The female bard Ashara with a very powerful singing voice mentioned by Mrs. Sangmei seems to be from Midhill Castle, the "city of mountains" in the southeastern part of the kingdom. She has dark red hair, but her looks are not very outstanding.

The poetess appeared on time at seven o'clock, wearing a red floppy hat on her head, a white shirt on her upper body, a brown vest with silver buttons on the outside, and a pair of trousers on her lower body.

The regulars applauded and cheered, and someone even tossed a coin at the bar stool.

The bard, as if used to this situation, sat on a stool and played the lute, and her voice told an old love story.

After all, outsiders don't know enough about the culture of this world, but Iluna has heard this story. This is a very traditional love story between a princess and a prince, which involves adventures, witchcraft, etc., but what wakes up the sleeping princess is a kiss described by a poetess with vibrato... She really He described the details of that kiss in great detail, reminding Xia De once again that this is a hotel in the lower city.

Such a detailed description must not be heard during the day.

Although he lived in the lower city, Mr. Toby Julian was not a so-called pauper. He runs a grocery store by himself. Although he is not rich, he can at least survive in this city.

When Xia De and Iluna searched for the address and found Mr. Julian's house on Roseval Street in the north of the city, it was already 7:50 that night.

This street is one of the better neighborhoods in the north of the city. On both sides of the street are three-story apartments and shops. The gas pipes and steam pipes climb up the wall facing the street in an orderly manner. Mr. Julian lives at No. 8 of this street. He converted the first floor into a shop selling groceries, and above the second floor is his residence.

It was already night, and there were no grocery stores open at midnight in this era. Although it is a bit too absolute to say this, in the chaotic downtown area, no one will open at night.

The shop was closed, and Xia De originally planned to knock on the door directly, but Iluna pulled Xia De around the neighborhood, and then found the gas meter of this street in the adjacent alley.

It seems that this block has been newly built in recent decades, and the old-fashioned residential apartments generally put the gas meter inside the house.

"The captain told me that before investigating a person, we should try our best to find and check the other party's gas meter readings, confirm whether there are any abnormal readings, and make a preliminary judgment on the investigator."

Iluna taught Shad her experience. Shad opened the lid of the box containing the gas meter inside the wall and saw that it was an old city gas meter. Depending on whether gas is used or not, the internal gear turns and the reading changes. The gas meter of each household has two readings, one reading represents the accumulated reading in the past, and the other reading represents the new usage reading.

At the end or beginning of each month, the staff of the gas company responsible for checking the gas meter will push and pull the special metal slot, and through the complex mechanical structure inside the gas meter, the latter’s reading will be added to the former, and the latter will be cleared directly. If it is zero, a new round of reading accumulation will be carried out.

By comparing it with the previous reading, it can be confirmed whether someone has tampered with the gas meter. There is usually a strip of cloth tied to the gas meter box with the last time the figures were checked. This style of gas meter was widely used in the Old World.

After the operation in the Dark Realm ended, Shad somehow gained the ability to see in the dark, which may be related to the fact that he swallowed part of the power of the Box of Darkness. But Xia De couldn't infer anything after seeing the numbers clearly, while Iluna stared at the readings, then quickly nodded and came to a conclusion:

"The readings are normal, in line with what the captain told me, the gas consumption rate of the mixed buildings of shops and apartments."

Xia De was really curious, whether the captain of the Blackstone security company had worked in the city tax department before.

After knocking on the door, it took a long time for someone to come down from the second floor. After asking about the identities of the two through the door, and then seeing Iluna's ID through the crack of the door, and confirming that they don't look like robbers again and again, the cautious Mr. Julian was willing to let them in.

Mr. Julian did not live alone, and there appeared with him a woman wearing a black veil, very fair skin, who always lowered her head. She didn't speak much, and Mr. Julian embarrassedly told Xia De and Iluna that she was his fiancee.

Everyone came to the second floor, Mr. Julian received them in the reception room on the second floor, and the lady in the long black dress went to prepare hot tea for them. After all three were seated, Xia De looked at the simple decoration in the room and asked curiously:

"Why don't you plan to decorate the house?"

What Xia De actually meant was that since the other party is going to get married, he should renovate the house before getting married.

"I'm quite used to this style, and the store is also busy. It's not good to delay the business by hastily decorating. Although it is one...although it will become a two-person life, it is not easy to make money here. "

Mr. Julian said.

not too early

Well, they didn't have too many pleasantries. Iluna told the purpose of the two people's trip and revealed the progress of the theft of the corpse in the cemetery.

Of course, when Xia De handed the other party a photo to confirm the location of the tomb, he "accidentally" touched the other party's hand, making the voice in his ear confirm that Mr. Toby Julian was indeed an ordinary person.

And when he heard that the body theft case was brought up again, Mr. Julian was calmer than they had imagined. He basically answered all the questions normally, and said that as far as he knew, his sister had not offended anyone.

"She was a very kind person before she was alive. I can't think of anyone who would do such vicious things after her death because of hatred."

A veiled lady happened to come in with a saucer, and Mr. Julian rose to help her distribute the teacups. And when the lady approached, Xia De instinctively felt that something was wrong with her. Under the pretext of helping, he stood up and wanted to create a "touch" opportunity to confirm, but Mr. Julian always stood in front of the detective and his fiancée intentionally or unintentionally.

"Is there an element of whispering or profanity?"

Xia De, who sat down again, asked carefully in his heart.

[At least in the absence of direct contact, no traces of the elements are perceived. but......】

She seemed to deliberately whet Xia De's appetite, and deliberately paused:

[The expression on your face should not change, something is a little strange. 】

"whats the matter?"

Xia De listened to Iluna continue to ask Mr. Julian about the situation, while the strange lady walked out of the door with a saucer. Looking at her back, there is nothing special about this person.

[The other party is not breathing, his body temperature is much lower than normal, and he has not blinked once. In layman's terms...]

Xia De took a deep breath and nodded, as if echoing Iluna's remarks on the investigation:

"The other party is a dead man!"

He came to a conclusion in his heart, then froze for a moment, thinking of a more terrifying possibility:

"Hope you don't have nightmares tonight."

Mr. Julian, who has always been calm, finally showed some symptoms of emotional loss when he finally mentioned the young man who abandoned Miss Julian so that she hanged himself:

"Sorry, I really don't want to mention that person."

"So do you know the other party's address?"

Iluna said, Mr. Julian sighed and nodded, and told the two of them the address. After asking for the information they wanted, Xia De and Iluna didn't plan to stay longer, and after comforting each other a few words, they stood up and said goodbye.

Mr. Julian sent the two downstairs and watched them walking side by side along the side of the street towards the far corner. He turned off the lights on the first floor, walked quickly to the second floor, leaned out from the window, and confirmed that the two of them had gone far away, and then he was relieved.

Xia De and Iluna at the street stopped, and they were the only two on the street under the moonlight~lightnovelpub.net~ Only a few houses facing the street were still lit:

"No matter how you look at it, this Mr. Julian doesn't look like he's going to get married."

The girl with long brown hair sighed slightly:

"The so-called fiancée has problems, and he has problems himself. I thought he was a good person at first."

Shad raised an even more terrifying possibility, looking up at the moon in the sky. On the days of socializing in summer and autumn, the monsoon is very obvious. It has blown away the mist over the city after a long time. Standing in the city, you can see the starry sky, and the silver moonlight is reflected in his eyes:

"When Mrs. Sangmei provided information about the wedding dress, I thought Mr. Julian was a pervert who liked to wear skirts. But now I feel that he may be even more perverted—the fiancée we saw just now is actually the corpse of his sister. "

Iluna was not surprised at all, although her "other me" was definitely not as sensitive as Shad's, but she also saw the clues:

"Sorry, judging from the current situation, I may have involved you in something terrible again."

As her voice fell, the chuckle in Xia De's ear prompted:

[Outlander, you feel the "whisper". 】

"where?"

[Look behind you. 】

Turning around, the dead bride was standing under the moonlight wearing a veil and holding a sharp knife. A long shadow in a wedding dress spread towards them, swaying under the moonlight.

Meow~

In the distance of the city, a shrill cat meow came from nowhere. Facing the moonlight and looking at the bride, the wind blows the layers of gauze skirts. The autumn night wind is really cool.