Instead of looking for a hansom cab at the street corner, Leia walked two blocks with Xia De, then suddenly turned into a less noticeable alley beside the road. After walking some distance in the alley, she actually pulled out a key and opened the door of one of the houses in the alley.
“Xia De, we can’t just have one hiding place, can we?”
She smiled at Xia De as she pushed the door open:
“I bet Annette, Priest Augustus, and the doctor also have similar second hiding places, which can also be used to store sensitive items that are not often used.”
This house, similar to a “safe house,” was not rented, but purchased by Leia at a low price through her family connections. Although the price was acceptable, the living conditions here were very poor, and Leia did not treat it as her own house, only as a temporary warehouse.
According to her, besides herself, Xia De was the second person to know this location.
“Should I feel honored?”
After entering the low house, Xia De asked while surveying the interior, which was disguised as a typical poor family's furnishings. Leia had already entered the small basement located beneath the house through a trapdoor under the bed. Besides the trapdoor, the basement had a very small opening that could be crawled through to enter the City’s sewer system, but she would not use it lightly.
It wasn't because she was worried about the secret passage being discovered, but because it was truly unbearably smelly.
The muffled voice came from underground:
“You not only told me your secret, but you even lent me the invaluable youthful immortality leaf, what else can I not tell you? So far, besides Leia, Xia De, you are the person I trust the most.”
As she spoke, she crawled out from under the trapdoor and handed Xia De a very thick black robe and a mask:
“The place we’re going to later might be dangerous, so it’s better for us to be cautious.”
As she spoke, she also changed into her robe. To tuck all her golden long hair into the hood, she struggled to reach up and tie her hair.
As Leia was adjusting her collar and preparing to put on her hood, Xia De noticed that she had clipped the leaf with a silver piece and hung it around her neck. Xia De’s leaf was clipped inside his pocket watch cover; although he didn’t need the pocket watch now, it was still a nice ornament.
Leaving Leia’s safe house, they walked another block east on foot before finding a vacant hansom cab at the intersection. The two of them, dressed in robes and hoods, looked quite strange, but the coachman only hesitated for a moment, stating that he would not leave the City limits or go to remote places, and then allowed them to get in.
It seemed that those who dared to solicit business at night always had some extraordinary insight.
The carriage traveled for nearly an hour in the quiet night, arriving at the northern edge of the Tobesk City area. Then, Leia led Xia De along winding roads, through dense clusters of low shanties and simple two-story houses in the suburbs, stepping on mud and sniffing various strange odors, continuously moving in the direction away from the City.
There were no gas streetlights here, and hardly any candlelight could be seen.
This was a village on the northern outskirts of the City, a temporary residence for the large influx of outsiders attracted by this City of Fog. In the early stages of the steam industrial revolution in this world, only a few poor families initially resided here, but it gradually formed into a settlement of this scale, becoming an alternative countryside dependent on the outskirts of the City.
However, this situation only occurred in the North City. Not only because the North City was traditionally the Lower City, but also because the vast plains north of the City were the best agricultural and pasture lands in the Tobesk region.
There was always a need for labor here, and the suburban villages and towns in the gap between the open plains north of the City and the City itself seemed to exist naturally for this prosperous steam City.
Dodging a drunkard vomiting against a mud wall, bypassing a Boy urinating in front of his own door, and then intimidating a black wolfdog that wanted to bark at strangers with his gaze, Xia De followed behind Leia, traversing the suburban village that seemed two centuries behind the City.
The village also had no definite edge; the houses simply became sparser, meaning they were moving away from human settlements.
Further on was a small Wood, which they passed through in less than five minutes along a forest path. Then, a gravel path appeared, connecting to it. After walking a few hundred more steps along the path, they finally saw their destination for this trip: the cemetery located in the northern suburbs of the City.
This place did not belong to the City Public cemetery. The City Public cemetery was jointly managed by the Orthodox Church and the City Hall. Xia De’s superior, Mr. Anlos, almost got this leisurely job.
This place belonged to people living in or outside the City who did not qualify for burial in the Public cemetery.
Although the grave prices at Tobesk Public Cemetery were low, there were always people in this world who couldn't afford that price. As a result, some burial grounds appeared in the suburbs where the poor could also be buried. As for safety and environment, those were not things the poor could consider.
There was no fog in the suburbs like in the City. The cemetery, nestled by the Wood, was very clear in the march light, and could even be said to be somewhat mystical.
Leia slowed her pace a bit, walking shoulder to shoulder with Xia De, and whispered to him:
“The one we are going to visit is usually called Mr. Corpus. He is the largest supplier of corpse-related materials in the Tobesk area. But this man is the gravekeeper here, and his temper is very peculiar. Whether you are a regular customer or not, any Ring術士 entering the cemetery he manages after sunset will be treated in a less-than-friendly manner by him, yet he only receives guests after sunset. So, later, stay behind me, do not use Miracles of the Silver Moon, and I will handle any danger.”
“Is he an illegal figure?”
Xia De asked quietly again, the sound of his shoes stepping on dry branches on the gravel path seemed to carry far.
“Although this person has a peculiar personality, he usually hides in the cemetery doing his own research, and no wanted notice from the Orthodox Church matches him. Moreover, the unfriendliness towards visitors at night is mostly just a warning.”
The Golden-haired girl replied.
“Then where do those corpse materials come from? It wouldn’t be…”
Xia De quietly pointed forward.
“At least they aren’t dug out of this cemetery; no gravekeeper would be foolish enough to steal corpses from the area under his own jurisdiction. As for where they come from… Detective, I cannot answer that question either.”
Using “Detective” instead of “Xia De” was because the two were already close to the cemetery.
Xia De closed his mouth and silently followed behind Leia.
He understood that the source of corpse-related materials could not be legal in an era where order was being established. As for whether it was stolen, purchased, or by other means, he could not guess, nor could he guess at all, so he simply chose not to worry about it.