Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 349 - 349 Emotional Forest 206

349: Emotional Forest 206 349: Emotional Forest 206 Years had carved deep creases and valleys across the old man’s face, a polished wooden cane extending from his empty trouser leg, resting on the floor.

The relentless downpour kept the weather outside at about 10 degrees, yet the old man wore only a patched hemp shirt.

Fortunately, he hadn’t been caught in the rain, and the hemp material barely kept dry.

This old man sat opposite the desk, curiously surveying the Detective Agency before looking at Lu Li, “Young man, what do you want to know?”

“I need a guide who knows every part of the Elm Forest like the back of their hand.”

“I believe I am that person,” the old man revealed a hint of pride.

“I started working as a woodcutter in the Elm Forest at the age of 13 until 11 years ago.

I can name every Tree King there.”

People in this world tend to age prematurely, the poorer they are, the more so.

Despite the hunch in his back and his white hair, the old man might only be fifty.

Even so, he had spent well over twenty years in the Elm Forest.

“Tree King?”

“Those exceptionally thick and aged trees that shelter the surrounding trees much like a village shelters its people.”

Clearly, this was beyond Lu Li’s knowledge—before this, he had never known the forests of this world could undergo such changes.

And it seemed people had long grown accustomed to it.

To avoid overthinking, Lu Li asked, “Does the Tree King have its own consciousness?”

“Consciousness?

No…

How could that be, they’re not human,” Barton chuckled, finding the young man in front of him somewhat fanciful.

“The Tree King is just…

an emotion of the forest.”

Though the term ’emotion’ was equally thought-provoking, it was slightly more palatable than ‘consciousness.’

“Please elaborate.”

“Of course, that’s why I came here,” Barton said as he lowered his head, recalling for a moment, then spoke slowly, “Each Tree King is like an avatar of the forest, when you approach one, you can feel the emotions radiating from the forest…

I know what you’re thinking, but the forest doesn’t have consciousness, nor does it think like we do.

It’s like ants…

they move, they hunt, they eat, but what drives them is merely instinct.”

“These changes appeared about a dozen years ago, and before that we had no clue.

When we began to feel the forest’s emotions, some people dropped their axes and fled back to the city in fear, while others gritted their teeth and continued chopping…

To return empty-handed meant to starve.”

“But we found that nothing else happened, only that we would feel a bit sad when cutting down trees…

until one day, some blockhead went to chop down a Tree King…

I heard this from other woodcutters, the lumber mill bosses’ loggers went to cut down a perhaps century-old Tree King, and then something happened, everyone died.

Those who approached saw nothing but bodies around them and a sorrowful emotion that made one want to cry.”

“Later, the police and some mysterious fellows came to take them away, and afterward rumors spread that when they cut the Tree King, the forest’s emotions affected them, driving them all to suicide.

In the end, some woodcutters put away their axes to pursue other jobs, while the rest continued as before, but they no longer approached those Tree Kings, nor did they harm them.

Those factory bosses, greedy as they were, found no point in exchanging lives for Tree Kings, so the number of people who died because of the forest dwindled…”

“And since then, the forest hasn’t harmed us, and we’ve tried our best not to harm the trees.”

That’s why, in an era budding with industry and capitalism, an Elm Forest still stood tall to the north of the city, right beside it.

“Is every forest like this?” Lu Li asked.

“Yes, every sufficiently large forest has emotions, the Oak Forest to the west, the Maple Forest behind the mountain, and I’ve heard the Shadow Swamp far away is the same.”

Lu Li had been to Shadow Swamp, where the woods were lifeless—perhaps because the Mother of the Marsh had usurped it.

“Are you a detective?

Did some lumber mill boss send you to investigate?

There should only be silence there now…”

Lu Li knew what he was referring to—the “Plant Calamity.”

Despite the fact that most people in this world did not consider the cessation of plant growth to be a serious matter.

“My target is not those trees,” Lu Li said.

“I want to know how many caves are there.”

“Caves?” Barton looked at Lu Li with curiosity, but he had received many strange requests before, like looking for a purple four-leaf clover.

“There are many caves near the cliffs and Silent Hill; if you need hunting cabins and logger cabins, there are some too.”

“Big enough to hide a person.”

“There are some caves near the cliffs and Silent Hill.”

“The view is open, you can see Belfast and the sea.”

“There are several caves near the cliffs.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Now?”

“Do you have anything else to do?”

“No, let’s go.

Youth is a great thing…”

Lu Li had prepared many cloaks and gave one to Barton, asking him to wait under the eaves while he opened an umbrella to hail a carriage on the street.

A few minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of the Long House.

After picking up Barton, it drove into the curtain of rain and gradually faded away.

There were still many residents on the streets fixing leaks in the rain, and occasionally some scavengers could be seen hugging their tattered cups, standing under eaves and looking bewildered by the downpour.

And the watchmen who seemed to appear more frequently than yesterday.

There was no strange rain in this region today, so the only thing that could be driving their actions was a warning from three hundred miles away.

Lu Li withdrew his gaze, about to say something to Barton, when the carriage suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

“What’s happening?” Barton asked in surprise, the sound of rain drowning out the noise outside.

Lu Li lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw a steam locomotive blocking their path, several watchmen in black uniforms stepping down from the engine and negotiating something with the coachman at the front of the carriage.

Upon seeing Lu Li, one of the watchmen showed a friendly smile.

“I’m an officer from the Houston Police Station.

We are pursuing a fugitive.

Have you seen him?”

Lu Li did not answer; his gaze fell on the watchmen who were spreading out, subtly surrounding the carriage, and he suddenly understood what they were about to do.

He took out a detective badge from his breast pocket and said calmly, “I am a detective, and the aura you’ve sensed is from my assistant.”

“Assistant…” The watchman, upon seeing the badge, paused and covertly signaled.

The surrounding watchmen halted their approach.

The watchfulness and suspicion in the eyes of the watchmen did not diminish.

“Her condition isn’t very stable,” Lu Li added.

The meaning behind his words was multi-layered.

Guessing something, the watchmen lowered their guard and stepped back, saying, “Please be careful.”

“Thank you.”

The watchmen returned to their vehicle and drove away from the street, while the carriage continued on its way.

“Anna, keep your aura contained,” Lu Li said, turning his head.

Barton didn’t know who Lu Li was speaking to, but the scene that had just unfolded informed him that the young man before him was no ordinary detective.

Decades of life had taught Barton many things, such as not to ask questions that shouldn’t be asked.