Ge was a new guest at the club, and after inquiring about Wei Ge's impressions of the evening, Madame Butterfly asked:
"So, Ms. Redstone, would you be willing to make a donation to the club?"
Viggo then handed over a large draft of 40 crowns, while Madame Butterfly smiled and pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve. The slip of paper contained the address of an alley in the lower town:
"The date for the next gathering is yet to be determined. You can send someone to check the mailbox in this house periodically. If there is an invitation, it will definitely be for you."
She stood up and gestured for Xia De and Wei Ge to walk towards the hidden door on the west side of the greenhouse:
"After you've met the craftsman, you can leave on your own. Of course, if you wish to attend the masquerade ball, you can come back. However..."
Her smile was ambiguous:
"You'd probably rather find a secluded place to be alone, wouldn't you?"
All those who wanted to see the tanner walked together through the hidden door, which led to another secret path in the garden. A maid led the way, and there were eleven people following her, including Shad and Viggo. The reason for the odd number was that two ladies had come with the same gentleman.
There were no lights on either side of the garden path, but after several days of rain, the weather was quite clear tonight, so even at night, the surroundings were well visible. The garden scenery on both sides of the secluded path was beautiful, but no one was talking about the night view.
Of the eleven people in the group, excluding the maid, at least three were wearing leather clothing, and all three were women. Shad, being cautious, did not use Edwards' Eye here; this was information he had obtained solely through his own senses.
The winding paths resembled a maze within the garden, but thanks to his "powerful spatial awareness," Shad was certain their destination wasn't the manor's main residence. After walking through the garden for five minutes, the maid led the group away from the manor from the side of the garden.
A small path extends from here into the desolate mountains and forests not far away. Although there are still a few sparse buildings on both sides of the road, if you continue along this road, you will probably really leave the city.
This was somewhat unexpected for Xia De and Wei Ge, but seeing that the others in their group did not speak, they followed the group and left the manor along the path.
It was clear that the path was regularly maintained, so even ladies wearing high heels had no trouble walking on it. However, once they left the manor's garden, the night breeze picked up and it got a bit chilly, so the ladies moved closer to their male companions, and Xia De gently put his arm around the slightly shivering Wei Ge.
Actually, she wasn't cold at all.
The path didn't venture too far outside the city. Five minutes later, a small, lit building appeared on the edge of the desolate forest. The three-story building with its dark yellow walls didn't have a yard. Every window of the building was lit with a dim, yellow light, as if it were tinging the surrounding environment with a yellow hue.
As he drew closer, Xia De even felt that the night itself had changed color. After taking a certain step, the world seemed to have changed; a sense of peace and nostalgia suddenly made the stranger want to cry, but the moon still hung high in the sky, gently comforting his spirit.
"Whispering elements."
Viggo's voice appeared in Xia De's mind:
"Could it be that we've encountered the true form of the [Leather Goods Guild]? But this feeling..."
"Sadness, nostalgia. This house and this area were indeed formed because of relics, but this should not be the [Leatherware Hall]. It feels more like the [Core of the Past]."
The Core of the Old Days is a one-time use angelic relic. Its use allows the user to unearth and materialize fragments of deep-seated memories. Sirius, the current Archbishop of the Forsaken Order, possesses many such relics. In 1854, she lent one to Vanessa so that Shad and the girls would have a place to play games on that New Year's Eve.
The details of the game flashed through his mind, but Shad quickly banished them:
"I've come into contact with the [Core of the Ancients]. While the current situation is similar, it's clearly not that angelic relic."
Such relics that evoke a sense of nostalgia are not uncommon, and based on the slightly yellowish environment already visible, Shad quickly identified his target:
“Hilris and I mentioned this relic—a document-level relic, the painting ‘Martha’s Old House.’ The relic came from a woman in the Fourth Age, and the landscape in the painting is her childhood home from memory. She finished painting this painting alone on a rainy night, and was killed by robbers who broke into her home. After that, her vengeful spirit appeared in the painting.”
After the vengeful spirit was purified in the middle of the Fourth Era, the painting inexplicably became a relic. The relic's characteristic is that it uses the oil painting as its core, showcasing the landscape within it. The negative characteristic is that, in extremely rare cases, an individual named 'Martha' will appear within the unfolded landscape.
This isn't a vengeful spirit, but this individual looks indistinguishable from one. Once she appears in the landscape, she will begin her attack with the goal of killing all intruders, and no one inside can leave the landscape until she disappears.
Xia De introduced it to Wei Ge.
When the outsider first arrived in this world, he and Priest Augustus together took in a relic called "The House of Oil Paintings by Madman Sean" (Chapter 363). Both relics were documents, both were oil paintings, and both depicted scenes, but they were very different.
This time, the relic brings the scene to life, while the relic that has been taken into custody by the academy shows that everything takes place inside the oil painting.
In comparison, the previous oil painting could be used as a storage prop under certain conditions. This time, the oil paintings are portable, mobile scenes; if used properly, they can all play a significant role.
Shad never imagined that the leatherworker would hide inside another relic, but this meant that ordinary methods simply wouldn't be able to find it. The leatherworker himself possessed whispering elements, and when combined with the whispering elements of this document-level relic, the difficulty of divination would probably be comparable to finding the guild hall itself.
"Therefore, intelligent humanoid relics are troublesome."
He thought to himself as he and Wei Ge continued forward with the group. Apart from the two of them, the others seemed completely oblivious to the change in the surrounding atmosphere, nor to the fact that the night breeze had stopped. As they approached the three-story building with its lights on, the scenery around them seemed to have suddenly transitioned from spring to summer.
However, these ordinary people were clearly affected by the feeling of nostalgia, and their expressions became somewhat sentimental. But as long as they did not stay here for a long time, they would not be permanently affected by this relic.
However, because they were currently inside the artifact, Shad couldn't immediately sense the location of "The Leatherworker." Worried that he had encountered a trap, he signaled to Vigo to contact Iluna and the others who were coming to meet him.
After rubbing the ring on her finger, the witch indicated that Shad could still contact the outside world.