Chapter 281: Splitting the troops into two groups is not auspicious.

It was almost dawn when Aiwass left the magnetic hammer.

He was not even aware of the passage of time. What finally reminded him was Magnet Hammer's words: "Are you hungry? Why don't we go out for something to eat and drink?"

Magnet also drank until morning yesterday and didn't wake up until the afternoon. Now he is in good spirits, just in time for breakfast before going fishing with William.

Aiwass had no choice but to say "I'd better go back and rest for a while" and declined on the spot. Then he went to the second floor to find Sherlock.

Last night's room assignment was that Jack went to sleep on the Hammer's bed in the master bedroom, leaving the room for Sherlock and Aiwass, while Lily went to sleep with Haena in her room.

Even if Lily could live with Aiwass, Haena and Sherlock couldn't sleep together.

After returning to the room, Aiwass was surprised to find that Sherlock was still awake.

Or maybe he had already taken a nap... But when Aiwass walked in, Sherlock, in his pajamas, was seriously writing and drawing at the table.

Seeing this scene, Aiwass almost laughed out loud.

Because this really looks like a child setting up a table to do homework...

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Sherlock glanced back indifferently. After realizing it was Aiwass, he ignored him and went back to writing and drawing.

"What are you writing?"

Aiwass closed the door casually and came over to take a look: "Are you not asleep?"

He was a little confused. It looked like some kind of mind map—just a few words, with lines branching out, pointing to different words, and conjectures densely written in smaller font on the lines in the middle and next to the words.

Hearing what Aiwass said, Sherlock slammed his pen on the table.

He flipped forward a few pages in his little notebook, pinched the book in the middle with his fingers and handed it to Aiwass.

"It's just one day of no sleep... just start from the beginning."

Sherlock said briefly, "I just asked Haina and Auntie some questions. I also interviewed Mr. Jack. I've sorted out most of the clues I can find so far."

"In short, we are in trouble."

"How much trouble?"

Aiwass asked back, "Are you talking about the speed of time here, or the fact that they don't have names? Or is it about the Wild Hunt Legion here?"

“Both, and neither.”

Sherlock replied, "I have confirmed one very important point—one that has put my mind at ease. First, there are no young men over thirty in this village."

Hearing this, Aiwass withdrew his gaze from the notebook and looked at Sherlock.

Aiwass confirmed: "You mean no... or not here?"

Noticing Aiwass's serious look, Sherlock smiled with satisfaction: "When I told Haina, she was still a little confused. She didn't react immediately.

“Yes, that’s what I mean—at least thirty years ago, there were no newborns here.

"To be precise, the oldest young person in this village is twenty-six. There's no one older than twenty-six... Those above that are all 'indigenous people' whose ages and names are unknown.

"I first started to doubt this because I discovered that the old supervisor, William, didn't even know Meg. When I mentioned Meg to him, he had to pretend to think about who she was...

"Given his age, that's impossible. So I went to ask Haena's mother and learned that he came here about 60 years ago.

"—But he looks no more than sixty now. And when Haena's mother said this, it was as if she had witnessed it herself. She looks no more than thirty now... but when I asked her age, she just smiled and said nothing."

Sherlock said seriously: "So I thought of a possibility...

"Are all the people here really still alive?"

"Don't think so for now."

Aiwass pondered for a moment and replied, "First of all, let's be sure of one thing. The people here will die. And they can leave at any time."

The former is like Aiwass's grandfather.

The latter was Haena's biological father, and his teacher—the village's original blacksmith. Haena's father had left Eagle Cape Village and never returned; and the old blacksmith had indeed studied in the capital when he was young.

"So at least this isn't a ghost village—I've confirmed they're all alive. Jack can grow up, too, right? And the same goes for Haena."

Aiwass affirmed, "I'm not so confused as to distinguish the living from the dead. What's more terrible is that the people here don't have names."

As he spoke, Aiwass shared his own investigation results with Sherlock.

If it's in a game, it's normal that there is no name.

But if this matter is put into reality... or put into mysticism, then the meaning will be different.

Because the act of "naming" itself belongs to the power of the twilight path, it is a preparation for remembering.

Even if a person is dead and has no soul, they still have the power of the Twilight Path... This part of the power refers to the name of this person.

Because there are still people who remember him, and his name is still engraved on the world. So even if his body disappears and his soul no longer exists, the necromancers can still call upon him.

What they call out is the "name" of the deceased, the afterimage of the deceased that remains in the world.

Only when a person has a name, or at least a title that can accurately refer to him, can he be correctly recorded. Otherwise, he cannot exist in history, books, or the entire world, and his existence will be swallowed up by others.

Even if a person is deprived of everything, he still has his own name.

The ancient Parthian Empire had a supreme form of punishment—a form more cruel than the death penalty, the desecration of corpses, or even the imprisonment of souls—called "white punishment." This involved using rituals and violence to completely erase all traces of a person's existence.

His name will be erased, and all his deeds will be labeled as someone else's... or simply destroyed. All his descendants will be killed, even his students.

All those who once remembered him, all his friends, their memories will be rewritten, turning this person into a blank that cannot be recalled - no face, no name, no memory.

This type of punishment was only used three times during the 3,800 years of intermittent transmission in the ancient Parthian Empire. Because of the existence of the white punishment, there is no record of what they did to provoke this punishment, and it is even unknown when the executed people lived.

...And in Eagle Cape Village, it was as if all the villagers had been executed in vain.

"I want to go and see the swamp tomorrow. All the strangers enter the village through the swamp, while the villagers enter the village through the forest path."

Sherlock took the notebook back from Aiwass, frowning: "But they all said that it was a forbidden area - but if it was really a forbidden area, how did they find those outsiders?"

"So you're going?"

"Of course, we'll go secretly. But since it's a forbidden area, I think it might be dangerous... So you come with me. And take Lily and Haena with you... We don't ask to find anything, but at least take a look around."

Sherlock scribbled in his notebook and gave a clear plan: "Besides that, we have to visit those who knew your grandfather - my suggestion is that after we return, we split into two groups.

"You and Lily should go ask the village elders first; they might know something. This is the secret you're here to uncover, and I'm not suitable to sit in on it."

"Then there was Haena's father. Her father's departure was unnatural... There was no quarrel, and he didn't take any money. His daughter was only a few years old at the time. It didn't make sense for him to leave the village without notifying anyone and never return.

"So I suspect he either died somewhere without a trace, or he knows something. If we want to know, we'll probably have to ask the old blacksmith. I'll take Haina to ask him.

"Finally, we need to find out where everyone in this village is buried. I don't believe no locals have died in this village—of course, if that's the case, then this information would be even more valuable. And if someone dies, there must be a funeral, a grave, and a memorial service. You'll have to ask the local priest about this.

"Then I'll go check out the surrounding area and have Haena take me around a few suspicious places. I'll go find that old supervisor—I'm not a supervisor, but Haena is. She understands the details."

Sherlock said, marking out two clear quest lines in his notebook: "Swamp - Elder - Priest; Swamp - Blacksmith - Supervisor. Let's divide it like this for now, and come back after the investigation is completed.

"Because time here is chaotic, we never know when it will get dark... But just in case, as soon as dusk approaches, no matter where we are or what progress we have made in the investigation, we should stop and return home immediately. If we really can't go back, stay at the home of the current inquirer for the night. Safety first. Unless we are all together, we should not go into the swamp alone."

"clear."

Aiwass nodded seriously.

Although he looks like a child, Sherlock is the oldest and most socially experienced among them.

Aiwass has always been willing to accept advice from insiders.

The only problem is...

In this atmosphere that feels a bit like a horror movie, splitting the troops into two groups does not seem very auspicious.

Update completed!

(End of this chapter)