Chapter 269 Catacombs Outside the Market District Police Headquarters, Lumian, who had simply disguised himself with his "secret glasses", boarded the carriage with the fleur-de-lis painted on it. Two ordinary police officers in black uniforms sat side by side, with three dark urns at their feet, on which the names of the deceased were written in fluorescent ink. When Lumian sat down opposite, the carriage belonging to the Police Headquarters drove slowly, and the older police officer asked curiously: "What is your relationship with them? Why did you go out of your way to attend the funeral?" He remembered that among the three dead, two had no relatives or friends, and although one still had many non-direct relatives alive, they were very scared when they heard the name Flemish. Not only were they unwilling to come to claim the ashes and relics, they were even very reluctant to admit that the two sides were related by blood or marriage. Lumian replied calmly: “I’m kind of their landlord.” "Just the landlord?" The older police officer was obviously unconvinced. "Officer, the landlord is also a human being, and he has feelings!" Lumian responded with a smile, "I have either had a few drinks with them or chatted with them often. It's not a big deal to help them send their ashes to the catacombs." The younger police officer looked out the window, not wanting to chat, while the older officer was very familiar: "You are as young as you look. Since you are running a hotel or apartment in the market area, you must remember not to develop any feelings for the tenants. Otherwise, you will either be cheated or sad. After a few more visits, you will no longer have enthusiasm for others." After Lumian made a few perfunctory remarks, the police officer asked:

"We still have some of Flamand's relics, but his relatives are unwilling to claim them. Do you want to take them? If not, we will deal with them ourselves." "I'll go take a look when I get back from the catacombs." Lumian didn't care too much about it. On the way from the market area to Purgatory Square in the observatory area, the older police officer kept looking for people to chat with, either pulling Lumian to talk or trying to disturb his colleagues, without stopping for a moment. Finally arriving at the destination, after getting off the carriage holding Ruel's ashes, Lumian, who was so talkative, felt like his ears finally got a rest. The tomb manager who was in charge of receiving them was the one Lumian had met before: He was in his thirties, of medium build, with slightly curly brown hair, a thick beard, and slightly upturned eyes. He was wearing yellow trousers, a white shirt, and a blue vest. "Kendall, why are you here again?" The older police officer greeted with a smile. Kendall held up the unlit calcium carbide lamp and responded with a smile: "Robert, I heard you were coming over, so I postponed my other plans and waited for you here." As the tomb keeper spoke, he looked at Lumian and emphasized: "Did you forget to prepare the white candles?" "Even if I forget everything else, I will never forget this!" Robert, holding the Flemish urn, took out three white candles from his pocket with some difficulty and threw one to his colleague and Lumian respectively. Seeing that they were ready, Kendall lit the calcium carbide lamp, turned around, and led them along the 138-step stone staircase, stepping deeper into the darkness. On the way, they passed a heavy wooden door engraved with two holy emblems, and a quiet corridor where even the sound of breathing could be heard. Such a dark environment was not unfamiliar to Lumian. On the contrary, the young police officer was a little nervous and hugged Mrs. Michelle's urn tightly to seek more sense of security. After passing through a wide avenue lined with gas street lamps, the four of them arrived at the entrance to the catacombs. The naturally formed and artificially modified giant stone doorway stood quietly in the dim light, with a large number of skulls, skeletal arms, sunflowers and steam element reliefs on both sides, and behind it was a thick darkness that seemed impossible for light to penetrate. On its lintel, there are two inscriptions written in Intis: "stop! "Ahead is the Empire of Death!" Even though this was not the first time Lumian had seen this scene, he still felt a solemn and heavy feeling. Unlike before when he was more curious and confused, he could now truly feel the weight of these warnings and this environment:

There are a lot of dangers buried under Trier that are enough to destroy the entire city and even the entire Intis, including but not limited to the Trier of the Fourth Epoch, the "Shadow Tree" and the invisible flame. The underground tombs located here are probably not harmless places either! According to Osta Trull, the "secret praying man", visitors entering the catacombs holding lit white candles is like a ritual, a ritual to seek protection from hidden beings. This kind of place was actually open to the public, which made Lumian suspect that it was part of a plan to suppress some danger underground, just like the new city that was built on Trier in the Fourth Epoch. Kendall turned around and said to Lumian and the others: "You may light the candle now, but do not let it go out before you leave the catacombs. "If you lose me, don't panic. Look for the road sign. If you can't find it, just look at the black line above your head and follow it to get out." With the help of the calcium carbide lamp in Kendall's hand, Lumian and the other two lit the white candles one after another, making them emit a yellowish light. As the four candle flames flickered gently, Kendall turned off the calcium carbide lamp, walked forward through the huge stone doorway, and entered the "Empire of Death". Lumian followed closely behind, holding the urn in one hand and a white candle in the other. Suddenly, he felt a little cold. The coldness did not come from the surroundings, but burst out directly from his heart, making his hair stand up. At the same time, Lumian's mind tensed up instantly, and he felt that many eyes were looking at him quietly. With the help of the candle in his hand, he looked to the right and saw holes dug into the stone wall, each of which contained a corpse with ghastly white bones. Those fleshless heads with sunken eye sockets seemed to be looking at him, without any emotion. Lumian did not lower his head, but carefully observed the corpses. He found that the strange feeling of being watched by an invisible force did not come from them, and it did not subside. Subconsciously, he wanted to turn on his "spiritual vision" to confirm the situation. But now he is no longer the same person he was when he first arrived in Trier. He has encountered many things and understood that many warnings were written with blood and tears by his predecessors. Don’t look at what you shouldn’t look at… Since it doesn’t bring me any danger, there’s no need to look for the source of the abnormality… Lumian muttered silently and turned his head to look at the policemen beside him. They didn't seem to notice anything wrong and continued to follow the tomb manager Kendall normally. This made Lumian suspect that the experience he had just had was the result of a qualitative change in his spirituality after he was promoted to "Arsonist". It would be better if I couldn't feel it... Lumian couldn't help but sigh. Because of being stared at by so many people, dense and tiny bumps appeared on the surface of his skin. He looked up cautiously and saw a thicker black line drawn on the top of the tomb, with an arrow pointing outside the doorway. As he walked forward step by step, Lumian found that both sides of the road were filled with skeletons. Some of them were in the pits on the stone wall, some were piled on the roadside, some were covered with tattered clothes, and some not only had no burial objects, but even the skulls had grown a layer of dark green mold. The air was filled with a well-diluted smell of decay. The catacombs are divided into several chambers, each with its own name, so that worshippers would not be confused about the corresponding bones. After Lumian and the others followed Kendall through the "Small Chapel Tomb" and the "Memorial Column Tomb", they saw dozens of yellowish candles in front of them. Sometimes they gather together like fireflies at night, and sometimes they look like rivers formed by dim starlight. Lumian took a casual look and saw a bride wearing a white veil and a holy dress. Next to her was a groom in a black tuxedo with a handkerchief and a flower in his chest pocket. Surrounding them were thirty or forty young people, holding lighted white candles in their hands, laughing and having a lot of fun. "What are you doing?" Lumian did not hide his confusion. Kendall chuckled and said:

“Part of a wedding. "Since the year before last, newlyweds have brought young guests into the catacombs and walked among the dead. This has become a popular wedding ceremony in Trier. Young people are always so bold and are proud of showing off their courage and scaring others. I have seen guests deliberately pick up a hand bone and use it to pat the bride and groom on the shoulders, scaring them so much that they almost fainted." You people of Trier... Lumian shook his head involuntarily. Not long after passing this group of people, the four arrived at their destination, the "Tomb Lamp Tomb Chamber". In the middle of the place there is a black pedestal, on top of which stands an obelisk painted white with the "Holy Emblem of the Sun" depicted on it. On the top of the obelisk there is an ancient oil lamp that has long been extinguished, and the surrounding walls and the ground are filled with bones, urns and numerous tear bottles. After entering here, Lumian thought of a question: "Where are Flemish relatives?" He wanted Flamand to sleep next to his children, his wife, and his parents. After a brief thought, Lumian suddenly understood why Flamand did not write down the location of his relatives' remains: He felt guilty and blamed himself. He wanted to stay with his relatives, but he didn't dare to get close to them. He just planned to stay in the same tomb and watch them from afar. Unspeakable sadness flooded Lumian's heart. He stood quietly for a while, chose to respect Flamand's last wish, found an empty seat at random, and put down the urn of this madman. After Robert and the others placed the urns of the Ruhl couple on top of each other, the four of them prayed at the same time, either "Praise the Sun" or "Steam Above". On the way back, they met the newlyweds and the young guests at the wedding again. As they were about to pass each other, Lumian saw a young couple who looked like a couple behind the team. They took advantage of the tomb manager's inattention and tried to blow out the white candles in their hands to see what would happen. call! They really did that. The two yellowish candles went out. At the same time, Lumian's mind was in a trance. His condition recovered instantly, but the young couple who seemed to be a couple were no longer in his sight. Gone...Lumian's pupils suddenly dilated, trying to see clearly what was going on there. After a few seconds, he confirmed a fact: The young couple who seemed to be a couple were really missing! Lumian then turned his attention to that team. Whether it was the newlyweds and some guests walking in front, or the few people at the back, none of them felt that anyone was missing from the team, and they continued to laugh, make noise, and move forward. (End of this chapter)