Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 624 - 624 143

624: 143.

Pain under Calm 624: 143.

Pain under Calm The dandelion was as light as a flake of ash.

It had floated in from a distant land too far to fathom, carrying a scent as if it had drifted with the monsoon to the mainland, crossed mountains and valleys, and passed straits and hills to reach this inland area.

Its path was clear and direct—in the center of that gray plain, where countless roads led to, lay the magnificent Royal City, spanning dozens of miles.

Yet, the long journey seemed to have worn out the last bit of patience in the dandelion, or perhaps the moisture of the Allen Plain made the dandelion heavier, the dandelion in the sky got lower and lower, and finally fell atop a carriage.

The road extended forward, all the way to the gates of the Royal City.

No one in the carriage, neither the coachman nor the passengers in the compartment, noticed the insignificant dandelion that had landed on the roof, which swayed along with the carriage.

The carriage followed the long queue of vehicles entering the Royal City—with another passenger on its rooftop: the dandelion.

It fell off, drifting leisurely toward the passersby—

Now was the reward time for the dandelidion’s long journey over mountains and plains.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!

Just then, the urgent sound of galloping horseshoes broke out as a racing carriage tore through the bustling streets, avoiding pedestrians, the gust it stirred sending the dandelion aloft once more, soaring high into the air.

The carriage came to a sudden stop in front of an inn, and a man rushed into the inn.

…

Aside from coming to report the death, Flay harbored a sliver of suspicion towards Lu Li.

Rhode had remained indifferent when Lu Li was almost dragged away by the Drowner, and then coincidentally died tragically two hours later.

However, he saw nothing but calm in Lu Li’s expression, which was unexpected.

Lu Li’s eyes slightly lowered.

“Is it strange?”

“No, it’s just an accident… filled with coincidences.”

Maybe he was overthinking it; the whole thing had nothing to do with Lu Li.

Flay, thinking to himself, decided to inform Lu Li about what happened the night before: “They quickly discovered the truth: there was a dead rat in the tavern’s backyard.

While alive, it probably starved, accidentally opened a barrel containing kerosene, drank some oil, and then used Rhode’s carriage as a storage spot, moving a lot of kerosene over there.”

“The tavern’s kerosene is checked several times every night in the backyard.

It would have been easy to notice if the barrel had been chewed open by the rats, but coincidentally, he had been lazy that night and hadn’t checked.

After we separated, Rhode got into a carriage layered with kerosene, coincidentally just as a drunk beggar darted out from the roadside, knocking over an oil lamp and igniting the kerosene…”

“Afterwards, the beggar disappeared, but the nearby residents and employees all recognized the beggar who always haunted Meteorite Street… so it wasn’t a conspiracy.”

Flay sighed, recalling that just a few hours earlier they had been drinking together.

“Unlucky Rhode, he even said at the tavern that he would bring you a gift to apologize tomorrow.

Your fall in the water had terrified him.

Who would have thought…”

“When is his funeral?” Lu Li asked calmly.

“In five days.

It’ll take a while to distinguish him from the burnt carriage…”

“I won’t make it in time to attend.

Please convey my apologies to his family on my behalf.”

“I will tell them.”

With the death of his friend weighing heavily on his mind, Flay had no further desire to talk, and he left the inn to depart by carriage.

Lilia seemed to guess something and went to her room upstairs after finishing her share of the breakfast.

“You shouldn’t have done this,” Lu Li said to Anna sitting beside him.

A whisper came from within the black robe: “It wasn’t me who killed him.”

“It was me,” Lu Li answered calmly.

After a slight tremble of the black robe, an agitated voice emerged.

“I’ve tried to let go, but I can’t control my hatred… Every time I remember your struggle in pain in the lake while he stood by indifferently on the shore, emotion overwhelms my reason… I can’t tolerate someone harming you, even if it’s just by standing by and doing nothing.”

And at that time, Anna was not by Lu Li’s side, and the accident left her no one to blame but herself and Rhode.

If she blamed herself, she would be hastened into the abyss…

Lu Li silently swallowed the last piece of bread, “We owe the Tesla Family and Tesla.”

Anna did not use “Rhode is going to die sooner or later” as an excuse, she knew it was useless for Lu Li, “We can find an opportunity to repay.”

“I hope so.” Having finished the last sip of soup, Lu Li and Anna left the dining table, returning to their room on the second floor.

Anna sat next to Lu Li, lightly touching his shoulder, “Are you angry?”

“I don’t want to see you fall into the abyss.” Lu Li replied.

“Even if I become a malevolent spirit, I won’t forget to protect you.”

“But there’s no essential difference between becoming a malevolent spirit who has lost humanity and one that only remembers to protect me with lost humanity.”

They were all just puppets driven by instinct, like the lower demons of hell.

“Hmm…

so you’re not angry anymore?” Anna lightly bumped into Lu Li again.

“If you don’t do that again.”

Rhode’s death was regrettable and left Lu Li speechless.

Even if Rhode’s death was unrelated to Tesla, the mere fact that a young exorcist had died from drowning was inherently tragic.

And he could not possibly expose and hand over Anna.

This was destined to be a difficult choice, fortunately, it was not a multiple-choice question.

Anna suggested that since they had free time today, they should roam around the city, as this lively atmosphere free of crises wouldn’t last too long.

Lu Li declined.

The Exorcists’ Council started tomorrow, and it could be predicted that today the influx of exorcists from the Main Affinity Continent to Arlen Kingdom would peak.

The exorcism objects held by exorcists were like oddities, possessing incredible functions.

No one knew which exorcist might sense Anna’s presence.

So just to be safe, staying in the room was the safest option.

Lu Li didn’t plan to actually enter the council venue.

Having arrived at Royal City, he felt a vague premonition of something about to happen.

Anyway, by staying in the Royal City until the council ended, he could also learn what was discussed during the council, as he and Flay Marvelin and others had agreed.

As he thought this, Lu Li suddenly saw, from the open window, a flurry of white dandelions drifting down.

Dandelions?

At this time?

A pale arm stretched from beside him through the window, reaching for the falling dandelions.

It seemed that a breeze blew by, causing the dandelion to evade the ethereal hand, falling toward the crowd below.

“What a pity…” Anna wanted to bring back a dandelion seed to the cliff top.

“Seeds are easy to buy.” Lu Li shifted his gaze away from the street.

Seeds were everywhere, but they could no longer sprout and grow.

Another breeze wafted, carrying a chill into the room.

Goosebumps surfaced on Lu Li’s neck.

Anna gently closed the window, helping Lu Li back to bed to lie down.

The overlooked dandelion continued to lower, occasionally lifted by the wind, drifting a distance until it finally landed on a passerby’s felt hat.

Of course, it wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention, including the middle-aged man wearing the felt hat.