Walking through the Monastery, Xie De could clearly feel the Gothic influence in its architecture.
The Monastery's hospital had soaring spires and vast stained-glass windows. The whole building rose tall and straight, its predominantly dark brown and gray colors lending it a solemn air.
Most of it was built from brick and stone, its surfaces carved with all kinds of angels gazing down upon the mortal world.
A clock stood here, and people hurried back and forth inside. Groans of pain and weeping drifted out.
The moment Xie De arrived, he was greeted by one blood-drained corpse after another. They lay piled at the hospital entrance, their eyes still open in death, their ends gruesome. Several pale-faced nuns were praying over them.
The ground was filthy, blood mingling with dirty water and giving off a nauseating stench of excrement.
The place was quiet, filthy, disgusting, and holy. Tiny, nameless insects flitted about on beating wings, and mosquitoes swarmed everywhere.
Xie De suddenly wanted to back out. He remembered that the Black Death in Europe had spread through fleas like these. The two new players who had died at the beginning had succumbed to disease.
How was he supposed to find clues in an environment like this?
He could catch something any second.
Xie De hesitated.
Then a nun carrying corpses up ahead raised her head and noticed him.
A tall man stood a short distance from the hospital entrance, holding a crow that symbolized death in his hand. His dark green eyes were like a cold lake as he watched them in utter stillness.
And here, the corpses were piled like mountains.
The young nun gave a short scream. "The devil has come!"
Everyone's attention was drawn to her. Following her frightened gaze, quite a few nuns covered their mouths.