Chapter 301

The opened suitcase mainly contained some clothes made of decent fabric, with a few books tucked inside. On the side were a small silver wine flask, a pocket watch, and a few black-and-white photos. The person in the photos was Jonathan Le Mei Er.

This was the first time Xia De had seen a photo of the deceased sailor.

The lawyer introduced:

"Mr. Le Mei Er hoped that if he died of illness and left a body, then Mrs. Le Mei Er, who received the inheritance, would arrange his funeral. If he died in a shipwreck and there was no body, then Mrs. Le Mei Er, who received his inheritance, would need to purchase a grave locally, bury the photo in it, and confirm that his soul would not be lost in the ocean."

This is a superstition of sailors; they believe that if there is no grave after death, the soul will be trapped on the seabed forever along with the body.

"No problem."

Mrs. Le Mei Er's eyes were a bit red, and Xia De started to help check the relics again. He only flipped through the clothes. To his surprise, Jonathan Le Mei Er actually had the habit of writing a diary every few days. There were five diaries in total, each page densely packed, recording trivial matters at sea.

"Jonathan Le Mei Er's education level was actually quite good."

Xia De said in a somewhat surprised whisper. The handwriting in the diaries was much better than his own, and it was very organized, with very few misspelled words.

"Uncle Le Mei Er used to go to school, and later offended the local sheriff, so he went to the seaside to make a living. He was a very good person and even read storybooks to us when we were young."

Mrs. Le Mei Er explained with a sob.

"Yes, for this business, I had several letters exchanged with that friend of Mr. Le Mei Er who kept the will. According to his description, Mr. Jonathan Le Mei Er was a rare, highly educated person among sailors. It was also because of this that he was able to accumulate so much property in Lengshuigang as an outsider in just ten years. His friend spoke very highly of him."

As the lawyer was speaking, Xia De had already opened those diaries. The diary recording the events of the last few months was buried on the seabed with Mr. Le Mei Er; the latest diary that appeared here was from half a year ago.

During the process of flipping through them, Xia De discovered that in addition to Delarion, there were actually Carstenric words mixed in. Even, occasionally, some more obscure languages, and even ancient languages, would appear.

After translating the text written in the gaps, the meaning was roughly:

【Today is the third month since becoming a Ringed Shushi. I decided to rent a small house in Lengshuigang to hide spellcasting materials and books...】

Xia De closed the diary with a 'snap'. His expression did not change, but the hand holding the diary subconsciously tightened.

The fact that Le Mei Er was a Ringed Shushi was not even revealed to the warehouse dispatcher who did illegal business with him, and in the inheritance in front of him, there was no sign of any items related to a Ringed Shushi.

The date of the diary he just saw was two years ago, which was the autumn of 1851 in the Common Era. If the diary was not a forgery and Mr. Le Mei Er's safe house was still in its original place, then it meant that in some house in Lengshuigang, there were ownerless relics of a Ringed Shushi.

A Ringed Shushi must have an organization, but a safe house for storing personal items would likely not be revealed to others, which means...

Xia De had another reason to go to Lengshuigang.

"These are also no problem."

Stabilizing his emotions, he put the diary back into the suitcase and nodded to Mrs. Le Mei Er.

"All the inheritance that needs to be transferred is here. Please confirm again. If there is no problem, please sign this document to confirm that you have received all the contents listed in the inventory above."

The lawyer handed over another document and then added:

"Of course, you can also use a thumbprint."

"I can write my own name."

The middle-aged woman said in a low voice.

Xia De helped read the document that needed to be signed. As he read, the lawyer explained the content that was easy to cause misunderstandings. After confirming there was no problem, Mrs. Le Mei Er took the fountain pen, held it in a very awkward posture, and signed her name, confirming that the inheritance had been fully received.

She probably did not write often; the letters she wrote were uglier than Xia De's.

"Finally, there is the lawyer's fee, according to the method we have already discussed. Part of it is paid directly by you to the Tobesk Bar Association, and the other part is paid directly to me, 1 pound and 3 shillings... for the convenience of tax avoidance."

Lawyer Lao Ai nodded embarrassedly, and Mrs. Le Mei Er took some banknotes from the money in front of her and handed them to him.

The lawyer looked at Xia De again. Seeing him sitting there without moving, he knew that this middle-aged woman who had suddenly acquired a large sum of wealth must have promised a considerable reward to make the detective so dedicated and responsible. Although curious about the detective's income from this business, he still grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and said goodbye with great professional ethics:

"Mrs. Le Mei Er, you have my contact information. Detective, this is my business card. If you have any legal needs in the future, you can come directly to me. Do not go through the Bar Association; the cut taken by that group of vampires is really too high... Oh, this does not count as taking private work."

When saying the second half of the sentence, he even winked at Xia De. Xia De nodded knowingly, knowing that the local legal profession was not as free as the detective profession.

Subsequently, Xia De also handed out his own business card.

Lawyer Lao Ai took it, looked at it, and then looked up in surprise:

"I was just saying that when I read the newspaper last time, I felt that photo looked very familiar, and there was the surname Han Mi Er Dun. So you are the one in the newspaper..."

He smiled and did not say the title "Han Mi Er Dun of Lei Jiede":

"So that's it. Mrs. Le Mei Er, you really found the right person. This Detective Han Mi Er Dun is indeed very reliable."

After saying this to the somewhat puzzled middle-aged woman, he tucked the business card into the chest pocket of his white shirt:

"Detective Han Mi Er Dun of Saint Deran Square, I have accepted the business card. If I encounter a troublesome client in the future, I might come to you for help. After all, detectives and lawyers have a considerable possibility of cooperation."

He shook hands with Xia De, then politely said goodbye to Mrs. Le Mei Er, and only then did he carry his briefcase, drape his coat over his arm, and leave quite dashingly. This appearance looked nothing like the Luo De Pai player he met in the tavern last time.

Perhaps people will be addicted to Luo De Pai, but there are not a few people who can reasonably control their desires. In this noisy and crazy era, Luo De Pai, alcohol, and cigarettes—perhaps there are more things tempting people to deviate from the normal track of life, but even ordinary people can rely on good self-discipline and habits to keep themselves from being swallowed by darkness.

Perhaps such people are worthy of a decent and prosperous life.