Chapter 541 Invitation


    When she came to the gate of Duanmuhuai''s apartment again, Mary seemed a little nervous, but she still took a deep breath and knocked on the door.


    "who?"


    "It''s me, Mr. Duanmu, Mary Clarissa."


    “Oh, come in.”


    Soon, the door opened, and then Mary saw a maid with long brown hair standing there and bowing to her. She didn''t know much about this maid, she only remembered that she was responsible for flying a plane to send them out when she was in Antarctica - of course, Mary was all focused on her friends at that time, but now, she also respectfully bowed to the maid, who welcomed Mary in. When she led the maid to the living room, Mary could see Duanmu Huai sitting on the sofa, flipping through a lot of letters in her hand bored.


    “Yo.”


    Seeing Mary, Duanmu Huai waved at her without any gentlemanly, and then threw the letters aside.


    "There are so many things in the old continent. What era is this? There are tea parties, dinners, dinners... Do you think these people are idle?"


    "Is it an invitation to you?"


    Hearing Duanmuhuai’s complaints, Mary understood somewhat. Although she had two noble ladies, Charlie and Asherica as friends, she was just a middle-class student. Even if she had studied similar banquet etiquette, she didn’t want her to use it in this regard. What''s more, such banquets are usually attended by noble ladies in the social circle. Girls like Mary who consider work rather than marriage and having children after graduation do not need to care about this connection.


    "Just just treat me as a diorama... How about your friend?"


    "Ah, Xia Li is all right. She is currently recuperating in the sanitation field. She has also sent me a letter before..."


    "Oh, that''s good."


    Duanmuhuai nodded and then began to flip the letter in his hand again. Looking at Duanmu Huai, Mary suddenly felt a little nervous. This was normal. Although Charlie lost her memory and Asherika didn''t know his existence, Mary knew that her friends could live a familiar daily life again, thanks to this kind-hearted gentleman. Not to mention that he spent a lot of money for all this - although Miss Lorena once told Mary that this was the duty of the court, Mary was not the kind of girl who did not know how to repay kindness.


    So, she also hopes to introduce Duanmu Huai to her two friends to meet her. What is the better identity?


    At this time, Mary suddenly realized that her identity and Duanmu Huai seemed a little unclear.


    Logically speaking, should I be considered his client at first? But in fact, as the client, Mary did not give Duanmu Huai any reward. On the contrary, Duanmu Huai spent a lot of money for her and Xia Li, which was an astronomical figure. So I can''t figure out who is the client.


    friend? If you say it''s a friend, then...


    "Please use tea."


    Just as Mary was thinking hard about this, the maid''s arrival interrupted her thoughts. The latter took the teacup, nodded to the maid and thanked him, and then looked at Duanmu Huai again.


    “Mr. Duanmu.”


    "Um?"


    "That''s right, what...why......"


    Although he knew that Duanmu Huai didn''t care about these etiquettes, Mary was still cautious and spoke as politely as possible.


    "The holiday is about to start. Asherika and I... Asherika is going to visit Charlie in the recuperation site. Asherika will go with her fiancé Mr. Howard. If you have time, do you want to go together..."


    Speaking of this, Mary also felt that her logic seemed to be a little confused. Indeed, Mr. Howard was Ashelica''s fiancé, and it was quite a matter of fact that he went to meet Charlie. But it doesn''t seem to be that kind of relationship between me and Duanmu Huai...


    As expected, Duanmu Huai didn''t seem to be very interested in this.


    "I won''t join in the fun at your girls'' party, so I''ll have fun."


    “Yes… OK.”


    Hearing Duanmuhuai''s answer, Mary sighed silently in her heart, and at this moment, Duanmuhuai suddenly "suspected".


    "Baskerville? This is interesting."


    "Why?"


    "Have you heard of this name? Mary?"


    “Ah, yes.”


    Hearing Duanmuhuai’s inquiry, Mary nodded.


    "The Baskerville family is also one of the very famous upper class families. I have heard of it..."


    "No, no, I''m not talking about this..."


    "Ah, do you mean the magic dog of the Baskerville family?"


    As a native of Wudu, of course, Mary could not have not read the recorded novel of the great detective, and would never forget it - in fact, the reason why she was familiar with the Baskerville family was precisely because of this story. In other words, this story is known to everyone in the upper and middle levels of Wudu.


    The legend of the magic dog, the curse of the Baskerville family, the great detectives and the conspiracy behind it, not to mention that they were specially gathered into a book and published to become famous works...


    "That''s right, the magic dog of the Baskerville family."


    Duanmu Huai raised the envelope and shook it at Mary.


    "It seems that the famous detective didn''t seem to be able to completely solve this problem, and now it''s in my hands."


    "Well…………"


    Hearing this, Mary frowned.


    "I remember... At the end of that novel, Mr. Holmes and his assistant Watson should have caught the prisoner. In fact, the Baskerville family did not suffer any curse. The so-called magic dog was just a slightly larger hunting dog. The whole incident was actually the case coveted by the prisoners'' property of the Baskerville family and deliberately used the rumor to create, right?"


    "This is true for novels, but reality seems more bizarre than novels..."


    Duanmuhuai opened the letter and read it carefully.


    "It seems that I have something to do. Do you want to come together?"


    “Uh…this…”


    It is impossible to say that Mary is completely unmoved. She is a loyal reader of the book. Not to mention anything else, just being invited by the legendary Baskerville family has already made her quite excited. Not to mention, as far as it stands, this matter seems to have some indescribable relationship with the legend of the Magic Dog.


    But in the end, my longing for my friends still overwhelmed my inner joy.


    "Feel sorry………"


    "Okay, it''s understandable."


    Duanmu Huai shook his head.


    Sure enough, there are still many things happening here on the old road, and it is quite romantic. After all, this is a case that Sherlock Holmes once took action... Although from now on, he may have failed?


    Of course, maybe not?


    No matter what, I am still a D-class person at the moment. Although the matter in Antarctica is very troubled, Duanmu Huai destroyed most of the evidence, so the foundation did not give him enough upgrade authority. As of now, this case is more suitable for me. Maybe after I get this trouble, I will be able to upgrade to C level?


    In this way, it is only one step away from the actual stability anchor.


    When Duanmuhuai was about to investigate the matter about the magic dog in Baskerville, Mary had already taken the train with her friends and embarked on the road to visit Xiali in a recuperating place.


    "Bang...bang...bang..."


    Sitting on the train and listening to the rhythmic sound of tracks, Mary sighed silently. To be honest, as a student in the Department of History, Mary is not without her own ideals. Although she had thought of becoming an archaeologist for excavation of relics like her mother, she now has some new ideas. In fact, when Duanmuhuai invited Mary to join the Inquisition, such an idea once appeared in Mary''s mind.


    Maybe...will myself and Mr. Duanmu be like Watson and Sherlock Holmes?


    In Wudu, the birthplace of Sherlock Holmes, the legends and stories about him are naturally widely circulated. However, in addition to Sherlock Holmes, Watson''s existence is also very popular. In fact, for many people, although they all desire to be Sherlock Holmes, if they really want to choose, Watson is obviously a safer object.


    Following Sherlock Holmes, recording the cases he has experienced, and gathering them into a book to publish them is also a romance deep in the hearts of many young people.


    But...


    Holmes...


    Thinking of this, Mary smiled bitterly. After spending so long with Duanmu Huai, she also found that although the other party was called a detective, it was actually completely different from the famous detective who seemed to know almost everything. Indeed, he also knew a lot of knowledge that others didn''t know, but compared with Holmes, how can I say it... the gentleman didn''t seem to care about intelligence. On the contrary, many times he prefers to confront the other party head-on and then completely defeat it with violence.


    This is completely different from Holmes...


    If I were Watson, how should I describe the story about him?


    You can''t write about him smashing someone else''s head with a cane...


    But this seems quite interesting?


    “Woo………”


    However, Mary, immersed in thinking, did not notice it. Just beside her, her friend, the petite Asherika, was bulging her cheeks and looking at her dissatisfiedly.


    Mary''s expression...is it really related to a man? !


    As she looked at her friend''s cheeks slightly red and her smile as she looked out the window distracted, Ashelica was a little unable to sit still. Although she is indeed the youngest among the three, compared to Charlie and Mary, Asherika has long been engaged to a trader in the New World, and is currently in love. From this point of view, although she is the youngest, her experience in love is much richer than that of Mary and Shalie.


    but………


    Very unhappy...!


    Looking at Mary''s side face, Asherika clenched her fists silently.??????Dare to take action against Mary, the most important thing in Ashe...! There is absolutely no way to forgive!


    Ashelica knew that this was not groundless. After all, when she met a child who was wandering on the streets, the other party had said this to her.


    "Sister Mary, she is the lover of a very amazing boss!"


    To be honest, if possible, Asherika was unwilling to believe such nonsense, but the other party was also Mary''s friend, and she swore to see Mary and a man on the street late at night. At that time, Asherika was very worried. She had been wondering if there was a despicable and shameless man who took advantage of Mary''s discomfort because of Charlie''s coma and took advantage of the opportunity to tease Mary.


    Originally, Asherika planned to find time to talk to Mary in detail, but later, Charlie, who was originally unconscious, suddenly disappeared and returned to her awakening after returning. A series of things made Asherika happy, and the three of them returned to the same relationship as before, so she temporarily put this matter behind her mind.


    But now on the train like this, watching her friend show the expression of a girl in love, she still makes her unhappy!


    Who is it? He actually took advantage of the fragile girl and was despicable to get close to the "wonderful man"!


    Mary obviously was not interested in this and that between men and women, but she used this to play with her like a lost child!


    Such a man! Absolutely unforgivable! !


    “………Ah Yeh!!”


    Duanmuhuai sneeze heavily and rubbed his nose.


    "How are you? Lord Knight?"


    Hearing the sound of sneezing, Lorena poked her head out and looked at him, while Duanmu Huai shook her head.


    "It''s okay, maybe someone is talking about me."


    As he spoke, Duanmu Huai looked at Lorena.


    "Have you finished reading it?"


    "Ah, yes, I''ve finished watching it."


    Hearing Duanmuhuai''s inquiry, Lorena put down the book "The Magic Dog in Baskerville" in her hand and nodded.


    "According to the content in the book, it was the illegitimate child who wanted to compete for his family property, so he took advantage of the crime committed by the legend of the Magic Dog of the Baskerville family. And at the end of the novel, wasn''t the prisoner also caught?"


    "Yes, this time the police also investigated from this perspective."


    Duanmuhuai knocked on the file in front of him.


    Since the incident of "The Magic Dog of Baskerville", the Baskerville family has gained a reputation in Wudu, and in the long series of events that followed, the so-called curse seems to have completely disappeared due to the appearance of this novel. But just a few years ago, similar things appeared again among the Baskerville family.


    Simply put, the people of the Baskerville family were attacked by a dark, huge demon dog in the manor, and several people had died because of it. These included the predecessor of Baskerville, his eldest son, wife, and then his grandson... At that time, the police initially investigated according to the description in similar novels to see if anyone deliberately raised a hunting dog to kill people. The local police also set up an encirclement and joined forces with the guards of the Baskerville family to try to catch the black dog.


    Here’s the problem.


    Their encirclement was successful, and then...there were heavy casualties.


    According to the police and the survivors of the guards at that time, they encountered a black hound that looked bigger than a human. It was invulnerable to swords and guns, and the police who tried to stop the black dog were knocked away and died. On this night alone, thirteen or fourteen policemen and guards fell under the minions of the black dog. Because of this, they specifically asked for help from the Wudu police, and then Sheriff Restrade introduced the case to Duanmu Huai.


    This is also the reason why Duanmuhuai received an invitation from the Baskerville family.


    "But this doesn''t matter. If it''s a criminal case, it doesn''t matter to us."


    Duanmuhuai bluntly denied the possibility of any real event-the existence of the trial court was not intended to deal with ordinary cases of murder.


    "Let''s go back to the cause of the Baskerville family''s magic dog incident, you should have seen it in the book."


    "Well, according to records, the legend of the Baskerville family about the magic dogs comes from one of their absurd ancestors. They kidnapped a girl and tried to abuse her. Then the girl ran away in fear and found that the girl''s escaped ancestors were furious and sent a hunting dog to chase them, and they also rode horses to chase them. Finally, people found the bodies of the girl and the Baskerville ancestors at a strange altar. At that time, someone saw a terrible black dog biting the ancestors. After that, it was rumored that the evil behaviors of the Baskerville ancestors had caused curses and punishments..."


    "What do you think about it except for the useless literary and artistic processing here?"


    "Um…………"


    Faced with Duanmuhuai''s inquiry, Lorena thought for a moment.


    "The ancestors of the Baskerville family may want to perform some kind of cult ceremony, and that girl is the sacrifice?"


    "Yes, I think so too."


    Duanmuhuai snapped his fingers, which is why he brought Lorena with him. What they are investigating now is not an ordinary murder case, nor a criminal case. As Duanmuhuai said, the case of criminal murder has nothing to do with them. What the court is more concerned about is the evil hidden behind it.


    Just leave it to Sherlock Holmes to solve the problem. What does it have to do with them?


    "So, do you think the ceremony was successful or failed?"


    “At present, I suspect the ceremony failed.”


    Lorena opened the novel in her hand again.


    "Maybe there was a problem with the steps, or something might be wrong, causing the summoned monster to retaliate against itself..."


    "Yes, these cultists have no other skills, and their ability to commit suicide is first-class."


    Duanmu Huai curled his lips. Basically, the magic in the Cthulhu world is like this. No matter what magic you use, basically the first thing you do is to kill the summoner as soon as you start it.


    Like the cult they met in the manor at first, summoned a snake-terror, and then they swallowed the cult he summoned out in one bite.


    There are basically countless similar things, so when you see this, it is not difficult to understand the first reactions of Duanmu Huai and Luolena.


    “All in all, that’s what the current information is.”


    Duanmuhuai reached out and touched the black cat and white rabbit that were poking its head out of its pocket.


    "As for the rest, I think we will know when we go to the place."


    After that, Duanmu Huai and Lorena came to the Devon police station and reported their identities. Then, they were taken to the morgue where the bodies were stored.


    "To be honest, I''m not a person who believes in myths and legends."


    The fat forensic doctor was wearing a white coat and walking in front of Duanmuhuai. While moving his feet hard, he spoke while speaking.


    "But to be honest, what I saw this time really scared me."


    "You also participated in the encirclement that night?"


    "No, of course not."


    The fat forensic doctor shook his head.


    "I''m just going to give the other party meat. But the people in Devon couldn''t forget what happened that night, gunshots, screams, shouts... To be honest, this peaceful place has never been so noisy. When I was called by the emergency call, it turned out like this..."


    "So, do you have any clues to provide about the Baskerville family? Including the first few victims?"


    “Oh, of course.”


    The fat forensic doctor came to the desk, then stood on tiptoe, opened the top of the filing cabinet, and took out several autopsy reports.


    "Come on the order, first of all, Baskerville, a very respected doctor and a very decent person. He was found lying on the trail outside his manor in the early morning, without any trauma. The examination result was a heart attack - for an old man in his 80s, this was not actually an accident."


    "So it was archived by accident at that time?"


    "Of course, the police conducted an investigation and concluded that Old Baskerville went out for a walk, suddenly got sick on the way back, and then fell down like that... It was not surprising that it was ordinary."


    As he spoke, the fat forensic doctor took out a file again.


    "Then he was his son, Mr. Charles, who died in the evening. After supper, according to the testimony, he and his wife went out for a walk after dinner and never came back. As the sky gradually got late, the others began to worry that they went out to search and then found the bodies of the two - their necks were torn open, and the bodies were terrible, and it was obvious that they were attacked by some kind of large animal. However, I think you also know that there were no large animals in this place, and there were not even a few wolf."


    Speaking of this, the fat forensic doctor took a breath.


    "Then there was their son Fred. He was very angry and sad about the death of his parents and believed that it was done by the beast. So he took the hound, summoned a team of people and a large number of hounds up the mountain, and vowed to find the beast that killed his parents."


    "And he sent himself away?"


    "Yes."


    The fat forensic doctor sighed helplessly.


    "His head was directly photographed with meat sauce. The autopsy results showed that he should have been smashed by a bear. God, I never knew there was a bear in Devon!"


    "Then this doesn''t seem to have anything to do with the magic dog."


    "Oh, that''s right, but many people who went up the mountain at that time proved that they did not see a bear, but saw a terrifying black hunting dog that was taller than a human, and then we set up a trap to try to catch the beast..."


    Speaking of this, the fat forensic doctor paused and took a breath.


    "Okay, facts are better than words, you will know after reading them."


    As he spoke, the fat forensic doctor came to the morgue and opened the door.


    ?I will update every day, so I will have a good rest and sleep. I am still coughing and have anger on my mouth and tongue. I will not feel comfortable if I take too much medicine... I also need to take less medicine...


    ??


    ?


    (This chapter ends)