"Mr. Barton, this means that you have been wandering around before you came of age?"
Xia De even took out his notebook and pretended to take notes. The "child" across the table nodded slightly:
"It was an unforgettable experience. After I turned 18, my body officially entered adulthood. My frail body became healthy, and I could support myself. During this period, I encountered many things, strange, weird, and even incredible... ... Let's not talk about this. Anyway, I was lucky enough to meet some scholars who were willing to help me."
Mr. Barton paused and leaned back slightly on the sofa. Shade concentrated his mind. The so-called "scholar" was most likely the Truth Society.
"They taught me a lot and made me look at this vast world from a whole new perspective. Although I don't agree with most of their beliefs and ideas, and sometimes even think they are crazy..."
He raised his eyebrows, not knowing what he was thinking of:
"But those scholars are indeed my benefactors, there is no doubt about that."
Xia De nodded, pushed away the cat's outstretched claws with his left hand, and scratched the page of the notebook with the tip of his pen:
"Since you are with scholars, why don't you become a scholar? Oh, sorry, I don't mean anything else, it's just that the profession of scholar is very respected."
Mr. Barton smiled bitterly and shook his head, which made his huge face look even more terrifying:
"To become a scholar you need qualifications. I can only be considered a non-staff member at best."
He sighed:
"Anyway, with the help of those scholars, my condition has improved a lot. I met them when I was 25 years old, and the treatment started to take effect when I was 32, and my 'speed of rejuvenation' slowed down significantly. During this period, when my body changed to look five or six years older than you, I met the love of my life."
Speaking of this, a smile finally appeared on his face.
"Oh? Can you tell me more about this part?"
Shade said with a smile, and Mr. Barton nodded:
"Mind if I have a cigar?"
Xia De looked at his cat and nodded reluctantly:
"Please feel free to do so."
Then he picked up the cat and held it in his arms, providing it with the safest breathing environment.
Mr. Barton pulled out a cigar box from under the coffee table, cut off the two ends with a special drill-type cigar cutter, lit it, and took a deep breath. The brass cigar cutter looked like a pocket watch, and it was obvious that it was not a cheap one.
"It happened in Artek, the capital of art. I was asked by scholars to do some work in that city. Since I had no work to do on weekdays, I would occasionally go to Rod Casino. It was the summer of 1845. Yes, I remember it very clearly. It was extremely hot that summer. I even thought that the metal pipes would melt under the sun. That summer, I met a girl in a red dress in the casino."
His tone was filled with nostalgia for the past.
"A girl you met in the casino?"
Xia De asked, then shook his head:
"If it were a love story, the story would most likely not be a comedy."
Mr. Barton laughed at himself, holding a cigar between his thick fingers:
"Yes, but I was attracted by her eyes at a glance. I don't know if it was the restlessness of my body or my lonely soul longing for love, but I knew my heart was moved. It's a feeling that is hard to describe. When I saw her in the crowd, I knew she would be the love of my life."
Xia De declined to comment on this.
"What's next, a romantic story?"
"Yes, it's a romantic story. I didn't talk to her the first time we met, but then I saw her again in a casino, and she was selling people... things that wouldn't be suitable for your book. I worked up the courage to invite her to have a drink in a pub... a proper pub."
After taking a puff of his cigar and coughing, Mr. Barton seemed to have problems with his lungs:
"Mr. Watson, I know what you, a gentleman from an upper-class family, think - a girl who appears in that underground Rodeo card casino is not from a good family. But so what?"
He looked up at the ceiling:
"Taverns, restaurants, opera houses, small hotels, our respective apartments, major art galleries in the city, the Art Clock Tower in the center of the city, the Gulus Horse Farm outside the city... There are too many memories, too many memories. I still can't forget the scene of her riding that chestnut pony and laughing heartily on the spring meadow. I can't forget the scene of us sitting on the lawn together in the autumn when the leaves were falling, eating sandwiches and talking about life.
I didn't care about her past, and she didn't care about my identity. We spent three years together, and those were probably the happiest three years of my life."
This middle-aged man who looked like a child had a sincere smile on his face.
"As usual, the story has reached a turning point?"
"Yes, and it's a hilarious turn of events."
Joey Barton placed the cigar in his hand on the ashtray on the coffee table and looked at Shade across from him:
"Mr. Watson, guess what happened next?"
"Well... the scholars transferred you away from Artek City, and you had to leave your lover?"
"No, no, I'm just an idle staff member outside the staff. I won't receive such orders... I mean requests. And even if I am transferred, she can go with me."
Mr. Barton shook his head.
"So, that girl discovered the secret of your rebirth, and she couldn't accept it?"
"Not really. It's just been three years, and my appearance hasn't changed much. In fact, I've already told her about this."
He looked at Shade:
"She doesn't mind, yes, not at all. She is even willing to take care of me forever, even if I become a baby without thoughts and consciousness, she is willing to take care of me forever."
Mr. Barton closed his eyes and let out a long breath:
"No need to guess. Yes, no one could have guessed that fate would play such a joke on her—death befell her."
"die... ... "
Xia De stopped writing:
"I'm sorry to hear that, but the cause of death was..."
Mr. Barton's mouth twitched:
"I went out on a rainy summer day, twisted my ankle and fell into a puddle, then broke my neck... fate always likes to play tricks on me, doesn't it?"
Xia De took a deep breath:
"If this is a story, then it has a really bad ending."
"Yes, I sometimes think that I would rather she was murdered, or died of disease, or some other conspiracy that I don't know about. But it was such an accident, a ridiculous accident... I can't even find anyone to blame or take revenge on."
"So, what happened next?"
Shad asked.
Mr. Barton raised his hand and held his chin. There was no sadness in his eyes, but an incomprehensible sense of loss:
"She had no parents or family, so I took care of her funeral. Afterwards, I took her ashes and traveled around the Old World, fulfilling the things we had hoped to accomplish.
Mr. Watson, you just asked me about my attitude towards death. Although I gave a very optimistic view, that was only when I was facing my own death. I can calmly accept death coming to me, but until now, I still cannot accept her departure. "
He covered his mouth with his right hand and exhaled through his nose:
"All mortals will die one day. This world is really fair. Three years ago, in the autumn of 1850 in the Universal Calendar, I returned to Middlesbrough and decided to stay here. The capital of art is so sad that I am afraid I will never go there again in my lifetime."