Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 109 - 109 One hundred and nine

109: One hundred and nine.

Another space 109: One hundred and nine.

Another space Lu Li re-entered the piano room, scanning around with his flashlight.

The room was pitch-black and deadly silent, with no trace of Old Taoist Lu.

Had Old Taoist Lu touched the formation and been taken somewhere else by some means?

Or was it possible that…

it was himself who had been taken away?

Lu Li walked straight to the window and raised his hand to push it open.

The window didn’t budge, as if it had fused with the space itself.

Lu Li took a step back and swung his elbow out.

Bang—

His elbow hit the glass soundly, making a dull noise.

The window didn’t shake at all, and the sharp pain emanating from his elbow was as clear as if he had hit a wall.

It wasn’t that Old Taoist Lu had disappeared; Lu Li was the one who was trapped.

The yin energy was pervasive, filling the entire room and even the whole house.

Lu Li contemplated whether he had been pulled in by the Soul Attracting Formation, and if this space was within the formation itself.

The reach of the Soul Attracting Formation spreading throughout the entire house was the only thing that could explain Lu Li’s current situation.

Feeling a bit tired, Lu Li reached for the coffee on the low table beside the piano.

He thought no ghost would mind him having a cup of coffee.

Moreover, Lu Li was curious to know what would happen to the real-world coffee cup if he drank up the coffee here.

However, Lu Li failed.

His palm grasped the cup, trying to lift it, but it was as unmovable as if it were affixed to the table.

Not even a ripple stirred in the coffee.

Lu Li realized something and tapped lightly on the surface of the coffee.

Thud thud—

A sound as dull as knocking on concrete echoed.

Clearly, the coffee hadn’t frozen solid.

It seemed that all objects within the Soul Attracting Formation’s space were fixed and unmovable.

Lu Li swiped his phone screen, surprisingly finding that there was still a signal here.

And it was full bars.

Tap—tap—tap—

Suddenly, slow and heavy footsteps sounded from outside the door.

This was the Soul Attracting Formation’s space, and Lu Li was the only living person here.

So, the visitor could only be a ghost…

Lu Li glanced towards the door, ignoring the gradually approaching footsteps.

He pulled up his contacts and dialed Old Taoist Lu.

Beep—beep—

After the second beep, the call was swiftly answered.

“Where did you go!?”

Old Taoist Lu’s anxious voice rang out on the phone.

Old Taoist Lu hadn’t noticed when Lu Li had disappeared.

He only heard footsteps reaching the doorway then suddenly vanishing; when he turned around, Lu Li was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Li stood by the window, looking out into the pitch-black world outside.

An impenetrable layer of black fog seemed to envelop everything outside.

He responded, “If you tear off the wallpaper by the window, you should be able to see me.”

“What do you mean…” Old Taoist Lu asked subconsciously before bursting into realization, “You’re in the Soul Attracting Formation!?”

“Hmm.” Lu Li looked up towards the door and said, “Close the door first.

I can’t close it from here, and there’s a ghost outside.”

“…Will there be time?”

“If you keep asking questions, probably not.”

With lives at stake, even if Old Taoist Lu had grievances with Lu Li, he wouldn’t dawdle on this matter.

He put down the compass, rushed to the door, closed it, and locked it.

Then he shouted into the phone, “How about your side!”

“It’s closed.”

Lu Li watched calmly as the door apparently closed by itself, locking.

He replied.

Tap—tap—tap—

At that moment, the footsteps outside the door suddenly stopped.

The last place they sounded from was right behind the door.

Lu Li’s flashlight shone on the door.

The ghastly pale wooden door was illuminated, and the reflective doorknob slowly shifted downward.

Click—

The door was pushed but failed to open.

Since the door was bolted from the inside, the presence outside couldn’t come in.

In the real world, Old Taoist Lu also witnessed the doorknob being pulled down.

He suddenly understood the pattern of the Soul Attracting Formation and asked urgently, “How did you get in?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have called you.”

Old Taoist Lu fell silent, helplessly saying, “This is beyond my knowledge…

Kid, you wait.

I’ll call my senior brother and ask.”

“Okay.”

Lu Li hung up the phone proactively.

As Old Taoist Lu in the real world contacted his senior brother, Lu Li walked around the piano room, attempting to move anything at all.

Without exception, all attempts failed, even a piece of paper, a piano key, a switch – all seemed to be fused with the room, unable to be moved.

Outside the door, dead silence prevailed, but Lu Li didn’t hear the sound of footsteps leaving.

The ghost was likely still standing outside.

A minute later, Old Taoist Lu called back.

As soon as the call connected, he blurted out, “My senior brother doesn’t know either.

This has never happened before; only ghosts can enter a Soul Attracting Formation…

Kid, tell me the truth, when did you die?”

Lu Li had an idea.

His presence in the Soul Attracting Formation might be related to his identity as a Ghost Envoy.

“So is there a way to get me out?”

Lu Li skirted the question, and Old Taoist Lu didn’t pursue it further, “There’s one way, but nobody has tried it before, and I’m not sure if it will work—”

Tap—Tap—Tap—

Footsteps resumed outside, gradually moving away from the door.

Lu Li shifted his gaze back, “Go on.”

“I will try to break a corner of the Formation; you must seize the moment to exit through the breach.

However, I can’t be disturbed while breaking the Formation, so during this time, you will have to evade those ghosts on your own.”

“And if it fails?”

“You might be trapped in the Soul Attracting Formation forever…”

“I see…

Then, open the door.”

“Why?”

“Do you think a door can stop more than five ghosts?”

“Point taken…

What?

Five?!” Old Taoist Lu exclaimed, startled by the number.

“The silhouettes of a family of three on the wall indicate they have died and been absorbed into the Soul Attracting Formation.

We followed Song Hu here, plus the ghost that killed the family of three…

There are at least five ghosts inside the Soul Attracting Formation.”

Old Taoist Lu fell silent for a long while on the other end of the phone, then said slowly, “Kid, can you hold your own?”

“Go break the formation,” Lu Li replied briefly.

“I’m going to break the formation now; don’t die.”

Old Taoist Lu replied with a complex tone and hung up the phone.

Lu Li put away his phone, wiped off the nonexistent dust from the piano stool, and took a seat.

Creak—

The complicated lock on the door was undone, and it swung open completely on its own.

He placed the flashlight on the side of the piano, raised his hands, and his slender fingers lightly caressed the motionless keys, nimbly tapping them.

But apart from a “thump, thump” sound, no other noise was heard.

In fact, Lu Li was not worried; his black eyes remained calm from beginning to end.

The entire Soul Attracting Formation was filled with yin energy, preventing Lu Li from finely sensing where the ghosts were.

However, he could be certain of one thing, the ghosts within the Soul Attracting Formation were definitely no worse than evil spirits.

Lu Li was fearless.

If the ghosts in the Soul Attracting Formation only used conventional means of attack, Lu Li wouldn’t even need to summon Chunxue; he could resolve it on his own.

Tap—Tap—Tap—

The previously vanished footsteps returned, echoing closer once again through the dim hallway.

The ghosts were approaching the piano room once more.

They believed Lu Li to be prey who had wandered in by mistake.

In reality, Lu Li was the hunter.