Chapter 706: That Man

Turning his body to the side, Emlyn avoided a bulldozing drunkard. While

swatting his clothes with a frown, he continued jostling towards the bar

counter.

During this process, he didn't seem to be doing anything, but the

surrounding customers would always fail to touch him. Be it in terms of

speed, agility, or his balance and coordination, he had reached a rather

terrifying level.

Finally, Emlyn arrived at the bar counter as he rapped the wooden

counter.

"Where's Ian?"

The bartender glanced at him. Without a word, he kept his head low and

wiped his glass cups.

"..." Emlyn stood there in surprise, wondering if he had done something

wrong that earned him nothing. This angered him a little as he wished to

reach out and yank the bartender out.

However, he believed that such acts were lacking as a gentleman. He

forcefully held down his emotions and looked around and discovered that

everyone was drinking.

With a thought, Emlyn experimented by saying, "A cup of Aurmir red

wine."

The bartender's actions paused as he looked up and gave the handsome,

black-haired, red-eyed man an odd look.

"We don't have that available."

This was the finest red wine in the world. The price was staggering!

Emlyn wasn't dumb, and he could tell from the bartender's eyes that he

had ordered something he shouldn't have. On careful thought, he said,

"One glass of Southville beer."

"5 pence." The bartender finally lowered the cup and cloth.

Emlyn took out a 1-soli note and said, "Keep the change."

"Thank you." The bartender pointed left and said, "Ian is in Card Room

1."

Emlyn immediately smiled, feeling happy and proud that he had resolved

an actual problem. He didn't take the cup of Southville beer and,

instead, turned around and walked straight to Card Room 1.

Knock! Knock! Knock! He politely knocked on the door.

"Please come on in." A rather adolescent voice sounded.

Emlyn adjusted his collar and pushed open the door, only to realize that

the scene inside was unlike what he had expected.

He believed that since it was a card room, there would be a bunch of

people surrounding a long table, playing games like Texas, but to his

surprise, there were indeed about eight people, but there weren't any

poker cards. A piece of paper was placed in front of every participant

as they seemed to be recording something. Apart from that, there were

only fountain pens and multi-faced dice on the table.

Emlyn instinctively cast his gaze on the youngest person inside. It was

similarly a handsome boy with red eyes. He looked about sixteen.

"Ian?" Emlyn asked.

Ian nodded with a smile.

"That's me. Sir, is there something I can help you with? Or do you wish

to join our game?"

"Game?" Emlyn returned with a question.

Ian chuckled.

"Yes, game. I don't enjoy playing cards or billiards, but something

needs to be done when spending the whole day here. I gained some

inspiration from Emperor Roselle's biography. It's to organize a few

people to sit down and attempt a tabletop adventure.

"In this game, as long as you abide by the rules, you can be anyone---a

doctor, an adventurer who loves eating vegetables, a private detective

who always carries a wrench and pipe, or an adventurer who enjoys

radical ideas. Together, they can head to some ancient castle and seek

out the history hidden within, battling all kinds of monsters along the

way.

"Sounds a little interesting." Emlyn had a feeling that this game suited

him well.

"Haha, do you want to join? We're currently embroiled in a ploy and are

facing a powerful ancient vampire. He appears to have a handsome face,

but beneath his skin are boils formed from his boiling blood," Ian

warmly invited him.

Sanguine, thank you very much! Emlyn's expression twitched

indiscernibly as he directly said, "I have a mission for you."

"Alright... Let's go to the room next door." Ian took his round hat and

old satchel and stood up.

The billiard room next door had no one in it. The boy closed the door

with great familiarity as he surveyed the area before looking at Emlyn.

"Sir, I do not know you. Might I know who introduced you?"

Emlyn lifted his chin and smiled.

"Sherlock Moriarty"

Just as he said that, he suddenly looked left and right as he raised his

hand to pinch his nose.

"So it's Detective Moriarty." Ian heaved a sigh of relief without hiding

it. "I'm assured then. By the way, didn't he go on vacation to Desi Bay?

When will he be back?"

Emlyn lowered his right hand as he said without a change in expression,

"He isn't back yet. I've been to his rented apartment.

"To be frank, a normal vacation should've ended by the end of January.

It's already April."

"Could it be that something happened to him?" Ian asked worriedly.

Emlyn recalled the powers and mysteriousness which Sherlock Moriarty

presented as he shook his head.

"Perhaps he's caught up in a complicated case."

Ian didn't speak further as he asked, "How may I address you? What

mission do you have?"

"You can call me Mr. White." Emlyn took out a piece of paper that

resembled a bounty notice. "Help me find these five people."

Ian received it and carefully flipped through it for a while.

"20 pounds for an effective clue; 150 pounds for an exact location. Is

that acceptable?"

"No problem." Emlyn felt that the price was just too cheap.

Compared to this, the prices seen at the Tarot Club were way more

exaggerated.

Ian folded the piece of paper and said, "Mr. White, how do I contact you

if I have any clues?"

"South of the Bridge, Harvest Church." Emlyn had already thought of the

answer.

Upon hearing that, Ian gave him an odd look.

"You're a believer of Earth Mother? That's rare in Backlund."

"I'm not!" Emlyn firmly shook his head. "I'm only doing volunteer work

over there."

Without waiting for Ian to speak, he asked, "How did you inherit those

red eyes?"

This was something he had wished to ask when he first saw Ian. This was

because red eyes were a trademark characteristic of Sanguine in ancient

times. However, there was a long period of time when humans and Sanguine

copulated in the Fourth Epoch. They were all residents of an Empire;

hence, with the widespread fellowship, many descendants were produced.

There was an increasing number of red-eyed mixed-bloods as they passed

down their genes, becoming an uncommon eye color for humans.

To put it simply, every red-eyed human had a Sanguine ancestor.

Ian replied in surprise, "My father... I've no idea how much further up

the family tree, as I was a vagabond."

From the looks of it, he isn't connected to the Sanguine...

Emlyn handed over a twenty-pound deposit, feeling somewhat disappointed

before turning to leave the billiard room.

After he left, Ian didn't immediately return to the card room. Instead,

he closed the door and said into the air, "Detective Moriarty hasn't

returned to Backlund. I'm a little worried about him."

A figure suddenly appeared in the billiard room. She had a pale face

with exquisite features while wearing a black bonnet. Dressed in a black

Gothic regal dress, she was none other than Wraith Sharron.

"He's doing fine," Sharron replied without any perturbation in her tone.

Her figure dematerialized before vanishing.

"You always says the same thing. Don't tell me that you've always been

in contact with Detective Moriarty..." Ian mumbled softly as he picked

up a newspaper in the corner of the billiard room.

Placed on it was the Tussock Times, and beneath it was News at Sea. The

latter was mainly used to report the situations of the different

colonies of the Loen Kingdom and matters at sea, but due to

technological restrictions, the News at Sea that reached Backlund was

severely outdated. It wasn't of much use to people who needed it, so

subscription numbers were low, and the business was floundering.

Later, with a suggestion from a new chief editor, the newspaper's style

changed. It had more rumors out at sea, as well as all sorts of strange

matters revolving pirates and adventurers. It appeared more like stories

rather than actual news reports.

To people's surprise, this change in style was welcomed. As it involved

ghosts, specters, sea monsters, and treasures; it became the

semi-literate people's prime choice to flaunt their knowledge to the

illiterate at the various bars. After all, although the stories seemed

fake, they were sufficiently interesting.

Ian casually flipped through the newspapers without finding any content

of interest. He only had a deep impression on one of the reports in News

at Sea.

"According to our correspondent, on the night of the 25th March, the

King of Immortality fleet attacked a ship heading from East Balam to

Feysac and plundered all its goods and money. And living up to his

title, Slaughterer Kircheis finished a bloody massacre..."

These pirates are really preposterous... Ian shook his head

and lowered the newspapers. He returned to the card room and continued

his game.

Outside the bar, Emlyn boarded a carriage and leaned onto the carriage

wall as he watched the street lamps move past him.

He pinched his nose again and silently muttered, A Wraith?

This arms dealer sure is resourceful... Not bad!

Emlyn closed his eyes as he felt more hopeful about his entrusted

mission.

The sunlight shone in from outside, dyeing the captain's cabin golden.

Edwina sat on a chair with a book in hand as she looked opposite her.

"So, you also believe that the Solomon, Trunsoest, and Tudor Empires all

coexisted?"

"This is a necessary condition for the War of the Four Emperors," Klein

simply replied.

He held a book titled "Book of the Three Worlds." It originated from a

Life School of Thought member before it landed in Vice Admiral Iceberg's

hands. It described the material world, the spirit world, and the world

beyond rationality. It included some information on charms, with rather

profound parts. Klein was seriously reading information on this in a bid

to better use the Sea God Scepter and the Worm of Time.

Klein had actually discovered that the books collected by Vice Admiral

Iceberg were various ancient texts that were rather unsystematic. This

was quite different from the characteristics of the Church of the God of

Knowledge and Wisdom which backed her. Therefore, he guessed that the

internal, orthodox, systematic mysticism knowledge of the Church was not

public.

Edwina was just about to ask again when she suddenly realized the Golden

Dream's cruising speed gradually drop. She looked out the window and

after a few looks, said crisply, "We've arrived in Bayam."