The Duke in the Spire of Thorns

The style of this small wooden box is very simple, which does not match Nali's usual style.Celeste remembered that she had always liked the ornate and the detailed.

But no matter what, Celeste unscrewed the metal buckle on the front of the box and opened the box.

Inside the box lay a strange statuette with three heads, a human head, an ox head and a lion head. Its body was like a snake, entrenched in a cloud of mist, and its original appearance could not be seen clearly.Celeste picked it up and played with it, the statue felt a little wet and cold to the touch, and the touch was not very good.

Celeste just stared at it for a while, and felt a little dizzy. In a trance, a miniature vortex seemed to appear in front of his eyes.But when he calmed down and took a closer look, the vortex disappeared again.

He felt as though a spoon had been given a violent stir in his head, which was not very pleasant, and Celeste dropped the figurine back into the wooden box, muttering, "Well, that's the 'surprise'? "

He was almost sure that this was Nali's prank, and he wasn't too angry - he deserved it, after all, he treated her so ungentlemanly, it was only normal for Nali to fight back a little bit, besides, it was also It matches her temper.

It's just that Nali's personality seems to have really changed. If it was in the past, her revenge would not be so frivolous.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the statue of Chronos."

Escrit spoke softly: "I think you should have some impression of this."

"Hmm..." Celeste quickly glanced at the quaint little statue, "It seems to be true."

Kronos is the god of time, representing endless time.

"I don't understand why Nali gave me this." He was a little puzzled: "As far as I know, she is not very interested in mythology."

Escrit didn't speak, he just smiled softly, reached out to straighten the crooked statue in the box, then closed the lid, and put the wooden box on the shelf.

For Celeste, this was just an insignificant episode. He accepted Escrit's good afternoon kiss in a calm mood, and was about to take a nap.

"I wish you a sweet dream."

Escrit smiled, he was very gentle today, and Celeste gave him an inquiring look, but he couldn't see anything.

If it's something important, then he will know sooner or later, don't be so impatient.

Thinking of this, Celeste yawned and closed his eyes.

Soon, he fell asleep, Escrit sat aside, he waited for a while, and then took the small wooden box from the shelf.

He unscrewed the metal buckle, lifted the lid of the box and looked inside, and sure enough, the quaint statuette was broken.

It was so thoroughly broken that if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes not long ago, even Escrit would only think that the box contained a handful of strange-smelling stone powder.

"Are you sure it's around here?"

Celeste Mansfield asked, and he looked at his mentor suspiciously, "I don't really believe that it will be here, it is not an ordinary mermaid, and this place is a bit too small for it."

"My dear boy, it is precisely because it is no ordinary mermaid that it is here now."

Dickens smiled kindly, and patiently explained to his students: "According to calculations, it is now in the period of shedding its scales, which is a rare vulnerable period for mermaids. After it sheds its current scales, it will be It has become stronger than before. However, it has not completely shed its scales now, so in order to avoid the attacks of other mermaids, it will find a safe and hidden place to hide."

"So it is."

Celeste nodded suddenly, "I see."

The diligent apprentice took out his notebook and quickly jotted down the key point with a charcoal pen, for fear that he would forget it after time passed.

"You are really hardworking." Dickens nodded with satisfaction: "To become a great alchemist, in addition to talent, hard work is essential. Hill, you have done a good job in this regard."

Celeste was a little proud, but also a little shy. He put away his notebook and said positively, "I'm going to check on the bait."

"Go."

Dickens waved his hand and watched his proud disciple leave.

Celeste walked to the aft cabin, the distance from the bow cabin to the stern cabin was not far away, he held a candle, and the wooden boards under his feet made a "creaking" sound.

It was an old ship, but the best they could find so far.

The door of the tail compartment was locked, and Celeste used the key he carried with him to open the large brass lock on the wooden door.He paused, took out a dark mask and put it on, and then pushed open the door. The dark yellow light dispelled the surrounding darkness, and looked into the cabin with the faint light. Looking at a pale man.

The man's face was as pale as a vampire's, with thick bluish-black under the eyes, he was wearing tights, and a cloak embroidered with patterns was already crumpled.

"What the hell are you trying to do!"

As soon as he saw Celeste, the man shouted, "If you want money, I can write to my family immediately, and I promise not to pursue it afterwards..."

"To shut up."

Celeste lowered his voice and said grimly, "If you say one more word, I'll cut off your tongue."

He was a little nervous, afraid that he wasn't pretending enough to frighten this guy.

This man was the "bait" they had caught.

Before doing it, Celeste did a lot of research, and in the end, he chose the shivering guy in front of him.

He is a baron, named Paul, who owns a relatively rich fief, and looks good, which meets their requirements for bait, but this is not the reason why Celeste chose him.Because there are many people with the same conditions, it is not unreasonable for Celeste to choose this unlucky guy from a dozen people who also meet the conditions.

This guy forced a lot of girls in his territory, and caused the death of at least [-] girls. Celeste chose him as a bait because of this.

He glanced at Paul contemptuously. This guy who was domineering in his own territory now looked terrified and trembling. He couldn't see the viciousness of his abuse of the girl at all.

Obviously, a bullying thing.

Celeste helped his mask, put the candle on the wooden table, and said in the same gloomy tone as the previous sentence: "If you are honest, we can spare your life."

There was hope in Paul's eyes, and he nodded repeatedly, but he didn't say a word, remembering Celeste's last threat.

Celeste nodded in satisfaction, "Very good, people who know the times will live long."

He took out a glass bottle filled with a purple liquid from a locker beside him. The blood in the bottle was the blood of a knotty fish. The smell of this blood could attract mermaids.

He uncorked the bottle without hesitation, and poured the whole bottle of knotty fish blood on Paul's hair, the purple liquid flowed down due to gravity.

Paul shivered subconsciously, but he didn't say a word and didn't dare to move.

After Celeste finished, he put the bottle back in the locker and left.

"Master, I have poured the blood of the knotty fish on the head of the bait."

Celeste said to Dickens: "This way we can attract him very quickly."

Dickens nodded approvingly, "You've done a good job, Hill, now we just have to wait until night before we can start trying to catch it."

"I'm going to check the alchemy array on the fishing net!"

Hillest said excitedly that he had never seen such a legendary creature as a mermaid, so he hoped that everything would go perfectly and smoothly, and it would be best to catch it successfully the first time.

Soon, night fell. There was no wind tonight, but the moonlight was very bright.

Celeste covered Paul's eyes with a cloth strip, then tied him firmly with a rope, and led him onto the deck.

Dickens was already standing on the deck waiting, Celeste handed the rope to Dickens, stepped back and stood aside.

The fishing net has been laid out, now it is only necessary to throw the bait into it.

Dickens looked down at the sea. The dark sea was very calm, but he seemed to see something satisfying through the sea. He pushed Paul to the side of the boat, and then pushed Paul hard. Pushed into the sea by him.

Paul doesn't know how to swim, not to mention that he is still tightly tied with a rope, and the cold and salty sea water overflows into his mouth and nose, and he thrashes and struggles.

He screamed and begged for mercy, Celeste couldn't bear it, but Dickens watched calmly, he waited.

Time passed by every minute and every second, but the expected prey never took the bait.

"Why hasn't it appeared yet?"

Celeste was a little disappointed, but Dickens' mood didn't fluctuate: "It's always been cunning, and it won't be so easy to take the bait."

"Hmph, it seems that this bait doesn't suit its appetite, we need to find another one."

Dickens let go of the rope in his hand, "Hill, put up the fishing net."

"...Teacher, what about him?"

Celeste asked cautiously, his eyes remained on the sea all the time, Paul's struggle was already very weak, if he ignored it, he would drown.

Dickens saw Celeste's thoughts at a glance: "Why, do you want to save him?"

"...I just think he might be useful in the future." Celeste said: "We can get a sum of money from him, which will make us more comfortable."

Dickens nodded and said irresolutely, "Then you go."

After obtaining the instructor's consent, Celeste immediately took off his coat and jumped into the sea. The sea water was salty and cold, and he shivered uncontrollably. Then he took a deep breath, dived into the sea water, and found the A rope was tied to Paul, pulling him to swim to the side of the boat.

Paul should have lost his mind by now, so Celeste didn't try to approach him. He grabbed the rope, climbed onto the deck first, and then pulled Paul up with force.

Paul was heavy, and it took Celeste a lot of effort to drag him onto the deck.

Then, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Celeste stood by the side of the boat, he was wet all over, and his fluffy golden hair was also wet, dripping water.

Dickens had already put away the fishing net. He turned his head and saw the embarrassed appearance of the apprentice, shook his head and smiled, "Look at you, you always make trouble for yourself."

Celeste gasped and replied, "I'm doing serious business."

He was about to say something more when he felt something hard and cold grab his ankle tightly. Suddenly, the thing pulled back heavily, and Celeste was dragged into the bed before he could call for help. up the sea.

The author has something to say: The scumbag author has passed the exam!Ha ha ha ha!

Thanks to the little angels who irrigate the nutrient solution: 20 bottles of Fang Fang Daddy; 1 bottle of Bai Xue;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!