“Thank you so much, Exorcist. If something happened to my poor Henry…” Tolkin kept expressing his gratitude, and if not for Lu Li’s overly calm demeanor, he might have hugged him to show his relief.
“500 shillings.”
Lu Li interrupted Tolkin mid-sentence.
A few minutes later, Lu Li left the house with the 500 shillings Tolkin had paid.
A small, dark figure in a dress stood outside the door, throwing flirtatious glances at passing pedestrians. Hearing the door open, Oliver turned around with delight.
“You’ve been standing here this whole time?”
“Did you see a ghost?”
Both spoke at the same time.
“Sort of,” Lu Li replied. Naturally, he couldn’t tell Oliver, someone who made a living selling information, the real story.
A 50-shilling note was handed to him as Lu Li’s even tone came through. “500 shillings. This is your share.”
“That’s amazing!” Oliver cheered, jumping in place. A few passersby instinctively glanced under his skirt, then quickly turned pale and hurried away.
Holding the 50 shillings, Oliver gave it an exaggerated kiss before staring at Lu Li with an almost fanatical gaze.
Lu Li stood there motionless, his voice cold and distant. “If you dare to jump on me, I’ll make sure you walk home naked.”
“I just wanted to show you Rodster Port’s customs. If you don’t like it, fine.” Oliver pouted in disappointment, tucking the money into his chest and patting the spot with his hand.
“Great, now I can afford beans with stew tonight.”
“Aren’t you going to pay off your overdue rent?” Lu Li adjusted his hat and walked down the steps toward the street.
“Uh…”
Trailing behind, Oliver froze for a moment before remembering Madame Slav’s warning before he’d left the house.
“Bo… boss! Do you have some time right now?”
“What is it?” Lu Li kept walking without turning around.
“Well… I still have a lot of commissions back at my place. Would you like to come with me to get them?” Oliver hesitated but ultimately chose Madame Slav over his boss. �
“Just bring them to me.”
“But…” Oliver, running out of ideas, decided to try telling the truth. “It’s because Madame Slav wants to meet you!”
“Madame Slav?”
“Yeah, the owner of our apartment. She’s…”
“I know who she is. I meant, why does she want to meet me?”
Oliver’s thoughts raced, and he quickly made something up. “She wants to check what kind of boss I’ve got. You know, she’s looking out for me.”
Walking ahead, Lu Li stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at Oliver with his rare, unique black eyes.
Even though there was no emotion in those eyes, Oliver felt an almost unbearable weight of pressure, as if he couldn’t hold back the truth any longer.
But before Oliver could respond, Lu Li shifted his gaze away and continued walking.
“Not today.”
It was already past noon. When leaving earlier, the clock on the wall had shown 1:30. For most locals, afternoons meant “don’t go too far from home,” to avoid being caught outside after dark.
Lu Li followed this custom as well.
Madame Slav’s apartment was in the Black Gold District, and a round trip by foot would take a long time—especially since Lu Li had more important matters to tend to.
“Not today…” Oliver muttered under his breath. His eyes lit up. “Does that mean you might tomorrow?”
“Maybe. If I’m still in one piece tomorrow…”
The final words, whispered almost to himself, were too quiet for Oliver to hear.
At the end of the street, the two parted ways, heading in different directions.
Back on Sailors’ Street, some food stalls had already opened their doors, and the scent of cooking wafted through the air, carried by the sea breeze.
People here typically only ate two meals a day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
They rarely ate dinner.
The morning meal provided enough energy for work, while the afternoon meal ensured they wouldn’t go to bed hungry. Dinner? It was unnecessary and pointless, something only the wealthy or nobles indulged in with their three meals a day.
At Mrs. Felin’s bakery, freshly baked bread was being placed in the display window by workers. Most of it was coarse bran bread, hard and unrefined, with a small portion made from fine flour, soft and light.
A few poorly dressed children with pale, malnourished faces gathered around the window, greedily inhaling the scent wafting from the bakery and swallowing their saliva.
It was still a bit early for the afternoon meal, and the bakery staff were busy preparing bread for sale.
A tall figure in a black coat stepped into the bakery, the brim of his hat casting a shadow over his face and blocking some of the light from outside.
One of the workers near the display turned their head. Upon seeing the figure remove his hat, their expression brightened. They walked over enthusiastically. “Mr. Lu Li, what can I get for you today?”
“Two pounds of soft bread,” Lu Li said. He paused and added, “Do you have beans with stew here?”
“We only bake bread here, but Mrs. Felin can make beans with stew if you’d like. Shall I ask her to prepare some for you?”
“That would be helpful.”
“Not a problem. Please wait a moment.” The worker disappeared into the back kitchen to speak to Mrs. Felin before returning to the display. They pulled out some freshly baked soft bread, still steaming, and placed it into a paper bag.
“Mrs. Felin will get started right away. Once it’s ready, we’ll deliver it to your detective agency. The bread is 8 shillings, and the beans with stew is 23 shillings. Just 30 shillings altogether.”
Lu Li handed over the money, took the paper bag, and stepped out of the bakery.
The children stared at him with wide eyes, their fingers tugging at the dirty fabric of their trousers, as if waiting for something.
Standing in front of the bakery, Lu Li waved at the children and opened the steaming paper bag.
“Wow!”
A cheer went up as the children gathered around him. Yet, they were careful not to get too close or dirty his expensive clothes. They cautiously took the large pieces of bread Lu Li broke off for them, expressing their thanks in cheerful, crisp voices.
“Thank you, Mr. Lu Li!”
“You’re so kind!”
Some passing adults smiled at the sight, while a few neighbors who had met Lu Li before teasingly remarked on his generosity.
The residents of Sailors’ Street were warm and polite.
This wasn’t just because of Lu Li’s unusual eyes and hair, but also his profession.
He was the only exorcist on Sailors’ Street, and like doctors or scholars, it was a profession everyone might need at some point.
As for the children, their enthusiasm had a much simpler reason: Lu Li was kind to them.
After giving half the bread to the children, Lu Li returned to the detective agency amidst a chorus of greetings.
Not long after, a worker from the bakery delivered the beans with stew. To Lu Li’s surprise, it had a hint of spice.
It was clear that Mrs. Felin had put a lot of effort into preparing the dish.
Lu Li finished the meal of beans and bread, washed the dishes, and returned the container to the bakery before heading back to his desk at the detective agency.
Sitting in his chair, he remained motionless, like a statue, silently waiting for nightfall.