Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 395 Human Ghouls

This is the situation.

Milo successfully dissuaded the ghouls from taking him back to cook with his less-than-fluent ghoul language.

Moreover, when the ghouls learned that Milo had once provided shelter and food for their people in another world, they very politely expressed their respect to Milo and warmly invited him to leave the junkyard of Pence Canyon with them.

Milo's entire transformation from a soaring heart rate to a calmed-down state of mind took less than a few minutes of conversation.

Marshall stayed on Milo's shoulder the whole time, and could clearly sense the changes in Milo's heart rate. He commented, "It's just like a miniature version of the love and marriage process in your human civilization."

“What kind of amazing metaphor is this?” Milo asked, turning his head.

Marshall then gestured with his two furry paws and said, "From butterflies in my stomach to utter despair."

"Ok."

Milo declined to comment. He himself had no experience with marriage, and among the many memories of the dead he had glimpsed, there seemed to be very few marriages that could be described as happy, such as Robben's, or Anna, the birth mother of the Castor Lady...

……

The ghouls live above the Pance Canyon.

This place is also part of the underground world, but it is much higher than the bottom of the valley.

As Milo expected, there was one thing that was indispensable in the places where ghouls lived and worked: tombstones, the tombstones of the dead. And when he and Marshall, surrounded by ghoul leaders, climbed for nearly an hour to reach this high mountain range, they saw graves all over the mountains.

It's like a huge rock lying across the side of the canyon, with faint light shining down from the dome. The light sources are so beautiful and ethereal that it's clear they aren't starlight, but rather some kind of flowing light floating in the air like smoke.

The reason why Pance Canyon is so cold and dark is because the graveyard where the ghouls live completely blocks the last few rays of light in the underground world, leaving Pance Canyon with a black hole-like shadow.

……

"Welcome to the Tomb of Xin, my friend."

They were greeted by a priest from the local tribe, who was also the only ghoul in the entire ghoul tribe dressed somewhat human-like.

It wore a tattered robe, clearly worn for a long time, with frayed edges, but overall it wasn't dirty and appeared quite clean. Aside from that, the priest's fangs and pointed ears weren't exaggerated; its features bore a striking resemblance to a human face, and it wore a pair of old-fashioned glasses on its high-bridged nose.

It is polite and its hunched posture does not affect its calm and reserved temperament at all; in fact, every move it makes is extremely elegant.

Upon seeing Marshall perched on Milo's shoulder, it laughed heartily, "I didn't expect you to bring a gift. You're too kind, sir. My tableware hasn't touched any bloody ingredients in a year."

"Uh...it's a misunderstanding, this is my friend." Milo's lips twitched twice.

Marshall clearly sensed something was off, but since it couldn't understand ghoul language, it asked Milo, "What's that old thing saying?"

Milo lowered his voice: "It's treating you like food."

"Damn it!" Marshall screamed.

However, the next second, something happened that left Milo and Marshall dumbfounded.

Because after listening to their conversation in human language, the ghoul priest in front of them wore a very awkward smile and sincerely expressed his apology in human language:

"I'm so sorry, please forgive my abruptness."

A very fluent and authentic human language.

At that moment, Marshall's expression was incredibly interesting, much like Milo's expression when he first heard it speak human language.

After struggling for a while, both sides forgot to introduce themselves.

Finally, when the ghoul priest explained why he was so fluent in human languages, he mentioned his name—"Richard Upton Pickman".

Milo paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

“Then I understand completely. You might not believe it, but I had the privilege of seeing your paintings before.”

It seems that the rumors about humans being able to transform into ghouls through some long-lasting ritual or behavior are true.

The ghoul priest before me was once a genuine human being, and also an artist with exceptional talent in painting.

Pickman's respectful and friendly attitude, his good manners, and the fact that he was once human caused Milo and Marshall to lower their guard slightly, and they introduced themselves:
"Milo Valrocan".

"Marshall."

Of course, I also briefly explained the purpose of my visit. ...

"So, you two also came from the underground passage?"

The priest Pickman invited Milo and Marshall into his study—which was actually a simple stone house built from tombstones.

He ordered drinks to be sent to Milo and Marshall.

But faced with the indescribable, grayish-brown, viscous liquid in the old glass vessel, Milo and Marshall tacitly chose to focus on their conversation.

“Yes, for some reason, I need to find the original copy of the Nash Chronicles in this world.” Milo didn’t beat around the bush with Pickman. Marshall had already said that almost all the evil tomes that exist in the real world originated from the Dreamlands.

He added, "And it's very urgent."

"Excuse my bluntness, but as far as I know, people who come into contact with those books are usually... well, I mean, very few normal human beings would be as eager as you to find a particular book," Pickman said tactfully.

The subtext is actually, "Are you even thinking straight right now?"

Of course, this question doesn't need to be answered by Milo himself, and his own explanation is probably not very convincing.

Marshall answered Pickman quickly and concisely:
"He is a person who has been deprived of the ability to dream."

"Oh~"

Pickman looked surprised.

When he looked at Milo again, his deeply sunken eye sockets and cloudy pupils showed a hint of apprehension.

But soon, a relieved smile appeared on his face:

"It seems I was overthinking it. You know, those who come into contact with ancient texts often end up going mad... But since you've lost the right to dream, it means there's definitely a rational soul beneath your skull. Heh, the Dream Realm is a subjective world. Only the absolutely rational can be deprived of the right to dream, that is, the right to enter this place through dreams."

He took a leisurely sip of his drink, then continued to ask Milo:
"May I ask another question? Why are you so eager to find the Nash Chronicle?"

"Explaining this from the beginning would probably waste a lot of our time, but the situation is urgent, and I don't think I have much time to go on and on." Even if Milo wanted to talk, he didn't know where to begin.

“I understand. I can see your anxiety in your eyes, but you don’t need to worry too much about it. Time flows differently in the Dreamland than in the real world. Here, a week is only equivalent to one hour in the real world. I hope this will ease your tension a little.”

Pickman revealed information that Milo had never heard of before.

There is a significant difference in the flow of time between the dream world and the real world.

Milo first raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Marshall:
"We're both natives of the Dreamland, so why is there such a huge difference in our knowledge?"

Because Marshall never mentioned the concept of the flow of time to him.

Of course, Marshall also had something to say: "Including this time, I've traveled through time twice in total, twice!"

Pickman seemed quite interested in the banter between Milo and Marshall, watching them with a smile as they exchanged witty remarks.

Perhaps this is due to the natural affinity humans have for cute felines.

Suddenly, Marshall's expression turned serious, because it realized a very serious problem:
"Wait a minute, one hour is equivalent to one week. I've been in Nanwei City for almost a year, so wouldn't this be..."

Pickman quickly filled in the answer to the calculation problem that Marshall hadn't figured out: "168 years."

“Ah, this…” Marshall was completely stunned.

I don't know what this guy was thinking, but the cat became completely melancholy and wandered to the corner of the study to start its depressed, wall-facing mode.

However, Milo didn't have time to attend to its feelings; he asked Pickman:

"So do you know the whereabouts of that book? The Nass Chronicles. Even with the time difference between the two worlds, the situation is still very urgent!"

"I'm very sorry, but I really don't know the exact location of this book. The underground world is a very barren space. The number of races living here can be counted on one hand, and they are all races that are despised by the surface. Those ancient books are usually in the hands of the major sects or countries on the surface. They are attached to the gods they believe in, and ordinary people are not qualified to come into contact with those books."

Pickman shook his head.

However, Milo didn't show the slightest disappointment. He stared at Pickman the whole time, and when Pickman finished speaking and paused, he added, "But?"

Pickman grinned again, revealing his two rows of sharp, somewhat menacing teeth, and said to Milo:
"However, there is another way to learn about what is recorded in the Nash Chronicle."

(End of this chapter)