Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 761 - 761 280

761: 280.

The black-haired, black-eyed exorcist walked alone.

761: 280.

The black-haired, black-eyed exorcist walked alone.

Glug glug——

In the pot over the fire, the thick soup bubbled vigorously.

Lu Li sat by the fire, loading an inscribed bullet into the chamber of the Spirit-Calling Gun, snapping it shut.

Click——

Setting the Spirit-Calling Gun beside him, Lu Li picked up another one, opened the chamber, and repeated the previous action.

Two other Spirit-Calling Guns and scattered inscribed bullets lay nearby.

After loading bullets into the four Spirit-Calling Guns and gathering the scattered bullets, Lu Li removed the pot.

The boiling sound ceased, and the wailing wind outside gradually became clearer, accompanied by the faint sound of sand hitting the glass.

Lu Li quietly ate the meat soup from a wooden bowl.

The wind and sand were kept outside, while the warm fire and hot soup made the atmosphere cozy.

Yet, Lu Li was the only one in this small town.

After eating, Lu Li prepared for the upcoming journey.

He checked the compass and parchment map, slipping them into his coat; hung the four Spirit-Calling Guns inside the coat; attached a filled water pouch to his waist, with the “Lighthouse” and a windproof oil lamp hung beside it; removed the Sanity Value Counter and secured it around his neck near his ear; and picked up the Redemption Fragments, keeping them close to his body.

Whirr——

A basin of wet soil dropped, burying the fire.

In the suddenly dim small house, Lu Li donned a cloak, hiding his face in shadow, and pushed open the door.

The gale rushed into the house, the wailing wind abruptly became distinct, and the cloak billowed.

The sky was a dull yellow, with sand and dust swirling low, visibility was less than a few miles.

Lu Li stepped onto the deserted yet clamorous street, his figure gradually vanishing into the wind and sand.

Leaving the town’s boundaries, Lu Li nestled the compass in his hand, glancing down occasionally to avoid losing direction in the sandstorm.

The oil lamps at Lu Li’s waist swung with the wind and his steps, producing a crisp clang.

The sandstorm wasn’t large, but it slowed Lu Li’s pace.

By three in the afternoon, the sand-swept sky had turned murky, and Lu Li had traveled less than 40 miles.

A village lay just two or three miles ahead.

The gradually dispersing sandstorm allowed Lu Li to see the distant hazy town, and on the horizon to the north, the towering sand at the foot of the Spine of the World Mountains.

A sandstorm was approaching.

Lu Li stopped on a hill a mile from the village to look out.

Smoke rose faintly from the peaceful village, while behind it, the advancing sandstorm loomed larger and clearer.

In its terror, a natural disaster is no less formidable than the supernatural.

Clearly, entering the village to shelter from the sandstorm was the best choice, but Lu Li hesitated for some reason.

He gazed for a moment, then turned away, skirting the village from a distance and heading toward the distant rocky terrain.

Perhaps there was a place to hide there.

The sandstorm was closing in, the resting wind and sand rising again, more fiercely, drumming on the cloak with a dense patter.

The northern sandstorm turned a dreadful dark red, with lightning storms churning within.

Entering the rocky area, Lu Li began searching for a sheltering depression.

…

Outside the dim cave entrance, the sand and wind scraped sharply.

Sand flowing into the cave accumulated at the entrance.

Clang clang——

Amid the increasingly piercing howling, a faint sound of crisp collision suddenly echoed, drawing nearer.

Whir——

A figure, wrapped in sand, walked into the cave.

The figure pulled back their cloak, scanned the low cave, and lit the oil lamp hanging at their waist.

Light gradually filled every corner of the cave.

The cave was only three to four meters deep, with rock walls bearing beast claw marks, deep within lay several pieces of firewood, a straw mat, and a pile of extinguished campfire.

This had once been a den for wolves or other carnivorous animals, later occupied by villagers from the nearby settlement.

The howling outside the cave sounded like screams, and the dark red sandstorm made even a shelter slightly unsettling.

Lu Li walked to the depth of the nest, placed the oil lamp on the sand, built a campfire with the surrounding leftover wood but did not ignite it, instead, he took out a Stone Badge and crushed it.

A few minutes later, a silhouette emerged from the wind and sand outside, rushing into the nest.

It was an old lone wolf, seeking refuge from the sandstorm like Lu Li.

Lu Li placed his hand over the Spirit-Calling Gun in his coat, quietly watching the lone wolf.

Strangely, the lone wolf did not attack Lu Li.

It lifted its head to sniff in Lu Li’s direction, then curled up at the nest’s edge, ignoring him.

After a moment, a merchant bent down and entered the cave.

The lone wolf immediately stood, showing a growl opposite to that shown toward Lu Li, baring its teeth to intimidate the intruder.

The merchant ignored the lone wolf’s warning, approaching Lu Li.

“Did you find it?”

Lu Li shifted his gaze away from the wolf.

“No Rope of Descent or new malevolent spirit appeared elsewhere,” the merchant said.

Lu Li nodded quietly, purchasing some food, water, and wood from the merchant.

Thirty minutes later, the merchant returned with goods, and Lu Li also lit the campfire.

The nighttime temperature fluctuations in the Barren Lands weren’t as dramatic as those in the desert, but it was still cold.

Lighting the campfire provided warmth and light, which was essential for warding off any lurking threats.

Concerned that the aroma might provoke the wolf’s instincts, Lu Li did not roast the canned food, instead opening it directly to eat.

However, the lone wolf was still tempted by the scent, rising and approaching Lu Li, nudging his hand with its dry nose, then lying down and rolling over, exposing its softer-furred belly.

This was clearly a form of wolf pack appeasement.

Was it due to humanity that it held no hostility?

Was it a pet of the nearby villagers?

Or could it be…

Lu Li pondered, moving his hand away from the Spirit-Calling Gun handle, offering the wolf a can of food and some water.

After finishing the food, the lone wolf rubbed its wet nose against Lu Li’s pants before returning to lie at the edge of the nest.

Having eaten, Lu Li unfolded the parchment map.

By confirming his location relative to the small town two or three miles away—another 50 miles ahead lay Saint Ries Gorge, beyond that stretched the narrow desert corridor and Old River Channel Plains, with the oasis for The Time of Silence just ahead.

The sandstorm outside did not abate, forming small dunes a few centimeters high at the cave’s entrance.

Due to the wind and sand, the Mist of Strangeness was mercifully unable to cover this land.

The last sliver of outside light faded; Lu Li slept without removing his clothes, passing a quiet night in the nest with the wolf.

The next morning, Lu Li awoke.

The sand piled at the cave’s entrance had reached several tens of centimeters high, nearly burying it.

A trail of beast footprints led outward.

The lone wolf had left.

This dispelled a certain suspicion within Lu Li’s heart.

Lu Li cleared the sand from the entrance and stepped outside.

In the gloomy morning wind under an overcast sky, the distant outline of the sandstorm was faintly visible at the southern edge.

The sandstorm that had raged all night had now moved on.

Lu Li crushed another Stone Badge, returned to the nest, added dry grass and twigs to the nearly extinguished fire, and prepared breakfast.

The merchant arrived shortly after, and Lu Li purchased more Stone Badges, inquiring about Anna’s whereabouts.

“A new malevolent spirit has appeared in Kande Classical City on the Main Affinity Continent.”

The merchant replied.

“The victim was a baron’s daughter.

Her erratic behavior was noticed, and soon after, she melted into a shadow and vanished.”