Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 322 - 322 179

322: 179.

It is called Annie 322: 179.

It is called Annie Falling Leaves Plain, the night at Himfast was silent.

But it was not devoid of life.

Star-like dots of light filled every corner of the city in the middle of this plain, illuminating the entire sky.

In a sense, the black night catastrophe made the night even livelier.

On the outskirts of the city, a carriage stopped in front of a manor, with faint light from an oil lamp seeping through the gaps in the curtains.

Rain fell on the horses’ manes and backs, their noses breathing out faint mists of white.

The weather was too cold, perhaps not even 10 degrees.

Lu Li, holding an umbrella, descended from the carriage, followed by the ghostly figure of Anna, heading together to the gate.

Lu Li reached out to touch the wet and icy gate, which shook and emitted the sound of metal clashing, unable to be opened.

The gate was locked.

Before Lu Li could act, some noise came from the gatekeeper’s cabin behind the gate, followed by the door being opened and a beam of light extending outdoors.

The figure of Anna behind Lu Li faded away, the rain falling through where she had been standing.

The elderly gatekeeper, draped in a coat, limped to the gate with an oil lamp in hand.

He lifted the lamp, casting light upon Lu Li’s face.

“It’s the investigator from the afternoon…” the gatekeeper recognized the memorable black hair and black eyes, “Do you have business at the academy?”

Lu Li replied, “I want to investigate some things.”

The elderly gatekeeper knew him to be acquainted with the dean’s wife but still hesitated with concern, “Are you asking to enter the academy?”

“Just in the manor.”

The elderly gatekeeper’s brows relaxed, “Very well, please wait a moment.”

He returned to the cabin to fetch a large bunch of brass keys, unlocked the chains on the gate, and opened one of the wooden doors.

Lu Li and the unseen Anna walked through the gate, heading towards the elm tree that hid the family treasure.

“Don’t follow us too closely,” Lu Li told the gatekeeper who seemed inclined to follow them.

Hesitating briefly, the old man stayed by the gate, watching the figures, nearly blending with the night, walking towards the path with the oil lamp.

When they were a bit further away, Anna reappeared.

She was moving quickly, and Lu Li sped up to join her beneath the withered elm tree.

The leveled pit was still in the state they had left it that afternoon,

“She is called Annie; my mother said I was the one who named her.”

Anna spoke softly, approaching the elm tree as she had during the day, her forehead pressed against the trunk.

She closed her eyes, silencing her mind to sense the consciousness of the elm tree.

It might seem foolish, and even more foolishly, Anna didn’t feel the slightest consciousness from the tree.

“Maybe it’s just my illusion…”

Anna murmured, moving her forehead away from the cold trunk.

“It’s not an illusion.”

Lu Li’s voice came from behind.

“You said you never dream.”

Anna furrowed her brow, her lips pursed, “But I truly can’t feel any breath or consciousness at all.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

Lu Li’s hand moved away from the Spirit-Calling Gun, covering the holster.

“Maybe it’s still too weak to communicate with you directly.”

“Just now…” Anna’s gaze fell on Lu Li’s withdrawn hand.

“Yes.”

“You felt it… Annie…?”

“I might have.”

Lu Li indeed felt a faint and hardly noticeable aura from this Elm tree.

If Sequence 1 hadn’t bloomed its first rose, he would have ignored it completely.

This nascent aura wasn’t malicious, but it was discomforting — similar to other presences around.

This didn’t prove anything; Lu Li also felt an uncomfortable aura from Anna when he held the Spirit-Calling Gun, evil and powerful… just like Mishelia from the past.

“It called me sister…” Anna whispered, raising her head to look at Lu Li, her eyes shimmering like stars under the oil lamp.

“Can we take it back to the Detective Agency?”

“A tree is difficult to transport,” Lu Li’s voice was as cold as the air temperature.

Anna’s eyes dimmed.

But his voice followed promptly, “Tomorrow I’ll inquire how to transport the tree.”

Anna looked up, surprised, and suddenly hugged Lu Li, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting out a crisp laugh, just like before.

In the distance, the gatekeeper’s cabin, the Gatekeeper looked puzzled at the figures dozens of meters away, muttering, “How come I hear a girl laughing…”

Anna released Lu Li, the dim light nicely concealing the blush on her face.

She changed the subject, “Why would a tree…

why would Annie develop consciousness?”

“What are unexplored areas like?” Lu Li did not answer her question but posed his own.

Anna thought seriously, then shook her head, “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know either.”

Anna was startled for a moment before realizing Lu Li was answering her question, covering her face in embarrassment.

That was indeed something Lu Li would say.

On reflection, if characters from storybooks could appear and send letters in reality, a tree suddenly gaining consciousness didn’t seem so incomprehensible.

After all, Anna always used to sit under her sister Annie’s tree as a child, talking to it.

“When do we take it back?” Anna asked with anticipation.

“Better now, but we can’t.”

Moving a tree to a place a hundred and fifty miles away requires professionals.

But Lu Li didn’t want to leave the tree here for the time being.

He couldn’t determine when the consciousness of the Elm tree had formed, whether it was before or after Anna appeared around it.

The aura was so weak it seemed a gust of wind could extinguish it, disappearing into the endless rainy night.

“Speaking of which, if we take Annie away, where will we place it?”

The Detective Agency certainly couldn’t accommodate a tree five to six meters tall.

“It won’t be hard to find a place.”

Lu Li replied.

“Don’t forget, the refuge we chose is located in an Elm Forest.”

Anna seemed to want to say something to the Elm tree, but she had outgrown the age of talking to objects — especially with Lu Li around.

The embarrassed Anna and Lu Li stayed a few more minutes, Lu Li leaving an oil lamp for it and taking another oil lamp from the carriage with Anna after instructing the elder gatekeeper then returning to the carriage.

Hopefully, nothing would go wrong.

…

“The winner is—Iron Fist Henry!”

In the underground fight club extending downwards, dull shouts and lively cheers and curses faintly carried through.

After a while, these sounds became clear, only to turn dull again after a few seconds.

A young figure walked up the stairs, clad only in a thin vest in the cold rainy night, the streetlight casting down on him, turning his heat into a white mist rising from his upper body.

He turned sideways, stepped a few meters out, then suddenly heard a cry for help from the alley beside him, followed by a blood-stained face emerging under the streetlight, then yanked back into the alley by several large hands.

“Hold on, lady, I’m about to deal with these damn bastards!”

The young man paused briefly, his expression instantly becoming resolute, shouting as he rushed into the dark alley.

But after he ran into the alley, all sounds abruptly ceased.

This time, no inquiries arose from the alley.

Only chewing noises.