Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 333: Chapter 337 Guests

Chapter 333 -337 Guests

The old cemetery guard disliked days when snow kept falling—not only because the cold weather made his already overburdened joints ache, but also because such snowy days always reminded him of events long past.

Some not-so-pleasant events.

Like the rebellion fifty years ago, the frost disaster thirty years ago, the great collapse in the southern district seventeen years ago… Such heavy snow never brought any good.

The old man rubbed his hands together and glanced back at the cemetery, now also covered in snow.

The cemetery path was blurred by snow, with only footprints outlining the route to the morgue and the guard’s hut. The gas lamps were extinguished, and the dark poles stood in the snow like dead tree trunks, looking rather lonely.

Several steam cars were parked in the open area within the cemetery and were completely covered with snow. The black-clothed guards were struggling to clear the snow off the cars and attempting to forge a path viable for vehicle passage—looking quite disheveled.

They needed to complete this task before the snow hardened and the road surface became even harder to clear.

A howling wind swept by, bringing with it a gray smog that materialized suddenly. Agatha emerged from the wind and smoke, the young gatekeeper approaching the old guard, “Half of the people will withdraw today, leaving only two squads to help you guard the cemetery.”

“They all could withdraw, and I’d have some peace,” the old guard lifted his eyelids to glance at the gatekeeper, “So many hands here are a waste.”

“This isn’t a waste of manpower—you don’t need to worry about me not having enough people.”

“I’m not so idle as to worry about you,” the old guard muttered, then seemingly offhandedly mentioned, “Last night you dispatched an elite squad, something happened in the city?”

Agatha looked at the old man, “You still care about matters outside the cemetery?”

“I’m just asking, you can say or not as you please.” The old guard shrugged.

“…There was an incident on Hearth Street, a high-level Transcendent erupted in battle, creating quite a commotion. Patrolling guards rushed over but ended up empty-handed,” Agatha spoke slowly, “Now we can only be sure that one of the parties involved was from the Eradication Cult—they died horribly, and one of them met a strange death, not consistent with any known Transcendent powers.”

The old guard’s eyebrows twitched noticeably, his tone becoming more serious, “Hearth Street?”

“…Rest assured, no innocent civilians were harmed,” Agatha seemed to know what the old man was worried about, “However, based on the squad’s report, there are more than one odd clues over there, I might have to personally check it out.”

The old guard said nothing but nodded slightly, his gaze becoming serious.

Agatha was a young gatekeeper, but even at her age, her status as “gatekeeper” was earned through rigorous training and difficult tests. As the highest representative of the church in the City-State, her actions alone indicated the severity of the situation.

The situation on Hearth Street was probably not as effortless as her current demeanor suggested—and it definitely was more than just a Transcendent battle. An elite squad of guards had gone to investigate, and now even a gatekeeper had to handle it personally; this was no small matter.

But that was outside the cemetery, not something this “Tomb Guardian,” who was retired from the front line, should be concerned about.

Let the young gatekeeper and the guards handle it.

After a great deal of effort, the guards finally cleared the snow and started the steam cores of the vehicles. Two dark gray steam cars left the cemetery, soon disappearing on the small road leading to the district.

The old guard watched the two cars leave, shook his head, and prepared to return to the cemetery.

But just as he was about to turn around, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a familiar small figure at the end of the path.

A little girl in a thick coat was walking toward the cemetery, struggling somewhat.

The old guard immediately halted his actions. He watched as the small figure approached, his expression seeming a bit angry, and the small figure also spotted the old man standing at the entrance of the cemetery—she stopped by the roadside, lifted her face, happily waving her arms, then continued plodding toward the old man.

Eventually, she stepped onto the tracks left by the two departing steam cars, her footsteps finally easing, and she bent down to pat off the snowflakes clinging to the hem of her coat and trousers, arriving at the cemetery entrance and smiling cheerfully at the old man who looked stern, even a bit angry.

“Guard Grandpa, I’m here again!” Annie happily greeted the old guard.

She was dressed in white thick coat and matching white boots, with a similarly white woolen hat on her head, looking as if she might melt into the snowy cityscape.

“Going out in this weather, and coming to a place like this!” the old guard glared, his tone very stern, “You’ll make your family worry.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“I told my mom I would be back quickly today,” Annie smiled, her face slightly reddened from the cold. “School is out, and I was going to play with my friends, but none of them wanted to come out, so I came to see you!”

“And like your friends, staying at home would be better than running out to the cemetery in this snowy weather,” the old man said coldly. “The cemetery is closed today, there’s too much snow. Go home.”

However, the girl seemed not to hear him, just peered behind the old man for a moment, then looked up expectantly, “My dad, he…”

“Didn’t come,” the old man said bluntly. “In such awful weather, even if there were plans to hold a funeral, it would be postponed.”

Annie paused for a second, but didn’t seem too disheartened. She pursed her lips, “Well… I’ll come back and ask again when the weather gets better… He’ll come eventually, right?”

The old guardian watched the child’s eyes quietly, and for a brief couple of seconds, he even regretted, regretted making that promise to her six years ago about her father returning here. Ultimately, his heart… had been too soft then.

After a long silence, the old man finally spoke, “Perhaps, one day in the future, you might hear news from him.”

That was the best he could mitigate.

A twelve-year-old child should understand these things by now.

Annie blinked, a hint of a smile on her face, then reached into her little bag and pulled out a packet, handing it to the old man.

“More cookies?” the guardian raised an eyebrow.

“It’s ginger tea powder, I helped my mom make it, and we added herbs for warming and soothing the stomach!” Annie said proudly, stuffing the packet into the old man’s hand without waiting for a response. “You’re always here alone guarding the cemetery, especially now with the snow, it must be very cold at night?”

The old man looked at the item in his hand.

He didn’t need it—The church provided remedies to the tomb guardians that were ten times more effective than this, and his seemingly frail guardian’s hut was lined with protective spells and special materials. It wasn’t just resistant to the mere cold wind, but even if the cemetery truly lost control, that little hut would defend like a steel fortress against external impacts.

“Thank you,” he accepted Annie’s gift, and perhaps due to not having smiled for too long, the curve on his lips was somewhat stiff. “This is very useful to me.”

Then, his expression hardened again.

“I’ve accepted the gift, now go home quickly. Try not to go out in the next few days.”

“Why?”

“…It’s not safe in the city recently,” the old guardian said solemnly, recalling what Agatha had just mentioned to him and the transcendent event that happened on Fireplace Street last night. “Go home and tell your mom to go out less often, and if you see anything unusual, seek help from the nearest church or sheriff—Annie, this is serious, do you understand?”

Annie seemed stunned by the old man’s sudden stern tone, and it took her a moment before she nodded hurriedly, “I… I understand.”

“Good, then go home,” the old man sighed and was about to send her off when he looked up, cutting himself off mid-sentence.

An exceptionally tall and burly figure had appeared near the cemetery gate, looking over in their direction—a figure clad in a black trench coat, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, with a face wrapped in bandages, hiding all details beneath the hat and bandages.

Beside this imposing figure stood another person, a petite lady dressed in an elegant deep purple gown, her blonde hair cascading down like a waterfall, wearing a soft hat and a veiled mask, making her face unclear yet exuding an elegant and mysterious aura.

However, the old guardian’s attention was almost entirely focused on the tall and burly figure—he stared intensely in that direction, as if his eyes were anchored by an invisible force, making it difficult to look away. Slight noises began buzzing in his mind, and he started to see minor tremors and shifts at the edges of his vision, clear signs of mild mental contamination and interference.

The experienced guardian instantly realized what was happening—it was that “visitor.”

Because of his multiple encounters with this indescribable visitor and once having been driven mad under the influence of incense, he had established a certain connection with them!

But this was a preliminary and nearly harmless connection, so the old guardian didn’t lose his ability to act like before.

Still able to move—he quickly pulled Annie behind him.

“Child, don’t look over there.”