The man was about the same height as Shade, but his figure under his clothes was very thin. He lowered his head slightly so that the hat could cover his face, and Shade could not see his appearance at all from his angle.
"Are there any traces of the elements?"
No.
"Is it a ring wizard?"
You need to get closer.
Xia De put down the newspaper in his hand and pretended to look across the street. He took out the pocket watch that was broken in the cold water of Lengshui Port from his pocket and took a look at it. Then he shook his head and sighed, as if complaining about the unpunctuality of the person waiting. Then he folded up the newspaper in his hand and walked to the other side of the street.
He passed by Ms. Swan in a red top, who was only attracted by Shad's appearance for a moment, but took a quick look and did not stop.
Xia De walked straight to the antique shop at the side of the alley, and the voice in his head also gave the answer:
Neither are ring sorcerers.
Ms. Swan had left the alley's peeping range, and when Shad turned into the alley from the antique shop door, the peeping torrent had also disappeared.
He took two quick steps forward to catch up. The alley with the sign "Black Corner Alley" was a rather narrow straight road, and there was no obstruction in the alley. Xia De was only a few seconds slower, and there was no one in the alley.
Since the opponent is not a ring wizard, the only possibility is that he is hiding somewhere else in the alley.
On both sides of Black Corner Alley were three-story apartment buildings of the same style. Moss was everywhere under the mottled walls, and the original color of the walls could no longer be seen. The wall near the entrance was covered with wanted posters and various flyers. There was a clothesline in the middle of the buildings facing each other, and the clothes that had not yet dried were like gray flags, swaying in the mist.
"I was just a few seconds late and the other party disappeared, which means that the other party entered the building near the alley entrance."
Xia De stood there thinking:
"Also, when Miss Swan showed up, I was keeping an eye on the alley, but I didn't see the door of the house closest to the alley open, which means the possible buildings are the two houses second closest to the alley."
Xia De looked at the houses on both sides:
"He always appears when Miss Swan appears, which means that the building where this person is located can directly see the far end of the street..."
The second two buildings closest to the alley had no windows facing the street, but the attics of these houses were taller than those of the nearby buildings, and Shad noticed that the attic of the house on the left had windows, while the windows of the attic on the right were completely sealed with wooden boards.
“This one.”
Xia De smiled and turned to walk up the steps in front of the house on his left. The stone steps were uneven, and the door in front of him looked like it had been splashed with excrement.
He paused with his hand extended to knock on the door, thought for a moment, and then kicked the door lightly and impolitely.
It took a long time before I heard footsteps coming from behind the door. The man asked in an extremely nervous voice:
"Excuse me, who is it?"
"Sir, I'm here to check the gas meter."
The mechanical gas meters and steam meters in St. Teresa's Square are all outside the houses. The gas company checks them once a month and sends the bills directly to the residents. However, the gas meters in this old building are mostly inside the house. Xia De had observed in advance that there was no meter box outside the door.
"Okay, why are you here so early this time? It's only the beginning of the month."
The door was opened a crack, and Shad immediately reached in to prevent it from closing, then pulled it open completely.
Behind the door was the strange man in black, but now he was not wearing a hat, so his face was exposed.
Xia De was also shocked when he saw that face. The other person's face was swollen, with red and white patches. The upper and lower eye sockets were swollen, almost covering his eyes.
In addition to his face, Xia De also saw his hands. Similar to the skin on his face, it also looked terrible. This should be the mark left by scalds or burns. The man in front of him must have encountered a terrible accident.
"What are you going to do? Oh, you're not checking the gas meter!"
The man immediately panicked when he saw Xia De's outfit.
"Of course not. I have other things to do, but I'm definitely not a bad person."
Xia De held the door frame with his left hand to prevent the person inside from closing the door, and extended his right hand as if to shake hands:
"Good afternoon, sir."
Although the other person's face and skin looked terrible, it was not an infectious disease or dirty, so Xia De didn't mind shaking hands with him.
Xia De's gesture of extending his hand made the man inside the door feel a little favorable. He awkwardly extended his hand and shook hands with Xia De, then immediately withdrew it, but the moment of contact was enough for Xia De to draw a conclusion.
Ordinary people indeed.
"I'm here about Miss Swan's business."
Xia pulled the door frame and planned to stand at the door to talk, but the man asked doubtfully:
"I'm sorry, Miss Swan is... Oh, so her last name is Swan! What a nice name."
On some of the scary faces, one could vaguely see a look of sudden enlightenment.
The corner of Xia De's mouth twitched. He had already understood that this matter had nothing to do with the extraordinary. It was indeed impossible to encounter relics continuously. But since the matter had been figured out, he didn't mind wasting a few minutes to wrap it up:
"Sir, you have been spying on her at the alley entrance every noon for the past few weeks. Miss Swan was very worried, so she sought help from a security company, and then the security company hired me as a detective. Excuse me, what exactly do you want to do?"
The man's face flushed red, but of course it was hard to tell because of his skin.
He stammered and said:
"Hello, Detective. I just... wanted to see her. You know, I couldn't look like this... I just wanted to take a look... I didn't do anything bad, I just..."
His voice gradually lowered. Xia De waited for a while before speaking:
"I'm just here to investigate this matter. The conversation between you and me will be known to the client in detail. She may change her job..."
"No! I won't peek at her anymore, please don't disturb her life."
The man suddenly became excited:
"Don't let my presence affect her life!"
"I'm sorry, I don't have the authority to make decisions for others. This is a commission, and I must honestly hand over the results of the investigation to the client."
Shad shrugged.
He didn't know whether the man in front of him would always quietly watch from the side, or suddenly want to do something one day. Therefore, Xia De certainly wouldn't pretend that he had found nothing just because he believed in love.
Fortunately, he didn't have to judge whether the man in front of him was good or bad, because he just wanted to investigate the matter:
"Sir, the decisions we make will irreversibly affect the people around us. From the moment you decided to see her at the alley every noon, the impact on her has already appeared. I will not judge your purpose for doing this, but I just hope you can understand."
Xia De paused for a moment, considering what to say:
“Never be swallowed by the darkness in your heart. When you poke your head out from the shadows, you may think it is love, but when love ferments further, what will be the final result?”
To put it bluntly, Xia De was warning the other party to be more honest. But he didn't know whether the other party was good or bad, so he didn't want to hurt the other person's self-esteem, so he expressed it in a very euphemistic way.
"You should know the darkness of human hearts better than I do. Even if you believe that you are a good person, can you be sure that when a certain idea takes shape, the tiny seed of darkness will devour your heart in the future?"
Xia De shook his head and decided to use more powerful means of persuasion in addition to verbal persuasion.
So he lifted his clothes so that the man inside could see the gun on his waist. The man took a small step back in fear.
"what are you up to?"
"Don't worry, I just want you to see if my revolver is beautiful. Oh, sir, if you like that lady, you can actually find an opportunity to pass a letter to her, but never use this method to express your love."
"But she will reject me, the way I am..."
The man whispered. He was a native of Tobesk and had a heavy accent:
"... She will... because of me..."
"If she rejects you, then please stay away from her. Isn't that normal?"
Xia De said, opening the door and preparing to leave, he waved his hand:
"I already know your identity. If you try to do anything to Miss Swan, the police will be here to see you first."
"No, I won't, I won't bother her anymore..."
The man lowered his head and whispered.
Shade nodded, sighed, and turned to leave Black Corner Alley. He was not sighing for this matter, but for himself. The second matter was indeed a waste of time.
But at least it's entertaining enough.
"You think so?"
Without receiving a response from the voice in his ear, Xia De thought for a moment:
“It’s quite interesting indeed.”
Outsiders like to witness different stories, even if they are just stories of ordinary people.
Back at Lewis Street, Shade first found a restaurant to have his lunch, and then decided to take a carriage to the Taxation Bureau in the North District of Tobesk to deal with his taxes. The jurisdiction of the North District Taxation Bureau includes St. Teresa Square, and the office is located on Swan Castle Street, where the Blackstone Security Company is located. Shade wants to tell Iluna what happened just now and let the Blackstone Security Company notify the client, Miss Swan.
If Xia De's actions today really lead to other consequences, he will feel guilty.
"Only death and tax returns are inevitable." In this complicated steam age, death is controlled by gods and natural laws, while tax returns are naturally controlled by the tax department of city hall.
There are three tax bureaus in Tobesk, located in three directions of the city, and they are jointly responsible to the financial department of the city hall. Tax evasion is almost impossible. Even though this world is more backward than Shade's hometown, a legitimate detective agency must have a license. With a license, someone will check taxes.