Yiqing sensed a strange, chilling cold.
He rubbed his inexplicably itchy nose, sitting atop the fireplace behind Carlos. His semi-transparent legs swung back and forth in front of the flames, barely dispelling the eerie chill.
The dignified Sheqing Ghost folded up his jade-bone fan and tapped it against his hand over and over, listening listlessly to the conversation between Carlos and the middle-aged blond man dressed in nobleman's clothes.
"Mr. Magician, your answer is fascinating. I can almost see Lady Luck beckoning to me, blessing this investment to succeed." The blond nobleman beamed, leaning against the back of the red velvet sofa as he admired the elegant script on the letter in his hand.
It was a small cottage in a medieval European style. Soft wool rugs lay beneath the sofas and long table in the sitting room, while carriages passed now and then outside the wooden lattice windows, their wheels clattering.
Carlos sat with one leg crossed over the other. He wore a finely tailored but understated double-breasted coat, with billowy white trousers tucked into tall leather boots with heels. His fluffy gray-blue curls were combed in a way that looked careless but not messy, and his distinctly mixed-race features blended perfectly into the setting of this deduction.
With a turn of his right hand, a dark gold pocket watch appeared at his fingertips.
Click.
The watch opened. Carlos glanced at the time and said elegantly, "I'm glad you're satisfied, Mr. Hopps. For the services provided, you owe me three hundred pounds."
"Of course, of course." The blond nobleman burst into laughter, left behind the gold pounds, and departed with the help of his servant, leaning on a silver walking stick.
Only after the carriage had rattled away did Carlos pick up the banknotes he'd just earned, holding them