54 Companion 2

After what felt like an eternity, the car slowly came to a halt.

"We are here." Dale Quicksilver’s voice transmitted from not too far away.

Garen slowly opened his eyes as his gaze extended beyond the car window. On a simple yet beautiful hill, Canoe Town’s two story buildings hid among the mists and decorated the hill. A boy riding in a cow-drawn carriage curiously looked at the black car while passing by.

"Are we here?" Garen stretched.

"Yes, after a couple hours of driving we have arrived at Canoe Town. We still have some ragged distance before we reach the Silversilk Castle, but we can’t get there by car." Dale Quicksilver exited the car and stared into the sky. "The weather doesn’t look too pleasant, so we should make our way there as soon as possible."

Garen followed him out of the car and gazed at the gloomy gray clouds in the sky.

The wind was picking up in speed as a hint of rain flourished.

"It is noon, but the sky looks murky. I think heavy rain is inevitable today."

"Then let’s get there before the rain." The White Eagle switched to the driver seat. "I’ll go park the car. You guys go find a carriage."

"No problem."

Collectively, the three tasked with different duties managed to find a driver who was willing to go to the Silversilk Castle at twice the regular fare.

The carriage hit the road again. It took the group of three another two hours to finally reach the small hill they visited before.

They gazed at the distant Silversilk castle as they stood on the grassy, dark green hill.

The castle and its grounds were still shrouded by white ashes. . Some black charcoal was mixed in, which made it look like coffee mixed with baby formula.

The triangular castle was quiet, casting an uneasy silence. The sound of tree leaves rustling from the forest dispersed to the surroundings.

Roar…

The booming thunder spread from the dark, overcast sky. It rumbled from the distance, passed over them, , and finally resounded into the horizon.

"Oh... Is this the Silversilk Castle? It’s got a pretty nice atmosphere." The White Eagle laughed sarcastically. However, his eyes rapidly scanned the area.

"We are going to live here for the next few days. The police department initially left two people to watch this place, but I told them to leave yesterday. The scene is the exact same as when Silvica was injured." With a serious face, Dale Quicksilver said, "Let’s go. It’s going to rain."

He took the first step to walk down the hill. The White Eagle followed.

Garen carefully examined the far left window on the second floor of the castle, where he had fallen after being pushed, then followed them.

The group of three tread on the dark green hill as if they were three small ants on a giant green carpet. They looked insignificant.

There was not another soul within the vast tract of grass and forest surrounding the castle. Only three figures approached the Silversilk Castle.

Kacha!

Blue lightning broke the sky as thunder roared.

The three of them sped up to the castle fence. They quickly came through the front gate.

Dale Quicksilver took out the key to open the door. The White Eagle was examining the surroundings with his eyebrows raised.

Garen gazed at the castle in front of him with a hint of gloom pervading in his mind.

Last time, he was pushed and fell out of the second floor window without a clue of what happened. He had not seen a figure when he turned around, but heard a chuckling noise. Now that he was in front of the castle again, the Silversilk Castle was masked by a layer of mystery.

"If possible, I want to go back to that room again." In the previous life, Garen was not a fearful person. Although goosebumps covered his skin and his head tingled, it made him even more excited.

[The more I feel afraid and frightened, the more it exposes the weakness in my heart. This world is much more entertaining than the previous one.] The thought crossed his mind.

Crack!

The door opened.

The three of them strolled past the door. Dale Quicksilver slowly closed the door behind him.

The hall was pitch black. Dale Quicksilver took a torch from the wall and lit it.

"Should we go separately or together?"

"Together. It would be problematic if we encounter the Golden Hoop." The White Eagle said with a stern face.

"True," Garen agreed.

"Then let’s go the crime scene first. The place where Silvica found the emblem," Dale Quicksilver suggested.

Garen and The White Eagle didn’t disagree. The three of them followed the curved stairs to the second floor.

Crisp footsteps echoed in the hollow, yet frightening, castle .

The three of them hastily entered the room where Garen was pushed.

With a squeak, the door was forced open. A layer of white dust fell from the doorframe.

"I thought Kelly settled here last time, but it looks like you didn’t stay in this room." Dale Quicksilver smiled. "Why is it so dusty?"

He didn’t walk into the room but squatted in front of the door.

The room looked run down.

The floor was covered with a thick layer of white dust. There was nothing in the room besides a giant bed, a box, and a chair.

In the middle of the dusty floor, there was a faint trail of footprints.

"Those are Silivca’s footprints. It appears that he found the emblem on the bed or on the box and then for some strange reason decided to jump out of the window," Dale Quicksilver said in a deep voice. "I didn’t let anyone touch the crime scene."

The White Eagle nodded as he also examined the placement within the room.

Only Garen felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and goosebumps the moment the door opened.

He vividly remembered that he had entered this room before. Everything in the room was arranged the exact same way as before.

Yet, there is no way there would be this much dust in the room after a period of just two months.

The key point was that Dale Quicksilver had rested on this bed before! They even changed the bed sheets for a brand new set.

Now, the bed looked like no one had used in years and was covered in dust and cobwebs. The bed sheets were a faded yellow color. "Dale, the last time you came with me, didn’t you live in this room?"

Throat dry, Garen squatted down.

"How come?" Dale Quicksilver glanced at Garen with a puzzled look. "Only Silivica came in this room before. The dust on the floor is at least a few years old."

Garen remembered the last time he came into this room and a peculiar feeling that could no longer be suppressed overwhelmed him.

[Then, which room is the one that I came to last time?] Garen was no longer calm. [Could it be Dale that purposely fabricated this place?]

He carefully inspected the room as he looked from outside the door.

Everything was identical. The only difference was that the place was dustier and worn down.

"What should we do?" He lowered his voice but didn’t tell them the story about last time.

"Tidy this place up again. We’ll live in the two rooms beside it. I want to see how strange this Silversilk Castle is," Dale Quicksilver said with conviction.

"How should we organize the room?" The White Eagle looked at Garen. "Why don’t we move a bed and all live in a room together. There is no way I can keep both of you safe at the same time otherwise."

Garen took a moment to think before he shook his hand. "Don’t worry about me. I’ll sleep in a room by myself. You guys can share a room. The White Eagle can protect Dale. Don’t forget I am not a powerless ordinary person." He showed a slight smile.

"Okay this works, I want to see the truth behind the Antique of Tragedy!" Dale Quicksilver nodded.

Kacha!

Another lightning bolt flashed across the sky. The bright light cast a pale white on their faces. The thunder continued to roar in the distance.

Splash…Splash!

Giant raindrops hit the windows of the castle and cascaded into a continuous wave of impacts.

"Who is it!!"

Dale Quicksilver’s vision sudden focused as he immediately pulled out his pistol and aimed directly behind Garen. The two of them were facing each other and the pistol pointed toward the hallway behind Garen.

The White Eagle slightly frowned as he didn’t feel anyone behind him. He, like Garen, was also facing Dale. He turned around and asked in a puzzled voice, "What happened? I didn’t feel anyone behind me."

Garen also turned his head around to see an empty hall.

"No. I saw a black shadow flash down the hall. It was clearly spying on us," Dale said with a stern face.

"If it was because of the metal lamp on the right side of the hall, I would not be able to see the person’s shadow."

"So you are saying you saw a person’s movement through the lamp’s reflection." The White Eagled pondered as he followed Dale’s vision to the copper mounted lamp on the wall.

Strangely, the bottom of the lamp looked bright without any corrosion.

"Yes. Let’s stay in a room together. It’s probably safer this way," Dale said with his voice lowered.

"I don’t mind," Garen nodded in agreement. He looked at the Bronze Cross Emblem around Dale’s neck as caution flashed across his eyes.

"Perhaps they were from the Golden Hoop. Looks like we have to be cautious now to see what tricks are they up to!" the White Eagle said with a cold voice.

The three of them moved two individual beds into an adjacent room. They tidied the room up a little before it was habitable to sleep with clothes.

Garen knew that Dale Quicksilver and the White Eagle did not believe in the power of the Antiques of Tragedy. As long as someone else had control over the information, anything he said before could be impersonated and faked. They thought that the tragedies related to the Antiques of Tragedy were all caused by people.

Garen wasn’t certain either, but the Silversilk castle was strange.

[This time it isn’t me that carries that bronze cross emblem, but Dale. From another perspective, I want to see what will happen to the owner of the emblem!] When Garen moved to his bed, he secretly watched Dale Quicksilver.

Bang!

A dull thud reverberated through the door as if the wind had pushed the window against the window frame.

The three of them sat separately on a bed or a chair. They didn’t make any noise as they listened silently.

The sound of raindrops rose as they smashed against the window. It felt like someone was pouring water profusely onto the window. The howling wind from the other parts of the castle wailed in the hallway as if ghosts were screaming within the mysterious Silversilk Castle.