Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 507 Leonard's Doubt

"."

After hearing Lu Ze's reply, the helmsman Rupert's expression seemed somewhat complicated.

"Gudong!"

He remained silent for a moment, then, as if in revenge, gulped down a large mouthful of wine. This former Rune Navy officer never explained why he joined the pirate crew, why he opposed the army and empire he had previously served, nor how he had ended up in this situation.

He didn't want to talk about it, and Lu Ze didn't want to ask. The two of them stood on the bow of the ship, feeling the cold night wind.

"Squeak-"

Not long after, the restaurant door was pushed open. Orange light poured onto the deck like flowing water, casting a gracefully curved shadow.

Sofia Einhorn.

The third princess of the Fussac Empire turned her head, seemingly searching for something on the deck. Under the light, her profile was perfectly proportioned, and her long, red hair swayed with her head, smooth and beautiful.

Finally, Sophia found Luzer at the bow of the ship and immediately ran towards him with a charming smile. However, as she got closer, she noticed the middle-aged helmsman was also present, and her smile immediately faded, making her look somewhat embarrassed.

"We're almost at the reef area, I need to steer the boat carefully now."

Rupert wisely said, looking up into the distance, "Captain, please don't disturb me."

How come I didn't know there was a reef area nearby?
Lu Ze was speechless, but too lazy to explain, he simply flipped off the bow of the ship and landed in front of Sophia.

"what happened?"

He led Sophia a short distance away and asked.

"Respected Blood Cultivator, thank you very much for rescuing me."

Sofia composed herself, respectfully lifted her skirt, and bowed to him, saying, "I am."

"The third princess of the Fusak Empire, Sophia Einhorn."

Lu Ze abruptly interrupted her, saying...

"You know me."

Sofia wasn't particularly surprised, after all, she was a member of the royal family and had appeared in public before, so it was only natural that she would be recognized.

"We're more than just acquaintances; our friendship goes far beyond that."

Lu Ze said calmly, wiping his face with his hand.

"brush!"

He revealed his true form, the same face Sophia had seen in Backlund. She stared at his face, scrutinizing it for a moment in the dim light of the deck, before finally remembering.

"It's you!"

She said in surprise.

"it's me."

Lu Ze touched his face again, restoring his current appearance. "It's been a while."

The last time I saw her was when I was attending a banquet as Miss Justice's bodyguard. That banquet ended up transporting the two of us to the ruins where the Blood Emperor became a god, where, under the influence of the Extraordinary Characteristic Convergence Principle, we encountered the evil spirit of the Red Angel.

Now, Medici's three-in-one evil spirit has taken up residence in his body, and the two have met again—what a damned twist of fate!

"So, you're a Blood Cultivator." Sophia looked at him in surprise, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. But gradually, a complex emotion appeared in her expression, a mixture of envy, jealousy, and perhaps self-loathing.

"You have become a remarkable figure in the extraordinary world. And I have become like this."

Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were filled with melancholy.

Do you think I want to live this kind of life?
Lu Ze thought to himself.

The banquet at the restaurant was still going on, but gradually the sound of crying began to be heard.

With his keen hearing, Luze clearly overheard the drunken ramblings of several local natives. One man reminisced about his daughter, saying that because he hadn't harvested enough rubber on the plantation, the plantation owner had chopped off his youngest daughter's arm as punishment. A boy cried out for his mother, saying that if he could take the money in his pocket back to the past, perhaps his mother's illness could be cured.
Compared to them, it's hard to say how tragic this princess's fate was.

Lu Ze looked at her calmly and asked:
"So, how did you become like this? I heard from Rune that you've gone missing."

It was said to be missing, but it appeared in the governor's mansion in Rune territory, with a demigod warrior as its guard, which was obviously not right.

"I'm not sure how to say it either."

Sofia hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "In short, it's a complicated story."

"Then you can speak slowly."

Lu Ze didn't mind, since he hadn't planned to go inside for the banquet anyway. The night was still long; hearing about the princess's experiences would be a good way to pass the time after the battle.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Backlund, North End, 7 Pinster Street, Leonard's residence.

"It's impossible!"

Leonard Mitchell stared at the whiteboard in front of him as if he were mesmerized, on which hung a sketch portrait—a young man with gold-rimmed glasses, a thick beard, and gentle eyes.

This is the same person who appeared in the Backlund Smog Incident, the great detective Sherlock Moriarty.

Leonard stared intently at the painting.

To investigate the case, he infiltrated the dreams of several witnesses. They all knew Sherlock and had witnessed his actions in Backlund. During the investigation, Leonard gradually discovered that this Sherlock detective bore a striking resemblance to one of his fallen colleagues!
After standing there absentmindedly for a moment, he picked up an eraser and pressed it onto the drawing.

This portrait sketch, drawn by Leonard with the aid of a ritual, was naturally erasable. He carefully moved the eraser, wiping the paper and gradually removing the man's beard and gold-rimmed glasses. In this way, what appeared on the canvas was the man's unmasked true face.

"I must have made a mistake. Once I wipe off the beard and glasses, it won't look like him anymore."

Leonard spoke as if giving himself a hint, and finally, after erasing, he threw away the eraser, took a few steps back, and focused on the portrait.

"."

On the drawing paper, a young man with a scholarly air is smiling at him.

"Damn it!"

Finally, Leonard lost his temper and shouted in his apartment. He looked as if he wouldn't be satisfied until he punched the whiteboard.

But he managed to suppress the urge, instead clutching his head and pacing back and forth, muttering things like "completely illogical" and "why." His movements were a bit too large, and the resulting gust of wind stirred up the papers on the whiteboard. Among them, the wanted poster for the Blood Cultivator floated down and landed at his feet.

Leonard looked at the man on the wanted poster, and saw the hidden madness deep in his eyes.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, as if he had thought of something.

"How could there be more than one?"

(End of this chapter)