Chapter 7: The Mysterious Sheepskin Manuscript(5)

I just saw the photos you sent me - the medieval French on those sheepskin books. I don't know where you got these pictures, but they really shocked me because I believe the text on the sheepskin books may be related to an important secret in French history.

You must be surprised, right? If this sheepskin book is not a forgery made by later generations, then based on the text seen in the photos, it is indeed an artifact from the 13th century. Two years ago, I learned Middle French and was able to roughly interpret the text in the sheepskin book. The beginning of the book states the identity of the author, which is King Louis IX of France in the 13th century. I was already shocked at this point, because the manuscripts of medieval French kings have almost never been discovered. What surprised me even more was the content that followed, because this sheepskin book actually wrote about Louis IX's experience leading the Crusade to the East!

Louis IX was born in AD 1214 and personally led the Crusade to the East twice. The first time he landed in Egypt in 1249, but suffered a disastrous defeat when he marched towards Alexandria. He himself was captured by Muslim armies and imprisoned in Egypt for many years before returning to France in 1254. The second time was in 1270 when he led the army to land in North Africa Tunisia, and died of illness in August of the same year.

Louis IX's life was extremely legendary, but what interests people the most is the so-called "Mystery of Louis IX" - legend has it that he discovered a major secret during his captivity in Egypt. As for what that secret was, it was buried forever in the desert with his death in Tunisia, and no one has known what it is for seven hundred years, becoming an eternal mystery in history.

In this sheepskin book, Louis IX wrote about his own experience of being captured in Egypt, which is very likely related to the "Mystery of Louis IX"! For hundreds of years, people have made various speculations about the "Mystery of Louis IX", and it is said that this secret may be of great importance. With this secret, many mysterious events have occurred, and many scholars and explorers have died trying to uncover it, but no one has been able to crack it so far.

As you know, I am currently studying for a history Ph.D. at the University of Paris-Voltaire. My supervisor, Professor Orleans, is a well-known scholar who researches French medieval history and has always had a strong interest in the "Mystery of Louis IX". I will show him the pictures of the sheepskin book as soon as possible, and he will definitely make a more accurate judgment.

Is your phone still on? I will call you anytime.

Your friend, Yu Li

After reading this email from Paris, my desire for adventure immediately boiled up again. It's another Crusade to the East, another "Mystery of Louis IX". It seems that there is a huge secret waiting for me?

This sheepskin book is so important, how could it be found in Lin Hai's old house? And what about the things Lin Hai told me, are the ghosts around him his imagination?

The story has just begun, and the clues on hand are still a mess. I don't know what else I can do. I spent the whole day thinking about this, searching for a lot of information about Louis IX on my computer, which is roughly the same as what Yu Li said in the email.

As for my relationship with Yu Li, that's a long story. I have known Yu Li for more than five years. At that time, I had just started surfing the internet and was basically a newbie, often getting criticized on the bbs.

Once I met Yu Li in the "Under the Banyan Tree" online community. His screen name was "Tamonas Uriencheda", which was the name of the most famous magician in thirteenth-century Europe. He was said to be skilled in all kinds of magic and even able to live forever. Yu Li chose this screen name because he had self-studied magic, but whether it was true or not was unknown. At first, Yu Li and I debated with each other in the forum, but later we became friends who praised each other. What's more, we lived in the same city and often went out to eat together. Yu Li was three years older than me and was still a graduate student majoring in ancient European history at the time.

Since we had already become close friends online and shared the same hobbies, we became friends who could talk about anything. Later, Yu Li went to study abroad in France, and I went to the airport to see him off. After he arrived in France, he almost emailed me every week, and we kept in touch all the time. It felt no different from being in China except that we couldn't meet up for meals. Every winter and summer vacation, Yu Li would come back to China and find me to play together. He was not like other foreign students who were financially strained and was always generous, making us, his friends in China, envious.

As I was lost in thought, it was already night. The time difference between China and France was seven hours, so Paris should be in the afternoon now. I wondered what Yu Li was doing. Suddenly, my phone rang, and the screen showed it was Yu Li. I answered the phone immediately and heard his voice coming from thousands of kilometers away.

It was indeed Yu Li's voice, still with that hoarse tone. He said excitedly on the phone, "Brother, the photos of the parchment have been shown to Professor Orléans. He is also very interested and thinks this is a rare treasure worthy of in-depth study. The professor has invited you to come to France and bring the original parchment with you. He wants to authenticate the parchment and decode the remaining text."

"Invite me to France? I almost thought I misheard you. Could you say it again?" I asked incredulously.

"I'm not joking. Professor Orléans really invited you to France and said that bringing the parchment with you is very important to him. He has been studying the 'Mystery of Louis IX' for his entire life, and now he finally has such an opportunity that may change the destiny of many people. Therefore, he is willing to do anything to continue this study," Yu Li said.

"Change the destiny of many people? What do you mean?" I asked, and Yu Li's hoarse voice trembled a bit, "Don't ask, you will know when you come to France."

At this point, I didn't care about the international long-distance call fees anymore and asked the most important question, "If I come to France, who will pay for the expenses?"

"Don't worry about it. Professor Orléans has already said that our University of Voltaire will cover all your expenses, including airfare and accommodation. He has a large amount of special research funds, and the school board has approved it. Our school will send you a formal invitation, and the visa and air tickets will be handled through the Sino-French Cultural Exchange Center. Professor Orléans is very anxious and hopes to see you as soon as possible," Yu Li said.

No matter who heard these words, they would be moved. Although I was still a little uneasy because this came too suddenly, and I had no mental preparation. However, the opportunity for a free trip to Europe was too good to pass up, and I said, "Yu Li, I can promise you this, but the parchment does not belong to me. I'll have to get the parchment first before I can give you an answer."

"Okay, the invitation has already been sent out, and the visa will be processed quickly. I believe we will meet again at the Charles de Gaulle Airport." The long-distance call finally ended, and I put down the phone and took a deep breath.

If Yu Li had said this to me yesterday, I would have thought it was an April Fools' Day joke, but today I had to believe it. I used to think that Paris was very far away, but now it was almost within reach. I opened the picture saved in my computer, a picture that Yu Li sent from France, showing the gargoyle on top of the Notre Dame Cathedral facing the gloomy Paris sky.

What secrets were hidden under that distant sky?

Pudong International Airport.

At 10:35 a.m., I had already boarded the Air France flight. Through the porthole of the Airbus cabin, I could see the apron illuminated by sunlight. I felt the plane slowly moving, and the runway markings gradually receded. After making two long turns, the Airbus's acceleration became faster and faster, and it almost instantly took off from the ground. Although my ears were very uncomfortable, my eyes were always fixed on the outside. The wings had already soared high above the earth, leaving the huge airport behind.

At this moment, the iron box was hidden in my travel bag, and the parchment was lying quietly inside. A week ago, after receiving the invitation from the University of Paris-Voltaire, I immediately made an appointment with Lin Hai, explaining the situation to him in detail and hoping that he could hand the parchment over to me to take to France for authentication and research, perhaps helping him solve many mysteries and freeing him from his current fear.

However, Lin Hai did not immediately agree. He also knew the value of the parchment, and it was discovered in his old house, maybe even passed down by his ancestors. I also understood Lin Hai's concerns. After all, he had just met me. What if I took the parchment for myself? Therefore, I proposed the second plan, which was to give Lin Hai the opportunity to go to Paris with the parchment for authentication. But Lin Hai immediately vetoed this plan. He said that the ghost was always around him and could kill him at any time. Now he dared not even leave his house, let alone go to France, thousands of miles away.

Finally, we reached an agreement. We went to the notary public first to certify that the parchment was lent to me by Lin Hai. I must return the parchment intact to him within one month. After the notarization was completed and the photos were taken and stored properly, Lin Hai finally handed the parchment over to me, but he still couldn't rest assured and repeatedly urged me not to have any accidents; otherwise, he would not be able to face his ancestors. Of course, I understood his good intentions and swore to protect the parchment with my life.

Meanwhile, with the help of the China-France Cultural Exchange Center, the University of Paris-Voltaire handled my visa in the shortest possible time, and all other procedures went smoothly, even the airline ticket was booked by them.

It's unbelievable that within less than ten days, I was already on a flight to France. I looked at the seat next to me and saw a fat foreigner sleeping, while a beautiful Air France stewardess pushed a trolley down the aisle. Outside the window, there were scattered clouds and the airliner was roaring westward. In just over ten hours, I would set foot in Paris!

As for that ancient secret, let fate unravel it.