Chapter 3 Ghosts

"If the news is true—" A gray-haired middle-aged nobleman's right hand trembled slightly. He pressed his left chest and bowed deeply.

"—Please allow me to go in person and finish this matter for you."

"It hasn't been confirmed yet, but the lamp in the Sunset Temple is indeed on. It seems that the distance is very close."

Beside the raging fire, a strong figure lowered his right hand resting on his chin, and said in a deep voice.

"I have already sent Yordle, he is more suitable for secret operations than Ada. You know how important this news is--Important, Li Xiya even blocked the inner altar in the name of the oracle in the first place, so you can't risk unnecessary exposure I will send you secretly only when it is finally confirmed."

"Of course, of course," the gray-haired middle-aged nobleman couldn't hide his excitement, "If that time comes, I will serve you wholeheartedly."

"Oh," the strong figure sighed, "I don't know why, I should have been more excited than you when I heard the news."

"But now, I am so calm."

———————————————————

Rick didn't know how he got back to the headquarters of the Brotherhood.

The chill on the back of the neck is always there.

When he saw the Black Street Headquarters of the fraternity, saw two elites playing finger pricking games at the door, and saw the shadowy sentries outside the house, he walked into the big house, saw behind the iron table, and carefully checked the accounts. Boss Morris, when he saw the contemptuous gaze of Belicia who was leaning against the colonnade (Belicia's proposal to increase the funds for the brothel was rejected tonight), he was really relieved, even the one who had been at odds with him The killer Leyock, also looked amiable by the candlelight of the dining table.

Unknowingly, the coolness on the back of his neck disappeared without a trace, as if it had never been there before.

Even Rick himself wondered if he was too nervous.

When he told Mr. Morris, who was in charge of the population business, that he suspected that someone was following him, Leyok laughed and spit out a mouthful of ale, which directly extinguished the candlestick on the table. Her chest tightened, and she looked at him even more contemptuously.

And Boss Morris also looked weird when he saw him covered in cold sweat. He patted Rick on the shoulder and told him not to be too tired in the near future, to watch some dramas of the Temple of the Night, and wait for the strange doctor Ramon to come back from a business trip. Let him prescribe a sedative.

Hell!

Rick knew that it was hard for others to believe even the existence of his ability, let alone an assassin who followed for a whole kilometer from the abandoned house to the black street, without a trace, with unknown purpose but no action—— But Rick subconsciously believed that the existence of that guy was real!

But when he returned to his room, lay down, and carefully recalled the various details of the stalking he encountered tonight, even he, who was always suspicious, couldn't help but wonder, was he really too nervous?

Rick calmed down again and tried the power again. Everything was normal, and the neck resting on the velvet pillow was very comfortable.

Well, maybe I'm overthinking.

But the next moment, that thrilling coolness struck again!

I am stupid!

I can't sleep anymore!

Rick jumped out of bed.

He pulled out a box under the bed, and found a Siegel Type 6 magic gun that was so heavy that he could drag it with two hands. He stuck it to the solid wall nervously, and walked slowly Step out of the hallway and listen carefully.

The corridor was full of permanent lamps burning with eternal oil, which illuminated the room extremely brightly, but there was still no one there. In the distance, a checkpoint brother on duty came back from the toilet, seemed to be scratching, pulled the black and red leather armor on his crotch, and walked past Rick.

In the room at the end of the corridor, the slutty and crazy roars of Leyok and Belicia came from the room as usual.

"Damn it, it's best to break this pair of shameless bastards with too much force.

" Rick cursed loudly.

The checkpoint brothers who had just passed by turned around sympathetically, and nodded to Rick. The two of them met their eyes and felt a sense of confidant.

Then, Rick saw that the other party was scratching the leather armor at the crotch in pain, while the other party looked at him struggling to hold the magic gun against the wall.

Both of them turned their heads away in embarrassment. Those who returned to their posts returned to their posts, and those who returned to their rooms returned to their rooms.

Rick touched the back of his neck.

Damn it, it must be that the damn ability has failed.

Besides, if the other party touches the fraternity headquarters where there are so many experts and hasn't been discovered by anyone, then it's definitely useless for me to hold the magic gun, even Boss Morris's ability is useless.

sleep.

———————————————————

Thales' back injury looked bad, but it didn't seem too serious, because it was only the third day, and he was able to stand up and walk.

Naruto attribute, talent is extraordinary, Thales lined up, sighed, looked at the dilapidated houses and walls around him, took the black bread and wild vegetables handed by the thug Pearson, and bit into his mouth.

It's a pity that I was born in such a place.

"Beside you is a sharp branch. You must have cut my hand secretly!"

"It's not me! My hand was also cut last night!"

"The hands of all of us in the house were cut! It must be the people in the eighth house! They are jealous of our harvest yesterday!"

"It turned out to be them! Our people in the fourteenth house were also cut at night! They don't want us to go out to 'touch sheep'!"

Thales yawned and lazily listened to several beggars from other rooms. From quarreling to fighting, the beggars next to him were even booing until the thugs came to stop them. He sighed, swallowed the last mouthful of his unpalatable breakfast, clapped his hands and called the beggars who went to the sixth house.

start work.

It was Tuesday, and the begging in the Sixth House went relatively smoothly. In order to get more business, they went directly to the west gate near the checkpoint. The past week seems to be the celebration of the God of the Setting Sun, but I heard that the oracle came down and the Temple of the Setting Sun sealed off the inner altar, causing many believers to enter the city from the west gate during this week, climb the city wall, and pray to the setting sun to make up for not being able to move towards the setting sun. It is a pity that the spokesperson of the goddess of the setting sun prayed in person.

Before the guards turned their glares into shots to stop them, Thales even managed to get from an obese fruit and vegetable vendor to a black-wood carved statue of the Bright Moon with the assistance of Ryan and Kelia. The vendor paid too much attention to the wallet in his arms, so when Ryan and Kolia were bargaining with him for an alfalfa, Thales reached for the package behind him.

The market value of this statue of the God of the Bright Moon should be worth at least fifty coppers. Of course, this kind of stolen goods cannot be seen in the public eye, and can only be sold through the channels of the fraternity. The veterans of the fraternity know that they are just beggars and thieves, and they will desperately suppress the price (even if they encounter valuables, they will even snatch them). Up to five coppers is not bad.

But no matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat.

When Thales and everyone returned to the abandoned house, they saw Rick, who came to inspect as usual, without his usual kindness and indifference. Instead, he hurriedly gave a few words to the thugs, and then disappeared from sight.

"Is Mr. Rick in trouble?" the hungry Kolya asked, biting her finger. They traveled far and came back late. Fortunately, Thales had a good relationship with Pearson, the thug who was in charge of delivering meals, and he often bribed them with small gifts, so the latter agreed to leave them meals.

"Maybe it's Quaid, that guy is the most likely to cause trouble." Kerritt said, his stomach was also growling.

Hearing this name, Ned and Ryan shuddered.

"Boys, there's no food tonight." The six children entered the empty courtyard for meals. When they saw them from a distance, Pearson, who was in charge of cooking, waved his hand.

"Don't look at me, I can't do anything about it," Pearson just shook his head indifferently in the face of the six children's angry but lacking confidence, "Rick gave an order to go to bed early tonight, and the work and rest time is all the same. Earlier."

In the end, Thales talked all kinds of things, and at the price of the Haoyue statue, he exchanged from Pearson the four and a half black bread and half a bowl of black pine vegetables that he planned to cut off and left for his two hounds.

"Recently Rick and Quaid are a little nervous," Pierson revealed a piece of news to Thales before leaving when the other five children were eating, "Quaid's temper has been getting worse and worse recently. He scolded "dead bald head" all day long - but he was like this - but Rick became very strange, especially in the past two days, according to the people in the department, "

Having said that, Pearson looked around, and whispered in Thales' ear: "He is haunted by a ghost."

Thales looked at Pearson who was going away, took a bite of the black bread that was usually unpalatable, but became especially delicious when he was hungry, and thought silently.

I don't know what happened to Rick that caused him to run into a ghost.

But what made Quaid's temper worse and worse, Thales swallowed a mouthful of bread, it seems that he has been keeping a low profile recently.

——————————————————

Rick became tense again.

For the past two days, he always thought that his ability was wrong.

It wasn't until this morning when he prepared supplies for the next batch of beggars and opened the roster that he truly confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his abilities.

Rick is a very ambitious man. And he believes that in order to realize his ambition, he must start with small things, such as some daily careful habits, such as never writing down the itinerary and plans on paper, such as in drawers, cages and important documents, he will keep them Put a few strands of hair in conspicuous places to prevent people from stealing and peeping. For example, he never hides money in one place, etc. He has always been proud of his prudence, and he also believes that one day he will be rewarded for such prudence. Get what you deserve.

For example now.

Rick opened the register of beggars.

On the roster, the hair clipped on each page is in the same position.

This should have been a good thing, and it meant that no one flipped the roster.

But Rick was the son of the scribe's scribe.

His father had taught him that if he had the heart, every outstanding thief and ranger could easily avoid this kind of "hair pinching" secrecy, and open the desired file without anyone noticing.

So Rick got a more cautious approach from his father.

The secret to flipping through documents without anyone noticing when hair is caught in the pages of the book is of course to ensure that the hair is still in its original position after flipping through.

The fastest way is to hold down the hair in place. When turning the pages, hold the upper and lower pages of the book with your hands, and continue to hold the hair in place.

How to break this method?

Like nobles, it is of course the fastest and safest to seal directly with wax.

But Rick has a light xerogel made of medlar fish oil that his father uses for poor people who live by the river, and the property (disadvantage?) of this xerogel is that it doesn't stick very well , as long as the book is not too heavy, after the pages are coated, even if the book is closed, the glued areas will not stick together. It is necessary to press the glued sides tightly with external force for a short period of time before the pages stick together.

When Rick opened the roster, he found that the hair was still in place, except for one point.

These hairs are tightly stuck to the pages of the book.

Someone read his beggar list, and turned the pages with his hair between his hands.

Rick felt a chill in his heart.

Moreover, it is an absolute master who can leave the four hairs clipped in different but inconspicuous positions on the pages of the book without a trace.

Fortunately, I had the secret taught by my father, so I was able to discover it.

Four days ago, because I saw the begging scene performed by Thales, in order to find the house where the boy Thales was, I checked the roster myself, and everything was normal at that time.

But up to today, during the four days in between, has someone come to your room and looked through the list of beggars?

Rick's scalp felt cold, and he suddenly realized that this is not the most important thing.

So he scrambled to open the hidden compartment of the drawer, and pulled out the most important personal transaction book, his secret deposit book at the Royal Bank.

Both the ledger and deposit book are safe, there is no trace of being flipped, and the hair in the pages has fallen naturally.

Rick breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the things in these hidden compartments haven't been—wait a minute.

If you are a master, how can you miss the hidden space?

Rick pulled out the entire secret compartment tremblingly, opened it, and touched the place where the hair should have been caught on the secret compartment.

Then he collapsed on the chair.

The hair is being firmly glued to the seam of the dark compartment by his Rick's unique light dry gel.

When Rick walked into the restaurant in a daze, turning a blind eye to Leyock and Belicia who were flirting, it was Leyock, who had always been at odds, who gloated and called out to him.

"Accountant, I heard that you have been hit by a ghost recently?"

Rick ignored him, just continued to sit down with a blank expression, pulled a bottle of ink on the table, used it as sauce, and poured it on his steak.

"Don't pay attention to him," Belicia sat in Leyok's arms with a smile on the corner of his mouth, glanced at the killer flirtatiously, and fed a glass of red wine into his mouth. "You still come to my room tonight?"

"When—of course, of course," Leyok replied hastily without waiting to swallow the red wine, "I just found out today that the boss has withdrawn all the checkpoints outside the house a week ago, so we might as well tonight— Hey - go crazy."

"Oh, you are so bad—"

"Clang!" The ink bottle in Rick's hand fell to the table, and the ink spread across the table and flowed in front of the man and woman on the other side.

He raised his head pale, and looked at Leyok and Belicia who looked displeased.

"A week ago, a week ago—was there no checkpoint guard in the big house in the headquarters?"

"Nonsense." Leyok brushed off the ink that was stained on his body, threw a piece of bread angrily, and hit Rick in the face. "Recently, the boss said that the big operation of the Blood Bottle Gang should be kept secret. The fewer people, the better." Okay, so the checkpoints have been withdrawn outside the house, and you can't even go into the house to go to the bathroom—but don't worry, you still have an inseparable ghost protecting you."

"Then, in the corridor," Rick didn't realize that his voice was trembling at the moment, "there will be no checkpoints in the corridor?"

Leyok and Belicia had already left him behind and kissed together like no one else.

Rick took a deep breath.

The day before yesterday, he was inexplicably followed in the abandoned house, the checkpoint brothers who should not have existed in the corridor of the headquarters that night, and the beggar register carefully checked in the room.

Very good, everything is connected.

Now, Nar Rick, he said to himself trembling with nervousness:

You are being watched.

The opponent may be very powerful, so powerful that he can come and go freely in the headquarters of the Black Street, which is heavily guarded. It is so powerful that even a terrible killer like Leyok is not aware of it, and an experienced supernatural fighter like Boss Morris is ignorant of it.

Only I was lucky, and thanks to my late father, I discovered this.

He may be right behind me.

I have to save myself, save myself!

I want to find his purpose!

Rick's brain was running wildly.

The other party should have turned his room upside down in the past two days, but he only carefully read the list of beggars.

The more important books are abandoned like a shoestring.

What the other party is looking for is in the list of beggars! By the way, I was targeted near the abandoned house, which happened to be where the beggars lived!

What he was looking for was a certain beggar!

However, Rick thought with a headache, he has more than a hundred beggars in his hand, and next month, Beth will send another batch. These are children with unknown origins or no future problems (important and valuable children, For example, the descendants of certain people in power, the children of some wealthy businessmen, have long been redeemed and killed), which beggar does he want?

With such a superb skill and such terrifying strength, why didn't he make a request to the Brotherhood in an open and honest manner? We'll just give it to you!

I would rather cooperate with him one by one, even if all the more than a hundred beggars are pulled out one by one, stripped and searched, or even killed and dissected, it is better than being hanged by a "ghost" far away in fear every day !

Wait, I seem to have thought of the key point.

Why didn't he just make a request to the Brotherhood?

Of course, this matter cannot be known by anyone, not even the Black Street Brotherhood!

Is it a brotherhood competitor? No, if the Blood Bottle Gang had such strength, the Black Street Brotherhood would have been overturned and wiped out dozens of times.

That is, he has no official channels, and he doesn't bother to deal with the Black Street Brotherhood in the lower city!

Such a terrifying character, of course, is not low enough to deal with gangsters from the slums.

And why is he interested in these orphans who have passed away for many years?

To find missing children, can't we go directly to the Police Department to report the case? Moreover, with characters and forces of this level, the Security Office dare not neglect, and even the Brotherhood can only bow its head.

etc! Rick's mind lit up, and he seemed to have grasped the point.

He is powerful, comes and goes without a shadow, acts in secret, is interested in a certain child's origin, and is far higher than the Black Street Brotherhood.

Strength is built with money and resources. The secret is because the publicity of this matter will be detrimental to him. The reason for not dealing with the Brotherhood is because his own level is too high. Are kids interested...

My own strength may be above the extreme level, and there are high-ranking people who hold power and wealth behind me, but I avoid any eyes and ears from the Brotherhood to the Police Department, and secretly search for an important child—a child?

Rick patted his thigh fiercely, and a string in his mind seemed to be connected instantly!

He has been involved in the blood inheritance struggle of some big families!

I am stupid!

Rick stared fiercely at Leyock and Belicia who had already started to fight.

It's just that his thoughts had already left the couple in front of him.

Maybe the 15 million people in the entire Star Kingdom didn't know that one day, a secret truth that could shake the whole kingdom and shake the situation in the east and west continents was once so close to an inconspicuous gang leader.