Chapter 724: The Past of the Reborn Person

"Mr. Barton, in other words, you were wandering around before you became an adult?"

Xia De even took out a notebook, pretending to record. And the "child" across the table nodded lightly:

"You can say that. That was really an unforgettable experience. After eighteen, my body officially stepped from old age into adulthood, and my weak body became healthy. I could also support myself. During this period, I encountered many things, strange, weird, and even unbelievable things... let's not talk about this. In short, my luck was not bad, and I met some scholars who were willing to help me."

Mr. Barton paused and leaned back slightly against the sofa back. Xia De concentrated his spirit. The so-called "scholars" were highly likely the 【Truth Society】.

"They taught me many things and also let me look at this vast world from a brand-new perspective. Although I don't agree with the beliefs and thoughts of the vast majority of them, and sometimes even think they are lunatics..."

He raised his eyebrows, not knowing what he was thinking of:

"But those scholars were indeed my benefactors, this point is beyond doubt."

Xia De nodded, his left hand pushed away the cat's outstretched paw, and the tip of his pen slid across the paper of the notebook:

"Since you were with the scholars, why didn't you become a scholar? Oh, sorry, I don't mean anything else, it's just that the profession of scholar is very respected."

Mr. Barton smiled bitterly and shook his head. This expression made his large face look even more terrifying:

"Becoming a scholar also requires qualifications. I can at most be considered an external staff member."

He sighed:

"In short, with the help of those scholars, my condition also got much better. I met them when I was twenty-five, and the treatment began to be effective when I was thirty-two. My 'youth speed' slowed down significantly. During this period, when my body became a few years older than you look, I met the love of my life."

Talking about this, a smile finally appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Oh? Can you tell me more about this?"

Xia De said with a smile, and Mr. Barton also nodded:

"Don't mind if I smoke a cigar?"

Xia De looked at his cat and nodded reluctantly:

"Please feel free."

Then he picked up the cat and held it in his arms to provide the safest breathing environment.

Mr. Barton took out a cigar box from under the coffee table, cut off both ends with a special drill-style cigar cutter, and lit it, taking a deep breath. The brass-colored cigar cutter looked like a pocket watch, and one could tell it wasn't a cheap item just by looking at it.

"That happened in the Art Capital, Atake City. I was asked by the scholars to do some work in that city. Because work was leisurely on weekdays, I occasionally went to the Rhodes Card Casino. That was the summer of 1845. Yes, I remember it very clearly. That summer was exceptionally hot. I even thought the metal pipes under the sun would melt. That summer, in the casino, I met a girl wearing a red dress."

His tone was filled with nostalgia for memories.

"A girl met in a casino?"

Xia De asked, then shook his head:

"If it's in a love story, this story is likely not a comedy."

Mr. Barton laughed at himself, his large fingers holding the cigar:

"Yes, but just at first sight, I was attracted by her eyes. I don't know if it was the restlessness of the body or my lonely soul longing for love. In short, I knew my heart was moved. That's a feeling hard to describe. Seeing her in the crowd, I knew this would be the love of my life."

Xia De made no comment on this.

"Is it a romantic story next?"

"Yes, a very romantic story. The first time we met, I didn't go to talk to her. Later, I saw her again in the casino. She was selling... things that are not suitable to appear in your book. I gathered the courage to invite her to a tavern for a drink... a proper tavern."

He took a puff of the cigar and then coughed. His lungs seemed to have problems:

"Mr. Watson, I know the thoughts of a gentleman from the upper class like you—a girl who appears in that kind of underground Rhodes Card Casino won't be from a good family. But so what?"

He looked up at the ceiling:

"Taverns, restaurants, opera houses, small inns, our respective apartments, the major art galleries in the city, the Art Clock Tower in the center of the city, the Gurus Racecourse outside the city... there are too many memories, too many memories. I still can't forget the scene of her riding that small date-red horse and laughing heartily on the grassland in spring, and I can't forget the autumn with fallen leaves, when we sat on the lawn together, eating sandwiches and talking about life.

I don't care about her past, and she doesn't care about my identity. We spent three years together, which was probably the happiest three years of my life."

This middle-aged man, who looked like a child, revealed a sincere smile.

"According to convention, the story has reached a turning point?"

"Yes, and this turning point is very ridiculous."

Joey Barton put the cigar in his hand on the ashtray on the coffee table and looked at Xia De opposite:

"Mr. Watson, you guess, what happened later?"

"Hmm... the scholars transferred you away from Atake City, and you had to leave your lover?"

"No, no, I was just an external idle staff member, I wouldn't receive that kind of order... I mean request. And even if I was transferred, she could have gone with me."

Mr. Barton shook his head.

"That is, the girl discovered your secret of reverse growth, and she couldn't accept this kind of thing?"

"Neither. It's just that for three years, my appearance didn't change much. Even, I have already told her about this."

He looked at Xia De:

"She didn't mind, yes, not at all, and was even willing to take care of me all the time, even if I became an infant without thoughts and consciousness, she was willing to take care of me all the time."

Mr. Barton closed his eyes and let out a long breath:

"No need to guess. Yes, no one could have guessed that fate would play such a joke—death descended upon her."

"Death..."

Xia De stopped the pen in his hand:

"I am very sorry to hear about this, but the cause of death was..."

The corner of Mr. Barton's mouth twitched:

"Going out on a rainy day in summer, tripping and falling in a puddle, and then breaking her neck... Fate always likes to play jokes like this, doesn't it?"

Xia De took a deep breath:

"If this is a story, then the ending is really rotten."

"Yes, sometimes I think, I would rather she be murdered, or die of illness, or some other conspiracy I don't know about. But that was really an accident, a ridiculous accident... I can't even find anyone to hate, or anyone to take revenge on."

"Then, what happened later?"

Xia De asked.

Mr. Barton raised his hand to hold his chin, his eyes not filled with sadness, but a kind of incomprehensible melancholy:

"She had no parents or family, so I was responsible for her funeral. After that, I traveled all over the Old Continent with her ashes, realizing the things we once hoped to complete.

Mr. Watson, just now you asked me about my attitude towards death. Although I gave a very optimistic view, that was only facing my own death. I can calmly accept death descending upon me, but until now, I still cannot accept her departure."

He covered his mouth with his right hand and exhaled through his nose:

"All mortals must die. This world is really fair. Three years ago, in the autumn of 1850 of the Common Era, I returned to Midhillburg and decided to stay here. The Art Capital is really too sad. I'm afraid I won't go there again in my life." ===== CHAPTER 725 =====