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墨書 Inktalez
The old-fashioned lamp cast a warm yellow glow on the Oak Table, as Lily stared at the winding blue veins on her father's hand, watching him dip his finger in Tea to draw concentric circles on the surface. "Forgetting magic is like ripples," his hoarse voice wrapped in the aroma of tea. "Each of us is a stone thrown into the heart of a lake."
Arthur suddenly reached out to press down on the swirling tea stain, the icy crystal ring refracting cold light under the lamp. "Are you saying that the entire town is a carefully designed magic circle?" Outside, the wind chimes emitted a faint wail, and the shadows cast by the Sandalwood Bookshelf seemed to writhe like living creatures.
"Those charms are like an Old Pocket Watch; they need to be wound up to work." His father took out a Leather Journal from the drawer, yellowed Paper Pages containing dried Cornflowers. "For thirty years, every New Moon night, I have had to repair the Boundary Stone outside the town alone." He flipped to a certain page, where a young face overlapped with his weathered features, save for the still vivid Crescent-Shaped Birthmark on his Left Earlobe.
Lily suddenly noticed the worn Silver Button on her father's cuff—his favorite shirt from when her mother was alive. Memories flooded back like a tide; on a stormy night when she was seven, her father burst through the door soaked to the skin, but instead of bringing her long-awaited birthday cake, he held a Boundary Fragment caked in black mud.
"Last month, someone tried to cross West Mountain again." His father tapped his finger on an area circled in red ink on the map, the parchment making a dull sound. "They are searching for the Devouring Spirit Mine, that Forbidden Stone that can triple a magician's power in an instant." The fireplace suddenly spat sparks, startling Lily into knocking over her Honey Tea, the amber liquid spreading grotesquely across the map.
Arthur abruptly stood up, his Military Boots making a sharp sound as they hit the floor. "Did you choose to hide this because of those raiders?" He pointed at the children playing outside in the square. "But look at those people living as puppets in illusions!" Moonlight filtered through the Stained Glass and cast mottled blue shadows across his face, like unhealed scars.
The Old Night Watchman suddenly lifted the carpet, revealing a dark red magic circle beneath. Amongst runes outlined by old bloodstains lay dozens of bullets of various calibers. "This was last winter's 'gift,'" he said, picking up a rusted bullet. "That day I had three bullets lodged in my left shoulder while my right hand was still repairing the destroyed Eastern Boundary Monument."
Lily's nails dug deep into her palm. She suddenly saw a jagged scar running across her father's Clavicle beneath his favorite Turtleneck Sweater. Memories flashed back to that snowy night when he said he was going to fix the clock tower but never returned until dawn, his scarf crusted with ice and carrying a Rusty Smell mixed with Songzhi Xiang.
"But the right to know should not be taken away!" Arthur's fist slammed down on the Oak Table, causing the Crystal Paperweight to jump. "Seven years ago, Redwood Town was a living example—the Rulers' self-righteous protection turned the entire town into lambs for Blood Sacrifice!" His Pupil suddenly constricted into a slit before quickly returning to normal.
The Old Night Watchman's gnarled fingers brushed over a groove at the center of the magic circle where a Malachite Brooch lay quietly. "Your mother held onto this before she passed," he said, his voice suddenly rough like sandpaper. "She said 'the truth is poison wrapped in Sugar Coating, but one must learn to lick off that Sugar Coating.'" The moonlight happened to illuminate where the third feather was missing from the brooch, revealing tiny cracks.
Lily suddenly grabbed a Teaspoon and stirred her cooling Tea, watching as the whirlpool swallowed her father's drawn concentric circles. "If we break the magic..." Her voice trembled. "The town would be like a stage with its curtain suddenly drawn back; all hidden dangers would be exposed under the spotlight?"
Arthur abruptly pulled out a pocket watch from inside his Military Uniform pocket; its back bore an engraving of scales entwined with thorns. "From Normandy to Mekong Delta, I've seen too many tragedies born from well-intentioned lies." His fingertip traced over bullet marks on its casing. "True guardianship should not be about weaving fairy tales but teaching people how to grip their shotguns tightly."
The Old Night Watchman suddenly broke into a violent cough, and Lily hurriedly patted his hunched back, feeling the sharp edges of his shoulder blades beneath her hand. When the cloth was pulled away from his lips, a dark red flower bloomed upon it. "In fact, the magic circle has been cracking for three years," he said, pointing to the crooked bronze ornament on the bookshelf. "The spiritual energy required for sacrifices increases every month..."
Arthur suddenly drew out his Swiss Army Knife and sliced his fingertip, letting droplets of blood fall into the swirling tea that Lily was stirring. The blood traced strange patterns on the surface of the water. "Look! The so-called guardians of the Rulers, in their arrogance, will ultimately turn into bloodsucking leeches." His blood droplets suddenly coalesced into an arrow shape, pointing straight at the red-marked Mining Area on the map.
Lily's pupils reflected the flickering candlelight as she abruptly grabbed her father's hand and pressed it against her chest. "But Dad, your heartbeat... it's weaker by a third compared to last winter." Tears fell from her eyes onto the age spots on the back of the old man's hand. "The memories of the entire town shouldn't be sustained by your life as fuel!"
Silence wove a dense web among the three of them. When the Old Clock struck ten, her father suddenly tore open his collar, revealing a writhing black sigil over his heart. "This is the mark of the Night Watchman," he said with a grim smile. "Each time I use a Forbidden Technique, it devours an inch of my soul." The newly sprouted tendrils at the edge of the sigil slowly crawled toward his Clavicle.
Arthur suddenly plunged his Swiss Army Knife into the center of the sigil, the blade barely touching the surface of his skin. "Let me take a team to set up bait on West Mountain while activating the town's defensive barrier." The cold light reflected off his blade. "Lily can contact the Old God Altar and use my Military Merit Medal to exchange for three days of divine protection."
As dawn's first light pierced through the clouds, the Old Night Watchman finally trembled and opened the safe. Inside the dust-covered Copper Box lay thirty Seven Keys tied with faded ribbons—each corresponding to a Memory Sealing Node in town. "Go to the top of the clock tower," he said, his finger brushing over a silver key engraved with the character "Li." "At sunrise, the position of the stars will perfectly unlock..."
Suddenly, a piercing alarm shattered the morning mist. As her father lunged toward the window, Lily saw a Purple Smoke Column rising from West Mountain—that was a signal that the Boundary Stone had been breached. Arthur had already dashed out of the door, his Swiss Army Knife tracing a pale arc in the dim morning light.
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