My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 89 The Old Man and the Sea

Jules quickly checked the condition of the moth cloak and his expression turned somewhat gloomy.

"It's such an unexpected disaster..."

Although only a little of the moth cloak was burned, it was no longer useful for a short period of time due to the interference of the power of the Forging Principle.

Seeing those deep divers gradually surrounding him, how could he not understand that he had been exposed at this moment.

But there was no fear on his face. Instead, he sneered and did not retreat, but moved forward.

You probably can't run away, so just kill them all.

Yule had a blank expression on his face, and a drop of blood condensed on his fingertips, flashing with a terrifying cold light.

The other hand grasped the pistol with the Holy Emblem of Forge for the first time in a long time.

Those deep divers seemed to sense the terrifying threat emanating from him, and they all retreated with low growls, forming a strange sight—

The dark mass of deep divers, like a wall, was constantly forced back by Jules alone.

Despite the absolute advantage in numbers, no monster dared to move forward.

Until the deafening sound of gunfire rang out in Jules' hands.

……

Hearing the terrible noise outside, the owner hesitated for a long time, and finally carefully opened the door a crack and took a look at the situation outside.

Seeing that everything was normal in the grocery store, he breathed a sigh of relief and walked out a few steps nervously.

Not long ago, he heard clearly the terrible roars, gunshots and explosions outside.

He knew that the monsters were coming again, but this time they seemed to be frustrated.

"Could it be the person from just now..." Yu Le's face appeared in his mind.

The other party said that he took over the position of the old priest of the Steam Church. I guess he must have some extraordinary abilities, right?
The shop owner held his breath, put his eyes close to the half-open door and looked out.

What he saw shocked him immensely.

At this moment, organs and body parts were piled up all around Jules, and the blood even flowed to the door of his grocery store.

The mixed smell of blood and fish made the owner almost nauseous.

At this moment, from the pile of beheaded corpses nearby, a half-body suddenly jumped up and bit Jules' thigh, and blood spurted out!

The shop owner couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice and was worried about Jules.

However, Jules didn't even look at the corpse under him. The spurting blood quickly turned into a sharp claw, tearing the half of the Deep Diver's body into two halves.

Then, the blood slowly returned to the thigh, leaving no trace except a horrible scar.

He raised his head leisurely and looked in the direction of the shop owner.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Seeing this evil star looking at him, the shop owner shuddered immediately, but he still forced himself to suppress his fear and discomfort, and said tremblingly:
"Since you have the ability to kill them, I can tell you a piece of news..."

He stuck his head out, pointed in the direction of Devil Reef, and whispered:

"These monsters will occasionally go to the bottom of the sea to worship something."

After saying that, the shop owner slipped back like a thief, not forgetting to close the door of the grocery store.

Obviously, even so, he still didn't believe that Yule could completely solve the abnormalities here. He could only say that he saw a glimmer of hope.

Jules fell into deep thought.

This news is indeed very useful to him.

Maybe down there, you can find information related to Hei Hai.

Suddenly, there was a slapping sound from the pile of corpses next to them. The sound was very weak, like a dying struggle.

Yule frowned slightly, and with a thought, he prepared to finish him off.

However, when he turned around, he found that the one making the dying struggle was a charred corpse.

The lines on his skin that had exploded revealed his identity—it was the Deep Diver transformed by the old priest!
He's not dead yet? Jules came closer in surprise, poked the old priest, and said:
"Are you still alive?"

The old priest's burnt lips moved:
"Who are you?"

Although his eyes were open, Jules could see that he had been completely burned blind, and his hearing was probably also greatly damaged.

"I am the abbé who succeeded you."

Hearing this, the old priest seemed to have a last burst of light, and his blind eyes subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.

Seeing this, Yule said in a deep voice:

"What happened to you?"

The old priest was silent for a moment, then said hoarsely:
"The people of Innsmouth are innocent."

"Hmm?" Jules was a little confused. He had never expected the old priest to say such a thing out of nowhere.

But the other party just murmured to himself:
"Twisted thirst, cup of desire... Queen, can you hear the people's cries..."

Seeing that the old priest had not spoken for a long time, Jules stretched out his finger and felt his breath.

"died……"

Jules took a deep breath, stood up, and looked towards the Devil's Reef in the distance.

The old priest's words confirmed his thoughts to another extent.

Then, a visit to San Diego is even more necessary.

……

Devil's Reef is a submerged reef at the mouth of the sea off the coast of Innsmouth.

Records indicate that the surface of the reef is covered with caves, and witnesses have claimed to have seen "devil-like creatures" entering and exiting the caves.

Even before the famine, when Innsmouth was prosperous, ships tended to avoid it. The sea breeze carried a salty, damp smell.

There are no buildings near Devil's Reef, only an abandoned pier.

The rotten wooden boards crumbled and creaked under the impact of the waves.

Jules looked at this scene and couldn't help feeling a little confused.

Can people live in this place?
But soon, he heard a unique sound of blood surge.

It came from the abandoned dock warehouse, very gently, but it would suddenly increase in strength and then quickly decrease, just like a real tide, rising and falling from time to time.

"anyone there?"

Jules walked into the warehouse, calling out as he walked.

The warehouse was filled with rotten goods, the wooden boxes had long been riddled with holes due to insects and ants, and a pungent musty smell came from all directions.

But he could see that there was a breath of life here.

Soon, an extremely familiar smell of alcohol entered my nose.

"Rum." Yule's eyes flashed, and he immediately figured out what kind of wine it tasted like.

He'd had plenty of it back in his oyster-selling days.

Because it is brewed using waste from the sugar industry, the cost is extremely low, even lower than the fresh water that needs to be preserved.

Moreover, it is not practical to drink water during ocean voyages. Even treated fresh water will become rancid after a short time and is extremely difficult to preserve.

Therefore, old sailors basically drank rum, or rum mixed with water, instead of fresh water.

People of real status don't like this kind of wine very much, but it is one of the rare enjoyments of the lower class.

As the smell of alcohol grew stronger, Jules finally saw the expected figure in a dark corner of the warehouse.

The man had his back to him, holding a bottle of rum and drinking it sip after sip. His movements were mechanical and focused, and he didn't notice Jules's arrival at all.

Jules cleared his throat and spoke softly:
"Santiago?"

The figure suddenly stiffened and slowly turned around.

"Who...are you? Why did you come here?!"

Jules saw that Santiago no longer looked like an ordinary human being, but had a typical Innsmouth face.

The skin was rough, not yet at the stage of growing scales, but it already secreted mucus that glowed strangely in the dim light.

His hair was sparse, with strands sticking to his scalp and dripping with an unknown liquid.

His eyes were a little bulging, but his eyelids were still there, and he looked a little dull.

However, his eyes were clear-headed and full of vigilance and doubt, which was inconsistent with his appearance.

He stared at Jules, as if trying to see through his intentions.

Jules looked down at Santiago from above and said calmly:
"I came here to ask if you brought back a skeleton when you went out to sea a few years ago?"

Hearing this, Santiago's body began to tremble as if he had been electrocuted.

"I really didn't expect it to turn out like this. Don't blame me, don't blame me..."

He muttered absentmindedly, his eyes filled with fear, as if the ghost of the dead was pursuing him.

"Santiago!" Jules said in a stern tone:

"I'm here to sort this out. Tell me what happened back then, and maybe there's still a chance to undo what you've done!"

Hearing this, Santiago's body trembling gradually stopped. He raised his somewhat collapsed nose and sniffed.

"You smell of their blood... I believe you!"

There was a glimmer in his eyes:

"But I still want to ask, are you... from England?"

Jules was stunned for a moment, but still answered:
"I come from London—but I don't bring famine."

With his understanding of the Irish, how could he not know what the other party was thinking?
As expected, as soon as these words came out, Santiago smiled bitterly and said:
"If it weren't for this damn famine, how could everything have fallen to this point..."

He was feeling a little down, leaning against the wall, taking a big gulp of rum, and said hoarsely:
"Where do I begin?"

Jules also sat down with Santiago and said calmly:

"It all started when you salvaged that skeleton."

"Skeleton..." Speaking of this, Santiago's face, which was already red from drinking, became even more rosy, but soon became decadent.

"That was the last time I went to sea in my life, but it was also the one with the most fruitful harvest."

Under Santiago's hoarse voice, Jules seemed to have returned to the night of several years ago with Santiago.

The old man recounted what happened back then.

“…At that time, I was thinking, how valuable would such a big marlin be!”

He laughed at himself and said, "Of course, I still couldn't save it from the shark in the end."

Jules nodded silently. So far, although there were some differences from the original work of "The Old Man and the Sea", it was still roughly consistent.

"but--"

Santiago's voice suddenly began to tremble, and a hint of fear appeared in his expression.

"When I reached the shore, I finally had time to lift the harpoon and see my catch."

“After seeing that thing, I thought I was dreaming.”

He swallowed, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, his skin wrinkled into a ball, and he squeezed out the difficult words from between his teeth:
"There's no giant marlin. There's only a pitch-black human skeleton and a squirming stomach inside..."

(End of this chapter)