After lunch, Xia De read for an hour before heading out.
He found a carriage at the street corner and traveled east across the entire City to reach the cemetery outside the City. Along the way, bored, Xia De chatted with the coachman about the recent weather, complained together about the high cost of living, and then discussed their respective jobs.
Perhaps it was Xia De's slightly younger face and his approachable tone that made the coachman willing to talk more with him. This carriage was, of course, not his own; the coachman rented it from the Tobesk Carriage Guild in the City, carried passengers according to designated areas, and paid a percentage of his daily income to the guild, using the remaining money to support his family.
Although this job paid more than a porter who carried bags near the station, it did not actually alleviate the family's poverty. The main reason was that the coachman had five children.
Four of them were his own children, and the other was the child of his deceased elder brother. In those times, it was normal for anyone to suddenly pass away, just like Sparrow Detective.
"My income has been pretty good recently. I even ordered milk from Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company, one bottle every day, so all the children can have some. Oh, sir, I heard from others that drinking milk can make you taller."
"There is such a saying... I remember the milk from Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company wasn't very expensive, was it?"
Xia De asked hesitantly, and the coachman smiled:
"The subscription price there dropped a bit a while ago. It seems there was a problem with the warehouse, and they need to sell off their daily stock quickly before it's repaired. Last time I picked up a middle-aged gentleman who worked there, he told me this news. My neighbors are also planning to order some before the price goes back up, which is really good."
Tobesk Public Cemetery is an important part of Tobesk's basic municipal engineering. Although it is a "Public cemetery," even nobles, besides royal family members, are buried here.
The park area is very large, and there are many considerations when choosing to be buried on the ground or in an underground crypt, in the shade or in the sun, and even the surrounding environment and the density of graves.
The emergence of Public cemetery in the Age of Steam was not because City Hall had a lot of funds with nowhere to spend them, but because during Tobesk's urban expansion, it encountered land occupation issues with the original cemeteries surrounding the City.
In a world where mysticism truly exists, funerals are not simple matters. Therefore, it was ultimately decided to establish the City Public cemetery in the eastern part of the City. The eastern location was chosen because it adjoined the mountains, while the other three sides had flat terrain, and Tobesk's expansion would not choose the east.
Compared to the shabby rural cemetery managed by Corpus, which Xia De had visited once, the Tobesk City Public cemetery was much grander. There were specially constructed roads extending from the City to here, and no external carriages were allowed to enter the park except for the cemetery's own carriages.
Stone paths paved the cemetery, connecting various sections. The Public cemetery is not just one place; it is usually divided into Northeast, East, and Southeast. The East cemetery, which Xia De was visiting this time, is further divided into five sections. The East cemetery Section 3, where Mr. Watson, who had already turned into white bones, was buried, is the so-called rich people's burial ground.
And the burial plots in the underground crypts were even more expensive. Not to mention in the current year 1853, even more than twenty years ago when Old Mrs. Wotsent purchased the crypt, the price definitely exceeded 30 pounds.
All of the above information was gleaned by Xia De from the coachman. The journey was boring, and the two talked about many things. The coachman was very happy to talk to someone like Xia De. Therefore, when getting off, Xia De even gave an extra 5 pence as a thank you for the entertainment along the way, and the coachman also doffed his hat to Xia De in gratitude.
Because the City Public cemetery is managed by City Hall and the Natural Church, there is, of course, a church within the cemetery.
A small white church stood next to the gravedigger's hut, with obituaries posted at the entrance, informing people of the identities of those being buried there today.
As Xia De, tidying his clothes, stood on the stone path in front of the small church, guests attending the funeral gradually arrived. Attending such a funeral did not require bringing anything extra, only wearing a black formal suit.
Walking further inside, Xia De found the old lady standing by the coffin in the small church. The lacquered wooden coffin lid bore a silver wrench symbol, which was the holy emblem of the God of Creation and Destruction, also known as the Right God Lady of Creation, representing the faith of Mr. Watson, who had died many years ago.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton."
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Wosente, please don't be so sad."
Xia De quietly offered a few words of comfort, and then Old Mrs. Wotsent introduced him to a middle-aged man wearing a black top hat, who was also standing by the coffin.
Though called middle-aged, he was actually nearly fifty.
This was Johns Wotsent, Mr. Watson's younger brother, the youngest son of the previous Earl Watson. Although he also failed to inherit the title, this gentleman, relying on family influence, had his own businesses locally and was attending the funeral today on behalf of the Wosente Family.
Although Old Mrs. Wotsent said there were some disagreements between them, at least these disagreements were not evident in front of Xia De. The middle-aged gentleman politely thanked Xia De for making the special trip, and Xia De, in turn, inquired about the funeral process and confirmed that the priest would be present.
This was the first funeral Xia De had attended in this world. When he looked at the coffin during his free moments, Xia De couldn't help but wonder how Mr. Watson, who was sealed in the wall after his death, would view his wife and the Wosente Family's relationship.
"A funeral thirty years late."
Even though this funeral had little to do with him, he couldn't help but sigh.
The funeral customs of this era were similar to Western funerals in Xia De's hometown: grieving relatives and friends attended, a priest from the deceased's faith presided, a family elder or high-ranking friend read a eulogy, and then relatives recalled memories of the deceased's life one by one.
All these procedures took place in this small cemetery church, and the longest part was when a licensed priest led everyone in praying for the deceased, wishing for his soul to rest in peace.
The Wosente Family and Old Mrs. Wotsent's relatives and friends took their seats on the long benches in the church hall. Due to the family's influence and financial power, almost the entire hall was filled with guests today.
Xia De's speaking order was quite early. After the funeral began at 2 PM, he was the second person to speak after the priest. The eulogy was already prepared. He first stated his identity, then read the sentences from the paper in his hand that praised Mr. Watson and lamented his untimely death.
The entire process lasted 10 minutes. Afterwards, people politely applauded softly, and a few old ladies sitting in the front rows even covered their faces with handkerchiefs and cried. It was hard to tell if it was genuine or not, but Xia De at least believed that Old Mrs. Wotsent's crying was real.
He couldn't leave yet; he had to wait until the coffin was moved into the crypt, as the agreed-upon payment time was after the ceremony. Only then could he walk to visit Mr. Sparrow Hamilton, whose scene was not far away.
Since he didn't know anyone, Xia De found a seat in the back row near the church door and aisle. As he quietly walked to the back, a young girl wearing a small black ladies' hat with a white flower suddenly slipped him a note.
He initially thought it was something important, but to his surprise, when he opened it, it contained an address with a lipstick kiss print beneath the letters.
"Hmm..."
"What did you think it would be?"
The voice in his head echoed in his ear.
"Something like asking for help with trouble."
He replied, crumpling the paper and stuffing it into his pocket, thinking of finding a place to discard it after the funeral.
Xia De was not in the mood to meet strange girls right now:
"Attending a funeral, and someone still tries to flirt. How interesting."
He muttered softly, though it was so soft that probably no one sitting near him could hear what he was saying.
"How interesting."
He heard this voice near his ear and was startled, thinking someone had heard his words. But then he realized the voice came from his left, and to his left was clearly the carpeted aisle between the long benches, where there shouldn't be anyone.
"What's going on?"
So he glanced to his left and saw a transparent middle-aged man standing beside him.
His hands were clasped behind his back, and he was looking with regret at Mrs. Wosente, who was recalling her husband behind the small church podium.
The transparent middle-aged man was like a late guest to this funeral; having found no seats, he could only stand at the back and observe the scene before him. But his transparent body and the constant sensation of coldness proved that this was not a human.
Xia De did not show panic. After just a glance, he averted his gaze and complained softly in his heart:
"So, what exactly is going on? I just came to attend a funeral..."
The fundamental reason for his lack of panic was that the man next to him was not strong.
"Simply put, you've encountered a ghost."
She answered with a laugh.
Xia De maintained his upright posture, occasionally glancing to his left. The ghost-like entity standing beside him was entirely focused on Mrs. Watson in front, and thus did not notice that the person next to him could see him.
Although the body was transparent, the face was still clearly visible. However, Xia De had never seen this face, but he strongly suspected it was Mr. Watson, only that the unfortunate fellow who died over thirty years ago had left no photos, so Xia De was only guessing.
"When did it appear?"
"Probably a second before you made your remark, which is to say, at the same time the old lady currently speaking went up to the stage."
"In that case..."
Xia De tried to scour his mind for Knowledge about "ghosts." Because someone had died in his house not long ago, Xia De had specifically looked up relevant content after encountering Saint Byron's textbooks.
