Chapter 239

"How is it? Do you recognize him?" Forsyth tilted her head toward the silent Lu Mian.

Lu Mian withdrew his gaze from the gradually blurring mirror surface and replied in a low voice:

"One of Hugues Artois's people. I saw him in his campaign team."

Forsyth frowned, put away the compact mirror, and said:

"What exactly happened?"

Lu Mian gave a rough account of the encounter with Roul and the Michel couple, then added:

"This person is very suspicious."

Forsyth said with a sigh:

"To be so miserable that one becomes a scavenger, why would they still encounter such a thing..."

She then sneered:

"Hugues Artois can be evaluated by 'Madam Moon' as someone sufficiently enlightened; I wouldn't be surprised if there were all sorts of strange characters around him."

Having said this, Forsyth paused, looked at Lu Mian, and said:

"Hugues Artois is now a member of Parliament; he won't lack protection, both openly and secretly. If we do something targeting him or the people around him, it's very easy to be traced, and the consequences will be very serious.

"It's better to leave the follow-up investigation to the official Beyonders. I can't guarantee anything else, but at least the members of the 'Purifiers' of the Church of Evernight and the 'Heart of the Mechanical' won't turn a blind eye to such things; they will definitely find a way to figure out the truth and the target's situation."

Lu Mian nodded slowly and asked instead:

"Which pathway and which sequence could that be? A single spit can infect someone with such a fatal disease."

On his way from the Auberge du Coq Doré to White Coat Street, he had carefully recalled the information on the low sequences of the twenty-two divine pathways recorded in Aurore's witchcraft notes and found nothing that matched the current situation.

Forsyth thought seriously and said:

"My understanding of the twenty-two divine pathways is about the same as your sister's, only a bit deeper in certain aspects. The only sequence I can think of that meets the criteria is one with a higher level, and it's limited to females, which doesn't match the target's situation.

"Uh... since we've both encountered the envoys of the 'Mother Goddess of Depravity' and the 'Tree of Desire,' why couldn't the target be someone who received the blessing of another evil god?

"Heh, if it really involves evil god worship, the Beyonders of the two major churches will definitely be even more diligent.

"Hmm, Roul's state of death is very distinctive. As long as the police who come to investigate the scene aren't blind, they will immediately report it up and let those who can handle it deal with it."

Lu Mian said "Hmm," his expression softening slightly.

After saying goodbye to Forsyth, he returned to the Auberge du Coq Doré.

Passing the front desk, Mrs. Fels stood up and spoke with a hint of fear and flattery:

"Good morning, Mr. Charles."

A few days ago, the police informed her that Mr. Eff was a believer in an evil cult and had become a wanted criminal, telling her to use the rent income from this period to pay for various expenses to maintain the normal operation of the inn, and to keep good accounts. They said that after the election, they would handle the ownership issue of the Auberge du Coq Doré as soon as possible.

This made Mrs. Fels anxious and uneasy, fearing that a new boss would fire her. Therefore, she subconsciously tried to please Charles, hoping that this leader of the Savard Party would put in a good word for her when the time came—no matter who took over the Auberge du Coq Doré, they wouldn't offend the corresponding gang too much, except for those with very strong backgrounds.

"Good morning." Lu Mian responded simply and walked all the way to the third floor along the stairs, which were covered with many newspapers and pink paper to hide stains, cracks, and bedbugs.

Before the tenants on the third floor woke up, he had closed the door to Room 302, so until now, no one had discovered that Roul and the Michel couple were dead.

—Mrs. Michel's singing before hanging herself did not disturb the surrounding neighbors. For the tenants living in the chaotic streets, there was all kinds of noise at night: singing, gunfire, fighting, shouting, and exercising; it wasn't worth paying attention to.

Lu Mian first put the silk handkerchief back in its hidden place in the washroom, then stopped in front of Room 302, reached out his left palm wearing a black glove, turned the handle, and opened the wooden door.

Inside the room, Mrs. Michel's corpse hung quietly, and the smell of the food beside Roul mixed with the odor emitted by the surrounding garbage, permeating the increasingly bright light.

"Have you seen 'Lady Moon'? How do you usually contact each other?"

…………

Near eight o'clock, the two police officers from before received notification, arrived at the Auberge du Coq Doré, and saw Lu Mian, who had already disguised himself using the "Spectator's Glasses."

"Why is there another death?" the police officer who had questioned Lu Mian before asked with displeasure.

His facial features were sharp, but his face wasn't particularly handsome, and he looked a bit old.

Lu Mian replied calmly:

"One died of illness; I'm not a doctor, I couldn't save him."

"And the other one?" the police officer pressed.

Lu Mian said frankly:

"Suffering a blow, she hanged herself."

The police officer with the aged appearance frowned and turned into Room 302 with his companion.

The first thing he saw was Mrs. Michel's corpse hanging from the window frame, and he instinctively covered his nose.

It was too dirty and smelly here!

Immediately after, his gaze swept over Roul's corpse, seeing the patches of festering, pus-oozing skin and flesh.

"Son of a bitch, you call this being sick?" He couldn't help but turn his head back to look at Lu Mian, his eyes filled with shock and fear.

Lu Mian gave a simple description of what happened last night, only omitting the fact that Roul's condition had already worsened when he was at the Roblin Clinic and that he was only saved by pouring half a bottle of "healing potion" down his throat, attributing the credit to the fever-reducing potion from the Fool's Pharmaceutical Company.

He also mentioned his suspicion that the pile of garbage the Roul couple received last night contained a source of infection, the details of having them sleep in Room 307, and Mrs. Michel mentioning a silk handkerchief in the washroom.

The two police officers became more silent the more they heard, their expressions looking a bit off.

After Lu Mian finished, they quickly went to the washroom to confirm the existence of the silk handkerchief.

The police officer with the aged appearance glanced at Charles outside and whispered to his companion:

"Another occult incident. You stay here and watch the scene; I'll report the matter up."

The other police officer nodded:

"No problem."

Lu Mian watched them divide the work, waiting patiently for the official Beyonders to arrive.

In less than two quarters of an hour, the police officer with the aged appearance returned to the Auberge du Coq Doré.

He was alone.

Where were the official Beyonders? Lu Mian's eyes widened slightly.

The police officer with the aged appearance avoided Lu Mian, pulled his companion to the end of the corridor, and began to communicate in whispers.

Lu Mian was too far away and tried hard to listen, but still couldn't make out exactly what they were saying.

After a while, the police officer with the aged appearance walked up to Lu Mian and said with a serious expression:

"It has been preliminarily confirmed as death by illness and suicide."

No investigation? Lu Mian's eyebrows twitched.

After repeating what he had said when taking away Flamant's corpse, the police officer put on gloves, placed the silk handkerchief into a cloth bag, and tied it tightly.

Lu Mian watched silently as they took down the corpse, wrapped Roul up, and put him into a body bag, his mind filled with a chaotic jumble of thoughts:

"With a state of death like this, the official Beyonders think there's no problem and don't need to investigate?

"Or is it that the police officer didn't report the matter, and the official Beyonders don't know yet?

"Someone stopped him and made him treat this as an ordinary death case not involving criminal activity?

"..."

As the thoughts settled, Lu Mian quietly followed the police officers who were loading the two corpses onto the cargo carriage.

He trailed at a distance, sniffing the lingering stench on Roul and the Michel couple, and tracked them all the way to the entrance of the Market District Police Headquarters.

Looking at the gate where uniformed police officers were coming and going, Lu Mian frowned slightly.

He preliminarily suspected that some officer inside the headquarters had stopped the two police officers, but he couldn't further confirm who it was.

Even if he followed them into the headquarters, given the environment there and his status, it was impossible for him to track them all the way to the corresponding office. And if he observed from the outside, he had no way of knowing which person walking out of the gate was the problem.

Lu Mian pondered the direction of the investigation again:

"Find Forsyth and use divination?

"But there's absolutely no medium...

"Change the approach... Why did that police officer want to stop the investigation? Did he know it would involve someone, or had someone already alerted him to pay attention to similar things?

"If it's the latter, then it's highly likely to be a powerful figure in the MP's office..."

Lu Mian's heart stirred. He left the entrance of the police headquarters and walked quickly to the outside of the earthy-yellow four-story building where the Market District MP's office was located.

He squatted at the entrance of an alley across the street, keeping company with a group of homeless people.

Not long after, he saw a police officer.

The officer was round-bodied, in his early forties, with brown hair and blue eyes, and on his black-based shoulder straps was a silver-white fleur-de-lis divided into three petals.

This represented a Chief Inspector, one rank lower than a Superintendent.

Watching the Chief Inspector turn into the MP's office, Lu Mian curled his lips, revealing a slight smile.

…………

The second floor of that earthy-yellow four-story building.

Tibert, with his pale complexion and curly yellow hair, entered the MP's secretary's office.

The secretary was in his thirties, with neat black hair combed back, blue eyes blocked by gold-rimmed glasses, regular features, and a scholarly temperament.

He looked at Tibert, who was coughing intermittently, threw out a cloth bag, and said with a cold expression:

"Your handkerchief has been found."

Tibert, with his deep yellow curly hair, was dressed in a black formal suit and smiled:

"That was fast."

"Asshole!" the MP's secretary cursed. "Don't you know your phlegm can infect others with disease? Aren't you afraid of being discovered by the two major churches?"

Tibert's brown eyes were indifferent, and he said nonchalantly:

"At most, two or three commoners will die; no one will care about them.

"I've been sick for long enough, and I haven't received a new blessing yet, which makes me very irritable and wanting to kill someone."

The MP's secretary looked at him for a few seconds and scolded in a deep voice:

"If I hadn't taken precautions in advance, the 'Purifiers' would have already come looking for you.

"It doesn't matter if you die, don't affect us!

"Tibert, there won't be a next time."

Tibert shrugged his shoulders, indicating he accepted the criticism.

PS: Asking for monthly votes for the last two days~

(End of chapter)