Chapter 161: Information and Reward

Xia De, who walked out the door, didn't care whether Baron Hull followed immediately. He walked along the hallway and found Miss Beiyasi, who had been waiting for a long time, at the corner. The young girl with brown long hair asked expectantly:

"How is it?"

"No problem. Hide quickly, he's coming."

Xia De said, and then complained:

"The conversation between nobles and merchants is really troublesome. When they speak, it seems every word implies three meanings."

"It's really hard for you. Detective, what reason did you use to lure Baron Hull out?"

Miss Beiyasi asked curiously, as if learning.

"No reason, just gave him a wink. For people like him, I don't believe he wouldn't be curious about the meaning of this wink. He definitely wouldn't expect to be attacked in the Duke's mansion, so he would definitely follow out of curiosity; this is human nature."

Xia De explained simply, then counted three numbers in his heart... actually counted three twice, and the two indeed heard the slight footsteps on the other side of the hallway.

Miss Beiyasi looked at the young detective with respect.

The next thing was very simple. Xia De witnessed the "interrogation technique" of the era where steam and mystery coexisted for the first time.

First, when Baron Hull curiously turned the corner, Miss Beiyasi punched him in the face.

Afterward, the two sneakily joined forces to drag the unconscious Baron Hull to the broom closet on the third floor that Miss Beiyasi had scouted in advance.

Finally, Miss Beiyasi tied up the Baron with the rope here, blocked the Baron's mouth with a rag, put him in the broom closet, and stuffed paper and pen into his hand. Confirming that the broom closet had no light and wouldn't expose their appearance, she woke him up with very rough means.

The beautiful girl with brown long hair, dressed in a maid outfit, held a sharp table knife stolen from the salon and pressed it against the Baron's neck:

"I ask, you write the answer. If you don't cooperate, you die."

She pretended to say fiercely.

The Baron widened his eyes, struggled, and after finding he was tied up, kicked his legs. But because he felt the cold threat on his neck, he had to be honest. Because his mouth was blocked, he could only make woo-woo sounds.

The broom closet had no light, and the Baron vaguely saw that besides the woman who spoke, there was another person here.

But before he could call for help, the other person also spoke:

"Military Intelligence Section 6, you know the consequences of not cooperating."

Xia De said in a deliberately hoarse voice, the sound very low.

Baron Hull's heart sank immediately; he knew how brutal these people were. Afterward, he felt the knife on his neck actually shake, almost cutting a wound. So he nodded immediately, not daring to hesitate at all.

Actually, the knife shaking was just because Miss Beiyasi was amused by Xia De's "lie"; she didn't expect the young detective to be so bold.

And if it wasn't an interrogation now, Xia De really wanted to explain that at least this time, he really didn't lie at all.

Even a Ring Ringed Shushi organization couldn't create gold pounds out of thin air. Although supernaturals and mystics were different from ordinary people, they also had to make money to support themselves in this era where steam and mystery coexisted; after all, everyone was a mortal.

So, Xia De had to be a detective, Dr. Doctor Doctor Shi Nai De wouldn't give up his clinic, Priest Ao Gu Si took the church's subsidy, Miss Annette worked at the Divination Society, and Miss Lu Yisha racked her brains to write manuscripts.

Mystics' organizations had to have relatively legal sources of funds to support the organization's operation. Not to mention, organizations where most formal members were Ring Ringed Shushi needed funds even more to satisfy the needs of Ring Ringed Shushi.

The Zhengshen Sect relied on the support of a huge number of believers and didn't have to worry about funds at all; the three major strange art academies had related industries in the world, both bright and dark; not to mention the 【Divination Society】, they not only monopolized the formal divination industry but also mastered the issuance rights of Gwent, which was considered by Dr. Doctor Doctor Shi Nai De to be an industry of "directly printing gold pounds."

Even a secret organization like the Witch Council, its members themselves seemed to be rich or noble, and didn't have to worry about the source of funds at all.

And obviously, an organization like 【Mercury Blood】 that targeted a certain "relic" couldn't make money on its own.

Most evil cult organizations and illegal organizations had huge sources of funds behind them. Among them, obtaining funds from nobles or big merchants was the most common way.

Miss Beiyasi, who came from the Zhengshen Sect, popularized this common sense to Xia De. After all, rich people didn't dare to touch mystery easily, but coveted the power brought by mystery, so Ring Ringed Shushi organizations could always find their sponsors.

Baron Hull had been one of the sponsors of 【Mercury Blood】 since thirteen years ago. Mercury Blood obtained gold pounds from his hands, while the Baron regularly obtained some "magic potions" that ordinary people could use from Mercury Blood, thereby obtaining health, longer life, and... a man's stronger ability.

Although Miss Beiyasi didn't say anything when she saw this information on paper, it could be seen from her humming that those so-called "magic potions" definitely had problems.

Baron Hull was not a person with a firm will who disregarded the threat to his life; he was just an ordinary rich noble, so he easily confessed everything Miss Beiyasi wanted to know.

This took a long time, during which Xia De, in order not to arouse suspicion, left the broom closet in advance and returned to the salon. And Baron Hull didn't return until half an hour later. He looked confused, like someone who had just woken up. It seemed that the relic that eliminated memories was really useful.

But since her identity had been known by Miss Beiyasi, she might be taken by the female Ringed Shushi of the Sun Sect to exchange for merit at any time. Letting him go now was just to prevent disturbing 【Mercury Blood】.

For the rest of the time in the salon that night, Xia De didn't see Miss Beiyasi again. He didn't like this kind of social activity, so when he saw the time was almost up, he took the initiative to find the old Duke to say goodbye.

Duke Lu Kasi expressed regret and invited Xia De to come and play Gwent together when he had time:

"Remember to bring 【Founding · Silver Moon】; I will defeat it one day."

This good attitude toward Xia De definitely included the reason for Gwent, but Miss Galina's reason should also be very important. Therefore, this again made Xia De understand how important it was to have a noble backer with a high status in this world.

He came by carriage, but he had to rely on himself to go back. Having gained so much tonight, he didn't plan to save the money for a taxi carriage. So he walked along the main street toward the intersection, which was where four-wheeled taxi carriages often stopped.

The area where Duke Lu Kasi's mansion was located was installed with relatively dense gas street lamps. Xia De walked under patches of light, silently pondering the gains and losses of tonight. He was very happy that on this weekend night when he was invited to play cards, he didn't encounter any accidents.

Afterward, a pair of hands stretched out from an alley on the side, directly covering Xia De's mouth and pulling him into the alley that the street lamp couldn't shine on:

"Oh oh~"

He made a strange sound, the light of the silver moon appeared in his hand, but it immediately extinguished:

"Oh, Miss Beiyasi, what do you want to do?"

Those hands let go of him, and after turning around, what he saw was indeed the young female Ringed Shushi of the Sun Sect.

The young girl was still wearing the heavy maid dress, with her hands clasped in front of her; this was a very standard maid standing posture.

Iluna Beiyasi stood in the shadows, looking at Xia De with a smile:

"Detective, good evening. Just ran back to put the 【Beast Tamer's Memory Clearing Rod】 back where it should be. I came to give you your reward. You helped me again tonight, and I won't treat a friend badly."

"Actually, it's fine to come to me tomorrow. Also, why didn't you change into a set of clothes? This clothes is very eye-catching outside."

Xia De pointed this out and stood in the shadows of the alley with Miss Beiyasi.

"I don't want to owe a friend. As for the clothes, when I spent money to replace the original maid's shift, the clothes were also bought together. She seemed to want to make a profit from me... This clothes needs to be changed after returning to where I live. Detective, thank you for your help tonight, how much is the reward this time?"

Saying this, she took out her wallet. This kind of uniform had pockets; after all, maids usually had to carry many things.

"The reward can be discussed later. What I'm curious about is, what did you ask out?"

Xia De was not there during the second half of the "interrogation," and those pieces of information might be able to help Dr. Doctor Doctor Shi Nai De find the 【Fake Philosopher's Stone】.

"This can't be said. Those messages are related to Ring Ringed Shushi and cannot easily implicate you. Detective, curiosity will kill the curious cat and person."

Miss Beiyasi refused Xia De's inquiry out of kindness, then shook her wallet:

"Detective, how much money do you want? Although I'm not very rich, I still have some money... not very rich either."

Xia De was very familiar with the tone of the last sentence. He often spoke like this in this world.

She said this while looking at Xia De with her wallet. Xia De blinked. He understood that the other party truly regarded him as a friend:

"Should I tell her I am..."

He suddenly became alert in his heart, and Miss Beiyasi, almost after Xia De, also turned to look at the alley entrance. A man stood under the street lamp at the alley entrance at some point. The gas lamp was originally warm, but he stood there, and the light turned cold and gradually dimmed, like a tombstone standing under the lamp.

"Detective, retreat."

Miss Beiyasi blocked Xia De behind her and walked forward a few steps with a serious expression.

The man under the street lamp raised his head, and the pale face made Xia De think of a corpse.

"Ring Ringed Shushi or humanoid relic?"

He asked in his heart, and the whispering sound in his ears sounded immediately:

【Ring Ringed Shushi, felt the whisper element, he is using the power of a relic.】 ===== CHAPTER 162 =====