Chapter 146 A Little Accident

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Hao Ren was enjoying his meal when Anna sat down and suddenly said a bunch of cryptic things to him. Coupled with the girl's eyes, which appeared particularly strange due to her mental illness, and her pale face, her few words had a ghostly and bone-chilling effect—but Hao Ren's recent experiences had hardened his nerves to the point of near-terminal damage, so he only felt puzzled: "Huh?"

"Tanagus... high-energy aggregate state... you can't kill that thing..." Anna's eyes flickered slightly, but Igor quickly stopped her mad ravings: "Anna, mind your table manners—and don't use your messy memories to disturb the guests."

"Wait a minute," Hao Ren quickly waved his hand to Igor, "I'm very interested in what Anna said—what is this Tanagus she mentioned?"

Igor put on a stiff smile: "It's the whisper of evil spirits, Master. There's no need to pay attention to these crazy things. The evil spirits under the castle have been whispering knowledge from the abyss in my poor daughter's dreams. These things have been mixed with Anna's memories, making it difficult for her to distinguish between reality and illusion. It's best for her to mention these things less, otherwise she will eventually be completely occupied by the thoughts of evil spirits, just like those unlucky family members in the past."

"Is it the Wraith... did the Wraith tell her this?" Hao Ren showed a very interested expression, while trying to strike a professional pose, "I think these things are very useful. Maybe we can deduce the source of the Wraith's power based on this knowledge."

Igor spread his hands: "Master, you can try, but I guarantee you won't get any useful information. My daughter's memory is confused, and the Wraith will never allow its secrets to be revealed so simply."

Hao Ren turned his head to look at Anna: "What is Tanagus? Who are the Tanar people? Are those the names of the Wraiths?"

Anna brushed aside her messy, drooping curls, her hazel eyes filled with chaos: "They seep into this world from the other side of the rift, an intangible power beyond your comprehension. You can't kill that thing... unless we repay the treasures we defrauded three hundred years ago..."

Igor's voice suddenly rose: "Anna, your memory is confused again. Eat your food properly, and then go back to your room to rest."

Anna silently put down her knife and fork, and left the room like a ghost. Lily watched the girl stagger away and couldn't help but look at Igor: "You have to tell us the truth. We're experts. What does Anna mean by the treasures defrauded three hundred years ago?"

Igor sighed: "This is what the Wraith told her, but I think the Wraith amplified these negative messages, making her feel that her family was built on sinful deeds, but in fact all our industries are legally operated. Since my ancestor obtained the initial wealth from a lucky encounter three hundred years ago, the Andre family has followed strict family precepts, using the money in their hands with caution. It was definitely not defrauded."

"Is the lucky encounter three hundred years ago referring to the Witch?" Hao Ren asked casually.

He knew that the Witch's portrait was hanging in the castle, and records about the Witch were also kept in the library's handwritten books. This mysterious existence might be a topic worthy of awe for the Andre family, but it was definitely not a secret—at least not one that couldn't be mentioned, otherwise it wouldn't be hanging outside.

Igor slowly nodded: "Yes, the Witch. If I weren't in this castle, personally experiencing everything in the family, I wouldn't believe that a witch had made the Andre family what it is today. My ancestor met a witch. He helped the witch and therefore received a gift. That gift included a magical stone and an ancient incantation. The stone brought treasures, and the incantation summoned the Wraith: Everything in this world is an equal exchange."

Vivian couldn't help muttering, "This story is so cliché... sounds so familiar."

Hao Ren chuckled dryly, looked up at Igor, and prepared to continue to ask about the Witch, but before he could open his mouth, a strange sound suddenly came from below: it was a snoring sound like breathing, but it was unusually deep and loud, each sound seeming to knock against people's hearts. It seemed that there was a huge cave system under the castle, and the wind was resonating in the countless caves.

Igor's face suddenly changed when he heard the sound: "It's the Wraith! It's active again!"

Nangong Sanba pushed the plate in front of him away and casually untied his silver-white hand crossbow from his waist: "Take us to the underground palace—you can tell my friend all about the Witch and the story of summoning the Wraith on the way."

Like all centuries-old castles, this building had a vast underground structure, and in order to suppress a certain dark creature, the underground structure of the castle was unusually large, like an underground palace. Igor led Hao Ren and the others to a small church behind the castle, and the entrance to the underground was in the small church.

Under Igor's command, several servants pushed open the pulpit of the small church. Under the heavy red wooden planks was a sloping downward staircase. The entrance was wider than expected, and dim yellow lights could be seen below. Waves of strange breathing sounds came from below.

Nangong Sanba looked at the staircase and smiled: "I went down here that day."

Igor was a little braver than he looked. Perhaps living in this godforsaken castle for most of his life had made him familiar with the strange things in the depths of the underground, or perhaps it was out of trust for the "experts." He didn't let the trembling servants lead the way, but took the cold light lamp and walked in front himself: "I'll take you down."

The group went down all the way. At first, Hao Ren thought he would see outdated fireboxes and candlesticks hanging on both sides of the tunnel like in the movies, but after going down, he found that the walls were inlaid with electric wall lamps: the evil spirit castle could also keep up with the times.

But obviously, the owner of the castle had only made very limited modifications to the underground part. In addition to the wall lamps and some electric fans and ventilation pipes on both sides, ancient traces could be seen everywhere under the stairs. The rough rock walls, the steep stone steps, and the mottled and peeling plaster ceiling made people feel as if they were walking towards hell.

Lily felt that the atmosphere here was dull and decided to say something: "Did your ancestor summon the Wraith himself?"

Igor's low and weak voice echoed in the rock walls: "...Greed is a sin. The earliest records are not very clear, but it was probably after my ancestor discovered that the 'Witch's Stone' could bring him great wealth that he became even more greedy. He believed that since they were both gifts left by the Witch, the stone and the incantation should be equally important and effective. Although the Witch had warned him not to touch the incantation, he still performed the summoning ritual..."

Along the stone steps downward, the road ahead gradually leveled out, eventually leading to a long underground corridor.

"...The summoning ritual opened a rift leading to the abyss, and a powerful spirit escaped from it, which is the Wraith that has plagued the Andre family for three hundred years."

The underground corridor was also inlaid with dimly lit wall lamps. In the dim yellow light of the wall lamps, portraits of Andre's ancestors could be seen hanging on both sides of the wall: This family seemed particularly fond of hanging images of their family members on the wall. It was not known whether it was ancestral teaching or what.

"We were cursed, cursed for violating the Witch's warning. The people of the Andre family cannot leave this cursed fortress for more than seven days. Those who try to escape eventually die tragically on the eighth day—we have great wealth, but this wealth cannot allow us to leave this icy and snowy place. The Wraith whispers under the fortress all night long. I still remember the countless sleepless nights before I was eighteen, and even until recently, I was still plagued by nightmares. The Wraith showed me terrifying images from another world and told me that the destruction of all living beings was the real end..."

At the end of a row of portraits of Andre's ancestors, the portrait of the Witch reappeared, her face covered with black gauze, making it impossible to see her true face.

"Why did the Witch cover her face?" Hao Ren asked casually.

Igor paused for a while before slowly answering, "This was a modification made by my grandfather's grandfather. Before that, the Witch did not wear a veil—until one day, a legitimate heir saw the Witch's face in a dream and went crazy the next day, jumping off the top of the castle. From that day on, all the Witch's portraits in the castle were covered with veils."

"Because you violated the Witch's warning, you are afraid that she and the Wraith will come to you for trouble," Nangong Wuyue said, looking at the gloomy portraits in the underground palace. "Is the historical truth of that year really as you said?"

"At least that's all I know," Igor pointed to an iron door next to the Witch's portrait. "That thing is behind the door. I'm sorry, I have to leave."

Igor's slightly bloated figure disappeared on the slope, and Hao Ren turned his head to look at the iron door of the underground palace in front of him.

A cold white mist was slowly gathering on the iron door. (The novel "Unusual Creature Records" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there are also 100% lucky draw gifts for everyone! Open WeChat now, click the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "Add Friends", search for the public account "qdread" and follow it, hurry up!)