Chapter 318 Christmas 2
'The so-called "ticket" turns out to be this...'
Jilan looked at the yellow exquisite ticket in his hand and thought to himself.
This ticket has silver snowflake patterns on all four sides, and the four corners are the patterns of the sword, the Holy Grail, the pentacle, and the scepter. Surrounding the middle are four ancient Xilu cursive characters -
"Welcome".
Santa's Workshop...
Germaine Nicholas' home is not actually in the "lower" area. The same goes for Krampus' hut.
Both are located in the "Cloister" area.
If it were just a trek on foot, it would be difficult for ordinary mystics to set foot in that area in their lifetime.
The reason why Gilan was able to reach the Krampus cabin was purely due to luck, and he took the "Silent Station" of a certain "dedicated line" by chance.
According to the secret records in the yellow booklet, the destination of each "Silent Courier" can actually be known by observing the inscriptions on the edge of the carriage door.
It was just the first time Ji Lan met him and he had no idea about it... he boarded the carriage in a daze and went to the "corridor" of the Land of Gods.
He held the visit ticket in his hand and thought, maybe he can try to see it tonight.
…
…
December 25th, Christmas.
It is snowing heavily and covered in silver.
The entire Muse City was shrouded in a white world.
Today is a special day, and it is also a festival that the people of the empire attach great importance to.
On this day in previous years, the entire empire would be immersed in reunions, celebrations, joy and happiness... However, now the atmosphere is slightly depressed due to the miasma natural disaster.
But I am also glad that Christmas has given people who were originally desperate a glimmer of hope.
The Dawn Churches in various urban areas of Muse City are overcrowded from early in the morning.
Whether they are nobles, wealthy businessmen of the upper class, the middle class or the lower class, they all go to the church to pray with blessings, follow the priest to say mass, sing hymns, eat Holy Communion (unleavened bread), and drink holy blood. (Red Glucose Syrup Water)...
I just hope that I, my family and my friends can be safe and not be infected by the ubiquitous, abominable miasma.
But even at Christmas, the official staff of the empire did not get a vacation, but became even busier.
Gilan drove to the Triumph Building as usual to "check in" for work and received today's escort assignment. And his workload increased again.
Fortunately, as a third-level mystic, he is energetic and not too tired.
When the mission ended, it was already late at night.
After reporting on the mission, he received the "Christmas bonus" distributed by the Investigation Committee. The bonus is quite considerable, a full 500 Caesars.
Of course, not everyone can take so much.
This is his compensation for being the committee leader and gravedigger, plus working overtime every day during this period.
Working overtime on Christmas Day, the Empire naturally expressed its reaction.
When treating "civil servants", we cannot use capital exploitation. Otherwise, how can outstanding talents be willing to work for the empire?
In addition, Gilan also received an additional 200 merit points as reward, and the staff updated his "investigation book" in a timely manner.
Gilan is in a good mood after his official duties are over today.
After get off work, he went home to dream...
He drove back to the rental apartment, washed briefly, and lay down on the bed to fall asleep.
After his consciousness sank, Gilan landed on the island of his soul.
He did not waste a moment, stood directly on the shore, summoned his spiritual boat, and immediately chose to set sail.
This time, Jilan did not need to correct the direction at all. He followed the guidance of the "Shenxiang Brand" in his heart and drove the boat directly towards the Home of God.
…
…
The voyage went surprisingly smoothly.
It is not that Jilan has never encountered sea monsters, but I don’t know if it is because he has the "Brand of Shenxiang". Those sea monsters only showed their heads from a distance and stared at him quietly, but did not step forward to attack him. attack.
This also made Ji Lan secretly relieved.
After landing on the coast of the Land of Gods, he found that the salt flat he set foot on was not the scene he had last time.
'Have you landed from the other side...'
Jilan secretly thought.
Following the experience of his last exploration, he walked into the black forest.
Before going deep into the swampy area "The Land of the Olive Withered Land", Gillan discovered a group of black centaurs.
They have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse, holding long spears or short bows. There are men and women, all naked, and their eyes are indifferent.
This group of centaurs seems to be hunting something, patrolling around. Gilan hid in a bush and observed secretly.
He judged that this was probably the Shenxiang ethnic group named "Cruse" recorded in the yellow booklet.
The Cruz Centaur is extremely warlike and bloodthirsty, and is quite quick and agile in the jungle swamps. It is a natural hunter. If someone encounters them, it is difficult to get rid of them and a fierce battle is inevitable.
Gilan followed Chairman Parra's warning and did not show up rashly. Instead, he chose a detour to avoid the centaur group.
He passed through the land of withered olives and came to the wheat field area, which also has a name, called "Golden Border".
According to the yellow booklet, the "Golden Border" is the only place where the "Silent Coach" must pass. It is easy to meet passing carriages here.
Gilan walked along the path in the middle of the wheat field, waiting for the arrival of the "Silent Coach".
He didn't wait long.
Soon a headless old horse came from behind him, dragging a boxy carved carriage.
Wheel, wheel, wheel...
Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of him.
Gilan glanced at the lower edge of the carriage, and sure enough, there was a place name engraved in ancient Xilu script:
"Endless Bronze Mountains."
This The place was also recorded in the yellow booklet. The mountain range was dotted with various giant bronze vessels, including humanoid, animal and plant forms... It was as if the entire mountain range was made of bronze.
The yellow leather booklet states that the "Endless Bronze Mountains" are quite dangerous, and "dream landslides" often occur, causing people to fall into the "corridor" area and narrowly escape death.
Gilan took out the "Santa Claus Workshop Visiting Ticket" and handed it to the headless old horse.
This time, the headless horse finally reacted.
Hissing——
I saw a small square opening suddenly opened in the horse's abdomen, and the skin and flesh were opened, revealing a dark cavity.
Immediately, a blood-stained hand stretched out from it and spread it flat in front of Gilan.
Jilan was startled at first.
He took a deep breath and then placed the ticket on the palm of his hand. He held the ticket in his palm and took it back, and the horse's skin and flesh recovered.
Gilan did not speak in a tacit understanding and got into the carriage of the carriage.
哐.
The carriage door closed on its own.
Gilan made no more useless attempts and relaxed his body lying on the cold hardwood bench.
Clang, clang...
The carriage started to drive slowly.
I don’t know how long it has been.
The surrounding temperature dropped again.
Jilan could still faintly hear the crisp sound of wind chimes coming from outside the carriage.
The carriage finally arrived at its destination. The carriage door opened, he stepped out, and stepped into the deep snow, up to his knees.
Jilan exhaled a white breath and looked up, looking quite shocked.
I saw a huge square building standing on the snow directly in front of me, with the eaves protruding in a circle. The outer wall is entirely red, but there is a green cross pattern in the middle.
It looks like a gift box magnified countless times...
There are two ceramic sculptures of deer-headed men in suits and leather shoes standing at the door. The one on the left is in the form of a tray. He stretched out his hand to pretend to be in the door, while the one on the right was stroking his chest and bending down to salute.
Hissing——
At this time, the square opening in the belly of the headless horse was torn open again, and the human hand handed the ticket back.
After taking it, Jilan found that the ticket was stamped with a red seal, distributed in a circular shape in ancient Xilu characters, with the words "The post train has been delivered (the ticket is invalid)" and other words.
Soon, the headless horse pulled the carriage and turned around to leave.
Jilan withdrew his gaze and walked towards the red and green gift box-shaped building. But as soon as he arrived at the door, the two deer-headed pottery sculptures turned their eyes and stared at him. Their mouths slid open and closed like puppets, and they said:
"Visitors, no idlers in the workshop are allowed to enter. ."
"This is a 'visit ticket'."
Ji Lan handed out the coupon in his hand and tried to put it on the tray of the deer-headed pottery sculpture on the left.
"Oh...it turns out that we are guests from afar. Welcome to the 'Santa Claus Workshop'. Please come in."
The tone of the two deer-headed sculptures immediately became friendly. He stood up and said with a chuckle.
Creak -
The double doors of the house opened on their own.
Ji Lan held the brim of his hat, saluted the two pottery statues guarding the door, and then stepped in.
As soon as he entered, his expression became extremely surprised and his eyes glanced around.
Inside the workshop, Christmas pine trees are everywhere, hung with decorations and flashing with dazzling lights of various colors.
Multiple wooden conveyor belts, like factory assembly lines, twist and turn, carrying red and green gift boxes of various sizes.
Hundreds of palm-sized ceramic sculptures of deer-headed men are sitting on high stools beside the assembly line, assembling and packaging various gifts with dazzling hand speed.
Jilan's arrival did not attract the attention of these pottery sculptures. As he walked inside, he secretly marveled.
The scene in front of me is really like a fairy tale.
Cang!
Suddenly, a gift box half as tall as a man fell from the "fireplace" on Gillan's left.
Then the reindeer pottery sculpture on the side was like a "mouse toy". The rollers under its limbs and hooves slid. With a whooshing sound, it came quickly, then bit the silk strap of the gift box and brought it to the front. On the assembly line.
The entire workshop was running rapidly and in an orderly manner.
"How about it, isn't it interesting?"
At this moment, a young man's voice suddenly came from behind Gilan, with a gentle tone.
He quickly turned his head and looked.
I saw a young man with short gray hair standing behind him. His facial features are very handsome, his nose is high, his gray eyes are deep and friendly, he is holding a twisted and slender oak staff, barefoot, and wearing a large red cloak.
"You...you are 'Santa Claus'?"
Gilan asked hesitantly.
"I think so." The young man smiled. "I'm Germaine Nicholas...Is it different from what you imagined?"
"Well, it's a bit." Gillan nodded.
In his mind, "Santa Claus" should be the image of an old man with a white beard. Wearing a Santa hat and Christmas clothes, all dressed in red and white, it is very festive.
But the young man in front of him was completely different.
"Welcome to my workshop, which is also my residence, Mr. Guillain Iros... Every year I invite the 'good children' of the world to visit here and give them a sweet dream as an extra "Reward."
Germain smiled.
"Please follow me..."
As he spoke, he waved the long oak staff in his hand.
Jingle bell bell.
The bell on the handle of the staff shakes, making a crisp and pleasant sound. At the same time, a chill swept through, and countless snowflakes as small as starlight danced.
In Jilan's stunned eyes, the ground instantly formed a carpet of blue and translucent ice crystals.
He stood on it and slid forward unconsciously. And Germaine raised his long staff, turned around and smiled brightly at him, his red cloak raised, revealing his thin figure.
"Look over there..." Germaine pointed, and Gilan looked in the direction he pointed, and saw gingerbread men the size of fingers lining up and jumping in happily. He put it in a gift box and laid it down neatly.
"That will be a gift for the 'good child' Imamu. She is very filial and kind, but she lives in poverty and has never eaten sweets since she was a child..."
Germain pointed again Pointing in another direction, a ceramic sculpture of a deer-headed man wearing a monocle is assembling a building block doll.
"That was a gift from 'good boy' Royce. He was hit by a carriage while trying to save a dog and could never stand up again. And he has always longed for a building block toy..."< br>
Santa Claus introduced the owners of seven or eight gifts to Gillan in a row, and his tone was quite approving.
"Are these gifts for next Christmas?"
Gilan asked softly while gliding on the ice carpet.
After all, Christmas Eve has passed.
Germain smiled, nodded and said:
"Yes... there are many 'good children', and the workshop needs a year of advance preparation before the gift can be made."
"You want to distribute all the gifts to the 'good children' in one night?"
Ji Lan suddenly thought of something and said in surprise.
Germain was a little strange and asked doubtfully:
"Why do you need me to give it to you personally... There are many dolls in the workshop, all of which can walk the world for me."
Jilan was startled.
"Then last night..."
"I went there myself last night."
Germain chuckled.
"There is something special about you, Mr. Gillan. And if I don't go, Krampus might attack you..."
"Are you and Krampus enemies?"
Gilan took this opportunity and asked.
Germaine sighed sadly and shook his head.
“Actually, he and I were the best companions, and we were both apostles of the original Si Chen’s ‘Noon Dawn’.”
“?!” Ji Lan’s eyes widened. .
Santa Claus and the Christmas Devil are both apostles of Omer?
“It’s not appropriate to say more about this matter.”
Germaine glanced at Gillan and whispered.
"Nowadays, the world is becoming more and more chaotic. I can't stop this alone. I really live up to Lord Omer's expectations. All I can do is bring some comfort to people."
< br>When Jilan heard such secrets, he felt awe-inspiring.
He thought of something again and asked again:
"Then Krampus and the Windmill Cat have the same surname of 'Solomon', you know..."
"He is actually Parr's 'self'."
Germain said lightly.
(End of this chapter)