A slapstick? If it weren't for him who was almost killed earlier, Li Wen would have believed it.
"Are you Short Hand?"
She looked at the Brass Mask people who suddenly appeared. The mask tightly covered his entire face, with a slender bronze pointer embedded in his right eye, which was slowly rotating in a clockwise direction at the moment. He was wearing a faded linen robe, and the cuffs revealed white arms covered with strange tattoos. His whole person exuded the smell of old, decaying pages and ink.
"That was a title from a long time ago. If you want, you can call me 'watchmaker.'" His voice was very confusing, and it was even difficult for people to recognize his gender.
Li Wen didn't care about this, she said directly, "Someone entrusted me to come to you, and they also said: This is the request of the evening bell."
The other party did not answer, but slowly walked towards Haelie, who was struggling in pain. The hem of his robe did not make the slightest sound when it swept the ground. Li Wen noticed that his steps were terrifyingly precise, and the distance of each step was exactly the same, as if it had been measured with some invisible ruler.
"Dad..." Haelie's voice had been distorted into an inhuman neigh. She stretched out her arms that were burned by the flames. The liquid, whether it was grease or melted flesh and blood, dripped with her movements, leaving bright and everlasting flames on the ground, "Help me..."
Short Hand leaned over and picked up the brass pocket watch. The hands trembled slightly in his palm. The brass hands at his right eye suddenly sped up and spun, making a fine sound of gear teeth.
Li Wen took half a step back alertly, ready to deal with possible dangers at any time.
"You came earlier than expected." Short Hand's voice was still erratic. He gently stroked the surface of the pocket watch, and the broken glass was put back together as if going back in time. "That guy at the evening clock is still so impatient."
Short Hand gently placed the repaired pocket watch in Haelie's palm, and the girl's struggle immediately subsided. As if suppressed by some invisible force, the golden flame gradually retracted into the depths of her eyes, leaving only tiny sparks flickering in her pupils. She huddled in the corner of the counter, holding her pocket watch and shivering like a wounded animal.
"You shouldn't hurt her." Short Hand suddenly spoke, with no emotion or anger in his voice, "Haelie is just too lonely."
Li Wen said coldly, "Using death to relieve loneliness?"
"Death?" Short Hand shook his head, Brass Mask reflected the dim light in the store, "Here, death is the cheapest pastime."
Li Wen didn't know what this meant, and of course she didn't care.
"Now that the words have been brought, I should be able to leave." She turned around and glanced at Haelie. The little girl was immediately startled by her calm and emotionless gaze.
"Please help yourself." Short Hand said, "The premise is that you can walk out of here alone."
"Why, can you still not let me leave?" Li Wen thought Short Hand was trying to stop him, so he immediately grabbed the dagger and prepared to fight.
She would definitely not be able to beat her in a real fight, but if she showed weakness at this time, she would be easily manipulated by the other party.
"No, you don't understand what I mean." Short Hand said unhurriedly, "The danger outside may be beyond your imagination. Are you sure you want to leave here alone?"
Li Wen thought about it and felt that it would be more dangerous to stay here. Of course, she didn't say that directly.
"Since I can come here, why can't I go back the same way?" she asked.
Hearing this, Short Hand just shook his head silently.
"A long time ago, a tragic disaster occurred here. It was all our fault, and it was also the primary reason why we were imprisoned here. And now, the reverberations of that disaster are still echoing in the Gray Mist outside. It is an irresistible and extremely strange force, and even we are helpless to do anything about it."
Is even Elders at a loss?
Li Wen raised her eyebrows, then she would have to take a closer look.
Seeing her silence, Short Hand thought he had successfully convinced Li Wen. So he walked slowly to the counter, sat down, and released the huge guinea pig.
The guinea pig originally looked frightened because of the fight between Li Wen and Haelie. Now, being held in Short Hand's arms and having his hair smoothed down, he immediately closed his eyes and began to enjoy it. He was not as anxious as when he faced Haelie earlier.
"Outer City, what happened?" Li Wen was quite curious about this.
In this regard, Short Hand did not think about hiding it, but before answering, he asked Li Wen a question, "Do you know why I, and Elders like me, were exiled here?"
The reason? Didn't he say that before? Wan Zhong also mentioned that Short Hand was exiled forever because he refused to acknowledge the end of dusk. As for the deeper reason...
Li Wen recalled the explanation given by Strategy Group, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink.
"I heard..." Li Wen said with a serious face, and his tone became cautious when speaking, "You fell into madness in pursuit of Perfect Amber, and then you were exiled forever and were prohibited from returning to Amber City."
Chasing Perfect Amber, or chasing one of the incarnations of the witch, what does that mean?
"There is indeed such a statement." Short Hand showed little emotion, as if such a blasphemous and ridiculous thing was nothing more than an ordinary incident in his eyes. He stroked the soft fur of the guinea pig, Brass Mask's voice was calm and almost indifferent, "You are from the inner city, so have you seen it?"
"What?"
Short Hand replied calmly, "The person who calls himself 'Perfect Amber'."
Li Wen raised his eyebrows and did not answer easily.
What do you mean by claiming to be? That existence is really not the true incarnation of the witch? This is normal, after all, the real Twilight Witch has already fallen...
"It seems that she has had that experience." Short Hand seemed to identify what she was thinking through Li Wen's micro-expression, "Isn't it incredible? The person in power on the pillar has been vacant for a long time, but his incarnation still exists in the world..."
"Is this also a manifestation of Dusk's authority?" Li Wen couldn't help but ask.
Short Hand was silent for a long time, and then spoke, saying in a very low and hesitant voice, "No, that was our handiwork and our guilt."
"'Perfect Amber' is not something we are born with. Because we refused to acknowledge the end of dusk, we gathered here and tried to wake up our master several times, but it was in vain. The figure on the pillar was long gone, and we no longer even remembered the appearance of the master... Until after another attempt, an unknown existence responded to our expectations. He called himself...'Perfect Amber'."
Clock Shop fell into deathly silence, Haelie held the pocket watch with a resentful look on his face, the guinea pig covered its ears with its short forelimbs, which looked ridiculous, and Li Wen was shocked, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed natural.