soul stone

On the mini chest of drawers is a postcard-sized framed photo of a family of three by the sea.The whole family wore heavy fur coats, hats and gloves.In the background is a frozen coastline stretching to a white sky.Although everyone was armed to the teeth, the rough brown skin still had a faint red from the cold.The whole family laughed happily, especially the father standing at the left rear, his red nose shrunk into a circle the size of a pigeon egg as if making room for his grinning mouth.

"Why are you smiling so happily?" The father in the photo shook his head, "I don't remember. I don't even have the memory of when and where this photo was taken."

"Do you often take pictures?" asked the boy holding the photo frame.

"No, I seldom take pictures. Taking pictures is too troublesome and time-consuming. There are fishermen like me on the island, who rarely go outside, and they go to exchange food and necessary daily necessities that are not available here. In winter, only I can stay at home honestly, it’s far away from the sea, and it takes at least two months to go back and forth, and I don’t have the time to go outside to find someone to take pictures.”

The young man nodded, still staring at the photo intently, his black pupils flickering faintly.Although it is summer, it is still so cold in the Arctic Circle that you need to wear thick cotton clothes or down coats.However, the boy only wore a thin black sweater with one collar and beige striped trousers underneath, which seemed out of place with the people around him.

"This photo seems to have been taken near Frozen Island." He raised his head and handed the photo frame to the father in the photo. "Did people from outside come to the island to take the photo?"

"When you said that, I kind of remembered it. A few years ago, a travel reporter came to live on the island for a month and took a lot of photos. This is one of them. I heard that it was going to be published in a travel magazine, but I don't know. Was it successful later on? Even if it was actually published, it is estimated that there would not be many travelers. The summer was very long that year, and if it were a normal year, the reporter would definitely die on the way back.”

"What year was it, do you remember?"

The round-nosed uncle knocked on his long pipe at the corner of the table, "About three or four years ago."

"It was published in a travel magazine in 1987." The boy smiled, "That reporter succeeded."

"Huo...Really?"

"It's true, I've read it. The big-character topics take up one-third of the entire magazine."

The uncle exhaled a puff of smoke slowly, and let out a thoughtful oh, the sound was as long and invisible as the smoke leaking from under his beard.

The room suddenly darkened, and the shadow of the human figure at the door blocked the light. "Captain, we have arrived at our destination."

"Understood," the uncle replied, turned his head and pouted at the only passenger, "Go out and have a look."

The boy leaned forward and stood up, and followed the captain of the "Lookout" onto the deck.

The setting sun dyed the western sky red, and a few clouds were like swollen flames, with erratic shapes.Below the clouds is an endless ocean, not much different from the ocean that came all the way.The only difference is the color of the sea water.Contrary to the clouds, the sea water is as blue as ink, as if a piece of the blue surface of the planet has been plucked out.

"This is the middle of the crater. If we look from the sky, we are inside a big ring." The captain explained, "The whole thing sank under the water. In that case, the only ones who can escape are seagulls. We Fortunately, I went out to sea in summer, but encountered bad weather on the road, the hull was seriously damaged and could not return, and the sea froze in winter, so I couldn’t go back at all, so I had to wait for the next summer. As a result, I received news of the sinking of the frozen island in the beginning of spring.”

"It doesn't look like a simple tsunami."

The captain took a drag on his cigarette and knocked the pipe into the sea casually. "Boy, have you heard of lava whales?"

"No." The boy shook his head, "Does it have anything to do with the island's Shen?"

"Well, some people say that the reason for the sinking of the frozen island was the anger of the lava whale."

The boy thought for a while, and his eyes widened in surprise: "It's too outrageous to say that the whale caused the tsunami and the sinking of the site."

"You will know them when you see them. Those guys are huge in size, resistant to high temperature and severe cold. It is said that they originally lived underground, but they came to the surface because of the change of the earth's crust. In the past, they were often seen in the sea east of the frozen island. The sprayed water jets, but since the island sank last year, no one has found them. I guess it will be the same this time." The uncle narrowed his eyes and said with a little regret, "If I came a year earlier, I might have seen them. It's a pity. pity."

If he had come a year earlier, he might have met her—the boy thought to himself.

"Well, let's not talk about that, it's time for dinner." The captain clapped his hands twice towards the back room, "Hey, Amy, is dinner ready?"

The boy also looked over there.A girl of about seventeen or eighteen, wearing an apron, ran out of the kitchen. She was not tall, and she was not really good-looking—a wide forehead, high cheekbones, pockmarked face, and surprisingly small ears.But on the whole, it can't be said to be ugly, and I seem to have accepted my appearance.The girl blushed from the heat, and her bangs were soaked in sweat, lying softly on her broad forehead.Seeing the two of them, she wiped her hands on her apron and grinned, showing her perfect set of teeth.

"Late—sinner will be ready soon."

"Let Joan bring up a barrel of wine and five barrels of beer and celebrate."

"Okay - okay, I'm - I'm going."

When Amy ran back to the house, the captain pouted at the only passenger: "Have a drink or two together? We finally arrived at the destination smoothly, shall we celebrate?"

"Okay." The boy nodded with a smile.

Dinner was the same as usual - bread and cheese.Bacon and pickles.The young man was drinking wine, and seemed to be eating with gusto.

"Oh, the young master of the rich family likes to eat this kind of food, this is the first time I've seen it." Joan who brought the wine said.

"How many rich--rich young masters have you seen, Joan?" Amy leaned forward and put the hot sausages on everyone's plates one by one.

"You've said it before, I'm not a rich young man." The young man took a sip of his wine with a smile, and put the sliced ​​sausage into his mouth, "Delicious! This is the first time I have eaten such a delicious sausage." .”

Hearing the compliment, Amy blushed immediately, got up and went out and said, "I'll get some more."

"Ouch, she's shy." Joan whistled.

"Cut." First officer York twitched his wide and long nose disdainfully.It was he who informed them that they had reached their destination.

"York, you are too jealous. She doesn't even know her name."

"Hahahaha!" The captain was a little tipsy, the color of his nose and cheekbones looked like red-hot iron, "That's right, it's been such a long journey, and I still don't know your name."

The young man maintained a just right smile, which not only fits the definition of a rich man, but also fits the atmosphere of the banquet at the moment.

"My name is Villar. Villar Lynch."

"Oh...the surname Lynch sounds like a rich family no matter what."

"'Like' doesn't mean 'is'."

"Hey, young man, he knows a lot of things."

The boy who called himself Villar smiled noncommittally.

The captain handed the empty glass to Amy, picked up the long pipe and took a long sip, then took the full glass and drank it down in one gulp.

"Maybe it's a bit too much to ask. What are you going to do here? The scientific research personnel should have come to a conclusion half a year ago."

"I'm looking for someone." The young man held a piece of dark red flannel in his left hand, turned it over and spread it out, and there was a purple diamond-shaped earring lying in the middle, "Have you seen anyone wearing this earring?"

The red-nosed uncle lowered his head and took a closer look at the earrings.After a moment, he straightened up and shook his head.

"No, I don't have much impression. Sorry, I'm afraid I disappointed you."

"No, I didn't intend to find it easily." The boy rewrapped the earrings and asked again, "Nine years ago...that is, in the summer of 1981, did this ship carry a little girl? About eight or nine years old, He has black hair and black eyes like me, and is very pretty, and he may be accompanied by a burly young man. The time should be in mid-August or later."

"People from outside go to the island?"

"Ah."

"Well..." the captain bowed his head and thought for a while, "It's hard to say. Our ship rarely carries outsiders, because few outsiders know about this island. It's not a tourist attraction, and the traffic is very inconvenient. If there is Passengers like that should have an impression. Maybe they have, but maybe they have forgotten it.”

"Then, has there ever been a man named Jin on the island?"

The captain scratched his tangled gray hair and shook his head slowly.

"I don't know. People on this ship rarely go ashore. People who live on the island may know... sorry."

The boy nodded silently.If only Pike had been brought along.I originally planned to solve it alone, although I expected it would not be too easy, I didn't expect it to be so troublesome.Who Veral Lynch was, no one knew and didn't need to know.It was because of this concern that he didn't tell anyone about his actions this time.

The brigade was established three years ago and walked out of Meteor Street a year ago.That happened to be shortly after the sinking of the frozen island, and the coverage was overwhelming.Nine years ago, when Sister Moelle let them escape secretly, she wrote about this place in her letter:

"Go west from here, go to Vladimir, take a train to White Harbor, and then take a boat to Frozen Island, and find a man named Jin. He once saved me, has a guaranteed character, and is strong enough to protect you. "

The nun who betrayed them and the uncle who sent him into Meteor Street.If you can't find it according to the original route, go and ask those two people face to face.Bring on the Parker.

Just as he was thinking, the uncle on the opposite side suddenly stepped on the wooden table, held his glass high, and shouted loudly: "Hey, Joan! York! Hassan! You guys were on this ship nine years ago, right? Have you seen a cute little passenger, eight or nine years old, with black hair and black eyes, just like this guy?"

He pointed to "this guy's" nose.Facing the attention salute cast by the whole crew, the boy still maintained a gentle smile.It's a pity that the few people who were named shook their heads.

"No way, since she is a cute girl, you guys should have an impression."

"Please, Captain, no matter how cute we are, we were only in our teens at that time, and we didn't understand girls at all." As soon as Joan said this, everyone immediately burst into laughter.

"I-I seem to know." Amy, who had been serving everyone with her head down, interrupted suddenly, "Nine-nine years ago, her hair and eyes were black-that's right. There was only one-one person with a pair of dog."