When he opened the carriage door, an indescribable stench assaulted his nostrils.
Feng Chou's black tuxedo, half top hat, and glossy leather boots were so out of place in this narrow and dirty street. He was so conspicuous that everyone on the street was staring at him.
Some of these gazes were numb, some cowered, some were envious, and some were full of greed.
The carriage turned into another alley, and soon, the sound of the carriage could not be heard.
Feng Chou stood alone on the street and looked at the people staring at him. Suddenly, he felt an indescribable sense of loneliness, as if the people in front of him were not his own kind.
A whistle sounded in front of him.
Feng Chou looked and saw a few young people smiling at him under the thatched porch of an adobe house not far away.
Feng Chou smiled coldly and walked toward them. He stopped about ten meters away from them and pointed with his finger. A magic missile hit a pool of dirty water two to three meters in front of the young people. The violent impact almost splashed half of the pool of dirty water on the young people, drenching them.
"Magician!"
A legendary term suddenly appeared in the hearts of the people around them. People withdrew their gazes from the outsider, and some clever people had already begun to quietly slip away.
Feng Chou stared at the young people who wanted to tease him and waved at them.
The young people wiped the dirty water on their faces with their sleeves and looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
After being stunned for a moment, they saw that the gentleman's face was already showing impatience. The oldest of the young people finally mustered up his courage and walked toward the gentleman.
He stopped three meters away from the gentleman, took off the dirty canvas hat on his head, and held it in his hand. He bowed and said, "I'm sorry, sir …"
Feng Chou sized up the young man in front of him. He looked to be less than 1.6 meters tall and looked to be around 17 or 18 years old. He was wearing a large, patched grey canvas shirt, and his lower body was wearing tattered overalls of the same color and material.
There was obvious black dirt on the young man's face. His hair was a little dirty because of the dirt, and he was surrounded by a rotten smell.
Feng Chou stared at the young man sternly and said, "Take me to Fingal Alley, the middle of Fingal Alley, and help me find the Chapmans."
The young man stammered, "Sir, I don't know where Fingal Alley is …"
Feng Chou waved the staff in his hand and slapped the young man's thigh. He said sternly, "Then tell your companions to find someone who knows. Otherwise, I'll break your legs and turn you into a toad, a lame toad."
The young man let out a short scream, but he was scared back by Feng Chou's words. His face was red from the pain, and he looked at Feng Chou pitifully like a kicked puppy. Under Feng Chou's stern gaze, he turned to look at his friends. His friends kept their heads down, trying not to make eye contact with him.
The young man looked at his friends who did not help him, and then turned to look at Feng Chou. He stammered, "Sir, sir, I remember now. I'll take you there, please don't turn me into a toad."
Feng Chou waved his cane and scolded, "Then hurry up and lead the way."
The young man quickly turned around and limped into the depths of the alley.
Only when Feng Chou was far away did people dare to come out from the corners.
They looked in the direction where Feng Chou left. Some of them could not help but worry about the young man's fate, but more of them showed a gloating expression.
The young man's friends discussed for a while, then they all went into a narrow alley and disappeared.
The young man led Feng Chou in the narrow and winding alley for a short while, and he was completely lost. However, he was not worried. Qiankun Pagoda could scan and monitor an area with a radius of almost 50 meters. He was not afraid that the young man would lead him into a trap. Even if there was a trap, he would not be afraid of a bunch of hooligans who were not even professionals.
Feng Chou was lost, but Qiankun Pagoda was not. He would remember every place that Feng Chou had been to.
Half an hour later, in a slightly wider alley, the young man told Feng Chou that this was Fingal Alley.
Feng Chou casually called over a dirty child who was running by and threw him a copper coin. He asked, "What is this place called?"
The child caught the copper coin and said in surprise, "This is Fingal Alley, sir."
He took out another copper coin and asked the child, "Do you live here?"
The child stared at the copper coin and said, "Yes, sir. I live in the Walker Apartments in front."
Feng Chou shook the copper coin. "Then you must know Mr. Chapman?"
The child hesitated for a moment. Feng Chou took out another copper coin without hesitation. This time, the child could not resist the temptation and said, "I know. His family lives above mine."
Feng Chou handed the copper coin to the child and said, "Take me to his house. I will give you two more copper coins."
The child looked at the two large copper coins in his hand happily. The people here called the copper coin a large copper coin. He said without hesitation, "Follow me, sir."
Feng Chou took out a half-crown silver coin and threw it to the young man who led the way. Amidst the pleasantly surprised thanks, he followed the child deeper into the alley.
The child led Feng Chou to the door of a brick house that looked decent in this area.
The house was very big. It looked a bit like the factory building that Feng Chou had seen in the Northwest District. The door of the house was a double-opening wooden door wrapped in iron. The door was tightly shut. The child stood on tiptoe and knocked on the door. The one-foot-square observation hole on the door opened, and a chubby old lady stuck her face out. She looked at Feng Chou suspiciously.
The child looked up and said, "Mrs. York, this gentleman is looking for the Chapman family."
Feng Chou's decent clothes made Mrs. York less vigilant. She thought for a moment and opened the door.
Feng Chou followed the child into the big house.
The inside of the big house had obviously been remodeled. The tall factory building was divided into two floors and divided into four sections by a cross-shaped corridor.
Walking through the door, they were faced with a vertical corridor. In the middle of this corridor, there was a horizontal corridor that ran through the whole factory building.
At the intersection of the corridor, there were two stairs that led to the second floor on both sides.
The child led Feng Chou to the second floor and walked into the long and narrow corridor on the left.
He stopped at the door of a room near the bottom of the corridor and knocked on the door.
The people here seemed to be very alert. Someone leaned against the door and looked out through the crack of the door. A woman's voice asked, "Harvey, who's with you?"
The child said, "A gentleman. He's looking for Mr. Chapman."
Feng Chou said, "I'm looking for Mr. Upton Chapman."
Sensing the hesitation in the room, Feng Chou added, "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause you trouble. Perhaps I can provide you with some help, but the premise is that I have to talk to Mr. Chapman."