Mateo picked up a glass and polished it, "That's a pity. You're late. The Everly family just held a dance a few days ago."
"What?" Xing Ze spread his hands and shouted regretfully, "I have always had bad luck."
"Don't be discouraged, man. There may be another dance in a few days. Those big families just like this."
"I'd like to thank you, my friend. I think the dance will be great that day. You will be there too, right?"
"Haha." Mateo couldn't help laughing, "Of course, I'm the best bartender here."
When he said this, his voice was much lowered, and he glanced at the middle-aged bartender guiltily.
Xing Ze looked very interested, making himself look like a boy from the countryside, "Tell me, Mateo, how was the dance?"
Sure enough, Mateo put down the glass and boasted: "The Everly family, oh, Merlin's Beard. They come here every year to hold a ball and invite all kinds of big shots..."
He boasted for almost half an hour, but he focused on some trivial things, such as food, wine, clothes, etc. He was obviously very knowledgeable about all aspects and could name more than a dozen types of wine, as well as clothes.
The styles are mostly women's clothes.
Since he was not bad looking, Xing Ze guessed that he must be very popular with women, otherwise why would a man know so many women's clothes?
"You know, what's the most exciting thing?" Mateo suddenly said something.
"Hey, friend, don't be like this." Xing Ze looked like you were playing with me, "It's like I took off my pants and found out that the other person is a man."
"Ah ha ha ha." Mateo laughed, "I like your metaphor, I like it, I want to write down what I just said."
"So, what's the most exciting thing?"
Mateo raised his eyebrows and whispered: "Woman."
"woman?"
"Yes, all kinds, socialites, wanderers, beautiful girls." Mateo said with great aftertaste, "Sweet Home, the girls from there are the best, they are well trained, just
Like a margarita.”
"Well, I heard that some special people came that day?" Xing Ze wanted to get the conversation on the right track.
Mateo, who was still immersed in beautiful memories, suddenly stopped smiling and asked warily: "What do you mean?"
"You know, unusual people may come from Knockturn Alley, or they may come from other places..."
Mateo's voice stopped suddenly. He frowned, glanced down at the middle-aged bartender, and replied in a deep voice: "No, don't ask anymore."
"Okay, okay, friend." Xing Ze waved his hand, "What's wrong with you? Have you seen a ghost? Let's talk about something fun, Mateo, horse racing lottery? Do you want to play this too?"
"Oh man, how did you tell that?"
"Newspaper, you were reading the newspaper when I sat down. Daily Mirror? The section you were reading only had horse racing. Are you holding a pen to write down horse racing cards? In addition, the lottery ticket in your pocket was exposed."
Mateo looked at his bag in surprise, and then quickly stuffed the lottery tickets into his pocket: "Wow, you are really... observant."
"Professional needs." Xing Ze shrugged, "I used to work in marketing, and I had to meet everyone, and I had to figure out what they liked."
"I've heard of this before."
"Isn't the horse racing lottery a Muggle thing? I thought wizards didn't like everything Muggle."
"I'm not a wizard, and there's nothing wrong with making some extra money."
"Earn some extra money, huh?" Xing Ze raised his lips slightly, took out a few coins from his pocket, and put them on the table.
Mateo glanced at the Galleons on the table and said, "It's just a glass of beer, you won't use that much."
"Tell me more about the dance." Xing Ze whispered, "Tonight, you can make a fortune, and maybe you can make up for what you lost in the horse racing."
"For Merlin's sake, are you an Auror?"
"Jesus, brother. Have you ever seen an Auror with my color?"
"It doesn't look like it to me. I rarely make mistakes." Mateo said, "So I think you are dangerous. We have nothing to say. If you want a drink, call me."
After saying this, he turned around and started working on his own. Xing Ze put away the galleons and glanced at the middle-aged bartender. The bartender immediately turned away and continued to clean the bar.
"Well, it seems I'm not welcome here." Xing Ze stood up and planned to leave.
Mateo turned around at this time, he stopped Xing Ze and said: "Hey, man, beer money."
"My bad." Xing Ze took out a few Nuts from his pocket and placed them on the table. Mateo reached out to get the money. When his hand left the bar, a white piece of paper appeared on it.
Xing Ze silently took the note, stuffed it into his pocket, turned around and walked outside.
"Do you want more beer?" Mateo asked from behind him.
"I don't drink."
…
The time and address were written on the note, which was in an alley behind the Diagon Harbor scrap shop. Xing Ze stayed at the Leaky Cauldron until twelve o'clock, and then set off for the agreed upon location.
He deliberately delayed about five minutes, letting Blue Beak explore the path first, and then walked towards the alley after confirming that there was nothing unusual.
As soon as he entered the alley, he smelled a familiar smell, which was blood. This smell reminded him of some bad things. He took out his wand, cast a flashing spell, and walked forward slowly.
Mateo was half lying at the end of the alley, like a discarded doll. His throat was cut and blood was flowing all over the floor. But the real cause of death was not this, but magic.
Cardiac arrest, curse, a type of black magic, often used in assassinations. The traces of magic left in the air made Xing Ze make a judgment.
He raised the wand in his hand, and wrote in blood "Everything for the King of the Underground" on the wall above Mateo's head.
"Fuck you!" Xing Ze cursed and immediately used Apparition to arrive in front of the Essex Hotel.
He walked into the hotel and went straight to the bar on the second floor, but the bar was already closed. After thinking for a few seconds, he turned back to the first floor.
"How can I help you, sir?" Aedian still had that professional smile.
"Actually, there is." Xing Ze said, holding back his anger, "Tell me where the bartender lives?"
"Mateo? Or..."
"another."
"Oh, Alger, what do you want to see him for?"
"I don't care what his fucking name is, I just want to know where to find him."
"Sir." Edian raised his hand to signal Xing Ze to calm down, "Our hotel will not disclose employee information casually. If Alger does something wrong, you can complain to him."
As he spoke, Adian pointed to a corner of the lobby, "There is a complaint box there, sir."
"Okay, okay, I understand." Xing Ze nodded and backed away slowly. He didn't want to attract the attention of the hotel security guard. "Oh, by the way, Adian, did you know that the toilet is clogged?"
"What?"
"I just went to the toilets on the first floor. One of them is blocked. You'd better go take a look. That place is a mess."