"Okay, I'll give you news within a week. Since you only want a well-known research group, I don't think it will even take a week."
The professor took the envelope of money and put it aside without even looking at how much money was inside. Then he said rather embarrassedly:
"Detective, I was actually planning to go look for Louisa in the next few days... I had that dream again."
"What? How come?"
Xia De was shocked. It had been nearly a month since the Joyful Dream Pen went out of control. Miss Louisa had clearly confirmed that the professor's body had recovered quickly and had not suffered 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 put on a listening expression in the face of the professor's worried expression. After more than ten seconds, he let go of the professor's hand with a relaxed look:
"Don't worry, it's not that kind of problem. You are safe."
In the state of close contact, "she" did not feel any whispering elements in the professor's body.
"Then why do you have that kind of dream?"
Professor Manning asked in confusion. After a serious illness not long ago, the old man’s current condition cannot be said to have fully recovered.
"I am not a scholar and cannot explain the causes of dreams. But I suggest you go to a psychiatrist friend of mine."
Xia De didn't have Dr. Schneider's business card, so he asked for a pen and paper to write down the professor's address, saying as he wrote:
"My friend is just an ordinary person. He is very good at dealing with mental illnesses. He will help you."
The professor blushed and asked hesitantly:
"So my dream is..."
Xia De nodded:
"Yes, at least this time, it really was just a dream you had. But don't worry, I don't believe in the unfounded saying that 'what you think about during the day will become dreams at night', so I won't have any doubts about you. In my opinion, this may be the last time that left you with a deep psychological trauma."
After writing the address, he tactfully stood up and said goodbye. Judging from Professor Manning's expression when he saw him off downstairs, there was a high probability that the professor would really go to see Dr. Schneider.
After saying goodbye to the professor, Shade planned to go to Coldwater Harbor City today. It had been more than a week since the incident with the mermaid statue, so he no longer had to worry about such a dangerous incident affecting him. At the same time, even if he couldn't find the next blood money in the harbor city, there was still the safe house of the ring warlock Flamel that he found in the diary waiting to be explored, and Shade was looking forward to his gains.
Although this trip was convenient, it was also somewhat dangerous, so Shad did not plan to take his cat to the beach. He was also worried that he would be trapped in Coldwater Harbor City at night and could not return, so after returning to St. Teresa's Square, he took Mia out again and found the homely female writer on Quill Pen Street.
After the exam week, she will start the detective novel series for Steambird Daily. The first story is based on the story that Shade heard from the two ghosts in the cemetery, so there is no need to go out to collect materials during this period, and Miss Louisa should not go far.
"Let me take care of Mia again? Oh, of course."
The writer was very easy to talk to. She took the somewhat reluctant cat from Shade and asked curiously:
"What are you going to do this time? It won't be something dangerous again, right? I told you, this kind of..."
"No, no, although this time we are going to the same destination as last time, it's not dangerous this time."
Xia De said, and Miss Louisa nodded in understanding:
"Same destination... ..Okay, I'll help you take care of the cat. Anyway, you don't have any travel plans today, but remember to come back early. Also, don't bring fish as souvenirs anymore."
"No problem, but the fish soup last time was really delicious."
Shad said with a smile, patted Mia's head, said goodbye to the blonde writer and left amid the cat's reluctant cry.
Miss Louisa did not send him downstairs, but stood at the window holding the depressed Mia, watching Shad's figure appear on the street and then walk away along the street:
“Last time was in Coldwater Harbor… Had a great vacation.”
Dorothy Louisa's lips curled up and she smiled (note).
After settling Mia, Shad could spend the whole day exploring. This time, he didn't need to make troublesome pre-travel preparations, because after stuffing the ordinary items he needed to bring into the suitcase, he directly used cloth to turn the suitcase into a puppet and hung it on his waist.
The only relics he carried with him were the Spear of Kindness, the Twenty-Sided Dice of Destiny, and the Pirate's Blood Money. These three items, along with the spellcasting material "Weathervane Bluegrass Extract Diluent" that could not be turned into a toy, an alchemical item that could use a disposable Sunshine Gun, and two founding series Rhodes cards, were wrapped in waterproof canvas and carried with him.
Frog Legs and Bone Meal can be turned into toys; these two items do not have supernatural properties themselves.
After packing up everything and locking the door, he entered the hidden space behind the basement wall. After chanting the spell and touching the statue of the ancient god, he successfully came to the dark cave under the sea cliff outside Lengshui Port City.
Because he had walked this route once before, it only took Shad twenty-three minutes to land on the remote beach at the Coldwater Harbor Pier.
Although the weather in Lengshui Port was a little gloomy today, it didn't rain. After climbing out of the sea, Shade was soaked all over, so he could only wipe the water off his hair with a towel on the beach, and then put on a clean coat and pants before daring to go into the city.
He still chose to stay at the Golden Rose Hotel on Hoglunds Avenue in the dock area, using the fake name of John Watson. When Shad put down his luggage and began to change dry socks and underwear, it was 10:40 in the morning.
He chose the same hotel as last time, and also wanted to confirm whether the last incident had been investigated to his own end. But after waiting in the room for 20 minutes, he did not see any suspicious police or ring magician team appear, which made Shade relax a lot, knowing that he could act more freely today.
There are two purposes for coming to Coldwater Port. The detection of blood money requires going throughout the entire city, so Shade wants to go and see the safe house of the crew member Mr. Lemaire first.
The estate he bought included three diaries, and in one of the entries dated the autumn of two years ago, Shad discovered the exact location of the safe house and Mr. Lemaire's complaints about a nearby restaurant.
Just like Miss Louisa rented a shabby house in a remote alley, and Father Augustus rented a basement from a friend, the seafarers who went to sea all year round rented a loft in a three-story apartment in the city. In order to prevent themselves from staying in the New World for a long time, they paid the rent for a year at a time, so Shade didn't have to worry about the safe house being discovered.
The safe house is also located in the dock area of Coldwater Harbor City, specifically, on New Denton Street, two blocks away from Mermaid Lane where the last incident occurred.
This street is a street in the dock area dedicated to fish trading. Whether it is the purchase of local restaurants or large-scale transactions of foreign merchants, they are all carried out here. The street is slippery and there are many fish shops along the street. You can smell the fishy smell before you turn into the street.
The ground was paved with gravel, and the street was wide enough for four carriages to drive side by side. The sounds of shouting, wheels rolling over the ground, and noisy conversations came together, bringing the rich atmosphere of life in the port city to the fore.
Seagulls were circling overhead, and wild cats were in the corner of the alley that intersected with New Denton Street, looking eagerly for prey, or fighting with their peers for ownership of a garbage dump.
Xia De put his hands in his pockets and walked into the street from the dirty and damp alley with his head down. The puddle under his feet was a little bloody, and the smell of fish in the air made him feel a little uncomfortable. On the right was the fish shop, with a shallow iron fish tank placed directly in front of the store. Huge black sea fish swam in the water, and the occasional splash of water when wagging their tails made the ground more marked with puddles.
Looking up and to the right, No. 41 New Denton Street was the destination. Shade glanced at the sun blocked by the cumulonimbus clouds, then pressed down the black hat on his head and walked over.
After walking up the stairs, Xia De hesitated to knock on the rusty door. After knocking, he 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 walking with a cane. His eyes were sunken and his nose was very big. The old man was probably younger than Father Augustus, and the age spots on his face were very obvious:
"Who are you looking for? If you are looking for robbers, go somewhere else. Only poor people live here."
He took a look at Xia De and realized he was a stranger. He spat outside and tried to close the door.
But Xia De held the door with his hand, and said to the rude old man with a heavy accent:
"Does George Anthony live here?"
This is Flamel's pseudonym.
"Mr. Anthony is dead, and his inheritance was given to a distant relative. I'm here to help him pack up his things. Don't ask me for any identification. He died in the sea and his body has never been found."
Shad said.
The old man who opened the door looked at him suspiciously. Half of Xia De's face was hidden under his hat. He looked suspicious no matter how you looked at him:
"Dead? How do I know if you're telling the truth? Even if he's dead and I haven't seen the will, I won't let anyone take anything from me. This house is mine. Even if it's rented to someone else, the things inside are still mine. Oh, damn it, you still say you're not a robber, hurry up and leave, or I'll call the police!"
Meaning he wants to eat up Flamel's stuff.
But since Xia De dared to come, he was well prepared. He knew from his diary how bad the landlord here was:
"Look what this is."
As he spoke, he pulled his coat slightly open, revealing the pistol hidden at his waist. Then, he waved the small certificate in front of the old man:
"Can you read?"
"MI6!"