Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 431 - 431 288

431: 288.

Human Nature 431: 288.

Human Nature The kitchen stove flickered bright and dim, dispelling the damp and chill from the Detective Agency.

Jojo sat on a wooden chair as rainwater gathered at her feet.

Bang.

Having closed the door, Lu Li returned to his desk and sat down, moving aside the oil lamp that obstructed his view, “What’s wrong?”

“The officers haven’t found my brother; they didn’t even find any signs that the convoy had left.

My brother is still in Shadow Town!

And then, last night, Shadow Town suddenly lost all contact with the outside world!

I know something happened.

Please help me!”

This extrovert, cheerful girl with an adventurer’s spirit pleaded desperately with reddened eyes.

Lu Li didn’t speak; he was thinking about Shadow Town.

He had been into the Shadow Swamp and knew how bizarre and strange it was, including the Evil God known as the “Mother of the Marsh.”

The letter from the Bird Beak Mask had once kept him away from Shadow Town, as there was something wrong there.

And Lu Li had been marked by the “Mother of the Marsh.”

Oliver was a good assistant and also the first person Lu Li had encountered in this world, but this was beyond his abilities.

The enemy was not as simple as a monster or a vengeful spirit.

“I can’t help you,” Lu Li earnestly replied to Jojo.

Jojo looked disheartened, opened her mouth to say something more, but the unchanging calm in Lu Li’s gaze told her it was futile.

Jojo stood up in silence and walked towards the door.

Behind her, Lu Li’s voice followed, “My advice is to seek a detective or a watchman; if what you’re saying is true, they should already be prepared to deal with it.”

“I will, thank you…”

Jojo left the Detective Agency.

“Don’t blame yourself; we couldn’t help her,” Anna appeared and comforted Lu Li.

“I know.”

Lu Li stood up, walked around the desk, and took a mop to clean the floor, then returned to the sofa to rest again.

The sound of wind and rain outside the window did not weaken; perhaps some girl wrapped in a raincoat, drenched, was imploring others for help in the cold rainy night.

…

There were neither bright sunshine nor bird calls, nor the hustle and bustle of crowds outside the window.

The stormy morning felt like evening.

Pale light from an uncovered kitchen window entered the Detective Agency, and the sharp howling created unease.

Two oil lamps had to be lit inside the Detective Agency to keep it from being too dim during the day.

The Long House was lively as residents who could not work due to the storm opened their doors, their voices and the sounds of cooking echoing through the corridor unimpeded.

The children loved this atmosphere, running back and forth in the hallway, playing noisily.

Lu Li slowly woke up.

After washing up with the warm water Anna had heated, Lu Li put on his tie, donned his wool coat, and went out with Anna to buy groceries.

As he left, he encountered a postman braving the wind and rain, who delivered a somewhat wet newspaper into Lu Li’s hands.

Tucking away the newspaper, Lu Li continued towards the market at the end of the street.

The onset of the storm had left the usually bustling market cold and silent, with only a few shops open.

After buying groceries, Lu Li entered the neighboring bakery to purchase bread.

While waiting, Lu Li saw a familiar figure slowly traverse the street.

The man lacked a raincoat, and his already drenched clothes clung tightly to his slender body as he walked through the storm-ravaged street.

He looked oddly around him, gazing at the houses on either side of the street as if they brought back long-forgotten memories.

As he passed by the front of the bakery, he looked inside the shop and also saw that tall figure.

Footsteps halted.

…

Two cups of steaming coffee were placed on the table by the window.

A pair of wet hands picked up one cup, the warmth spreading through the man’s body made him squint.

A leather paper bag filled with ingredients and bread rested by the window, Lu Li watched the man without speaking.

“I remember you,” the man said slowly, water still dripping onto the chair from his clothes.

His slow speech and the unwitting hunch of his shoulders gave him the semblance of an old man, though he appeared to be only about thirty.

Lu Li responded, “It’s been less than half a month since we last met.”

“But for me, it’s been a long time…” the man sighed deeply.

“I remember now, you’re an Exorcist, right?

Thank you for the reminder…

or I might have gone mad.”

“You don’t look well.”

Lu Li sensed a twilight aura about the man, like someone nearing death.

The man smiled indifferently, “I just ended a life as an elderly person not long ago.

Don’t worry, I’ll be fine soon.”

“Do you still remember your name?” Lu Li asked him.

“Of course, it was the very first of my thousands of names, very memorable.

If what you mean to ask is whether I’ve lost my essence in the long passage of time…

I can only say I am still me.” The man turned from looking outside the window back to Lu Li.

“A ship that sails on the sea changes parts continually, though entirely renewed, it remains the very same ship.

However, I haven’t used that name in a long time…

and I don’t plan to use it again.”

“Then what should I call you?”

The man smiled at Lu Li, “When I’ve decided what I’m called, I’ll let you know.”

“If you still remember.”

“Yes, if I still remember…” a hint of reminiscence appeared in the man’s eyes.

Lu Li was not good at conversing, and the long years had almost erased the man’s memories and emotions towards Lu Li.

After a few minutes of silence, Lu Li finished his coffee and called the server to pay.

“You seem to be in some trouble,” the man suddenly said after Lu Li had paid and the server walked away.

He still held the warm cup of coffee, “I can see from your eyes…

the hesitation in your heart.”

A ripple stirred through the void.

“Yes,” Lu Li admitted frankly, looking directly at the man.

“Do you have any insights?”

“Just some insignificant experiences,” the man answered Lu Li.

“I don’t know what’s confusing you, but what I can tell you is…

make a choice that won’t leave you filled with regret when looking back.”

The man’s tone carried a sense of nostalgia and reminiscence.

“I can’t remember how many hundreds of thousands of years have passed since that day, but I still recall a time when I made a decision out of fear that I regretted.

I thought time would erode that memory, but it’s like a scar running through stone, becoming clearer as the stone is worn smooth.”

“Time can never be reversed, so don’t let yourself live with regret.”

…

Leaving the café, on the road, Anna shielded Lu Li from the storm.

A few minutes later, they returned to the Long House.

A figure who had been sitting with knees hugged under the eaves stood up after a long wait.

“Nobody wants to help me—” Jojo looked at Lu Li desperately, soaked through and pale-cheeked from the cold.

Lu Li knocked on the door of the Long House, then turned his dark eyes toward Jojo.

“Come in.

Tell me in detail what happened with Oliver and Shadow Town.”