I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 195 Ko Naiyi's Crazy Night

It is precisely because of this hallucination that Ko Naiyi still tossed and turned after falling into the night, unable to fall asleep. He was lying on the bed, not sure if it was a hallucination, but felt that the linen sheets under him were getting colder and colder, as if something The gloomy cold seeped into his body from the ground, he drank honey water, and wine, but nothing worked, he was upset, and had to go to the toilet twice - in Paris he could enjoy a flush toilet (a A savory fad), but there are only chamber pots here, and chamber pots, no matter how clean you scrub, will have a lingering odor.

He sighed, lay and sat, and finally gave in to his active nerves. He simply chewed a handful of coffee, lit a candle, sat at the desk, and began to record today's events. His record on the way with the army can almost be called Diary, there are always so many new things for him to tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk - when concentrating on work, the old man finally gave up his inexplicable anxiety, and the quill was on the king paper (the king's new industry, white, flexible, fine) There was a rustling sound, until the light of the candle slowly dimmed. For a time, Corneille forgot that it was late at night, and shouted loudly, asking the lazy servant to replace the candle for himself.

The servant didn't respond to Ko Naiyi. To be exact, the surroundings were dead silent. Ko Naiyi raised his head, his heart tightened as if he was caught. He still remembered the king's musketeers beside his room. Although the young men have the characteristics of young people who are easy to sleep, they also maintain a considerable vigilance because of their occupations - this is the third day that Corneille and them lived together. Knowing that a rude Brussels citizen may have been drinking too much. The wine even threw stones at the window here. He might think that when the owls were already asleep, even if someone was awakened, they would not be able to run down so quickly to settle accounts with him, but he was wrong, and immediately there were two or three The musketeer with an almost naked name jumped down, holding a sharp sword, poked him into a funnel, let alone escape, he didn't even have time to turn around.

   Maybe because the musketeers were out for fun? Corneille comforted himself like this, but he also knew that it was impossible. Although these musketeers were romantic, they never forgot their duties - just as in Lille, the king and his ministers, entourages and guards occupied an entire line. Street - The place where the king lived is the palace of Charles V (King of Spain) in Brussels. There is a huge square in front of the palace, with the city hall and market on the left, and the court and church on the right. Now the city hall has been used as a The armament depot was heavily guarded by the army, the houses were requisitioned all the way from the depot to the palace, and none of the original inhabitants were allowed to stay here, no matter how prominent they were before - the one killed by the musketeers One of them; and the same goes for the courthouse and the church, which now consists only of the Catholic priests brought from France by the king, who, so to speak, can sleep peacefully because he is surrounded by all his loyal subjects.

Cornelius was horrified and ghostly, he suddenly remembered what the two attendants said, to send the icon of Saint-Denis back to the warehouse - he did not dare to continue shouting, maybe it was only a few minutes, the candle was gone. It was almost completely extinguished. If he stretched out his arms, the dim light could not even illuminate his fingers... Finally, the only light disappeared. Gao Naiyi stared at the door, hoping that the gaps would be able to cast a light. A reassuring glow, but no, nothing.

His eyes gradually got used to the darkness, and the outline of the door could be vaguely seen in the darkness, but at this moment, he heard the sound of metal crashing. On the candle, but he didn't even feel the pain of the scalding, and rushed to the window with joy—that should be the sound of the musketeers, daggers, and daggers dangling from their belts as they collided, and he jerked. Open the window, lean down and look down.

   He couldn't see anything.

Under the window is a rolling fog. He has never seen such a thick fog. It is like a sea of ​​milk. Besides, the stones on the street, the doors, the pillars and the window lattices, and the torches have disappeared. The streets were like islands floating on the sea, and there was no place to be fixed. Corneille knew that he should close the window immediately, go back to the room, and spend the night trembling if he could, but he stiffened. Can't move at all. At this time, the sound of metal collision became clearer, louder, it came from the city hall, which is the end of the street.

  Konai was breathing rapidly, his stomach was stuck on the window sill, and his arms were resting on the blinds, which was an uncomfortable position.

In his solidified vision, a little fire light from small to large dissipated the thick fog. Kao Naiyi thought it was a torch, but later found out that it was an incense boat. It was cast in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. It trembled slightly in the air, spitting out a crimson fire from its pointed beak, and the hollow body burst out with scorching light like the burning of white phosphorous. Ko Naiyi was in the church and smelled something different during the religious procession. Although the smell was sweet, it was not pleasant at all, but rather disgusting. If he had never been with the army, Ko Naiyi might not have imagined what this strange impurity was. But now he knew, it was the smell of blood and guts.

Behind the rocking incense boat, there are two lovely children, or rather, they should be lovely children, they are smiling, they have adult-length incense boats, they carry it effortlessly, their steps are light, and they can listen to a little bit of lightness No sound.

Behind them are priests holding icons and crosses. It is really weird to say that they are dressed as priests. They are more similar to slaves. It was the most common attire of the early priests - during the reign of the Roman emperor, Christian priests, either because of their humble origins or their humility, often wore black felts that slaves and lowly people would wear. The coat, which is the prototype of the current black vestments, compared to the black vestments of the priests, these clothes, or robes without a collar, are as simple as a piece of cloth without any decoration, and even the belts are made of poor cowhide or sheepskin. , but those radiant faces are far more dazzling than gold and gems - the faces on the icons are all distorted, but because the saints always carry themselves with them when they were killed and executed. Torture instruments, it is easy to identify them, so Corneille immediately recognized that the priests holding those icons were the holy martyrs.

These saints, both male and female, were all elated and in high spirits. If they were mortals, if they were living, this warm scene could be depicted, but it is a pity that they still retain the traces of suffering, when they were shining elsewhere, Those open skins, open wounds, and missing bones and internal organs are particularly astonishing.

   In such a procession, there must be an officiant, Corneille almost guessed—yes, it was Saint-Denis, and his two entourages, holding their heads and smiling faces.

Behind Saint-Denis is a large group of people dressed in rich and unusual clothes. The only thing in common is that they all wear a cross. The injuries they suffered are even more varied, and some were beheaded like Saint-Denis. ; some with floppy and twisted limbs—looked to have been tortured by wheels; some with tiny wounds all over their bodies—that were rolled from top to bottom in a barrel full of nails; some had eyeballs Protruding, swollen tongue, which was hanged; and bleeding from the corners of the mouth, dripping water, the former was poisoned, the latter was drowning; and, many were incomplete, and their internal organs flowed outside, and their bodies There are signs of being bitten by wild beasts. Anyone who has read history knows that Roman priests and emperors liked to throw Christians into the Colosseum and let the beasts kill them.

This kind of team is mighty, the Xiangchuan has long since disappeared, and the last few "people" are still dragging along, and Gao Naiyi is already at the end of the shot, his arms have long been numb, and it is difficult to breathe. He kept sticking his tongue out, trying to lick away the sweat that was running down his cheeks, some of which was absorbed by his linen pyjamas, but eventually a drop or two fell.

A female saint raised her head, she was beautiful, and she was probably not yet twenty years old when she died, and for this reason she was given special treatment - her most moving parts were only two **** hollows, this kind of Penalties still exist in Spain today. She raised her head and saw Ko Naiyi.

   The line stopped.

"There is a devout believer here." Corneille heard a voice say, and then there was a commotion in the crowd. The saints retreated to both sides like the Red Sea separated by Moses. Saint Denis came out holding his head, his The voice was bright and clear, as if in his lifetime, Ko Naiyi watched him raise his head toward him, and the saint's arm stretched longer and longer, until he was face to face with Ko Naiyi.

Seriously, without looking down the neck, the saint's face is not at all scary, though a little pale, but his features are straight and his eyes are as firm as one would imagine any saint to be—as long as he doesn't smile, it's not. The joyful smile of a believer when he is about to be saved is not the joyful smile of a pastor when he sees others being saved. It is an evil, yinxie, malicious smile, like the muddy water in a clear lake, bright sunshine. shadows below.

   "Don't stay here," said the head: "You should be with us."

Ko Naiyi heard a cheer from this group of people - the cheers were deafening, but the soldiers and musketeers on the street still seemed to be dead, without any response, while Ko Naiyi thought painfully whether they were really dead, One side was dragged out of the window—his room was on the second floor, and the distance from the ground was not fatal, but for a sixty-year-old man, he could not help but break a few bones, he screamed miserably, but those "Human" didn't show any sympathy for him. In the dimness, he was forced to change into clothes, and a weapon was stuffed into his hand.

Corneille was surrounded by the procession and moved forward all the way. Apart from him, he saw no one else. The parade gathered slowly on the palace square. Corneille saw Saint-Denis holding his head again. Walking forward, he and several others were also pushed forward. The gate of the palace opened silently, and the soldiers who should have been guarded by the side did not know where to go. They entered the palace unimpeded. In the square building, St. Nee walked straight to the atrium where the king was, while his entourage went to the left and right wings. Corneille immediately remembered what he saw in the church, the head of the entourage following the scene of Viscount Turenne and Captain Vauban. , he also knew that the king's letter focused on two generals, so they also had their own rooms in the palace.

Corneille was so anxious that he was about to go mad. If the king was killed in the curse, even the Duke of Orleans in France would inevitably fall into irreparable chaos and decline. In addition, two generals, one of great merit, the other. When they are young, they have a promising future. If they die, then not only will France not be able to win Flanders - even if they want to grasp the existing territory, they will also be able to grasp the existing territory, with only the Prince of Condé and the Duke of Luxembourg. became extremely difficult.

Corneille did not know if his prayers were heard by God, or by any saint. He desperately followed the group of saints who were pretended to be by the devil. Everywhere they passed, there were crosses, reliquaries and icons. It will burn up—until now, he finally realized that the crosses on those Christians are all reverse crosses. The reverse cross has two meanings in the crowd. One is that St. Peter was sentenced to be nailed to the cross during his martyrdom, but He said, I did not deserve the same punishment as my Lord, so he was nailed to the cross upside down, and the Roman church sometimes used the reverse cross to represent St. Peter, Pope; another meaning is more direct , those who embrace Satan and turn their backs on the Savior, are declaring "no salvation", which is a sign of evil, but these so-called martyrs, who died even before St. Peter, wore the reverse cross and could only Say yes...they're all thugs from hell.

But in front of them, in front of the head of Saint-Denis, there was not a door that could not be opened or made a sound, and the loyal guards disappeared, and they went to the king's bedroom like this, there There are several musketeers, who traditionally guard outside the king's chambers, but they also seem to be caught in a nightmare from which they cannot wake up.

  Ko Naiyi struggled frantically, and when he found that he was able to speak, he let out a loud cry with trembling voice.

  ————

Bosch looked at the drawing board, Saint-Denis and his entourage on the drawing board, their heads were still resting on his shoulders, he lifted a cursed dagger and gently drew a knife on the necks of the three of them. , a crack immediately appeared there, blood flowed out from it, and the head of the saint began to slowly tilt to one side.

He put down the dagger in his hand with satisfaction, and glanced at Rubens beside him. Among his students, Rubens was not the one he liked the most. He even hated Bosch—he was becoming a Bosch student. At the time, he didn't know that this person was the notorious dark wizard he knew. When he knew, his life, reputation, and even his parents, wife and children were already in the hands of Bosch, and he couldn't resist. , had to obey, he didn't know at first why Bosch asked him to collaborate on this triptych, and now he knows - Bosch's curse is famous all over the world, but it also has the disadvantage that his paintings are full of dirty sharp breath , it is easy to be detected by people, especially the priests of the Inquisition - so he summoned Rubens, and Rubens became the best disguise in his efforts to slow down Bosch's curse, thus allowing Bosch's curse to succeed. Enter the church, enter the icon, come to the king's side.

   There is no need to say more about how remorse Rubens was, Bosch smiled and touched the disciple's face - Rubens showed a disgusting look and took a step back. "Don't be like that," said Bosch. "Son, since the mistake has been made, it's useless to regret it—" He paused. "But you're always like this, hesitant and indecisive. That's a good thing, of course, yes. For me."

Seeing Rubens' expression of pain, Bosch's mood became more and more happy, and he liked this. Compared with hurting other people's bodies, hurting the other's soul is obviously a more pleasant thing, especially Rubens-and He was right. Rubens was a naive but definitely not stupid child. He discovered that Bosch was a wizard after a few years of studying with Bosch. Bosch told him that when he was also a wizard, he was bewitched by another world and talent (wizards see things absolutely different from mortals), did not tell his parents, but waited until Bosch finally revealed his true purpose - Compared with a disciple, as a dark wizard, he needed a slave more, and at that time, in order to retaliate against the church and the judges who persecuted them, Rubens took another critical step, and this step made him step into the quagmire .

After that, although he was valued and trusted by the Duke of Mantua in Italy, he won a great reputation in Italy, and even went to Spain as an envoy, and later returned to Flanders to serve the Grand Duke Alberto and his wife. Became an envoy of Spain, managed to make Spain reach a covenant with England, and thus was knighted by Charles I, but the shadow of Bosch was still shrouded in his heart like winter clouds and never dissipated.

Mortal death was Rubens' last revolt, and the last revolt—he realized suddenly, sadly, that perhaps for Bosch, he would always be that innocent child, an open book, Bosch. Sis used him as he wanted with a tool, including his resistance, and he had no power to fight back.

Bos shook his head, his student, I don't know when he will know, what charm, words, power, in the mortal world, of course, are very important, the bargaining chip that can control the situation, but in the inner world, the most important thing , and the only thing that can work, only power.

   Even the king, whose curse killed Louis XIII, and his son, how can a mortal crown be compared to a wizard's staff?

  ———

   The sound of a sharp sword tearing through the curtains sounded almost in tandem with Ko Naiyi's loud cry. It tore open the thick golden embroidered bed curtains and went straight down, slashing at the person in the bed with a sword.

   (end of this chapter)