Chapter 983 "Evil Bag"

We got off one end of the stone bridge, and that end happened to be connected to the eighth embankment, and the evil bag was immediately displayed in front of us.

I saw a lot of snakes inside, which was very creepy. The snakes were of various shapes and sizes, and even now I still have difficulty in blood circulation when I think about it.

——Dante's "Divine Comedy Inferno"

With a "bang", a very thick file that had accumulated a lot of dust was placed in front of Joseph. He couldn't help but take a step back and waved his hands to drive away the dust that came to his face.

"This is what you want, Father Gordon's investigative records." The administrator of the Vatican Secret Archives said to Joseph, "You know the rules."

"Yes, can I find a table to sit at?"

The administrator signaled to Joseph to please, so he carried the thick stack of files to the reading area opposite the service desk, where several scholars were already gathering around to read the borrowed materials.

You are not allowed to bring anything into the archives, including water and food, and you are not allowed to take anything away. The experience of body search is very unpleasant, and it is not something that ordinary people can do without eating or drinking for a whole day.

All this is due to the work of the previous curator. The copied papyrus says that UFOs were discovered in Egypt in 1480 BC. What a great feat.

The ordinary people were happy, but those who borrowed the information had a hard time. Even if Joseph enjoyed certain privileges, he could not take the information away. He could only borrow secret information that he was not qualified to see before.

Father Gordon's "Miracles Investigation Report" was only accessible to bishops and above 30 years ago, but even now it is still not accessible to ordinary priests.

Joseph took a deep breath and opened the black folder. The first page at the beginning was the table of contents.

Father Gordon once served as an army chaplain. During World War II, he did not conduct the "Miracle Investigation" because of the war. Later, he cooperated with the Taylors for a long time.

He is a moderate celebrity, in a sense, but before he met the Taylors in the United States, he had gone to a monastery in Romania. No one knew what happened there, not even Joseph.

I just overheard other people saying that this happened.

He consulted the catalog with great hope, but did not find any events related to "Romania" and "Monastery". Unwilling to give up, he began to search page by page, hoping to find a few words related to the events of that year.

This is a good pastime for him, at least it is more meaningful than watching TV in the duty room.

"...There are also a large number of mousetraps in the city, indicating that the city is plagued by rats..."

Joseph heard scholars not far away discussing in low voices that "city residents were afraid of being infected, so they had to abandon the city."

"They built a sun-shaped cemetery. There must be a reason. It snowed heavily in Rome in the summer of 375. If there were volcanic eruptions in Asia, the volcanic ash obscured the sky near Loulan and even caused the global climate to become colder.

If they can't see the sun, then it's not a tomb. The trees may have been cut down to build a sun altar for human sacrifice. It's also because climate change caused the Kongque River to dry up, and Loulan residents migrated because of lack of water."

"Maybe it's because water shortage and plague happened together." Another scholar said, "Do you think there is any relationship between the frequent activities of rats and climate change?"

Joseph listened intently. Around the fourth century, the once prosperous Loulan suddenly disappeared from Eastern and Western literature. It was not discovered again until the 20th century by a Swiss explorer.

The most famous mummy is the "River Beauty". She was found near a "Sun Tomb". Her corpse posture looks normal. The people buried in the Sun Tomb are all men. Their postures look like they are embracing the sun.

, this doesn’t look like a normal burial method.

The Basilica di Santa Maria is located in the center of Rome, and its altitude is not very high. Was the snow in 375 a local climate anomaly, or was it global climate change as those few scholars said?

It is now recognized that the origin of the Black Death was introduced to Europe with the Mongol invasion, but no definite evidence of it has been found. These scholars seem to think that the Black Death appeared in Loulan in the fourth century.

Loulan's location was indeed on the path of the Mongols' advance. As he thought about it, he flipped through the files and a photo suddenly appeared in front of him.

It was a painting. There was a nun in the painting. It was only in black and white. I don’t know whether it was because the photo itself was in black and white or because the painting was only in black and white.

The nun in the painting looked very peaceful, but Joseph felt very uncomfortable. He took the photo out of the file and turned it to the back.

"Valak."

Joseph read the words on the back of the photo, but there was a question mark behind the string of characters. It seemed that the person who wrote the words was not sure.

Then he started reading this file, and the moment he buried his head, a person sat down opposite him.

Although the reading area is not big, there are many empty seats. He obviously sat down on purpose, not to mention that Joseph knew this man, they had met him during lunch.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Baducci, we meet again." Joseph said dryly, Corrado Baducci smiled hypocritically, and he was full of fighting spirit.

"Good afternoon." Baducci said slowly, "Why are you here if you are not guarding the Pope?"

"The devil won't show up anytime and anywhere. I'm here to 'load my ammunition'."

"I thought you had loaded enough ammunition at the Holy Cave yesterday."

"That was material, now I'm filling it with spirituality." Joseph pointed to his head, "Are you familiar with Father Gordon?"

"Which Gordon?"

"Who else could it be? It's the 'Miracle Investigator'."

Balducci stared at him and unbuttoned his coat.

"What do you want to know?"

"About his whereabouts in Romania around 1950." Joseph said bluntly, "I heard that he went to a monastery in the mountains."

"How did you know?"

"So, you also know?" Joseph crossed his arms, leaned back on the chair, and stopped looking at the file. "Tell me what happened."

"Why should I tell you?" Balducci raised his eyebrows and looked at Joseph with a half-smile.

"If Gordon doesn't send the devil back to hell, I will help him finish it." Joseph raised his lips and smiled arrogantly, "Have you ever seen a real devil?"

Baducci looked at Joseph calmly.

His fingers were stirring under the table, just as fast as his mind.

"Do you know where I was yesterday?" Baducci asked after a moment.

“Playing with blocks with your grandson?”

"I was indeed with a young man, but we didn't play with blocks. We were in Albania, in an abandoned castle." Baducci said. "The Impaler is a devil in the eyes of the enemy, but in the eyes of the Romanians

But he is a national hero. Skanderbeg is also full of blood debt. Not only his hands are stained with the blood of his Christian compatriots, but also the blood of the Turks. This 'butcher' is also regarded as a national hero by the Albanians.

"

"You went to investigate him?"

"No, to be precise, it was one of his generals. It is said that he, like a certain Grand Duke in Romania, planned to make a deal with the devil, but was interrupted midway."

"you mean……"

"After the Pope is safe, you go to Albania with me, and I will tell you what Gordon did in Romania." Baducci said, "Let me explain in advance that that place is not for liars. You will die.

It’s over there.”

"Why do you think I'm a liar?" Joseph asked with a smile.

"You look very much like a liar." Balducci looked Joseph up and down. "Or worse, like a psychic."

"Why do you think that?"

"You look like a hypocrite." Balducci said straightforwardly, "I will take off your disguise and reveal your true face."

"It's what I asked for." Joseph glanced at the scholars. They were still discussing in low voices and didn't notice. "Let's talk in another place."

After saying that, he closed the folder, stood up and returned it to the service desk.
Chapter completed!