Whispering Verse

Chapter 2952 The Used Bookstore and the Flower Girl

"Do we need to do anything for those giant trees?"

Meghan asked Shade, who shook his head:

"Continue to concentrate on preparing for the battle with the Watchers. Our manpower is far less than that of the Five Gods Church, so we can't be distracted by other things."

The witches had received a letter from Speaker Isabella in the parliament this morning. She had arrived at the sacrificial site on the top of the mountain and met Sister Defulin. The nun herself did not encounter any trouble, but the [Spiritual Order] encountered some minor troubles, but they will definitely be able to reach the Vesta Forest within three days.

The witches continued their respective tasks, and Shade went into the city alone to the old town of Vesta City to explore the old bookstore mentioned by the doctor yesterday.

The sky in the city has been very gloomy since morning, and perhaps the first snow of this winter will come tonight. Following the address given by the doctor, Shade wandered on the empty old streets, thinking about the scenes of Riverwood Town that he had seen several times in the past, and wondering what impact this journey to pursue the Rhodes card would have on the story of Vista City.

The sign of "Berkeley Bookstore" is as inconspicuous as the storefront. It blends perfectly with the street. If you don't look carefully, you may not even look at it even if you pass by it dozens of times. It seems to be older than any other store on this street, but it still insists on opening its doors in an era when only one-third of the stores on the entire street are still in business.

Even in the old town of the old site of Riverwood Town, this is a relatively remote place. When Shade pushed the door open, the sound of the bell at the door made the old man behind the counter in the depths of the store look at him.

There were no other customers in the old bookstore, but at least the interior of the store was very clean, the floor was tidy, and the bookshelves were arranged very evenly, which formed a sharp contrast with the "Old John Pawnshop" where everything was placed everywhere.

"Old John said they don't have a base in Vista City."

Shad reminded himself in his heart, nodded to the old man and walked directly to the counter.

The owner of the store was probably the "Berkeley" on the sign. He was wearing a very obvious wig and looked about the same age as Augustus. The old man wore glasses and looked very curious about how a handsome young man from the North would walk into his store on such a gloomy Saturday morning.

After Shad confirmed that the other party was just an ordinary person, he did not beat around the bush:

"I came here because of an invitation."

He said that although it was important to collect a full set of Vientiane Impermanence cards, he couldn't waste too much time now.

Xia De's straightforwardness brought the astonishment of the old man behind the counter:

"Sorry, invitation letter? This is a shop selling used books, young man, you have come to the wrong place?"

Since the doctor was only worried that this matter was a trap of the devil, and did not doubt the authenticity of the invitation letter, Xia De was very sure that he had not come to the wrong place:

"I came here for an invitation letter, and someone told me that I could find the invitation letter here."

He looked into the old man's eyes:

"You can name your price, I am willing to pay the amount you say."

"Young man, please don't joke here, I really don't know what invitation letter you are talking about. I have opened a store here for 30 years, and you are the first person to buy an invitation letter from me."

The old man still shook his head, and Xia De would not insist, just stood there and looked at him. The old man who was reading the newspaper couldn't stand being stared at by him, so he had to say:

"Can you tell me what invitation you want? I don't have it, but I might have heard of it."

"An invitation to a secret meeting."

"That doesn't sound legal. What are you going there for?"

"Looking for something."

"Is it important?"

"Very important. Apart from the girl, cat and a few friends around me, this is the most important thing in my life."

Although Xia De had such an attitude, the old man behind the counter still didn't speak. He picked up the newspaper and continued to read, but he could feel the eyes behind the newspaper staring at him.

After ten minutes, he finally sighed:

"Since you can find me, I don't think you will believe me even if I continue to say that I don't have any invitations. I don't know who you are, but if you want to get an invitation from me, please do me a favor. It's not a simple thing, I'm old, and I can't wait any longer."

"No problem, what do you need to do? I hope this is not a long-term thing."

"It's not a long-term thing. If you're fast enough, I think you can do it today. I want you to find someone for me and bring her to this bookstore, and I'll give you the invitation."

The old man took off his reading glasses and took out a rusty-looking pocket watch from his pocket. Even though the pocket watch has been carefully maintained, Xia De can still see that it is a very old item.

Inlaid inside the pocket watch cover is a very faded black and white photo, and the photo shows a girl who looks about 18 years old.

Although Xia De doesn't know when the photo was taken, judging from the degree of fading, the young girl in the photo is now in her 40s or 50s. But Xia De always feels that he seems to have seen this girl somewhere.

The old man did not give the pocket watch and the photo to Xia De, but just asked him to look carefully:

"Bring her to my bookstore, but don't force her to come here voluntarily. When she appears, I will tell you where I hid the invitation in the woods."

"Although I guess the invitation is in your bedroom on the second floor of the bookstore, I will accept the commission."

Shade asked again:

"Although Vista City is indeed small compared to Willendale City and its population is not large, it is not easy to find someone in this city who has only seen photos. Do you have any clues? ”

The old man nodded:

"She should be a flower girl now. No, no, don't get me wrong, she is not the kind of girl who stands in the alley saying she is selling flowers, but in fact she is selling her body. She is really a flower girl."

"Is she a flower shop merchant or an employee of the flower shop?"

"No, it's the kind of flower girls who carry baskets and sell flowers on the street. They are especially common near the Golden Music Hall at night."

Shade was a little confused:

"But aren't all the flower girls under the age of sixteen? Even if there are a few girls who are eighteen or twenty years old, the lady in the photo in your hand must have been overage for a long time, right? "

Although what Sha De said was still straightforward, the old man behind the counter was not angry at all:

"No, she is the flower girl. Go and bring her for me, and then I will give you the invitation. Otherwise, even if I die, I will not let you find the invitation."

Shade waved his hand:

"Don't say such things. Do I look like a bad person? But don't find out that you are really dead when I lead people over."

The old man behind the counter laughed instead:

"I won't die before seeing her, absolutely not. After all, I have been waiting for her here for thirty years."

If you want to find someone out of thin air, besides relying on your own luck, the best way is to ask a fortune teller for help. Even though Luvia always said things like "divination is not omnipotent," judging from her performance, Shade actually always believed that although divination was not omnipotent, Luvia's divination was.

Of course, this time Shade didn't think he needed to ask Luvia or Bella for help, because he remembered why the eighteen-year-old girl in the photo looked familiar to him.

Just now, when the old man in the second-hand bookstore mentioned "the flower girls who often appear near the golden music hall at night", he immediately remembered it. After meeting the devil this Tuesday night and before bumping into Mr. Sean Asmon, the nine roses he bought have not yet been delivered.

And the flower seller who seemed to be scared by him at that time, although the age was different, she looked very similar to the girl in the old man's pocket watch.

Regardless of the relationship between the girl and the girl the old man is looking for, this is a very important clue.

Although he failed to get the photo in the old man's hand, Shade returned to the hotel after leaving the second-hand bookstore. After finding Dorothy, he used the thaumaturgy of the Moon Library to reveal the appearance of the little flower seller on Tuesday night, and then asked Dorothy to help use thaumaturgy to imprint the image on the photo.

"Are you going to take this photo and go to the city center to find someone to look around?"

The writer lady who was just writing a manuscript in the ship's library to avoid being blocked by editors when she returned to Tobesk asked suspiciously. Shade nodded:

"Yes, the local girls selling flowers on the street must all know each other. Even if the girl I'm looking for doesn't come out today, someone must know her address."

Dorothy sighed. She was now sitting sideways on a chair talking to Shade, and the table was filled with various books. The "Glory Messenger" has various facilities inside. Although the library is not as big as St. Byrons Library, the collection of books inside is not far behind that of city libraries. This is great for writers who need to find information. Very convenient:

"Xia De, aren't you afraid that the police will arrest you as a pervert with ulterior motives?"

Shade thought about this possibility:

"I can pretend to be a private person. I mean, I am a private detective. I am looking for that girl to investigate something, so I want to find her. If there is really a police inquiry, can't I just put some money in it?"

It's not that he doesn't believe in the professional ethics of the local police, he just believes more in the power of Carson Rickrone.

Dorothy then found someone to call Agelina, who was helping Granny Cassandra:

"Agelina, I have a mission for you."

Dorothy handed the newly "printed" photo to Agelina and explained the whole story:

"You go to the city center and find her, whether you find her address or current location."