The buildings in Morse Town largely adhere to the style from a century ago, with the most prominent being the black church with a pointed spire. Once the carriage was secured, Klein and the others quickly settled on their lunch of bread, toast, bacon, cream, and coffee. "Under the purification of the seal '3–0782,' we can sustain for two hours and thirty-five minutes," said Coen Li, standing at the church door and pulling out a gold-case pocket watch from the inner pocket of his tailcoat. He opened it and glanced at the time. "I recommend first addressing those incidents suspected of being haunted, to prevent any potential deterioration, and then returning to the church to take shifts, restoring our condition." — Under normal circumstances, extraordinary beings at levels 9, 8, and 7, nearing their limits, need to stay away from the "Mutated Solar Emblem" for two hours to fully recover. However, if they haven't reached their limits or only wish to partially recover, the duration varies depending on the situation—minimum one hour. "Agreed." "I have no objections." "Klein and Leonard spoke at the same time. "So, which incident shall we address first?" Cohen asked his colleagues for input. Leonard, putting aside his casual demeanor, said, "The case of the solitary elder who heard heavy footsteps echoing within his home." "Why?" Cohen instinctively asked for reasoning, while Klein also waited with keen interest for someone to explain. Was this what they called poetic intuition? He silently noted it with a slight shade of skepticism. Leonard's gaze shifted from Cohen's shorter frame to Klein's face and then back again, before he chuckled softly, "Because it's closest to the church." "How do you know? It wasn't mentioned in the records..." Klein asked aloud. Leonard chuckled, "During lunch, didn't I go to the restroom?" On the way back, I encountered a young priest. We chatted casually, and he told me that Noah's home is right near the church—yes, Noah is the name of that solitary elder. Truly, after more than three years of night shifts, he's quite proficient at his duties. Klein gave a dry smile and turned to Coen Li, saying, "Then let's go to Noah's house first." "Agreed," Coen Li replied without hesitation. And just one minute later, they arrived at Noah's home. Noah is a white-haired, sparse-locked elder who, during his youth, lost his left hand forever in a war and was thus forced to leave the military, returning to his hometown with a compensation package. Now, he opened the door, glanced at the three strangers before him, and then at the hurriedly arriving Sael, and in a hoarse voice said, "Please come in. I hope you can resolve my issues—I've heard you've brought holy water, holy emblems, a silver dagger, and garlic." This is truly wonderful—I feel much more at ease. Please forgive my rambling; you must understand the state of an older person who cannot sleep soundly for two consecutive nights. Oh, goddess, I have been carrying this fear ever since, my mind now hazy and scattered. As soon as he stepped through the door, Leonard suddenly straightened his posture, his gaze fixed and tangible, examining the surroundings with unwavering intensity. Only then did Klein begin to sense the lingering chill in the room—the residue of spirits who had once passed through. "Indeed, there have been unclean beings here," said Coen Li, the last to notice the room's condition, speaking softly. "They are quite weak," Leonard replied, his tone calm and composed. Among the recorded sequences of the eighth rank in the Church, the "Midnight Poet" stands out as one of the more inspired vocations. "Yes," Klein observed, feeling the natural warmth and purity radiating from the seal, "3–0782," swiftly dissolving the cold presence, while the other remained entirely unresisting. At that moment, the villagers, who had been waiting for a while, gathered around Noa's home, their eyes full of curiosity and anticipation, fixed on Cline, Leonard, and Cohen. "Ah!" Leonard cleared his throat and spoke out loud, his voice confident. "Under the protection of the goddess, those unclean beings will soon vanish—no trouble at all." He then gestured with his eyes, indicating that Cline should perform the 'purification rite' for them. Why me? Cline asked himself with a glance. Of course, he wasn't sure whether Leonard could even understand his gaze. Clearly, Leonard had grasped his meaning, and he lowered his voice to say: "You're the professional when it comes to rituals." Well, who else would have volunteered to help, then? Cline straightened his clothes and took from Leonard the holy water, the holy emblem, the silver dagger, and the garlic. He first placed the "Dark Holy Emblem" on his chest, then cracked open the garlic, one clove at a time, and scattered them toward the corners of the room. "Hm, is it used this way when driving away spirits?" "It's quite different from what's described in the newspaper..." "Will this actually work?" ...The villagers gathered around instantly began to chat excitedly, full of curiosity and enthusiasm, as if attending a circus performance. It won't work! I'm just going through the motions! Suddenly, Cline felt as though he had become a clown and hurriedly half-closed his eyes, using a silver dagger to draw out holy water and sprinkling it onto the ground. As he sprinkled, he walked around the house, murmuring: "The goddess of night..." "The mother of secrets, the sovereign of crimson..." "The queen of trials and fears..." "The lord of sleep and stillness..." ...This textbook charlatan performance immediately silenced the entire crowd, and the villagers gradually fell quiet. Once people settle into stillness, they begin to notice things they had previously overlooked. It feels warm. “Just like basking in the sun…” “No, I feel as though I see a pure sky…” “What a marvel… Is this indeed the power of the holy water?” “Nothing short of a miracle—what a priest sent from Saint Serenella!” “Praise the goddess!” …The townspeople murmured softly, their gaze growing increasingly reverent toward Caine, Leonard, and Cohen. Noah, the homeowner, visibly relaxed, no longer doubting that the matter would be resolved. It is all the effect of the sealant “3–0782”… We drive away the spirits without doing anything special—merely standing still for a minute is enough… It’s not tiring or complicated at all. After purifying the coldness throughout the house, Caine opened his eyes, withdrew the silver dagger, and with serious determination, drew the crimson moon upon his chest: “Praise the goddess!” “Praise the goddess!” The townspeople responded with devotion. There are still a few matters to attend to, but we now need absolute silence. Leonard surveyed the room, smiled, and spoke. The townspeople, having witnessed what "professionalism" truly meant, didn't hesitate to linger—under the clergyman's gentle invitation, they flowed out like a tide, even the homeowner himself had to temporarily step aside. "Actually, I'd really like to go to bed right now," Noah murmured as he made his way toward the church. Leonard stepped forward, closed the door, and turned to Caine. "Predict the origin of the incident." "Certainly," Caine also wanted to see what insights he could gain through this divination. I know it was Mr. Azk—the man's standing seems quite high, after all. Anyone who lives for over a thousand and three hundred years must surely have a distinguished position. Therefore, my divination will inevitably be affected. Under these circumstances, without the mysterious space above the gray mist to guide me, I'm not even sure what revelations I might receive. Caine took out his notebook and pen, writing down the divination statement: "The origin of the ghostly occurrence at Noah's home." He took the paper and walked to the round table, sitting down and leaning back against the chair. In the hazy, indistinct world, Klein suddenly saw a black mausoleum. It resembled a pyramid but stood inverted, embedded into the ground as if nearly buried. Inside, thick black mist obscured everything. Klein suddenly woke up, opening his eyes. "Any discoveries?" Coen asked with genuine concern. After thinking for a moment, Klein described in detail the insights he had received in his dream, without withholding anything, and concluded: "This definitely isn't the style of mausoleums from the Northern Continent—I mean, from the Fifth Age, in which I'm fairly well-versed." Leonard nodded thoughtfully. "That's the southern continent's 'inverted pyramid,' symbolizing passage from the mortal world into the realm of the dead. In former times, whether in the Baerang Empire or its offshoot kingdoms like the Highlands, only the descendants of the god of death were permitted to build such mausoleums." "In a certain sense, this is the very symbol of 'Death.' 'Well, spirits are certainly connected to Death—this divination result is beyond doubt.' Ignoring Leonard's mockery, Caine stared into space, struck by an intriguing thought: Could Mr. Azkarr be a descendant of Death, or perhaps he has attained such a long life through some kind of pact with Death? According to the relevant passages in 'The Revelation of Night' and the internal records of the Night Watch, Death was once an evil deity who unleashed a great calamity across the Northern Continent at the close of the Fourth Age—this period came to be known as the 'Age of Pale Light.' It is said later that Death fell when the Seven Gods united forces. While the founding era of Ramdeth Castle is no longer precisely documented, it must have come after the 'Age of Pale Light.'" If there's any connection at all, then the unseen force residing in the red chimney house—whose hands took the skulls of Mr. Azk's children—deserves further investigation. Of course, it's also possible that this is merely an excuse to justify the colonization of the Southern Continent by the Northern nations, given that the latter primarily revere the god of death. Since no other discoveries were made, the three night-watchmen didn't linger long and soon departed from the Noa household to attend to two other cases suspected of supernatural occurrences. The same process, the same outcome—they quickly dispelled the eerie presence of the dead spirits throughout the town, yet still failed to identify the root cause. Along the way, Leonard questioned the townspeople about any recent visitors, and received a negative response. Mr. Azk hadn't come at all—had he arrived secretly and then left just as quietly, going unnoticed? Indeed, quite cautious. He mentioned his intention to return to Tinggen City on Wednesday, meaning that even if we don't intervene, those "ghosts" would vanish on their own that day. Klein thought about things, following Leonard and Cohen back to the entrance of Morse Church. They could still hold out under the "mutated solar emblem" for one hour and forty-five minutes. "We'll take turns guarding—one hour at a time," Klein suppressed his excitement and glanced at the sky, saying, "We'll try to make it back to Tinggen city in time for dinner." "No problem," Leonard glanced at Klein and smiled lightly, "but for safety's sake, I suggest two of us guarding while the third rests, rotating in shifts." "...Klein paused, his thoughts racing, and smiled in response: 'Very well, but then we'll have to work out the most reasonable rotation schedule—who rests first, then whom, then whom, and how long each person needs to recover, and by how much. Hmm, I believe we need to establish a system of equations with unknown variables to find the optimal solution and compare it against the single-guard arrangement. Ideally, we'd have an efficiency function. For now, let's assume our unknowns are...' If he couldn't convince his two teammates earlier, he'd have to try again, just as he did last time—offering each player a unique asset and a personal secret, trading certain information in exchange for Leonard's departure. Now, the issue is completely resolved!