Whispering Verse

"Okay, I'll give you the news within a week. Since you only want relatively well-known research groups, I think it won't even take a week."

The professor took the envelope containing the money and put it aside without looking at the number of banknotes inside. Then he said with some embarrassment:

"Detective, I actually planned to go find Louisa in the next few days...I had that dream again."

"What? How come?"

Shade was shocked. It had been nearly a month since the [Happy Dream Pen] lost control. Miss Louisa clearly confirmed that the professor's body recovered quickly and he did not suffer any further mental effects.

"How many times did you dream? When?"

"Once, just yesterday."

"Then please give me your hand."

Shade grabbed Professor Manning's right wrist and made a listening expression amid the professor's worried expression. After more than ten seconds, he let go of the professor's hand with a relaxed expression:

"Don't worry, it's not that kind of problem. You are safe."

In the state of close contact, "she" did not feel the slightest whispering element in the professor's body.

"Then why do you have that kind of dream?"

Professor Manning asked in confusion. After experiencing a serious illness not long ago, this old gentleman's current condition cannot be said to have fully recovered.

"I am not a scholar and cannot explain the cause of dreams. But I suggest you go to a psychiatrist friend of mine."

Shade didn't have Dr. Schneider's business card with him, so he brought a pen and paper to write down the professor's address. As he wrote, he said:

"This friend of mine is just an ordinary person. He is very good at this aspect of mental illness. He will help you."

The professor blushed and asked hesitantly:

"So my dream is..."

Shade nodded:

"Yes, at least this time, it's really just a dream you have. But please don't worry, I don't believe in the unfounded statement that 'things you think about during the day will turn into dreams at night', so it won't have any impact on you. Doubtful. In my opinion, this may be what happened last time and left you with deep psychological trauma."

After writing the address, he wisely stood up and left. Judging from Professor Manning's expression when he saw him off downstairs, there was a high probability that the professor would really seek medical treatment from Dr. Schneider.

After bidding farewell to the professor, Shade planned to visit Coldwater Port City today. At this time, more than a week has passed since the incident with the mermaid statue, and there is no need to worry about such a dangerous thing affecting you. At the same time, even if the next blood money cannot be found in the seaport city, there is still the safe house of Ring Warlock Flamel found in the diary waiting to be explored, and Shade is looking forward to his harvest.

Although this trip is convenient, it is also somewhat dangerous, so Shade does not plan to take his cat to the beach. And because I was worried that I would be trapped in Coldwater Port City at night and not be able to come back, I returned to Saint Teresa Square and took Mia out again, and found the female writer at home on Quill Street.

After the exam week is over, she will start serializing detective novels in Steambird Daily. The first story is based on a story Shade heard from two ghosts in the cemetery, so there is no need to go out to collect information during this period, and Miss Louisa will not travel far.

"Ask me to take care of Mia again? Oh, of course."

The writer lady was very talkative. She took the reluctant cat from Shade and asked curiously:

"What are you going to do this time? Is it going to be something dangerous again? I said, this kind of..."

"No, no, although this time is the same destination as last time, it is not dangerous this time."

Shade said, and Miss Louisa nodded clearly:

"Same destination... Well, I'll take care of the cat for you. Anyway, I don't have any travel plans today, but remember to come back early. Also, don't bring any more fish as souvenirs."

"No problem, but the fish soup last time tasted really good."

Shade said with a smile, patted Mia on the head, and with the cat's reluctant meow, said goodbye to the blonde female writer and left.

Miss Louisa did not send him downstairs, but stood at the window holding the unhappy Mia, watching Shade's figure appear on the street, and then walked away along the street:

"Last time...Cold Water Harbor...Have a nice holiday."

The corners of Dorothy Louisa's lips curled up into a smile.

After settling Mia in, Shad could spend the whole day exploring. This time there was no need to make troublesome preparations for the trip, because after stuffing the ordinary items he needed to bring with him into the suitcase, he directly turned the suitcase into a stuffed animal with cloth and hung it around his waist.

The only relics he carries with him are [Gun of Kindness], [Twenty-sided Dice of Destiny] and [Pirate's Blood Money]. These three items and the casting material "Windvane Bluegrass Extract Diluent" that cannot be turned into toys , an alchemy item that can be used with a disposable sunshine gun, and two founding series Rhodes cards, packaged in waterproof canvas and carried with you.

Frog legs and bone meal can be turned into toys, but the two items themselves do not have supernatural properties.

After packing everything, he locked the door and entered the hidden space behind the basement wall. After reciting a mantra and touching the statue of the ancient god, he successfully arrived at the dark cave under the sea cliff outside Coldwater Port City.

Because he had already traveled this road once, it only took him twenty-three minutes this time for Shade to land on a remote beach at the Coldwater Port City Pier.

Although the weather in Coldwater Harbor was a bit gloomy today, it did not rain. Shade was soaked after crawling out of the sea, so he could only wipe the water from his hair with a towel on the beach, and then put on a clean coat and trousers before he dared to go into the city.

He still chose to stay at the Golden Rose Hotel on Hoglunz Avenue in the dock area, using the fake name of John Watson. When Shade put down his luggage and started changing into dry socks and underwear, it was 10:40 that morning.

I chose the same hotel as last time because I wanted to make sure that what happened last time had been investigated and whether I had been investigated. But after waiting in the room for twenty minutes, no suspicious police or ring warlock team appeared. This made Shade relax a lot, knowing that he could act a little more casually today.

There are two purposes for coming to Coldwater Port City. The detection of blood money requires traveling throughout the city, so Shade thought of first visiting the safe house of Mr. Flamel, the crew member.

Among the three diaries he bought as part of his estate, in one dated the fall two years earlier, Schade discovered the safe house's location and Mr. Flamel's complaints about a nearby restaurant.

Just like Miss Louisa rented a shabby house in a remote alley, and Priest Augustus rented a basement from a friend, the sailor who went to sea all year round rented the attic of a three-story apartment in the city. Even in order to prevent himself from staying in the New World for a long time, every time he paid the rent, he paid a one-time amount for one year, so Shade did not have to worry that the safe house had been discovered.

The location of the safe house is also in the dock area of ​​Coldwater Port City, specifically on New Denton Street, two blocks away from Mermaid Lane where the last incident occurred.

This street is dedicated to fish trading in the dock area. Whether it is purchasing from local restaurants or large-scale transactions by foreign merchants, it is all done here. The streets are slippery, and there are many fish shops along the street. You can smell the fishy smell even before you turn into the street.

The ground was paved with gravel, and the streets were large enough for four carriages to drive abreast. The sounds of shouts, wheels rolling over the ground, and noisy conversations come together, giving the harbor city a strong sense of life.

Seagulls circled overhead, and wild cats looked for prey in the corner of the alley that intersected New Denton Street, or they fought with their kind over the ownership of a garbage dump.

Shade put his hands in his pockets and lowered his head as he walked from the dirty and damp alley into the street. There was some blood in the puddle under his feet, and the smell of fish in the air made him a little uncomfortable. On the right is a fish shop. A shallow iron fish tank is placed directly in front of the shop. A huge black sea fish swims in the water. The occasional splash when it swings its tail leaves more traces of water on the ground.

Looking up and to the right, 41 New Denton Street is the destination. Shade glanced at the sun that was blocked by cumulonimbus clouds, then pressed the black hat on his head and walked over.

Stepping up the steps, the rusty door made Shade hesitate to knock on the door. After knocking on the door, I waited for two minutes before someone opened the door.

The person who opened the door was a thin old man wearing a white wig and using a cane. His eyes were sunken into the sockets and his nose was quite big. The old man is probably younger than Priest Augustus, and the age spots on his face are very obvious:

"Who are you looking for? If it's a robber, go somewhere else. The only people living here are poor people."

He glanced at Shade and realized it was a stranger. He spat outside and tried to close the door.

But Shade held the door with his hand, and he said to the rude old man with a strong accent inside the door:

"Does George Anthony live here?"

This is Flamel's pseudonym.

"Mr. Anthony died and his inheritance was given to distant relatives. I'm here to help him pack his things. Don't ask me for any identification. He died in the sea and even his body was not found."

Shade said.

The old man who opened the door looked at him suspiciously. Half of Shade's face was hidden under his hat. No matter how you looked at him, he looked suspicious:

"Dead? How do I know if you are telling the truth? Even if he dies without seeing the will, I will not let anyone take anything away from me. This house is mine, even if it is rented to Everyone else, the things in here belong to me too. Oh, damn, you said you’re not a robber, hurry up, leave quickly, or I’m going to call the police!”

Meaning he wanted to eat Flamel's stuff.

But since Shade dared to come, he had already been prepared. He had already known from his diary what a terrible person the landlord here was:

"Look what this is."

As he spoke, he opened his coat slightly, revealing the pistol hidden at his waist. Then, he shook the small document in front of the old man:

"Are you literate?"

"MI6!"