Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

Esther's eyes always rested on the man with a beard and gold-rimmed glasses. His appearance under the beard should be very young, and his facial features were not hard-edged, exuding a bookish air.

She had long noticed the difference between the two people. Even though the two young men were both wearing workmen's clothes, their confidence in holding hope for life was enough to prove that they were not residents of the East District.

The middle-aged and elderly man standing next to them with a vicissitudes of life is the best comparison. People who have been working hard in the East District all year round may smell of alcohol, cigarettes, or rotten fish and shrimp, or even knives hidden under their clothes. But there is rarely a light in their eyes.

Esther felt that the man wearing gold-rimmed glasses was familiar, and she wanted to ask his name, but she was afraid that this was just an empty joy.

Mike took over: "Are you taking advantage of those kids? Are you working for someone?"

Esther shook her head and replied: "No, for myself. Their age makes it easy for people to ignore their words, but the things these children hear every day are much wider than the land I measure with my feet. . And there are other reasons for their respect."

She walked over slowly, patted Mike on the shoulder, raised an index finger of her right hand to her lips: "Don't look at me like this, I am also a 'thief', Mr. Reporter, you should be more vigilant."

"What?" Mike's right hand held a ball of air. Before he could react at all, the pen was already spinning between Esther's fingers. He didn't even notice what movement she made.

Klein saw this rapid process clearly, but he was even more shocked by the content revealed in her words - she was a "thief". This was exactly the path he and Esther had speculated about before!

The superposition of coincidences that are too similar will lead to only one possibility.

Old Kohler smiled beside him: "You don't sound like a thief when you speak, Amel."

When Esther heard this "higher" title, the corners of her lips immediately raised a little higher: "People always have to have a way to make a living, old gentleman, but everything becomes more difficult in the East District."

Mike took the pen handed back by Esther and didn't know what to say: "Okay, now I do understand your...'craft', thank you for the reminder."

Esther shrugged nonchalantly: "I wish you a smooth interview. It's time for me to earn money for today's meal."

"Actually, if you want to know the market news, the Backlund Post is also a good choice. There is a lot of information in the previous newspapers." Klein suddenly said this, leaving old Kohler and Mike at a loss.

That was the newspaper where he advertised Sherlock Moriarty, the "detective brand".

Esther didn't speak for a while, but silently took down the name of the newspaper and the "past issues" specifically named by the other party.

Mike misunderstood, thinking that Klein was reminding him to advertise in disguise, and quickly added: "The Daily Observer is also good, with many in-depth reports. If you are interested in the news, you can find it in a bookstore or coffee shop. One serving, it has a good reputation in Backlund."

Klein echoed: "Yes, it is still dangerous when you deal with those children. After all, there are always gangs watching behind them."

Esther smiled and nodded to Klein: "Thank you for the reminder, I will go take a look."

Then she waved goodbye to a few people, turned around and walked towards the public carriage platform.

Old Kohler looked at Esther's back and shook his head: "She sounds so young and behaves so kindly and elegantly, but in the end she embarked on the path of a thief..."

Klein felt empty and couldn't help but feel sorry for Esther. He changed the subject and said, "Should we go deeper into the East District? I'm afraid there's nothing to write about in this interview."

Mike also clicked on his notebook and found that there was really nothing to remember. The lady was full of secrets, like an urban legend: "Okay, let's hurry up and ask old Kohler to introduce it to us. .”

Klein resisted the thought of looking back and walked to the other end of the street with Mike and Old Kohler.

——

Hillston District, outside a cafe.

After simply "communicating" with the boss through playing, Esther obtained permission to play on the outdoor seats at the door to help attract customers to the store. But again, in the end, the tip income she received had to be shared equally with the boss to pay for the venue fee for the performance.

Esther has been doing this for the past two days, and she finds that it is much more convenient to directly play music and show off her performance than to talk to others.

During the performance, she stopped wearing the sneaky East End look and showed her true self. She wasn't too worried about meeting acquaintances, because Backlund was big enough. When a person wandered around the city, he would be as small as a grain of sand in the Tasok River.

Loneliness is unavoidable. Since the conversation that day, Xiao Wu has been sleeping more and more. Esther can feel that it is avoiding communication with her, but she is not sure why.

After the performance at noon, the lingering people had to go back to their busy work. Esther also used the tip to order lunch in the store and ordered a copy of the "Backlund Post" and "Daily Observer" ", watching and eating at the same time.

The boss enthusiastically gave Esther a 30% discount and invited her to play again tomorrow. Esther could only politely refuse, as she would not stay in one place for too long.

Her fate is difficult to connect with others, and it cannot be more convenient in terms of hiding her whereabouts.

The tips given by the merchants here are much higher than those at Lily of the Valley Street in the South District of the Bridge. This is closely related to their living standards. Esther earned back the money she spent renting a house in the East District in just two days. Although unstable, Sheng also has a natural appeal in her performance that resonates, which is not as obvious as the power of the song.

As long as it doesn't attract the attention of official Beyonders, Esther feels that this business is quite good, at least she is satisfied with it.

There wasn't much special content in the newspaper. Esther scanned the anecdotal news and various advertisements about Backlund, and decided to end the performance early today and go to a public library to check out previous issues of the Backlund Post. .

A few hours later, Esther took the "Backlund Post" half a month ago, and after searching carefully for more than ten minutes, she finally saw a small book in the narrow crease between the seventh and eighth pages. The crowded notice made her almost choke on her saliva and faint:

"Sherlock Moriarty is a private detective who is good at handling various matters. He charges reasonable fees and strictly abides by the principle of confidentiality. He lives at No. 15 Minsk Street, Cherwood District."

"This name... really gives me a sense of beauty that I am fighting against myself. This advertising space is really hidden and seems to be very cheap." Esther sighed with emotion, silently wrote down the address in the newspaper, and wrote down the address in the newspaper. After returning the borrowed newspaper, I walked into the slightly dark night.

She couldn't wait to meet this "Holmes".

——

The Jowood District is also close to the Tasok River, but the economic level is quite different from that of the Bridge South District. Although it is not as prosperous as the Financial Center Hillston District, many small companies prefer to gather here. There are many residences in this area, but after Esther read the house prices in the newspaper a long time ago, she never considered settling here again.

Without him, it’s expensive.

Esther can't afford to live in an area where the weekly rent is close to one pound. With her savings, Esther can't even afford it. She doesn't even have something to use as proof of identity, let alone keeping up with her neighbors after living in these single-family houses or townhouses. Thinking about the cost of friendly exchanges and integrating into the community makes her despair.

One good thing about the chaos in the East District is that no one will care about your life or death, and they will not pay attention to others when there is no negotiation of interests.

Esther took the steam subway for more than ten minutes. After reviewing the Backlund map in her mind, she took a public carriage and got off near Minsk Street.

A few light spots fell from Esther's temples and got into her pocket, completely cutting off Xiao Wu's sense of the outside world. Out of selfish motives, she didn't want Xiao Wu to know the specialness of her "resurrected colleague". Esther can trust Xiao Qi, but she can't trust Xiao Wu, who has a similar but different personality.

Esther then put her cloak and mask back on and walked along the elegant gas lamps on the roadside until she reached the door of room No. 15. She pulled the rope at the door.

The bell that was pulled by the rope swayed, spreading the sound throughout the living room. The person who opened the door came very quickly, as if he could not wait for the visitor to come.

"Good evening, Mr. Detective." Esther really couldn't say that name, and she couldn't help laughing when she thought of it.

The bearded face in the crack of the door also showed a smile. If it weren't for the special ability of the "Joker", it would be difficult for Klein to guarantee that he would not blush now: "Welcome, may I ask what Ms. Hamel has on your mind?" Do you want to entrust me? Please come in and let’s sit down and talk.”

Entering the living room, Klein led Esther to sit on the long sofa before asking her, "Would you like something to drink?"

"No coffee, anything." Esther said softly. The familiar content and tone of this sentence made Klein's heart beat faster.

It's really her! ?

Klein also replied: "It's a pity that there is no sweet ice tea. It's because I didn't entertain you well."

"I still prefer hot cocoa."

Esther raised her hand and lowered her hood, revealing her laurel-yellow blond hair. Then she also took off the mask on her face, revealing the face that Klein remembered with soft features but not very similar to that of a native of Loen.

But Esther's face was slightly different from what he remembered. When she was in Tingen, her appearance was still very close to that of a fifteen-year-old girl, but now she is more mature.

"You seem to have changed a bit." Klein remained vigilant.

[We have all changed a lot, Mr. Zhou Mingrui. ] Esther no longer suppressed the excitement in her heart and showed a smile of joy from the bottom of her heart.

This Chinese sentence made Klein also laugh: [Long time no see, Li Xing. ]