At dawn the next day, the distorted sunlight shone through the clouds again, as if it did not need to go through the process of sunrise and sunset.
Huo Fa entered the forest again. This time, he was accompanied by two men. One of them had blonde hair and looked rugged. His name was Aldo. He had a bad temper, but when he saw insects, he was scared like a child.
The red-haired man was called Anker. He looked feminine and had a pair of narrow eyes. He was the one who didn't forget to trip him up when they were running through the sea of insects. It could be said that he was a bad person.
Although it was not a good idea to cooperate with enemies from different factions, there was nothing they could do about it. This reminded him of the Great War of the Hogwarts fifty years later. If Lord Voldemort did not appear, perhaps Gryffindor would not cooperate with Slytherin.
After entering the forest again, the three of them were extremely tense because of what happened the day before. They held wooden sticks in their hands and tiptoed, trying not to make any noise.
In the forest, the arthropods that they saw the day before were hidden. Some huge slugs were wriggling on the tree trunks, leaving a sticky liquid that looked like snot. Sparkle shone.
Hoffa and Anker were fine, but they were always alert for any possible danger.
Aldo, on the other hand, could not stand it. His teeth chattered as he walked. "This is so disgusting … Every creature on this damn island is so disgusting."
"Cheer up, Aldo."
Anker said, "It's just some gastropods."
"No insects can do it."
Aldo grumbled. Just as he finished speaking. A slug about half a meter long fell from the tree and opened its sticky tongue at Aldo. Aldo reflexively pulled out his stick and smacked it hard, killing it on the ground.
He looked at the wriggling body and vomited.
After that, he said with a hoarse voice, "Such a big body is really unusual. Is it some kind of magical creature?"
Anker squatted down and turned the corpse over. After sucking his fingers, he spat out a mouthful of saliva.
"There are no magic waves. This is not a magical creature."
His disgusting actions almost made Aldo faint.
Hoffa rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. "Don't you think it's a little strange? About the location of this island. "
"What do you think?"
Anker asked.
"The English Channel should be one of the busiest channels in the world. In such a channel, not to mention an island, I'm afraid that every inch of the seabed's topography has been completely excavated. How could such a completely undeveloped primitive island appear?"
Anker immediately retorted, "How can you be so sure that this island is naturally formed? Maybe it's a secret realm created by an ancient wizard? It's been cast with a Muggle Banishing Curse so that those Muggles won't be able to discover it. "
"It's not a mystic realm."
Hoffa said affirmatively.
"How can you be sure that this isn't a secret realm?"
Anker said.
"I have my own way of distinguishing secret realms. I don't need to explain it to you. You just need to know that this is definitely not a secret realm."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Bach. I still have my own opinion. If it weren't for the Secret Realm, it would be impossible for such strange creatures to be born in the natural environment. "
"Can you guys stop arguing? Are we still going to find Lemour or not?"
Ordo impatiently held the stick and said, "If you continue to dawdle and wait for us to find her, maybe she will only be a set of bones."
Hoffa and Anker stopped arguing about the origin of the island and continued to walk into the depths of the forest.
Anker walked in front to clear the path, Hoffa walked in the middle, and Aldo walked at the back. After walking through a gloomy swamp filled with animal carcasses, Anker, who was walking in front, suddenly raised his arm and signaled for the team to stop.
"Look, there's a house over there," he said.
Hoffa and Aldo heard him and walked to his side. Sure enough, on the riverbed in front of them, there stood a three-story wooden house. The house was crooked, the windows were covered in cobwebs, the chimney was half collapsed, and the walls were covered in moss. It stood alone in the forest filled with fallen leaves, looking extremely strange and out of place.
"My guess was right," Anker said.
Anker said confidently, "This must have been left behind by the wizard who created this secret realm."
Looking at the strange building, Hoffa muttered in his heart. Could this really be a wizard's Secret Realm? His System didn't even give him a hint.
"Let's go take a look."
Anker called out to Aldo, intending to enter the house.
"Don't go in."
Aldo suddenly said.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just don't … don't go in."
He lowered his head and stuttered.
Anker asked in confusion, "Aldo, what's wrong? You haven't been right since yesterday."
"This is my childhood house."
Aldo said with a pale face.
As soon as Aldo said that, Hoffa and Anker immediately stopped moving.
Anker said, "Your house? Are you kidding? Aren't you from Berlin? How did your house end up in a place like this? "
"I'm not joking with you, Anker. This wall, this chimney, this courtyard, I won't forget it even after fifty years."
"F * ck your monster gargoyle," Anker scolded. "Have you lost your mind? What's going on in your head? How can you admit to something like this?"
"He's not lying."
Hoffa, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. "It's this island that's not right. Everything is not right. The bricks, the style, it's obvious that this house was produced in the early 20th century during the Weimar Republic. This house could only appear on the streets of Berlin, not in a primeval forest. "
Anker's face darkened as he listened without saying a word.
Hoffa turned his feet and slowly walked around the house.
"If this place was created by a wizard, why would he leave a Muggle-style residential building here? It doesn't make sense no matter how you think about it, unless … this house was placed here for someone to see. "
Anker said, "Aldo, tell me what happened."
"Nothing, let's go."
Aldo's legs trembled.
"Why do we have to go? Is Lemour in this house?"
"How would I know!?"
Aldo was a little agitated.
"Then why don't we go in and see?" Hoffa said.
"It's impossible. Look at the dilapidated state of the house. It looks like someone's living here … Ugh …!"
It was as if he was being strangled by an invisible monster. He suddenly let out a short, trembling sound.
Suddenly, an orange-yellow candle flame lit up in the dilapidated house. The candle was warm and bright, but in this scene, it made one's hair stand on end.
Hoffa and Anker looked at each other. Aldo's legs were twitching, his face was pale, and he stood there as if he had been petrified.
"There's someone here."
Anker slowly stepped back. "It's not a good idea to stay here."
Hoffa looked at him with disdain. This guy was just asking his companion why they didn't go in, but when he saw that there was someone inside, he immediately retreated.
But disdain aside, he also stepped back. Before things became clear, he felt that it was better to keep a distance from this strange house.
But just as he and Anker stepped back, Aldo seemed to be possessed. With a sweaty face, he slowly walked toward the dilapidated house.
"Aldo, I was just joking. Let's check it out first before going in," Anker called out softly from behind him.
But Aldo didn't seem to hear him. He walked forward step by step, getting closer and closer to the dilapidated house.
The door suddenly opened.
A woman wearing a headscarf appeared at the door. She looked simple and unsophisticated. She was dressed like a typical European housewife.
"Aldo, you're back?"
"I'm back."
Aldo said with a hoarse voice.
"Come in, I just made lunch."
"I … have two friends."
Aldo pointed behind him.
"Friends, that's great. Come in together."
The woman stood at the door and greeted Hoffa and Anker warmly. This strange scene made Hoffa's scalp tingle. After realizing that the person in the house was not Chloe, he just wanted to leave this strange place as soon as possible.
However, an inexplicable fog emerged from every corner of the forest. All the forest was blurred, as if only the dilapidated house was left between heaven and earth.
Hoffa's face was covered in cold sweat. He looked at Aldo, who was about to enter the house, and gritted his teeth. "Damn it!"
He strode forward and tried to stop Aldo before he could, but he didn't expect the middle-aged woman to grab his wrist. She smiled and pulled Hoffa with one hand and Anker with the other into the house.
Anker, who was far away, was already very weak. He wanted to leave this place. However, no matter which direction he ran in, all he could see was white fog. No matter how far he ran, when he looked back, the house was still there.
In the end, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Hoffa and Aldo into the strange house.
After entering the house, the middle-aged woman warmly served Hoffa and the other two, pouring water and making snacks.
However, other than her sincere smile, the atmosphere in the house was extremely strange.
Aldo's expression was complicated. He was nostalgic, hateful, and emotional. Anker's eyes darted around, sometimes gloomy, sometimes uneasy. Hoffa, on the other hand, lowered his head and spun the cup on the table.
The three of them didn't express any opinions about the current situation.
The woman put a box of fruit candies on the table, bent down and hugged Aldo's head. She said softly, "Your father has divorced me. No one will beat you up from now on. Aldo, don't run around anymore, okay?"
Aldo nodded mechanically.
The woman happily let go of him and turned to Hoffa.
"You look about the same age as Aldo. Are you his classmate?"
Hoffa thought that no matter how he looked, he didn't look the same age as Aldo. Anker was about the same age as Aldo.
However, in this strange environment, he didn't want to think about these details.
He nodded. "Yes."
"What about you?" the woman asked Anker. "Did you find him?"
Anker forced a smile and said, "Yes, I found him."
"That's great. You guys are so kind."
The woman actually shed tears of gratitude. "I knew there were more good people in this world. Let's have a meal together. I cooked beef and potatoes, although it's very simple … Oh, Aldo, there was a very kind girl who accompanied me in Berlin yesterday. She was looking for you with flyers. "
Aldo's eyes were dull, and his voice was hoarse. "Really?"
The middle-aged woman looked up and shouted upstairs, "Chloe, dear, come down and have a meal with me. My child is back."
Hearing her shout, a girl with long red hair and lavender eyes ran down from the second floor.
Before she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw Hoffa sitting at the dining table. She immediately covered her mouth and shouted in shock, "You … You, why are you here?!"
Hoffa stood up as if he had been electrocuted. Anker also stood up, and the two of them aimed at the kitchen knife at the same time.
The peaceful facade that they had worked hard to create was torn to pieces in an instant. They were all thinking the same thing: whoever got the knife first would be the boss.
Aldo secretly pulled Anker's hand and whispered, "Don't do it here …"
There was a rare hint of pleading in his voice.
Anker was not moved at all. He shook off his hand and stood there like a stone pillar. His malicious eyes kept moving between Chloe and Hoffa.
In the end, Hoffa gave up the idea of snatching the knife and sat down first. He let out a long sigh and murmured, "I understand."
The middle-aged woman came out of the kitchen with a pot and greeted the three of them warmly.
"Come, take a seat. Chloe, after dinner, I'll take you to the nearby police station."
Chloe ran to the middle-aged woman and asked in surprise, "Who's your child?"
The middle-aged woman pointed at Aldo. "Look, he's exactly the same as on the flyer. Isn't he cute?"
Chloe exclaimed, "He's almost the same age as you!"
The woman looked at her in confusion, as if she did not know what she was talking about.
Aldo said, "Shut up, Lemmy!" Then he said to the middle-aged woman, "Can I have a few words with my friends in private?"
The woman was a little surprised, but then she said, "Of course, dear."
She turned and walked out of the door, closing it behind her.
As soon as the middle-aged woman left, the small kitchen seemed to be in chaos. Everything was on the verge of going out of control and chaos.
Anker was the first to shout, "Damn it, Aldo, is that your mother? Didn't you say your mother died a long time ago? So what is that woman, a ghost? "
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