My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 144 Ghoul Cemetery

Jules didn't care what the other party thought.

He was going to the ghoul graveyard anyway, so it was just a convenient route.

However, he made it clear that no matter how urgent it was, it had to be tonight—and the other party could not be present during the ceremony.

Although the sorceress was unhappy, she had no choice but to agree to Jules's terms.

Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was dusk.

During this time, Jules had completed all the necessary arrangements to guide the moonlight, and was just waiting for the moonlight to truly arrive.

At that moment, he was sitting by the priest's bedside, flipping through a book he had just taken down.

"So, the legend of the tomb keeper is true?"

Not long ago, after the priest regained some of his strength, he approached the other party and inquired about the details regarding the tomb keeper.

The priest answered all questions he knew, but this did not dispel Jules' doubts.

Faced with Le's question, the priest sighed:
"Although that's what the prophecy says, we haven't seen any of the signs of it so far."

"However, even if it's just a legend, it certainly can't be entirely baseless..."

He suddenly paused and looked at Jules.

"Perhaps you might be connected to the legendary tomb keeper."

"Me? Connected to the gravedigger?" Jules pointed to himself, about to ask a question in return, but then froze.

It seems that the priest found him in the first place because of some kind of "prophecy"?
Seeing Jules lost in thought, the priest smiled weakly and said:
"Heh, who knows? If you can lead Blankog to greatness and break free from the terrible curse, then even if you are not the one prophesied, we will still believe it."

Jules waved his hand:

"No need to say anything more. I will naturally do my best to help before I go to London."

He naturally understood the priest's unspoken message—he wanted to find another way, a roundabout way, to ask Jules to stay and help him.

He declined in a tactful way.

By saying this, he first indicated his stance that he would definitely leave Blanker for London, and secondly, he showed that he would not stand idly by.

As expected, upon hearing this, the priest closed his eyes slightly and murmured:
"Thank you so much, I have no way to repay you..."

"The ghoul graveyard hasn't been open for ten years. I don't know what it's like inside... Please be careful..."

……

The sorceress squatted idly at the door all day, even going so far as to carve patterns on the stone slabs on the ground to pass the time.

Upon seeing Jules arrive, she immediately stood up and said impatiently:

"Can we go in now?"

Jules glanced at the sorceress and said indifferently:
“Miss Ellen, please calm down, I still have a ceremony to perform.”

The sorceress, knowing there was no point in hiding, had already reverted to her original appearance.

However, Jules continued to address her by her previous alias, and the sorceress had no objection to this—for someone like her, a name was just a code, nothing to worry about.

"Please excuse yourself now."

The sorceress snorted, but since it was something the two had agreed upon beforehand, she obediently left.

Soon, in front of the gates of the ghoul cemetery, besides Jules, there were only two other things.

A silver mirror, and a corpse.

Through a complex ritual, moonlight was successfully refracted from the earth's surface to this spot, but it was blocked by several pieces of cloth, allowing only a blurry glow to pass through.

Jules stared at Father Crescent's withered and terrifying face, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

He held Father Crescent Moon in high esteem, and both publicly and privately, he did not want the other party's backup plan to fail.

During this time, he also pondered why the Curved Moon Priest's ritual for absorbing curses could still be effective.

Ultimately, he concluded that although the ritual had failed, it had not been entirely without effect—he was simply continuing the ritual that had not been completed years ago.

However, the person who led the ritual back then is now a cold corpse.

After sighing for a while, Jules didn't delay any longer. With a low shout, he tore apart the cloths that were blocking the moonlight.

stab-

As the sound of tearing cloth rang out, the previously dim moonlight suddenly became bright, even dazzling.

Seeing the moonlight fall on the surface of the silver mirror and then be reflected onto the cold corpse of Father Crescent Moon, Jules, even though he had rehearsed it beforehand, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Father Arc Moon only said that by projecting moonlight onto his corpse through this silver mirror, part of the curse in the ghoul graveyard could be absorbed, thus stabilizing the ritual.

However, it didn't say what would happen next.

All we can do is pray that the ritual, which embodies the wisdom and blood of our ancestors hundreds of years ago, will indeed work...

Under Jules's gaze, the corpse of Father Crescent, bathed in moonlight, began to change.

The corpse's skin gradually became transparent, but through the transparent skin, one could see the black blood writhing beneath, a horrifying sight.

Even though it had been dead for hundreds of years and its original blood had long since dried up, the curse contained within the corpse had not faded and had been transformed into new blood that continued to exist within the body.

At the same time, with his exceptional eyesight, Jules keenly noticed that extremely fine black lines seemed to be emerging from the gate, like blood vessels, connecting to Father Crescent's corpse.

Black lines, like snakes, emerged from the cracks in the cemetery gate and burrowed into the corpses, resembling the tentacles of some monster.

Father Arc Moon's skin became increasingly transparent, and black blood flowed within his body.

Suddenly, the corpse shuddered violently, and its withered fingers twitched.

The black lines gathered more and more, and a low roar came from the depths of the graveyard, as if countless ghouls were responding to this power.

The silver mirror under the moonlight began to tremble, emitting a faint cracking sound.

The dark blood grew thicker and thicker, like petroleum.

Jules could almost smell the fishy stench through his skin.

Soon, the dark blood filled every inch of the corpse.

After the black blood, representing the curse, filled all the blood vessels of the entire corpse, a very crisp cracking sound rang out.

Jules could see that what was cracked was not only the silver mirror, but also the corpse of Father Crescent.

The corpse, which had become transparent, seemed to have turned into something like mirror glass, with cracks extending from its surface.

Under the moonlight, the cracks on the corpse spread rapidly, forming a dense network like a spider web.

Jules held his breath, his gaze fixed on the gradually disintegrating body.

Dark blood churned beneath the transparent skin, spreading like ink in water, yet unable to break free from the cracks.

"Click——"

With a crisp sound, the silver mirror shattered completely, turning into countless tiny fragments that, reflected in the moonlight, resembled stardust falling to the ground.

At the same moment, Father Arc Moon's body suddenly exploded, silently, yet shockingly.

Transparent fragments scattered, turning into wisps of black smoke mixed with black blood, rising up and dissipating in the moonlight.

The black lines emerging from the cracks in the cemetery gate suddenly snapped, as if severed by an invisible force, and retreated back into the depths of darkness.

A low growl came from within the cemetery, sounding like anger and resentment, but it quickly subsided until it fell completely silent.

Jules stood there, feeling the lingering chill of the curse in the air gradually fade away.

He looked down at the ground—the fragments of the silver mirror were mixed with the remains of the corpse, and there was nothing unusual about them, as if nothing had ever happened.

But he could clearly sense that the chilling aura emanating from the ghoul graveyard had weakened considerably. "The ritual was a success..."

Looking at the shards of the silver mirror scattered on the ground in front of him, Jules couldn't help but mutter to himself.

This ceremony, which took place hundreds of years ago, has finally come to a true end.

He stood quietly in place, his expression somewhat melancholy.

However, this melancholy thought did not last long before it was interrupted by the sorceress's very impatient voice:
"With such a commotion, it should be over by now, right?"

Jules withdrew his gaze from the shards of silver mirror scattered on the ground and said calmly:
"All right."

The sorceress's gaze lingered on Yule and the shards of silver mirror scattered on the ground, her expression somewhat bewildered.

As an extraordinary being with in-depth knowledge of the Winter's Law, her sensitivity to changes in the aura of the ghoul graveyard was far more profound than Jules'.

Therefore, even from such a distance, she could detect the changes that were taking place in the ghoul graveyard.

That ritual had such a significant effect?

She noticed that, in addition to the broken silver mirror, more importantly, the priest's body had also disappeared without a trace.

"Forget it, I can't be bothered with it anymore..." After pondering for a long time without finding an answer, the sorceress gave up on thinking about it.

Anyway, as long as I can get into the ghoul graveyard, that's all that matters.

The cold moonlight shone on the shards of silver mirror in front of the cemetery gate, reflecting a faint glow across the ground.

Jules turned his gaze from the ground to the heavy door.

The ritual was complete, and the curse of the ghoul graveyard had noticeably weakened, but the darkness peeking out from behind the door remained unfathomable, radiating an unsettling stillness.

The sorceress stepped forward, her tone curt:

"Can we go in now?"

Jules nodded, his voice calm:
"Let's go."

His tone and expression were very calm, making it impossible for the other person to guess what he was thinking.

The sorceress snorted coldly, said nothing more, and stepped towards the door first.

Jules followed behind her and reached out to push open the stone door that was marked by the passage of time.

As soon as the stone door was pushed open, a thick, inky darkness rushed in, mixed with a putrid and stench that sent chills down one's spine.

Upon seeing this, Jules couldn't help but frown.

He did find something strange about it, but that was normal—

What was unusual was that he actually smelled a familiar scent.

Where have I seen this before?

Before he could think any further, the sorceress had already stepped inside.

Seeing this, Jules had no choice but to follow.

He stepped into the darkness, the thick, inky darkness completely swallowing up all his vision, and even the concept of light itself seemed to have ceased to exist.

After a short while, the darkness slowly dissipated.

However, when he saw the scene before him, Yuleche was completely stunned.

What appeared before him was an endless dense forest, and a cemetery that stretched into the depths of the forest, seemingly without end.

This scene was almost identical to what he had seen when he entered the cemetery that day.

"...The cemetery there is the ghoul cemetery?!"

Jules found it hard to believe, but then suddenly realized it was a reasonable fact.

If that's the case, it's no wonder I encountered a ghoul there that day.

He tentatively took a few steps back, and the thick, inky darkness surged back in.

He breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering this.

It seems that, at least, this place is not completely connected to the outside world.

That day, I was probably just wandering around the outskirts of the ghoul graveyard, or somewhere where the ritual's power wasn't so strong.

Only now did he truly step into the core area of ​​the ghoul graveyard.

Although there was a moon in the sky and everything looked exactly the same as the outside world, Jules was very skeptical as to whether this place still existed in the present world.

"Why is this not what I imagined?" Suddenly, the sorceress's confused voice rang out beside him.

Jules glanced at the sorceress:
"What? What kind of image are you imagining?"

“I thought this place would be underground,” the sorceress frowned slightly. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter, everything is going according to plan.”

She looked at Jules and said:
"How about it? Interested in coming together?" Her words revealed an undisguised arrogance.

Jules shook his head and said calmly:

"Go find what you're looking for; I also have something I'm looking for."

The fragment of the tomb keeper's book in his hand must not be known to the person in front of him.

Moreover, he had promised old John that he would help him find the other man's daughter's body—whether he could find it or not was another matter.

Anyway, Old John gave him a general route, so he'll go check it out along the way.

"Heh, well, I hope you're still alive enough for me to complete this collaboration." The sorceress chuckled and turned to leave.

Seeing the sorceress leave, Jules didn't bother to stay and set off along the predetermined route.

After confirming that the other person was far away, he took out the tattered page of the tomb keeper, calmed down, and carefully felt it.

Before this, he had tried to grasp the fragment to sense it, but to no avail. He thought the description in the gravedigger's fragment, "Hold this fragment and remain silent, and you will resonate with the rest of the fragment," was nonsense.

But at this moment, he truly felt a certain resonance.

The fragments of the tomb keeper's secret transmission in his hand seemed to move on their own without any wind.

"Hmm...it seems to be the direction Ellen went." Jules' eyes flickered slightly, but he was not in a hurry.

He didn't believe that the place where the tomb keeper's fragments were hidden would be completely safe.

You must understand, this is the ghoul graveyard, a place that contains all the curses of Blancog over thousands of years.

He was surprised that there was no danger.

He walked slowly through the cemetery, constantly alert to his surroundings.

At the same time, he did not forget to recite the prayer that the priest had told him earlier:
"Let us call upon the white dove of bones, the god of forgetting and remembering, the god of the dead and the living, and may your power make the departed forget us."

Although I don't know how effective it will be, at least reciting it is better than not reciting it.

As the words fell, the feeling of being pricked by a thorn in my back suddenly lessened.

"The prayer worked..."

As Jules thought this, he glanced at a cemetery not far away.

One of the tombstones caught his attention due to its shape.

A cross is roughly carved on the arched stone, covered with moss.

"It looks...like the tombstone shape that old John described?"

If I'm not mistaken, then it's very likely that this is where Old John's daughter is located in the ghoul graveyard.

(End of this chapter)