Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 834 - 27. Caravan, Numa, Cursed Title

Chapter 834: 27. Caravan, Numa, Cursed Title

"Did they discover you?"

Katerina noticed the Leviathan Church believers’ name for Lu Li.

"Yes."

And it seems they’ve discovered more than just "purity."

After all, being a pure human alone isn’t enough for the church to extend an invitation.

It’s Katerina who’s the happiest about this. With the church’s hint, Lu Li’s pure human identity is evidently unquestionable—

"Looks like they’re not very interested in you," Katerina said deliberately, opening the bag to glance inside, filled with coins and small denomination bills, seemingly two or three hundred Shillings.

Satisfied, Katerina tied up the bag, the crisp and pleasant sound of coins rubbing against each other is pleasing — but carrying it around not only burdens oneself but also attracts attention.

Katerina approached the counter and tossed up the money bag: "This is the reward given to me by the believer personally, I want to exchange them for large denominations."

Two minutes later, Katerina exited the tavern after adjusting the Leather Armor on her chest, walking with Lu Li towards the caravan at the end of the street.

The caravan member was waiting at the junction, introducing himself as the "Caravan Keeper," while leading Lu Li and Katerina towards the caravan, explaining that consent from Numa is needed before departing with the caravan.

"Caravan Keeper feeds some ’strong-smelling’ peculiar creatures, generally docile and controllable, won’t harm us... Their scent can cover ours, so the wilderness’s peculiar creatures won’t attack the caravan then..."

Katerina whispered to Lu Li, then asked, "Who is Numa?"

"A good little thing that protects us from the wilderness," the keeper said as they walked past carts loading goods, arriving in front of a large caravan covered by a tarp.

"Don’t scream or shout inside, it’ll scare it."

The keeper picked up the oil lamp from the edge of the vehicle, reminded them, lifted the tarp, and crawled inside.

"It should be fine..." Katerina said, taking the lead to crawl inside.

Lu Li followed behind, nearly colliding with Katerina who had suddenly stopped.

A deep inhaling sound came from ahead, Lu Li turned his head, under the oil lamp saw a revealed piece of its body.

Its body is flat and long, has tentacles, appears like a catfish—a peculiar creature, gray-black smooth skin reflecting under the oil lamp.

It was confined in a three-meter-wide, nearly seven-meter-long iron cage. This is why the caravan looks enormous like a Long House from outside.

The keeper moved cautiously, but not out of fear, rather as to not startle it. He grabbed a handful of long stalks of moist plants outside the iron cage and handed them inside.

"Numa" behaved completely differently from Katerina’s knowledge of peculiarities, eating meekly like cattle, even carefully avoiding the keeper’s hand.

Lu Li was somewhat familiar with these—Amber was also like this.

The closer oil lamp allowed Lu Li to observe Numa’s front limbs that were the size of an adult’s arm but looked like a baby’s with its massive body, appearing thin and abnormally shaped.

Its limbs couldn’t support it crawling unless it had some mysterious way of moving.

After feeding, the keeper’s action made Katerina shiver. He leaned close to the iron cage, almost poking his head inside, approaching Numa’s catfish mouth, listening to something.

Lu Li vaguely heard something but couldn’t discern or understand, unless he was very close, like the keeper putting his head near—

After tens of seconds, the keeper withdrew from the iron cage, oddly sizing up Lu Li: "Numa thinks you taste delicious."

Katerina instinctively turned vigilant, and Lu Li spoke, "I don’t think ’delicious’ necessarily means friendly."

"You should be glad, it means your contamination is minimal," the keeper said, looking at Katerina again: "Your companion is somewhat ’ordinary’."

Ordinary also means average, common, neither high nor low.

So this news to Katerina was neither good nor bad.

The keeper contemplated for a moment and said to Lu Li: "Stay closer to Numa, it can mask your appetizing scent."

"It won’t get greedy and bite, will it?" Katerina didn’t want to hear the bad news of Lu Li being eaten.

"Numa is a good child." The keeper grumbled, Katerina shouldn’t have such thoughts.

Just then, outside the caravan came a voice of scolding that moved from afar to near.

"Hurry the hell up! The Earl of Ghost Town urgently needs this batch of goods, we must deliver by sunset—Of course, I know it’s eternal night right now, damn Tom take care of your second mouth!"

Numa, sensitive to sound, wobbled its catfish head, making purring exhaust noises.

The keeper had to soothe Numa.

"I’ve heard about this." Katerina whispered to Lu Li at this time: "The Earl of Ghost Town isn’t truly an Earl, rumors say he was a Knight from the Weird Times, who died and unexpectedly became a ghost, ’living’ until now, then accepted the Ghost Church’s invitation to move to Ghost Town..."

"Alright, let’s head out."

Having calmed Numa down, the keeper said, leading Lu Li and Katerina out of the oppressive caravan.

"Have you ever followed a caravan?" he asked.

"Uh...no."

Katerina has always been independent, seldom leaving Leviathan Town, let alone luxuriously departing with a caravan.

"Alright, remember these few guidelines." The keeper glanced around at the hastened loading caravan workers, clearly and swiftly repeating guidelines he had stated countless times.

[You are attempting to leave the safety zone]

[You are moving away from safety and comfort]

[And perhaps you might never return]

[If you are sure you want to venture forth, ahead waits the unknown’s anticipation]

[You will encounter many, mostly bad things]

[It will make you grow, also make you crazy]

[Keep a close eye on your Sanity Value, never let it decrease]

[Remember—]

[The more you know, the faster you die]

Katerina fell into memories because of the guidelines as if somebody once told her this a long time ago.

She quickly snapped out of it, following the keeper with Lu Li to a cart behind the caravan where they were assigned.

"After leaving the town, don’t leave the carriage, use only Fluorite, and absolutely never expose light in the wilderness." The keeper advised lastly. "Our leader has a Cursed Title, no need to worry about losing direction."

"Cursed Title?"

"It’s called ’Survival Instinct’... you should already know."

The keeper implied mysteriously. As the words fell, an incomprehensible content, seemingly words or sounds, surfaced in Lu Li and Katerina’s minds.

[Survival Instinct]

[Humans live on an island called Ignorance. When they decide to sail away, they will go farther and farther on their respective routes. Perhaps going too far will make them forget where they came from. Fortunately, you remember. Your mind constantly recalls where you were originally. No matter where you are, you can remember its location, its direction—because only there is safe.]

[Your mind will point to the location and direction of the departed town.]

[—Hunters often die by the mouth of prey. Fishermen will eventually be lost in the depths of the dead sea.]

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