Crown of Silence

"H-I'm sorry, sir and lady... do you know where Hilda's Alley is?"

The lost old woman opened her eyes wide and stared at the two people in front of her with hope.

This old woman was wrapped in an old scarf. She looked very old, her complexion was sallow, and the white hair leaking out from under the scarf was disheveled. He held a small package in his arms. She looked like she had been lost for a long time. She was wandering around the square with her knees bent, but was regarded as a beggar and dismissed impatiently.

Her lips pursed, not knowing what to say, and her voice stammered: "Please help me, I've been looking for it all day."

"I don't know. Find it yourself."

The little girl rolled her eyes at her and waved her hand unhappily: "I'm very busy and don't have time."

"Bai Xi."

Ye Qingxuan raised his voice and his eyes became serious: "Be polite."

As Bai Xi looked at him, his impatience gradually dropped, and finally turned into helplessness. He reluctantly stretched out his hand and pointed in a random direction:

"There."

Ye Qingxuan sighed, took back her fingers that were pointing randomly, sighed, and looked at the old woman: "Hilda's Alley is on our way back. If you don't mind that we are slower, why not Shall I take you there?”

The old woman seemed stunned. She opened and closed her lips twice, not knowing what to say. His cloudy eyes were full of gratitude: "Thank you, kind sir, otherwise I would have...I don't know what to do anymore."

"It's okay, come with me."

Ye Qingxuan smiled and led the way with a cane. Bai Xi followed unhappily, glanced at the old woman quietly, and muttered in a low voice: "There are thousands of people who get lost in Avalon every day, can you help them?"

Ye Qingxuan knocked her head and said nothing.

-

"Is this your first time in Avalon?"

On the way back, Ye Qingxuan casually chatted with the old woman.

"You can just call me Emma."

The old woman staggered behind and followed with sad eyes: "I have been herding sheep in the highlands all my life and have never left. My daughter passed away a few days ago and my son-in-law also kicked me out. My nephew wrote to tell me I can come here, but after coming here, I can’t find him..."

Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment and pursed his lips: "Sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for." Mother-in-law Emma shook her head gently: "My husband told me before that there are always so many misfortunes that come unexpectedly in life, and sometimes... you just have to endure it. In so many hard days, he has always been Stay with me. It's much better now than before, and I won't be able to hold on."

Bai Xi curled his lips and snorted, but said nothing.

The old woman Emma didn't pay attention, she just smiled ingratiatingly and asked softly: "Are you and your sister locals?"

"Sister?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at Bai Xi and laughed softly: "Absolutely, but she has been in Avalon for a long time, and I just came here."

During the long march, Ye Qingxuan stopped and turned into an alley behind a row of shops. He pointed to the corner not far ahead: "After passing here, we will be there. I remember nothing about Hilda's alley. If people live there, it will be easier for you to find them.”

The old woman Emma stopped,

Looking at Ye Qingxuan gratefully: "Thank you for helping me guide me. I really don't know what I would do without you."

"It's nothing, people always have to help each other." Ye Qingxuan smiled and nodded goodbye.

"Please come and sit with me. My nephew is a good boy and he will repay you." Mother-in-law Emma grabbed his hand and held it gratefully: "You are a kind person. It would be a shame if you didn't repay you." It makes me too upset.”

"No need." Ye Qingxuan smiled and tried to pull out his hand, but couldn't.

He jerked again, only to find that the old woman had grabbed his hand tightly. The withered palm had a soft and slimy texture like a dead snake, which made him unable to break free.

He was stunned and looked up at the old woman. The old woman Emma was still smiling, her wrinkled face was full of joy, but her narrowed green eyes were no longer filled with the fear of loneliness, but were filled with a creepy evil spirit.

"Like you said, people always have to help each other."

She grabbed Ye Qingxuan's hand, her nails digging into his skin, and her hoarse voice was still full of false gratitude: "Sir, you are a good person, why don't you do me another favor?"

She opened her mouth and whispered something. There was the sound of ice cracking in the air.

Ye Qingxuan's vision went dark, as if a snowy wind swept up from his feet. The instant chill seemed to drain all his strength, making his legs weaken and he almost fell to his knees.

"Hey! Old woman, what are you doing?!"

Bai Xi finally realized something was wrong, and rushed over to break her hand away, but was held back by her palm: "Be polite, little girl. A rude brat won't sell for a good price."

Emma's voice went from husky to high-pitched. In the last light of the setting sun, there was a faint green light in her pupils, like a demon. Ignoring Bai Xi's vigorous kicking, she stretched out her hand to hold her chin and looked at it carefully: "It really looks like..."

She laughed softly: "It's so similar."

During the kicking, a piece of folded white paper fell from her sleeve, with a silhouette portrait imprinted on the white paper. The white paper fell into the water, and the mud and traces darkened the faces of the girl in the portrait and Bai Xi.

Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. There was something faintly wrapped around his neck, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Bai Xi's lips trembled, unable to resist.

This old woman in rustic clothes was murmuring something softly, her lips opening and closing, but there was no sound. There seemed to be a black wind tunnel hidden in her lungs, blowing out a steady stream of foul-smelling breath, like a corpse rotting in the mud. The strands of something were like spider threads, wrapping around the two of them silently, taking away all the strength to move.

"Let me go and go back to where you should be. Someone has been waiting for you for a long time."

Emma scratched the girl's face with her sharp nails and looked at her eyes that were dilated with fear: "Remember what I said? There are always so many misfortunes that come unexpectedly in life.

Sometimes, you just have to be patient. "

She laughed softly in this deserted alley. Laughter echoed on the walls, the air rippled, and there was a vague shadow swaying, entangled in Ye Qingxuan's limbs and throat, like layers of seaweed entangled in the deep sea.

As a result, the painful feeling became more intense, and I could only struggle in the suffocating pain.

"don't want……"

Bai Xi's pupils dilated and he murmured softly.

"Come on, don't be afraid, just let me go."

Emma smiled and held her hand. Bai Xi was pulled by him involuntarily like a puppet and walked towards the gloomy alley.

In the suffocation, Ye Qingxuan struggled to climb on the ground, trying to grab her clothes, but missed. He had never seen Bai Xi look so frightened, panicked, and uneasy, as if he was about to fall into hell or somewhere more terrifying.

"don't want……"

In the invisible shackles, the girl's lips opened and closed, trying to make a sound, but the sound was as weak as the last words before death, trembling and full of fear.

"……don't want."

Her face suddenly distorted, as if she was enduring great pain, and her body trembled violently.

Emma paused in her steps and lowered her head in surprise. There was something simmering in her sleeve, like hot water boiling.

The sudden wind opened her wide sleeves, exposing her old skin, as well as the strange runes engraved on the skin... The notes implanted in the skin were constantly trembling and becoming blurry.

A huge force emerged from Bai Xi's body. It was not restrained, but became more and more violent, charging almost crazily, regardless of Bai Xi's skin being broken during the collision.

Her notes are going out of control!

Emma frowned and pressed her shoulders hard, and a cry like a ghost suddenly echoed in her throat. Like a python trying to strangle its prey, Bai Xi's bones almost made a sound of collapse.

Bai Xi's shoulders trembled, and he stared at the palms pressing on his shoulders, and finally uttered a complete voice, sharp and frightening:

"--Do not touch me!!!"

collapse!

A violent impact seemed to burst out from Bai Xi's body, shattering the invisible restraints. The explosion of air at that moment was almost faintly visible, tearing a huge hole in her clothes.

The ghost cry in Emma's mouth was completely interrupted. He let out a scream, took a step back as if struck by thunder, bent down and coughed violently.

A broken tooth made of metal and sticky blood spurted out of his mouth and fell to the ground. In the last ray of light, the seven orifices on the broken bronze teeth appeared, and the breeze blew by, making a subtle sound.

Ye Qingxuan felt that the restraint and crying disappeared together.

He didn't have time to think too much, so he rushed forward, picked up Bai Xi who was lying softly on the ground, and dived into the alley ahead.

There was a burly man at the entrance of the alley who wanted to stand up, but before he could stop Ye Qingxuan, something came into his arms.

It was a fine crutch. The polished and oiled pear wood exuded a slight woody fragrance, but now it was held in the hand of a young man and stabbed into the man's heart like a spear. a.c

"Get away!"

The young man's expression was ferocious.

For a moment, the boy's attacks were as ruthless as those of a bloodthirsty gangster on the street. It was as if something in his heart had awakened. His eyes were no longer warm, but... filled with an indescribable rage.

When he pushed out the crutch, he put all his and Bai Xi's weight on it, causing the man to stagger and fall to the ground clutching his heart.

He had no time to pick up the crutches and could only hold the girl in his arms.

He staggered and ran away.

-

On the spot, Emma, ​​who couldn't stop coughing, bent down, picked up the tooth, and looked at it carefully.

It has orifices like facial features on it, and at first glance it looks like a deformed human face. It fell off because it had deformed and exploded from the inside.

Visible to the naked eye, the old woman's face was distorted, and her green eyes were full of gloom, like a crumpled dahlia.

This is a tooth forged from white copper and heavy iron. It is strong and wear-resistant. After the seven orifices are chiseled out by the musician and craftsman, it becomes a fine musical instrument. With the runes engraved on the skin, even ordinary people can play it. The power of a certain section of music is strange and mysterious, making it difficult to detect.

"Damn little a**!!"

She roared hoarsely, with a sharp whistle coming from the corner of her mouth, and a faint echo and resonance came from afar, making her green eyes full of creepy chills:

"You can't run away!"