Chapter 2905: The Old Bookstore and the Flower Girl

"Do we need to do anything about those giant trees?"

Megan asked Xia De, and Xia De shook his head:

"Continue to focus on preparing for the battle with the Watcher. Our manpower is far less than that of the Five Gods Church, so we cannot be distracted by other things."

The Great Witches had received the letter left by Speaker Yi Sha Bei La in the Council this morning. She had already arrived at the sacrificial site on the mountain peak and met Sister Dai Fu Lin. The sister herself had not encountered trouble, only the 【Ringed Shushi】 had encountered some minor trouble, but they would definitely arrive at Vista Forest within three days.

The witches continued their respective tasks, while Xia De entered the city alone and came to the old city area of Vista City to explore the old bookstore the doctor had mentioned yesterday.

The city sky had been very gloomy since morning; perhaps the first snow of this winter would arrive tonight. Xia De followed the address given by the doctor, wandering through the empty, ancient streets, thinking about the scenery of Creekwood Town he had seen several times in the past, while pondering what kind of impact this journey in search of Luo De Pai would have on the story of Vista City.

The "Berkeley Bookstore" sign was as inconspicuous as the storefront; it blended perfectly with the street. If one didn't look carefully, one might not glance at it even after passing by dozens of times. It looked older than any other shop on this street, but in an era where only one-third of the shops on the entire street were still operating, it still insisted on opening its doors.

Even in the old city area of the former site of Creekwood Town, this place was considered quite remote. When Xia De pushed the door open, the sound of the bell at the entrance made the old man behind the counter in the depths of the shop look at him.

There were no other customers in the old bookstore, but at least the interior of the shop was clean, the floor was tidy, and the bookshelves were arranged evenly, forming a sharp contrast with the "Old John Pawnshop" where everything was left in a mess.

"Old John said Vista City didn't have their stronghold."

Xia De reminded himself in his heart, and after nodding to the old man, he walked straight to the counter.

The shop owner was probably the "Berkeley" on the sign. He wore a very obvious wig and looked to be about the same age as Priest Ao Gu Si. The old man wore glasses and looked very curious about how a handsome young man from the North would walk into his shop on such a gloomy Saturday morning.

And after Xia De confirmed that the other party was just an ordinary person, he didn't beat around the bush:

"I am here because of an invitation letter."

He said this; although collecting the full set of the Deck of Infinite Variety was important, he couldn't waste too much time in these times.

And Xia De's straightforwardness brought about the old man's astonishment behind the counter:

"Sorry, an invitation letter? My place is a shop selling old books, young man, did you go to the wrong place?"

Since the doctor was only worried that this matter was a demon's trap and did not doubt the authenticity of the invitation letter, Xia De was very sure he hadn't gone to the wrong place:

"I am here for an invitation letter. Someone told me that I could find that invitation letter here."

He looked into the old man's eyes:

"You can name your price, I am willing to pay the amount you speak."

"Young man, please don't joke here. I really don't know what invitation letter you are talking about. I have been running a shop here for thirty years, and you are the first person to come to me to buy an invitation letter."

The old man still shook his head, and Xia De would not insist, just standing there looking at him. The old man, who had been reading the newspaper, couldn't stand being stared at by him, so he had to say again:

"Can you tell me specifically what invitation letter you want? Although I don't have it, maybe I've heard of it."

"An invitation letter to attend a secret gathering."

"That doesn't sound like a legal thing... what are you going to do there?"

"Find something."

"Very important?"

"Very important. Except for the girls, cats, and a few friends around me, this is the most important thing in my life."

Although Xia De had this attitude, the old man behind the counter still didn't speak. He picked up the newspaper and continued to read, but he could feel the eyes behind the newspaper staring at him.

After a full ten minutes, he finally sighed:

"Since you can find me, I guess you won't believe me even if I continue to say I don't have any invitation letter. I don't know who you are, but if you want to get an invitation letter from me, please help me do one thing. This is not a simple thing, and I am old, I can't wait any longer."

"No problem, what needs to be done? I hope this is not a very long-term thing."

"It's not a long-term thing. If you are fast enough, I think you can finish it today. I want you to help me find someone and bring her to this bookstore, and I will give you the invitation letter."

The old man took off his reading glasses and took out a rusty pocket watch from his pocket. Even though the pocket watch had been carefully maintained, Xia De could still see that it was a truly old object.

Inside the cover of the pocket watch was embedded a black-and-white photo that had faded severely, and in the photo was a girl who looked about eighteen years old.

Although Xia De didn't know when this photo was taken, judging from the degree of fading, the young girl in the photo must be at least forty or fifty years old now. However, Xia De always felt that he had seen this girl somewhere before.

The old man didn't hand the pocket watch and photo to Xia De, just letting him look carefully:

"Bring her to my bookstore, but don't force her, let her come here voluntarily. After she appears, I will tell you where I hid the invitation letter in the forest."

"Although I guess the invitation letter is in your bedroom on the second floor of the bookstore, I accept this commission."

Xia De asked again:

"Although Vista City is indeed very small compared to Willundell City, and the population is not large, it is not a simple thing to find someone in this city who has only seen a photo. Do you have any clues?"

The old man nodded:

"She should be a flower girl now. No, no, don't misunderstand, not the kind of girl who stands at the alley entrance saying she sells flowers but is actually selling her body, she is really a flower girl."

"Is she a merchant who runs a flower shop, or an employee in a flower shop?"

"No, she is just the kind of flower girl who carries a basket and sells flowers everywhere on the street, especially common near the Golden Music Hall at night."

Xia De was slightly puzzled:

"But aren't flower girls all..."

Although Xia De still spoke straightforwardly, the old man behind the counter was not angry at all:

"No, she is just a flower girl. Go help me bring her, and then I will give you the invitation letter. Otherwise, even if I die, I won't let you find that invitation letter."

Xia De waved his hand:

"Don't say such things, do I look like a bad person? But please don't let me find that you have really died when I bring someone over."

The old man behind the counter laughed instead:

"I won't die before seeing her, absolutely not. After all, I have been waiting for her here for thirty years."

To find someone out of thin air, besides relying on one's own luck, the best way is actually to seek help from a diviner. Even though Luweiya always said things like "divination is not omnipotent," judging from her performance, Xia De had always thought that although divination was not omnipotent, Luweiya's divination was omnipotent.

Of course, this time Xia De thought he didn't need to seek help from Luweiya or Beiya, because he remembered why he felt familiar with the eighteen-year-old girl in the photo just now.

When the old man in the old bookstore mentioned "the flower girl who often appears near the Golden Music Hall at night," he immediately remembered. After meeting the demon on Tuesday night and before bumping into Mr. Xiao En Asimeng, the nine roses he bought had not been given away yet.

And the flower-selling girl who seemed to be frightened by him at that time, although her age was different, looked very similar to the girl in the old man's pocket watch.

No matter what the relationship between that girl and the girl the old man was looking for was, this was a very important clue.

Although he couldn't get the photo in the old man's hand, Xia De returned to the hotel after leaving the old bookstore. After finding Dorothy, he used the 【Moon Library】 spell to manifest the appearance of the flower-selling girl from Tuesday night, and then let Dorothy help imprint the image on a photo with a spell.

"You intend to take this photo and find someone to inquire everywhere in the city center?"

The writer lady, who was writing a manuscript in the library on the ship to prevent being blocked by the editor after returning to Tobesk, asked suspiciously, and Xia De nodded:

"Yes, the flower-selling girls on the street must all know each other. Even if the girl I am looking for didn't come out today, someone must know her address."

Dorothy sighed. She was sitting sideways on the chair talking to Xia De, and the table was piled with various books. The "Radiant Messenger" had complete facilities, and although the scale of the library was not as good as the Saint Byron Library, the collection inside was not inferior to the city library, which was very convenient for the writer lady who needed to look up information:

"Xia De, aren't you afraid of being caught by the police as a pervert with ulterior motives?"

Xia De had thought about this possibility:

"I can impersonate a private... I mean, I am a private detective, looking for that girl to investigate some things, so I want to find her. If the police really ask, can't I just stuff some money?"

He didn't disbelieve the professional ethics of the local police, but he believed more in the power of the Carson Rick Kron.

Dorothy then called A Jie Li Na, who was helping Grandma Cassandra:

"A Jie Li Na, I have a task for you."

Dorothy handed the photo that had just been "printed" to A Jie Li Na and explained the ins and outs of the matter:

"You go to the city center and find her, whether it's finding her address or her current location." ===== CHAPTER 2906 =====