"Old man, let me ask you something." Lin Ze stood up and clapped his hands, "What gods are these three statues for?"
The old man glanced at him.
"Why are you asking this?"
"I'm curious. I've traveled all over the country for so many years, but I've never seen these three."
The old man was silent for a while while holding his iron staff, as if weighing something.
"From left to right." He pointed.
"The first one is the Virgin, who protects children and fertility, and is worshiped a lot by the people. The second one is the God of Thunder, who controls the weather and harvests. The king personally comes to burn incense every spring when plowing."
His fingers paused for a moment and landed on the third small statue.
"This... I can't say for sure."
"You are in charge here and you don't know?"
"I have been in charge of the temple for thirty years, and these three statues were here before I came. There are inscriptions on the backs of the statues of the Virgin Mary and the God of Thunder, describing their origins and the rules of sacrifice. But this little one has nothing."
The old man bent down, stretched out his fingers and touched the top of the little statue's head gently. The movement was very gentle, with an indescribable familiarity.
"Don't underestimate this little statue. Today's king comes here mainly to worship this little statue every year."
Lin Ze and Sirius looked at each other.
"Constantine?" Lin Ze asked.
"Yes." The old man straightened up.
"He came often before he took the throne. After the old king died, he came once a year and has never stopped for so many years."
"Besides offering sacrifices, what else has he done here?"
"I don't know. The palace door is closed, so we can't see what's going on inside."
The old man glanced at the small statue again, and there was something inexplicable in his eyes.
"Two guests, you have asked too many questions. It is better not to know some things."
"Now, the temple will be temporarily closed. Please go out..."
Lin Ze The two looked at each other and smiled, then walked out of the temple.
When the two of them came out of the temple, the sunshine outside was so bright that they had to put their hands on their eyebrows to feel more comfortable.
Sirius put his hands in his sleeves. "That old man was dishonest, especially when he talked about the little statue."
"There's something on that old man." Lin Ze said.
"What?"
"I don't know. I just used "Legilimency" on him but it bounced back. It should be some kind of device that can prevent the intrusion of mental power."
"Could it be that old man pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger?" Sirius asked.
"The probability is very low, it's probably due to the influence of the artifacts."
Sirius clicked his tongue. "The water in this era is quite deep."
Lin Ze and Sirius stood on the stone steps outside the temple. The steps were so hot in the sun that they could feel the heat through the soles of their boots.
"Let's go back to the yard first." Lin Ze said.
The two walked toward the east of the city along the way they came. When passing the main street, Sirius suddenly turned into a blacksmith shop on the roadside.
There were several thick daggers and iron hoes hanging in the shop. The fire in the furnace had long been extinguished. The blacksmith was sitting on the wooden pier at the door, using a file to repair an old sickle.
"Boss." Sirius stood in front of the counter, "Can you get a sword here?"
The blacksmith looked up at him and asked, "What sword?"
"For knights, the blade should be three feet long, and the hilt should be able to be inlaid with something."
The blacksmith put down the file and looked at Sirius from top to bottom. "You don't look like a knight."
"Ordered for a friend."
"Pay the deposit in advance, five silver coins."
Sirius touched his body and turned to look at Lin Ze.
Lin Ze took out the silver coins from his pocket and put them on the counter. The blacksmith took the money, pulled out a dirty sheepskin from under the counter, and asked Sirius to make a request.
Sirius spent a long time gesturing, which sword grid should be narrow, the sword blade should have blood grooves, and the sword handle should be wrapped with a leather rope to prevent slipping.
The blacksmith made two notes and put the sheepskin aside. "Okay, okay, I'll pick it up in ten days."
After leaving the blacksmith shop, Lin Ze asked, "Are you really going to use an ordinary iron sword to kill Sword in the Stone? I mean... will it leave any bad traces in history?"
Sirius lowered his voice, "The sword is for people to see. The key is what is engraved on the sword. Think about it, when Arthur draws the sword, if there are any special effects on the sword, such as glowing or sparking, wouldn't the onlookers believe it?"
"..." Okay, I have to say, this set of Sirius is quite good.
When the two returned to the small courtyard in the east of the city, Saira was already there.
She was sitting on a stone bench in the yard, with a pottery bowl in front of her, with a few pieces of dry biscuits soaked in it. Arthur was not there.
"Where is he?" Lin Ze asked.
"In his room." Saira tilted his head towards the room to the north, "I haven't spoken much since I came back and have been sitting in the room."
"How's it going, old minister?"
Saira put down the bowl with a relatively relaxed expression. "I met two. One used to be the financial officer of the late king, and the other used to be in charge of the royal treasury, but is now idle at home."
"What did they say?"
"The old financial officer is timid. Hearing that Arthur wanted to compete for the position, he was so frightened that his face turned pale, but he didn't say no."
"The old man in charge of the treasury was quite cheerful and asked Arthur directly what chips he had."
"What did you say?"
"What can I say? I can only say that nothing can be revealed before it happens." Sela spread his hands.
"Then why does this guy look frustrated?" Lin Ze pointed at Arthur who had a gloomy face in the room.
"Who knows? Maybe you think this is not going to be easy for us, haha."
Lin Ze opened the door to the north room, and Arthur was sitting on the edge of the bed, resting his hands on his knees, staring at the stone wall in a daze.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Sirius walked over and hugged the dazed Arthur.
"Can I ask you a question?" Arthur looked up at Lin Ze.
"Okay."
"Are you helping me just because I should be King Arthur?" There seemed to be something surging in Arthur's eyes.
"Well... not entirely. After you get the throne, I need to borrow your authority to help me investigate someone." Lin Ze said.
"Check a person?" Arthur blinked.
"Just checking one person? Is it that simple?"
"Well... it's actually not too simple, because this person is quite powerful. It would be difficult for me to find him by myself."
"Okay!" Arthur stood up and swept away the depression just now.
"Then it's settled, when I get the throne, I will help you find the person you can't find!"
Seeing Arthur suddenly ignited, Lin Ze was stunned for a moment.
"But..." Arthur suddenly changed the topic. "In the morning, I went to see two old ministers. Lift Boqin... was the one who was in charge of our family's treasury before... He told me that the current king is not as simple as he seems..."