In that era, every country lacked institutions such as real estate agencies, so anyone wanting to sell a property could only register it with the government-established property bureau, and those wanting to buy property could only turn to the property bureau as well.
The two parties involved in the transaction often did not need to meet face-to-face, the seller just had to provide the property bureau with a quote, the buyer directly paid the property bureau and paid taxes to obtain the property deed.
Charles thought for a while, his body gradually succumbing to an irresistible drowsiness. He hadn't even taken off his clothes before he plunged into a fuzzy dreamscape.
The pitch-dark night, a long street without lights!
Wavering starlight, howling winds.
Charles felt bewildered, looking around, not understanding how he came to be outside, when he clearly remembered lying in bed.
"Something's wrong."
Charles tried to gather the Fel Energy of Bloody Glory; over the past ten or so days, this special ability had progressed further, already forming a tiny vortex at his forehead, circulating a strange energy throughout his body, steadying his heart immensely.
A soft voice suddenly sounded from behind him, "You harmed me."
Astonished, Charles turned and saw a rather beautiful young lady, her dress stained with blood and bruises on her face, looking very wretched. He recalled the murder case from the day, and asked, "Are you Mrs. Yang Miers?"
The young lady couldn't help but laugh, which under the night sky, seemed rather eerie. She asked in a haunting tone, "Don't you remember who I am? You let my husband kill me. Don't you feel any remorse?"
A fragile hand rested on Charles's shoulder, and the young lady leaned close to his face, her breath chilling, saying, "Don't you think you owe me compensation?"
Charles smiled slightly, very calmly, and said, "You are not Mrs. Yang Miers, otherwise you would have realized you've mistaken the person long ago."
A laugh full of resentment resounded by his ear as the young lady shouted, "You still want to shirk the responsibility? Pretending not to recognize me. Please come with me to Hell to revisit the charming scenes we once shared."
Charles closed his eyes, Bloody Glory surged into his fist, and he threw a punch, clashing with an unidentified object. He distinctly felt his fist gaining the upper hand as it hurled something away.
In a voice only he could hear, Charles murmured, "So in this dream, I am still Huang Haisheng!"
He had long realized that he was in a dream.
Because his appearance had reverted to that of his previous life, with black hair, black eyes, and hands pale and delicate.
Bloody Glory returned to the sphere of Fel Energy!
Fel Energy subdivides into many types, yet each one originates from the soul.
A dream may block pure physical energy, but it doesn't block Fel Energy that originates from the soul.
Although Bloody Glory had just awakened and its cultivation was very shallow, it wasn't weakened in the slightest by being in a dream.
A voice, frantic and frustrated, cried out, "You are a Transcendent?"
Charles, still closing his eyes, performed a gentlemanly gesture, smiling and said, "Yes, I am!"
"Damn it!"
Charles felt a heaviness in his body, opened his eyes, and saw the ceiling of his bedroom.
He leapt up, pushed open the window, and across the street was a carriage, illuminated by a lantern, casting a dim, dusky glow over the street.
Charles jumped gracefully from the window.
As a human in his two lifetimes, this was the first time he had experienced a free fall from the height of four floors, the wind whooshed by his ears, yet he was not afraid.
Bloody Glory infused his legs, making them as strong as those of an antelope. Landing on the ground, he slightly crouched to dissipate the impact from the high jump and elegantly walked towards the carriage across the street.
Charles smirked slightly and said, "It's quite rude to intrude into someone else's dream. Might you tell me who you are?"
A young girl's voice came from inside the carriage, frantically saying, "What are you talking about? I'm just passing through, please move aside."
Charles spoke softly, "I am not blocking your path, and if you do not wish to say anything, I will not insist. However, if you seek to investigate Mrs. Yang Miers' death, I am willing to share all I know and answer any questions you might have."
It took a while for the young girl inside the carriage to reply softly, "I'm sorry, it seems I really mistook you for someone else. Please, get in, sir."
The carriage door opened slightly, Charles didn't hesitate, opened the door wider, and stepped into the carriage.
The carriage required horses to pull it, and its wheels were very high, making the carriage body significantly higher than a modern car. Normally, one would need to use a step to comfortably get in and out.
For Charles to step into it so effortlessly, one must either have top-notch physical qualities or be a Transcendent, or perhaps both.
There was a young girl inside the carriage wearing a long dress in a homely style with delicate features. She wore black-framed glasses, and her fair, composed face was slightly blushed at the ears while a short dagger was concealed in her hand.
"Charles Meklen, a graduate from Sheffield University, employed at the Central Government Office, a First Rank Transcendent." The brief introduction broke the awkwardness and eased the girl's unease, making her less hostile.
She whispered, "Anne Brittany, junior at the University of Georgia, became a Dreamwalker in my freshman year."
Charles paid slightly more attention to the Brittany surname, recognizing its distinguished nature. However, it was obviously not the right moment to inquire further. Smiling, he said, "The University of Georgia is indeed a place I once dreamed of attending."
Anne Brittany, not sure how to handle such a conversation, softly replied, "Sheffield University is also a good school."
Charles smiled wryly and said, "Every university is a good university."
This was an indisputable platitude.
In this era, universities were not mere places of plain educational knowledge like in later times, but lands of divine grace.
The deities who govern the Era numbered nine, but only four of these deities' followers had founded universities. Each university was a supreme institution for humankind, and each cultivated the chosen ones of the gods.
Anne agreed with his statement, unaware that the rhythm of their conversation had been subtly shifted by Charles.
"I am saddened by what happened, but I am not acquainted with Mrs. Yang Miers. Mr. Yang Miers must have mistaken his own wife, leading to the tragedy."
"If you inquire at the Central Government Office, you can easily find out that I have been vacationing in Senis, and I only returned a few days ago."
Anne Brittany hesitated briefly before saying, "I believe you, Mister Meklen. It was a misunderstanding on my part."
Charles gave a slight smile, employing a very common modern rhetorical tactic by using an unrelated yet indisputable fact to prove a result thousands of miles away. Many people believed in the unquestionable fact, but they would subconsciously overlook that it was unrelated to the conclusion.