The night was dark, and it was raining outside the window.

"Whew!"

The sudden windswept wind shook the bright flames of the kerosene lamp, and the smell of herbs and essential oils spread evenly throughout the room.

Grandin reclined himself in a high-backed chair, one hand resting on his desk, and a gold coin slightly larger than a penny bounced into the air from time to time, landing precisely into the 'basket' he had drawn with his index finger and thumb.

On the desk in front of him, there were also two piles of special currency, and these were all the results of his night.

After his occult knowledge grew richer, and his means and abilities were sufficient, he finally improved the 'Destiny Charm'.

The power of the original 'Destiny Charm' was to passively and permanently bring good luck or avoid risk. And now he has split a good luck fruit into more than ten parts, and while his strength is weakening, he can finally take the initiative to stimulate good luck, so that his luck will not be too bad at the critical moment.

He stacked these tiny 'Destiny Charms' one by one, and there were fifteen in total. The larger pile on the desk was a 'doom charm' disguised as a copper penny.

Grandin cleverly concealed symbols, symbols, numbers, and incantations in the patterns and edges of the bronze penny, and if you didn't look closely, the 'Doom Charm' would be a penny.

Now he has more means to bestow bad luck on his enemies. People hate bullets, but who doesn't love money? The only caveat is that don't confuse them with real copper pennies.

To do this, he pulled out the sewing kit and sewed two small pockets into the inside of his jacket pocket to hold these special currencies. After all this, he was finally able to go back to his bedroom and sleep peacefully while listening to the torrential rain pounding on the glass.

......

"Oh, Grandin, you're definitely the hardest detective I've ever met."

When Grandin went downstairs the next morning, old Fury, who was already sitting at the bar, greeted him with a smile.

There were no guests in the tavern, and the windows were all open to dissipate the smell of tobacco and alcohol after last night's party. The night bartender had already left work, only two hourly helpers were cleaning, and there were plenty of damp-absorbing quicklime bags in the corners around the tavern.

"Otherwise, I can't wait for the commission to be delivered to the door, and now I have one more person to support." After a good rest, Grandin was back to his best, and he smiled and nodded at Chef Cookie, "Hey Cookie, please have a breakfast." ”

Cookie had finished his own breakfast and was sitting at the side of the bar squinting and smoking. After hearing Grandin's greeting, he nodded slightly, then extinguished the cigarette and went back to the back kitchen.

"Then you'll have to work harder, the city doesn't have a lot of detectives, and it prefers security guards, or thugs." Old Fury took a cigarette in his mouth and unfolded the newspaper, "But I think with your skills, if you change careers, there will be no problem at all...... It's just that your godson is a little thin, is it because of this consideration that you let him exercise every day? He's been out for a while. ”

Grandin gave Ademisol a training assignment to run ten laps around Steam Street every day after waking up, and it seems that he is doing it well.

"The body is the ...... The cost of everything. Grandin, who had slept peacefully, was in a pretty good mood at this time. He turned to the other two tavern staff and said, "Good morning, Harris." Good morning, Bourkeso. ”

The two men, one of the tavern bodyguards and the other the resident bard, lived their lives day and night upside down, and perhaps for them, the greeting they should have said now was 'good evening'.

"Good morning, Grandin."

Harris yawned as he set a glass of liquor in front of him, and muttered with a frown as he adjusted the lute, "Why don't they like my love poems?" ”

In the past two days, the response of the drinkers to his performance has been very average, and he has to wonder if he has done something wrong.

"Hello, Boss." Bourkeso, who had also not slept all night, was still energetic at this time, and he pulled the liquor in front of Harris in front of him, and after a few sips, he patted Harris on the shoulder with a strong palm and comforted:

"Your love psalms are good...... But Emmatt doesn't like soft things, you have to be more direct, add more fights, add more gunfights, add some explosions! ”

"I see!" Harris slammed the table, "I was negligent, I forgot to consider the regional differences, and add some more love killings...... Some revenge drama ......"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and he immediately took out a pen and paper from his pocket and began to record his inspirations.

"All right, boys. Can you please help me get these spare kerosene lamps into the storeroom? Old Fury asked.

The maids had put dozens of spare kerosene lamps in cardboard boxes, and there was a barrel of whale oil next to it. The gas pipes had been repaired in the early hours of this morning, and the kerosene lamps, which had lost their usefulness, should naturally go back to the storeroom, but the maids had a great time carrying them.

Harris was still working feverishly, not noticing the movement around him.

"Willing to serve." Grandin took off his coat and stood up.

An empty stomach is just the right time to do some exercise.

"Boss, I'm here to help, too." Buurkeso made a 'crackling' sound as he stood up.

"This is the key to the storeroom, remember to lock the door after moving, and when you come back, I will prepare Lielangqi." Old Fury smiled and pulled out a brass key and gave it to Grandin.

"In the morning, I want to drink a little bit of a normal drink, coffee, black tea, etc."

Grandin put away the key and couldn't help but complain.

"Boy! What do you think this is! ”

While he was arguing with old Fury, Bourkeso was already waiting with the oil drum in one hand and the huge cardboard box in the other.

Looking at the way he looks, it's very relaxed.

Finally Grandin symbolically lifted a lamp, and then followed Bourqueso towards the storeroom in the back yard of the tavern.

On the way, Grandin gave up the roundabout temptation and asked very bluntly:

"Bourkeso, what is your faith?"

"Faith? I don't, if I have to choose one, I choose the god of war. Bourkeso gave his explanation in a smooth breath, "Because it sounds the most powerful." ”

Then you have to take a boat to the Vorsack Empire, the Church of the God of War does not have the right to preach in the Kingdom of Rune.

After confirming that Bourkeso did not have a clear belief, Grandin spoke again:

"If you were given a chance, would you want to be stronger?"

"Boss, you mean join the church?" With a leaning of his shoulder, Bourkeso opened the back door of the tavern, "A pastor from the Storm Church also approached me and said that as long as I joined the church, there would be endless drinks and endless fights. ”

The people of the Church of the Storm have already approached Bourkeso? I just wanted to use the wine and meat tube after joining the night watchman as a selling point to attract him, no, I have to change the conditions.

Grandin did not speak immediately after listening to Bourkeso's answer, but thought carefully before asking:

"The conditions sound good, why did you refuse?"

The rain had stopped much earlier, and Grandin could smell the moist smell of grass and dirt.

"Because after joining the church, you have to report on time every day." Bourkeso strode over the raindrops, "And I prefer freedom." I'm willing to follow the boss's orders, but I don't like the boss's boss to give me tasks. ”

Bourkeso was a little awkward, but fortunately Grandin understood.

So it seems that inviting him into the Night Watch team is no use.

He sighed to himself and stopped talking about the subject.

They made their way to the edge of the backyard, where there was a movable canopy slightly above the ground, covered by a canopy, and an aviary next to it.

Grandin took out the key, opened the large brass lock on the cover, and after walking down for a while, he still couldn't see the wall light switch on the wall.

"There are no wall lights here?"

Grandin looked around, but found no gray-white gas pipes and lighting tools clinging to the walls, and the bottom was even darker.

Although he now carried a kerosene lamp in his hand, it was of no use at all, for the matchbox was still in his coat pocket, and his coat was on the bar in the tavern.

Bourkeso also didn't bring ignition tools, so the two of them had to enter the basement in the dark, but fortunately, through the light outside, they could still get a rough idea of the layout inside.

On the left side of the basement are a large number of empty wine barrels, and on the right are brand-new brooms, dustpans, mops, tables and chairs, and the like. They found an open space to put down the cardboard box and the oil drum, and just as Grandin turned to go back to the tavern, a cold wind blew across his cheeks.

Where does the wind come from in the basement?

He looked intently, and found that in the pile of wooden barrels, there was a narrow arcade, and the deep and dark passage, which he did not know where the other end was connected.

Could it be that this is also an entrance to the underworld? If you go forward, will you see the same altar as in the old Duke's cellar?

"Boss, let's go back and have a drink!"

Bourkeso, who had returned to the surface, shouted at the entrance.

"Okay, I'll be right here."

Grandin, who was interrupted from his thoughts, was not angry, anyway, the passage was here, and he would not run away by himself, so it would be good to come back to investigate when he had the opportunity.

He suppressed the doubts in his heart, and when he returned to the ground, the sky was already blue and the sun was even brighter.

......

On the outskirts of Enmat, Burreth Cemetery.

In order to be more in line with his own character: a detective who works freely. He and Ademisore were out a little late today, and by the time they arrived at the Nightwatch's station, the team had already arrived.

There is no news of his letter to Bishop Rosen, but he unexpectedly receives another letter from Klein:

"Dear Mr. Grandin, I hope you are well."

The letter was sent by Klein through the Nightwatchman's internal channel, and the postmark shows the date Tuesday. This kind of urgent letter not only consumes merit, but also has to pay a sum of money.

This makes Grandin, who knows Klein's economic situation, quite puzzling, what is the reason why Klein chooses to double the fee?

He sat in his single office, his brow furrowed slightly, and he continued reading:

"Since the last conversation, I've started to look at myself a lot. Yes, I have to admit that after being extraordinary, there was a time when I was a little complacent and drifting. ”

"Fortunately, life is the best teacher, it always pushes us forward, and now I am completely awake."

"Russell the Great said that competence is always linked to responsibility. I started to think, can I do something for the people around me now? ”

"This time I took the liberty to bother you, and that's what it has to do with it."

"There's a fraudster named Lanrius. He defrauded more than 100 people in Tingen and managed to escape with the money. The amount involved is more than 10,000 gold pounds, and behind these 100 victims are 100 families on the verge of breaking. ”

"I vaguely remember meeting this Lanruus on Saturday at the Dragon Bar, do you still have any impressions? As a veteran night watcher, can you give me some advice? ”

Enclosed is a portrait of Lanrius. Your friend, Klein Moretti. ”

There wasn't much on the letter, and after Grandin read it quickly, his heart suddenly burst into the air, and he always felt that this matter had something to do with him.

He quickly shook the envelope and quickly threw out a portrait that had been folded twice.

After the portrait unfolds, Grandin appears to a young man with a full forehead, black hair, brown eyes, and a pair of round glasses.

The upturned corners of his mouth seemed to taunt everyone!

Fragments of obscure and unfamiliar memories were salvaged from the depths of Grandin's mind one by one, and the truth he suddenly remembered made him sweat coldly, and his heart instantly tightened.

This man is Alain, and Alain is Ranrius!

"At the Dragon Bar in Tingen, I met him! But before Klein's reminder, I don't even remember anything. ”

Grandin put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes in thought.

In the quiet office, there seemed to be a roar in his ears, coming from his fast-beating heart, which grew faster and louder as he salvaged more fragments of memory:

He searches for Ademisore at the Dragon Bar, he comes to the underground market, he gets promotion materials, he finds interesting talismans...... He saw Lanerwes.

No matter how much he recalled, his memories were blank, and he simply skipped this paragraph.

Then, based on his instincts, he decided to follow Laneus, only to be unexpectedly interrupted by Crane. Because it was too much of a coincidence, he went to the Black Lagoon, asked '0-08', and ...... It is a green and tall tree that grows at the bottom of the lake!

This time, in order not to forget, Grandin immediately pulled out a blank piece of paper and wrote down all these experiences.

"I'm always worried that my memories and perceptions have been tampered with...... It turned out to have happened a long time ago. Grandin smiled bitterly, "I remember most of the things this time, but what happened in the underground market is still blank. Perhaps only after catching Ranus can we learn the whole truth from his mouth...... My inspiration tells me that he carries a lot of calamity with him...... Why don't I have any impression of him? ”

Above the Black Lake, the waters rippled as Grandin asked. The pure gold book that triggered the keyword automatically floats, and the pages open, trying to break a seal. But suddenly there was a quiet red and a desperate gray flashing on the page, and the tree swayed slightly, and the black lake fell silent again.