Lord of Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

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Hobert's first thought was the "Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence." If he was right, this seemingly ordinary case must conceal a mystical item or a Beyonder from the Lawyer Pathway.

When handling Mr. Baron's case earlier, based on what Penny told him about the "Country Lawyer," he was 100% certain that they were a Beyonder from the Lawyer Pathway!

Hobert smiled helplessly: "I should have realized earlier. The Nation of Disorder is a key element for both the Lawyer and Arbiter Pathways to become a Great Old One. It's like a massive magnet, drawing the Beyonder characteristics from these two Pathways toward me."

He then reflected on himself: "Over the past month, I still haven't fully transitioned my mindset from the modern era to the Beyonder world. My past life experiences are useful, but in this extraordinary world, its rules are what truly matter."

Seeing Hobert lost in thought, Airey smiled smugly, "So, Mr. Lawyer, as I said before, we've never owned a dog."

Hobert asked, "Then where did the barking we heard come from?"

"The Henry family, who live behind us, own a dog!" Airey said. "I think their dog must have gotten loose, first coming to my yard, then to that old geezer Polly's yard."

"As for why Polly swore that the dog came from my basement, I believe it's because his old eyes played tricks on him. Plus, he doesn't dare confront the Henrys, so he cowardly pushed the blame onto me."

After leaving the basement, Airey pointed to the predominantly dark-colored house behind his own, "That's the Henrys' house."

The house gave off a deathly atmosphere. The curtains and door drapes were tightly shut, as though it had been uninhabited for a long time.

Airey explained, "It seems one of Henry's children has a rare illness. Their complexion is pale, and they're afraid of sunlight, so their house is always sealed off like this."

"Henry is a fabric merchant, stern-faced, and not easy to get along with. The neighbors don't like dealing with him."

"Oh, and speaking of which, it seems they haven't left their house in a few days."

As Hobert left Airey's backyard and approached the Henry household, sure enough, he heard barking coming from the basement.

Hobert knocked on the garden gate, but no one answered. So, he opened it and knocked on the front door.

After waiting for about half a minute, he finally heard footsteps inside. The person inside seemed to drag their feet across the floor, and a hoarse voice asked, "Who is it?"

Hobert briefly introduced himself and explained his reason for coming, "May I take a look at the dog you're keeping in the basement?"

The hoarse voice responded, "We all have a severe flu. If you don't want to catch it, come back in a few days."

After a moment of thought, Hobert replied, "Alright. I'll return later this week. I hope you all recover soon."

Back at Mr. Polly's house, upon hearing that Airey didn't have a dog but the Henrys did, and that the barking came from their basement, Polly shook his head repeatedly, "Sir, I may be old, but my eyes aren't that bad yet. Besides, I'm not the only one who saw it; everyone saw the big dog coming out of Airey's basement."

Hobert glanced out the window, noting that Airey's and Henry's basements were only separated by a narrow country lane: "Perhaps there's another explanation…"

He smiled, "Let's talk about Mr. Henry, shall we?"

"Oh, Henry's not someone to mess with," Polly said as he filled his pipe. "Last year, a thief snuck into their house, and Henry beat him so badly, he was left only able to mutter 'He's dead, he's dead.'"

"They moved here when I was a kid. I even attended the funeral of old Henry, Mr. Henry's father, young Henry's grandfather."

"They used to be a friendly family, but ever since young Henry fell ill three years ago, they've become strange…"

Listening to Polly's ramblings yielded little useful information.

However, Hobert was certain that the Henrys weren't ordinary fabric merchants. He decided that after receiving compensation from The Hanged Man, he would investigate further.

After informing Mr. Polly that he'd return in a few days, Hobert took his leave.

Upon returning to his law office, Hobert received a letter from the Mercenary Club, informing him that since yesterday evening, The Private had received two packages.

Hobert didn't expect The Hanged Man's package to arrive so quickly, but after thinking it over, he understood. The package must have come back with the mercenaries returning from the Southern Continent, and one of them had delivered it to the club.

After lunch, Hobert headed out again to "visit a client."

He didn't rush to collect the package but instead sat in the club's lounge for a while, sipping the club's provided tea. From the conversations around him, he learned that a group of mercenaries who had ambushed Beyonders from the Feysac Empire in the Southern Continent had returned by airship.

Many people already knew the details of the battle: two Sequence 5s, six Sequence 6s, seventeen Sequence 7s, and several Sequence 8s and 9s were taken down.

It was also said that the spoils included Beyonder characteristics, many mystical items, and even two sealed artifacts.

It was easy to imagine that this weekend's Beyonder gathering would feature several participants selling their spoils.

Hobert calculated his current wealth, which had reached nearly 1,100 pounds. If there was a suitable mystical item, he'd definitely make a move!

After two cups of tea, he finally went to the front desk to retrieve The Private's package.

Instead of leaving immediately, Hobert requested a small meeting room, where, after closing the door, he opened the first package. Inside was 600 pounds in cash.

Hobert happily counted the money, then took out his wallet—wait, his wallet was already full. He had to stuff the cash into his inner pocket.

At that moment, Hobert felt nostalgic for the days of online payments. Money in a phone wouldn't make him a target for thieves or criminals.

The other package contained a dark ring box. Hobert held the ring in his palm and, feeling no discomfort, slipped it onto his index finger.

The moment he put it on, his mind was filled with a dozen techniques for using a cane to attack enemies, as well as how to coordinate his footwork with his strikes and defenses in battle.

Hobert smiled slightly; this was exactly the ability he needed.

He glanced at the packaging on the table. It had to be destroyed to prevent anyone from tracing his identity.

Should he tear it into pieces? No, no, what if someone picks up the pieces and puts them back together?

But how should he destroy it? Fire? What if that starts a fire?

Or... wait, Hobert suddenly realized that his concerns were a side effect of the ring.