Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 467 - 467 324

467: 324.

Faceless Figures and Banyan Tree 467: 324.

Faceless Figures and Banyan Tree Lu Li and his companions were given only a few minutes to rest.

The servants of the unknown Evil God were on their way, and the longer they delayed, the more the scales tipped against them.

Buying time to wait for them to sort out life and death and then escaping seemed like a good idea, but the outcome could only be waiting, waiting for a chance to survive and…

death.

Cooperating with one Evil God to combat another sounded absurd, but there seemed to be no better solution to the issues in Shadow Town.

Lu Li took out the Mother of the Marsh statue, grabbed the statue in the agreed-upon way to communicate, “How should we go in.”

In the midst of nothingness, a faint consciousness descended on the statue in his hand, and a whisper only Lu Li could hear arose: “Follow the shadows… avoid the guards…”

“These Banyan trees?” Lu Li lifted his eyes, gazing into the deadly still Banyan Jungle.

“Yes… they will kill… everything they perceive…”

“Can’t you let us pass directly?”

“Now… not possible… an endless stream of servants… attacking… I… cannot be distracted…”

The whispers of the Mother of the Marsh became slower than before; perhaps, as it mentioned, it needed to concentrate on dealing with the unknown Evil God and its servants.

Lu Li calmly said, thoughtfully, “Does this mean that if we choose to leave, there is nothing you can do?”

This time the Mother of the Marsh paused unusually long, and its whisper seemed confused: “Are you… going to break… the deal…”

“If I were going to break it, I would just do it, not talk about it,” Lu Li replied, simply wanting to assess the severity of the current situation.

“We’ll go through.”

After saying the last word, Lu Li put the sculpture back into his coat pocket and told Anna and Jojo, “Let’s move.”

Picking up the suitcase and carrying the oil lamp, Anna masked her form and presence, and they re-entered the dark, silent swamp banyan jungle.

The Shadow Figures hiding in the Banyan trees directed them not only towards the right path but also provided safe gaps to pass through.

Another piece of good news: the man-eating mud ponds that were ever-present around the swamp perimeter no longer appeared.

As they moved away from the stream, the noisy sound of the water was gradually replaced by silence.

A few minutes into their silent trek, Jojo could no longer distinguish the direction and had to follow Lu Li’s footsteps.

Lu Li stepped over the entwined tree roots in front of him, his coat brushing against the roots.

Lu Li and Jojo stopped simultaneously, looking up at the roots hanging from the canopy.

The vine-like hanging roots seemed to sway with the breeze, fluttering about and then gradually calming down.

There was no wind here.

Once the surroundings returned to calm, Jojo carefully stepped over the roots and walked to Lu Li’s side.

The two continued forward.

Occasionally, they would inevitably lightly touch the Banyan trees, but after they remained quiet and still, the surroundings would return to calm.

As time passed, they delved deeper into the swamp, perhaps nearing the swamp’s center.

It might have been noon, but the blood-red clouds obscured the daylight, further occluded by the Banyan canopy.

Gasp for breath, Jojo struggled to keep up with Lu Li.

Although her endurance surpassed that of most women, sometimes even besting her brother, focusing on maneuvering through the jungle still exceeded her limits.

Jojo was relieved that the Banyan trees didn’t seem to notice breathing sounds; otherwise—

Lu Li, just in front of her, suddenly stopped.

Jojo looked up, then noticed the oil lamp that Lu Li was holding aloft.

Had he noticed something?

Jojo looked up, staring ahead.

Beyond the light of the oil lamp, countless white figures floated in the lifeless, dark jungle, like plankton emitting a weak fluorescence, suspended under the canopy, seemingly creating a surreal ambiance.

Not right…

As Jojo discerned the scene before her, the beauty crumbled instantaneously, and a wave of horror engulfed her.

The floating white figures were not wondrous food, and the hollowed-out features of their faces disclosed their identities.

They were not dodging roots and branches but were bound by countless tendrils around their necks, hanging below the tree canopy, swaying and turning with the breeze.

But there was no wind here.

This…

Jojo covered her mouth, nearly crying out loud.

Lu Li nodded slightly in response to Jojo.

What they had sensed earlier in the cabin below deck must have been them.

Ahead, under the canopy of the Banyan Tree, Faceless Figures hung motionless, turning side to side with the sway of the branches, occasionally facing them standing below, unsettling Jojo.

They had no faces, yet Jojo, feeling her scalp tingling, felt they were watching her.

Jojo tiptoed and leaned toward Lu Li’s ear, whispering tensely, “Can we go around…”

Lu Li didn’t answer, but surveyed the surroundings for any Shadow Figures.

It hid among the Faceless Figures hanging from the Banyan Trees, revealing only half of its silhouette, hard to detect.

The Shadow Figures guided them through this terrifying area.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Lu Li shook his head slightly and stepped into the jungle dangling with dozens, or maybe hundreds, of Faceless Figures.

Soundlessly moving between the quietly hanging figures, mindful of the roots underfoot and resisting the mental shock and fear this scene brought upon them.

At that moment, Jojo began to understand what was more terrifying than death.

Different from Jojo who followed with her head down, Lu Li walked through the jungle, observing the Faceless Figures.

They were not yet dead.

They still responded to the external world.

The Faceless Figures, suspended by branches, eerily and slowly rotated their bodies as Lu Li and the others passed by, their bloody, hollowed-out faces pointing towards them.

Initially, it might have seemed a coincidence, but when every Faceless Figure did so…

But that was all.

Lu Li led Jojo calmly, walking beneath them.

Beyond the horrifying sight, they could do no harm.

Their Sanity Value didn’t even chink.

The entire area was filled with hanging Faceless Figures; however, soon after traversing some distance, they returned to the dim and deadly silence ahead, no longer glowing with a vague luminescence.

Jojo hadn’t lowered her guard, knowing from countless stories she had heard that oftentimes, something changes just when it seems to be over.

Her premonition proved true.

As they were about to leave the jungle, a Faceless Figure, which had masked its presence, appeared before them.

The situation became extremely troublesome.

The Banyan Tree was sensitive to aura; Anna could not appear and use her abilities, and the Spirit-Calling Gun could not be drawn from its holster.

Once the Faceless Figure released an aura, the surrounding Banyan branches would lash out, scooping up the Faceless Figures.

And those beside it.

But before anything happened—a piercing, shrill slicing noise rang out.

The dancing branches burst from the darkness and thoroughly entwined around the neck of the Faceless Figure, suspending it below the tree canopy, just like its kin.

Strangely, this Banyan Tree attacked the Faceless Figure that had not released any aura but spared Lu Li and the others.

Lu Li’s gaze briefly lingered in the dark hollow of this Banyan Tree, leading Jojo out of the jungle.

Behind them, from the dim tree hollow, a charred arm slowly extended, gently waving goodbye to their retreating figures.