Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 382 - 382 Two hundred thirty-nine

382: Two hundred thirty-nine.

Banquet 382: Two hundred thirty-nine.

Banquet “`

The clinking of washed bowls and spoons drifted out from the kitchen.

The weather had been nice for the past couple of days, and Anna had opened the kitchen window a bit, allowing the annoying smoke to waft out of the Detective Agency—although Anna herself was not bothered by the smoke.

The strange event that had descended silently in the dead of the previous night inevitably brought some impact, and worse, it had come at an inopportune time.

Soon after, Lu Li and Anna left the Detective Agency and headed towards the carriage station.

On the way, they saw many citizens in a state of panic, as well as police officers dealing with dead bodies.

Many of the bodies on the stretchers, covered with white cloths, were street vagrants, and some were being carried out from residents’ homes.

The last time the Mist of Strangeness had not caused such dreadful casualties.

At least not so many civilians had perished.

Ultimately, the soaring prices made residents hesitant to use too much kerosene, optimistically relying on candles or a not-so-bright oil lamp.

When the Mist of Strangeness enveloped them, the sudden onset of darkness killed those people in their sleep.

The vagrants under the streetlights fared the worst.

Occasionally a breeze lifted a corner of the white cloth, revealing an arm with bite marks, a face with a shocking death expression missing its eyes, or a body covered with fist-sized purple-black tumors, or limbs that had shifted position.

No one knew what they had experienced before dying, nor did anyone know exactly how many had died—many of the victims were left with only limbs or turned into minced meat, or left nothing behind at all.

Seeing all this through the carriage window, Anna’s mood inevitably turned somewhat melancholic.

She had thought she could ignore it.

“The city is getting more and more dangerous,” she sighed.

More and more, she felt Lu Li’s decision to set up a refuge was as accurate as predicting the future—especially since it was located in the Elm Forest, which indirectly helped Annie survive.

Not to mention, the Elm Forest might provide them shelter in the future due to improved relations.

After renting a carriage, Lu Li drove it to the neighborhood where the Jones Brothers were located and directly parked it in front of the old craftsman’s cabin.

A distiller had already been completed, but that was not why Lu Li was there.

He approached the old craftsman with the request for a stone door and asked that it be as tightly sealed as possible when closed.

The old craftsman told Lu Li that a regular door construction could achieve this, but a door that fully integrated with the wall was not possible.

Lu Li was prepared for this and did not care much.

After all, there were still windows reserved on the Deep Sea Stone walls for lighting and ventilation, which would be blocked by Deep Sea Stone at night, but gaps would still exist.

After inquiring, Lu Li took the completed distiller back to the carriage and headed to a general store in the same block to buy some supplies, such as hammers, axes, glue, pots, pans, and other tools, and then set off toward the Elm Forest.

…

The roads were still muddy, with no sign of any collected water, and the ruts left by previous passages were clearly visible on the forest path.

The carriage stopped in front of a cliff, and Anna “carried” the miscellany from the carriage, following Lu Li into the cave.

The ceaseless sound of waves on the cliffside began to fade as they entered the cave, and in the dimness beyond the range of the oil lamp, the outlines of the furniture moved in a few days ago showed in the corners.

Deeper still was a dark wall.

The cave was very quiet; there were no unwelcome intrusions like the night before.

Lu Li turned the gas lamp flame up to its highest, placing it on the reserved windowsill, then took another kerosene lamp from beside the sofa, lit it, and placed it inside the refuge.

Finally, the cave was no longer so dark that only outlines of objects were visible.

Next was moving the items from the cave into the refuge.

Lu Li hardly exerted any effort, letting Anna move the sofa and bed into the refuge with interest, only occasionally telling her where things should go when she asked.

In no time, the furniture was all placed in its rightful positions.

The single bed lay across the farthest corner of the refuge, with a sofa placed next to the head of the bed, and a wardrobe beside the sofa.

The dining table was under the window, while the writing desk and chair were in the corner opposite to the single bed.

The fireplace was set between the writing desk and the dining table, but it looked a bit short since that area hadn’t yet been laid with Deep Sea Stone.

“`

As for the nine boxes of canned food and some tools that were temporarily unnecessary, such as extra distillers, Anna had sent them all down into the cellar.

Once everything was put in place, the shelter became a bit crowded and began to exude a hint of vitality.

But with only furniture and no clutter, it looked like a place that hadn’t been lived in for a long time.

“I think it’s quite nice here.”

Anna settled into the soft, stuffed cotton sofa, her eyes wandering around with a sense of novelty.

The shelter looked like a little stone cottage embedded deep within a mountain cave, and it now had a semblance of habitation.

Or, as Anna put it, it was beginning to feel like a “home.”

“So, tonight I’ll go to Baron Joseph’s alone, and you set up things here,” Lu Li said, holding the oil lamp and gently shaking it across the fully solidified stone walls.

“This place is not good at all!” Anna sprang up from the sofa as if her tail had been stepped on: “I want to go too!”

“Alright.”

Lu Li, who was inspecting the wall crevices, replied without looking back.

Anna grumbled for a while, tilting her head to watch Lu Li’s actions and muttered, “It would be so great if there was enough light in here.”

She was still dissatisfied, as natural light from outside the cave couldn’t reach inside; even on sunny days, they needed to light an oil lamp in the shelter.

Anna was also puzzled: “Why did you even make the shape of a window if no light can reach here?”

The arm holding the oil lamp fell as Lu Li finished inspecting the walls and he answered her: “To prevent claustrophobia.”

“What do you mean?”

“People can’t stay in a completely enclosed, lightless environment.”

Having a window at least allowed them to see the light outside the cave through it.

“I think I understand now…”

After arranging everything in the shelter and spending some time with Annie, who was still sleeping, Lu Li and Anna took a carriage back to Belfast.

As night fell, a carriage departed from outside the Detective Agency’s Long House.

…

The shimmering water of Agate Lake reflected the brilliant and colorful lights, with extended street lamps circling the lake.

Baron Joseph’s Manor was lined with parked carriages outside, and the banquet was set in the vast garden within; the manor was brightly lit, with endless streams of people and rising clamor.

It seemed like a completely different world from the one at the base of the mountain.

Stopping the carriage at the edge of the road, Lu Li, with Anna, whose presence was fully concealed, approached the main gate.

The guard stopped Lu Li and after inquiring his name, said politely, “I’m sorry, but you don’t seem to be on our guest list.”

“I am an Exorcist,” Lu Li replied.

The guard hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside and said, “Alright, please come in.”

“Thank you,” Lu Li nodded and stepped into the hubbub within the manor.

“Some more come to seek their demise.”

After Lu Li had left, the gatekeeper muttered a low sneer, drowned out by the noise erupting from the manor.