Chapter 132

Lu Mian was not at all unfamiliar with Margot's behavior.

If it were him, he would do the same!

Connecting this to Aurore's mention that Beyonders of the "Hunter" pathway are relatively common within the Intis Republic, Lu Mian initially suspected that Margot was also a Beyonder, and specifically of the "Hunter" pathway, but he wasn't sure which sequence.

"A sequence too high wouldn't come to be a gang leader, unless it's for the needs of acting... If Margot is really a Beyonder of the 'Hunter' pathway, then he shouldn't be above Sequence 7, and the possibility of being a 'Pyromaniac' is minimal; Lyra and Valentine are only Sequence 7, and they can already be called elite investigators, could they be inferior to a high-level thug responsible for patrolling territory, abducting women, and oppressing prostitutes?" Lu Mian muttered silently while retreating two steps, withdrawing his gaze and no longer looking in that direction.

Although it was unlikely that Margot's rank reached or exceeded Sequence 7, he still dared not be careless.

What if his sequence name was similar to "Thug" and he needed to act in this way?

What if the Poison Sting Gang wasn't as simple as it appeared, but actually the tentacles extended by some secret organization or underground evil cult, possessing sufficient resources while trying to restrain themselves from being too flashy to avoid being targeted by the official authorities?

The probability of these situations was very low, but for Lu Mian, who lacked intelligence and corresponding occult knowledge, he had to be on guard, because he couldn't eliminate the options or determine how low the possibility really was.

In the second-floor hallway, the man in the red shirt and black vest, suspected to be Margot, maintained his posture with his hands in his pockets and glanced sideways at his three subordinates.

His brow furrowed slightly, dissatisfied and puzzled that they had gotten unnecessary perfume scent on them.

He then cast his gaze toward the ground and sniffed.

He smelled that this perfume scent didn't just exist at the stairwell; it extended unreservedly to Room 207, and furthermore, there were fresh marks on the bottom step made by something not heavy but small in size.

In an instant, the man suspected to be Margot, based on the various information he gathered from the environment, reconstructed in his mind what had happened earlier:

The tenant of Room 207 might have gone to the washroom or visited a neighbor, and on the way back to their room, they intended to spray perfume but didn't hold it firmly, causing the bottle to fall onto the step at the stairwell; afterward, he or she distressedly wiped the spilled perfume onto themselves, leaving only a few traces.

This fit the mindset of the tenants of the "Golden Rooster Hotel."

The man suspected to be Margot dispelled his suspicion and said to his three subordinates:

"Remember to change your shoes after we get back to the Mill Dance Hall."

"Alright, boss." The three subordinates answered almost in unison.

They were often asked to do similar things and were not surprised at all.

Mill Dance Hall... Lu Mian in Room 207 heard their conversation and basically confirmed that the man suspected to be a "Hunter" pathway Beyonder was indeed Margot.

After chatting with Charlie in the morning, he had wandered around the Honest Market District again, chatted with many vendors and neighbors in the bar, and learned that the Mill Dance Hall located at 3 Rue was one of the strongholds of the Poison Sting Gang.

After Margot and his group walked all the way down to the bottom floor, Lu Mian picked up his wide-brimmed hat, walked out of the room slowly, and followed the residual perfume scent deep into the street.

Seven or eight minutes later, he arrived at the Mill Dance Hall; the inferior perfume scent from out of town proved that Margot and his men had already returned here.

The Mill Dance Hall didn't have the impressive statues and inscriptions of the Breeze Dance Hall; it just occupied part of the street and had built a golden-toned foyer.

On the four stone pillars supporting the foyer, gas lamps enclosed by glass covers and black grilles dispelled the evening gloom.

At this time, the dance hall was already quite lively; Lu Mian heard singing, noise, and the sound of musical instruments before he even went inside.

The layout here was very similar to the Breeze Dance Hall, with a dance floor in the middle, small round tables and chairs arranged around it, and a half-height wooden stage left empty at the very front, on which stood a fiery young lady.

The young lady was wearing a sexy and alluring white short top, the chest of which almost allowed one to see the row of bows above the underwear; she had a mole by her lips, her brownish-yellow hair was coiled up, she was powdered, and her blue eyes were set off by the black lines drawn around them, making them look large and deep; overall, she had both a decadent charm and a sweet temperament.

She sang softly and beautifully, kicking her right leg high from time to time, lifting her beige fluffy short skirt that reached just to her knees, enticing many drinkers to try to squat down and peek at the hidden places.

"The attending doctor is a charming man

"He will first roll up his shirt sleeves

"This reminds me of my first lover

"Only the difference with this doctor is

"He can find the right position in one go

"I discovered, my dear, he really knows how to use his fingers..."

Amidst the subtle and alluring singing, Lu Mian walked to the bar area further inside and said to the bartender:

"What do you have to eat?"

The bartender asked with a smile:

"How about a Rouen meat pie? Or do you prefer common dinners like sausages, bread, or bacon?"

Lu Mian, who had long known that Trier people liked meat pies, nodded:

"Then two Rouen meat pies."

"And pair it with a glass of apple punch? It can cut through the greasiness of the meat pie." Seeing that Lu Mian didn't ask about the price of the meat pie, the bartender knew this was a generous guest and could recommend slightly more expensive alcohol to him.

Punch is a type of fruit juice cocktail.

Lu Mian smiled:

"That's fine."

He still had nearly two hundred fer-gold on him, so he didn't need to be too frugal with food and drink; besides, the final payment for the intelligence broker Anthony Reid couldn't be saved up just by hoarding.

"The Rouen meat pies are 3 riks each, and the apple punch is 12 riks." The bartender quickly quoted the price.

Lu Mian nodded, took out a 1 fer-gold silver coin with a relief of a little angel and radiating lines on the surface, and tossed it to the bartender.

After taking back two 5-coque copper coins, he waited patiently.

At this time, the female singer on stage had finished singing, and the band struck up a slightly intense drum beat.

Many drinkers entered the dance floor, twisting their bodies to the rhythm, venting the pressure, exhaustion, and pain accumulated during the day to their heart's content.

A male drinker sitting near Lu Mian smiled at his companion:

"I love this atmosphere so much; I don't know who invented this twisting dance, it's much more charming than the old quadrilles! Can you imagine? I often held my dance partner, but had to wait a long time for my turn to dance, waiting until my enthusiasm had cooled."

The quadrille is also called a square dance, where four pairs of men and women form a square, dance in turn according to the violinist's performance, and finally walk around each other.

Another male drinker laughed:

"I still prefer the can-can and striptease."

The can-can is very popular in the Red Princess District, characterized by high kicks and landing splits; when those young ladies in short skirts and silk stockings line up and kick high repeatedly, it always draws bursts of cheers, and some people even throw coins onto the stage.

Of course, this is also a dance that requires technical skill; skilled dancers need to kick their legs higher than the tip of their nose or close to their ears.

Lu Mian listened to the various sounds around him, occasionally using his peripheral vision to look toward the stairwell where the inferior perfume scent had disappeared.

Not long after, two thick meat pies, along with a glass of alcoholic beverage that was deep red at the bottom, light red at the top, floating with a few ice cubes, and transparent and dreamy, were delivered to him.

Lu Mian first took a sip of the apple punch, feeling the refreshing sweetness, faint acidity, the spiciness of the alcohol, and the coldness of the ice cubes invigorate his spirit.

Then, he picked up a Rouen meat pie and took a bite.

The thick, slightly sweet taste of the unleavened dough combined with the texture of the minced meat, the fragrance of the fat, and the stimulation of the spices made Lu Mian almost unable to stop eating.

After finishing an entire meat pie, he picked up the apple punch to wash away the greasiness in his mouth.

After finishing his dinner, Lu Mian sipped the alcoholic beverage in his hand, listening to the young lady's singing while watching the crowd on the dance floor.

He himself seemed to be infected by this enthusiastic and frenzied atmosphere, swaying his body to the rhythm from time to time at the dimly lit bar area.

Whenever he did so, Lu Mian would take the opportunity to glance at the stair entrance to observe the whereabouts of Margot and his men.

It wasn't until nearly midnight that Margot, wearing a red shirt and leather vest with short light yellow hair standing up, brought his three thugs downstairs and walked out of the Mill Dance Hall.

Considering that the other party might be a "Hunter" pathway Beyonder, Lu Mian didn't follow immediately and was prepared to lose them, after all, the three gang thugs had changed their leather shoes stained with the inferior perfume scent, so he couldn't follow from a distance based on smell anymore.

However, he still held some hope, because he had just observed that most of the customers in the dance hall were too engaged and frenzied, and from time to time, someone would accidentally spill alcohol on the ground, so there were many wet spots on the path from the stairwell to the main entrance.

While twisting to the beat, Lu Mian saw from the corner of his eye that Margot always accurately avoided the somewhat damp ground, which made him more certain that the other party was a "Hunter" pathway Beyonder.

And although Margot's three subordinates had been reminded and took evasive actions, due to their insufficient observation ability and the not-so-great lighting effect of the gas wall lamps, it was inevitable that half a sole or a third of a heel would brush against some wet spots.

For people who often frequent bars and dance halls, this was an unavoidable situation; Margot was already numb to this and didn't feel there was any problem, thinking it wasn't worth paying too much attention to.

They had been gone for nearly a minute before Lu Mian got up from the bar and walked out of the Mill Dance Hall.

At this time, pedestrians on the road were very sparse, leaving only some drunks singing and cursing from time to time, while under the broken gas street lamps were large patches of darkness, relying entirely on the crimson moonlight from high above for illumination.

Thanks to the four gas wall lamps at the entrance of the dance hall, Lu Mian found many footprints with slight wet spots; some had left a long time ago, and some had just walked by.

Among them, three pairs of footprints were close together and always appeared at the same time, and after Lu Mian's careful inspection, he discovered that in front of them was a pair of faint, very difficult to detect footprints that didn't have any wet spots at all.

Lu Mian laughed and whispered to himself:

"Always hanging out with stupid pigs and insects will only be your undoing."

PS: Last day of double monthly votes, seeking votes~

(End of chapter)