Spotting the Problem

Although Li Wei did not know what channels Katie had gone through, getting into the Glorious Club went smoothly. Katie showed a card to the attendant at the entrance, and they were immediately escorted inside.

To Li Wei, this seemed more like an upscale bar. Or perhaps that was essentially what clubs were: a bunch of men and women drinking, smoking, and shooting the breeze. It counted as a form of social entertainment in an age without television or the internet.

There was basically no difference between this and chatting with drunks in a Lower City tavern. At most, the clothes were nicer and the boasting more sophisticated...

As Li Wei and Katie passed through the corridor into the main hall, they saw quite a few men and women chatting. Just then, a middle-aged man in a brightly colored formal suit, who looked like a playboy, approached with a broad smile and nodded to them.

"Hello, Mr. Li Wei, Miss Katie. Welcome to the Glorious Club."

"And you are...?"

Li Wei looked at the playboy before him and asked. The man's mouth twitched.

"I am Baron Cohen Drex, a member of the Glorious Club and your sponsor. If either of you needs anything, please feel free to tell me. I will do my utmost to accommodate you."

"Thank you, Baron Cohen. We are honored by your generosity and hospitality. I am sure we will have a wonderful time here."

"Then I won't keep you. Enjoy yourselves."

With that, Baron Cohen nodded to them, then turned and left.

Watching Baron Cohen head upstairs, Li Wei tilted his head slightly and spoke quietly to Katie.

"Do you know him?"

"No."

Katie shook her head as though it were perfectly obvious.

"I just said I wanted to join the Glorious Club and told them to find a way. It was that simple."

All right. That's certainly just like you.

"Phew..."

Only after reaching the second floor did Baron Cohen take out a handkerchief and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. Then he turned and stole a glance at the hall below. As a baron, Cohen had no particular talents. If there was anything he excelled at, it was eating, drinking, and enjoying himself. That was why he had joined the Glorious Club.

Fog City had thousands upon thousands of little clubs like this. Ordinarily, Baron Cohen would never have thought his humble establishment deserved anyone's attention. Yet, to his surprise, an emissary from someone very important had approached him the previous night, asking him to admit these two people to the club...

Baron Cohen was merely a minor baron. He could never compare with such important figures, and their paths never crossed in everyday life. With his status, meeting someone of that stature was simply impossible.

Although he did not know what the other party intended, Baron Cohen naturally would not refuse... or rather, he had no way to refuse. And so he obediently wrote a letter of introduction as requested and did his best to arrange everything properly, ensuring nothing went wrong.

Still, this was a good thing.

Baron Cohen smiled smugly.

I never had a way to make connections with those people at the top before. These two young people are clearly a fine match. Perhaps they're descendants of powerful families, or even engaged, and chose this place because they wanted somewhere private to be intimate. Otherwise, with their standing, wouldn't joining one of those exclusive aristocratic clubs be easier?

Never mind. Whatever the case, as long as I treat them well, I'm sure I'll have opportunities to get closer to the big shots in the future.

Meanwhile, Li Wei and Katie had greeted most of the club's members, receiving warm and friendly responses from almost everyone. That was only natural. Li Wei was outrageously handsome, and after dressing up carefully, Katie was a beautiful lady with an unmistakably aristocratic air. Most people assumed they were a couple who had sought out a private club for secret dates...

Such things were actually quite common. After all, distinctions of rank and class were still rigid in this era. Aristocratic couples could hardly stroll down the streets or through parks hand in hand, openly displaying their romantic lives before commoners.

A private venue that also offered a degree of refined social interaction was naturally ideal.

Compared with Katie, Li Wei attracted somewhat more attention. Partly, this was because he was truly striking, and partly because the Courtesan Killer case had only recently been solved. As a "famous detective," he was enjoying considerable recognition during this period.

If Li Wei had merely been an ordinary detective, they would not have welcomed him so warmly. The main reasons were his bearing and appearance. Black hair and black eyes symbolized an ancient aristocratic bloodline, with roots stretching back as far as the First Dynasty founded by Emperor Arthur. Li Wei's own manners were also impeccably polite, neither servile nor overbearing, with a touch of composure.

Everyone present was worldly enough to recognize at a glance that an ordinary family could never have raised someone like him, so they all treated Li Wei amicably.

Li Wei also spoke with some of them. How should he put it? The members of this club were neither particularly high-ranking nor low-ranking.

There were no major capitalists or high-level politicians among them. Instead, many held positions such as secretaries to major capitalists or aides to politicians. There were also riding instructors, painters, and others who had connections to the upper classes without belonging to them themselves.

Could this club have been created specifically for these people?

Then what was the purpose behind its founding?

"Hey."

As Li Wei pondered this, Katie reached out and discreetly pinched his arm.

"Hiss-what is it, Miss Katie?"

"Isn't it a bad idea to reveal your identity like this? Aren't we here to investigate undercover?"

"We're here to investigate, but we don't need to go undercover."

Li Wei rubbed his arm. Katie's grip had looked harmless enough, but he had felt as though his arm had been caught in a vise and was about to snap.

I'd better take my clothes off and check when I get back. It might even be bruised.

This young lady looks so delicate. Where does she get all that strength?

"We're not going undercover?"

"No."

Li Wei shook his head. If possible, he would have liked to infiltrate the place like someone in a detective novel, then slowly investigate and search for clues. Unfortunately, what Li Wei lacked most right now was time.

After completing his last mission, Li Wei had gained a total of forty-five days of lifespan. Combined with what he had left before, he had only fifty-odd days, less than two months. How could he afford to waste time on this? He had no choice but to use this risky method. Just as he had with Doctor Dolittle, he would appear directly before his target and force them to respond.

Li Wei was certain that if the mysterious woman saw him here, she would become wary. Thanks to all those newspaper reports, everyone in Fog City, and throughout the parts of the empire where news circulated, knew Li Wei as the famous detective who had solved a mysterious case. If she had something to hide, her nervousness would inevitably prompt some sort of reaction.

That was exactly what Li Wei needed. When you did not know whether a mouse hole contained a mouse, patiently waiting for it to come out was one option.

But if time was short, poking a stick straight into it worked too.

However, the woman had yet to appear.

Li Wei had greeted several ladies earlier, but none had been the one he was looking for. Although her veil had prevented him from seeing her face clearly at the church, he still remembered her gait and bearing. The ladies he had met were nothing like the woman in his memory, so... she had not appeared yet.

Time ticked by.

Li Wei played several hands of cards with the club's gentlemen, while Katie mostly chatted with the ladies about fashions and cosmetics popular in Fog City. As night fell, most people took their leave after dinner. Soon, fewer and fewer people remained.

Li Wei and Katie exchanged a glance and finally decided to leave. After all, this was not something they could settle in a day or two. If they did not meet her today, they could always come back tomorrow...

After another round of cards, Li Wei stood to take his leave. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him: tap, tap, tap. He immediately perked up, because those were the footsteps of the woman from before!

She had finally appeared!

"Ah, madam."

At the same time, the other three gentlemen playing cards with Li Wei spotted the owner of those footsteps and hurriedly stood.

"We didn't expect you to arrive so late. We thought you wouldn't be coming today."

Then a woman's steady, somewhat gentle voice sounded.

"I'm sorry. I had some matters to attend to. Have you all enjoyed yourselves this evening?"

"Of course. Oh, and we have some new members today..."

By then, Li Wei had turned to look at her, and he froze for a moment.

She, too, was briefly taken aback when she saw him.

Li Wei truly had not expected to see her here. The woman standing before him was none other than Lady Claytie, who controlled the Pink Lady Bar!

Looking at the kindly old woman before him, Li Wei's mouth twitched. From the Pink Lady in the Lower City to a private club in the Upper City?

Isn't that a rather enormous leap?

Lady Claytie's expression also shifted slightly when she saw Li Wei. At that moment, Li Wei's [Investigation] immediately caught the surprise, unease, and panic that flashed through her eyes!

Sure enough, there was definitely something wrong with this old lady!

Li Wei narrowed his eyes and offered a gentlemanly smile, then stepped forward and bowed slightly to Lady Claytie.

"Hello, madam. I am Li Wei, a detective. May I ask how I should address you?"

"...You may call me Lady Durex."

After a brief silence, Lady Claytie gave an answer that nearly made Li Wei lose his composure.

"Very well... madam."

Li Wei hesitated, but ultimately did not say the name aloud. He suspected he might burst out laughing the instant he did.

"This is my friend, Katie."

Li Wei pulled Katie over. She was staring at Lady Claytie with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide, looking rather like a fish. Lady Claytie, however, did not seem to recognize Katie. She merely composed herself and nodded to her with a smile.

"Hello, Miss Katie. It is an honor to meet you both. I hope you enjoy it here."

"Of course. We are very pleased with the place."

Katie had also recovered by then and gave Lady Claytie a smiling curtsy. Li Wei picked up his top hat and put it back on.

"My apologies, madam, but it is getting late, and we should be going. I hope we will have the chance to meet again."

"Of course, Mr. Li Wei. You are welcome at the Glorious Club anytime."

They exchanged farewells, and Li Wei led Katie out of the club and back into the carriage.

"W-what on earth is going on?"

The moment they were back in the carriage, Katie could no longer contain her astonishment.

"That was Lady Claytie just now, wasn't it? What's she doing at the Glorious Club?"

"It seems this case is even more complicated than we thought."

Li Wei reached up to rub his chin, frowning. Lady Claytie's appearance had suddenly brought a question to mind.

Even if he accepted that resurrecting Amelia really required the flesh and blood of sinners, why target only courtesans?

Even if aborting their children was an original sin, were there not people everywhere in the crime-ridden Lower City whose offenses were far worse? Robbery, murder, theft, kidnapping... As an underground physician, Doctor Dolittle surely treated plenty of unsavory people. Couldn't he simply mix the powder from Amelia's finger into other medicines, have those people drink them, and then kill them?

If there was anything the Lower City had in abundance, it was sinners.

Besides, that way, he would not have needed to target courtesans specifically. Nobody would have cared if he killed a few thugs or gang members.

The courtesan case had caused such an uproar precisely because all the victims were courtesans, and all had died violent deaths in the streets, creating an extremely damaging public impact.

Why?

Li Wei had previously accepted Doctor Dolittle's explanation in its entirety, but now he was beginning to doubt it.

After all, Doctor Dolittle had only heard that explanation from someone else. As a physician, how could he possibly understand the occult?

Lady Claytie controlled the Pink Lady. Judging by [Soul Sight], she was very likely the person who had given Doctor Dolittle that spellbook. She might even have instructed him to attack the courtesans! After all, as the owner of the Pink Lady, she could hardly have been completely unaware of the circumstances of the girls working under her. Even if they wanted to conceal things from her, could they really have managed it?

Or did she simply not care?

What exactly was Lady Claytie trying to do?

She ran the Pink Lady in the Lower City and a private club in the Upper City. Did she have any other identities?

What exactly was she trying to do?

Just then, a flash of light suddenly appeared before Li Wei's eyes, followed by a system notification.

[Mission activated: "Darkness and Shadow"]

[Mission objective: Investigate Lady Claytie's true purpose]

[Mission rewards: Lifespan +50, random reward]

At the sight of this, Li Wei finally felt relieved.

Clearly, he had found the right lead this time!

With that thought, Li Wei made an immediate decision.

"Stop the carriage."