Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 376 - 376 233

376: 233.

Calm before the storm 376: 233.

Calm before the storm The Jones Brothers’ residence had poor sound insulation, and muffled voices could be heard coming from the other side of the wall.

After a brief encounter with them, Lu Li went to the old craftsman’s dwelling.

The room was still cluttered with no place to set foot, and the old craftsman was sitting on the corner bed, holding a pipe, his eyes squinting through the swirling smoke as he looked at Lu Li and pointed to the door, “Take a look and see if it fits.”

The wind outside, reminiscent of shrieking cranes, seemed to have no effect on the old craftsman.

Lu Li turned his head and picked up the handcrafted piece the old craftsman was pointing to.

The metal pipes, showing obvious rough join marks, twisted extending in a way that resembled ancient runes.

Ignoring its rudimentary and strange appearance, Lu Li found two pipes on either side of the “runes,” figuring out how it was to be used: It would be attached to the fireplace, with boiling steam entering the right pipe, then condensing on the metal walls, traveling down the pipes to the left side, and finally falling into the basin below.

The entire distillation apparatus was pieced together with iron pipes and some wood; rust was inevitable after long-term use, but it was still better than using lead pipes.

“I’ve reinforced it as you requested, if there’s any issue bring it back to me, that will be 40 shillings,” said the old craftsman hoarsely, coughing a few times.

Lu Li temporarily set down the distiller, took out 100 shillings, and placed them on the table beside the old craftsman.

The pungent smell of tobacco wafted over, and Lu Li stepped back, saying, “Make three more.”

The old craftsman glanced at the 100 shillings on the table, and after a brief silence, said, “Thanks.”

Lu Li had already turned around, carrying the distiller as he left the old craftsman’s wooden hut.

The icy rain stopped falling unexpectedly, to everyone’s surprise, the drizzle had temporarily ceased.

The Jones Brothers were waiting in front of the carriage, clutching the day’s food.

The group got into the carriage, and with Lu Li pulling the reins, they slowly left the street.

…

Elm Forest.

The carriage was silent; the four brothers seemed preoccupied, especially under the emotional influence of the forest.

At a certain point, one of the brothers suddenly asked Lu Li, “Do you know what happened in Zenst?”

Before the oldest could stop him, he quickly grabbed his brother, apologizing to Lu Li while simultaneously hoping for a response…

“I cannot tell you.”

Lu Li’s answer left the oldest looking somewhat disappointed.

“Why?” another couldn’t help asking.

Lu Li looked at him and calmly said, “It’s not that I can’t say, it’s that you shouldn’t hear.”

The three brothers wanted to say more but were held back by the oldest.

He seemed to understand something, his tone carrying a hint of probing, “Is it that…?”

The strange, in most people’s minds, belongs to the unspeakable terrors.

Although the truth is that only referring to some of the strange by their names would invite trouble, most could be mentioned without any issue.

But naturally, the public could not discern the differences among the strange.

“It is.”

“Is it really that stra…” someone exclaimed in shock, then quickly covered their mouth, stopping themselves from saying it.

The oldest’s mind was in turmoil, yet he continued to ask, “Then will Belfast be attacked…?”

“I don’t know,” said Lu Li.

That’s why he needed to build a refuge.

The carriage fell silent once more, leaving only the sound of the wheels along the road and the ominous howling of the wind passing over the tree canopy outside.

In the pervasive negative atmosphere, the carriage arrived in front of the cliff.

The Jones Brothers returned to the cave and soon enough, the tinkling sound of chipping and digging resumed.

Lu Li kept Anna company to visit Annie for a while, then took advantage of the brief clarity of sight to observe the surroundings from the cliff.

Standing on the cliff, one could clearly see the view on three sides.

The sea surface, the bay, the port, the entire city, and even the Oak Forest on the far side of the bay—they all lay in view.

Lead-gray and lifeless, the sea surface scattered with vessels, including some small wooden boats.

They were spread out in the near sea, a few dozen to a few hundred meters from the shore, salvaging the few fish they could find.

The port seemed quiet, perhaps because most of the ships had already set sail, only a few cargo ships, cruisers, and fishing vessels were docked in port.

After looking for a while, chilled by the sea breeze, Lu Li returned to the cave.

The sound of excavation was relentless, but compared to yesterday, the Jones Brothers were obviously somewhat distracted.

Luckily, they had already completed a large portion yesterday, and what was left was enough to finish in one day.

After lingering for a while, Lu Li descended from the cliff.

Anna thought he would return to wait in the carriage, but he walked straight past it and headed downward.

“Where are you going?”

Anna, following behind, asked curiously.

Lu Li looked around, “To take a look at the surroundings, and to meet the King of the Trees in this area.”

As an outsider and planning to stay here for an extended period, it was necessary for Lu Li to pay his respects to the master of this place.

As his voice fell, Lu Li cocked his head to listen as if waiting for something, but apart from the unchanging mood, this dead, silent Withered Forest offered nothing.

No ethereal consciousness guided Lu Li to the location of the Tree King.

However, it was not too hard to find.

Within ten minutes or so, Lu Li began to sense the gradually intensifying mood of the forest a few hundred meters away from the cliff.

Amidst the forest ahead, an Elm tree much sturdier than the others came into view.

As Lu Li approached, the mood, which had dimmed quite a bit after Annie planted herself into the forest, became clean again.

They had not completely let their guard down around Lu Li.

Lu Li stopped walking, staying about a dozen meters from the Tree King, observed the surroundings for a while, then turned to leave.

He had only come to visit, and now the visit was over.

After all, they would have plenty of time to get acquainted in the future.

Returning the way he had come, he went back to the carriage in front of the cliff.

Anna fiddled with the Distiller for a while, unable to figure out its use, and since Lu Li did not seem to want to explain, she simply sat down beside him and took out a novel to continue reading.

Lu Li picked up the three newspapers of the day and opened them one after another.

The front and second pages of the three newspapers were the same, all occupied by the missing incident of Zenst and Tillage Garden.

Compared to the “Investigator Weekly,” a lot of key information was missing from them.

Or rather, it was edited to suit what the commoners should know.

In the remaining news, Lu Li noticed a strange short message.

[The visiting group of the Lennon Archipelago Duchy embarked from Hasko Port three days ago]

Their destination was Ailen Peninsula, initially planning to arrive at Zainster Port, but after the Terrifying Faceless Giant destroyed it, they changed their destination to Rhodest Port.

In this situation, they surprisingly did not choose to return the way they came.

After a brief pause, Lu Li looked at the weather forecast at the end.

It’s light rain for today and tomorrow, but on the day after, the rain will turn to moderate rain.

The meteorology professor predicts that the rainy season will arrive in 3-5 days.

The slightly delayed rainy season gave people a breath of relief, allowing them some time to face everything that was about to come.