Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 744 - 744 263

744: 263.

Companions buried in ice and cold silence 744: 263.

Companions buried in ice and cold silence Emin, who kept a constant eye on Lu Li, suddenly grabbed his hand.

“None of this is real.” Emin took Lu Li’s hand off the water’s surface and said seriously, “Whatever you see, hear…

or think about: you are on a boat surrounded by many monsters that create illusions, and what you see couldn’t possibly be here.”

Lu Li remained silent, looking back at the lake’s surface.

The beautiful face beneath the water had disappeared, leaving only the wandering Primordial Demons in the clear lake water.

Calming his emotions, Lu Li picked up the oar and began to paddle.

“It’s not me; your death has nothing to do with me…”

On the wooden boat, a woman who had glimpsed the fleeting Primordial Demon under the lake retreated in terror, tripped over the railing, fell into the lake, and was quickly enveloped and dragged into the depths by the Primordial Demons.

Besides Lu Li and Emin, only three passengers remained on the wooden boat.

But they were already ensnared by illusions, screaming chaotically, ready to jump into the water at any moment.

Or attack others.

A middle-aged man suddenly drew a dagger from his bag and slashed forward as though facing a terrifying vision—his wife was sitting right there.

The woman in the patched floral dress had her throat cut, clutching her bleeding throat and making choking sounds like gasping for air, falling into the lake in agony.

“Get away!

You monsters, stay away from my wife!”

The middle-aged man seemed to protect someone behind him, continuing to wield the bloodstained sharp dagger, threatening nonexistent enemies in front of him.

“Stay there, don’t move!

Please…

don’t jump…

no!!!”

An elderly voice pleaded desperately.

Another old man tossed aside his cane and leapt out overboard—

The sound of water splashing was heard; ripples spread on the lake’s surface.

The old man’s face suddenly relaxed and released, as if seeing something, letting the Primordial Demons pull him to the lake bottom.

Now, only the middle-aged man who killed his wife while believing he was protecting her remained on the wooden boat.

“No!

Catherine!!!”

The wooden boat shook violently; rippling circles spread from the boat’s edge as the man suddenly emitted a heart-wrenching scream, bloodshot eyes, and charged towards the boat’s front, stabbing out with his dagger.

Pfft—

A barely audible soft sound, followed by a brief struggle, and finally a splash into the water.

Lu Li tried to turn his head but was stopped by a soft, blood-stained hand.

“It’s all settled, leaving just the two of us on the boat…

Focus on rowing, don’t worry, don’t overthink it, you’re holding the oar in your hand, and you’re not lost.” Emin’s slightly panting voice came from behind him.

Everything before his eyes could be fake, everything in his ears could be fake, every touch could be fake.

Maybe Lu Li was drifting in circles on the lake; perhaps only he was left on the boat, perhaps he had already touched Anna’s hand beneath the lake and was sinking.

Anything could happen, so over-suspicion and caution could instead kill him at this time.

Lu Li nodded silently and continued to row towards the opposite shore.

“Weren’t you affected by the Primordial Demons?” he asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could still see the outlines swirling by the boat’s edge.

“It’s the ability inherited through my family’s bloodline; we are natural Psychics.” Emin from the Exorcist family of the Main Affinity Continent calmed down, speaking slowly: “The power from my ancestors’ bloodline makes my senses keener, able to distinguish between illusions and reality.”

“They transform what you think into illusions; the more you think about it, the more real it becomes, like prey caught in a web, the more it struggles, the tighter it becomes.

So, emptying your mind and trying not to imagine or think is best.”

“Understood.”

Lu Li did the same.

Perhaps due to the benefits of high humanity, the illusions invading Lu Li were always weak.

Like earlier, Anna’s clear face and whispers happened only once; afterward, he was surrounded only by faint, otherworldly sounds that didn’t belong to this world.

Lu Li could easily tell them apart, so he wasn’t affected by the Primordial Demons anymore afterward.

The screams in the sky above Mirror Lake were getting fewer and fewer.

The Primordial Demons still hadn’t dispersed; only the passengers and ferrymen on other boats had disappeared.

In the distance, people gathered on the shore, still in shock; their voices couldn’t reach here.

Silence once again claimed this mirror-like tranquil lake.

Apart from the sound of oars stirring the water, only breathing remained on the wooden boat.

Lu Li’s own breathing.

Not Emin’s.

Lu Li’s hands paused slightly while rowing; after another stroke, he turned his head to look back.

Emin sat behind him, head tilted, gazing at the distant Spine of the World Mountains, seemingly with some allure.

But a dagger was fully embedded in her chest below the black cloak, blood soaking the fabric, making it hard to discern its color.

“Emin?”

Lu Li placed his palm on the gun holster.

“What’s the matter, Mr.

Luli?” Emin withdrew her gaze and looked at Lu Li with inquiry.

“You’re hurt.”

“Did you see something?”

Emin followed Lu Li’s gaze downward, touched her chest, and let her hand brush over the wound, fingertips stained with blood.

But she

seemed unable to see the wound or feel the pain, raising her head with helplessness: “I’m fine.

Mr.

Luli, you must have thought I was in trouble, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Lu Li indeed had such a thought: “But now I’ve realized it’s an illusion, yet it still remains.”

Emin was slightly stunned, looking down at her chest again, reaching out to touch, murmuring, “So, am I in the illusion, or are you in the illusion…”

Lu Li couldn’t be sure.

Just like how he couldn’t determine if Emin’s injury was an illusion or reality.

Perhaps Emin herself was just his illusion; maybe she had fallen into Mirror Lake long before this.

Reality and falsehood were tangled together by the Primordial Demons, unable to be untangled.

Lu Li unclipped the gun holster, hoping the Spirit-Calling Gun could help unravel Chán City’s thread of truth and falsehood.

He had avoided using the Spirit-Calling Gun because, when Lu Li sensed them, they could also sense Lu Li.

“Watch out!”

At this moment, Emin suddenly looked towards Lu Li’s back, panicking and warning aloud.

The sound of water splashing came from behind, but before Lu Li could turn, his back was struck heavily, consciousness tumbling out of his body.

Lu Li fell inside the cabin, his face pressed against the damp gunwale.

Before slipping into unconsciousness, his yet-to-be-closed eyes hazily witnessed the unfolding scene before him.

“No…

stay away…

you monster…”

Emin was retreating in terror, face showing fright as if seeing a horrible sight, tripped over the gunwale.

At the moment she fell into the lake, her delicate face still showed panic, then everything was erased along with a splash.

Lu Li’s consciousness sank into the depths.

The violently rocking wooden boat gradually returned to calm over time.

The outlines beneath the lake surface slowly retreated to the bottom; on the clear Mirror Lake, only a few empty wooden boats quietly drifted.

One of the wooden boats carried a curled-up figure, drifting like a cradle towards the opposite shore.