Chapter 6: Correspondence Education

Leaving the house and stepping onto the main street was the moment he truly entered this world. Compared to the bustle of the city, Xia De, walking into it, was as inconspicuous as a drop of water merging into the sea.

He rarely spoke, simply walking toward his destination: the "Lark Club." Along the way, he listened as he walked, trying to understand this world, this city, and everything around him.

To put it simply, this world was somewhat like the nineteenth-century steam revolution of his past world, only here, the development of steam industry was far more prosperous—it felt as if it were charging forward along the path of steam without any intention of turning back.

While harmful black smoke billowed from factory chimneys, all sorts of strange and peculiar inventions were being created, and the economy was soaring alongside the development of productivity.

Just as Xia De had guessed, the city he was currently in was Tobesk, the capital of the Delarion Kingdom, a northern human kingdom. It was the pearl of the northern continent, the convergence point of human civilization, and the essence nurtured by the era.

A great city naturally had to look like a great city. Although constrained by the shackles of the era—inevitably encountering piles of excrement and trash once one left the main streets and entered the alleys—the appearance of a great city still imprinted itself upon Xia De’s eyes during his short one-hour journey.

Fortunately, the "Lark Club" was not too far from the city center. If he had to cross the entire city, Xia De feared he wouldn't reach it even by midnight. The key point was that Xia De had no money for a carriage.

Along the way, he also gained more information about this world from the perspective of an observer. The most important point was learning the monetary system. At least in the current kingdom, the currency was divided into gold pounds, shillings, and pence, where 1 pound = 20 shillings, and 1 shilling = 12 pence.

Of course, this terminology was very similar to British currency. It wasn't a mere coincidence; rather, Xia De was translating the three different currency terms from the alien language into familiar labels, as the conversion rates were simply too similar.

The unfortunate truth was that the banknote Xia De had found with the number "10" on it was worth 10 pence. Given the current purchasing power, this wasn't even enough to take a carriage from his doorstep to the club's entrance.

But if he scrimped and saved, using those 10 pence at a bakery about to close in the evening to compete with the slum children and housewives for the cheapest breadcrumbs, he could at least ensure he wouldn't starve for three days.

"At least it's a time of peace now. The Delarion Kingdom, as one of the largest human kingdoms, has local friction with the other powerful kingdom, the Southern Kassenrick United Kingdom, but relatively speaking, this is an era of peace and development, an era of progress. My luck is not too bad."

Xia De was good at comforting himself.

The world was temporarily at peace. The Delarion Kingdom in the north of the Old Continent and the Kassenrick United Kingdom occupying the south had almost carved up the world between them. Total war had ended decades ago, and although there were still undercurrents, there was at least peace on the surface.

Club culture seemed to be a special feature of this era. Xia De learned from the investigation report that the mistress under investigation, Lady Lassoya, visited the "Lark Club" every weekend and would stay there for at least three hours.

Detective Hamilton’s report speculated that this was the meeting place for Lady Lassoya and Mr. Lawrence, because every time Lady Lassoya appeared at the club, Mr. Lawrence would inevitably enter as well.

This was a private club with a membership requirement. Xia De did not have permission to enter, so after walking to the street corner and turning onto Valente Pedestrian Street, he followed the notes in the investigation report and stopped to observe from the entrance of a newspaper office across from the club.

That was the newspaper office belonging to the "Tobesk Evening News," which was said to have royal investment. Saturday was the busiest time for the newspaper office, as Saturday was the customary time for the King's speech and parliamentary reports.

A crowd would gather at the entrance of the newspaper office at this time, waiting for new information to be passed on. The full-time reporters had, of course, already set out, and those remaining at the entrance were all people waiting to try their luck.

Xia De’s plan was to blend in among them. Although it was already noon, that mistress, Lassoya, usually did not appear at the club in the morning. So, if he was lucky, he would soon spot his target.

As long as he recorded the time the lady arrived and the time she left, this report would be considered complete.

Completing this task so easily gave Xia De a sense of unreality. But since Hamilton had already finished almost everything, this was actually one of the "legacies" left behind by the dead man.

Xia De held one of Mr. Hamilton’s legacies, a pocket watch. Therefore, when he stood by the mailbox at the newspaper office entrance, pretending to wait for someone while scanning his surroundings for a long time, he finally saw the target appear. He immediately compared her to the black-and-white photo tucked into the report. He confirmed it and recorded 1:23 PM—the time Lady Lassoya appeared.

The lady was dressed fashionably; the lace trim on her skirt and the gemstone hair accessory in her hair were clearly expensive at a glance. She had arrived directly at the club entrance by carriage, and even though the weather was gloomy, she still held a cloth parasol.

She looked to be about thirty years old, of average height but a plump figure. Although the powder on her face was applied a bit thickly, it was clear she was a beauty.

Worried about being discovered, and knowing he had no experience in tailing, Xia De immediately looked away once he confirmed the target.

【Observe her ring.】

"What?"

The murmuring woman's voice in his mind appeared again. Although Xia De didn't know exactly what she was, he still shifted his gaze back to Lady Lassoya.

At this moment, the club's doorman was already greeting her. As the woman turned, Xia De saw the ring very clearly. It was strange; what was embedded in the ring was neither a gemstone nor a diamond, but rather looked like a small pebble.

Of course, because he was observing from across the street and pedestrians occasionally blocked his view, he wasn't sure if his eyes had deceived him. Lady Lassoya also entered the club quickly, not giving Xia De many chances to observe.

"What do you mean? Why did you want me to notice that ring?"

He asked the voice in his mind again, but the murmuring did not start up again in response to his question. This annoyed Xia De, but he knew he had to control his emotions; he wasn't the type of person who got angry easily.

"Sir, what time is it?"

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly heard someone speaking beside him. Xia De was startled, thinking his actions of standing by the mailbox and brazenly staring at the club entrance across the street were too conspicuous, but upon hearing the voice, he realized someone was asking for the time.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring my pocket watch."

The person explaining his abrupt inquiry was a middle-aged gentleman of about forty, who looked quite refined and easygoing. He wore a black silk hat and was dressed in formal attire and a white shirt, as if he were about to attend a banquet. His face was somewhat broad, he had a well-groomed mustache on his chin, and his blue eyes were very likable.

The middle-aged man smiled at Xia De. Xia De hesitated for a moment before taking out the pocket watch he had just put into his right jacket pocket.

"One-thirty."

He said, feeling curious about why the middle-aged man was here. This attire didn't look at all like a reporter waiting for news; his own attire, with a notebook tucked under his arm, looked more like it.

As if he had heard Xia De’s inner thoughts, the middle-aged gentleman smiled and said

"Thank you for your time. I have an appointment with the newspaper editor and didn't bring a pocket watch; I thought I was going to be late, but it seems I'm just in time."

As he spoke, he handed over his business card. Xia De politely accepted it and handed over his own card as well. In fact, it was the late Mr. Hamilton’s business card, which had the detective agency's address and scope of business, but the name only read "Detective Hamilton," without a first name.

Since Xia De had chosen "Hamilton" as his surname, he could naturally use these cards. He was very glad that there was no household registration system here; he didn't even need to forge identity documents.

The middle-aged man was named Bill Schneider and ran a private psychological clinic. Unlike Xia De’s currently unstable profession, the Schneider Psychological Clinic was quite formal, and the income from a psychological clinic was obviously more than that of a detective like Xia De, who was relying on an inheritance for his first investigation. The evidence was that Xia De’s business card was shabbier than the doctor’s; the other party’s card was much better in terms of both paper quality and printing.

"If you have any matters, you can come find me here," Mr. Schneider said quite kindly, pointing to the clinic address on the card, which was in the East District of Tobesk

"My scope of treatment is very broad."

He looked at Xia De, and Xia De, for no apparent reason, had a creepy illusion that he was being seen through by those blue eyes.

"Including schizophrenia."

The psychologist said kindly; he was very good at communicating with strangers.

"What?"

Xia De’s heart skipped a beat, but before he could ask, Mr. Bill Schneider quickly changed the subject

"Speaking of which, Detective, have you ever considered taking adult education? Correspondence courses."

"Correspondence adult education?"

The topic changed too quickly; Xia De couldn't keep up with the train of thought

"I don't have any plans to study psychology for the time being."

He took the other party for an enthusiastic graduate of some psychology vocational school.

Having been rejected by Xia De, the doctor didn't press the issue

"Very well, then. Goodbye."

The doctor nodded to the detective, put the detective’s card into his pocket, and then turned to walk toward the newspaper office courtyard.

"Correspondence... speaking of which, what did that Dr. Schneider mean by specifically mentioning schizophrenia?"

Xia De stood where he was, thinking silently, and then realized that hearing voices in his head seemed very much like what was called "schizophrenia."

"You don't need to laugh in my head. I admit your laughter is pleasant and charming, but you are definitely not a product of my schizophrenia."

Xia De said to the voice in his head.

Although he was certain that his situation involved contact with the mysterious and was definitely not schizophrenia, what he wasn't sure about was whether this chance-encountered psychologist had seen something.

"I just stepped out, and I actually ran into someone who might be involved with extraordinary powers. Is my luck that bad? Or is the density of extraordinary beings in this world greater than I imagined? Or perhaps, this psychologist was just mentioning it casually, and I'm overthinking it?"

Xia De thought to himself, carefully putting away Dr. Schneider’s business card. Regardless, the current commission was the most important thing. Since he knew the psychologist's address, he could go whenever he wanted.

At least from the brief exchange just now, Dr. Schneider didn't seem to have any hostility. But one couldn't tell someone's true thoughts from a brief exchange, and Xia De still wanted to learn a little more about this world before having in-depth interactions with people.

PS: Seeking collections for the new book. The author has a 500,000-word old book on another site; character is guaranteed, it won't be abandoned or have a rushed ending.

(End of chapter)