For a moment, the eyes of several people in the room fell on Lex.
Lyn asked with great interest, "What's your method?"
Heh heh, Dream Divination. As long as I have an item belonging to the divination target, I can use Midnight Dream to gain some insight.
Unless that gentleman is unlucky enough to have provoked an Evil God or other high-ranking entity, I should be able to determine his current location.
Lex picked up the sheets of paper and smiled, "That's a trade secret, Mr. Lyn."
Then he said to Cromwell, "I need a quiet, undisturbed room."
The Arbiter stood up, "Follow me."
Lex went to his study. After Cromwell closed the door, Lex was the only one left in the room.
Lex sat on the single sofa and looked at the drawings in his hand. Although these manuscripts were not the kind carried on one's person, the painter had poured his emotions into them, which could establish a connection with the divination target.
Lex picked up a pen and paper from nearby and wrote down a divination statement: Palliston's current location.
After writing it, he stacked the drawings and the paper with the divination statement together and held them in his hand.
Then, Lex leaned back in the chair, relaxed his body, entered a meditative state, and silently repeated "Palliston's current location" over and over again.
The Midnight Dream on his little finger glowed with a deep, dark light, dimming the light in the study as if night had fallen early.
In this soft 'night', Lex fell asleep, his vision a hazy gray. After an unknown period, he 'awoke' in a dream.
Then he saw a scene.
It was a secluded alley, with a street sign at the entrance that read 'Broken Axe Alley'.
Deep in the alley was a house with a gray-blue roof. On the wall behind it, many words were scrawled. In the corner, there was a basin, and the ground was damp, as if bubbles might emerge at any moment.
Just on the other side of the alley, Lex saw a man. He was disheveled, looking no different from the vagrants common in the East District.
But he was painting. He faced an empty space, observing intently and wielding his paintbrush.
The gentleman had dark brown hair, wore round-rimmed glasses, and looked very serious.
Lex noticed that he also wore a silver chain on his wrist, adorned with The Star and moon decorations.
Opening his eyes, Lex woke up. He walked out of the study and returned to the living room.
"Broken Axe Alley, Mr. Palliston is in Broken Axe Alley in the East District," Lex stated the location he had seen in his dream.
The riding instructor and Dr. Aaron exchanged glances, then said, "Are you sure, sir?"
Lex didn't answer, but instead said, "Dark brown hair, wearing round-rimmed glasses, with a chain on his hand adorned with The Star and moon decorations. Tell me, is this person Palliston?"
"If that's him, then there's no mistake, he's in Broken Axe Alley."
Talim exclaimed, "It's him, yes, it's him!"
"This is truly amazing. I never described Palliston's appearance, not even to Mr. Lyn."
"But not only do you know, you also know that Palliston wears a gift from his daughter on his hand."
Lyn stood up, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find this gentleman now."
Cromwell stopped him, "No, if so many of us go, it will arouse suspicion. Let me and 'the Duke' go, you can wait here."
Talim didn't insist, glanced at his friend, and nodded, "Alright then, we'll wait here."
Lex then put on his top hat and left with Cromwell.
After they left, the riding instructor looked at Lyn, "Is that gentleman 'the Duke'? A knight ennobled by the Kingdom?"
Lyn smiled, "No, my friend, that's just his codename."
"I see. But he's truly amazing, to know where Palliston is and even what he looks like. Don't you think so, Aaron?" The riding instructor looked at Dr. Aaron again.
The cold-faced surgeon merely grunted, saying nothing.
East District.
Lex and Cromwell easily found Broken Axe Alley. They ventured deep into the secluded alley, and a moment later, Lex saw the house with the gray-blue roof, saw the many words on the wall behind the house, and saw a man painting across from this house.
He had dark brown hair, wore round-rimmed glasses, and on the hand holding the paintbrush, there was a silver chain.
Cromwell walked over and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Palliston?"
Palliston paid no attention, quickly smearing paint on the paper. Lex walked over and saw a young girl washing clothes on the paper.
After exchanging a look with Cromwell, Lex quickly blinked his eyes, activating Spiritual Vision.
He immediately saw a girl near the wall of the opposite house, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with two braids, pale skin, and dark circles under her eyes.
She was barefoot, and a corpse identification tag was tied to the big toe of one foot.
The Arbiter was about to urge Palliston again when footsteps sounded from outside the alley, and then a voice rang out, "You crazy old man is here again! Get out, stop doing these scary things!"
It was a woman in her thirties, stout, and probably due to hard work, she looked like she was in her fifties.
She was carrying a basin full of clothes to be washed. Seeing Lex and Cromwell, she paused, surprised, and said, "Who are you?"
"We are Mr. Palliston's friends." Lex gave the Arbiter a look, indicating that he would handle it. He stepped forward and quietly asked, "Excuse me, does Jinni live nearby?"
"Their family used to live in that house." The woman looked towards the house with the gray-blue roof.
"Used to, meaning they've moved?" Lex also looked at the house.
But the woman didn't answer. She carried her basin and found a place to sit nearby, apparently preparing to wash clothes.
Seeing that Palliston seemed unwilling to leave for the time being, Lex took out some loose change from his pocket, about three or four soli. He walked over to the laundress and slipped the money into her pocket.
"Madam, I am a reporter, and I am working on a story. Can you tell me about Jinni?"
The laundress's gaze at Lex immediately changed, no longer so cold and hard. She looked at the house and sighed, "She was a good child. Her father passed away a few years ago, and her mother has lung disease…"
---
"She also has an eight-year-old boy at home. Jinni started working at a very young age, and after her father passed away, she took on the burden of the family."
"She initially did laundry at home, but two years ago, she was fortunate enough to become a textile factory worker, which made their family a little better off. Unfortunately, this good fortune didn't last long, and she lost her job not long ago."
"So, the poor child could only go back to doing laundry. She was barely able to keep the family afloat, but her mother's condition worsened. To earn more money, the child did laundry during the day and, at night, went out on the streets to solicit customers."
"Yes, she became a streetwalker. But just last week, she was murdered. Poor Jinni, she had dreamed of saving enough money so she wouldn't have to do that kind of work anymore."
"She wanted to attend night school. She had gone for a while but had to stop midway because of work. Look at that wall; when she was tired from doing laundry, she would use a stone to write words on the wall."
"She tried so hard to change, but in the end, she died. She was only 15 years old."
At this point, the laundrywoman shook her head and sighed, feeling pity for the girl's fate.
Lex couldn't help but look towards the wall. In the corner, the girl who had died was still there, doing laundry.
Her eyes were hollow, her expression numb, unaware of anything.
"What about her family? Do you know where they moved?" After hearing Jinni's story, Lex felt an indescribable sadness. If he knew where Jinni's family was, Lex wanted to help them.
"I don't know. Jinni died, and the mother and son couldn't afford the rent anymore, so they were evicted two days ago."
"I imagine the mother is unable to work, and as for the boy, he's too young; no factory would want him."
The laundrywoman started to get busy: "So I think they can only go to the Poorhouse, otherwise they'll just wander the streets. All right, sir, I have to work, or else I might also be evicted for not being able to pay the rent."
After listening to the laundrywoman's account, Lex fell silent. He had known since before that the East End of Backlund was very bad.
But today, through Jinni's story, Lex gained a more intuitive understanding of this area.
The situation here was a hundred times worse than what he had read in newspapers or heard from others.
People living in the East End had no security whatsoever; their daily labor barely allowed them to fill their stomachs.
They had no future; all they had was endless work. When they grew old, when they got sick, when they lost their value, they would be mercilessly abandoned, eventually dying on a winter night or at a busy street corner.
And even if they died, no one would stop to look at them, because people living in the East End had no time to stop, no time for sorrow.
They had to spend every minute and every second on survival.
This was the East End!
This was the 'Abyss,' a living, worldly Abyss!
In the evening, Palliston finally completed his creation. As his mind relaxed, he noticed Lex and the other man.
"Who are you?"
Cromwell said in a deep voice, "Mr. Palliston, we have been entrusted by Mr. Talim to find you. Mr. Talim is very worried about you and hopes you will return with us."
"Talim?"
Palliston laughed: "What is he worried about? I'm doing fine. It's been a long time since I've had such a continuous flow of inspiration as I have these past few days. Look, I've completed my creation."
"I must thank her well. Oh, where is that girl? When did she leave?"
Lex glanced at Cromwell. Earlier, while Palliston was busy creating, the two of them had discussed it.
Jinni's spirit had no evil aura; she should just be an ordinary wraith, temporarily lingering due to some obsession. Even if left alone, she would eventually dissipate.
As for Palliston, the reason he could see the dead girl might be that his spiritual intuition was a bit higher than ordinary people's, or it might be that he resonated with Jinni's obsession in some way, thus forming a connection.
In short, after returning, having Palliston pray at the church should resolve it.
And before that, it was best not to say anything, so as not to scare the painter.
"She just left; she has other work to attend to," the Arbiter could only say.
Palliston showed a disappointed expression: "Is that so? I wanted to ask her name and planned to pay her some fees once these paintings are sold."
"Her name is Jinni," Lex said, then did not delve further into the topic, "It's getting late, sir, let's go home. Don't you miss your daughter?"
Palliston glanced at the silver chain on his wrist: "How could I not? I haven't seen my darling in days. I'll go back right now."
They took a carriage and first returned to Evergreen Street. When Talim saw Palliston, he finally relaxed and, after promptly paying 10 pounds, departed with Dr. Aaron and the painter Palliston.
Lex and the other two found a restaurant nearby, dined together, and had a small gathering.
Lex handed the 15,000 pounds earned from stocks to Lyn, asking him to help him find investment projects.
The lawyer agreed, but this time, he clearly told Lex.
After the investment yielded profits, he would charge an 8% 'service fee.'
On Sunday morning, Lex boarded the steam train to Tingen City, leaving Backlund. He still couldn't forget what he had seen in the East End yesterday, but he could only temporarily put that 'heaviness' aside.
He knew very well that such tragic things would continue to happen, and it was not something he alone, or any one person, could change.
After all, he was not yet strong enough, not yet powerful enough to influence the situation.
And even a powerful figure like Emperor Roselle couldn't implement reforms all at once, but rather, over decades, or even centuries, he changed some deeply ingrained concepts in this world.
Around 11:37 AM, the steam train pulled into the station. With November approaching, the weather in Tingen was already chilly. Even though the sun was bright today, the wind still made one feel cold.
Lex exited the train station and took a carriage to Violet Hotel. He checked into a room, then dined at a restaurant near the inn.
While enjoying lunch, Lex also briefly planned his itinerary for these two days in Tingen.
Considering that Melissa might be at school during the day, Lex decided to visit the descendants of Jane Britney on Fania Street in the afternoon and then find Melissa in the evening.
If there was still time in the afternoon, he would contact Nafi and Kaven; if not, he would postpone it until tomorrow.
Tomorrow, he also had to meet the former Hunter Kyle, then visit the Tingen University laboratory, attend the Tarot Club in the afternoon, and then return to Yedgar Island on Tuesday or wednesday.
"Hmm, after returning to the inn, if I have time, I also need to record the local customs of Yedgar Island in the Gazetteer. There's really a lot to do."
At the same time.
Yedgar Island.
On a cargo ship docked near the port, several Sailors were washing the deck when suddenly, someone exclaimed, pointing to the distant sea: "Look, it seems like there's someone out there."
The Sailors looked over, and indeed, on the sea reflecting the sunlight, someone seemed to be floating towards them. When the person was carried closer by the seawater, the Sailors saw clearly that it was a woman.