Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

If you had listened closely, even the sound it made differed slightly from the bell sound they'd heard last night.

It was probably not the same bell.

--------------------------------

Taking advantage of Vice Dean Bard's absence, Xio began to exercise her professional skills.

"Did you really pick up this string of bells from outside?"

Xio's indifferent tone carried an authority that brooked no refusal or lies.

She was subtly using her Beyonder powers as an Arbiter.

Amy timidly replied, "Yes, I found it at the foot of the mountain a month ago. Many people can vouch for me."

"What do you think of Dean Darn as a person?"

"He's bad. He often doesn't give us food and always threatens to lock us in the underground confinement room."

"And what about Vice Dean Bard?"

"Dean Bard is a good person. He's very nice to us and always takes care of us."

"Is there anyone in the orphanage who behaves strangely on a regular basis?"

Amy thought for a moment before answering, "Dean Darn. He really likes to dream."

Xio became interested. "What does Dean Darn dream about?"

Finally hearing the continuation of this question, Hastur also became serious.

"He always dreams about digging a hole in the ground and planting a gold coin, which then grows into a golden tree full of coins."

"..."

Xio and Hastur were both stunned by this answer. They had once fantasized about such a get-rich-quick dream themselves.

"When he wakes up in the morning, he gets furious over the sudden disappearance of the golden tree and loudly curses us as thieves who stole his coins," Amy added.

"..."

Xio's expression turned strange. She had hoped to glimpse something unusual in Dean Darn's dreams, but this was just the fantasy of an extremely greedy person. There was nothing suspicious about it.

After a moment of contemplation, Hastur asked, "Has Dean Darn ever dreamed about burying children in the ground?"

Lecturer Fron's face changed slightly, shocked as he looked at Hastur. He remembered that his teacher had once said that the orphanage had repeatedly committed the cruel act of burying children.

Xio's eyes widened slightly, listening more intently.

"I only remember him shouting in anger that the thieves who stole his coins should be buried in the ground so that his golden tree could bear more coins."

"Dean Darn really said that?" A bad suspicion arose in Xio's heart.

"Yes, many people heard it. We even joked privately that only someone as greedy as him could be buried and grow a golden tree full of coins," Amy said firmly.

Xio walked over to Hastur and quietly asked, "Did Dean Darn really do such cruel things?"

"It's only a possibility."

"That's despicable! How could he even harm children!"

Xio clenched her fists in anger, even more frustrated with herself for not keeping a closer eye on Dean Darn and letting him escape.

Suppressing his own anger, Hastur calmly asked, "How was the relationship between Dean Darn and Vice Dean Bard usually?"

Amy lowered his head and thought for a long time before softly saying, "Dean Darn said many times that he wanted to fire Vice Dean Bard. Once, when he was really angry, he even said he wanted to lock Vice Dean Bard in the confinement room forever and make him a prisoner for life."

"What made Dean Darn so angry that time?"

"I'm not sure. I only remember that Dean Darn was in a very bad mood that day, and many people were punished by him."

Just as Hastur was about to continue his questioning, Vice Dean Bard and the officers approached with a boy who was clearly half a head taller than Amy.

After some questioning, it was confirmed that the boy, named Simon, had indeed snatched Amy's bell the previous night and sneaked out. But in the end, he didn't have the courage to scare Aunt Lisa and, like Amy tonight, hid in the washroom for the night.

"That's a relief."

Xio visibly breathed a sigh of relief, returned the bell to Amy, and warned him not to wander around at night, and especially not to ring the bell casually, so as not to disturb others.

The two officers also gave Amy and Simon a verbal warning, then let Vice Dean Bard take them back to rest.

It seemed tonight's scare was a misunderstanding, and the officers didn't stay any longer. Once Bard had returned the children to their dorms, they left together.

The iron gate was locked again, and everything returned to calm.

The two officers and Vice Dean Bard went back to rest, while Hastur and the other two returned to his room to talk.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Xio asked sternly, tapping the table with the tri-edged dagger in her hand.

"That was something told to my teacher by a man named Old Jeff..." Instructor Fron calmly began to tell the story.

After hearing it, Xio was furious and firmly declared, "What's there to doubt? Old Jeff must have discovered Dean Darn's crimes and was silenced by him!"

Hastur agreed with Xio's reasoning.

It was basically confirmed that Old Jeff had been murdered, but even if Dean Darn was the perpetrator, he must have had an accomplice, right?

With Dean Darn's greedy and cowardly nature, he definitely wouldn't have acted personally against Old Jeff. There must be someone in the orphanage willing to do his dirty work.

Although today's investigation had confirmed many of Dean Darn's crimes, they still hadn't found any accomplices who helped him carry them out.

This remained a hidden threat.

Hastur thought for a moment and still decided to share his thoughts with Xio.

Xio confidently said, "When it comes to interrogation, I'm a professional."

"Let the law be your boundary, don't resort to violence lightly," Hastur felt it necessary to remind Xio.

"V-violence? Me? I'm just a bit more direct sometimes…" Xio's cheeks flushed slightly, and her voice clearly lacked confidence.

"For the sake of our acquaintance, if you end up at the police station over something like this, you can ask me for help."

Xio was displeased with Hastur's remark and retorted bluntly, "Ask you? A down-and-out baron?"

"I'm also a lawyer. In fact, I'm now a legal advisor for Bavart Bank."

"..."

Xio fell silent, then quietly asked, "Is Bavart Bank rich?"

"Not just rich, extremely rich."

"Sigh, too bad I'm not capable of robbing a bank. I can only earn hard money through labor."

Xio sighed, suddenly feeling disinterested. She waved her hand, losing the mood to continue talking, and Lecturer Fron left with her.

"Sometimes I want to rob a bank too."

Hastur sighed as well, but it was just a thought, like Dean Darn dreaming of planting gold coins and growing a golden tree.

Locking the door, Hastur returned to bed, thinking about tomorrow.

Regardless of whether Professor Wayne had news tomorrow, he planned to go home first. Not having bathed or changed clothes in two days made it hard to fall asleep.

As for the lingering doubts about the poorhouse, he would wait until he found Dean Darn to address them.

Maybe he was overthinking things, and Dean Darn was the sole culprit.

As for the different bell sounds over the two nights, perhaps it was simply because different people rang it with different strength, producing different sounds.

Hastur thought a lot and soon fell asleep, choosing to enter the Hall of Stars.

By now, he had grown familiar with and gained control over the Hall of Stars, able to decide whether to enter it in his sleep.

Recently overwhelmed with worries, Hastur sat quietly in a chair with his eyes closed for a long while before looking toward the star that belonged to the Son of Chaos.

As his gaze drew closer, the starlight faded.

The phantom within the Magic Wishing Lamp still flickered with a dim yellow light, serene and peaceful.

Hastur stared at it for a long time before, as usual, driving the Chain of Order to whip it once.

After shifting his worries away, he felt much more relaxed.

…

Early the next morning, Lecturer Fron knocked on the door again.

Hastur, who had barely caught a short nap, was woken up. He got up, tidied his clothes a bit, and slowly opened the door.

If Lecturer Fron had come for some trivial matter, Hastur wouldn't mind showing him what cruelty really meant.

Luckily, the news Fron brought was shocking, in a good way.

Professor Wayne had been found!

It was said that around two or three in the morning, Professor Wayne returned to his house, and was soon discovered by officers monitoring the area closely.

The news reached the dock district early in the morning, and Fron was the first to come inform him.

Hastur's expression darkened. "Professor Wayne walked back on his own?"

"That's what they said."

"Heh, how fortunate."

Hastur's expression grew even worse. What was once mere suspicion had now become certainty, Professor Wayne's disappearance was a self-directed act!

He didn't care that Wayne had taken his place in the spotlight. What infuriated him was that Wayne hadn't even given a heads-up, leaving him to worry for nothing!

Lecturer Fron cleared his throat and said, "Well, maybe the professor didn't mean it that way. Perhaps he just left in a hurry and didn't have time to say goodbye."

"Lecturer Fron, while you were chewing on white bread and too anxious to sleep, Professor Wayne was surely all alone, sipping fine wine with a perfectly grilled sausage, spending a deeply sorrowful night."

"..." Just from Hastur's description, Lecturer Fron felt his anger rising instantly.

Suddenly, he was really mad!