Unraveling the Mystery
Lorry wandered aimlessly, and before he knew it, he had reached the edge of the Village.
He saw a gray wooden house standing alone in front of him, with bare ground nearby and tree stumps as thick as bowls visible to the naked eye.
My gaze swept over it.
The instincts of a "Mystery Pryer" immediately provide the answer:
This place used to be Hunting Forest. When its value was completely exploited, the Forester moved out of his hut, which was then renovated by the villagers to imprison Jansen.
The cabin was small, with nailed-together windows and a chain fastened to the door.
This indicates that the person taking care of Jansen did not live here and had a certain routine. At the same time, the villagers did not specifically leave anyone to guard him.
Everything went exactly as Lorry had planned.
He pursed his lips slightly, his gaze filled with a hint of emotion.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river... From being the one being arranged to now being the one arranging others, I can barely call it starting to cross the river...
However, the revolution is far from over, and the road ahead is arduous and the task is long...
Amidst a jumble of thoughts, Lorry recalled the president's warm and friendly President as he spoke with his alter ego, and also remembered Ince Will's Quill.
Compared to them, the "Book of Dimensions" is practically a junior.
The arrangement went smoothly for two reasons: firstly, favorable conditions were met, and secondly, the fact that those being arranged were all ordinary people.
Fors and Hugh were exceptions, but they followed their own plans in the Real World and therefore did not interfere with the subsequent storyline.
If the person assigned is a powerful Beyonder.
For example, the "Rose School" member who secretly manipulated Parliamentarian Begat to sense the danger in advance and cut his losses to escape to the Southern Continent.
Without sufficient preconditions to drive it forward, and without the Real World being able to extend its uncontrollable inertia, any arrangement will inevitably fail.
Otherwise, Altair wouldn't have failed repeatedly, and he wouldn't have needed to waste time and effort sending Pali Beria and her family to the Southern Continent. He could have simply written, "Due to some unforeseen circumstances, this member of the ' Rose School ' returned to Backlund and unwittingly Lorry's ambush."
Whew... Lorry gathered his thoughts and exhaled.
He strode forward, approached the gray wooden house, and transferred the entire area around it to another Dimension, easily unlocking it with the Wire he carried with him.
Ding-dong!
The heavy iron chains fell to the ground, and a sudden sound came from inside:
No! Don't kill me!
"I didn't see anything, I don't know anything!"
"The story about the Woods eating people is false! I promise I'll never talk nonsense outside again! Please, please don't kill me!"
Had someone threatened him? Something like, "If this happens again, I'll kill you"? Lorry's mind raced. He raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door three times before pushing it open and going inside.
The moment the knocking sounded, Jansen's wailing stopped.
He stared blankly at Lorry as he walked in, squinting as he looked him up and down, muttering, "It's not them, you didn't come to kill me."
As he spoke, Jansen's tone suddenly became agitated, and he huddled in the corner, shouting hoarsely:
"I remember now, I saw you today!"
You're from out of town!
"Run! These Woods can eat people!"
There's no way to communicate properly... Luckily, I was prepared... Lorry sighed inwardly, stroking the White Bone Ring and using "Soothing" once.
The opponent's condition has visibly stabilized.
Suddenly, Lorry asked, "Do you recognize this thing?"
He took out Gold-Cased Pocket Watch from his pocket and shook it. The watch gleamed in the light of the Kerosene Lamp, immediately catching Jansen's eye.
Taking this opportunity, Lorry used "Psychological Suggestion - Hypnosis".
This is a qualitative change after a "Psychiatrist" Advancement to "Hypnotist," enabling them to open the door to the target's Mental Body and modify their consciousness.
By influencing their subconscious, they are made to accept the arrangements without even realizing it.
Of course, if the "Hypnotist's" arrangements are too obviously malicious or the target's mental power is too strong, it can resist Hypnosis to some extent.
"What exactly did you discover last July and August? Why did you say the Woods eats people?" Lorry asked softly in a rather gentle voice.
The words had barely left his mouth.
Jansen, who had been looking blank, suddenly became terrified. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead and neck, and his body began to tremble slightly.
Based on the Hypnosis process mentioned in the Original Novel, Lorry attempted to Soothing with words:
Don't be afraid... it's very safe here...
"You can speak your mind..."
With repeated whispers over and over, Jansen's emotions stabilized, his body stopped trembling, and the fear in his eyes gradually disappeared.
He slowly exhaled and murmured:
"In early August last year, I led two tourists to a deep place to pray for blessings, and we saw a Gold Ring stained with blood, which belonged to a previous tourist."
"But this tourist left a few days ago. I personally saw him off onto the Passenger Ship; the ring was still on his finger at the time..."
The ring... Lorry's heart skipped a beat, and he asked again:
"The rings all look similar, perhaps you've mistaken one for another?"
"No." Jansen's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was quite firm. "It looks very distinctive; I'm sure I'm not mistaken."
"It must be... it must be him coming back!"
"But somehow, it was eaten by that Woods!"
Seeing that Jansen was getting agitated again, Lorry quickly asked him if he knew anything else, only to receive a negative answer.
Seeing this, he stopped tormenting the unfortunate man and gradually guided him to forget the nightmarish memories, falling asleep with a relaxed expression.
A moment later.
Lorry restored everything and quietly returned to the Inn.
He met briefly with Fors and the others, and learned from the two ladies that the family had indeed hung the Red Strip of Cloth deep in the Woods.
The Tour Guide tried to dissuade them, but couldn't resist the temptation of money.
There is no nightlife in this kind of small place.
Therefore, the matter of asking the villagers for information can only wait until tomorrow.
After a brief discussion, the three parted ways. Fors and Hugh returned to their rooms to rest, Lorry began using his "Shaman" abilities to search for the Brown-Haired Young Man.
He used the same trick again, Hypnosis the other person to get the answer they wanted.
The Brown-Haired Young Man, Kady, did indeed have an unpleasant experience last year, often feeling inexplicably cold and experiencing a series of misfortunes.
Having heard the rumors about Talin Island, he took a boat and came here.
After praying deep in the Woods, I seemed to see golden sunlight shining down, and a warm feeling spread throughout my body, and my coldness and bad luck disappeared.
Golden Sunlight... warmth... Lorry nodded almost imperceptibly, using the same method to gently guide the other party to forget the relevant memories.
By this point, he had a rough idea of Truth.
The only thing left to truly uncover is the results of the two ladies' inquiries tomorrow.
The next day, which was January 2nd of the New Year.
The three met again in the evening.