Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

"Two tickets for a second-class seat to Tingen. Thank you. Please help us find out when the nearest one will leave?"

Hearing such questions, the conductor at the window briefly checked the train schedule: "The train is in fifteen minutes, a total of six hours, and the single ticket is fourteen sulers."

Esther ordered two gold pounds and went out. After getting the change of twelve soles, she took the rabbit to wait for the train to enter the station.

It was the first time for Rabbit to ride a steam train, or even enter the station for the first time. He kept looking around at the passengers in different clothes waiting for the train. Although Rabbit once lived in the East District of Backlund, except for working and stealing things, he had no need to leave the East District at all, let alone take the subway of Backlund.

Rabbit could not express his excitement at the thought of taking a steam train to another city like those respectable gentlemen and ladies.

It would be some time before the train would arrive at the station, so Esther simply started chatting with Rabbit: "So how did you get from Backlund to Pulitzer Harbor? This distance is not short."

"When I was helping the workers move the goods, I sneaked into the bottom of the cargo hold and got into a crate." Rabbit put his hands in the pockets of his overalls and looked curiously at the rails. "When they were unloading the goods, I've already slipped out of the cabin."

Previously, at Esther's strong request, Rabbit was taken directly to a clothing store and changed into a new set of clothes.

At this time, the boy was wearing a slim-fitting white shirt, suspender pants, and new leather mid-calf boots. His somewhat messy but clean brown hair rested on his forehead. Putting aside the old-looking peaked cap, he looked more like an ordinary kid who escaped from someone's home than a thief wandering the streets.

Esther pulled the rabbit that was stretching its head back to her: "Then you stayed in Pulitzer Harbor?"

Rabbit nodded: "Yes, I don't have anywhere else to go. In fact, it was only last week that I came to Pulitzer. But what are you going to Tingen for?"

"I want to go back to Tingen to see my...well, the people I used to know. It may not be convenient to take you with me all the time."

"I can walk around! I can do anything that can help you!" Rabbit answered very quickly, as if he had already thought about what he was going to say.

"Okay, then you just stay in the hotel honestly, got it?"

The rabbit said "Oh" slightly disappointed.

Esther saw a pigeon that had landed on the railway track. The white pigeon with black feathers around its eyes jumped back and forth twice, then fluttered its wings and flew to the platform, picking up the crumbs of a sandwich left by a certain passenger. crumbs.

Esther then looked away and looked at the rabbit with a smile: "We can also go shopping then. I will take you to try a bakery that I like very much."

"Okay!" Rabbit looked happy now, "What kind of city is Tingen? Is it the same as Backlund? I think the weather in Pulitzer Harbor is much better than Backlund. Is Tingen the same?"

"Of course it's different. Tingen City is not as prosperous as Backlund, but the air in any city is probably better than Backlund. Tingen also has a very academic atmosphere, and there are some of the best schools in Loen. Several universities listed..."

Esther recounted casually, her smile softened by the reminiscence. Of course she had never been exposed to those universities, and she didn’t know where the gates of Tingen and Hoy University opened, but she once had a friend who told her a lot about campus life. of triviality.

Esther was relieved that he was now her friend too.

The pigeon didn't know what it was chasing, so it came to the feet of the two of them in a daze. When Esther's eyes fell, it seemed to be frightened, and it flapped its wings and flew into the clear sky.

It rained all night yesterday, so today the sky above is blue, and the warm sunshine passes through the wings of the white dove, casting a little shadow on the railway track.

The steam train crushed the shadow. Esther and Rabbit took the tickets and boarded the second-class carriage.

——

When we stepped out of the carriage, it was already dark.

The nearly full red moon hung overhead, very much like the night Esther saw it for the first time.

At that time, she walked out of the basement of that shabby bar, with tears on her face, dragging an ill-fitting men's suit, and carrying... in her pocket...

Esther cut off the divergent memories and reminded the rabbit in a low voice: "Watch your step."

Rabbit jumped across the gap between the train and the platform, stood firmly next to Esther, and subconsciously grabbed her sleeves: "Are you going to visit your friends now?"

"It's someone I know." Esther corrected.

"But you will come back to see them, doesn't it mean that they are your friends?" Rabbit's stomach made a "gurgling" sound, he blushed and rubbed it twice with his other hand, "At least to me, not It would be impossible for a friend to travel so far away and come back specifically to see each other."

Esther had nothing to say. Rabbit's logic was so complete that she couldn't even fault it, so she just took the boy to the exit of the station: "Let's find a place to order French fries...I mean, order some food." , is there anything in particular you want to eat?"

"No, I can do it." Rabbit swallowed, looking forward to dinner.

Esther suddenly turned back. She stared at the edge of the platform in confusion. Several pedestrians passed by them. As the steam train left, the platform became more and more deserted. This was already the last train of the day.

Seeing Esther turn her head, Rabbit also looked over: "What's wrong? Is there anything there?"

Esther shook her head, her "spiritual intuition" still had not recovered: "No, maybe it's just... some illusions in memory."

Just like other passengers who had left, the two of them quickly walked out of the station. Esther specifically told the coachman to go to the Coastline Restaurant in Jinwutong District.

She was still brooding over not being able to go to Disco or Fenerport, so going to that Southern restaurant that was often reviewed in the newspapers would soothe her dashed plans, or at least appease her appetite. .

A bat with black eyes flew out from the station, covered in night cover, and followed the retreating carriage from a distance.

——

When the two walked out of the restaurant, Esther was satisfied and Rabbit was shocked.

"It's so expensive!? I thought we didn't eat much. Why is the price of this restaurant almost as high as the big restaurants in Backlund's West End?"

I don't know why, but seeing Rabbit making such a fuss, Esther smiled happily: "You are overthinking. If these things are exchanged to Backlund West District, the price will be increased several times."

Rabbit bit his tongue and gasped in pain: "Hiss... Although it is delicious and delicious, I have never had such a delicious meal, but I always feel that it is too expensive!"

"It's just a meal like this, but it's not as good as the people I once knew. The Fenebote paella we had together at that time tasted better..." Esther's voice gradually dropped.

The rabbit didn't notice the gentle expression on her face and asked doubtfully: "Is it better than the paella we just had? That crispy tart wrapped in cheese is so delicious!"

"Maybe you are interested in becoming a chef? You started working as a busboy in a small restaurant. Maybe in a few years, you can become a chef. Let me try your skills."

Rabbit's previous excitement faded: "Although it sounds like being a chef would be great, but... I hope to follow you."

"Follow me?"

"Well, I can do the same thing as you, the same profession, right?"

Esther laughed softly, and it took a while for her to regain her composure: "No, absolutely not, am I doing something that is harmful to nature, and you have to follow suit?"

"But I am a thief," Rabbit said, dissatisfied with Esther's laughter. "I know you are not that kind of person!"

"You don't know me that well either. If you finally have the opportunity to take another path, stop being a thief. Don't learn from me. Learn something good." Esther patted the back of the rabbit's head hard. , the boy was in a daze and did not move away for a while.

"Wait, are you a thief too?"

"Well, I should say 'thief' or 'thief'."

Rabbit pressed his peaked cap doubtfully: "Isn't this the same meaning?"

Esther just smiled and pointed to a building not far away, where a signboard of "Lilac Hotel" was hung. This was the recommended hotel the two of them got after asking the waiter when they were paying the bill in the store. It was the one with the shortest distance nearby.

Esther was too lazy to take a public carriage to change places, and simply ignored the price factor. After all, she had a lot of gold pounds on her, which was more than enough to cover the expenses of the two of them for these few days.

As long as they don't have the consumption level of Barnabas who pursues luxury and advertises himself as a "life artist", Esther doesn't think she and Rabbit can spend much money.

She checked in with her own identity and requested a suite with a bathroom, two separate small bedrooms and a small living room for relaxation.

"Tomorrow morning we will go for a walk. In the afternoon, I will probably rest in the house for a while." Esther told the rabbit, "If you run around, I can't guarantee that I can find you, so you try your best." Stay in your room, you know?”

This is of course a lie, there are so many ways for Esther to find rabbits.

If she wanted to, just pray to herself for good luck, and she could probably bump into the lost boy by just walking around in the street twice. Esther can also use methods such as divination. The divination rod does not require excessive communication with the spirit world to find people. It can directly point to the connection between the rabbit itself and her.

Rabbit curled his lips unhappily: "I know, I won't run around! Then I will do the same as you tomorrow afternoon and just take a nap, right?"

Esther nodded perfunctorily: "You can learn this, and you can grow taller even if you take a nap."

"but……"

Noticing Esther's increasingly sharp eyes, Rabbit swallowed back the last half of the sentence, "You're not tall either."