Chapter 487 (1/2)

Looking at the herbal gift pack Nangong Sanba had taken out, Nangong Wuyue felt an itch in her spine. She smacked her brother on the shoulders and said, “Brother, would you believe it if I told you that I would’ve whipped you with my tail if this was a different occasion?”

Nangong Sanba did not get what she meant. “What’s wrong? Do you know how important this thing is to people with anal fissures?”

Hao Ren quietly put his hand on Nangong Sanba’s shoulders. Just as he was about to say something, he saw a classic car in his periphery, hustling towards them—Ogyust was back, coincidentally.

“Tuck your Chinese herbal gift pack away. The old man could get irritated and kill himself along with you.” Hao Ren grinned. “Let’s just play it by ear, and see if Ogyust knows about the legend of the witch. If the Rakikh Family’s lost it, we’ll use solving the curse of the evil spirit as an excuse.”

The old car jolted along the trail into the garden, which was surrounded by thorns and bushes. The man inside the car had obviously noticed the strangers in front of his house. He honked twice. Hao Ren could almost imagine a pair of cautious and neurotic eyes behind the tinted car windows, observing him. As the car came to a stop in the garden, the door was pushed open and an old man in a woolly coat alighted from the car. He had gray hair and looked to be about 50. He stared at the strangers at his doorpstep, his face cautious with a sense of despise. “Who are you people?”

“Mr. Ogyust,” said Nangong Sanba as he stepped forward and greeted the old man enthusiastically, “it’s me—these are my colleagues. They’re experts in occultism and witchcraft. We’ve come to you to discuss about incantations and mysterious knowledge.”

“I have nothing to say,” Ogyust scoffed. He had a deadpanned face and he never bothered to hide his despise as he raised his voice, “God, why can’t you let an old man live a normal life?”

Meanwhile, Vivian studied the air-dried wild herbs and animal skins hanging on the outer walls of the house with much interest. When she heard their conversation, she felt a bit dissatisfied. She turned her head around and said, “Aren’t you being harassed by an evil spirit? Maybe we can… Huh?”

When Vivian saw Ogyust, she was stunned as if something had struck her. At the same time, Ogyust’ response was even more dramatic: he was wide-eyed. He began to choke as though he was being strangled, and he started to shiver!

The old man staggered backwards. It looked like he was ready to turn around and run. Vivian finally recalled something in her mind, “Pavel? You’re still alive?”

“Pavel…” Ogyust tripped and fell on his back. He looked at the sky in a daze. “Pavel… No one’s ever called me by this name for three centuries… Mistress, you finally came back to get your possession?”

“How could this be…” Vivian was stunned. “Was it you who had been in contact with the Andre family al the while?”

Hao Ren had guessed the truth from the inexplicable conversation. He looked at the shivering old man in in disbelief. Meanehile, Lily was quick as lunged to hold the old man up, together with Nangong Saba, they helped the old man who was about to pass out walk to door. “Don’t say anything yet. Let’s get side which is warmer.”

The wooden house was clean and tidy, except that there was a sense of oldness, not keeping up with times. Nevertheless, there were a few modern electrical appliances and daily necessities which contrasted with the ancient wooden tables and chairs. It exuded a wonderful sense of space-time confusion.

The half-body portrait of Alexander I was hung below the portrait of Lenin. A Soviet rocket copper mold was placed next to a silver candlestick from the Tsarist Period. Old-fashioned mud-brick fireplace was crackling with fire, and fireplaces used the Red Army era. A metal lunchbox from the Red Army era was placed above the fireplace warming up the soup left in the morning. This was an time-warped old house which contained many things older than the house itself.

This was also the dwelling place for the reclusive man who had lived for three centuries.