Phil Gray looked at the little boy. "Can you tell me what happened between you two yesterday?"
The little boy looked at the money in his hand with delight, then hesitated and pushed it to Simona, "This is too much, I only need two silver coins!"
Upon hearing Phil Gray's question, he replied, "Yesterday I held up a sign at the alley entrance, hoping someone would hire me for short-term work, but no one came."
Until this guy came up to me and asked if I resented my fate. I didn't understand what he meant. Then he asked if I wanted to change my fate, and I still didn't understand. Then he threw some money at me.
The little boy scratched his head. "But I didn't take it. My mother said I shouldn't get something for nothing. Then he asked me to deliver a letter. He said he would wait for me there and give me two silver coins when I came back. But when I returned with the letter, he was gone."
"Can you take us there?" Phil Gray asked again.
"No problem," the little boy patted his chest. "But I need to buy medicine for my mom first."
“Okay.” Phil Gray pondered. This was their first time here; what might happen to Patrick?
Simona sighed, took out two silver coins from her bag, and smiled as she asked the little boy, "Here you go, go buy some medicine. By the way, my gardener has gone home and won't be back for a month. If you have time, could you help me water the plants? I'll pay you."
The little boy was overjoyed, his lips trembling slightly, "Okay, thank you, beautiful sister."
Simmona smiled.
Duke Sari pondered, "Your companion has gone missing? The princess is imprisoned in the palace, so she shouldn't be able to harm you, but we can't rule out the possibility that she has other people under her command."
“Father, if you have any way, please help us find out,” Ernest said.
The Duke of Surrey wielded considerable power in the capital.
“Alright.” Duke Sari leaned on his cane and walked slowly on the ground. “It might not be the princess. You should go and check the place where she disappeared. Perhaps you can find some clues.”
Phil Gray thought so too.
After leaving the pharmacy, the boy led them in a long circle to the entrance of a small alley. There was a wooden sign in front of the alley, which he had clearly left there yesterday.
"This is it. He was waiting for me here yesterday." The little boy glanced at them and asked, "Can I go first? I want to take the medicine home."
Phil Gray nodded.
There were no traces left on the ground, but there was an abandoned courtyard nearby.
“Eli, let’s go in and take a look.”
Phil Gray walked toward the small yard, which had no gate and revealed some moldy straw and food scraps.
Further inside, there were two or three rooms, clearly showing signs of having been cleaned, and several iron boxes left behind.
"This is?"
Phil Gray and Eli exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
Eli took out the fake tobacco he hadn't had time to throw away from the space stone, compared it with the fake tobacco, and saw that they had the same markings, both of which were produced on Malu Island.
"Did the people temporarily staying here also buy this tobacco? Is it related to Patrick's disappearance?"
Phil Grays suggested that perhaps the wind was too cold that night, and Patrick saw the abandoned yard and wanted to come in to escape the wind.
Then I met the people here, and what happened next?
"Who are the temporary residents here?" Eli asked as well.
They searched the houses again carefully, confirming that someone had indeed stayed there the night before, and found some scattered local specialties from Malu Island.
“Let’s ask the people around here.” Phil Gray and his group walked around the neighborhood and met several people who lived nearby.
"Excuse me, who lives in that abandoned courtyard?" Eli stopped an elderly man who was about to enter the house.
"You mean that courtyard in front? I don't know. Those people have been staying there for almost seven or eight days. They're so noisy every day, it's impossible for anyone to sleep. But they look so vicious, how could an old man like me dare to go up and argue with them?"
The old man lowered his voice, as if afraid someone might hear him.
“Why didn’t you report it to the sheriff?” Phil Gray asked.
"Hmph, how dare I? I even saw nobles coming to see them!" the old man said irritably, then glared at the courtyard. "They're crazy, rich and powerful yet they insist on staying in that dilapidated courtyard!"
"You should all leave now, don't ask me anything!"
The old man angrily slammed the door shut.
"I'd also like to ask him which nobleman he met," Phil Gray said, shaking his head helplessly.
"Why would these rich and powerful people live in this dilapidated little courtyard?" Eli carefully examined the several iron boxes that had just been searched. The tobacco inside was intact and showed no signs of use.
"Could they be the group that came from Malu Island?" Phil Gray's eyes flashed.
Although these tobaccos are fake, they are not cheap. If these people are the buyers, why don't they use them and instead just throw them away?
There is a high probability that they know these are fake, or that they themselves are the tobacco sellers.
“Then they probably left the city last night.” Eli frowned as well.
“Let’s go find His Excellency the Duke for help,” Phil Gray said, and he and Eli headed back towards the Duke’s mansion.
Ernest and Simona were asking around the neighborhood if anyone had seen Patrick, but it was already night, and it was cold, so there were very few people around, and no one would pay attention to a stranger.
Phil Gray told them about his and Eli's discovery and asked the Duke of Surrey to send someone to investigate the people living in the courtyard.
After the guards searched the area and questioned the surrounding residents, it was confirmed that the people there were indeed from Malu Island.
“Patrick most likely left with them.” Phil Gray rubbed his temples.
"Those people are also chosen ones? Although Patrick's strength isn't that great, he's still a Blessed-level chosen one. He couldn't have been taken away so easily by them," Eli thought for a moment and asked.
“It’s also possible that your companion discovered their affair and simply followed them,” Duke Sari speculated.
“No, no, no, he wouldn’t take action without telling us,” Phil Gray shook his head.
“Those people left the city last night, and Viscount Ward went after them with his knights,” Duke Sari added.
“Thank you for your help, but we’re still a bit worried, so I’m planning to go out of town with Eli to search,” Phil Gray said, then looked at Ernest, “The two of us are fine. You can stay here. In case Patrick isn’t with those people, he can come back soon and keep an eye on you.”
Ernest clearly disagreed, but seeing Phil Gray's determined look, he could only sigh, "You must take good care of yourself!"
He could also tell that the Pope simply wanted him to spend more time with his family.
“Okay,” Phil Gray replied with a smile.
The Duke of Surrey summoned his servants and prepared horses for them. In this atmosphere, he and Eli should mount their horses and ride off into the distance, leaving behind a dashing silhouette.
But Phil Gray can't ride a horse!
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