mtl008 Chapter 4225 Possession by Evil Spirits (5)
Chapter 4225 Possession by Evil Spirits (5)
Chapter 4225 Possession by Evil Spirits (Part 5)
Although the atmosphere had become extremely tense, they still sat down together for breakfast. Throughout the meal, the agent kept observing the group.
Somewhat strangely, Aunt Kane's eating habits didn't resemble those of a destitute person. Although she looked somewhat old, dressed simply, and spoke rather uncivilized language, certain subtle gestures revealed that she was less like a small-town girl and more like a wealthy city girl.
Kate clearly noticed this as well, as she was also from a wealthy family. She was Batman's cousin, and both her mother and Batman's mother, Martha, came from the Kane family, one of Gotham's four most powerful families. People who receive etiquette training from a young age often have habits that are difficult to break.
For example, when Kate and Aunt Kane are drinking soup, they scoop the soup outwards, that is, from their own direction to the opposite side, instead of scooping from the outside in as many people are used to.
This custom is said to have originated from medieval aristocratic banquets, possibly in Spain. The exact reason for this is unknown. One theory is that it was to prevent the spoon from hitting the vessel and making an unpleasant noise, but this is not accurate, and there is no more plausible explanation. It was only practiced within a very limited circle, and it seems that Catholic missionaries from Ireland brought this tradition to America. However, apart from very old and conservative Catholic families, no one practices this anymore.
Coincidentally, Irish missionaries were among the first to land on the East Coast of the United States, so this etiquette was passed down to Gotham's high society, and cousins Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane both know it.
The problem is that Westville is supposed to be a western city, and not really a coastal city at all; it's an inland city, quite small, and its economy seems rather underdeveloped. There's no way there could be any respectable upper-class people there.
This suggests that Aunt Kane might have come from the East Coast, and possibly from a major city there, such as New York, Chicago, or Boston. But why she married into this small town, and why she didn't return home after her husband's death, remains a mystery.
To say it was for her daughter's sake simply doesn't make sense. When they first arrived, Aunt Kane's eyes were practically glued to Schiller. She could tell he was a wealthy man and wanted to introduce her daughter to him, which proved she really wanted her daughter to marry well.
But how could any truly wealthy people possibly come to such a remote town? Even if it's all in the West, wouldn't they go to Los Angeles for vacation? If she wants her daughter to marry well, she has to take her to a big city. Her daughter is nineteen, not a newborn, and this dilapidated house isn't worth much. Why not go back to their hometown together?
Realizing that Aunt Kane's background might be a clue, the agent began to probe indirectly again. Taking advantage of his position, he pretended to be very interested in Linda, constantly asking her all sorts of questions.
Surprisingly, Aunt Kane handled it very well. Although she was quite eager at first and seemed a bit shameless, she didn't boast excessively at this point, and she did mention things like "Kane's granddaughter" in her speech.
The moment these words were uttered, the agent understood that the Kane family was a prominent clan here, and even a granddaughter would be considered to have a respectable background. The fact that her husband's family wasn't mentioned suggested that he was likely a local, unknown, and impoverished individual.
This is even stranger: a rich girl from a big city on the East Coast, married to such a remote place, and didn't go home after her husband died. What kind of grudge did she have against her family of origin?
However, considering her attitude towards her niece, it's possible that she did indeed have a lot of unpleasantness with her family.
Breakfast ended in an atmosphere of mutual ulterior motives. Kate insisted on taking Peter to see the doctor, and Peter seemed helpless, but Schiller knew very well that they had probably planned it together, with one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.
And Aunt Kane didn't find out that he was secretly taking the medicine. Although the Hunter was still a little weak, he was much better, but the Agent could barely lift his left arm.
Fortunately, they weren't doing any physical labor, so they could still keep their identities hidden. Soon after, Aunt Kane suggested that Linda take them for a walk to see the valley and waterfall.
Schiller also wanted to take this opportunity to familiarize himself with the town's layout, find out where the horrifying box that had injured them came from, and what secrets the town held.
Linda, wearing a denim overall dress and with her hair braided into two thick braids, walked ahead silently. The two Schillers followed behind her, pretending to be sightseeing with great interest.
Because their car hadn't come, they had to walk. Fortunately, the town wasn't big, and they entered the forest after walking for about twenty minutes. After passing through a dense forest, a stream came into view.
This is a canyon that slopes from north to south, with a stream flowing right through the middle and a small waterfall upstream. Many of the deciduous trees around are bare, but there are still many evergreen pines, so the scenery is quite nice.
As they continued upstream, the detective tried to strike up a conversation with Linda. He said, "There should be a lot of anadromous fish around here, right? It's a great spot for fishing. Have you ever fished?"
Linda shook her head in silence.
“You should really try it, fishing is so much fun. I caught a really big salmon on Loch Lomond in Scotland before.”
"Is it the spawning season?" Linda asked.
The detective paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right. Back then, fish had a higher demand for food and were easier to catch. I admit, fishing was indeed easier back then. But I'm not a professional angler; I just enjoyed the experience."
“It was really fun,” Linda said.
The detective was utterly baffled. Linda's tone was odd, carrying a sinister smile, but the detective couldn't understand what was so funny about salmon fishing.
Linda's body language was very limited, and she spoke very little, resulting in an insufficient sample size for behavioral analysis. The agent could only continue, "You should have quite a few fish here. There should be a fishing tackle shop in town; we can go check it out later and buy a fishing rod or something. Do we need a license to fish here?"
“No need,” Linda replied, “but we don’t have any fishing tackle shops here.”
"Okay." The agent wasn't really trying to fish for information; he just wanted to get information out of him.
“But I can make you a fishing rod,” Linda said. “Tell me what kind you want, and I can make it for you.”
The detective said with some surprise, "Didn't you say you'd never fished before? You can make fishing rods?"
“I’ve never fished, but I’m very good with my hands. My dad is a carpenter, and he taught me everything he knew. I make furniture for many people, so I should be able to handle a simple wooden fishing rod.”
“Okay, what materials do you need? The two friends who brought us here before came from Xivi City, they should be able to get things that aren’t available in town.”
“All you need to do is prepare the fishing line,” Linda said.
The agent nodded. This was quite a pleasant surprise; not only had he learned about her father's profession, but he'd also gained a prop. He didn't know what the fishing rod was for, but building a good relationship with Linda would be helpful.
He planned to go find Heng and Chao's duo later; those two definitely hadn't left. They hadn't just bumped into each other on the road; the detective could tell they were heading straight for this town.
Upon reaching the base of the waterfall, Linda suddenly pointed to the area where water was splashing and said, "There are lots of fish there."
"Ah, yes, because waterfalls provide oxygen. That is to say, the oxygen content there is relatively high, and many fish go there to breathe."
Do fish need to breathe?
"Of course, their gills are used to filter the air. Fish will gather in water with high oxygen levels. This is indeed a good fishing spot."
Can you teach me how to fish?
"Yes, you can. Fishing isn't difficult; as long as there are schools of fish, you can easily catch a lot."
Can I catch a salmon?
"That's not necessarily true. There might not be salmon in your waterways. However, there are quite a few in the waterways of the west coast, so perhaps there are some here too."
When do salmon spawn?
"It's usually in winter, which is this season now."
The agent noticed Linda was smiling again, and it was a genuine, yet somewhat chilling, smile. Kate was right; her niece was probably really crazy.
After enjoying the natural scenery, it was time to explore the small town. The town was quite small; we finished exploring it in no time. However, what puzzled the investigator was the lack of many essential facilities in the town.
"Don't you have a police station here?" the detective asked, somewhat puzzled. You see, during the westward expansion, police stations were among the first buildings constructed; a police station was the foundation of a small town. Without a police station, the state government would generally not approve the establishment of a town.
"It used to be there, but it was removed later."
"Removed? Then is this place still considered a town?"
"Perhaps not. No outsiders have come for many years because the town is not on the new maps, only on some old ones."
The detective recalled that the map Peter had pulled out earlier looked quite old. This meant the town's administrative status had been abolished. But how were public services maintained without government funding?
But he quickly realized: there were only a few households left in the town, most of the houses were abandoned, and the remaining ones were all locked up, so it was impossible to tell if anyone was home. Under these circumstances, there was probably no need for any public services; he could only hope for the best.
However, the agents also discovered that this town must have been quite prosperous in the past: there were many houses, and they were well-built; even the dilapidated old house where Aunt Kane lived was a stone house, not a newly built wooden house in the modern era. This proves that the residents here were quite wealthy in the past.
On the other hand, the town is quite well-planned, with all sorts of former amenities within easy reach, and a small square that seems to be used as a market. Such a place wouldn't exist if there weren't a large enough population.
They then headed out of town to a park located downstream from a creek, next to a cemetery. The detective specifically wanted to visit it.
This is not unusual, because in Europe and America, cemeteries are a good place to relax and unwind, and there is no taboo about them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be built so close to the town.
However, not all cemeteries are unrestricted. In Western culture, well-maintained cemeteries are acceptable and considered places of closeness to God, but mass graves are not. They are believed to be filled with the souls of sinners, subject to Satan's curse; dilapidated graves are also considered unlucky, as they may cause the souls of the living to become vengeful spirits. Both types should be avoided.
When the detectives arrived, they found that the town's cemetery was actually quite well-maintained. Although there were some weeds and the tombstones were covered in dust, it looked relatively tidy, and none of the graves were leaning or crooked.
Just as they stepped into the cemetery, a flock of crows suddenly flew in from the east, landing en masse. The detective narrowed his eyes. In the West, crows are generally considered unlucky; what was this foreshadowing?