“Alright, I’ll get back to you within a week. Since you only want well-known research groups, I don’t think it will even take a week.”
The Professor took the envelope of money, put it aside without even looking at how many banknotes were inside, and then said with some embarrassment:
“Detective, I actually planned to go find Louisa in the next few days… I had that dream again.”
“What? How could that be?”
Xia De was startled. It had been almost a month since the gun of kindness went out of control, and Miss Louisa had clearly confirmed that the Professor’s body was recovering quickly and that he had not suffered any further mental impact.
“How many times did you dream? When?”
“Once, just yesterday.”
“Then please give me your hand.”
Xia De grasped Professor Manning’s right wrist, and with the Professor’s rather worried expression, he made a listening gesture. Ten seconds later, he released the Professor’s hand with a relaxed expression:
“Don’t worry, it’s not that kind of problem. You are very safe.”
In close contact, “she” did not sense the slightest whisper element within the Professor’s body.
“Then why did I have that dream?”
Professor Manning asked, puzzled. After the severe illness he had recently experienced, the old gentleman’s current condition could not be said to be fully recovered.
“I am not a scholar and cannot explain the cause of dreams. But I suggest you go find a Psychologist friend of mine.”
Xia De didn't have Dr. Schneider’s business card on him, so he asked for paper and pen to write down the address for the Professor, saying as he wrote:
“This friend of mine is just an ordinary person, very good at this kind of psychological illness, he will help you.”
The Professor’s face flushed, and he asked hesitantly:
“So my dream is…”
Xia De nodded:
“Yes, at least this time, it really was just a dream you had yourself. But please rest assured, I don’t believe in unsubstantiated claims like ‘what you think about during the day turns into dreams at night,’ so I won’t have any suspicions about you. In my opinion, this might be a deep psychological trauma left from the last incident.”
After writing the address, he wisely got up to leave. Judging by Professor Manning’s expression when he escorted him downstairs, the Professor would most likely really go to see Dr. Schneider.
After saying goodbye to the Professor, Xia De planned to take a stroll in Coldwater Port City today. It had been over a week since the Mermaid statue incident, so he no longer had to worry about such dangerous things affecting him. At the same time, even if he couldn’t find the next blood money in the port City, there was still the Ring術士 Lemeir’s safe house discovered from the diary waiting to be explored, and Xia De was very much looking forward to his gains.
Although this trip was convenient, it was also somewhat dangerous, so Xia De did not plan to take his cat to the seaside. Also, because he was worried about being stranded in Coldwater Port City at night and unable to return, after returning to Saint Delan Square, he took Mia out again and found the female Writer at home on Feather Pen Street.
After the exam week, she was going to start serializing her Detective novel in the Steam Bird Daily. The first story was adapted from what Xia De heard from the two ghosts in the cemetery, so there was no need for her to go out for research during this period. Miss Louisa should not be traveling far.
“You want me to look after Mia again? Oh, of course.”
The Writer was very agreeable. She took the somewhat reluctant cat from Xia De and then asked curiously:
“What are you going to do this time? It’s not something dangerous again, is it? I said, this kind of…”
“No, no, although this time it’s the same destination as last time, it’s not dangerous this time.”
Xia De said, and Miss Louisa nodded understandingly:
“Same destination… Alright then, I’ll help you look after the cat. Anyway, I don’t have any travel plans today, but remember to come back early. Also, don’t bring fish as a souvenir again.”
“No problem, but the fish soup last time tasted really good.”
Xia De said with a smile, patted Mia’s head, and bid farewell to the blonde female Writer amidst the cat’s reluctant meows before leaving.
Miss Louisa did not see him downstairs, but stood at the window holding the sullen Mia, watching Xia De’s figure appear on the street and then walk away along the street:
“The place from last time… Coldwater Port… Have a good holiday.”
Dorothy Louisa’s lips curved into a smile (Note).
With Mia settled, Xia De could spend the whole day exploring. This time, he didn’t need to do troublesome travel preparations, because after stuffing the ordinary items he needed to bring into his suitcase, he simply used cloth to turn the suitcase into a ragdoll and hung it on his waist.
The only relics he carried were the gun of kindness, the dice of destiny, and the 【pirate's blood money】. These three items, along with the casting material “weathervane bluegrass extract diluent” which could not be turned into a toy, a single-use Sunlight Gun alchemical item, and two Founding series rhode cards, were all wrapped in waterproof canvas and carried with him.
Frog legs and bone meal could be turned into toys, as these two items themselves did not possess extraordinary properties.
After packing everything and locking the front door, he entered the hidden space behind the basement wall. After chanting the incantation and touching the ancient god statue, he successfully arrived at the dark cave beneath the sea cliff outside Coldwater Port City.
Because he had already walked this path once, it only took him twenty-three minutes this time for Xia De to land on a secluded beach at the Coldwater Port Wharf.
Although the weather in Coldwater Port was a bit gloomy today, it wasn’t raining. Xia De, who had climbed out of the sea, was soaked, so he could only use a towel on the beach to dry the water from his hair, then change into a clean coat and pants before daring to enter the City.
He still chose to stay at the Golden Rose Hotel on Hoggren Street in the Wharf Area, under the alias John Watson. When Xia De put down his luggage and began to change into dry socks and underwear, it was 10:40 AM that day.
Choosing the same hotel as last time also had the intention of confirming whether the previous incident had been investigated and traced back to him. But after waiting twenty minutes in the room, he didn’t see any suspicious police or Ring術士 teams appear, which greatly relaxed Xia De, knowing that he could act a bit more freely today.
He had two purposes for coming to Coldwater Port City; the blood money detection required him to traverse the entire City, so Xia De thought he would first go see Mr. Lemeir the sailor’s safe house.
Among the inheritances he bought, there were three diaries. In a record dated two years ago in the autumn, Xia De found the exact location of the safe house, as well as Mr. Lemeir’s complaints about a nearby restaurant.
Similar to Miss Louisa renting a dilapidated house in a secluded alley, or Priest Augustus renting a basement from a friend, the long-time sailor had rented an attic in a three-story apartment building in the City. To prevent himself from staying in the New World for a long time, he even paid a year’s rent in advance each time, so Xia De didn’t have to worry about the safe house already being discovered by someone.
The safe house was also located in the Wharf Area of Coldwater Port City, specifically on New Denton Street, two blocks away from Mermaid Alley where the last incident occurred.
This street was specifically used for fish trading in the Wharf Area. Whether it was local restaurant procurement or large-scale transactions by foreign merchants, everything happened here. The street was slippery, and most of the shops along the street sold fish. Even before turning into the street, one could smell that fishy odor.
The ground was paved with gravel, and the street was wide enough for four carriages to pass side by side. Shouts, the sound of wheels rolling over the ground, and noisy conversations merged together, bringing the strong scent of life in the port City directly to him.
Seagulls circled overhead, and wildcats in the alley corners intersecting New Denton Street lurked, looking for prey, or fighting with their peers over the ownership of a garbage heap.
Xia De walked into the street from a dirty, damp alley with his hands in his pockets and his head down. There was some blood in the puddles on the ground, and the pervasive fishy smell in the air made him a little uncomfortable. To his right were fish stalls, with shallow tin fish tanks placed directly at the storefronts. Large black sea fish swam in the water, occasionally splashing water when they flicked their tails, adding more puddles to the ground.
Looking up to his right, 41 New Denton Street was the destination. Xia De glanced at the sun, which was blocked by the rain clouds, then pressed down on his black hat and walked over.
Stepping onto the stoop, the rusty door made Xia De hesitate for a moment before knocking. After knocking, he waited for a full two minutes before someone opened the door.
The person who opened the door was a thin, old man with a white wig and a cane. His eyes were deeply sunken, but his nose was quite large. The old man was probably a little younger than Priest Augustus, and the age spots on his face were very obvious:
“Who are you looking for? If you’re a robber, go somewhere else, only paupers live here.”
He glanced at Xia De, realized he was a stranger, spat outside, and then tried to close the door.
But Xia De’s hand held the door open, and he said to the rude old man inside, who had a very heavy accent:
“Does George Anthony live here?”
This was Lemeir’s alias.
“Mr. Anthony died, and his inheritance went to distant relatives. I’m here to help him clean up his things. Don’t ask me for any identification; he died at sea and his body was never found.”
Xia De said.
The old man who opened the door looked at him suspiciously. Half of Xia De’s face was hidden under his hat; he looked suspicious no matter how you looked at him:
“Dead? How do I know if you’re telling the truth? Even if he’s dead, without seeing a will, I won’t let anyone take anything from here. This house is mine, and even if it’s rented to others, the things inside are mine. Oh, damn it, you even said you’re not a robber, hurry, leave, or I’ll call the police!”
He meant he wanted to swallow Lemeir’s belongings.
But Xia De had come prepared, having known from the diary how bad the landlord here was:
“Look at this.”
He said, pulling his overcoat open slightly to reveal the handgun tucked at his waist. Then, he shook the small identification booklet in front of the old man:
“Can you read?”
“MI6!”