Chapter 312: Encounter

"How could he get lost?" Lu Mian asked with some confusion.

Baron Brignais was not only a gang leader but also a Beyonder; as long as he wasn't negligent in his supervision, how could he possibly let a child get lost?

Besides, who in the Market District would dare to kidnap his child?

Sakota shook his head:

"He didn't say specifically."

Could it be the Rose School of Thought, wanting to find out the truth about the Savages from Baron Brignais? Combining this with recent events, Lu Mian had some guesses he couldn't confirm for the time being.

He thought for a moment and said:

"Do you know what Brignais's illegitimate child looks like?"

Sakota nodded:

"When the Baron's men came looking for him, they had a portrait—a portrait that looked just like a photograph."

A portrait that looked like a photograph... Was this done using ritual magic? Lu Mian recalled the contents of Aurore's witchcraft notes.

He glanced at the bright sunshine outside the window and said to Sakota:

"Take some men and go help Brignais."

Whether that child was controlled by people from the Rose School of Thought or truly lost, if he couldn't be found for a long time, the outcome would surely be tragic.

At his age, even if nothing else happened, he wouldn't survive long as a street urchin.

"Alright." Sakota didn't ask why his boss was taking the initiative to help Baron Brignais.

In any case, it wasn't noon yet, and the Breeze Ballroom had just opened; real business wouldn't start until after three or four o'clock. Except for the cleaning staff and those busy in the kitchen, everyone else was quite free.

Lu Mian ordered a glass of sugar-wine with ice and water, stood on the cafe balcony holding it, and watched several gang members questioning homeless people along Market Avenue.

After a while, "Rat" Cristole appeared. This short smuggling boss led seven or eight dogs of different colors and breeds, emerging from an alley in a very eye-catching manner before entering the alley diagonally opposite.

Not long after, he approached the Breeze Ballroom.

Seeing this, Lu Mian finished the remaining sugar-wine, placed the glass on the railing, and jumped directly from the second floor to the street.

Cristole, who sported a pair of rat-like whiskers, approached very consciously and smiled ingratiatingly:

"Good morning, Charles."

"Are you helping Brignais find his illegitimate child?" Lu Mian asked straight to the point.

Cristole nodded lightly:

"Yeah, he came specifically to ask for my help. It just so happens these little guys are very good at finding people."

As the "Rat" spoke, he dotingly patted the heads of the dogs.

They gathered together at times and scattered at others, searching for a specific scent.

Baron Brignais really does love that illegitimate child... Lu Mian thought thoughtfully and reminded "Rat" Cristole:

"There might be something abnormal about this. Keep an eye out; don't end up getting yourself lost before you find the person."

The possibility that the Rose School of Thought had snatched the little boy remained one of the alternative options.

Cristole was startled and pondered carefully:

"There is a bit of a problem. For the past few years, we've never heard of Brignais having such an illegitimate child. And, if Brignais values him so much, how could he let him get lost?"

A suddenly appearing illegitimate child? Lu Mian instantly felt that this matter might be more complex than he had anticipated.

After muttering a few words to himself, Cristole said quite gratefully:

"Charles, you really do have a better head than me."

"Don't you have any potions that can improve your head?" Lu Mian asked, half-teasing and half-curious.

Cristole, while letting several large dogs rub against his trouser legs, laughed sheepishly:

"I do, but they're all temporary, and the effects are average—nowhere near the level of a potion. Damn it, drinking them frequently causes problems."

Lu Mian turned the subject:

"Do you have real mummy ash?"

Cristole immediately revealed an ambiguous expression:

"How much do you want? I can give you the most effective kind. That 'little bitch' Jenna is always hanging out with Franca, and she's not easy to deal with. A few days ago, Franca even came to ask me if I had real mummy ash. Tsk, the boss can't hold up anymore, huh."

And Charles had many mistresses who were dancers and actresses; no matter how young he was, he had to seek medicinal help.

"I'm talking about real mummy ash." Lu Mian raised his hand and touched his chin.

"I don't have that." Cristole shook his head. "That stuff has no effect. I don't know whose lie that was, but I do have potions that can satisfy all your lovers. They're made with other herbs, and I claim to the outside world that the main ingredient is mummy ash."

"Did Franca buy it?" Lu Mian asked with a smile.

"She did." Cristole laughed "hehe" in cooperation. "It must be that the boss herself was too embarrassed to come find me."

Disguised well, didn't let the "Rat" notice that what I really wanted was the mummy ash without "effects"... Lu Mian breathed a sigh of relief and said frankly:

"What I need is real mummy ash. It has its own uses in mysticism. You often deal with merchants who sell medicinal materials; keep an eye out for me."

"No problem." Cristole suspected that Charles was doing this for the sake of his reputation and didn't dare admit he was looking for that kind of secret medicine, insisting on using mysticism as an excuse to find mummy ash. But he didn't expose him; after all, this was just a small matter.

Watching Cristole lead his pack of dogs to continue searching for Baron Brignais's lost illegitimate child, Lu Mian turned and walked back to the ballroom.

Before he even approached the bar, the grand and layered voice of Termiboros echoed in his ears:

"Go to the cellar."

Go to the cellar... Lu Mian's first reaction was to wonder what kind of tricks this Angel of Fate wanted to play.

"Which cellar?" he asked tentatively.

"The cellar where ingredients are stored," Termiboros replied.

So proactive, so positive... What exactly does He want to do? Lu Mian began to examine whether there was a hidden conspiracy.

Termiboros continued:

"For you, it is a fateful encounter."

"Even if you don't go, it will walk toward you on its own. This is a fate destined to be staged."

You're making me a bit scared... Termiboros shouldn't be letting me directly encounter danger right now... What could possibly be in the cellar... Lu Mian pondered for a moment, feeling that since it was close to noon, the cellar where ingredients were stored shouldn't lack people coming and going, and theoretically, there shouldn't be any abnormalities or danger.

After repeated weighing, he decided to go to the cellar door first to look and listen. If he really sensed something wrong, he would write a letter to Ms. Magician to ask whether he should enter the cellar as Termiboros said.

Amidst the greetings of the chefs, kitchen helpers, handymen, and dishwashers, Lu Mian passed through the kitchen, went down the stairs, and arrived at the cellar where ingredients were stored.

The dark brown wooden door of the cellar was tightly shut, just as usual.

Lu Mian tilted his ear to listen to the movement inside.

A not-so-obvious chewing sound entered his ears.

This wasn't exaggerated; it wouldn't make one form the terrible guess that a monster was devouring flesh. It was closer to a homeless person who had been hungry for a long time gnawing on food.

There really is a problem... Lu Mian carefully pushed the cellar door open a crack.

A little light from the stairs seeped in, revealing a figure.

It was a seven or eight-year-old boy, with his back to Lu Mian, sporting short yellow hair, wearing a caramel-colored coat, white socks, and black slip-on leather shoes, with a dark red, heavy, hard-shell schoolbag behind him.

This attire made Lu Mian feel unusually familiar.

He instantly remembered where he had seen it:

On Baron Brignais's illegitimate child!

Did he hide in the Breeze Ballroom's ingredient cellar when he got lost? Lu Mian had originally intended to take a quick peek at the situation inside, then quickly close the door and leave to write a letter to Ms. Magician at the Auberge du Coq Doré. But after discovering that the person in the cellar was suspected to be Baron Brignais's lost illegitimate child, he frowned slightly and pushed the dark brown wooden door wider.

More light shone in, and the little boy subconsciously turned his body and looked toward the door.

Lu Mian saw the brass buttons on his clothes, the black and white checkered shirt and linen vest, the face with obvious baby fat, the brown eyes that weren't panicked but dazed, and the mouth dripping with blood.

The little boy was holding several pieces of raw beef with dark red blood, his mouth constantly opening and closing, chewing on a blurry mass of flesh suspected to be a rat, with a thin black tail gently swaying by his lips.

Lu Mian narrowed his eyes and tucked his left hand into his trouser pocket.

The little boy had no other reaction, staring blankly at Lu Mian, chewing a few more times, and with a gulp, swallowed the bloody rat, tail and all, into his stomach.

Lu Mian raised an eyebrow and said:

"Are you Brignais's illegitimate child?"

"No." The little boy began to gnaw on a piece of raw beef.

"Then what is your relationship?" Lu Mian asked with a "peaceful" attitude.

After eating raw beef for a while, the little boy said:

"He is my godfather and my guardian in Trier."

The Intis language is very standard, with little accent... Lu Mian looked suspiciously at this little boy who didn't seem like a normal person and asked tentatively:

"Are you running away from home now?"

"Yes." The little boy gnawed on the raw beef until his mouth was full of blood.

Behind him was thick darkness, and around him was the dim light from the hallway.

"Why do you want to run away from your godfather? Do you need me to send you back?" Seeing that the other party could communicate relatively friendly, Lu Mian asked with a smile.

The little boy shook his head violently:

"No!

"I don't want to go back to class, read books, do homework, take tests, and have exams!"

This... the other party's reason made Lu Mian inexplicably dazed, as if he saw his former self:

He was smart, had no problems with class, reading, or exams, and grasped knowledge quite quickly, but he really disliked doing homework and tests. He only managed to persist thanks to Aurore's "education of love," and he wished he could grab friends like Anderson or Ava to do it for him.

Is this little kid who eats raw rats and doesn't look like a normal person the fateful encounter Termiboros spoke of? Lu Mian pondered and asked:

"You don't seem to be Intisian?"

The little boy replied with a simple and honest temperament, his mouth stained with blood:

"I'm from Lenburg."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 313 =====