Chapter 123: Breeze Dance Hall (Requesting double monthly votes)

Lu Mian didn't look back, didn't turn around, and continued to walk toward the bus stop.

He looked left and right as if casually, his gaze falling on the glass window of a café nearby.

It reflected his figure in a dark jacket, and not too far from him was a man wearing a canvas jacket and a flat cap.

After Lu Mian withdrew his gaze, he suddenly quickened his pace, as if he were going to catch the two-story bus that was about to leave the station.

He felt the man in the blue flat cap start to jog, as expected.

The bus moved from stillness and drove toward the end of the street. Lu Mian, seeing no hope of "catching" it, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

With the help of the shop window on the street, Lu Mian saw the man in the flat cap brake his body in a somewhat embarrassed manner, half-turning to look at the dance hall opposite.

Nodding imperceptibly, Lu Mian passed the bus stop as if strolling, continued forward, and turned into a quiet, deserted alley blocked by barricades.

The man in the flat cap followed quickly, climbed over the low, dilapidated barricade, but could no longer see Lu Mian's back.

The target he was following seemed to have vanished into thin air in the alley.

Just as the man in the flat cap tried to chase forward, Lu Mian, who had shrunk into the corner of the barricade, pounced out like a fierce tiger, pressed his hands on the other's shoulders, and pulled his body back toward his own knee.

Bang!

Lu Mian's knee strike hit the man's waist squarely, causing his face to twist in pain, and his legs could no longer support him.

With a thud, the man in the flat cap fell to the ground, kicking up quite a bit of dust.

Lu Mian squatted down halfway, grabbed the follower's head, and said in a low voice:

"Who told you to follow me?"

"I didn't! I was just taking a shortcut!" The man in the flat cap argued urgently.

Lu Mian laughed, grabbed his head, and smashed it toward the ground.

In the sound of the bang, the man in the flat cap was in so much pain that his scream was stuck in his throat. His forehead was bruised and swollen, stained with blood.

"Who told you to follow me?" Lu Mian repeated the question.

The man in the flat cap was very aggrieved:

"I didn't follow you! I don't even know you!"

"Fine." Lu Mian released his right hand.

The next second, he used his palm as a blade and chopped heavily behind the follower's ear.

The man in the flat cap fainted without even a hum.

Lu Mian then helped him up and considerately pulled his hat lower to cover his closed eyes.

Then, as if supporting a drunk friend, he walked out of the alley with steady steps and turned toward the street corner.

There was an entrance to the underground world there.

The reason Lu Mian "waited" for the follower in that alley just now was because he thought that if there was anything to be done later, it could be moved underground, and the environment would be "peaceful" enough.

…………

When the man in the flat cap woke up, his vision was pitch black, with only a faint light coming from afar, barely revealing the outlines of the surrounding things.

The clanging sound passed through layers of obstacles into his ears, from far to near, and then quickly moved away.

As a native of the Honest Market district, he was no stranger to such scenes. He suspected he had been brought underground; the "street" next door had steam subways passing through, and the faint light here came from there.

Lu Mian sat in the darkness, looked at the man in the flat cap, and said with a smile:

"You have two choices now. One is to tell me who told you to follow me; the other is to be taken by me to the deeper underground and buried there. You should know very well that many people go missing in Trier every day; you won't be missed."

Seeing that the follower fell into silence and didn't answer immediately, Lu Mian knew his mental defense had wavered, so he added:

"And I will pass through these streets underground and move to another district."

Seeing that Lu Mian had already considered his escape route and put on a posture of killing to silence and dumping the body before fleeing far away, and then thinking of the ruthlessness and decisiveness the other party showed when asking questions, the man in the flat cap finally couldn't control his inner fear and said in a near-collapse:

"It, it's Baron Brignard!"

Baron Brignard? The leader of the Savages gang, Aosta Truel's creditor? Why would he track me? I only met him once last night at that apartment on White Coat Street and didn't even speak a word... Lu Mian was both puzzled and bewildered.

This instead made him certain that the man in the flat cap wasn't lying. After all, if he were to lie, he couldn't have picked such a mastermind that even Lu Mian himself couldn't have thought of or understood at all.

Lu Mian frowned and asked:

"Why does he want to follow me?"

"I don't know." The man in the flat cap answered tremblingly, "He just told me to follow you and see where you go."

Lu Mian pondered for a few seconds and said:

"Where is Baron Brignard now?"

"If there's nothing else, he's usually at the Breeze Dance Hall on Market Avenue." The man in the flat cap tried hard to see Lu Mian's expression, but failed because the light was too faint.

Breeze Dance Hall? Lu Mian had a certain impression of the iconic buildings in the Honest Market district.

This was the harvest from his "strolling" everywhere yesterday.

Market Avenue refers to the main road from the Honest Market to the Suchit Steam Train Station, about two kilometers long. The Breeze Dance Hall is near the market area, and the statue at the entrance is quite distinctive, making it unforgettable once seen.

After a moment, Lu Mian curled his lips and said to the follower:

"Take me there. I want to have a chat with Baron Brignard."

The man in the flat cap suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his life had been saved.

As for who would have the upper hand when they reached the Breeze Dance Hall, and who would have an "accident," that had nothing to do with him.

…………

The Breeze Dance Hall is located on the bottom two floors of an earthy-yellow building. The second floor is an attached café, and the first floor is a lively dance hall, but it had just opened at this time, and there were no guests.

At its entrance stood a white spherical statue made of countless skulls, with the following written in Intis:

"They sleep here, waiting for the arrival of happiness and hope." (Note 1)

Lu Mian glanced at it, followed the "guide" around the statue, and came to the entrance of the dance hall.

Two gang thugs in white shirts and black coats stood there. They simultaneously pressed their right hands to their waists and asked the man in the flat cap:

"Micili, who is he?"

"He, he's here to see Baron Brignard." Micili answered with a slight stutter.

After receiving the suspicious and scrutinizing gazes of the two thugs, Lu Mian said calmly:

"Whether to see me or not is decided by Baron Brignard, not you."

"Do you want to bear his anger?"

After hesitating for a moment, one of the thugs turned and entered the dance hall.

During the wait, Lu Mian said to the follower named Micili in a quite relaxed state:

"Why is there such a statue and such an inscription? It doesn't match the dance hall at all."

Of course, that's cool.

Micili looked at Lu Mian, who had a smile on his face, and answered tremblingly:

"This was originally the cemetery attached to St. Robert's Church. Later, those bones were all moved to the catacombs, and this piece of land became vacant. Later, this building was built."

"Although those bones were all purified, otherwise they would just be ashes, we Savages still felt it was too eerie after buying this place, so we had to find someone to make such a statue symbolizing death and an inscription representing the dead to appease the bones that might exist underground and hadn't been dug up and taken away."

According to this statement, wouldn't the people dancing here usually disturb those bones, which is roughly equivalent to jumping around on their heads? Lu Mian found it a bit funny.

At this time, the thug from just now walked out and said to Lu Mian:

"Baron Brignard wants you to go to the café on the second floor."

"Good." Lu Mian held his head high, puffed out his chest, and walked into the Breeze Dance Hall.

What first impressed him was the dance floor surrounded by railings and the semi-high wooden stage in front for singing, followed by the messy seats around and the various perfumes and powders floating in the air.

Micili thought for a while and still followed behind Lu Mian.

He felt that no matter what, he had to report to the Baron in person, otherwise, he might end up missing in the underground world later.

Going up to the second floor, Lu Mian saw the "gentleman" he met last night.

He was in his thirties, wearing a black formal suit made of fine wool. His brown hair seemed naturally slightly curly, his brown eyes carried a confident smile, and his contours were quite deep.

Baron Brignard put down his coffee and picked up a peach-wood pipe with his hand wearing a diamond ring:

"What would you like to drink?"

He behaved quite politely and courteously.

Lu Mian glanced at the four gang thugs who simultaneously pressed their hands to their waists and said to Baron Brignard:

"Why did you send someone to follow me?"

Baron Brignard smiled and admitted frankly:

"I met you on White Coat Street last night and found you again near the Fourth Street today. I felt you looked more and more familiar, so I let Micili follow you to confirm what you wanted to do in the market district."

"You went to find Aosta last night too, right?"

"He wanted to cheat me out of money." Lu Mian answered and asked instead, "Why do you think I look familiar?"

Baron Brignard puffed on his pipe and said with a smile:

"In the eyes of experienced people like us, you can hardly be called disguised."

"When we start to suspect and make associations, we can naturally recognize you, Lu Mian Lee, a wanted criminal worth 3,000 Vergold."

My bounty is only 3,000 Vergold? Lu Mian's first reaction was doubt.

As the source of the time loop in Cordu Village, how could the official bounty be lower than that of the parish priest and Lady Pualis?

"But just providing clues about you can get 500 Vergold." Baron Brignard smiled, "Young man, what you need is a copy of 'Men's Aesthetics.' Don't be ashamed. In Trier, it's very normal for men to wear makeup. This will help you cover up your real appearance."

This "gentleman" also wore eyeliner and powder.

Lu Mian revealed a smile:

"Are you trying to catch me and exchange me for the bounty?"

Note 1: Quoted from the inscription at the entrance of the Breeze Dance Hall in Paris during the Victorian era; I modified the statue. That dance hall was really built on the site of a cemetery and even used stones left over after the cemetery was relocated. It's truly dancing on graves. The previous turtle walking, etc., were also real things that happened in that era.

PS: Requesting double monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 124 =====