When Lex left the church, he heard people whispering, talking about the murderer, that hateful Criminal, and how fortunate it was that the police officers of Desi County Police Department had subdued him.
It seemed the Town residents had already believed Martha's words, believing that the tragedy during the day was caused by a human Criminal, not some monster.
It appeared that tonight's Grand Mass, besides praying for the dead, also served as an opportunity for Martha to use that monocle to give a collective suggestion to the Town residents, in order to conceal the existence of the mysterious world.
That's good.
Ordinary people really don't need to know about the existence of the mysterious world; the further they are from this world, the better. And since he had also accepted the 'suggestion', he should no longer be a suspect in the eyes of the official Beyonder.
As he was thinking this, Lex helped his mother into the car and inadvertently saw two people emerge from the church's main entrance.
A man and a child.
The man's hair was disheveled, and he walked with a slight hunch, appearing to lack confidence.
The little boy had slightly coarse yellow hair, and when he spoke, one could see he was missing a front tooth.
Lex recognized that the man with disheveled hair and a hunched walk was Rodney, whom he had seen being mocked by a group of children yesterday when he went to find Leon.
As for the yellow-haired, missing-toothed little boy, he was one of those children at the time, and the one who was making the most noise.
But now, not only was the little boy not mocking Rodney, but the two were chatting and laughing, which made Lex sigh, marveling at the strangeness of fate.
He got into the car and followed his father as they left the church.
Rodney and Ian also left the church and walked towards Kingston Road.
On the way.
Ian clasped his hands behind his head and looked at Rodney, saying, "I'll help you sell muffins tomorrow! With my help, you'll definitely sell more!"
Rodney awkwardly ran his hand through his hair: "I don't earn much, I can't afford to hire anyone."
Ian waved his small fist: "Aren't we friends? Friends should help each other, shouldn't they? So, don't talk to me about money or no money."
"Friends, us?"
Rodney was a little surprised.
Ian nodded, looking like a precocious child: "Of course, so, don't be polite with me!"
Rodney smiled: "Then I'll treat you to muffins."
Ian wiped his mouth: "That sounds good."
Returning to Kingston Road, the two said goodbye in front of building 78.
Rodney arrived at his doorstep, and as soon as he opened the door, he heard a burst of laughter from inside.
Among them, there was a man's laughter.
The lingering smile on his face vanished instantly, and Rodney subconsciously wanted to retreat from the doorway, but then he heard a man inside make an 'eh' sound.
"Isn't this Rodney? You're back? The Grand Mass ended so quickly; I wanted to play with Kitty a bit longer."
Kitty exclaimed: "What, that guy's back?"
In the small room, a disheveled man and woman looked towards the door, and the woman named Kitty quickly pushed the tall man next to her.
"It's getting late, you should go back, Maiken."
"What's there to be afraid of? Rodney won't mind."
Maiken, in front of the man at the door, hugged Kitty and kissed her on the face, then winked at Rodney: "Right, Rodney?"
"Stop talking, hurry up and go!" Kitty pushed the man again.
Maiken then picked up the pants he had thrown by the bed and put them on, then walked to the door, put his arm around Rodney's shoulder, and said: "Kitty is really good, you should thank me. Her being so 'moisturized' is all thanks to me."
"Tonight, you just enjoy my results."
He laughed loudly and patted Rodney's back.
Rodney hung his head, clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly with anger.
Maiken glanced at him and forcefully pushed him aside: "What, you good-for-nothing, do you want to fight me?"
Rodney looked up, but before he could say anything, a fist landed on his face, and the immense force sent Rodney sprawling onto the somewhat damp ground.
Then he took a few more kicks to the back.
And throughout the entire process, his wife, the woman named Kitty, just watched coldly from the side.
"What are you doing!"
Suddenly, a childish voice rang out from outside the door.
Rodney looked back and saw it was Ian. The little boy had somehow run back and was shouting at Maiken.
"Don't you hit Rodney, Maiken, you pig! I'm going to tell everyone about your bad deeds, just you wait, you'll be famous in the Town soon."
"Damn it, where did this brat come from, shut up!" Maiken slapped the little boy, sending him flying.
Ian fell to the ground, covering his mouth, and shouted at Rodney: "Fight back, Rodney!"
"You are a brave man! You are not cowardly at all, in the square this morning, only you had the courage to save me, you are not a good-for-nothing!"
Rodney's whole body shook, and a light gradually appeared in his eyes.
Maiken snorted, picked Ian up, and slapped him again: "I told you to shut up, you stinky brat..."
At this moment, Kitty's gasp sounded from behind. Maiken turned his head and saw Rodney had somehow appeared beside him.
Suddenly, he raised a wooden stick and brought it down heavily!
Bang!
Rodney hit Maiken on the head with the stick, making Maiken dizzy and causing blood to seep from his forehead.
He leaned against the wall, just about to say something, when Rodney had already rushed over, hitting him with one blow after another, knocking him unconscious.
"What have you done?"
Kitty ran out, saw Maiken lying in the hallway, his face covered in blood, and shrieked: "Murder! Murder!"
Rodney suddenly turned around, threw down the stick, and with red eyes, rushed forward to grab her by the neck: "Shut up! I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill anyone!"
"It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"
"I loved you so much, I tried my best to be good to you! I gave you everything, but what did you give me!"
"You made me a joke! You made everyone laugh at me!"
"But even so, I still love you so much, I still love you!"
"Why did you do this to me!"
"Why!"
Rodney shouted, venting all his accumulated anger. He squeezed Kitty's neck tightly, shaking his wife forcefully, wanting an answer from her.
"Stop it."
"Stop it quickly!"
"She's dying, Rodney!"
Ian's voice suddenly jolted Rodney awake. He quickly let go, and Kitty instantly fell to the ground.
Her neck was bright red, her eyes bulged, her tongue hung out of her mouth, and she lay motionless on the ground.
Rodney held his head, shaking it: "No, no, no."
He pounced on her, shaking the woman: "Kitty, speak, speak to me."
He then put his hand in front of Kitty's nose, suddenly recoiled, and looked helplessly at Ian: "She, she seems to be dead."
"D-dead?"
Ian scratched his coarse yellow hair, saying at a loss, "Don't look at me like that. I don't know what to do either. After all, I'm just a child."
Rodney was utterly bewildered, clutching his head, repeating in a voice only he could hear, "I killed someone, what do I do? I killed someone."
"Run."
Ian got up, covering his cheek that Maiken had slapped, and advised Rodney, "Run quickly, or the Police will catch you."
"Before anyone finds out, while everyone is tired today, leave here quickly. Go to Yello, go to O'Connell, no one knows you there, and you can start over."
Yello and O'Connell were nearby Town. For Ian, the furthest places he could think of were them.
But this gave Rodney an idea. He nodded, didn't bother to pack his things, and hurriedly left Building 78.
Just as Ian said, everyone was tired today. After attending the Grand Mass, the residents of the Town had all gone home to rest.
The streets were deserted, with hardly anyone around.
Rodney lowered his head, pulling his collar high to cover half of his face. He didn't dare walk under the streetlights, fearing being discovered. He left Kingston Road like a ghost. As he was about to head towards White Stone City Gate, someone suddenly called out to him.
"Hey, you! What are you doing out so late? Go home quickly."
Rodney looked up and saw a Police, who was pointing his truncheon at him.
Rodney's head buzzed.
He found me!
He knows I killed someone!
I'm going to be arrested by the Police!
Rodney didn't dare to speak, he quickly turned around and headed towards the northwest of the Town.
That way also led out of the Town, but to reach other cities or Town, one had to cross Eberly Mountain.
Rodney, with his mind in Confusion, didn't think about how he would cross the mountain. He quickly left the Town and walked in the empty and silent outskirts of the Town.
A dog bark echoed from behind. Rodney looked back and saw flickering lights, as if the Police were catching up with hunting dogs.
He ran in a panic, along the dirt path, past the logging camp, and plunged into Eberly Mountain.
Heaven knows how he got through those bushes, crawled through those thickets, and broke free from those annoying thorns. When he came to his senses, Rodney heard the gurgling of water, and he saw Silver Snake Creek illuminated by the crimson moon.
Upon arriving here, Rodney finally slowed his pace. When he didn't know where to go, he saw a blurry outline of a building in the distance.
Anyway.
I'll just spend the night there first.
The occasional wolf howls in the mountains made him unwilling to sleep outdoors. Rodney walked down Silver Snake Creek, and before long, he saw a building with a partially collapsed structure.
That building, located in front of the forest, had a bell tower and a tall tower, looking like a church.
Rodney walked forward, and as he approached the church, he saw a rock with inscriptions. Under the crimson moonlight, the words seemed to carry a warning.
Unfortunately, Rodney was illiterate. He had only attended a few days of night school run by the church and could only recognize some simple numbers, which prevented him from being cheated when doing business.
He only glanced at the inscription on the rock before continuing towards the church.
Tonight, this collapsed church was exceptionally quiet under the crimson moonlight.
-----
When Lex woke up in the morning, he received news that the Inspectors from the Desie County Police Station were returning.
He had breakfast and went to see them off.
He also brought some items from home as gifts, which included a notebook, a poetry collection, a box of candies, and several large packages of Enki Town local snacks.
These were given by Lex to Lewis, Warren, Martha, and Jeffrey respectively.
When they received the gifts, Lewis and the others were a bit surprised, especially Martha, who happily hugged Lex and gave him a fragrant kiss.
So, it was only after these Inspectors departed in their carriage that Lex used a handkerchief to wipe off the lipstick mark on his face.
"Let's go back, Matthew."
Putting away his handkerchief, Lex boarded the repaired open-top carriage and returned to Champagne Avenue with his personal valet.
As he passed Kingston Road, Lex heard a commotion. It turned out there was a team of Police on the street, escorting the leader of the Black Bowties out.
Doug struggled and roared. Behind him, behind the Police, the Black Bowties members also protested one by one, but the guns in the hands of the Police kept these people calm and restrained.
"Is the Police Station finally going to manage Kingston Road?" The grey-haired, dark-skinned valet couldn't help but speak when he saw the situation.
Lex's lips curved slightly upwards, and he said in a good mood, "It's time to manage it. Allowing these Gang to exist will only affect the image of our Town."
His thoughts wandered, and he casually said, "Next, the 'Construction Fund' will be launched. Our Town will have all hard-surfaced roads. Hmm, I should suggest to Father to build more public toilets to improve public hygiene."
At the same time, Lex was thinking.
Great, that 1 soli worked!
During the Grand Mass last night, among Lex's donations, that 1 soli had reporting information deliberately left by Lex.
Lex reported that the Black Bowties was involved in the human trafficking incident and provided the specific transaction time. To prevent being recognized by his handwriting, he deliberately wrote with his left hand.
Moreover, the reporting information was written on a small denomination banknote, making it difficult for the Church to narrow down the scope or investigate the informant's information based on the amount.
After all, many people donated last night.
Just as he had expected, when the Church sorted out the donations, they discovered that banknote and learned about the good deeds of the Black Bowties.
Through pressure from the Church, the Police Station quickly dealt with the matter, and Doug was arrested today.
It's a pity I don't know who the 'man' behind Doug is, otherwise, they could have been wiped out in one swoop.
Thinking of this, Lex felt a slight regret. But overall, the incident ended in a relatively Perfection way.
When he returned home, as soon as he entered the hall, he was informed by the butler that he had a letter.
"A letter?"
Lex took an envelope from Sebastian, who had a grey-white beard, with a look of doubt.
The envelope only had the recipient's information, which was his name.
Lex Disraeli.
But there was no sender, no stamp. It seemed as if someone had deliberately placed this letter in the mailbox outside the Baron's Mansion gate.
Who sent it?
Lex, full of questions, took the letter back to his bedroom. He found a letter opener, slit open the envelope, and took out a folded paper from inside.
He unfolded it.
There were only a few words on it.
'Mr. Lex, hello. The matter you entrusted to me has been investigated. Please allow me to report the investigation results to you in person. If you have time, please meet at the 'Canary Restaurant' on Mermaid Road at 3 PM.'
'Your friend, Liz. Ward, respectfully.'