Hogwarts: I graduated before the system came

A faint glimmer of uncertain hope flashed in the old man's eyes.

"They should... they should have escaped quite a few."

"Because I used Apparition in front of some of my tribesmen, I remember it very clearly. Chief Marco was still by my side protecting me at the time."

"Before I disappeared, the last thing I heard was Chief Marco yelling at the top of his lungs—'Apparate! Quick! Everyone who can escape is a safe distance! Go to the backup base!'"

"However, I don't know how many of them succeeded, nor do I know where they went. We have several backup strongholds scattered in different mountainous areas."

"I felt like I was dying. The wound on my back was burning. I knew those Vatican lackeys would leave tracking marks on the wound. I was worried that if I went directly to the backup base, they would catch up and expose everyone."

He pointed to the dark mines around him.

"This is a very deep abandoned mine I stumbled upon many years ago while prospecting. Almost no one knows about it. I figured that if I died here, at least I wouldn't expose my new base, which would be... a way of doing justice to the tribe."

He panted, and with a trembling finger he pointed at some fungi in the corner that were as hard as stone, and at a small pool of muddy water in the stone pit next to it:

"I relied on these, and the few pieces of dried wild boar meat I carried with me, and I don't know how many days I survived... Time has lost its meaning here, only endless darkness and pain."

"I thought I would rot here, become part of this mine, and be forever accompanied by these cold stones..."

At this point, he seemed to react, and looked at the two of them repeatedly with his one-eyed eyes, and asked doubtfully:

"So, how did you find this place?"

Douglas didn't elaborate: "A little magic prop."

He began to examine the wound on his back carefully.

The traces of burning holy light were truly terrifying.

But Douglas' brow furrowed slightly.

"This holy light... is pure, yet seems to lack a certain 'foundation'."

He whispered to himself.

"More like an imitation than the true divine power of faith."

Lupin heard this and felt something in his heart.

imitate?

what does this mean?

Chapter 396 Magic Acupuncture

Aldo seemed to remember something. He fumbled in his tattered arms for a long time, took out a metal badge soaked in blood and with some broken edges, and handed it to Douglas with difficulty.

"This was...ripped from a knight...their emblem...is blurry..."

Douglas took the emblem.

The touch of his hand made him frown slightly.

It was a crude cross with a bumpy surface and what seemed to be a relief of some animal carved on it.

However, due to long-term wear and tear and the coagulated dark red blood stains covering it, it is difficult to identify its specific shape.

It smelled like a mixture of rust and stale blood.

More importantly, the material of this emblem... is too old. The Holy See is not that poor yet.

"They're not out to kill them all."

Douglas looked at the emblem with a firm tone.

"If this were the real Templars or the Inquisition, you wouldn't have had a chance of organizing an effective retreat."

Lupin felt a chill run up his spine.

"They were more like...staging an attack."

Douglas' words made the air in the mine freeze.

Lupin asked in disbelief.

"Perform? For whom?"

Douglas's gaze was as deep as the abyss.

"Show us. Or rather, show me."

He toyed with the emblem in his hands.

"I'll make sure that when I arrive, I see a tribe destroyed by the Church and a group of survivors who have escaped death."

Aldo looked at Douglas blankly, his cloudy one eye full of confusion.

He did not understand the meaning behind these words. The cruelty of those knights and priests, the burning pain of the holy light and flames, were all nightmares he had personally experienced.

How could it be a performance?

But the hatred in his heart towards the attacker was inexplicably chilled by Douglas' analysis.

So if this is all just a show...

So his companions, where are they now?

Douglas stood up and paced slowly in the mine.

Every step was taken on Lupin's heart.

"Aldo."

He stopped, his eyes fixed.

"Before the attack began, was there anything unusual? For example, were there new faces among the tribe? Or did Marco meet with anyone privately?"

This question made Aldo's expression even more confused.

He tried to recall, a hint of uncertainty flashing in his one eye.

"Now that you put it that way..."

The voice trembled even more.

"There was indeed a mysterious visitor the day before the attack."

Lupin immediately tensed.

"What kind of visitor?"

"A human wizard wearing a cloak, completely covering himself, must be a witch."

Aldo tried hard to recall.

"The clan leader trusted her very much. He went out to talk with her alone for a while, and then brought back news for you, sir."

Douglas narrowed his eyes. It seemed that person was Isalabe.

What is her relationship with Marco?

At this moment, Aldo looked at Douglas, and a glimmer of light rekindled in his cloudy eye:

"Mr. Holmes, can you...can you really save us?"

Douglas nodded, his eyes falling on the old man's broken body:

"I'll do my best, but first, we need to take care of your injuries."

Lupin looked at the wounds on Aldo's body and felt a tightness in his heart.

Those golden spots still radiated a disturbing energy, wriggling beneath his skin like living things.

The charred remains left by the curse exuded a stale, dead air.

Aldo laughed miserably, and that laugh was more heartbreaking than crying.

"These injuries... I'm afraid..."

His voice trembled, and he was already prepared for the worst.

Douglas interrupted him and said:

"Don't jump to conclusions."

He took out a small wooden box from his arms. The surface of the box was engraved with intricate patterns that did not belong to any European magic system.

When the lid of the box was opened, various small tools made of silver and unknown wood were neatly arranged inside.

There are silver needles as thin as cow hair, knives as thin as cicada wings, and several porcelain bottles.

There were also some strangely shaped and unnamed tools, each of which exuded a faint magical fluctuation and a hint of strange herbal fragrance.

Lupin's heart moved. Douglas always seemed to come up with something unexpected.

Aldo's eyes were filled with despair and a faint hint of hope. He didn't know whether the person in front of him could really create a miracle.

Inside the mine, the only sounds were the crisp echo of water drops falling from the rock ceiling and Aldo's heavy breathing.

The atmosphere was as heavy as lead.

Douglas didn't hesitate and began to treat Aldo's wound.

He first used a small wooden spoon to pick out some dark green ointment from a porcelain jar.

The ointment smells very strange, like the soil of the forest after rain mixed with the coolness of mint.

He used a thin wooden stick to carefully apply the ointment evenly to the charred parts of Aldo's body that were eroded by the evil curse.

Aldo's body, which was originally tense due to pain, trembled slightly, but then a magical scene happened.

The ointment touched the wound, making a slight "sizzling" sound.

The black dead skin melted quickly like snow exposed to the sun, turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating.

Then Douglas took out the thinnest silver needle and clamped it between his index and middle fingers.

He uttered strange, discordant syllables in a low, rhythmic voice.

He shook his wrist, and the silver needle accurately pierced the edge of a golden spot on Aldo's chest.

He didn't stop, and used the same method to insert silver needles into different parts of Aldo's body.

Back, shoulders, arms, and even forehead.

Soon Aldo was pricked like a hedgehog.

"Qingyuan authentic."

Douglas whispered, and after the last syllable fell, he bent his finger and lightly flicked the end of one of the longest silver needles.

A strange scene happened.

Under the guidance of the silver needles, those golden spots that originally emitted a sacred yet corrosive light began to fade and dim at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wisps of dirty energy like black smoke were forcibly stripped out from the light spots, and then as if pulled by some invisible force, they followed some strange veins and rushed towards the silver needles.

The originally smooth silver needle quickly turned black, as if it had absorbed a lot of toxins.

Aldo only felt an indescribable coolness coming from the places where the silver needles pierced him, gradually replacing the severe pain that penetrated deep into his bones and seemed as if his soul was being burned.

He could even feel that the violent energy that was originally running rampant in his body and making him live a life worse than death was being guided, sorted out, and discharged from his body by a gentle but irresistible force.

He looked at Douglas in shock, his one eye filled with disbelief.

He had never heard of or seen this kind of treatment before!

Lupin was also surprised. He stood aside, not daring to breathe.

Douglas's move was not to forcibly disperse the holy light.

It is more like finding the source of a rushing river, using clever river channels to guide, divert, and ultimately resolve it.

This is countless levels more advanced than simple confrontational treatment.

Chapter 397: Who gave you this map?

Douglas looked focused, his fingers flying, adjusting the depth and angle of the silver needle from time to time.

About a quarter of an hour later, he slowly removed the silver needles that had turned as black as ink one by one and carefully placed them into a special waste container.

The terrifying golden spots on Aldo's body had now faded by more than half, leaving only some faint traces, and no longer emitted that disturbing corrosive energy.