They all call me Great Master

Chapter 202 The Mansion Under Destiny... Maker?

"Please, you must save Clay!"

As soon as Arthur had finished speaking, Mrs. Bernice repeated urgently.

No one knows a child better than their mother.

Mrs. Bernice would never consider her son as someone brave enough to "face the might of thunder," a hero—Clay's so-called "Chasing the Wind" was merely showing off to friends at a salon.

And that was the epitome of "blind folly without self-awareness!"

But what worried Mrs. Bernice the most were phrases like "darkness, loneliness, fresh blood, broken."

She feared that Clay might meet with misfortune.

Affected by worry, at any time, it was always so.

Perhaps because of this, Old Charlie had come up with a similar pattern of speech—simply put, most situations could be fit into this rhetoric.

Who doesn't have moments of arrogance?

And who can guarantee they're always right?

Certainly, there is foolish ignorance without self-awareness!

And darkness, loneliness, fresh blood, broken?

These could all be explained should disaster strike.

It was just the phrase "There will always be creatures on earth brave enough to face the might of thunder" that was different.

Because Arthur added that himself.

Following Old Charlie's procedure, it was usually time to accept payment by now.

But Arthur wouldn't do so.

He had grander schemes in mind.

So, when he saw Mrs. Bernice pulling out a cheque from her purse, the young "Spirit Medium" slightly furrowed his brow and promptly refused, saying—

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bernice, I cannot accept your payment."

Arthur said this, and Mrs. Bernice was taken aback.

In fact, Mr. Bernice was also stunned by his side.

When Arthur uttered those obscure, perplexing words, Mr. Bernice almost equated Arthur with those swindlers.

In Mr. Bernice's decades of life, he had seen too many of these fraudsters.

Each one was astonishingly magical before being exposed.

And disgustingly deceptive after being exposed.

Could it be that this man has a grander scheme?

Mr. Bernice looked at Arthur, his eyes reflecting thoughtfulness, yet he did not stop his wife's plea—

"Is it not enough money?

I can add more..."

"It's not about the money, it's about fate!

And destiny!"

Arthur, looking at Mrs. Bernice with increased pity in his eyes, spoke with a barely discernible sigh.

"If possible, I both hope to meet him and hope he never meets me."

Having said that, Arthur stood up and opened the door to the Spirit Medium Parlor.

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

Mrs. Bernice still wanted to plead, but Mr. Bernice stopped her—Arthur's last ambiguous words made Mr. Bernice even more convinced that Arthur had ulterior motives, although he couldn't pinpoint what Arthur intended to do, but he knew that continuing to plead would not yield any results and would only give Arthur more leverage.

Outside No. 2 Cork Street, after Mr. and Mrs. Bernice had left, Arthur returned to his room.

"Eagle Eye" and "Insight" informed him of Mr. Bernice's suspicions, but that was exactly what Arthur wanted.

To quickly establish a good relationship with someone like Mr. Bernice, ordinary means wouldn't work.

Only an approach that broke conventions could possibly work.

Of course, the condition was that they must find the prodigal son, Clay.

In this, Arthur was quite confident.

In finding people and gathering information, Wiggins was an expert, especially as his subordinates had increased, making the work even more efficient.

If Wiggins couldn't find him?

Then, naturally, there was Marinda.

Such was their close relationship that Arthur believed Marinda would definitely help him—considering the vast warehouses in the Docklands, he couldn't believe this woman wouldn't be tempted.

He had no previous opportunity to connect with the Bernices, but now he did, and with this woman's personality, she would surely lend a hand.

In fact, the Lady of the Eternal Night had invited the Bernices to a salon, but it was politely declined by them.

"Unaccustomed to it" was the reason given!

Anyone could see that it was just an excuse made by the Bernices, as they did not want to attend.

As for why?

Rumors had it that the Lady of the Eternal Night used bloody methods when she first arrived in South Los.

Of course, even though disliked by some, the Lady of the Eternal Night still did as she pleased.

And that hadn't changed even now.

Thinking this, Arthur once again picked up the documents collected by Haywood from the desk, naturally continuing the conversation that Mr. and Mrs. Bernice had interrupted—

"Haywood, do you have any recommendations?"

The documents in his hands numbered in the hundreds, which astonished Arthur.

He hadn't known that South Los had so many haunted houses.

Or more precisely...

So many unnatural deaths had occurred in South Los.

After all, a room where one or two people died couldn't be called a haunted house; it had to be the kind where incidents occurred repeatedly.

Of course, that had nothing to do with him.

He had only been in South Los for a few days, hadn't he?

"Yes, the first I'd recommend is this one, No. 14 Cork Street—maybe you've heard of it, it's in your district. Because the former tenants, an entire family, died there under tragic circumstances, no one dares to rent it anymore. The landlord can only drop the price for a sale, now it's only 500 gold notes, but I am confident I can talk him down to 400 gold notes!"

You should know, a house in Dar Alley needs 400 gold notes.

The normal price for Cork Street is between 1200 to 2500 gold notes.

400 gold notes is practically the base price.

Moreover, Arthur was well aware that No. 14 Cork Street was a fine house.

Without realizing it, the young 'Spirit Medium' slightly nodded.

"There's also No. 333 Russell Street. This place had two murder cases in the past. Recently, when the landlord decided to renovate, he found some strange traces in the room that frightened him so much he dared not enter the house again. The overall price around there is 800-900 gold notes, but the landlord is willing to sell for 200 gold notes, and I can probably talk him down even further."

Seeing Arthur nod, Haywood immediately felt encouraged and brought out the houses with the best value for money that he had collected.

Russell Street is also a middle-class neighborhood in the Shire District and part of a large community with complete infrastructure and a high concentration of people, enough to form high rent and sale prices.

If it weren't for the terrifying murders in the past and the noise from the landlord's recent renovation, a price of 200 gold notes would be impossible.

Of course, Haywood was confident he could get the house for between 150-175 gold notes.

While listening to Haywood's description, Arthur's expression turned somewhat strange.

How is this related to me?

I'm not some 'Creator of the Haunted House'!

"Anything else?"

The undeterred Arthur continued to ask.

While Haywood found it odd that Arthur wasn't more interested in these two exceptionally priced houses, he didn't pause and immediately said.

"Yes, No. 17 Xilin Street!"

When Haywood mentioned Xilin Street, Arthur's heart filled with dread, fearing he would mention Fornac's 'Craft Carving Workshop'.

Fortunately, that was not the case.

Instantly, the young 'Spirit Medium's' mood greatly improved.

"Let's go there first!"

He said so.

"Alright!"

Haywood nodded and sprang into action.

From simply hiring a carriage to the more complex task of communicating with the landlord for the keys to open the door, Haywood handled it all—this unscrupulous landlord showcasing his capabilities in front of Arthur.

"Sir, this is quite a nice house."

The landlord and Haywood, walking shoulder to shoulder into the small courtyard of No. 17 Xilin Street, didn't forget to turn his head to Arthur and say.

From Haywood's respectful demeanor towards Arthur, the landlord knew who the real decision-maker was.

"Hmm."

Arthur noncommittally nodded, his eyes filled with resignation.

Because—

he smelled the Scent of Blood.

The Scent of Blood wafting out from No. 17 Xilin Street.

The landlord was also puzzled by Arthur's expression, but the next moment, when he opened the door, he forgot all about it.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Seeing the body lying in the main hall of the house, the landlord screamed.

And Haywood was also shocked, stepping back repeatedly. Despite his experience on Pine Street, he should not have been so shaken, but the corpse was too unexpected.

Only to hear Haywood exclaim—

"Clay!"