Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 858 - 51. Lu Li

Chapter 858: 51. Lu Li

This is the second time the term ’alchemy’ has appeared.

Lu Li asked again, hoping that the identity of the respondent this time would provide him an answer.

"What is alchemy?"

"You don’t know?" came the astonished voice of Professor Nuno Alexandrovich, who had never shown his face, from the carriage.

Katerina suddenly spoke at this moment, "We are from Tang Ge Town, it’s a small town, there are many things we haven’t heard of—"

She didn’t want to reveal her identity just yet.

"It is indeed far from Midnight City, but don’t belittle yourselves, many people at the university know about Tang Ge Town."

"Why?" It was Katerina’s turn to be curious.

Katerina had always lived in Tang Ge Town. It was like a hometown to her.

"Let me think..." Professor Nuno Alexandrovich pondered for a moment before replying, "Tang Ge Town has a rule that doesn’t allow harming oneself, right? Some of us old folks once conducted dialectics, discussing whether those who harm themselves to heal should be considered as breaking that rule."

Katerina looked at Lu Li with some surprise; he had done such a thing as well after learning about the rules of Ghost Town.

"What was the outcome?" Lu Li asked.

"The divinity of Tang Ge Town is impartial," came the reply from the carriage. "It only cares whether one harms oneself, regardless of the reason."

Kleinse University is located in the urban area of Midnight City, which is more prosperous and populated.

The shop windows along the streets almost dazed Katerina’s eyes; she gazed greedily at them, further solidifying the idea of staying. She asked in a voice only Lu Li could hear, "Is this the same as back then?"

"Mostly."

Lu Li replied briefly, continuing to observe everything here.

Fat-bodied passersby were rarely seen on the streets, nor were vibrant and exquisite clothes beyond burlap. Most people appeared thin due to a lack of nutrition and food.

Many poorly dressed poor folks huddled in alleys or by the roadside. They dared not venture into the wilderness, surviving narrowly under the protection of divinity in the city.

These passersby seemed to have a gap in ages—many were adolescents or middle-aged, seldom a healthy adult.

Lu Li knew the reason.

Calculated by time, during the period of the Third Calamity which was The Time of Silence, many children under five years old were killed as it ravaged.

The timeline matched everything seen.

"When did The Time of Silence turn into Silent Moments," Lu Li asked.

"A long time ago... in the last periods of the Old Era."

"Twenty-four years ago?"

"Let me think... yes, I was your age back then." The old man spoke with a tone of reminiscence.

The timeline still matched.

"Do you know the exact time?" Lu Li continued asking.

"The exact time... I’d have to think hard about that." This time, the old man thought particularly long, until the carriage moved onto another street, and a voice of apology came from the carriage, "Sorry, it’s been so long that I’ve forgotten..."

Lu Li changed his way of questioning, "Did it become Silent Moments a month after it neared The Time of Silence?"

"I remember... yes, it was at that time." Professor Nuno Alexandrovich’s voice became suddenly urgent.

"During that month, humankind used all feasible methods, exerted all power but couldn’t stop it. Thankfully it didn’t last too long, it only... only killed a few million children before turning into the longer but no longer terrifying Silent Moments."

The shot couldn’t kill the Third Calamity, but it eventually influenced it.

"Young man, why are you asking this?" Professor Nuno Alexandrovich asked in bewilderment.

Katerina was somewhat anxious, worried that Lu Li might reveal his identity now.

"From a notebook," Lu Li simply said.

The old man replied, "Here’s a suggestion, don’t casually read notebooks whose origins are unknown."

The Mycelium Horses turned onto a street, and a large mansion stood at the end of the road.

That was Kleinse University.

This university was more desolate than expected; hardly any human shadow moved in the mansion.

The Mycelium Horses stopped at the gate of the mansion, the guard opened the iron gate, and the Mycelium Horses stepped inside.

Professor Nuno Alexandrovich left the carriage, making a brief pause on Lu Li’s dry, sticky black hair, and led them to his office.

Sitting on the sofa, the elderly man wrapped circles of gauze around his right hand looked at Lu Li and Katerina, "Will you now tell me about pure humans?"

Katerina was still hesitating, but Lu Li had already answered, "That’s me."

Katerina helplessly had to supplement, "And he is from the Old Era."

"Old Era? You mean he was born back then?"

"No... he was this age back then, a demon Slayer trapped underground for twenty-four years."

The old man observed Lu Li, "But why haven’t you changed?"

"Time underground didn’t pass for me," Lu Li answered.

"Let me think how I might believe what you’re saying," the old man fell into contemplation, seeing Lu Li observing the oil painting on the wall, speaking to him, "That depicts the mass migration from Spinning City..."

Professor Nuno Alexandrovich looked at the oil painting, reminiscing about a scene from the migration of Spinning City, "It was caused by an Exorcist, named Lu Li. Do you know his ballad?"

Before receiving an answer, the old man chanted softly.

"Under the world’s mirroring heavens, walks the black-haired, black-eyed Exorcist, blocking thorns aligned ahead dissolve in his brightness, webs drifting from gloomy skies flicker with enigmatic brilliance, illusion-weaving monsters gaze greedily, companions buried within ice and cold silence, young Demon Slayers pause due to setbacks, yet after brief bewilderment and reflection, seeing the suffering endured by people, he resolves to aid those tormented;"

"Under the world’s mirroring heavens, the black-haired, black-eyed Exorcist aids the desperate, even if they are not human, he spares them no mercy, people throng around the Exorcist, helping him find lost companions, ripples emerge in his indifferent heart over old companions who have turned into bones, people receive his assistance, cheer and gather around him, they sing the Exorcist’s name, spreading on hopeless lands, until everything ceases in departure;"

"Under the world’s mirroring heavens, the black-haired, black-eyed Exorcist walks alone, cruel reality presenting itself, willing to end all himself, yet the outcome on the battered earth was long destined, and the story would ultimately close, the Exorcist delivers the final answer: This shot is called Good Night."

"You..."

The old man suddenly fell silent, eyes lost as he gazed at Lu Li.

During the migration, he had glimpsed at what he saw, standing beside the City Lord, the black-haired, black-eyed Exorcist gradually merged with the man before him—

Katerina suddenly held her breath, an unprecedented emotion flooded her heart, making her nose turn sore, eyes filling with warmth.

"I know."

Lu Li withdrew his gaze from the oil painting, his calm black eyes, seemingly unchanging at any time, fell on the old man.

"That was me."