Captain Rades was not on leave today when he came to the city; instead, he was dispatched to find someone to help repair a broken steam engine at Red Water Camp.
Upon learning that Captain Rades was also from Red Water Camp, Xia De asked him about Lieutenant Shoudun of the First Company, Red Water Camp, who Leia had asked Xia De to investigate.
Captain Rades was not very wary of Xia De and directly told him that Lieutenant Shoudun had recently won a large sum of pounds playing cards in the city, and some people had even seen him smoking cigars outside the camp while on night duty.
"Were they expensive cigars?"
Xia De asked.
"Are there cheap cigars?"
Captain Rades asked back curiously.
Thus, the matter Leia asked Xia De to investigate was simply completed.
Captain Rades was very familiar with this school located in the castle. When he heard Xia De was looking for someone, he voluntarily offered to lead the way. Anyway, he had already found the person he was looking for, and he had been thinking of finding a pub in the city to sit in before the evening return time...
Since he met Xia De, helping him out was fine.
Although it was the "Mechanical College," the folklore major in the school was by no means small. With Captain Rades, dressed in military uniform, leading the way, the two walked through the college without any hindrance.
They passed scholars carrying books walking through the castle and brushed past young students discussing their coursework and grades. Finally, in a slightly narrow single office on the east side of the third floor of the castle, marked "Folklore - No. 11," they met Professor John Dunn.
Professor Dunn was a middle-aged man with no hair but looked only in his forties. Although his clothes were somewhat disheveled, the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses was very sharp.
Seeing a military officer bring a stranger to visit, he was a little surprised and stood up to welcome them. But after Xia De introduced himself and mentioned Grandma Cassandra, the professor immediately understood:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Watson, Captain Rades. So you are Ms. Cassandra's people. Very well, please sit down. The situation is as follows."
He also took the Captain for someone investigating the whereabouts of the antique. The Captain had nothing to do that afternoon, and seeing that Xia De did not object, he also sat down to listen.
"Our college's folklore major has a very good relationship with Cassandra Auction House, or rather, most of the folklore department's financial resources are sponsored by Cassandra Auction House."
Speaking of this, the professor seemed very open:
"Our friendship with Cassandra Auction House has lasted for over a hundred years, and our graduates are also very popular with the auction house. Not long ago, I acquired a very good bronze jar, and that antique was bought by Ms. Cassandra, who heard the news. I originally planned to transfer the bronze jar to the auction house this week, but the jar was unexpectedly stolen."
"Stolen? Are there any clues?"
Xia De took out his notebook, preparing to record.
The professor nodded:
"That bronze jar is definitely still in the college because it's about... um."
The professor looked around:
"It's about as tall as this Captain. Transporting such goods in and out requires registration, and we are sure it hasn't been transported out."
"Why didn't you report it to the police?"
Captain Rades asked curiously.
"After all, it's an internal theft at the college, and it wouldn't be good for us if it got out, and..."
The professor's gaze flickered:
"The way I acquired that antique was somewhat, yes, just somewhat... not in line with the mandatory national rules and regulations generally observed by the public. You understand, right?"
Xia De and Captain Rades both nodded, meaning it was illegal, but they didn't care about that:
"So besides knowing the jar must be in this castle, are there any other clues?"
Xia De asked again.
"I know I shouldn't casually suspect my own students, but Mr. Henry Val, who is two years away from graduating, is highly suspicious. You can go to him for investigation. Your identity is that of Detectives hired by Cassandra Auction House. I have already informed the college that people from Cassandra Auction House will be coming to investigate this matter in the next few days, so you can move around freely here."
Henry Val is a 22-year-old folklore student at Middirburg Mechanical College. He comes from a wealthy farmer's family in the northern countryside of Middirburg. But two years ago, his family declined for some reason, and the young student, accustomed to a rich life, continued to maintain his original standard of living afterward. In the winter of about 1851, the college discovered him selling illicit drugs in the city.
After being severely warned and ordered to repeat a year, the young Henry Val returned to normal. As for suspecting him, it was because someone saw him sneaking around Professor Dunn's office before the bronze jar was stolen, and when the professor found him and questioned him, he showed an abnormal state.
"I can't directly ask my own student if he's a thief."
Professor Dunn said helplessly:
"To be honest, I also don't want to believe that my student is a thief, which is why I asked Ms. Cassandra to send strong helpers to assist me in the investigation. I don't know how much Ms. Cassandra paid to hire you, but as long as you can find that bronze jar, I can give each of you five pounds."
This folklore professor seemed very wealthy.
Xia De glanced at the Captain beside him, who nodded slightly, meaning he also wanted to earn this money, and Xia De didn't mind having help beside him.
"Alright, Professor."
He originally wanted to clarify the matter of the "twin gods" before investigating, but Professor Dunn seemed very busy and asked Xia De to come back to him after clarifying the antique theft case.
So Xia De and Captain Rades left the professor's office and then found Mr. Henry Val in the large Library in the college basement.
This was a young man with yellow hair, wearing glasses like the professor, and dressed in his own clothes rather than the college uniform. From his attire, it was impossible to tell that his family had fallen on hard times.
When Xia De and Captain Rades saw him, the young man was looking for books in the "Folklore and Culture" section. Seeing the two approach, he put back the book he was about to pull out. Xia De glanced at the title, and the spine read "Legendary Anecdotes: Vampires in the Shadows."
This should belong to popular fiction or urban legends.
"Gentlemen, may I help you?"
The yellow-haired young man asked, his tone somewhat impatient. He looked unusually tired, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"We were hired by Cassandra Auction House to investigate the antique theft case and want to question every student who entered the professor's office last weekend."
Xia De said, his eyes looking behind the person he was speaking to. Captain Rades and Mr. Henry Val certainly couldn't see it, but he clearly saw the soul of a young woman clinging to his back.
It was an evil spirit, but its power was not strong, so it hadn't reached the point where ordinary people could see it in broad daylight. Seeing Xia De look at her, the evil spirit wanted to roar at Xia De, but after Xia De glared at her, she obediently stopped moving.
"There are so many evil spirits in Middirburg."
Xia De thought to himself.
"No problem, what do you want to ask?"
Mr. Val said, no abnormality visible from his expression. Xia De gave Captain Rades a look, signaling him to help record, and then asked:
"You went to the professor's office on the weekend, and the professor said you were there to ask about the year-end exam. At that time, did you see that large bronze jar in the corner?"
"I saw it, that thing is very big, it's hard not to notice."
"Did you ask about that jar?"
"Yes, I asked, I was very curious about it."
"Then, did you tell anyone else about that bronze jar?"
The young man thought for a moment, a little impatiently:
"I think I mentioned it at Barbara Jeline's weekend party, but I don't remember who all heard me say it at the time, but there should have been no less than a dozen people who heard it."
"A dozen" in delarion common language also refers to the number 14. It is said that this is because the original canned fish were all sold in bundles of 14.
"No problem, then we've bothered you."
Xia De said, motioning for Captain Rades to bid farewell to Mr. Val. After leaving that row of bookshelves, Xia De looked back to confirm that the other party had not followed.
Captain Rades then whispered:
"That young man is not right, his eyes are a bit too fierce. This is... I've seen this kind of look too many times, especially when most of the students here don't have much social experience. Henry Val, he has definitely seen blood."
The Captain said with great certainty. Before his reputation as "Eight-Gun Captain," he had also steadily risen from an ordinary soldier, so his judgment should be correct.
"Seen blood?"
Xia De nodded. The evil spirit he saw Entangled Henry Val and destroying his vitality was probably the source of "seeing blood":
"Captain, can you temporarily keep an eye on him? Observe if he leaves the Library, and if he does, try to find out where he went."
"Do you have other clues to investigate?"
Captain Rades asked curiously.
"Yes, I am a professional Detective, and I have never encountered a commission I couldn't solve."
Xia De smiled and tapped his chest, and Captain Rades recalled a few months ago, when Xia De helped a woman who had lost her child find her child on the streets of Tobesk. At that time, Xia De also seemed to have observed some clue out of thin air, finding the alley where the culprit was located almost without detouring.
"Alright, I can also ask other students here about that bronze jar."
The Captain fully trusted Xia De.
"Okay. Oh, and also, please ask if there have been any murders at this school in recent weeks."
Xia De said, and Captain Rades frowned slightly:
"You mean... No problem, leave it to me."
