Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

When Esther walked up the stairs, more excited shouts erupted from the side of the ring, as if one of the contestants had received a straight punch, and several people were yelling angrily.

From what the bartender said, Mr. Jonas seemed to have a bad temper.

She tightened the strap of her satchel. Esther had already obtained the gold pound that Ms. "The Hermit" provided for that information by praying for the favor of "The Fool". At least she could afford part of the premium in this matter. .

The sound insulation on the second floor was not very good. As the bartender said, Esther walked directly to the room on the right, opened the door and walked in.

There are two faded leather couches in the room, a low coffee table with a book on one leg, and various cupboards that take up half of the room. Most of the furniture has mottled scratches, and some even have mold. , like it was dragged directly from the trash heap.

There were open wine bottles and cups on the low coffee table, but they were all empty. The remaining wine evaporated into the air, mixing with the subtle sour smell in the room.

Esther regretted taking her wine upstairs. If she had known better, she would have left the cup at the bar. Although she could not be said to be a germophobe, there was a damp and musty smell in the room that would not go away. Maybe she had never opened the window for ventilation. Pass.

The cleanest thing in the room is probably the cashmere blanket. Under the blanket is a middle-aged man lying on his back. His beer belly rises and falls with his breathing. A sloppy and curly beard covers his chin, making him look... Older.

The hairline on the man's forehead is so high that it forms a "bay". In a few years, the remaining flaxen hair on his head will probably turn from sparse to disappear. Amidst the noise coming from the first floor, the middle-aged man opened his mouth wide and let out roaring snores, which could even drown out the movement downstairs.

Esther walked to the middle-aged man and cleared her throat: "Well, sir? Mr. Jonas!"

When the middle-aged man heard someone calling his name, he opened his sleepy eyes. He sucked hard twice on his red rosacea nose, and his brows twisted: "Who...who are you and what do you do?"

Esther was not sure whether this man was still sober enough. He looked like he had taken a bath in wine, and his whole body was filled with a strange smell. However, she still followed the communication method "The Hanged Man" told her and spoke directly to him. The young man said: "I'm here to get my identity certificate. According to the time, it should be ready."

Jonas sat up from the sofa, stretched out his fingers and began to scold Esther: "Day after day, everyone is doing illegal business, working like cattle and horses! How can we do this? Don’t take risks? It’s just such a small amount of money. Not to mention supporting the family, it’s not enough to drink, and it’s not even enough to let anyone sleep!”

Esther immediately remembered the bartender's kind reminder and quickly interjected: "'Captain', it was 'Captain' who asked me to come!"

Jonas smacked his mouth twice, as if silently reciting the title twice: "No first name or surname?"

"Yes."

"Hey, you told me earlier!" Jonas slapped his thigh hard. After the loud slap, he subconsciously rubbed the painful area, "It turns out that brat asked someone to deliver a message. , the identity certificate he asked me to make was for someone else. I thought he finally had an illegitimate child after so many years of wandering—"

Esther quickly took out the fifty gold pounds she had prepared in advance from her pocket, handed it to Jonas, and blocked his next words:

"No, I asked him to ask for it. This is also for my friend. He came to Pulitzer Harbor all the way from the East Side. It is really inconvenient to stay without identification..."

Jonas counted the amount of gold pounds and finally stopped gossiping about the Hanged Man. He grabbed the stack of gold pounds, walked to the cupboards that occupied half of the room, took off a bunch of keys from his waist, and stuffed one of them into the keyhole with trembling hands.

Jonas burped and punched his chest twice before stuffing the gold pound into the drawer.

In order to avoid suspicion, Esther did not go over, but kept waiting next to the sofa and drank half of the cup in small sips. She watched as Jonas leaned over and opened another drawer with difficulty, rummaging inside for a long time before turning it over with a ball of oil paper.

"Finally found it. Who kept it so secretly? It's not like he was hiding money..."

Hearing such mindless complaints and the bunch of keys, Esther was sure that Jonas had put them away himself.

"Thank you, then I won't disturb you." After Esther took the paper bag, she opened it and checked the identity certificate prepared for "Ribit Brook" inside, and then nodded to Jonas.

Jonas casually grabbed the wine bottle on the table, but after pouring it for a long time and realizing that there were not a few drops of wine, he put it back in embarrassment: "To be honest, very few people will help their children get fake identity documents. Usually the people who come to me are adults, adults, those doing shady business..."

"Then I'll go first. Goodbye, Mr. Jonas."

Jonas scratched the beard on his face twice. Seeing that the other party was not interested in talking, he stopped muttering and waved casually to the lady by the door.

Esther walked downstairs quickly and placed the empty wine glass on the edge of the bar.

The bartender picked up the empty glass: "Jonas is awake already? That's great. I really hope he comes down as soon as possible to take care of these bastards. There is a brainless one who has lost too much and is almost rushing to the ring by himself."

"Well, I woke up Mr. Jonas. But has he always been like that? He looked drunk."

The bartender shrugged casually: "If you are a man, it is likely that what greets you is not a casual thought, but his fist. Do you want another drink?"

Esther shook her head repeatedly: "No, I'd better go back quickly... There is no need to stay and see how Mr. Jonas manages order in the tavern."

"It's fun to watch those guys being beaten and scolded by Jonas. It's one of the few joys in my life."

A drinker heard this and yelled rudely at the bartender across the bar, but a louder roar came from the other side of the ring, drowning out the drinker's swear words.

Esther shook her head and quickly left the "Pelican Tavern". The street outside was empty, and two mice screamed softly and jumped out of the sewer, running towards the back of the tavern.

At this time, there were very few taxis on the street. Esther waited for more than ten minutes until the commotion in the tavern behind her became louder and louder. Two drunkards were kicked out and fell down. On the street.

And Jonas's very recognizable husky voice also sounded in the bar: "If you don't be honest, I will beat you out!"

Just when Esther was hesitating whether to go back to watch the fun, a taxi drove by slowly. She quickly reached out to stop the driver wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat. His face was completely hidden in the shadow under the straw hat.

The carriage stopped just in front of her, and the coachman's calm voice came from the shadows, with an inexplicable smile: "Madam, it's not safe to wander outside so late. Where are you going?"

When Esther was about to speak, suddenly, the sound of a magpie's hoarse "chirp" sounded above her head.

The moment Esther subconsciously raised her head to look, the magpie suddenly swooped down, and its thin claws suddenly clasped her shoulders.

The next moment, the scene in front of Esther changed rapidly.

The coachman lifted the brim of his hat, revealing the monocle in his right eye socket.

He glanced helplessly in the direction of the bar, shook his head at the place where Esther had stood, and then drove the carriage slowly toward the end of the street.

When the scene in front of Esther was fixed, she was already standing behind an ordinary two-story building.

There are thorn bushes with red roses in the backyard, and there are only a few sunflowers standing in the corner area. The garden does not look very pleasing to the owner. The ground is simply paved with stone slabs, without any trace of decoration.

The magpie was still standing on Esther's shoulder, watching her quietly, waiting for her to speak.

Esther looked at the house behind her: "Mr. Benjamin, is this the address you told me before?"

"Well, the back door is locked." The magpie squatted on Esther's shoulder. Although the bird's expression could not be seen clearly, Esther could intuitively feel that Benjamin was a little depressed.

Now that the back door was locked, Esther climbed over the fence on the side of the garden and walked to the front door.

Seeing her walking around half the house, Magpie couldn't help but said: "Actually, I mean you can steal the distance and enter the house directly through the back door."

Esther was silent for two seconds before whispering: "At least this is the first time I've come to visit. Well, of course it's more polite to go through the front door..."

"You forgot you could do this."

"Yes, I forgot."

Magpie sighed, chuckled and said, "You should get used to the 'stealer's' thinking, that will make you look less unusual at the rally."

Esther nodded. She had already stood in front of the door of this ordinary house and saw the completely black wooden door with the strange and beautiful white flower pattern on it:

"Is this your family's symbol?"

The magpie was still squatting on Esther's shoulder, with no intention of coming down to open the door: "Well, the crest of the Jacob family."

Esther looked at the strange white flower shape: "What is this kind of flower called?"

"Ghost orchid, it does not grow in the soil, but is attached to other trees with green ribbon-shaped roots. But it is an epiphyte, not a parasitic plant. It only lives on its own." The magpie looked sideways at Ai Sette's expression said, "But not many people know it now. This kind of flower basically only exists in ancient books..."

Just like several fading families of "thieves".

Esther stopped at the door instead of opening the door and walking into the house: "Actually, I should go. Rabbit is still in the hotel, I should go back early..."

"Come in and have a cup of tea, it won't take long." Magpie said softly.

Esther was a little surprised when she heard his gentle tone, so she didn't shirk anymore: "Okay."

Magpie turned back, glanced at the empty street, and then quickly looked away: "If you don't mind, there seems to be some carrot cake at home. I don't have much of a hobby for sweets, so I don't have much preparation."

"It doesn't matter, I won't stay too long." (End of Chapter)