Breeze Ballroom

Lumian didn't look back or turn around; he continued walking towards the Public Carriage stop.

He casually glanced around, his gaze finally settling on the Glass Window of a nearby Café.

His silhouette in a dark jacket was reflected there, and not too far away, there was a man wearing a canvas jacket Flat Cap.

After Lumian withdrew his gaze, he suddenly quickened his pace, as if he were chasing after a two-story Public Carriage that was about to leave the platform.

As expected, he sensed the man in the blue Flat Cap start jogging.

The Public Carriage, which had been stationary, began to turn and headed towards the end of the street. Lumian, having no hope of catching up, abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Through the window of a shop on the street, Lumian subtly saw the man in the Flat Cap suddenly stop, looking rather flustered, and then turn Past to look at the Dance Hall across the street.

Lumian nodded almost imperceptibly, strolled past the Public Carriage stop, and walked on, turning into a quiet, deserted alleyway separated by Barricades.

The man in the Flat Cap quickly followed, vaulting over the low, dilapidated Barricades, but could no longer see Lumian's figure.

The target he was tracking seemed to have vanished into thin air within the alley.

Just as the man in the Flat Cap tried to give chase, Lumian, who had huddled in the corner of the Barricades, pounced like a tiger, grabbing the man's shoulders and pulling his body back towards his knees.

Bang!

Lumian delivered a knee strike squarely to the man in the Flat Cap's lower back, causing the man's face to Distortion in pain, and his legs could no longer support him.

With a thud, the man in the Flat Cap fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of Dust.

Lumian crouched down, grabbed the stalker by the back of the head, and said in a low voice, "Who gave you permission to follow me?"

"I didn't! I was just taking a shortcut!" the man in the Flat Cap cried out in protest.

Lumian laughed, grabbed his head, and slammed it hard against the ground.

With a loud bang, the man in the Flat Cap screamed in pain, his forehead bruised and swollen, stained with Blood-Colored.

"Who gave you permission to follow me?" Lumian repeated the question from before.

The man wearing the Flat Cap was very wronged:

I didn't follow you! I don't even know you!

"Alright." Lumian released his right hand.

The next second, he used his palm like a knife and struck the stalker hard behind the ear.

The man in the Flat Cap passed Past without uttering a sound.

Lumian then helped him up, considerately pulling his hat down even lower to cover his tightly closed eyes.

Then, as if helping a drunk friend, he walked steadily out of the alley and turned the corner.

There is an entrance to the Underground World there.

The reason Lumian waited for his pursuers in that alley was that he planned to move Underground if anything happened, where the environment would be "peaceful" enough.

When the man in the Flat Cap woke up, all he could see was darkness, with only a faint light in the distance that barely made out the outlines of the things around him.

The clanging sound reached his ears through layers of obstacles, approaching from afar and then quickly fading away.

As a native of the Honest Market District, he was no stranger to such a scene and suspected that he had been taken underground. There was Steam Metro running on the next "street," and the faint light here came from there.

Lumian sat in the darkness, looking at the man in the Flat Cap, and smiled, saying, "You have two choices now: either tell me who sent you to follow me, or I take you deeper underground and bury you there. You should know very well that many people disappear in Trier every day; one more won't make a difference."

Seeing that the stalker fell silent and did not answer immediately, Lumian knew that his mental defenses had wavered, so he added:

"And I will travel through these underground streets and move to another district."

Seeing that Lumian had already planned his escape route and was poised to kill him, cover up the crime, and flee, and recalling the ruthlessness and decisiveness Lumian had displayed during his earlier questioning, the man in the Flat Cap finally couldn't contain his fear and nearly collapsed, saying, "Yes, it's Baron Brignais!"

Baron Brignais? The head of the Savoie Gang, a creditor of Aosta Roul? Why is he tracking me? I only bumped into him last night at that Apartment on White Coat Street, we didn't even exchange a word... Lumian listened, both confused and bewildered.

This, in turn, convinced him that the man in the Flat Cap wasn't lying. After all, if he were truly lying, he wouldn't have chosen such an instigator—something even Lumian himself couldn't have imagined or comprehend.

Lumian frowned and asked, "Why is he following me?"

"I don't know," the man in the Flat Cap replied timidly. "He just wants me to follow you and see where you go."

Lumian for a few seconds and then asked, "Where is Baron Brignais now?"

"If nothing else is going on, he's usually at the Breeze Ballroom on Market Avenue." The man in the Flat Cap tried hard to see Lumian's face, but failed because the light was too dim.

Breeze Ballroom? Lumian had some recollection of the iconic buildings in the Honest Market District.

This is what he gleaned from his "wandering" around yesterday.

Market Avenue refers to the main road from Honest Man's Market to Susie Steam Train Station, which is about two kilometers long. Breeze Ballroom is located near the Market District, and the Statues at the entrance is quite distinctive and unforgettable.

After a moment, Lumian smirked and said to his pursuer, "Take me there. I want to speak with Baron Brignais."

The man in the Flat Cap breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his life had been saved.

As for who gained the upper hand at the Breeze Ballroom and who was "accidentally" defeated, that was none of his business.

The Breeze Ballroom is located on the bottom two floors of an earthen-yellow building. The second floor is an attached Café, and the first floor is a lively Dance Hall, but it had just opened and there were few customers.

At its entrance stands a white, Orb Statues composed of countless skulls, inscribed in Intis language: "They Slumber here, awaiting the arrival of happiness and hope." (Note 1)

Lumian glanced at it, then followed the "guide" around the Statues and arrived at the entrance of the Dance Hall.

Two Gang Thug white shirts and black jackets stood there, both with their right hands on their hips, questioning the man in the Flat Cap:

"Missiri, who is he?"

"He... he's here to see Baron Brignais," Missiri replied, slightly stammering.

After receiving suspicious and scrutinizing glances from the two Thug, Lumian calmly said, "Whether or not I see you is Baron Brignais's decision, not yours."

Do you want to bear his wrath?

After hesitating for a moment, one of the Thug turned and entered the Dance Hall.

While waiting, Lumian, quite relaxed, said to his tracker named Missiri, "Why is there such a Statues and such an Inscription? It doesn't suit the Dance Hall at all."

Of course, that's cool.

Missiri glanced at Lumian, who had a smile on his face, and answered tremblingly, "This was originally the cemetery attached to the Saint Robles Church. Later, the remains were moved to the Catacombs, and this land was vacated. Then, this house was built."

"Although those skeletons were purified, or were just ashes, our Savoie Gang still felt this place was too eerie after we bought it. So we had someone make this Statues symbolizing death and Inscription representing the dead, to Soothing any skeletons that might still exist Underground that haven't been dug up and taken away."

According to this logic, wouldn't the people who dance here usually disturb the skeletons, essentially jumping around on their heads? Lumian found it somewhat amusing.

At that moment, the Thug from before came out and said to Lumian, "Baron Brignais wants you to go to the Café on the second floor."

"Okay." Lumian walked into the Breeze Ballroom with her head held high and chest out.

What first struck him was the dance floor enclosed by railings and the half- Wooden Stage in front used for Singing; secondly, the messy seats around him and the various perfumes and cosmetics wafting in the air.

After thinking for a moment, Missiri followed behind Lumian.

He felt that no matter what, he had to report to the Baron in person, otherwise he might also end up disappearing into the Underground World.

Upon reaching the second floor, Lumian saw the "gentleman" she had met the previous night.

He was in his thirties, dressed in a black tweed suit, with brown hair that appeared to be naturally curly, brown eyes that held a confident smile, and striking facial features.

Baron Brignais put down his coffee, picked up his Peach Wood Pipe with his diamond- Ring hand, and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

He behaved quite politely and courteously.

Lumian glanced at the four Gang Thug all had their hands on their waists, and said to Baron Brignais, "Why did you send people to follow me?"

Baron Brignais smiled and readily admitted:

"I ran into you on White Coat Street last night, and then I spotted you again near Messy Street today. You look increasingly familiar, so I had Missiri follow you to find out what you're up to in the Market District."

"You went to see Aosta last night too, didn't you?"

"He's trying to scam me out of money," Lumian replied, then asked, "Why do I look familiar?"

Baron Brignais took a Pipe and smiled, saying, "To experienced people like us, you hardly look like you're pretending."

"Once we start to suspect something and make connections, it's natural that we'll recognize you, Lumian Lee, the wanted criminal worth 3,000 Felkine."

"My bounty is only 3,000 Felkine?" Lumian's first reaction was disbelief.

As the Source of the time Loop in Cordou Village, how could the official bounty be lower than that Parish Priest and Madame Pualis?

"But just providing your clues will earn you 500 Felkine," Baron Brignais chuckled. "Young man, what you need is a copy of ' The Aesthetics of Men.' Don't be ashamed; in Trier, men Makeup is perfectly normal. It will help you conceal your true appearance."

This "gentleman" also wore eyeliner and powder.

Lumian smiled:

"You want to capture me and exchange me for the bounty?"

Note 1: Quoted from the Inscription at the entrance of the Breeze Ballroom in Paris during the Victorian era; I have modified the Statues. That Dance Hall was indeed built on the site of a former cemetery, and even used stones left over from the relocation of the cemetery. Dancing on a real grave, and the previous activities such as walking the tortoise were also real events that occurred during that era.