Finding the target

For Erin, the job was even easier than she had imagined.

As a lower-middle-class citizen, Erin knew how people poorer than her lived. To be honest, when she learned that her parents had died and left behind a huge debt, she felt as though her whole world had collapsed. She thought of the prostitutes standing numbly on street corners, of the children making matches and pasting paper flowers with blank expressions in shabby rented rooms, and of the homeless huddled beneath bridges, waiting hopelessly for death.

Would I end up like that, too? I once had a bright and beautiful future. Was all of it going to vanish now?

Fortunately, the gods had still smiled upon her, allowing Erin to find a job even better than she had imagined.

Although the maintenance room was a little smaller than Erin's former home, it was warm, comfortable, and safe. Unlike in crowded shared lodgings, she did not have to worry about the people around her, fear police inspections, or face extortion from gangs. A somewhat cramped but very safe space could not have suited Erin better.

And Li Wei was a very easy master to serve.

Basically, Erin's main task each morning was to prepare breakfast for him. After eating, Li Wei would leave and not return until the afternoon. During that time, she cleaned the rooms, organized the documents, and made the bed. Then she went out to buy ingredients for lunch and dinner. Li Wei was generous about that, too, giving her a full pound for household expenses.

Erin did not betray Li Wei's trust. She carefully recorded virtually every expense in her notebook, including ingredients, spare changes of clothing, and miscellaneous supplies.

Of course, to Erin, the greatest perk of the job was-her master was truly handsome!

Erin had seen plenty of men, but never one so handsome! The first time she got a clear look at Li Wei, she had practically frozen on the spot, as though struck by a petrification spell. She had never imagined someone like him could exist in this world. In her eyes, if Li Wei changed his clothes and rode a white horse, he would be the very image of every girl's dream prince!

Still, fantasies were only fantasies. Erin did not hope for any sparks of love between herself and Li Wei. Although the girls at maid school often secretly passed around romantic stories about nobles and servants falling in love across class boundaries, their teachers had warned them more than once, calmly and sternly, not to entertain such delusions!

A servant was a servant!

It was true that some masters became involved with servants for various reasons, whether out of genuine love or merely for amusement. But if the servants hoped to rise to the top in one leap through those relationships, they were deluding themselves! Especially if they were discovered or became pregnant, their only fate was to be kicked out of their masters' homes!

Then everything would be over for them: their jobs, their reputations, everything. All that awaited them then was the despair of falling from heaven into hell.

Of course, Li Wei's current standing was nowhere near that exalted, but Erin had never entertained the idea anyway. Her master was simply too handsome. She had no doubt that even the most beautiful young heiress would be unable to resist him. What a shame. If he became an actor, he would surely become the most famous star in the entire empire.

I really don't know why he chose to become a detective. And I don't know... what has Master been doing these past few days?

If Li Wei learned of Erin's questions, he would calmly tell her that he had not really been doing anything.

He had merely been going out to stroll around churches every day.

That was right. This was Li Wei's daily routine lately. After breakfast, he spent some time in a nearby church, then walked around the neighborhood, listening for information from other people. Of course, he disguised himself a little on these outings. Without a disguise, he would attract far too much attention.

And the information Li Wei eavesdropped on concerned Doctor Dolittle.

As a highly respected doctor in the Lower City, Doctor Dolittle truly held considerable standing in the hearts of its residents. In fact, on several of Li Wei's visits, he had heard plenty of people insist that Doctor Dolittle was not the murderer at all, merely someone the police had made into a scapegoat.

Well, that's true in a sense, but the police can hardly tell them the killer was a resurrected corpse.

Yet whatever people said, the prostitute killer had indeed never appeared again after that. As a result, quite a few people now believed that Doctor Dolittle really had been the murderer.

Li Wei had passed the pharmacy once. It had long since been sealed off, with entry forbidden. Everything inside seemed to have been abandoned as well. He wondered what would ultimately become of the place... most likely, nobody would bother with it.

Afterward, Li Wei visited the warehouse from before again, but Katie still did not appear. Come to think of it, he had never asked how to contact her. Or rather, Katie had left far too quickly. After they finished fighting those monsters, he and Inspector Lestrade had scrambled around searching for things. By the time they collected themselves, Katie was gone. Even Officer Fletcher had no idea when she had disappeared.

Recalling the petite figure who had stood in front of him that day, Li Wei had to admit that having a main tank really did make things feel much safer.

Unfortunately, that main tank was unlikely to work for him long-term.

What if I copied the games and raised a beast to tank for me?

Li Wei knew that nothing was off-limits in this era. Protected animals were not even a concept. On the contrary, the rarer an animal was, the higher the price it could fetch. As long as he had money, he could buy any animal he wanted.

But buying one would be useless. This was not a game, he was not a hunter, and he had no beast-taming skills. Besides, beasts capable of serving as main tanks were hard to find. They were usually large creatures like bears, and he could hardly take something like that running around the streets.

Ah, if only I could draw a skill like [Martial arts].

From his previous life to this one, Li Wei had never been in a fight. The only fighting style he knew was flailing like hell. Although his [Shooting] stat was extremely high and he even had abilities like [Death's Eye] to assist him, he only had six bullets. If more than six enemies rushed him, he would be screwed.

Of course, Li Wei did not visit churches just to slack off. He had something more important to do.

Creeeak-

Li Wei pushed open the church doors and walked inside, only to find quite a few people seated in the usually empty church. He raised an eyebrow curiously, then went over to the nun standing nearby and asked in a low voice.

"What happened? Why are there so many people here today?"

The nun hesitated at his question. But Li Wei had visited the church often lately and was something of a familiar face, so she finally answered quietly.

"The police have returned Doctor Dolittle's body. We intend to hold a small burial service for him. These people have come to attend his funeral."

"They..."

"They are all people Doctor Dolittle saved."

Facing the sacred statue before her, the nun made a reverent gesture.

"Although we don't know why Doctor Dolittle did those things, he truly did save many lives."

"May I attend as well?"

Hearing this, Li Wei said nothing more about it and simply asked, betraying nothing.

"He once took care of me, too."

He certainly took very good care of me.

"Of course."

The nun nodded.

"Whatever crimes someone committed in life, everyone is equal before the Holy Lord in death."

Then your Holy Lord is pretty useless.

Li Wei forcibly suppressed the urge to make that remark. If good people and bad people were all the same before the Holy Lord, who would bother being good? The gods back home were more reliable. At least after death, they scored your conduct before deciding whether to throw you into a cauldron of boiling oil or send you off to be reincarnated.

Still, since this world really had such bizarre rituals and monsters, might gods actually exist, too? If this Holy Lord really existed and was exactly as the church described, that would be a little... well, pretty disappointing, anyway.

Naturally, Li Wei would not show his displeasure in front of the nun. He merely held the brim of his hat and nodded slightly, then left the church with the others and went to the graveyard behind it.

An ordinary funeral required a ceremony. But Doctor Dolittle was, after all, a criminal, and the law forbade granting him ceremonial blessings. Thus, he could only be buried directly in the graveyard. By now, the coffin had already been lowered into the grave. Even the laying of flowers had been skipped. The mourners would simply be allowed a look before the grave was filled.

He was a criminal, and a serious one at that. What more could anyone expect?

Standing before the coffin, everyone removed their hats and silently gazed into the grave. The church's priest stepped forward and raised the All-Seeing Eye high in his hand.

"May the Holy Lord grant his soul rest and still his suffering. Sleep, and rest in peace..."

As the priest spoke, the gravediggers soon stepped forward and began shoveling earth over the coffin. The others bowed their heads in sorrowful silence.

Li Wei stood at the back, also pretending to mourn in silence. But this was precisely the moment he had been waiting for!

Seeing that nobody was paying attention to him, Li Wei closed his eyes, then snapped them open again.

Soul Sight!

This was one of the upgraded skills Li Wei had gained after completing the mission. According to the system's explanation, it allowed him to see various fluctuations on the spiritual plane and traces left by interference. This was also why he had come here. Clearly, the person who had given Doctor Dolittle the spellbook must have interfered with his soul. Now Li Wei wanted to see whether that person was here!

The instant Li Wei opened his eyes again, the once-colorful world turned black and white.

Like a black-and-white television, everything around him took on stark, monotonous shades. Li Wei stared at Doctor Dolittle's coffin and could see nothing but pitch darkness inside. Clearly, Doctor Dolittle was dead, so naturally, there was no soul left.

Then Li Wei noticed a black thread materialize out of thin air, connecting someone to that mass of darkness.

Clearly, this person had something to do with Doctor Dolittle!

Li Wei followed the thread with his gaze and saw the person at its other end.

It was a woman. She wore a black formal dress and a hat with a black veil that obscured her face. Her attire was perfectly ordinary, the standard outfit for someone attending a funeral... ugh...

A headache struck Li Wei, and he quickly deactivated Soul Sight. A moment later, the monotonous black-and-white world vanished, and vibrant colors returned to his vision.

"Whew..."

Keeping his expression calm, Li Wei let out a soft breath.

Soul Sight... was that how the world looked through a soul's eyes? That was truly frightening. Looking at the beautiful scenery he had "lost and regained," Li Wei once again appreciated the beauty of life.

Blue skies, white clouds, lush grass, and leafy shade.

Now this was living.

But... I really don't know what to say about this ability.

Silently looking at the lifespan he had lost, Li Wei was left speechless. This was a vicious circle. He needed to extend his life by completing missions issued by the system, yet all the skills it gave him consumed his lifespan. The mere five seconds of [Soul Sight] he had just used had cost him twenty-five minutes of life.

Sure enough, once lifespan became clearly visible, it was genuinely rather frightening.

Soon, the funeral ended, and the mourners dispersed. Li Wei blended unobtrusively into the crowd, watching the woman in the black formal dress. She left the church, climbed into a hired carriage by the street, and departed.

Standing by the street, Li Wei watched the hired carriage and silently memorized its license number. Then he approached another carriage waiting at the roadside for passengers.

"Hello, sir. Where would you like to go?"

Seeing Li Wei approach, the coachman hurried to greet him eagerly. Li Wei thought for a moment, then asked.

"Do you know the driver of that carriage just now?"

"Of course, sir."

The coachman answered immediately.

"We often pick up fares around here. His name is Kent. He's a very honest man."

"I'd like to meet him and ask him about a few things. Arrange it for me."

As he spoke, Li Wei took out several coins. At the sight of the money in his hand, the coachman's eyes lit up.

"No problem. Around lunchtime, we all spend time at the nearby Golden Fish Tavern. He'll probably head there after this fare, too."

"Good."

Li Wei nodded, then climbed into the carriage.

"Take me there."