The Tavern

As an upscale residential district, the Knights' Quarter had excellent security and a pleasant environment. Naturally, there were no establishments like the Lower City's Pink Lady here. But Li Wei had not been idling away his time. After all his research, he had gained a general understanding of Fog City's geography and circumstances.

These affluent residential districts were relatively secluded, allowing their residents to live in peace. Unlike ordinary neighborhoods, they had no shops, taverns, restaurants, or other businesses. To Li Wei, they were more like modern gated communities of garden villas.

Still, even nobles needed to eat, so their servants naturally had to purchase food and other supplies. Where there was demand, there was supply. With so many nobles living here, markets catering specifically to them were bound to spring up near the Knights' Quarter.

Yes, just like the farmers' markets near upscale residential developments.

That made shopping convenient for the servants.

And naturally, there would be taverns near such markets.

"I know how this works!"

Stepping down from the carriage, Katie looked at the tavern before them with considerable excitement.

"It's just like in adventure novels! You can gather all sorts of information and news at a tavern, right?"

"Yes, more or less."

"Then should we disguise ourselves? Or do we need some kind of secret signal or password?"

"...There's no need for that. We aren't doing anything underhanded... Anyway, follow me."

At Katie's questions, Li Wei sighed helplessly, then reached out, pushed open the door, and entered the tavern.

It was already evening. Most people had finished their day's work and were drinking and chatting in the tavern.

When Li Wei appeared, the din noticeably subsided.

The reason was simple. Li Wei was still wearing his three-piece suit, carrying his silver cane, and sporting a top hat. With Katie following behind him, looking like a servant, anyone who was not blind could see that he was a man of high standing. Moreover, since the nearby market primarily served nobles, the people here understood such matters better than those elsewhere.

So when Li Wei entered the tavern, the clamor immediately dwindled to hushed whispers. Unconcerned, he walked straight to the bar and tapped on the counter.

"Barkeep, a drink for every customer here. My treat."

As he spoke, Li Wei took out several shillings and set them on the counter. The proprietor paused at his words, then approached with a broad smile and collected the gold coins. He cleared his throat loudly and turned to the tavern's patrons.

"Hey, lads! A fine gentleman's buying tonight! Drink your fill!"

"Cheers!"

Although no one yet knew why Li Wei had come, free drinks were not something to pass up, and they cheered excitedly. Only then did Li Wei turn around, remove his top hat, and give everyone a slight bow.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Li Wei, and I'm a detective."

"Ah, I know you!"

At Li Wei's introduction, a worker quickly raised his glass and shouted.

"You're that famous detective everyone's been talking about lately!"

"That's right! The Courtesan Killer, wasn't it?"

"And that Vampire..."

These ordinary working folk might not have cared much about political gossip, but they loved anything with a hint of the legendary.

"I only did what I ought to do."

Li Wei continued to smile as they spoke.

"I've come here to investigate the rumors surrounding the House of Death. Might any of you be able to offer me some information or leads?"

Everyone froze for a moment. Then the entire tavern erupted into noise like an exploding volcano.

"Me! Me! I know!"

"I know too! Sir, those rumors are quite famous!"

"Get out of the way! Nobody here knows more than I do..."

"Uh..."

Watching the patrons scramble to tell Li Wei everything they knew, Katie felt rather overwhelmed. She could not understand why they had suddenly become so enthusiastic. Weren't matters like this usually supposed to be discussed in private?

"Please, everyone, settle down."

Li Wei raised a hand, and at his gesture, the drinkers quickly fell silent and watched him.

"I'll hear what you have to say, but please take turns... First, this gentleman."

Li Wei pointed to a man with a red, bulbous nose sitting at a nearby table. The man paused, then stood up sheepishly.

"Huh? Me? Heh... Actually, I don't know all that much..."

"Just tell me whatever you know."

"All right, then. I heard this from my wife..."

The discussion in the tavern became a ghost-story session. Most of the stories concerned the nobles who had lived in the mansion: how horribly they had died and how the mansion was haunted. As the night wore on, everyone grew increasingly excited, as though they were at a banquet. Li Wei simply smiled without comment and paid the bill, while having Katie record everything they said.

Only when the tavern closed did the patrons reluctantly leave. By then, Katie was drenched in sweat from exhaustion and could barely lift her hands.

"I've never written this much in a single day before."

"Then you must have done well in school."

Li Wei glanced at the notes in Katie's hands and offered his assessment.

"How did you know?"

"If you hadn't, you'd have suffered through this long ago."

Katie tilted her head in confusion, apparently failing to understand what Li Wei meant, but soon changed the subject.

"But those stories were so scary. Were they real? Was everyone telling the truth?"

"It doesn't matter whether they were real. Have you forgotten? What matters isn't the truth, but what people think."

"Uh... That's true, but... wasn't there any truth in them at all?"

"Sometimes the truth is hidden among them. What we need to do next is work out..."

Li Wei stopped and looked toward the tavern entrance. A laundress had just come in. She hurried over to him, her face flushed as she gazed at him.

"H-hello, Mr. Detective."

"Hello, miss. What can I do for you?"

"W-well, it's like this..."

The laundress was clearly nervous and uneasy about speaking to such a handsome, gentle gentleman. She clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, twisting it in her hands.

"My grandmother used to work in that house, back when it had only just been built... I thought perhaps you might like to speak with her?"

"Of course."

As he spoke, Li Wei took a shilling from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Please lead the way."

"Y-yes, of course."

The laundress accepted the silver coin excitedly and nodded vigorously, then turned and led Li Wei and Katie out of the tavern. They followed her to an apartment a short distance from the market district. She opened the door and welcomed them inside.

The room was cramped and damp, filled with the smell of soap and moisture. Sheets, duvet covers, and other linens hung from ropes like layers of curtains. The three of them walked to the far end of the room, where a candle burned. In its flickering light, they could see a silhouette cast against a white sheet.

"Grandma..."

The laundress stepped forward to the bedside concealed behind the white sheet.

"I've brought the detective, just as you asked."

"Ah... Hello... Mr. Detective..."

An old, weary voice soon came from behind the white sheet.

"Forgive me for meeting you like this. I can't bear all this damp. Even with the curtain shielding me, my lungs feel as though they're full of water... You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not."

The laundress brought over two stools, and Li Wei and Katie sat down. The light was rather dim, but neither found it particularly difficult to bear.

"I hear you worked for that house's first owner?"

Li Wei quickly shifted into investigative mode and began asking questions.

The first response he received was a fit of violent coughing.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Detective. I worked there. Perhaps I'm one of the few people still alive who knows what happened in that place... You must have heard the rumors about that house, about the curse and the deaths..."

"Of course."

Li Wei nodded. The tavern's patrons had given him plenty of information. From them, he had learned a great deal about the House of Death.

For instance, its second owner had committed suicide. Its third owner had killed his wife and children before taking his own life. Its fourth owner had disappeared along with his servants and family. Yet aside from copious bloodstains, not a single body had been found in the house.

Unfortunately, all they could provide was information about the people who had moved into the house afterward. It was not that those victims had not been unfortunate or deserving of sympathy. But what Li Wei wanted to know now was how it had all begun. Unfortunately, so much time had passed that almost no one could give a clear account of the house's original owner.

The closest Li Wei had come was information supplied by an old coachman, who said he had driven for the house's second owner and witnessed some strange things there. According to him, when the second owner moved into the house, they had still been a happy family, a blissful, exemplary married couple.

Later, however, the couple began to argue. The husband apparently suspected his wife of having an affair, which she vehemently denied, while she in turn suspected him of infidelity. Their arguments grew increasingly heated. What the old coachman remembered most clearly was a night of torrential rain, when the wife left the house carrying a bag and asked him to drive her back to her parents' home.

Only the following day did the old coachman learn that the husband had hanged himself that very night.

After that, one owner after another had died in the house or vanished without a trace.

To the people here, it truly was the House of Death.

"I'll tell you my story..."

The old woman's voice was hoarse, punctuated by short, breathless gasps.

"I once thought I would take these secrets to my grave. But then I learned about you, Mr. Detective, and I thought this might be a chance... Do you understand what I mean? Perhaps then I could pass on to the next world with nothing left to weigh on my mind."

"I only want to uncover the truth about that house."

Li Wei's voice was calm and steady. At his reply, the old woman chuckled.

"Then let us begin..."