Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 844 - 37. Local "People

Chapter 844: 37. Local "People

Lu Li and Katerina, with nowhere else to go, returned to the Cape of Good Hope Tavern.

They sat by the corner table with just one guest, waiting to go to the old sewer.

The guest across was eavesdropping on the conversation of two hunters at a neighboring table, no longer paying attention as he reached for his wine glass.

"We’re clean now!"

A shrill voice suddenly sounded from the wine glass, terrifying the guest into pulling back his hand, staring at the double-headed doll climbing out of the glass.

"Can we go now?" One of the heads addressed Lu Li across the table.

They seemed to be independent entities.

"Are you from the church?" Lu Li asked.

"People? We are not people!"

"Church? We are not them!"

Both heads shrieked simultaneously.

"Did you come before the church and the town?" Lu Li continued to ask.

"This is our home!" The left head answered.

"Shh... he’s investigating us!" The right head warned the left, the fabric wrinkling as if in anger: "You are a bad person!"

"Big sister will come to teach you a lesson!" The left head also shouted.

They noisily jumped off the wine glass, leaving a row of wet footprints as they ran to the edge of the table and leapt down.

Katerina looked under the table, unsurprisingly finding the double-headed doll gone.

The mischievous spirit disappeared, the silent guest glaring at his now murkier wine angrily, knocking over his wooden chair and extending his palm toward Lu Li: "You bastard, compensate me for my wine!"

Katerina swiftly reached for her dagger, but before swinging it, she saw Lu Li effortlessly grasp the wrist thicker than his arm. The scene was as incredible as a charging carriage crashing into a pedestrian, yet the pedestrian remained unmoved.

"Fighting is prohibited in the tavern." Lu Li reminded the trembling guest wrestling with him. From his pocket, he pulled out three coins and pushed them to the center of the table.

"Is it enough?"

"Not enough."

The guest glanced at the 3 Shillings, hesitated for a moment, and then withdrew his arm, muttering, "But forget it."

Pocketing the three coins, the guest grabbed the wine glass and gulped down the drink tinged with muddy stench.

Before leaving, he turned his head, stiffly warned, "In respect of compensation, you’ve been targeted by them—get out before ’big sister’ comes."

The man left the tavern.

"You didn’t need to pay him, we are stronger," Katerina couldn’t understand Lu Li’s act of submission.

"His wine was indeed contaminated because of me." Lu Li answered.

"But..." Katerina was about to argue when she suddenly remembered Lu Li’s identity, realizing with reverence: "I see... it’s the noble virtue of an Exorcist."

Lu Li remained indifferent.

In a survival-of-the-fittest environment, morality holds no value.

He was pondering what "big sister" might be.

The tavern owner might know, but Lu Li couldn’t afford the price.

Fortunately, only a few minutes were left before departure.

Soon, the attendant came to the table, took the wine glass, and said, "The carriage to the old sewer is ready in the backyard."

Lu Li and Katerina left the tavern, rounded the alley rear to the carriage waiting.

They were the last two passengers—except for them, there was a pale woman with purple lips, holding a delicate doll seated in the depths of the carriage.

"Curse Hunter..."

Katerina whispered a cautious reminder, pulling Lu Li to sit at the carriage edge, away from the woman and her doll.

"What is it?"

Katerina didn’t respond, as the cramped carriage couldn’t hide whispers.

"Hehe..."

Ethereal, surreal laughter faintly echoed within the carriage. Lu Li turned toward the eerie sound source; the doll sitting on the woman’s lap tilted its head to gaze, unmoving.

"Jack... really likes you." The hissing sound akin to a snake’s tongue flicking accompanied the Curse Hunter’s words. Between her rotten teeth, nauseating maggots and cockroaches crawled.

Lu Li nodded lightly and replied, "Hello."

Not revealing repulsion or fear, Lu Li’s handsome appearance and....sweet scent intrigued the Curse Hunter more. Before she could act, the coachman exited the tavern’s backyard, glanced into the carriage: "One, two, three... great, you’re all here, should we wait a bit longer? Maybe the boss will bring another person."

"No need, we’re pressed for time, ’big sister’ is seeking us," Katerina answered.

"Then hurry, being caught by it would be troublesome," the coachman said sympathetically, jumping onto the carriage.

"Why," Lu Li asked. "Will it attack me?"

"No, but it’ll scare you witless, leaving town with wet pants."

The coachman pulled the reins, the Mycelium Horses slowly dragged the carriage from the alley.

Lu Li’s appearance and humanistic aura undoubtedly brought many conveniences, for instance, the coachman was happy to converse with Lu Li.

Of course, the downside was similar.

For instance, the Curse Hunter being highly interested in Lu Li.

And typically, more talk meant more information.

"There are always rude passengers angering them, er... guest, how did you provoke them?"

Lu Li replied, "I curiously asked about their origins."

"I see. They are highly vigilant and vengeful; guest, you must be careful."

"Do you know their origins?"

"No, nor do I wish to know, knowing too much isn’t a good thing," the coachman said with a hint of taboo, "Knowledge itself is a curse."

In the Old Era, people feared bizarre knowledge, now things are even worse than before.

Throughout the conversation, the Curse Hunter maintained a keen observation of Lu Li.

The carriage journeyed along the streets toward the low hills, traversing a difficult road filled with puddles, causing the cabin to jolt.

From the Curse Hunter’s body, maggots fell and burrowed into the carriage crevices; the delicate doll, aided by the jolting, was inching closer to Lu Li.

"Help me, I’m going to melt!"

Lu Li turned to look outside the carriage at the shout, seeing a clay figurine struggling in the fleeting puddle.

"Stop for a moment."

Lu Li halted the carriage, walked to the puddle where the clay figurine floundered, reaching to scoop it up.

Its pitiful body had mostly vanished, with only its head and one arm connecting to the neck remaining.

"Boo hoo, I’m going to die!"

The clay figurine continued to cry, so Lu Li dug out some mud, bringing it back to the carriage with the crying figurine and the mud.

"Will they die?" Lu Li asked the coachman.

"I don’t know..."

The coachman adhered to his heartbeat, ignoring the events within the carriage and resumed driving.

"Why did you..." Katerina whispered, puzzled.

"Trying to mend the relationship," Lu Li answered, pushing the wet mud toward the clay figurine: "See if you can restore your body."

"My hand’s gone!"

The clay figurine raised a bare, melting arm to lament to Lu Li.

Lu Li rolled a strip of wet mud, attaching it to the clay figurine’s body. As if infused with life, the once lifeless arm started to move.

The clay figurine used both arms to scoop mud, beginning to patch its missing body parts.