Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 209 - 209 66

209: 66.

Going Home 209: 66.

Going Home The carriage passed street after street, and Anna and Lu Li watched scene after scene of life unfolding.

Most of the collapsed houses were old wooden ones, which made Anna worry about her Detective Agency cabin and the safety of her sculpture.

The sculpture had consciousness and could move, but her body was merely made of plaster.

This meant she could shatter into pieces from mere mishandling.

As Anna prayed that the Detective Agency was safe, the carriage returned to Sailor Street.

Like most of the streets they passed, Sailor Street had several houses collapsed; fortunately, the residents trapped underneath had already been rescued.

Yet, this was the most oppressive atmosphere Anna and Lu Li had encountered.

The carriage rolled over cobblestones, and cries of sorrow emanated from the houses alongside the road; the local residents looked numb, the children lacked their usual laughter, standing under the eaves with red-rimmed eyes, staring vacantly.

Sailor Street was one of the few districts where sailors and crew members mostly congregated.

And most of the fishing boats had not returned yesterday…

Anna had already seen the Long House ahead intact, with only the windows shattered by the wind, requiring at most some time to clean up.

Yet, Anna found herself not as happy as she had imagined.

Only Lu Li managed to maintain an unchanging calm, as if he was without emotions.

The carriage stopped outside the window of the Detective Agency, unexpectedly protected by wooden boards installed over the windows, avoiding further damage, though the Detective Agency was in disarray.

Anna slipped into the Detective Agency like a ghost, while Lu Li took all the personal items from the carriage and stepped down.

The owner of the Long House, a middle-aged man with a Mediterranean hairstyle, came over with a beaming smile and told Lu Li that he had mounted the window boards before the storm; he then subtly inquired if there were any spirits around.

Lu Li didn’t refuse his request, briefly clutched the Spirit-Calling Gun, and was somewhat surprised that… there wasn’t a single spirit around.

Lu Li didn’t know whether this was normal or not.

But this answer was sufficient to let the owner of the Long House sigh with relief, appearing that he could have a peaceful sleep tonight.

Walking through the hallway of the Long House, the door of the Detective Agency was ajar.

Lu Li pushed it open, and a trace of light emanated from the oil lamp on the table.

Anna extinguished a match and tossed it into the wastebasket, then floated to the door to take the items from Lu Li’s hands, restoring them to their proper places.

The sculpture stayed in its original spot, only now adorned with Lu Li’s woollen coat—it was cold today.

The Detective Agency didn’t look much different from when they had left two days ago; the familiar surroundings indeed brought comfort and reassurance.

It was only regrettable that there was no bouquet made of Shilling bills or anything stuffed under the door.

Lu Li lit another oil lamp and informed Anna about the plans to return the carriage and meet with Hades, just as he had said before—he wouldn’t hide anything from Anna.

Except for his origins.

This time Anna chose to go with Lu Li, even though he was going to meet an Exorcist.

As she had decided earlier, she wanted to protect Lu Li.

The umbrella was opened overhead, and the rain gathered into a curtain of water running down its edges.

Carrying an unlit oil lamp, Lu Li stepped towards the carriage.

Many residents stood under the eaves on both sides of the road, including children, women, and elderly people, seemingly waiting for something.

The residents’ attitude towards Lu Li became more respectful, and in every pair of eyes, there was a peculiar sense of expectation.

Suddenly, a little boy broke free from his mother’s embrace, stopped abruptly with a shout, and burst through the curtain of rain to stand in front of Lu Li.

“Exorcist sir, could you please help me?”

the boy asked, looking up while his petite frame quickly got soaked.

Lu Li silently moved his umbrella forward to cover the little boy’s head while his own back, now exposed to the rain, was shielded from the rain by Anna’s telekinesis.

“Can you see my dad?” the boy asked with eyes full of sorrow and pleading.

Lu Li didn’t immediately respond to the question; instead, he lifted his black eyes to the mother standing with crossed arms under the eave, her expression also filled with sorrow and a fragile, tentative hope.

Lu Li suddenly understood the earlier looks from the residents.

Their family members hadn’t come back, and wouldn’t be coming back.

Moving his gaze back down, Lu Li nodded at the little boy, “I see him, he is right by your side.”

The little boy stared blankly at Lu Li before suddenly turning and dashing into the curtain of rain, throwing himself into his mother’s arms, exclaiming impatiently, “Mom, did you hear that?

The Exorcist said Dad is right beside us!

Mr.

Exorcist, you—”

The boy turned his head, but all he saw was the falling curtain of the carriage.

“Thank you.”

The horse trotted past the woman with crisp hoofbeats.

She couldn’t stop the tears on her face and covered her cheeks, sobbing painfully.

“Thank you… thank you…”

…

In the carriage, Anna looked at the profile of Lu Li.

She knew Lu Li hadn’t seen anything.

He hadn’t touched the Spirit-Calling Gun at his waist the entire time.

Stealing glances, Anna noticed that after ten minutes or so, the carriage arrived in front of Hades’s Detective Agency.

His Detective Agency seemed unscathed by the hurricane.

Ding-ding~ Ding-ding~

The wind chimes behind the door gently shook.

“Look who’s back.

That mud stink…

You actually went in there?” Hades greeted from behind the bar and then quickly asked, “Did you bring my payment for the information retrieval?”

He always had an extraordinary memory when it came to money.

“How can I dismantle the Demon Slayer organization?” Lu Li ignored his request.

Hades’s expression turned suspicious as he looked at Lu Li, then at Anna behind him, “Why do you want to know this?”

“Personal reasons.”

Hades shook his head, “I don’t know, I have no dealings with them.”

“Really none?”

Hades was about to answer but suddenly paused, thought for a few seconds, and then said, “Not entirely…

Your reputation is almost sufficient.

It won’t be long before merchants will approach your Detective Agency with goods; perhaps he knows something.”

“Merchant?”

“Yes, the one with a mysterious background, selling various strange Homogeneous Items.

You didn’t think the Spirit-Calling Gun and Silver-plated Bullets were my work, did you?

Of course, they are from him… Damn!

Why did I tell you this!”

Hades painfully clasped his head.

This pain was no fabrication.

…

Dizziness!

A soul-splitting dizziness!

Coldness!

An icy coldness sharp enough to freeze souls!

Pain!

Pain that was everywhere!

The sound of waves echoed in his ears as Haben weakly opened his eyes.

Am…

am I back…?

Am…

am I still alive…?

Struggling to sit up, Haben felt the beach beneath him and the beating water behind him.

His head still ached terribly, and even slight thoughts brought explosive pain.

It took him a long while to recover, barely able to think slowly.

Gradually, the confusion in Haben’s eyes dispersed, replaced by ecstasy.

He got up, stumbled, and began running clumsily along the beach, heading towards the distant street, running to his home on Sailor Street.