Chapter 133: New Discovery
After careful inquiry, the group finally understood.
Jessie meant—the crops in the sunflower field stopped growing.
Almost overnight, every plant showed the same situation.
After that, her father Roy tried planting other crops.
But regardless of the length of the growth cycle, these seeds showed no signs of germination.
It was as if the "nurturing" ability of this land had been completely stripped away.
Jessie also mentioned that the crows hovering around the house had disappeared.
William raised an eyebrow; in the original work, crows were also an external manifestation of the evil spirit's power.
He picked up the monocular to observe the surroundings, and sure enough, he didn't see any birds.
"Did this happen right after that night?" William rubbed his chin.
Jessie shook her head: "About a week after that."
Although he didn't get the answer he wanted, this was still an important clue.
Beep... beep.
At this time, a car horn sounded behind them.
Several people turned around and found a pickup truck driving towards them.
Then three people got out of the car. Two of them were Jessie's parents, and the other was a bearded burly man, John Burwell, the caretaker hired by Roy to look after the farmland.
The latter was exactly the previous owner of this house in the original work.
John and Roy had similar circumstances; they both chose to restart their lives by planting sunflowers.
Unfortunately, John's sunflower harvest was dismal, which made him completely lose "hope."
And his wife Mary also had many complaints about him and planned to leave with John's son.
Under multiple blows, John's mental state became extremely unstable.
After that, he killed his wife and daughter and disappeared himself.
William narrowed his eyes slightly. At this time, John looked normal; it seemed he hadn't recovered from his amnesia yet.
On the other side, seeing three priests at the door of his house and his daughter walking with them, Roy became vigilant.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Roy waved to his daughter.
"Hello, sir, are you interested in joining the Church?" William took the initiative to speak and took out a promotional brochure for the community church from his bag.
Seeing that the other party really came to promote theology, Roy lowered his guard slightly.
"Sorry, we have no plans to join for the time being." He forced a smile.
Now that the farmland problem remained unresolved, Roy had no time to pay attention to these things.
This was the family's "hope" to get back on track, and also his chance to prove himself.
Once the sunflowers failed, months of hard work would turn into nothing.
Their family would also go completely bankrupt.
Roy dared not imagine such a scene.
He could only pray to his father in his heart; the latter once made a fortune planting sunflowers in the nearby Truckee County.
This was also the reason why Roy could move to the big city later.
"Mr. Solomon, the rainfall this year seems good; do you think there will be a good harvest?" William took the initiative to change the subject.
Seeing the other party mention something he cared about, Roy sighed helplessly: "Hopefully."
If it were a few months ago, he would have affirmed this answer.
But now...
"I wonder how the other harvests in the vicinity are?" William continued.
"Although the land is average, at least there is a harvest." Roy shrugged.
Of course, he had also visited the surrounding farmlands, but only his family had this situation.
This made Roy even more worried.
"So that's how it is. May the Lord bless you with a good harvest. We won't disturb you anymore."
William crossed himself on his chest and took the initiative to bid farewell to the other party.
In the car.
"We're leaving just like that? We haven't even used the holy artifacts we set up." Zar looked puzzled.
Others had the same thought.
Facing the gazes of several people, William said calmly: "I suspect that the 'Earthbound Spirit' has been eliminated."
As soon as this remark came out, the academy trio immediately showed surprised expressions.
"How do you know... Jessie said she encountered anomalies recently."
"We'll know when we get to the town." William didn't answer directly.
Soon, the group arrived at the small town closest to the commission site.
The car stopped outside an agricultural supply store.
Ring... ring.
William pushed open the wooden door with a bell and walked straight to the front desk.
"Respected Fathers, do you need help?"
"Oh, yes, I heard that you are the person in town who knows the nearby farmland best, so I have some questions to ask."
William spoke with a smile and handed over a green bill without leaving a trace.
The shop owner Georig was originally squinting, but after seeing the thing on the table clearly, his eyes widened instantly.
"You flatter me; I'm very willing to clear up your doubts."
Aside, Bent and Zar were stunned.
Usually, both of them were focused on theological studies and rarely came into contact with these things.
Seeing William do such a thing as a priest at this time, they were somewhat surprised.
Silas's eyes lit up.
"This tone and movement are simply too natural." He secretly learned.
Judy also did the same thing, although she still didn't quite understand the reason.
But Father William once said—it doesn't matter if you don't understand, do it first!
On the other side, William pointed to a location on the map.
"How has the harvest been for the farmland in this area in recent years?"
Georig leaned forward.
"Oh, you mean here."
He shook his head.
"It's relatively average in North Dakota, but fortunately, it can maintain a harvest."
"What about here?"
William pointed to another location, which was exactly the farm purchased by the Solomon family.
"Oh, you must absolutely not plant any crops there." Georig shook his head repeatedly.
William raised an eyebrow: "Why is that?"
"Someone once planted sunflowers there, but the harvest was dismal in the end. That is a land abandoned by the Lord."
Now even the academy trio heard something wrong.
When talking to Jessie just now, the other party mentioned one thing.
At first, the seeds grew very well, and her father Roy even said he bought a piece of "treasure land."
William rubbed his chin: "Who was the original owner of this farmland?"
He planned to investigate from the source; maybe he could find some clues.
"Let me think..."
Georig showed a look of recollection.
"I've been in town for thirty years. I only remember that it was Belton Bank selling that land at the earliest. The salesman at that time seemed to be called Co... lby Price. This guy hasn't retired yet!"
"I wonder where I can find this salesman." William said.
"Go across the street along this road; Belton Bank is at the corner."
Georig came out of the cashier counter to the outside of the shop and pointed in a direction.
"You have to go early. These lazy guys get off work before the sun goes down! Made me run several times in vain."
The shop owner expressed his anger at capitalism.
After getting the desired answer, William and the others soon arrived outside a bank.
This was a small shop with only a few employees inside. At this time, they had all packed up and were ready to leave.
William found one of them and asked about Colby Price's whereabouts.
"Old Colby? I saw him go into the restroom half an hour ago."
William nodded and looked in that direction.
At the same time, inside the restroom.
Colby Price was squatting on the toilet. His eyes were rolled back, and his limbs were twisted unnaturally.
"True Lord... please... give me... one more chance."
He made a sound with difficulty, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth, but the anomaly on his body did not diminish at all.
Colby's arms were bent to an incredible angle.
The wrinkles on his face were also squeezed tightly together.
Bang!
Just at this time, the restroom door was kicked open.
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