novelonline Chapter 2952: The Used Bookstore and the Flower Girl
Chapter 2952: The Used Bookstore and the Flower Girl
Chapter 2952: The Used Bookstore and the Flower Girl
“Do we need to do anything about those giant trees?”
Megan asked Shade, who shook his head:
"Continue to concentrate on preparing for the battle with the Watchers. Our manpower is far less than that of the Five Gods Church. We cannot be distracted by doing other things."
The witches had received a letter from Speaker Isabella in the parliament this morning. She had arrived at the sacrificial site on the top of the mountain and met Sister Defulin. The nun herself did not encounter any trouble, but the [Spiritual Order] encountered some minor troubles. However, they would definitely arrive at the Vestal Forest within three days.
The witches continued their respective tasks, while Shade went into the city alone to the old town of Vista City to explore the old bookstore that the doctor mentioned yesterday.
The sky over the city had been gloomy since the morning, and perhaps the first snow of this winter would arrive tonight. Following the address given by the doctor, Shade wandered on the empty old streets, thinking about the scenes of Riverwood Town that he had seen several times in the past, and wondering what impact this journey to pursue the Rhodes card would have on the story of Vista City.
The sign of "Berkeley Bookstore" is as inconspicuous as the storefront. It blends in perfectly with the street. If you don't look carefully, you may not even look at it even if you pass by it dozens of times. It seems to be older than any other store on this street, but in an era when only one-third of the stores on the entire street are still in business, it still insists on opening.
Even in the old town of the former site of Ximu Town, this place is considered a relatively remote place. When Xia De pushed the door open and entered, the sound of the bell at the door made the old man behind the counter in the back of the store look at him.
There were no other customers in the second-hand bookstore, but at least the interior of the store was clean, the floor was tidy, and the bookshelves were arranged evenly, which was in stark contrast to "Old John's Pawn Shop" where everything was placed everywhere.
"Old John said they don't have a base in Vista City."
Xia De reminded himself in his heart, nodded to the old man, and walked directly to the counter.
The owner of the store was probably the "Berkeley" on the sign. He was wearing a very obvious wig and looked about the same age as Augustus. The old man wore glasses and seemed very curious about how a handsome young man from the north could walk into his store on such a gloomy Saturday morning.
After Xia De confirmed that the other party was just an ordinary person, he did not beat around the bush:
"I came here because of an invitation."
He said that although it was important to collect a complete set of the All-Seeing Impermanence cards, he couldn't waste too much time now.
Xia De's straightforwardness brought consternation to the old man behind the counter:
"Sorry, invitation? This is a shop selling used books. Young man, are you in the wrong place?"
Since the doctor was only worried that this was a trap set by the devil, and did not doubt the authenticity of the invitation, Shade was very sure that he had come to the right place:
"I came here for an invitation, and someone told me I could find it here."
He looked into the old man's eyes:
"You can name your price, I am willing to pay you the amount you say."
"Young man, please stop joking here. I really don't know what invitation letter you are talking about. I have run a shop here for 30 years, and you are the first person to buy an invitation letter from me."
The old man still shook his head, and Xia De would not insist, but just stood there and looked at him. The old man who was reading the newspaper could not stand being stared at by him, so he had to say:
"Can you tell me what specific invitation you want? I don't have one, but I may have heard of it."
"An invitation to a secret gathering."
"That doesn't sound like a legal thing to do. What are you going there for?"
"Looking for something."
"Very important?"
"It's very important. Besides the girl, cat and a few friends around me, it's the most important thing in my life."
Although Xia De had such an attitude, the old man behind the counter still did not speak. He picked up the newspaper and continued to read, but he could feel the eyes behind the newspaper staring at him.
After a full ten minutes, he finally sighed:
"Since you were able to find me, I don't think you would believe me even if I continue to say that I don't have an invitation. I don't know who you are, but if you want to get an invitation from me, please do me a favor. This is not an easy task, and I'm old, and I can't wait any longer."
"No problem, what needs to be done? I hope this isn't a very long term thing."
"It's not a long-term thing. If you're quick enough, I think you can finish it today. I want you to help me find someone and bring her to this bookstore, and I'll give you the invitation."
The old man took off his reading glasses and took out a rusty-looking pocket watch from his pocket. Even though the pocket watch had been carefully maintained, Xia De could still tell that it was a very old item.
Inlaid inside the pocket watch cover was a very faded black-and-white photo of a girl who looked about eighteen years old.
Although Xia De didn't know when the photo was taken, judging from the degree of fading, the young girl in the photo must be in her 40s or 50s now. But Xia De always felt that he seemed to have seen this girl somewhere.
The old man did not give the pocket watch and the photo to Xia De, but just asked him to look carefully:
"Bring her to my bookshop, but don't force her. Make her come here voluntarily. When she shows up, I'll tell you where I hid the invitation in the woods."
"Although I guess the invitation is in your bedroom on the second floor of the bookstore, I will accept this commission."
Shad asked again:
"Although Vista is indeed very small compared to Willendel and its population is not large, it is not easy to find someone in this city who has only been seen in a photo. Do you have any clues?"
The old man nodded:
"She should be a flower girl now. No, no, don't get me wrong. She's not the kind of girl who stands at the alley and says she's selling flowers but is actually selling her body. She really is a flower girl."
"Is she a florist or an employee in a flower shop?"
"No, it's the flower girl who carries a basket and sells flowers on the street. She is especially common near the Golden Music Hall at night."
Xia De was a little confused:
"But aren't all flower girls under sixteen? Even if there are a few eighteen or twenty-year-old girls, the lady in the photo in your hand should be over that age, right?"
Although Xia De still spoke bluntly, the old man behind the counter was not angry at all:
"No, she is the flower girl. Go and bring her to me, and I will give you the invitation. Otherwise, I will die before you find the invitation."
Xia De waved his hand:
"Don't say that. Do I look like a bad person? But don't let me lead people here and find out that you are really dead."
The old man behind the counter laughed instead:
"I won't die before I see her, absolutely not. After all, I've been waiting for her here for thirty years."
If you want to find someone out of thin air, besides relying on your own luck, the best way is to seek help from a fortune teller. Even though Luvia always says things like "divination is not omnipotent", from her performance, Shade actually believes that although divination is not omnipotent, Luvia's divination is omnipotent.
Of course, this time Shad thought he didn't need to ask Luvia or Bella for help, because he remembered why the 18-year-old girl in the photo looked familiar to him.
Just now, when the old man in the second-hand bookstore mentioned "the flower girl who often appears near the Golden Music Hall at night", he suddenly remembered. After meeting the devil on Tuesday night and before running into Mr. Sean Asmon, he bought nine roses and has not yet delivered them all.
The flower girl who seemed to be frightened by him at that time looked very similar to the girl in the old man's pocket watch, although they were of different ages.
No matter what the relationship between that girl and the girl the old man wanted to find was, it was a very important clue.
Although he failed to get the photo from the old man, Shade returned to the hotel after leaving the old bookstore. After finding Dorothy, he used the magic of the Moon Library to reveal the appearance of the flower girl on Tuesday night, and then asked Dorothy to help him use magic to imprint the image on the photo.
"You're going to take this photo and go to the city center to find someone to ask around?"
The writer, who was writing in the library on the ship just now to prevent the editor from blocking the door after returning to Tobesk, asked suspiciously, and Shade nodded:
"Yes, the local girls selling flowers on the street must know each other. Even if the girl I'm looking for didn't come out today, someone must know her address."
Dorothy sighed. She was now sitting sideways in a chair talking to Shade, with a table piled with various books. The "Glorious Messenger" had a full range of facilities. Although the library was not as large as the St. Byrons Library, the collection was not inferior to that of the city library, which was very convenient for the writer who needed to find information:
"Shad, aren't you afraid that the police will arrest you as a pervert with ulterior motives?"
Shade thought about this possibility:
"I can pretend to be a private investigator. I want to find that girl because I'm investigating something. If the police really come to ask about her, can't I just give them some money?"
It's not that he doesn't believe in the professional ethics of local police officers, but he believes more in the power of Carson Rickron.
Dorothy then asked someone to call Ajelina, who was helping Cassandra's mother-in-law:
"Ajelina, I have a task for you."
Dorothy handed the newly printed photo to Ajelina and explained the whole story:
"Go to the city center and find her, either by her address or her current location."