After sharing some interesting things and gossips among the nobles, Audrey stopped writing and pretended to recall things seriously.

Relying on the excellent memory of her "audience", she sorted out the fragments of her father, Earl Hall's words and occasional teachings, and some of the news she heard at banquets, balls and salons, and organized them into paragraphs.

After preparing the draft in her mind, Audrey wrote:

"Regarding the political situation in Backlund that you asked about, it is not within my scope of interest. I can only describe to you the details that I happen to know based on my impressions."

"Just a while ago, my father told me that after the repeal of the Corn Laws, food prices plummeted, and the rent standards for fields and pastures also fell off a cliff. I don't know the exact extent, so I can only give you an example to understand."

"You know, Duke Negan is the nobleman who owns the most land outside of the royal family. He is said to own more than 12 million pounds of fields, pastures, and forests. Last year, his rental income reached an all-time high of 1.3 million pounds. This year, the total rental income that can be foreseen is 850,000 pounds, a decrease of 450,000 pounds. This is already more than all the property that I can get."

"You don't need me to explain more, my dear brother. You must understand the characteristics of most old-school nobles. They are proud of owning land and rely mainly on rent income. They value dignity above all else. Even if they are in debt, they still want to maintain a life that matches their status. They spend tens of thousands of pounds on castle repairs every year, thousands or tens of thousands of pounds on clothing and jewelry every year, as well as constant hunting activities, social banquets, occasional grand weddings, extravagant funerals, and so on and so forth."

"Due to the severe decline in land rental income, as far as I know, some nobles have encountered financial difficulties. For this reason, Earl Wolfe sold 840,000 acres of land in the countryside and received 290,000 pounds. Viscount Conrad sold his collection worth 55,000 pounds to the National Gallery."

"Except for a few courageous nobles who have already shifted their focus to industries such as steel, coal, railways, banks, and rubber, everyone else has suffered serious damage in this Corn Bill turmoil. Let us praise our dear Earl Hall here!"

"My father told me that the financial difficulties will cause the nobles to lose control over party politics and seats in the House of Commons. It is conceivable that the number of MPs from landed aristocrats will decrease significantly in next year's election."

"In order to raise funds, both the Conservative Party and the New Party promised that no matter who it was, as long as they had no criminal record, they would seek a knighthood for him if enough money was donated. Of course, the prerequisite was that the gentleman had the minimum land area to match the title."

"One example is that the wealthy Mr. Sindras purchased the minimum 600,000 acres of land required for the baronial title, then donated 100,000 pounds to the Carlton Club, 400,000 pounds to the Conservative Party, and a total of 300,000 pounds to charity activities. He eventually succeeded in being crowned by His Majesty the King and became the distinguished Baron. In this regard, I heard there is a price list. The baronet is 300,000 pounds, the hereditary baron is 700,000 to 1 million pounds, and there is no clear answer for the viscount and earl, but I think it is definitely exaggerated enough."

…

"During this year, many nobles with financial problems began to seriously consider the possibility of associating with wealthy merchants. In just two months, there were three similar marriages, and the dowries of the women were very coveted."

"In addition, the workers who marched to protest against the Corn Laws did get a reduction in food prices, but their quality of life did not improve, and even worsened, because bankrupt farmers entered the city and snatched jobs with low wages, so the wages of the working class fell rapidly."

"I remember that day, after talking about these things, my father asked me, who do you think is the winner of this Corn Law incident?"

"Dear Alfred, you must know the answer. You can certainly obtain a hereditary title through your own efforts."

…………

After receiving Audrey's reply, Hugh Dilcher and Fors Wall were riding in a carriage back to the Backlund Bridge area.

Xio, with messy blond hair, looked out the window, his eyes so bright that it seemed as if two flames were burning.

She kept repeating the words "450 pounds" to herself as if she were chanting a spell, and every time she said it, her courage and strength grew.

"Darkholm hasn't come to see us today to tell us about the latest investigation. Let's go directly to his house!" Suddenly, Xio turned his head and looked at Fors.

Darkholm is the leader of a gang in the East District of Backlund, controlling many beggars and thieves.

Although he always looked kind, with a friendly smile on his round face, Xio knew that he was a cruel and vicious villain. He once broke the hand of a thief who was thirteen or fourteen years old, just because the thief kept his spoils for himself.

If it wasn't necessary, Xio wouldn't even want to see Darkholm, but he was one of the people who knew the homeless people in this city best.

Fors pushed her slightly curly brown hair behind her ears and said:

"As long as it doesn't delay my lunch."

"No problem! Maybe after this week, I will treat you to a dinner at Intis!" Xio promised, feeling very good about himself.

“Should I thank God for this?” Fors asked in amusement.

Unlike Xio, she is a shallow believer in the God of Steam and Machinery.

As they were talking, the two girls took another public carriage and arrived at the East District of Backlund, where they found Darkholm's home.

This is a townhouse located in a narrow alley. There are green plants growing on the walls and the environment outside is quite messy.

Xio walked to the door, raised his right hand, and knocked on it several times with a unique rhythm.

With a creaking sound, the door, which was not closed properly, opened backwards as she knocked.

Xio's slightly confused expression instantly turned serious, like a lion with its fur standing on end.

She pulled out the three-edged thorn she carried with her, carefully pushed the door open, and slowly walked in.

Fors also changed his nonchalant state and took out a dagger from somewhere.

None of them smelled any strange odor, but their rich experience made them keenly aware that something was wrong.

One step, two steps, three steps, Xio and Fors entered Darkholm's home.

Then they saw the pale severed arm hanging on the gas lamp, the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys on the coffee table, and strips of flesh and blood spilled on the floor and hanging on the coat rack!

The bones were shaved very cleanly and piled up in a mess right in front of the door.

Among the cluster of white bones, there was a head with empty eyes. It was Darkholm.

There was still a kind smile on his round face, and everything seemed normal. There was no smell of blood in the house, not even a trace.

As a former clinician, a later best-selling author, and a Sequence 9 Beyonder, Fors had seen even more disgusting death scenes than this. She patted Xio, who was tense and about to vomit, and looked around, saying in a deep voice:

"Qilingus? 'Vice Admiral Hurricane' Qilingus?"

"He found out that Darkholm was investigating the missing homeless man, so he followed him backwards and went straight to his house?"

"Or did Darkholm find out his whereabouts, but he discovered it?"

Xio suppressed the nausea and nodded solemnly:

"As expected of a pirate admiral known for his ferocity and cunning... and the weirdness here is consistent with the performance of his magical item."

“Cunning…” Fors was suddenly startled and blurted out, “Could he still be waiting nearby, trying to ambush and investigate his master messenger?”

Xio was stunned for a moment, then replied in a slightly panicked tone:

“Very likely!”

He was a Sequence 6 "Wind-loving One", a great pirate who possessed a magical item, while the two of them were only Sequence 9!

This is a very simple and easy comparison!

…

In the house opposite the Darkholm family, a man in his thirties with a distinctive wide chin and dark green eyes stood by the window, staring coldly at Xio and Fors as they opened the door and slowly walked in.

This is none other than "Lieutenant General Hurricane" Qi Lingos!

The black glove on his left palm suddenly began to wriggle as if it had life, and a layer of dark golden scales appeared on the surface.

Qilingos showed a cruel and happy expression, and his dark green eyeballs turned into light golden, ruthless vertical pupils.

…

Fors thought for a moment and hurriedly pulled Xio to the other side, avoiding the area facing the door.

Then she gritted her white teeth and took off a bracelet hidden by the ruffles on her cuffs.

There are three dark green rough stones on this silver bracelet. The surface of the stones is full of burn marks and is uneven.

Fors snapped off a stone and whispered in ancient Hermes:

"Door!"

She held onto Xio Dilcha tightly, watching the stone emit an illusory light of light blue.

The figures of the two ladies then blurred and became almost invisible.

They saw indescribable shapes, even transparent things that seemed non-existent, and bright lights of different colors that contained endless knowledge. They entered the mysterious spiritual world.

In that strange world that was higher than reality, Fors pulled Xio and took a step in a certain direction.

Three breaths later, they left the transparent and illusory state and returned to reality, back to Backlund.

However, the place they were in was no longer Darkholme's home, but a deserted cemetery.

…

Wearing fine-scale gloves, Qi Lingos quietly appeared at the door of Darkholm and glanced inside with cold eyes.

He was stunned for a moment, frowned slightly, and said to himself:

"'Traveler'?"

…………

In the cemetery.

"What should we do next?" Fors panted with both heartache and fear.

The bracelet was another magical item she got during the adventure when she obtained the "Apprentice" formula and materials. Apart from making her hear some strange and vague mumblings every full moon, there were no other hidden dangers.

There had originally been five stones on the bracelet, all of which could allow her to travel through the spirit world and do things like teleportation, but now, there were only two left.

Xiu calmed his mind and spirit, nodded solemnly and said:

"Notify Miss Audrey first, and then, call the police!"