Chapter 8: Luo De Cards

"If this business goes smoothly, perhaps I can truly try staying here as a detective. Once life stabilizes, I'll approach the supernatural and see if I can find hope of returning home."

While idly watching the club entrance, the stranger thought of his distant homeland, and Xia De couldn't help but sigh.

Estimating the time again, since Mr. Lawrence had also entered the club, it was impossible for either of them to emerge within an hour.

"They are occupied; should I find a place to rest?"

Thinking this, he scanned his surroundings and soon spotted a tavern named "Screaming Hound" at the street corner.

Taverns located on main thoroughfares that open during daylight hours were usually not particularly chaotic, especially since it was only two in the afternoon. Xia De pinched the ten-pence note in his pocket, licked his slightly chapped lips, confirmed the time, hesitated a moment, then strode over.

Pushing open the tavern door, the first thing he saw was a row of gas lamps on the wall, illuminating the somewhat dim interior. The air was filled with a mixed scent of alcohol and fermenting food, making his still-hungry stomach feel uneasy.

Xia De now knew that the lighting fixtures used in this era were all gas lamps. Crawling along the walls, besides the gas pipes, were usually steam pipes; the gas pipes were the slightly thinner ones, while the steam pipes were wrapped in insulation layers.

The round wooden tables in the tavern were all empty; there weren't many people, only three customers sitting around a wooden table far from the bar against the wall, playing cards. A landscape oil painting of a snow-capped mountain hung on the wall beside their table.

They were three men who did not look wealthy; although their clothes lacked patches, their dark garments were washed until faded, and the hats placed on the table were clearly well-used, wrinkled and piled together.

Perhaps they just wanted to rest during this leisurely summer afternoon; Xia De didn't disturb them, walking toward the bar where the bartender stood, intending only to buy a glass of ice water. However, he heard one of the card players shout in triumph:

"I win again!"

A middle-aged man with a large beard and messy hair stood up, throwing the cards in his hand onto the table with great arrogance:

"Look, exactly twenty-one points."

Saying this, he looked around proudly, unfortunately finding only his friends there. Upon seeing Xia De who had just entered, his eyes lit up:

"Buy this gentleman a glass of rye beer!"

The man, who had won the game but was not wealthy, said this to the bartender. Xia De turned around to look at him in some surprise, then after a moment's hesitation, nodded slightly to express his thanks:

"Thank you for your kindness, but I think a glass of ice water will suffice."

He was not good at drinking, didn't know the alcohol content of the so-called "rye beer," and was currently engaged in detective work, so there was no need to consume alcohol.

Obviously, the price of a glass of water was much lower than that of a glass of beer; the three men thought Xia De was saving them money and immediately felt goodwill toward him. Seeing that Xia De had no companions, they invited him to join their card game.

But Xia De didn't know how to play; he could only watch from the side, while the men enthusiastically taught him the techniques of "Luo De Cards."

The playing cards of this world were very similar to the poker cards of his previous life, also having four suits and totaling fifty-four cards, except the four suits were Sun, Moon, Star, and Flower.

The mainstream method of playing was similar to the rules of "Twenty-One," called "Luo De Cards"; other rules like Solitaire, Old Maid, and High-Low also existed, but the Luo De Cards style prevailed worldwide, and it was said that the inventor of this style was named Luo De.

Playing cards were generally made with illustrations on the front, marking the suit and number in the top-left and top-right corners. Therefore, special series of cards with unique patterns issued in certain eras were exceptionally valuable.

The most recently issued special series of Luo De Cards had only one thousand sets produced, named the "Fairy Tale Series."

The three men playing cards were not wealthy and didn't know much about the so-called special series of Luo De Cards, able to speak only in general terms.

They only knew that among the nobility, some people crazily pursued those rare cards. In particular, some cards not only had special illustrations but even contained special game rules.

Those cards were worth a fortune; there were rumors that last year, the Bifort Auction House sold a special card for twelve thousand pounds.

Xia De quietly converted the prices in his mind, thinking of the "Sun 3" card tucked inside his diary. He didn't want to laugh but deeply doubted whether the card he had inherited was genuine.

But if the card depicting a woman seated sideways holding up the silver moon was genuine, his last worry about his future life would vanish.

After chatting with the three card-playing men in the tavern for an hour, Xia De rose to take his leave. When he returned to the newspaper office entrance, the spot originally beside the mailbox was occupied by a young man wearing a brown vest and glasses.

This was likely a real reporter, so the young detective moved to stand beside the Huang Tong streetlamp.

The streetlamp was generally cylindrical, also using gas as its energy source. Xia De had been standing leisurely beside it, but his eyes inadvertently caught the plaque. The plaque clearly stated that one must never smoke under the lamppost, otherwise, one bore the consequences alone.

Xia De imagined what might happen and subconsciously moved away from this dangerous spot.

As the sun gradually slanted westward, Xia De waited patiently. After the feeling of hunger reached its peak and disappeared in the afternoon, his body felt significantly better. He planned to wait until around five o'clock; if Madame Lasoya still hadn't appeared, he would depart for the Church of the [War and Peace Church] to collect relief rations.

He could also take the opportunity to see what the churches in this world were like and confirm whether the church possessed supernatural powers.

"However, I have that voice in my head; won't I be captured the moment I enter? And there's the secret of the outsider..."

He was somewhat worried about this point, but without understanding the situation, Xia De actually didn't have many choices.

Perhaps noticing that Xia De was thinking of her again, the woman's voice in his mind sounded once more:

[Observe his ring.]

This sentence had appeared at noon, except the pronoun used then was female, while this time it was male.

Xia De immediately looked up toward the club entrance and indeed saw a young man carrying a briefcase walking out; on the finger of his right hand was unmistakably the white pebble ring he had seen on Madame Lasoya's finger at noon.

Because the design was so unique, Xia De believed he couldn't have mistaken it.

Both had worn the ring on the middle finger of their right hands, yet the voice in his mind offered no further hints.

"How interesting; why has the owner of the ring changed?"

Thinking this, Xia De watched the man wearing the ring leave the club; instead of looking for an empty carriage, he blended into the evening crowd, following behind a stout man clutching a document bag and hurrying along, walking eastward down the street.

The fog of the Steam City blurred his figure; if Xia De didn't pursue, he would quickly lose track of the man.

"Should I chase him? The voice in my head surely isn't speaking idly without purpose."

Thinking this, he turned away from the direction of the club entrance, unfolded one-eighth of the map tucked in his notebook, and searched for the direction of the [War and Peace Church]. The church distributing relief rations was east of his current location, and it was already close to five o'clock.