Chapter 146: Death Mystery

Feierbosi Villa, Study.

Feierbosi had already been dressed and placed in the chair before the desk, just as Xia Duo had seen when he arrived, slumped over the desk with that wooden ink pen clutched in his hand.

After sending all the servants out, Lady Patti came personally to the spot where Xia Duo had previously placed Feierbosi, tapped it lightly, and then tapped on other places as well.

The sound was no different, and from the surface, there were no obvious switches; Lady Patti looked at Xia Duo again, "Lord Xia Duo—"

"Let me try!"

Xia Duo was certain there was a hidden compartment underneath, but he had detected it through Feierbosi's corpse at the time; knowing there was something inside was good enough, and he hadn't carefully searched for the opening mechanism.

To open it now, Xia Duo needed to cast Imaging once more; this spell was a variant combining Message and Ghost Sound, and in essence, it was still a Ring Spell.

The maximum range it could detect was no more than an arm's length, and it was also related to the material of the object; the denser or fluffier the object, the smaller the detection range, while those in an intermediate state could actually be detected more effectively.

Before casting Imaging, Xia Duo glanced at Mage Kaili; Kaili snorted coldly and turned his head away, which in Lady Patti's eyes might have looked like he did not want to pry into Xia Duo's secrets.

But in reality, a Mage in a state of focus does not entirely need eyes to identify a spell; one can make a vague judgment based on Perception alone.

Last time he let Kaili see him cast a spell, but this time he didn't want to do Kaili any favors; the spell itself had little difficulty, and what was valuable inside was the application of sound that Xia Duo had brought from Earth.

Echo detection was something almost everyone on Earth knew, but that was not the case in Netheril, and even if someone knew, they would not easily tell others.

Hum—

Xia Duo's palm hovered less than 2 centimeters above the floor; the invisible fluctuations instantly penetrated the floor, and this floor actually resonated with the sound waves Xia Duo detected, emitting a low humming sound.

It was difficult to detect specific information this way, so Xia Duo immediately adjusted the frequency, and a gray image with a clear outline and varying depths was fed back.

This time, he not only confirmed the items inside but also found the mechanism to open the hidden compartment. In front of Lady Patti, Xia Duo pressed the switch—

It was an eye-shaped switch hidden within the wood grain of the floor, about the size of a normal person's thumb; if someone familiar with wood grain checked carefully, they might also have discovered it.

After the switch was pressed, a floorboard slowly retracted, revealing a hidden compartment.

"Ah—"

After Xia Duo pressed the switch, Lady Patti suddenly let out a cry of surprise, the sound attracting Kaili over as well; Lady Patti saw that there really was a hidden compartment in the floor, and—

"That eye!"

Without checking the items in the hidden compartment first, Lady Patti had already burst into tears; faced with this sudden emotional breakdown, Xia Duo took a step back.

At this moment, Kaili stepped forward, helped Lady Patti up, and comforted her, "My Lady, do you need my help?"

"Thank you, Lord Mage!" Lady Patti broke free from Kaili and said to Xia Duo, "Lord Xia Duo, I understand now; Feierbosi did not meet with an accident the day before yesterday, but several days ago."

Kaili's face turned livid, almost leaving in anger, but he was reluctant to part with the shiny Gold Coins, so he suppressed his displeasure and stayed; moreover, he was now interested in Xia Duo.

Yet after hearing Lady Patti's explanation, Xia Duo still did not understand how she deduced that Feierbosi had met with an accident several days ago just from the eye!

"Could Lady Patti explain in detail? If we want to find the murderer, the more information we know, the easier it will be."

"I understand." Lady Patti wiped her tears, controlled her emotions, and said, "Feierbosi had a Magic Item shaped like a small cane that he carried with him almost every day, but five days ago, when he returned from the Chamber of Commerce, the cane was missing; at the time, he said it had been stolen while he was inspecting goods at the docks."

"And then?"

"Then, two days ago, he suddenly said he was going upstairs to handle some matters, and then—"

Tears fell from Lady Patti's eyes again.

But Xia Duo continued to ask, "Then what is the connection between the cane and this eye?"

"The end of that cane was a metal cylinder in the shape of an eye."

No more needed to be said; Xia Duo understood. He had used his hand to press the opening mechanism, which was not strenuous for him, but Feierbosi was just an ordinary person and over 50 years old; it was hard to say how much strength he had.

Furthermore, using a Magic Item to activate it might have made an ordinary person feel more at ease.

"My Lady, I need to check the items in the hidden compartment!"

Having verified the hidden compartment, Lady Patti already believed Xia Duo's judgment regarding Feierbosi's cause of death, but for checking the hidden compartment, she still had Kaili join in.

"My two Lords, please feel free to check; if you have any questions, feel free to ask me at any time. I only want to know who killed my Feierbosi."

Kaili did not understand the situation, but he was clear about Lady Patti's requirements shifting from checking the cause of death to investigating the murderer; however, if he didn't check the cause of death, wouldn't he fail to get the Gold Coins? He was actually much like Xia Duo and had little interest in finding the murderer.

"Lady Patti, do you really believe his judgment? I think it is still necessary to check again."

"No, there is no need!" Lady Patti refused directly; she had already made a decision, "Feierbosi may have met with an accident five days ago, so there is no need to dwell on the cause of death from two days ago; I want to find the murderer more!"

Seeming to see through Kaili's thoughts, Lady Patti added, "As for the reward, Lord Kaili need not worry; as long as you investigate diligently, the reward will definitely satisfy you."

With things stated so bluntly, what else could Kaili say? He glanced at Xia Duo and began to check the items in the hidden compartment, while Xia Duo had already obtained a mission voucher for at least 400 Gold Coins; now, the more he did, the more he earned, and he certainly didn't think it was too much.

Just as the two were checking the hidden compartment, Lady Patti ordered the servants to come in and carry Feierbosi out; as for the will stating she inherited all the property, it remained untouched.

"My two Lords, you may look through the items in the hidden compartment and the study as you please; other hands will come to help with the investigation later, please forgive me, my two Lords."

"Understood!"

Xia Duo subconsciously looked at Kaili, and Kaili happened to look at him as well; in their eyes, the two, who had been somewhat cold and even contradictory, reached a consensus for the first time—this woman was crazy!

The old man was dead, she was still young, and instead of thinking about securing the family fortune first, she was thinking about avenging the old man; was there really such a deep, unforgettable love?

Xia Duo had never been in love and also yearned for romance, but he accepted reality more; if he were Lady Patti, the first thing he would do is consolidate the family assets and the old man's son, and after that, whether he wanted to take revenge or whatever, he could plan in detail, which was better than grabbing someone and making them help investigate.

Making such a big scene, wasn't she afraid the murderer would jump out and kill her too?

However, Xia Duo was not Lady Patti after all, and he could not know the true thoughts of this woman, but for this kind of job that was almost like handing over money, he had no reason to refuse.

Perhaps this trip could complete the mission requirements for his Permission Level promotion!