Das Geheimnis des alten Hauses

Kapitel 17

"But... the murder curse cannot be broken."

"I don't believe Tang Shijing's words."

"He is a magician who has lived for five hundred years..."

“I will do everything I can to make sure we both survive. Trust me.”

"I believe you." Zhi Mei hugged him from behind.

The sword traced patterns on her neck and cheek, their breaths mingling. "Meimei, time is running out. From now on, you must listen to me, okay?"

Zhi Mei's voice gently touched the back of his ear: "I will."

Jian Xiang led her straight up to the study on the third floor. He asked Zhi Mei to check that every window in the study was locked and to wait for him there. He then went down to the living room on the second floor, unplugged the television from the socket in the corner, and also removed the AV cable connected to the VCR. He carefully carried the heavy television up to the study on the third floor.

hqszs

Reply [89]: Zhi Mei sat on the desk, her feet dangling in the air, gently kicking her legs as she waited for him.

"Meimei," Jianxiang said, "lock the door for me."

She got off the desk and stepped back a little to let Jianxiang move the television onto the desk surface. Zhimei walked to the door, closed it, and asked as she pressed the doorbell button, "Why did you move the television up here?"

"I want to see the news about Tang Shijing's murder." Jian Xiang squatted at the foot of the computer desk, pulled the power cord of the TV, and plugged it into the extension cord of the computer's three-prong socket.

Because there was no antenna installed in the study, when Jianxiang turned on the TV, white dots flew all over the screen. However, amidst the background noise, he could still easily identify the ending theme music of a certain Taiwanese period drama.

—It's almost six o'clock.

Jian Xiang and Zhi Mei exchanged a glance. She walked over and snuggled up to him, watching the 6 PM news briefing together. The smartly styled female anchor sat behind the anchor desk, nodding and greeting the audience, while the computer-animated background displayed the headline "Latest Tonight."

"A shooting occurred on Caogong Road in Fengshan City, Kaohsiung County, at around 5 p.m. tonight. The victim was a 33-year-old Polish man named Tang Shijing who was in Taiwan to preach. Since the crime scene was near the Kaohsiung County Police Station, the victim's fellow believers immediately reported the incident to the police."

According to Tang Shijing's fellow church members, a young couple visited the deceased at the church this afternoon. The three of them discussed something in a room, which eventually led to a verbal altercation. After hearing the gunshot, the young couple suspected of murder immediately fled the scene and sped away on a motorcycle. The church members who witnessed the incident were unable to stop them.

The news report avoided showing the gruesome scene of brains splattering everywhere, only focusing on the police rushing in and out of the scene. The chubby guy who received them also appeared on television, looking tense and confused.

"The county police department's criminal investigation team, handling the case, stated that the deceased suffered severe gunshot wounds to the head and died at the scene. Preliminary examination indicates the wound was located in the center of the forehead, and the murder weapon is believed to be a small handgun. Police are currently focusing their investigation on the deceased's social interactions after arriving in Taiwan. For further details, please tune in to the 7 PM evening news..." The television screen switched to a quiz show studio, where the audience enthusiastically applauded the host who appeared under the spotlight. Jian Xiang turned off the television.

"Where's the pistol?"

"It's in my bag."

"You must keep this safe." Jian Xiang moved to the bookshelf, his gaze falling on the books with their unusual themes. "Meimei, how much do you know about Xia Yongyu? Did you know he also knows magic?"

“I don’t know,” Zhi Mei lowered her head. “I only know that he is a photographer and lives a free and easy life.”

“Okay, it’s alright.” Jian Xiang’s tone didn’t show any disappointment: “Now I’m going to find a way for both of us to survive from his bookshelf.”

"And what about me?"

"You just need to stay here with me," Jian Xiang said. "I need you."

Zhi Mei's smile was as if she were about to die. "Mm."

In fact, faced with a whole cabinet full of all sorts of strange and unusual books, Jian Xiang was completely clueless. He knew that from tonight onwards, evil spirits would begin hunting him down, just as they had hunted Zhong Sizao and Xia Yongyu before… Jian Xiang took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He had to completely shake off the fear of being hunted and think with a ruthless analytical attitude, like a highly skilled surgeon performing a groundbreaking and difficult operation.

First, Cornelius Agrippa is a magician Xia Yongyu is very familiar with, and this bookshelf might contain records of his life and deeds. Then, could we then find Agrippa's weaknesses? For example, what setbacks did he experience, or how did he ultimately die?

Jian looked up the titles on the shelf, flipped through several books, and finally pulled out a copy of "History of Wizardry and Empirical Science." He opened the title page, browsed the table of contents, and quite easily found a chapter titled "Biographies of Wizards Throughout History."

hqszs

Reply [90]: Henry Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, 1486–1535, was a contemporary scientist, philosopher, Jewish cabalist, and diplomat. He dedicated his life to integrating scientific observation and magical thought. He was also a lawyer, a university professor of philosophy and theology, a spy posing as an ambassador, a speaker for the rights of the citizens of Metz, and a researcher of the theological theories of the Lutheran Reformation. He was married three times and was well-known throughout Europe. However, the royal families of Germany, Italy, France, and the Netherlands refused to pay him a salary, leaving him to die in poverty.

As a young man, Agrippa left his hometown to travel to Paris to meet the French Emperor Maximilian. To realize his ambitions, he formed a secret society with a group of young scholars and local nobles. They believed in mysticism and prepared to reform the world, and made a pact of reciprocity. However, the group disbanded after a failed operation.

In 1509, Agrippa arrived in Dole, a city ruled by Margaret, daughter of Maximilian. Through a friend, he obtained a teaching position at the university, where he lectured on Reuchlin's Jewish mystical philosophy. With Margaret's financial support, he wrote *The Nobility of Womanhood* and *The Superiority of Womanhood*. However, his mystical philosophy, which advocated the destruction of all Jewish books except the Old Testament, angered the clergy, and his books were banned. He subsequently traveled to England and Italy, preaching and seeking financial assistance.

In 1515, Cardinal St. Croix summoned Agrippa to Pisa and had him represent the local Catholic council. This was his last chance to win the favor of Pope Leo X, but the council was eventually dissolved and the meeting came to nothing.

Agrippa had no choice but to continue lecturing and teaching in various places. He began to gain fame, but remained penniless. In 1529, fortune finally smiled upon him, and he received patronage from various royal families. During this time, he published his most important work, *The Nothingness of the Arts and Sciences*, arguing that human thought and action were utterly worthless. He was again heavily criticized for this book and imprisoned due to his inability to repay his debts, but was released a year later.

Subsequently, he published his early work, *Mystical Philosophy*, which had been written but never published, and which had a profound and far-reaching influence on later Western mystics. *Mystical Philosophy* holds diametrically opposed views to *The Nihilism of Art and Science*, and elaborates on the power and mystery of magic, as well as the interaction between the mind, the human body, all things in the world, and witchcraft, and believes that magic is the only way to explore the truth of the universe.

With his reputation ruined, he decided to leave Germany and move to Grenoble to retire, where he eventually died in 1535.

Rumors circulated that his inseparable black giant dog, named "Mr.", was actually the embodiment of the devil. After his death, "Mr." and its companion "Ms." mysteriously disappeared, finally convincing everyone that Agrippa had been researching black magic all along.

Many wizards who study magic have claimed a lineage with Agrippa, and his numerous manuscripts have become the target of their collection and study. ... Judging from the records, although Agrippa's life was turbulent, his academic status, like the magic "Judas's Gate" he designed, is virtually impeccable. As Tang Shijing stated, Agrippa was proficient in contemporary science and philosophy, and integrated medical technology with magic, making him a giant of the occult. How could such an extraordinary person design a murder magic that is so easily broken?

Indeed, the original "Judas's Prison Gate" had its flaws, but its inherent premise of being difficult to lure people in has now been completely resolved by Tang Shijing, a disciple who has devoted hundreds of years of effort to it. The research results of a first-rate mental relay cannot be reversed by a detective who knows nothing about magic.

Jian Xiang's knowledge of the occult was extremely limited. His only source of confidence was his criminal investigation skills, honed through years of experience in law enforcement. He had only seen glimpses of the supernatural in Hollywood movies. Even then, he suspected those were merely fabrications by screenwriters for dramatic effect.

In any case—the demons in movies are destroyed by what they fear, which is called a weakness. The screenwriters say that salt, chalk, sweet wine, red peppers, and holy water blessed by a priest have the effect of scaring away zombies. Furthermore, werewolves are afraid of the clanging sound of silver; vampires, on the other hand, are afraid of garlic and crosses, and ultimately perish in the sunlight of the rising sun, at which point the film ends. This is often referred to as the "relic theory."

The demons from hell do indeed fear the sunlight, but they only depart temporarily. When night falls, they will swarm out again. Moreover, Agrippa lived in an era of numerous Christian sects, and since his enemies had been killed at "Judas's Gate," it's clear the demons would have no fear of the cross... And what else?

hqszs

Reply [91]: The second ending of the movie is that the priest dies alongside the demon. Clergy are protected by the Holy Spirit, and their lives can drive out evil, such as in the most famous horror movie, The Exorcist. But Jian Xiang has no intention of dying with the evil spirit, especially since he is not a priest.

Jian Xiang's neck ached as he struggled to consider the remaining possibilities.

Oh, right! There's another possible ending: that is, "Feng Ying!"

In *Hellraiser*, the magic cube that summons demons can open and close the gates of Hell. Returning the cube to its original state restores normalcy. Similarly, Agrippa's "Key to Unsealing" is also the key to closing the gates of Hell!

Just then, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Zhi Mei's pale, bloodless face beside him. Her eyes were filled with fear, and her right hand was tightly covering her lips.

"There's...there's...a sound downstairs," Zhi Mei whispered weakly.

The sword abruptly stopped as the fingers turning the pages of the book turned, and the breath caught in the throat. He also heard it—the clatter of chairs and the slow, deliberate footsteps coming from the second-floor living room.

The sound was irregular, like a lame fat man pacing around. Even though Jian Xiang already knew the cause and details of the murderous magic, he still couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine: the evil spirit had truly appeared!

He heard a faint, high-pitched metallic scraping sound, realizing that the door to the secret room on the second floor had been opened and then closed. The door to the secret room had been deformed by the vengeful ghost's violent impact before Xia Yongyu's death, making the sound of the chains opening and closing particularly jarring. The evil ghost was indeed searching for pre-kill opportunities.

Then, footsteps echoed up the stairs, and a heavy sound began to gradually approach.

Jian Xiang's heart pounded wildly with each approaching footstep. He also realized that Zhi Mei wasn't hiding in his arms out of fear, because she was too terrified to move.

The bright fluorescent light suddenly flickered twice, and the fleeting darkness added to the eerie and unsettling atmosphere in the study.

Jian Xiang didn't regain his senses until the footsteps echoed three steps down the stairs. He told himself he absolutely couldn't panic! Now that he knew the seal was likely the only way to save his life, he shouldn't hesitate. He had to act decisively and find a way to seal it as quickly as possible.

—But…didn’t Agrippa consider this?

A conflicting mix of belief and doubt prevented him from calmly consulting the chapters on sealing in the magic books. He turned to a page describing how white magicians set up magical arrays to prevent evil spirits from approaching. However, he couldn't find white candles, bloodstone, or wild hazel branches in the study, and they couldn't possibly hide in the array forever.

—Has Xia Yongyu tried this magic circle? Is this circle ineffective against evil spirits?

Jian continued his search, but the footsteps stopped at the top of the stairs on the third floor. The doorknob of Zhu's study was turned. However, because the doorbell was locked, the doorknob couldn't be turned at all, only making a clicking sound. The vengeful ghost, whose form was unknown, tried several times behind the door but failed each time, and then there was no sound at all.

With a heavy heart, Jian Xiang, unsure whether the vengeful ghost had given up searching the study and turned to other rooms, was suddenly startled by a loud crash as the evil spirit began to charge from behind the door, causing Zhi Mei to scream uncontrollably.

"Meimei, hurry!" Jianxiang no longer cared about the contents of the pages in his hand. He quickly put down the book and asked Zhimei to help him push the heavy bookcase behind the door.

Jian Xiang's palms were drenched in cold sweat as he finally managed to push the bookshelf into place. The banging on the door lessened as the bookshelf blocked the movement, but this was only a temporary defense and couldn't stop the demon's attack forever.

"Sword Direction, what should we do?"

"Follow me! We must find the records about the 'Key to Breaking the Seal'!"

They couldn't take all the books off the bookshelf to search through them, otherwise the weight of the empty shelves wouldn't be enough to ward off the evil spirit. This not only slowed down their search—taking books from a bookshelf that was being attacked by a malevolent spirit also increased their fear.

One by one, the magic books were taken down and put back, but they still had no clue how to seal the prison. Jian Xiang had previously read in *The History of Wizardry and Empirical Science* that "Western wizards believe that the world is controlled and balanced by two forces, good and evil; human history is an eternal struggle between gods and demons..." In other words, even if the "key to breaking the seal" to open the prison gates couldn't directly close them, there must be a corresponding magical structure involved.

—If you find the corresponding magical pattern and carve it on your hand with a knife, you can reseal the gates of hell!

Time ticked by, and almost every book in the bookshelf had been searched, yet not a single one mentioned the "Key to Breaking the Seal." The banging outside the study door grew stronger and stronger, like cannonballs hitting the ground, as if the door could be forced open at any moment. Jian Xiang was filled with anxiety; he noticed that Zhi Mei had suddenly stopped turning the pages.

"What's wrong?"

"Swords are useless..." Zhi Mei choked out, "We can't find them!"

"Don't be so pessimistic, we can definitely..."

“Have you forgotten? Tang Shijing said that the murder magic was discovered in Agrippa’s manuscripts! That means... no one else has seen this magic, and it's impossible for it to be recorded in any book!”

These words shattered Jian Xiang's will to live. Indeed, only Agrippa and Tang Shijing in the world had studied the "Gates of Judah," one dying five hundred years ago, the other this afternoon. Tang Shijing saw in Agrippa's manuscript that the "Gates of Judah" had no solution, and he believed it without question. Therefore, even if the relative magical structure of the "Key to Breaking the Seal" existed, no one would know it.

hqszs

Reply [92]: I had something to do today, so I left work early and will continue posting when I get home. Take your time reading.

hqszs

Reply [93]: It's all over.

“Jianxiang… Jianxiang… We will all be killed, won’t we? But at least when I die, you will be by my side.” Zhi Mei hugged Jianxiang’s waist, as if she were experiencing a brief moment of lucidity before death.

Jian Xiang weakly embraced Zhi Mei, feeling her still-hot and beautiful body. He recalled how, since the end of March, his fate had gradually become intertwined with that of this beautiful woman, and that they would never be separated until this night. For Zhi Mei, he had given up his promising job, been suspected in two murders, and fled with her to this empty house.

If Xia Yongyu, like Zhong Sizao, had sought refuge through self-imposed confinement… then he would have died in this room. But Jian Xiang wouldn't have been hypnotized by the building's surveillance cameras, nor would he have unconsciously kept the DV tape. Perhaps the tape would have been obtained by other colleagues, and the task force would have used it to search for Zhi Mei's whereabouts.

If he hadn't received Mrs. Ge's report to the police...

The other colleague on duty that night was Liwei, a mild-mannered and cheerful man. He certainly wouldn't have noticed Mrs. Ge's fear, nor would he have taken her neurotic behavior seriously. Perhaps he would have closed the case after drowning the giant rat, and Zhong Sizao's body would have been discovered by someone else at another time.

If there had only been one rat devouring Zhong Si's corpse... that giant rat would have eaten until it burst, or grown so large that it couldn't leave Room 301 through the kitchen drain. In that case, Mrs. Ge wouldn't have caught one of the two giant rats that had been driven out of Room 301, and she certainly wouldn't have been so alarmed as to report the incident so seriously.

However, he had no regrets about meeting Zhimei. Throughout his pursuit, he became convinced it was the right choice. Kenji not only yearned for love, but also hoped to save Zhimei from the shadows that shrouded her life. He had made his decision after watching that DV tape.

Seeing that Zhimei was willing to die with him, Jianxiang was not happy at all. Instead, he felt like a knight who had gone through countless dangers and found a beautiful princess, but was unable to send her back to her boudoir in the royal city.

—If there was only one mouse…if Xia Yongyu hadn’t left his house…if the giant rat hadn’t chased away the little giant rat…In that instant, a flash of inspiration struck Jian Xiang!

He gently lifted Zhi Mei's face, which was both happy and sad, and kissed her trembling red lips.

“Meimei, I will make sure we all survive.” Jian Xiang’s tone was forced to be calm: “But I have to leave here immediately.”

Zhi Mei stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief and despair.

"Jian Xiang, are you leaving me?"

Jian Xiang held her tightly. "We must survive. So, I have no choice but to take a desperate gamble and risk my life to test that method."

"What other methods are there?"

"Time is running out, and I can't explain in detail... That method is too dangerous, I can't take you there."

"I don't want to!" Zhi Mei's expression was a mixture of sorrow and anger: "You men are always like this! So mysterious and always trying to be heroes!"

"I don't want to die with you," Jian said to Wenyan. "I just want to live with you."

"The sword points towards..." Zhi Mei stopped arguing and nodded firmly.