Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

The next evening, Esther was walking on Minsk Street with a honey cake topped with whipped cream and a whole jug of sweet iced tea.

But she didn't seem to come at the right time, and no one came to answer the door after ringing the doorbell, so Esther had to stand by the door and wait patiently for Klein to come back.

The aroma of radish stewed beef came from the door, indicating that the soup pot should still be hot, and Klein would not go too far.

The smell that kept drifting outside made Esther swallow her saliva, but she had already had dinner, so she couldn't be so embarrassing about the fellow's craftsmanship...

When Klein walked towards NO.15, he was followed by a young man with black hair and red eyes and a feminine face. The young man was even wearing the brown priest's robe of the Mother Earth Church.

When there were still several meters away, the young man pinched his nose with his hands, and stared at Esther with a distorted expression:
"Why are you here, aren't you a resident of that apartment number?"

Esther was also very curious. She only had a relationship with this vampire that day, but she didn't expect that he seemed to have a deep impression on her, and even had an impression in the past week.

Esther smiled: "I wanted to ask you this question too. Good evening, Mr. Priest."

The young man's complexion immediately fell, and he said angrily: "Why do you pick other people's pain points to talk about!"

Esther looked at the priest's uniform on him suspiciously. She was right, but in order not to irritate the other party, she had to take it back:

"Sorry, just pretend I didn't say it."

Klein immediately introduced the two of them briefly: "This is Emlyn White, and this is Hamel, um, a friend of mine."

"I'm the client today." Esther shook the cake and sweet iced tea in her hand, which made Klein's eyes light up. "I have something to talk to Mr. Moriarty."

Emlyn pointed at Esther suspiciously, and said to Klein:
"This is the kind of person I told you before that has a weird smell of blood. Basically, you can be so smoked that you can remember it for a long time."

Esther's face turned red, and she forced a smile. Klein could see her rising anger.

Esther said very bluntly: "I'm really sorry, Mr. Vampire."

Emlyn raised his neck angrily again, and pointed his nostrils at a 45-degree angle to the short Esther:

"I told you already, it's a blood race! Why don't you know how to respect people at all!"

Esther also raised her eyebrows, and stared at Emlyn with an unfriendly expression. Although she didn't speak, it could be seen that both of them were dissatisfied.

Fearing that Esther and Emlyn would fight at his door, Klein had no choice but to smooth things over:

"Okay, okay, Emlyn, you should go back earlier, don't let your parents start worrying again, goodbye, I won't send you off. Hamel, can you come in and sit down? I made beef bone radish tonight Soup and rice, hope you don't mind spicy food."

"Actually, I've had dinner, but with chili... well, I can cut down on the soup."

Carrying her things, Esther followed Klein into the door with her head held high. Emlyn, who was left outside the door, was stunned for a few seconds. She rushed to the closed door with a disdainful "hum" before turning her head and leaving. .

-

"Cappin?"

After clearing the table together, and Esther insisting on helping to wash the dishes and wipe the table, the two sat back contentedly at the table, each with a large glass of sweet iced tea.

"Yes, Detective Sherlock, I have considered that your social circle seems to be wider than mine, so I would like to ask if you have any relevant clues."

Of course, Klein had heard about this person's "deeds", and decisively shared the news with Esther:
"The person they are talking about is most likely the rich man who lives in the Jowood area. There are many rumors that he controls the business of buying and selling young girls. Many girls who disappeared after a period of time were found in various underground houses. prostitution place.

But there was not enough evidence to accuse Capin on the surface, so he has been at large, which is enough to prove that he is not simple. "

Esther's expression became more dignified. She subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to rub the center of her right eyebrow, but then suppressed her small movements: "There may be other forces behind him?"

Klein nodded: "He is still very free to this day, and he also knows many important people. If it is said that he does not have the support of powerful nobles behind him, I don't believe it."

"In fact, the situation behind the relatively powerful gangs in the East District is basically the same," Esther said casually, "I have to go back and plan what to do."

"It may be very difficult for you to save people by yourself. It's too risky." Klein reminded her.

"Well, the chances of me actually taking action are not high, because the East District is like this." Esther said softly, "But I'm still very angry, at worst I will cause some trouble for them."

Klein thought for a moment, and suddenly remembered that he happened to make an appointment with the old Kohler at the coffee shop in the East District tomorrow morning, and immediately asked Esther:

"Tomorrow, I have an appointment with an old gentleman who is an informant in the East District. He is the one who was guiding us when I met you in the last interview. His name is Old Kohler."

"I remember him. Do you think there will be some news from him?" Esther didn't distrust the old gentleman, but she felt that the children's information range should overlap with his, and the possibility of getting new news was unlikely. big.

"You can try it. It should be more convenient for you if we meet over there? After all, I don't know where to find you, but it may delay some of your daytime time."

"It doesn't matter, street performance is a career that doesn't require time management, so let's meet in the East End."

"There is a cafe with a slightly better environment on Black Palm Street, you should know?"

After thinking about it for a while, Esther determined the location of the cafe on the map in her mind: "I know, it's the neatest shop on the whole street, although it's still quite greasy."

Klein estimated the approximate time: "Then you can find us there then. It doesn't have to be too early, I will start from Minsk Street at about 07:30."

"It's okay, I can go have breakfast too."

Esther smiled and said that the matter was settled.

-

Thursday morning.

Before Esther went out, a few spots of light fell quietly, covering Xiao Wu who had recently "sleeped for a long time". Although Esther felt a little sorry in her heart, it was not much.

One accident after another made her trust in others more and more limited.

Because she just met Klein, Esther didn't put on much disguise, she just wrapped a newly bought scarf to keep warm in the cold wind of Backlund's autumn and winter socializing.

When he walked into the cafe, Klein hadn't arrived yet.

But Esther saw the middle-aged and elderly man wrapped in an old jacket. He was sitting in the corner, gnawing on the corner of the black bread with the tasteless tea.

Esther went to the front desk to order pancakes, hash browns, grilled sausage, and hot cocoa, and asked the waiter to deliver them to the table before she walked over and sat down opposite Old Kohler.

Her actions made the elderly East End resident seem panicked, wondering what the young lady in front of him was up to.

Just as Esther could easily identify Mike and Klein that day, old Kohler could also recognize Esther's incompatible atmosphere with the Eastern District at a glance.

Especially after throwing away the strange attire of the hood and iron mask, her demeanor and demeanor did not resemble that of an ordinary person living in the Eastern District.

"Hi, may I call you old Kohler? Although it's a bit presumptuous, I'm a friend of Detective Sherlock." Esther blinked and was the first to send out a signal of goodwill.

On the contrary, the old Kohler seemed even more vigilant: "I, I may not know what you are talking about, ma'am..."

Knowing that the old Kohler might have misunderstood what she meant, Esther chuckled lightly: "Don't be so nervous, he is the one who called me. You can ask him when he arrives."

Old Kohler said "hmm" twice, and didn't speak any more, but the knuckles holding the water glass turned white. His palms were rough and generous. These years of begging for life on the docks left many subtle but traceable traces on his body. Mark of.

Esther lowered her eyes and subconsciously drew circles on the table with her fingers. Although her expression was peaceful, it was difficult for people to see what she was thinking.

Not long after, the server brought Esther's food to the table. She forked out a little of the hash browns and sausage, and pushed the rest of the food into the middle of the table.

"I ordered too much. If you don't mind, just have a bite, and black bread if you want."

Old Kohler's eyes fell on the oily sausages, his throat moved and he swallowed his saliva. After a while, he suddenly raised his eyes and stared at Esther: "I know who you are."

"Yes, I am that 'Hamel'. But please keep this matter a secret for me." Esther winked at Old Kohler playfully, and said directly what he wanted to say.

"If you hadn't brought Mr. Detective to the interview that day, maybe I would never have met him again. Fate is really a wonderful thing. Old man, take these as my thanks to you, I am very happy to meet again Mister Detective."

"You...you don't need to thank me." Even though Old Kohler had already guessed Esther's identity, he didn't expect her to say it directly without caring.

In order to hide his embarrassment, the old Kohler did not refuse Esther's kindness, but continued to eat the piece of black bread with the sausage.

When Klein stepped into the cafe, Esther had just eaten half of her breakfast.

He first looked around the cafe, nodded to Esther and walked over here.Esther gave Klein the seat opposite Old Kohler, and pulled the dinner plate aside.

Before sitting down, Klein handed out the corresponding reward that he had prepared for the "informant" from his arms, put it on the table and pushed it in front of Old Kohler.

Two five soli and four one soli bills, with a copper penny on them, which Esther can see with a glance.Guessing that Klein's fee also contained some kind of kindness, she smiled and took a sip of hot cocoa.

"Talk slowly, I'll take care of breakfast first. Does the detective want something to eat? I can help you."

"No, I ate before I came here." Klein shook his head and smiled back at Esther.

The old Kohler next to him wiped his eyes while they were chatting, and put away the coins on the table, but he didn't know that the two Extraordinary people with keen perception saw his small movements.

When Klein learned about the East Side from the old Kohler, Esther was cutting the remaining two pancakes and listened to their conversation.

When Old Kohler talked about the new religion in the Eastern District, Klein immediately thought of the part that was similar to the teachings of the Aurora Order. It seems that the Aurora Order is lurking in the Eastern District to preach.

Because he hadn't told Esther the story of "the ancient sun god and the skylark", Klein subconsciously looked aside and found that Esther was also frowning because of the "doctrine" mentioned by the old Kohler. He didn't know what he remembered .

The two exchanged a look, and Esther nodded her head calmly, knowing that Klein had something to say to her alone.

In front of the old Kohler, the two of them had limited things to communicate with, so it's better to talk later when they return to a more private and safe place.

Old Kohler continued to share the information he collected and noticed, and dutifully reported it to Klein. At the end of the conversation, he said, "By the way, Liv's youngest daughter is missing."

"Liv?" Klein didn't sound like he knew this person.

Esther suddenly became alert. She even put down the fork in her hand and listened attentively to the old Kohler explaining what happened:
The washerwoman named "Liv" had two daughters, but on their way back from delivering the clothes, the younger daughter suddenly disappeared.

Old Kohler sighed: "It's really pitiful. She has been a widow for many years and has been counting on her two daughters. As a result... well, the police in the East District will definitely not look for it too hard."

For the first time, Esther interjected between the old Kohler and Klein's conversation: "Supposedly, this wouldn't be the first time the youngest daughter helped the family deliver laundry, right?"

"Of course not, they often help Liv with work." Old Kohler replied.

"Recently, human traffickers in the East District have been extremely rampant, and some children I know have disappeared. In my opinion, a child who works diligently at home will not run away on the way home because of playfulness or curiosity. The gangsters abducted."

Old Kohler showed a wry smile: "Even if you know this, there is no way to find her whereabouts. The police don't care about the lives of us Eastside residents."

After a few seconds of silence on the table, Klein cleared his throat, "Take me to see them. I'm a detective. Maybe I can help them find someone."

"...They have no money." Old Kohler reminded.

But Esther felt the sadness behind these words. Poverty is like tarsal maggots, absorbing the flesh and blood of these bottom-level residents, and then exuding the despair of being powerless to change the status quo.

She picked up the cup and found that the hot cocoa inside had been drained.

Klein picked up his hat and cane, and said, "I also do volunteer work occasionally."

Although this idea is extremely clichéd, Esther still feels that Klein is shining brightly at this moment.