[Phantom of the Opera] Devil's Beauty

"Take me there." Bai Lanzhi held his palm and shook it gently.

He glanced at her coldly, looked forward with some irritability, and clasped her wrist with his backhand: "Follow me closely."

Bai Lanzhi didn't care about his attitude, and replied softly: "Okay."

Several entrances to the underground labyrinth were sealed by Duke Clayton.But Eric is as familiar with the Paris Opera House as he is with his own breathing rate.No one knows how to breathe.He found an inconspicuous Roman column and tapped it twice with the knuckles of two fingers.The next moment, a long, narrow and deep tunnel appeared in front of them.

"It's cold inside," he ordered, lifting his chin at the cloak in Blanche's hand, "put on some clothes."

Erik's eyes are used to the darkness, and he can discern the direction like a nocturnal animal, avoiding obstacles with ease.But Bai Lanzhi didn't have the same ability as him, he stepped on the air twice, hit a stalactite once, and almost fell to the ground.

Eric stopped.

In the darkness, even if he couldn't see his expression, he could still feel the oppressive and restless aura on his body.Before he could speak, Bai Lanzhi took the initiative and said softly, "I can't see the way, can you carry me behind your back?"

She knew him too well, and knew that his inner sense of insecurity was extremely insecure, which could be relieved only by thorough control.Not long ago, he was jealous of Eugene, and now he saw her fall again, and he might be so irritable. At this time, letting him carry her on his back is much better than directly soothing him with words.

Sure enough, when she said this, the cold aura around him disappeared instantly, he lifted her up with one hand, squatted halfway in front of her, and waited for her to come up.

Bai Lanzhi groped and put her arms around his neck, remembering that he had eaten the vinegar of a 12-year-old child, couldn't help laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked coldly.

I haven't calmed down yet.She suppressed a smile and said solemnly: "Laughing at myself, I didn't draw a line with a 12-year-old child, which made Eric angry."

He snorted, "He's not much younger than you." His tone softened, and he was no longer as cold as before.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a ray of candlelight penetrated through the cracks in the rocks, and the field of vision gradually broadened.Blanche saw the hideous gilded bronze statue, the dome inlaid with stained glass paintings, the delicately carved Ionic stone pillars, and the golden candlesticks that occupied the entire stone wall... This is the inner scene of the underground labyrinth, but in their Above their heads, they were directly below the underground labyrinth, heading towards the deepest part of the ground.

"Are you afraid?" He asked abruptly.

If you didn't lean on his back and feel his body temperature, this scene would indeed be a little scary: dark and damp underground, dirty and damp moss on both sides, an underground spiral staircase with no end in sight, and the light that is gradually being swallowed by darkness ...

However, this is also the place where he lived for a long time.

Thinking of this, what else is she afraid of?

Bai Lanzhi shook her head, hugged his slender neck tightly, and pressed against his ear: "Don't be afraid."

After a while, Eric stopped in front of a stone door and put her down.There is a groove on both sides of the stone gate, where golden candlesticks are placed.He glanced at her, held her left hand, pointed the gold ring on her ring finger at a stone brick on the stone wall, and touched it lightly.As expected of the "Secret Door Master" of the Persian Kingdom, the stone door slowly opened almost at the same moment.

He took down a candlestick, stepped in, and lit the candles in the stone house one by one. Then, he turned slightly and looked at her intently.

"Blanzhi," he said in a deep and solemn voice, "my past is here for you to watch."

——Just because she once said that she wanted to go through the country he had traveled, seen the scenery he had seen, and read the words he had read.

At that time, he reacted coldly and sharply, rejecting her aggressively, but kept her words firmly in his heart.

Bai Lanzhi's chest seemed to be hit hard by a stone.

She took a deep breath and tried to take the first step, but accidentally stepped on something and picked it up quickly.It was a crude wooden mask with white paint on it.

"This is my first gift." His voice came from the front.

He once mentioned that when he was nine years old, his parents sold him to a circus, and the first gift he received was a wooden mask.

There may be no beauty or ugliness in a child's world, but his parents cruelly remind him of the truth.

In front of the wooden mask is a yellowed booklet and a hemp rope.

He walked to her side, and pointed to the booklet with his slender fingers: "This is the note of a magician in the circus." Then he pointed to the rope, "This is the rope I used at first, it looks very strong, but it is not durable I worked hard, and then I tried weaving gut into it, and it worked."

Going around the booklet and the rope, Bai Lanzhi saw a wooden box half a meter high and one meter wide, with a glossy lacquer surface and exquisite and complicated hollow patterns.She looked at it for a long time, but didn't see what it was: "This is it?"

"Harpsichord. A Florentine luthier is good at making this kind of miniature harpsichord, which has a richer tone than the virginal. It is his specialty. After I learned it, I sold it under his name for a profit. A lot of money." He lifted the cover of the piano, revealing the black and white keys inside, the white keys had turned yellow.

This was only the fourth item. He was only so old at that time, and he had already learned to make such a complex instrument.

The fifth item is a topaz the size of a baby's fist.Under the illumination of the candlelight, the light is bright and crystal clear, and it can be seen at a glance that it is a priceless treasure.

Eric looked at the topaz, but his eyes were very flat, as if he saw a stone on the side of the road: "This is the jewel in the crown of the King of Persia. I helped him renovate the palace, but he did not pay me the full bounty as promised .”

At that time, he suddenly climbed from the lowest valley to the highest peak. He was inevitably arrogant and impulsive. Seeing that the king did not fulfill his promise, he directly took away the jewels on his crown by night.The next day, the king found that the crown had been tampered with, and was furious. He ordered people to search the whole palace, but he never expected that the gem was hidden in the secret compartment next to his pillow.

The sixth is a black-toned altarpiece with a crucified Jesus in the middle.Bai Lanzhi had never seen such a cruel crucifixion picture. Jesus' head was hanging down in pain, his fingers were convulsed like withered branches, black scabies were covered from head to toe, and blood flowed from his ugly toes.

"It's an altarpiece by Grünewald," he added lightly, "it's just an imitation."

Bai Lanzhi's heart stopped beating for a moment: "...does it have anything to do with your life?"

"There was an infectious disease in the Middle Ages called 'St. Anthony's Fire'. The patient would have convulsions all over the body, pain, redness, and swelling as if being burned at the stake. Then, the muscles would be necrotic, the skin would fester and bleed, and eventually die. The patient would either be regarded as a demon. Either be expelled from their hometown and wander until death." Eric pointed the candlelight at Jesus' distorted face, "Some people say that the painful experience of these patients coincides with the suffering Jesus."

After saying this, he looked at Blanche: "My life has not been smooth sailing. After leaving Persia, I also fell into a trough. In the most difficult time, I didn't eat for several days. In the end, a monk saved me. I I asked him why he wanted to revive a devil, and he showed me this painting, telling me that the expelled devil could also be the crucified Jesus. Two months later, I bought the painting.”

There was no ups and downs in his tone, as if he had been freed from the past.Bai Lanzhi saw his eyelashes tremble slightly.

The seventh, eighth, ninth... all the way to No.20 are items he collected all over the world.Bai Lanzhi saw palm-sized musical instruments, utensils that could separate scales by adding water, a uniquely shaped music box, and even a monkey doll playing cymbals in the corner.

Before she knew it, she had reached the end of the stone house.

"What's the last one?" she asked curiously.

Eric kissed her forehead lightly, and handed her the candlestick in his hand: "You can go and see for yourself, okay?"

The candlelight dispelled the heavy darkness, Bai Lanzhi took a step forward, and carefully looked at the full-length wooden cabinet in front of her with a candlestick, light brown in color and made of basswood.She reached for the brass handle in the middle and yanked back hard—

The first thing that caught her eyes was layer after layer of pure white gauze.

After realizing what was inside the wooden cabinet, her heart beat wildly, almost jumping out of her chest.

Looking up along the white gauze, she saw bright red roses, dotted with rose patterns of broken diamonds, a square collar, and a few hollowed-out butterflies carved on the collar, as if they were about to flap their wings and take off.

It's a wedding dress.

Bai Lanzhi's mind went blank for a moment.

At the same time, her left hand was held by a cold and slender big hand. She held the candlestick, turned around blankly, and saw Eric kneeling on the ground, putting the back of her hand to her lips, The Adam's apple was sliding slightly, and the voice was hoarse and gentle:

"Marry me, Blanche."

He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and put his lips on the back of her hand: "I will tell you everything you want to know, take you wherever you want to go, and teach you everything you want to learn." His The tone was solemn and calm, but the breath was a hot flame, burning the tip of her heart and skin, "I love you, Blanche."

This is by no means an ideal place to propose. There are no flowers, no champagne and red wine, no relatives and friends, no sunshine and fresh air, but it is the most romantic and joyful moment in Blanche's life.

She was very happy that he could open his heart and tell her about his rough but legendary past; she was also very happy that he could propose to her solemnly in the place where he lived for a long time.

For an ordinary person, this is a very easy task; for him, it is an extremely difficult step.

But he did.She could see his transformation.

Although he has not yet fully become a sane, sober, emotionally sound normal person, she believes that there will be a day, and she will always be with him until that day comes.

Bai Lanzhi's eyes were hot, her throat was slightly choked, and it took her a while to calm down, and said softly, "Okay."

She is not perfect and has made many bad decisions.Falling in love with him, getting to know him, and leading him from the dark underground to the bright world are the most correct things she has ever done in her life.

"I love you too, Eric."

——End of text——