Chapter 28: Village 028

In the late afternoon, around 3 o'clock, he finally arrived at his intended destination for this journey—Cork, the second-largest city in Ireland.

Though referred to as the second-largest city in Ireland, the population here is actually not very large, consistently hovering around 200,000 residents. If compared to a place in China, many county towns probably have more population than this.

Situated at the confluence of a river and the sea, this city's buildings are primarily spread out along the banks of the River Lee.

Unlike the modern appearance of Dublin, Cork exudes a classical charm. Especially noticeable is that almost all the buildings in the city are three stories or lower.

As a city that has preserved its classical charm and rich Irish character, Cork naturally attracts a large number of tourists.

For instance, while driving through the city, Liang En spotted two enormous cruise ships docked at the harbor, along with numerous tourists who had come from all around the world to see the sights.

After securing a room in a hotel within the city, Liang En departed and headed southwest of the city in his car, towards his destination.

He drove out of the city on a two-lane asphalt road for nearly 20 minutes and then continued along a road almost obscured by wild grass for another five or six minutes. Finally, he reached his destination: the village of Michael.

Parking his car on a grassy patch by the roadside, Liang En ascended a small mound located just a dozen or so meters away from his parking spot. From there, he looked towards the ruins of the village not far in the distance.

Due to the area's flat terrain, even standing on a small mound about five or six meters high allowed him to overlook the entire expanse of the village's ruins.

Because this village had been abandoned for over a century, what lay before Liang En was a village that had been almost entirely reclaimed by nature.

The passage of time had caused most of the village's wooden structures to decay. Only the stone walls had endured until today. These remnants and fragments were the last vestiges of what this village once was.

It was no wonder that the clues left by Jacques de Brian pointed to this place. Whether it was the proximity to the port or the fact that this small village didn't differ much from others, this place was indeed an ideal hiding spot.

After a quick survey of the village's interior, Liang En walked across the soft grass towards the largest remaining building in the village—the remnants of the former church's location.

Just by observing the village's layout, one could deduce that the only place worthy of being called "sacred center" was the church situated in the heart of the village.

In a country where almost everyone held devout religious beliefs, Ireland's villages were typically constructed with the church as the central focus.

And now standing at the center of the village's ruins was this church, a small stone-built chapel much like the ordinary country churches. It consisted of a main hall and a bell tower.

"It seems this structure is at least three to four centuries old." Liang En, who majored in archaeology at university, quickly deduced some specific details about the church after inspecting it from all angles.

Just like the other buildings within this village ruin, the church had also fallen into decay. Due to the complete rotting of the wooden beams, the entire roof of the structure had collapsed, leaving a massive pile of debris within the church's interior.

Similarly, it's highly likely that the roof collapsed directly onto the ground back then, resulting in the collapse of the church's walls as well, leaving only half of a wall still standing.

Perhaps due to divine intervention, the rubble pile in the direction of the pulpit wasn't all that large. After a quick assessment, he believed he could finish cleaning it up within an hour or two.

Checking that he still had about three hours until dark, Liang En retrieved various equipment he had prepared earlier from the car's trunk and began clearing the rubble.

Applying his knowledge from school, he first cleared away the broken tiles with wild grass growing on top. Then, he used a saw to cut through the decayed and blackened beams that lay beneath these tiles. Finally, he cleared away those beams.

Fortunately, not many of the fallen stones from the surrounding walls had reached the vicinity of the pulpit, sparing him the task of cleaning up those head-sized stones.

Consequently, the task seemed notably easier than he initially expected. Just a little over an hour later, Liang En had cleared a patch of ground on the pulpit area, covering an area of about seven to eight square meters.

Since it was referred to as the "sacred center," the most sanctified place within the church should be this pulpit. This was not only where clergy preached, but also where tables bearing religious symbols were placed.

Furthermore, if the final "12" was interpreted as "twelve o'clock," it would point directly at the pulpit.

After sweeping away the last layer of dust and the remains of the building, stone slabs began to emerge from the construction debris.

Unlike the simple refurbished stones used for the church's exterior walls, the slabs used for the flooring were not only trimmed to the same rectangular dimensions but also polished on top. They even bore some simple patterns.

These were small stone slabs, each roughly the size of a palm. Upon closer examination, he noticed that two slabs had concrete edges that differed from the other concrete, clearly showing traces of having been pried open and subsequently repaired.

Retrieving a large iron hammer and a chisel from his side, Liang En began to strike at the two slabs with force.

This was indeed no easy task, but thankfully the slabs weren't overly large. After just over an hour, accompanied by a few soft impacts, he successfully levered the two slabs open.

However, contrary to his expectations, what lay beneath the slabs was compacted earth, not an opening or containers filled with treasures. Just some compacted soil.

This hit Liang En like a blow, and feeling somewhat frustrated, he quickly pulled out a steel awl to cautiously probe the earth beneath the two slabs.

After 20 minutes of turning the small patch of soil into a honeycomb of holes, he reluctantly admitted that there likely wasn't anything hidden beneath.

"Was everything taken before, or did I misunderstand something?" Feeling somewhat disheartened, Liang En sat down on the spot he had previously cleared, his expression showing deep contemplation.

A few minutes later, he realized that he had overlooked something earlier. He stood up and began inspecting the two slabs that had been chiseled open.

Indeed, the two slabs were distinct. One had an uneven underside, a typical flooring stone. But the other slab had a smooth underside, and it had been inscribed with numerous words.

"Mmp, could that Frenchman have been a designer of deciphering games?" The moment Liang En saw the inscriptions under the stone, he felt a rush of excitement through his veins.

At least from his perspective, whoever designed this intricate treasure-hunting plan clearly had a knack for puzzles. This left him puzzled, wondering whether the goal was for people to find what he left behind or to avoid it.

Soon, he translated all the French text on the slab. To his surprise, it only contained information about the history of this village.