Chapter 317 Christmas
Seemingly sensing Gillan’s confusion, the old man who made the staff laughed twice and explained:
“This is a tradition every year, and’ Gifts from good children are not limited to real children... Blood Owl, an outstanding young man like you is very likely to be favored by Santa Claus."
"Gifts from good children?"< br>
Jilan raised his eyebrows.
He felt a little funny for no reason.
If you are a "good boy", then there should be no "bad boys" in the world...
"Old sir, does this 'Christmas tradition'... involve Occultism? "
Gilan remembered his experience of riding a mysterious carriage in the Land of Gods.
The wooden house in the ice and snow is the residence of the "Christmas Devil" Krampus, and there is a strange snowman guarding the door.
Through the conversation with the snowman at that time, we know that Santa Claus is not a legend, but a real existence... Gillan also has an intuition that neither "Santa Claus" nor the "Christmas Devil" is an ordinary person.
They gave gifts to the good children and punishments to the bad children. It was obvious that they were following some kind of law.
“Yes.” The old man, who was much shorter than Ji Lan, chuckled. “Such a tradition has been around since a long time ago, even dating back to the Middle Ages.”
“No one has ever seen ‘Santa Claus’, but many children have collected their food on Christmas Eve. There have been gifts... Some people claim to have seen reindeer pulling a cart in the night sky, accompanied by the sound of ringing bells. "
"Do you know what this is about? "
Ji Lan humbly asked for advice.
The old man who made the stick shook his head.
“I have checked a lot of information, but there is no definite statement. There have been many secret societies that tried to spy on the true face of ‘Santa Claus’, but they all ended in failure.”
“ However, there is a generally accepted speculation, that is, 'Santa Claus' Germaine Nicholas may be a high-ranking mystic... By the way, there is also the 'Christmas Demon' Krampus, who will appear in ' Christmas Eve 'Punishment of Bad Children'
"In recent years, most cases of missing children have occurred on December 24th, and most of the cases are very strange, even under the eyes of adults. They will all disappear suddenly..."
Hearing this, Ji Lan looked thoughtful.
He suddenly asked:
"Old sir, please tell me, what should I do if I fail to receive a gift on Christmas Eve and encounter Krampus instead?"< br>
"Huh?" The old man who made the stick couldn't help but was stunned. It seemed that he didn't expect Jilan to ask such a strange question. "This..."
He raised his head and glanced at the blond young man, and noticed that the other man's expression did not look like he was joking, and he couldn't help but feel a shiver in his heart.
"If you are targeted by Krampus... be alert to the sound of chains, and do not touch the Christmas sweets that appear unexpectedly at home, and seek the help of the Investigation Committee as soon as you discover anomalies... Parra Cersu I can help you."
The old man who made the staff said in a serious voice.
"Remember, the strength of Krampus is not something that ordinary mystics can resist... If you encounter it, you have no choice but to run away!"
Gilan narrowed his eyes.
…
…
After performing a routine escort mission today, Gillan drove back to Price Street.
It was already dark, and not a single soul could be seen on the road.
Only two car lights flashed through the darkness.
Woo......
The engine roared.
On the way, Gilan remembered the conversation with the old man who made the staff during the day. He thought for a moment, turned the steering wheel, and kicked the accelerator to drive away from the original direction.
The black car turned around and headed straight for East Muse.
After spending some time, Ji Lan shuttled through the business district and finally found a grocery store that was still open.
The boss is an elderly, thin old man, sitting at the front desk reading a book. His wife, who also had white hair, was sleeping in a rocking chair with a blanket covering her body.
The store was brightly lit, with a Christmas pine tree standing on it, decorated with stars and gingerbread men, and a circle of small colored lights connected to the eaves of the wall.
Very beautiful and full of warm atmosphere.
Gilan bought some Christmas decorations at the grocery store and also bought a Christmas stocking.
At the old man's refusal, he paid a gold Caesar coin and received the old man's grateful wishes.
For no other reason, business is too bleak...
In this current period of panic, it is really difficult to see the bustling commercial street scene of the past. Even at Christmas, few people want to go out for shopping.
Prices are soaring and people feel extremely uneasy.
…
…
After returning to the rental apartment, Gilan arranged the decorations he bought. After the electricity was turned on, the whole room was bright and flashing with various colors of light.
The atmosphere and sense of ceremony are quite good.
Ke Jilan just glanced at him, then washed himself and went to bed.
He is not interested in these things.
Before turning out the lights, Gillan hung a Christmas stocking on the bedside.
He didn't know why he did this...perhaps he was curious about "Santa Claus", or he was wary of the "Christmas Devil".
Anyway, he wanted to try it.
And Jilan always felt a little uneasy.
It seems that he and Krampus are at loggerheads... Although he did not kill the snowman in front of the wooden house in the snow with his own hands, it is inseparable from him.
Even the corpse was corrupted by it and turned into a large amount of mysterious energy.
If Krampus wanted to retaliate for this, he probably wouldn't go to "Inspector" Tedder. After all, if the persimmon is too soft to pinch, it will definitely come to you first!
Gillan lay on the soft bed and closed her eyes.
He was not actually asleep, but deliberately slowed down his breathing and pretended to be asleep.
I don’t know how much time has passed.
Maybe it’s midnight.
In the dead silence, Ji Lan suddenly heard a noise——
jingle!
The sound came from outside the window.
‘Is it really coming...? ! ’
He felt a chill in his heart.
The sound of the bells shaking sounded one after another.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding...
At the same time, Gilan actually heard another sound——
Crash!
This sound came from the direction of the living room outside the master bedroom, the unique metal friction sound of chains mopping the floor.
‘Calm down! ’
Ji Lan secretly thought.
He immediately used the power of his "anchor" essence to forcibly control his body without making any stress response. It was still in the state it should be in when "sleeping deeply".
Jilan did not dare to rashly turn on his spiritual vision to check, because strong people are generally extremely sensitive to this and can easily detect it.
He is always prepared, and if something unexpected happens, he can react instantly and fight back.
But since the two sounds were heard at the beginning, there has been a long period of dead silence.
It seemed as if everything was just Gillan's auditory hallucination.
A cold wind was blowing outside the house.
It suddenly started snowing.
Jilan was confused, but did not open his eyes to look.
It wasn't until time passed and the sky was dark that he suddenly sat up and a gray cane appeared out of thin air in his hand.
However, the room was empty.
No one there.
Just like the scene before he went to bed. Ji Lan frowned, feeling that things were quite strange.
He carefully got out of bed and began to check everywhere in the room, even under the bed, doors, windows, and blind corners of tables and chairs.
However, no abnormalities were found.
"That's weird..." Gilan murmured.
He was very sure that the sound of bells and chains was by no means an auditory hallucination, but real.
Jilan opened the door and planned to explore the living room.
However, he stopped at the door and his pupils shrank.
He stared at the black hoof prints left by an unknown creature on the floor outside the door...
The hoof prints were divided into two halves, but he didn't know whether they were made by sheep, cows, deer or pigs. But judging from the hoof prints, it is more like a creature that walks upright and is very large, at least over three meters.
Jilan found that the hoofprints seemed to spread from the living room, stopped at the door of his room, and then disappeared.
He couldn't help but feel angry.
‘Is it Krampus...? ’
Ji Lan secretly thought.
He bent down and reached out to wipe the black hoof prints. His fingers were suddenly stained with a layer of dust that looked like soot or coke.
Lift it up and sniff it between your noses.
"Carbon ash... mixed with the smell of sulfur."
Gilan frowned and murmured.
"Is it a creature from hell?"
He stood up again and walked around the entire rental apartment. In addition to the hoof prints, scratches left by heavy objects dragging the ground were also found...other than that there were no other traces.
Jilan took a deep breath, returned to the master bedroom, then opened the window and looked outside.
Soon, he found a palm print on the glass outside the window... It was as if someone was leaning on the glass and peeking in.
Jilan frowned deeper and deeper. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he felt that what happened last night was too strange.
At this time.
His peripheral vision wandered around the room and suddenly stopped.
The pupils also shrank sharply.
Because Jilan saw that the Christmas stocking she hung on the bedside was actually bulging!
Someone put something inside somewhere!
"?!"
Jilan stood up in a flash.
Then I stared at the red Christmas stocking and held my breath.
‘When exactly is it? ! '
He couldn't understand it at all. He didn't sleep at all last night and was still on guard... But he didn't know who and when he came to his bed and stuffed his Christmas stocking. Got something!
Gillan was unaware of this!
If that person was not good for him...
Suddenly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead and back.
Gaba.
Jilan clenched his fists unconsciously, his joints turned white and made a crisp sound.
With a gloomy face, he walked to the head of the bed, took off the Christmas stocking, and then looked at the contents inside.
The socks contain two small items.
A palm-sized yellow leather booklet and a small bronze iron hook.
The iron hook is only about three to four centimeters long and wide, and the bottom is engraved with crooked small characters in ancient Xilu script.
“Krampus Solomon.”
Gillan whispered the name.
Turn over the iron hook, and there is an engraving on the other side:
"Bad boy, should be punished!"
When he saw this, he narrowed his eyes.
At this time, Gillan was basically sure that among the unknown creatures that visited last night, there was the "Christmas Demon" Krampus... But for some reason, the other party did not take action against him, and just left this The hook serves as an intimidation.
‘Krampus Solomon…Solomon? ’
Jilan murmured this name in his heart, thinking of a person... no, a cat to be precise.
"Windmill Cat" Pal Solomon!
‘These two have the same surname. Is there any connection between them? ’
I thought about it for a while, but to no avail.
Ji Lan had to put away the iron hook first.
'I have to advance to the fourth level of Kusei as soon as possible, I need strength...'
The sense of urgency in his heart became stronger with this invisible pressure.
Then, Jilan flipped through the booklet again.
He was surprised to see a passage written on the title page, which was also written in ancient Xilu script, but the handwriting was obviously much more elegant:
"A gift for good children."
"This is a secret book about the 'lower level' of the land of God. It also comes with a 'ticket'. You are welcome to come and be a guest in my residence, Jilan Mr. Iros."
"Jermain Nicholas, stay."
This is written by Santa Claus!
Jilan raised his eyebrows.
In other words...
The sound of bells and chains last night were signs of the arrival of "Santa Claus" and the "Christmas Devil" respectively.
The two of them came to find me at the same time? !
Jilan just felt that this thing was too magical, it seemed both weird and magical.
‘Perhaps... the reason why Krampus didn’t attack me was precisely because of Germaine? ’
He thought it was very possible.
Judging from the relationship between the two, it is obvious that they are old enemies that cannot be dealt with. Krampus was probably afraid of the other party, so he didn't attack Gillan.
After leaving only the iron hook as a threat, he hurriedly left.
Gillen has an inexplicable affection for the mysterious "Santa Claus" Germaine Nicholas.
It just so happens that the Christmas gift the other party gave him is what he needs right now.
Gilan has just visited the Land of Gods and doesn't know much about the "lower level" area, so this booklet can give him a lot of help.
I heard from Chairman Pala that after the 4th level of "Road of Fire Sword", it will increasingly need to rely on the power of the Land of Gods.
Wow.
Continue to open and read further.
The booklet records several areas, and clearly records some "residents of Shenxiang" and information that may exist in these areas.
Among them is a mention of the swamp that Gilan passed through, which was actually called "the place where the olives withered."
Washer women, blue hats, monster lizards, and an evil centaur called "Cruz" will all hang out there.
The brochure also focused on the information about the "headless carriage"... It is called the "Silent Stage Carriage", the specific number is unknown, and it will shuttle through the "lower" area of the Land of Gods on its own, and Each has its own route and destination.
You actually need to pay a toll to take the "Silent Coach", and only gold is charged. But for new visitors, there is a free benefit for using the carriage for the first time.
The annotation explains that there is an unwritten rule in the Land of Gods, that is, you cannot easily attack the "Silent Station", otherwise it will be contaminated with a lot of "mottled energy", which is very likely to cause damage to the Land of Gods. The hostility of the residents, and even the thunderous pursuit of the "patrons".
Gillan turned to the end of the booklet, and a golden coupon was sandwiched in it.
He picked it up, and "Banlan" gave the entry:
"Visit ticket to Santa's Workshop. A limited number of tickets issued by 'Santa Claus' Germaine Nicholas personally, Hold it and take the 'Silent Station' to go directly to the workshop."
(End of this chapter)