"I've also heard about how Mr. Ossenfurt restored his family's glory. He's truly amazing. One of my friends in Delarion also inherited a fortune from a declining family, but unfortunately, her luck wasn't as good."
This is about Miss Gold. At the beginning of the year, when Xia De wrote back, he tentatively and jokingly said, "Leave Mia with me from now on." Now he is still waiting for that lady's reply.
The woman in the black and red dress showed a gentle smile on her face:
"It's going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright."
She also felt that this conversation was a bit awkward, so this time she brought up a new topic:
"If you visit outside of winter, you can see the flower beds I planted in the courtyard. And in the garden behind the house, I hired a gardener to help me take care of the flowers, and they bloom beautifully every spring."
So Shad started chatting with the lady about the manor, and he learned that Mrs. Oxenfurt was in poor health, so she rarely went into town with Mr. Oxenfurt.
There weren't many people in the entire Ossenfurt family now, and there had always been only the couple and some servants living here. Although Mrs. Ossenfurt didn't say it directly, Shade could feel that the male owner seemed to seldom come back, and he would always spend the night in the city four or five days a week.
Especially in winter, the dock outside the manor cannot be used, and some private business cannot be carried out, so Mr. Ossenfort comes back less often. Shade is lucky today. He came directly without making an appointment in advance, and generally he would not meet Mr. Ossenfort.
Of course, this melancholy woman did not mean to blame her husband. In fact, her emotions seemed a little indifferent, and she rarely expressed any sorrow when she talked about these things. When Shade talked about his experiences in various places in the Old World, she only showed a not very obvious smile.
Xia De couldn't tell whether this was the self-restraint of a housewife, or whether the woman in front of him really had some emotional deficiency.
Of course, Shade did not take advantage of other people's husbands not being at home to pry into too private things. He could see that the woman in front of him was a very traditional housewife type of woman. None of the girls around him were similar to Hela Osenfurt, so he had no experience in talking to such ladies.
Fortunately, this meaningless conversation finally ended after more than half an hour. Mr. Ossenfort's return allowed the housewife to finally stop chatting with Shade, and the manor's return was indeed somewhat unusual.
He did not come back in a carriage, but on horseback like Shade. He was not the only one coming back, but there were five or six other men on horseback following him.
To be more precise, they seemed to be racing horses. When a group of people entered the manor, Shade keenly heard the sound of horse hooves. After standing up and walking to the window at Mrs. Oxenfurt's signal, he saw a group of men waving whips and rushing into the manor in the snow with laughter.
He certainly doesn't look like a successful businessman.
"He's always like this."
The pale black-haired woman stood up and prepared to go downstairs to greet her husband:
"Thank you again for returning the ring, Mr. Watson."
"It's nothing... I won't tell anyone about it."
He knows what women care about.
Hela Ossenfurt nodded, turned her head slightly to look at the closed door, then turned back to look at Shad, stretched out her fingers, as if writing in the air, and then turned and left.
"Hmm...what did she write?"
But Xia De has no ability to recognize "air letters".
"Don't be friends with my husband. He's not a good man. Don't come to this manor again."
"She" whispered in Shade's ear. Shade turned and looked out the window, at the group of men gathered in the middle of the courtyard, talking loudly about the results of the horse race:
"Strange businessman, strange woman, strange manor, what's going on here... What's the story?"
Mrs. Oxenfurt did not enter the snowy yard, but waited for a while at the door of the manor house. Mr. Oxenfurt took the initiative to enter the building, while his "friends" each led their horses to the garden stables behind the house.
Mr. Osenfurt also soon learned of Shad's arrival and looked very happy to see Shad waiting in the reception room on the second floor.
Shad's purpose of coming here to "return the ring" has been achieved, but he still has to stay for a while and pretend to be here to discuss the Rhodes card.
After the two met, he pretended to shake hands with Mr. Osenfurt enthusiastically, and then confirmed again that there was indeed no trace of elements on this tall middle-aged man.
Mrs. Oxenfurt did not appear again, but the maid next to the mistress of the manor still served tea. After sitting down again, Shade clearly felt a faint smell of blood on the man opposite him, but he did not rashly use magic to check, but instead talked about the topic of Rhodes cards very enthusiastically.
It was obvious that Mr. Osenfurt was also very interested in Shad. The two chatted about the latest new decks, famous card players in Randall Valley City, and even mentioned Mr. Antonio, the scriptwriter Shad had met in the Prophet's Association.
Before they knew it, it was four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Osenfurt wanted to invite Shade to stay for dinner, but Shade refused:
"I have an appointment with a girl tonight, and we are going to a secluded place for a date."
He said embarrassedly, and Mr. Ossenfurt smiled understandingly. Shade stood up again and wanted to say goodbye, but was stopped by the other party:
"Mr. Watson, I heard from the butler that you came here on horseback?"
"Oh, yes. I want to apologize for visiting without an appointment."
The general rule of the time was that if a guest came on horseback or in a private carriage, the host had to pay for the horse's fodder. Because the host had to pay extra, such visits had to be booked in advance. It was quite impolite for someone like Shade to come on horseback without saying hello, so Shade apologized at this time.
Mr. Oxenfurt shook his head indifferently, stood up, folded his arms over his chest and asked:
"Are you good at riding, Mr. Watson? My butler praised the horse you rode."
"I can't say I'm good at it, it's just a hobby for beginners."
"It's okay, it's okay. Before you leave, would you like to race with me? I can offer some prizes for a race along the nearby paths. It can be a relaxing activity during this boring winter. My friends can guide you along the way, and you don't have to worry about running the wrong way."
It was 4:10 now, so there was no rush. Xia De had plenty of time to catch up with Yin Luna for dinner. However, he was always wary of the man in front of him, but it seemed too strange to refuse rashly, so he pretended to hesitate before agreeing:
"Horse racing is certainly fun, but there's no need to bet on it. It's just a game between friends."
"That won't do. Since it's a competition, how can there be no prizes?"
Mr. Oxenfurt smiled and shook his head. Compared to Mrs. Oxenfurt, who seemed a little indifferent, he was much more normal:
"So let's go now, oh, this is really exciting."
The two of them came to the courtyard together. Mr. Oxenfurt asked Shad to wait at the gate of the mansion while he went to the garden behind the house alone. Soon, Mr. Oxenfurt's friends rushed out of the manor on horseback, shouting and going to the intersection to act as human signposts. Mr. Oxenfurt and the old housekeeper came over, each leading a horse. The horse led by the housekeeper was the one Shad borrowed from Miss Lathers.
Mr. Osenfurt briefly explained the approximate distance to Shad, and after the two mounted their horses at the gate of the manor, the old butler pointed a revolver at the sky.
Peng~
As the sound of gunfire echoed beneath the snowy sky and a crow crashed in the distance, Mr. Oxenfurt and Shad rode out side by side.
The route of this horse race was probably to run around the area, and to cross the Ailon River from the bridge. The wooden bridge nearby was enough to bear the weight of the horses, but the bridge was not very wide. If one horse galloped in the middle of the bridge, the other horse would have to follow behind unless it learned to fly.
Therefore, passing through the two bridges back and forth became the key to this horse race. But for Shad, it was not an easy task to recognize the directions given by Mr. Ossenfurt's friends at each intersection.
Mr. Osenfurt is undoubtedly a truly professional rider. His sense of coordination and power when the horse is carrying him is different from that of the riders in the racecourse. He is a rider who has been trained in the wilderness. So he was ahead of Shade at the beginning, but as the curve appeared, the gap did not become larger. This has nothing to do with riding skills or luck, it is purely because the horse Shade rides is more powerful.
The horse lent by Miss Lathers was most likely her or Miss Benedict's mount, and although Mr. Oxenfort's horse could not be called a bad horse, it was not as good as Shard's.
Mr. Oxenfurt had been at least five lengths ahead of Shad the first time they crossed the bridge, but when they emerged from the forest path again, Shad was right behind him.
The second half of the journey was easier to walk and had more bends, which was more suitable for the horse that Xia De was riding to sprint.
By the time they could see the vague walls of the manor, Shade had already surpassed Mr. Osenfurt, but the latter somehow managed to catch up. When they finally returned to the manor gate, which was their starting point, it was impossible to tell with the naked eye who arrived first.
It's you, the horse you're riding has a larger skull.
"That's really funny, Mr. Oxenfurt, you're amazing."
Shade dismounted, and Mr. Oxenfurt followed suit.
"If we swap mounts, I think I'll lose badly."
He said exaggeratedly, took off his gloves and shook hands with Mr. Ossenfurt again:
"It's a draw this time. I can't tell who got back here first."
Mr. Oxenfurt's hand was shaken by Shade, who shook his head:
"I never accept a draw. To me a draw is a loss. You've beaten me again, Mr. Watson. It feels good."
As he spoke, he waved to the old butler beside him, who gave him a brass shield-shaped medal:
"This is probably some antique. It's yours, Mr. Watson. I hope we can have a chance to race horses together next time."
"Oh, yes, you are very generous. I hope to race horses together again next time."
He looked down at the shield-shaped metal medal, unable to tell which era it belonged to. Accepting the "prize" meant admitting that he had won. Just like when playing cards, "she" reminded Shade again that he had encountered a very minor curse of bad luck, which also had little effect on Shade this time:
"Then I'll leave first. I'll make an appointment in advance for my next visit."
So Mr. Oxenfurt and his friends who had come back one after another returned to the manor, while Shad rode away alone in the snow.
Look back at the house.
After driving a distance, "she" suddenly reminded him. Shade turned his head immediately, then squinted slightly, relying on his excellent eyesight to see Mrs. Osenfurt looking at him from the second window on the left side of the third floor of the manor house. Because the lady's skin was relatively white, Shade subconsciously thought it was another evil spirit, and then he reacted.
He waved goodbye to the window, then left normally:
"I will definitely come again. Although I didn't find anything abnormal, I am almost certain that Oxenfurt is definitely not normal. However, this place seems to have nothing to do with the Chosen One and the Crazy Land, so I don't need to focus my main energy here... Entrust Margaret to have her intelligence department check the history of the Oxenfurt family and Mr. Oxenfurt's rise to wealth. Remember to remind me to tell Margaret not to let her people directly contact the target. Just conduct peripheral investigations."
Why do you feel there is something wrong here? Your sixth sense
"Almost. Although there is no reaction from the elements, there are many ways to hide the elements. Besides—"
He turned back again and looked at the manor that was gradually hidden in the woods:
"I've seen rumors that Oxenfurt Manor has been out of the family for seventy or eighty years, and almost every owner of the manor has encountered misfortune as long as he lives here. If this is just a coincidence, then Mrs. Oxenfurt's weird attitude..."
He squeezed the mithril metal in his pocket and saw no reaction:
"No matter what, the most important thing today is the adventure tonight."
Shad calculated the time very accurately, and it was not yet five o'clock when he returned to the city. So he returned the horse to Miss Lathers, borrowed paper and pen, wrote a letter to Margaret, and asked Miss Lathers to pass it on, and then returned to his home.
It can be seen that Yin Luna attaches great importance to tonight's operation. When Xia De opened the door and saw her in the evening, he found that she was wearing light makeup... This probably would not be helpful in the battle.
Although Yin Luna said she would treat them to dinner tonight, Xia De still paid for it at his insistence. Although it was already dark after dinner, it was not time to leave yet. Xia De thought about it and asked Yin Luna:
"Remember the Ringwitch black market that our group is familiar with that I mentioned before? It's a pawn shop run independently by an old man. He said in the past that he didn't want to have too much to do with the Orthodox Church, so I told you about the other place. You happen to have time now, do you want to go with me to take a look?"
"It's not that the other party is unwilling..."
"At that time, Father John and I were not particularly familiar with each other, but now I even know what kind of organization the other party is. It's okay, just follow me. Oh, you can say your name, but we should not mention the Chosen One."
Yin Luna held Xiaomia, who was full and didn't want to move, while Xia De rummaged around at home and found the pile of "junk" he had dug out from the bottom of the river in Randall Valley City. The two went to Old John's Pawn Shop together.
This time when they pushed the door open, there was another customer in the store, a strange three-ring warlock. Xia De and Yin Luna politely did not approach the counter, but looked at the piles of groceries in the store.
After the last customer finished the transaction, Xia De led Yin Luna over:
"Good evening, Papa John."
"Good evening, Detective, this is..."
"The guest I introduced here, the ring wizard from the Church of the Sun, is also my friend."
After saying that, he added seriously:
"Yes, very good friend. You said you didn't want to have any contact with the church's ring warlocks, but..."
"It doesn't matter. Since he's your friend, you can trust him."
Old John looked at Yin Luna, frowned slightly, and obviously recognized her.
"Ms. Yin Luna Bei Yasi. This is Old John. He sells and recycles relics, excluding limb relics, and can customize some very useful alchemical items. Apart from being very good at bargaining, he has no disadvantages."
“Being good at bargaining is an advantage.”
The old man emphasized, looking away from Yin Luna's face. It was of course good to let the chosen one come to the store to buy things. Of course, he didn't want to point out Yin Luna's identity:
"Detective, you really have a wide range of friends... What are you doing here this time? Have you finally gathered enough money and decided to customize an alchemical longbow worth five figures of gold pounds?"
"No, no, I'm here to sell things this time."
As he spoke, he lifted the woven bag at his feet onto the counter and opened it to reveal the contents.
"Why are there still minerals? Let me see, rings, earrings, coins... You robbed a jewelry store? There is still change. Are these things legitimate? If they are stolen goods, you have to bargain for them."
the old man asked as he picked out the coins and rings and arranged them on the counter.
“I found it.”
"They are all Carsonrick-style stuff. I don't know where you picked them up from."
He took out his identification equipment from under the counter, and then handed Yin Luna a booklet, which was the manifest here.
Although the items Shade brought were very diverse, Old John only took less than half an hour to classify and identify them. He offered a total price of 1,463 pounds. It was difficult for Old John to set a price for the huge piece of gold ore because he had never purchased ore directly. In the end, it was agreed that the ore would be placed here first, and if anyone was willing to buy it, they would contact Shade separately to discuss the price.