Chapter 498: 498

Chapter 498 Does Mr . Holmes Live Here?

There were a total of five men running after them . Outnumbered, Zhang Heng ran to the assailants instead of waiting for them to get to him . The leader of the group and the one at the back were about five or six meters apart .

Since they were all fixated on the gypsy, they were unable to react in time when Zhang Heng came for them .

The person leading the band of pursuers was about to shout, attempting to scare the Asian man, but the easterner made the first move, punching him in the trachea . A sharp pain shot up the man’s neck, and the leader of the group crumpled on the ground, clutching his neck and wheezing as he struggled for breath .

Zhang Heng didn’t stop there . With a violent kick, he sent the person behind the leader crashing into a fish stall . The unlucky bastard overturned the cart of salmon and was buried under a pile of smoked fish .

When the other three assailants saw what had happened to their friends, they came to a halt, looking as if they had seen the devil .

These troublemakers were not unfamiliar with fistfights, but they often targeted those weaker than them . They had only stolen crowded places before and had only been involved in a few serious fights . This was completely new to them . Both their accomplices didn’t even get the chance to swing a fist before they were pummelled to the ground .

The three men looked at each other in dismay .

Zhang Heng lowered his body as if to make chase, and the three remaining assailants turned around and fled .

“Hah!”

The busker’s eyes were as round as marbles . It was quite a hilarious scene—three attackers armed with wooden sticks running helter-skelter from a barehanded man .

Zhang Heng walked past the man, still gasping for dear breath, and retrieved his coat from the busker . He gave it a little pat and draped it back over his shoulders .

“It’s all good now . But here’s my advice to you, leave this place as soon as you can . ”

Zhang Heng turned around and left without waiting for a reply . He helped the gypsy only because he happened to be there . The latter had shown kindness to the Jewish, and since he was present at the scene, he did not mind helping out .

As he was walking away, the busker came up to him, asking, “You’re really quite an interesting character . How long have you been here in London? What’s your name? Where do you live?”

Zhang Heng then openly revealed his name and address .

“Oh, you’re not an East Ender . Why are you here, then?” asked the gypsy . “Well, you’re not an East Ender either, yet here you are,” Zhang Heng retorted . “I… I have my own reasons, of course . ”

The gypsy busker answered . “Whatever it is, thank you . When I have time, I will visit your place . ”

“Mmm . ” Zhang Heng nodded, not taking the last statement seriously .

The two parted ways at an intersection and returned to their respective homes .

When he returned to his apartment on Baker Street, Mrs . Hudson had just finished preparing a warm dinner consisting of bacon, potatoes, and pumpkin soup .

Much to Zhang Heng’s surprise, the detective wasn’t in his room playing dead . Mrs . Hudson said that Holmes had received a letter earlier and had left the house since noon .

Zhang Heng could not help but wonder what case Holmes must have come across this time . Just this morning, he was still curled up in his armchair, thinking about ways to end his life . Yet, in the afternoon, he suddenly slipped into work-mode again, completely unaffected .

Mrs . Hudson was setting the table when there was a knock on the door . When Zhang Heng opened it, he found a bearded coachman standing there . In a gruff voice, he asked, “Is this Mr . Holmes’s residence?”

“That’s right . But he’s not home at the moment . ”

“But my master has something urgent, and he needs a consultation,” the coachman insisted, dissatisfied .

“I don’t know why he left, but if you’re in a hurry, you can wait for him inside…”

Zhang Heng’s voice trailed off…

“Holmes?”

The bearded man burst into laughter, and he spoke in his regular voice .

“Not bad . You were able to see through my disguise,” Holmes remarked, removing the wig, beard, eyebrows, and a whole bunch of miscellaneous things .

Now, he looked like himself again .

“Your disguise is good . Not only did you look like a coachman, but you also acted like one . You even changed your accent, lowered your tone, and used a different dialect . Even your figure had changed . ”

“But it couldn’t get past you…” Holmes sighed . “How did you know it was me?”

“You’ve cleaned and removed all the ink stains from your hands, but there are still remnants of chemical reagents . And your shoes are a little new . It doesn’t look like something a coach driver would wear . ”

Zhang Heng stopped as if he thought of something but gave up when he could not recall it .

Holmes looked a little annoyed . “Ha! It seems you’ve learned a lot this afternoon . I deliberately soiled my hands . Could you tell me? As for the shoes- I was careless-I had a pair of old shoes I kept for situations like this, but it was damaged during one of my experiments some time ago, and I had yet had the time to replace it . In the end, I had to relent and got a pair of unremarkable ones . Fortunately, not everyone in this world has excellent observation skills like you and me . ” “It looks like your trip went well . ”

Zhang Heng couldn’t remember what he wanted initially to talk about, so he set it aside for the moment .

“It was worthwhile . ” Holmes sniffed the air . “Has Mrs . Hudson prepared dinner? Then let’s talk over dinner . ”

At the table, Holmes briefly described the job he took in the afternoon to track a prominent Congress member and look into his relationship with a young woman without alerting anyone .

“The congressman is an important member of the Conservative Party and has many allies in the party . But some Conservatives suspect that he has fallen over to the opponent, the Liberal Party . After preliminary investigations, they ruled out the possibility that the congressman was involved in bribery or was under threat . But recently, he struck up an intimate relationship with a young woman . Worried that this may be a trick up the Liberal Party’s sleeve, and since they were unable to find out the relationship between the two without being found out, they’ve asked me for help . ”

“So, what have you found?” “How should I put it? It was rather intriguing . ” Holmes leaned back against the chair . ”

Under the disguise of a coachman, I went to the young lady’s place and found out she had a boyfriend she was very fond of . They were an inseparable pair, so I can ascertain that her relationship with the congressman is not what everyone thinks it is . But, at the same time, I could see that the congressman really likes her . He had gifted her with many expensive clothes and jewellery . Considering their age difference, the answer is obvious . ”

“Huh?”

“She’s the congressman’s bastard daughter . ”

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .