Chapter 416: Everything Starts from Winter (Part 3)

"Wine Pool... Cat Getan Cathedral..."

A hand with distinct knuckles passed over one book after another. Suddenly, it stopped at a book named *History of Cat Getan City Construction*, and the index finger hooked the spine, taking it down from the bookshelf.

The other hand gently brushed off the dust on the cover. After opening the book, he kept looking down according to the directory index. A voice sighed softly:

"Cat Getan Cathedral... Found it."

Outside the rows of bookshelves, an old butler dressed meticulously walked past with a tray. He stood between two rows of bookshelves, looked at Bruce, who was engrossed in looking at the bookshelf, and said: "Master, it's time for afternoon tea. Do you want me to bring the tea over?"

"No... Thank you, Alfred." Bruce didn't look up, still focused on the introduction about Cat Getan Cathedral in the book. He paused and said: "Help me put it on the table over there. I'll go over later."

Bruce stood there looking for a while, feeling the lighting here was a bit dim, and some details of the drawings in the pictures couldn't be seen clearly. Thus, he took the book and walked out of the shelf, came to the rest area on the side, and sat in a chair.

Alfred stood by the table, took out refreshments from a cart on the side, and then took out a teapot to start making tea. Bruce kept his head down reading the book. The sound of tea being poured into the cup sounded along with Alfred's voice:

"Master, have you been obsessed with research related to magic and mysticism lately?"

"Hmm." Bruce responded. In private, his words were fewer, but when facing Alfred alone, his tone was more relaxed and he was willing to explain some things.

"Constantine let me see another possibility of magic. The kind of clone he used looks more like a technique. I'm wondering, could magic also be a kind of energy that can be utilized? Just like heat and kinetic energy..."

Upon hearing the name Constantine, Alfred's eyebrows wrinkled slightly. Bruce keenly sensed his expression and said: "I know Constantine doesn't have any redeeming qualities, except for the knowledge of magic in his brain."

"Having curiosity and a desire for knowledge is a good thing, Master." Alfred just replied somewhat ambiguously, then said: "But I'm not sure if he thinks you have any redeeming qualities..."

This sentence used several auxiliary words to weaken the tone. Bruce understood that Alfred was tactfully reminding him that Constantine might have ulterior motives toward him. As Batman, he naturally understood that just looking at Constantine's previous actions was enough for him to raise his vigilance.

【Book: *I Have a Scroll of Ghosts and Gods*】

Although this scumbag didn't have any advantages in living habits, there was no doubt that his brain was very useful. He formulated several plans and then let them proceed together, not only without interfering with each other but also progressing rapidly. If it weren't for a small accident at the end, every one of his goals would have been achieved.

Bruce was also facing a person like this for the first time. He had to admit that besides magic, he was also quite interested in Constantine's style of doing things.

"Moreover, Master, you have to consider Aisha and Dick. They are still young and still need the care of elders." Alfred said pointedly: "Guidance and protection for children in this age group are very important. Once there is a slip-up, it may cause very serious consequences."

Bruce nodded. He thought Alfred's words made sense, but he didn't take them to heart. Not to mention that Aisha and Dick couldn't be considered ordinary children, just the security system of Wei En Manor was enough to protect the two children.

Bruce had been holding the book and muttering to himself in a low voice: "It is recorded here that a priest once raised funds for the repair of the cathedral. Not only did Falcone and the gang families under him donate a large amount of wealth, but the Wei En family also participated in it. Besides that, there were major commercial families in Cat Getan..."

He frowned and muttered to himself: "What is special about the cathedral? Could it be related to the Wine Pool underground?"

Besides Constantine, the only thing he could come into contact with that was relatively related to magic was the church and the Wine Pool under the church. Therefore, after being unable to constantly follow Constantine due to schedule reasons, Bruce switched perspectives and started checking from Cat Getan locally.

The Wei En family possessed massive books, and among the records of Cat Getan's history of city construction, Bruce found many clues, but none could be connected together. Therefore, he decided to investigate on the spot.

He spent the afternoon tea time somewhat absent-mindedly, then left in a hurry, and the book was left on the table.

Alfred, who was cleaning up the tea and tableware, let his gaze fall on the cover of the book.

The font on the book cover was a relatively simple cursive script, generally used for writing store signs and names. At this moment, the curves of the strokes changed slowly, turning into a very short name—"Hal Jordan."

As the fountain pen that wrote the last stroke was lifted, Schiller capped the pen and put it back into the pen holder.

In the empty study, looking at the medical record he had just written, Schiller revealed a smile.

Just now, the abnormality Aisha displayed should be enough to arouse Hal's curiosity and worry.

He continued to write down along Hal's name:

"... Has a strong sense of identification with the will of the Green Lantern Corps. The anxiety caused by the lack of smoothness in his flying dream has been transferred to his Green Lantern career. He wants to complete every task as perfectly as possible, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past..."

"It is speculated that the tasks the Green Lantern Corps might have issued include investigating the situation of Parallax, investigating the situation of Sinestro, investigating the situation of Cat Getan..."

And Hal, who had just left Schiller's manor, had no idea that his situation had been recorded in a medical record.

Having just drunk some alcohol, Hal was a bit drunk. He leaned on the tree trunk by the roadside, coughed twice, sniffed hard, then wrapped his clothes tighter, and walked quickly across the road.

The images of Aisha's abnormalities during the dinner just now kept circling in his mind. Hal began to become a bit anxious. His reason told him that what Victor said at the time made sense. Now Aisha was a human little girl, not that terrifying Parallax.

Although there were some abnormalities, she didn't have any performance of wanting to attack people at all. On the contrary, from her movements and expressions, Hal could tell that she was constantly learning human communication methods, just like a real toddler.

But another possibility lingered in his mind. Once he left Aisha alone, and she caused some trouble in the future, would the Green Lantern Corps blame him for this? Would they take back his Green Lantern ring and make him lose this powerful strength?

Whenever he thought of this, Hal felt his mind was a mess. He failed to become the fighter pilot he dreamed of. The reason for this was very complicated, but there was no doubt that Hal was dissatisfied with his ordinary life.

Now, the power of the green light brought him change. He saw new hope from this change. He didn't want to let his other career end in failure because of his dereliction of duty.

If the Green Lantern Corps sent a mission to kill Aisha, what should he do?

If he didn't deal with the problem related to Aisha now, and Aisha erupted in the future, harming ordinary people, what should he do?

If... if... Hal thought of too many "ifs." As a fledgling, he was not yet the greatest Green Lantern of the future. Although he already had the potential to possess invincible will, he still felt conflicted and lost.

Hal thought about it and felt the only solution was to talk to Aisha face-to-face. If Parallax was uncommunicative and destined to be the enemy of the Green Lantern, then Aisha, who had now become a human little girl, might be communicable.

Thinking this, Hal changed his direction of walking, found a deserted alley, then activated his Green Lantern ability, and teleported to the vicinity of Wei En Manor.

Walking before the front gate of Wei En Manor, Hal hesitated. First, he felt Bruce Wei En must be very difficult to deal with. He was afraid he definitely wouldn't let himself in. If they couldn't talk it out, they might fight, which was not the result Hal wanted.

Second, he felt that things between the Lantern Corps should be solved by Lanterns. Things between the Yellow Lantern and the Green Lantern should be solved by themselves.

Just like this, Hal convinced himself not to take the front door. But likewise, he didn't intend to take the side door. Simply put, he didn't intend to take the door at all, but intended to determine Aisha's location and then teleport directly in front of her.

He hadn't wasted his investigation of Aisha these past few days. According to the time Aisha returned home and the time the lights in Wei En Manor's rooms turned on, Hal knew that Aisha's bedroom was likely on the second floor.

After the sky turned dark, Hal discovered that a light turned on in a room on the second floor.

Although he was going to do a good deed, I don't know why, but Hal felt somewhat inexplicably guilty. He kept convincing himself in his mind that this was actually for Earth's safety and also for the safety of Cat Getan's citizens.

He took a few deep breaths, then the ring lit up with green light. The green light spread from his fingers to his whole body, and instantly, Hal's figure disappeared.

With a "thump," he landed on the wooden floor of the manor. In front of him was a princess bed that clearly looked like it was used by a little girl. The quilt was slightly raised, and Aisha seemed to be sleeping soundly.

But Hal didn't walk up, instead stepped back two steps, then whispered: "Aisha, Aisha, are you there?"

"Parallax? Parallax?"

The figure on the bed didn't respond. Hal revealed an extremely difficult expression, but he still didn't walk up, standing in place with his hands on his hips, seemingly not knowing what to do.

Just then, he suddenly felt a hard object press against his back.

Hal's whole body stiffened, and he slowly raised his arms. In the shadow behind him, a white-haired figure appeared. No one had ever seen Alfred with such a cold expression.

And no one had ever seen the hunting rifle he held in his hand.

Looking out the window along Alfred's gaze, at this moment, the moonlight was bright.

The moonlight shone on the broken spire of the old cathedral. A black shadow with pointed ears landed on it, then jumped down along the eaves.

Passing through the cathedral's corridor, coming to the chapel, then turning right, entering the side passage, passing the confessional, and walking all the way in, Batman recalled the architectural structure diagram he had seen in the book.

Soon, he stopped, stopping before a door. That old padlock didn't stop this master of lock-picking. With an extremely fine "click," the old wooden door opened slowly, and behind it was the priest's living room.

It looked like this place hadn't been used for a long time. With the last riot, the entire cathedral was closed, and the old priest had also moved to another place.

And the first thing Batman saw when walking into the room was a table facing the door. At this moment, the moonlight shone in from the window on the table, the tabletop emitted a hazy white light, and besides many books and files, a small photo frame was placed on it.

The hand covered by the black gauntlet picked up the photo frame, and the thumb gently wiped the dust off it.

There were three young people in the photo. Their dress and appearance looked like people from the previous generation.

Batman was very familiar with the faces of two of them.

The one wearing a black suit, a bow tie, and a red poppy on his pocket was the Cat Getan godfather Falcone. The one wearing a black robe and looking kind and benevolent was the priest of this cathedral.

And the last person, Batman was even more familiar with. He wore a long trench coat, a beret, and held an old-fashioned hunting rifle in his hand.

That was Alfred Pennyworth. ===== CHAPTER 417 =====