novelraw Chapter 1011: An Unexpected Turn of Events
Chapter 1011: An Unexpected Turn of Events
The Dining Room.
The last bowl of vegetable soup was brought to the table. One by one, the silver lids covering the other dishes were lifted, revealing an array of exquisite, steaming delicacies.
As a professor at the Academy of Giant Trees, Professor Haig's family had no trouble with contamination or food shortages, especially when they had distinguished guests.
Professor Haig uncorked a bottle of red wine from his collection, filling glasses for Lu Li, his wife, and even Sisoran. He raised his glass, the wine trembling within it:
"To His Excellency, Lu Li."
"To Mr. Lu Li," said his demure wife, Mym.
"To the nice-smelling Lu Li!" Sisoran exclaimed with a child's enthusiasm.
After the perfume bottle had been capped, Lu Li’s aura once again radiated from him.
Once they had lowered their glasses for a small sip, the warm family dinner officially began.
Professor Haig told Lu Li about the various shops on their street, places he could stroll in his free time without concealing his aura, though he added that someone might inquire about the "perfume" Lu Li was using—Mym, ever the proper wife of her time, asked Lu Li if there was someone he liked.
"I am still searching for her."
Professor Haig, who was in the know, spoke up.
"Your Excellency Lu Li, there is another reason for my invitation... It concerns Paradise Valley, which you asked me to look into."
Professor Haig had a lead: he had found vague scraps of information about "Paradise Valley" on an unnamed, torn page of a book.
[It is surrounded by endless forests, far from all strife. Animals gather, plants continue to grow, rivers of honey flow, and those who shun the world migrate here, as if to a paradise.]
The torn page could not confirm if this was indeed Paradise Valley, nor did it specify its location; it was merely Professor Haig's conjecture.
"Is that all of the page?" Lu Li asked.
If there had been more, Professor Haig likely would have produced it.
"Yes... The page was too fragile. When I tried to pick it up, the wind scattered it to dust," Professor Haig said, looking guilty.
Ambiguous clues were always better than none at all.
Endless forests, far from strife, rivers.
Connecting these keywords, Lu Li's first thought was of the Eternal Forest on the west of the Main Continent—it was the largest forest known to man. Centuries of logging had failed to significantly diminish the Eternal Forest, and since explorers were more focused on the ocean, little was known about its depths.
Lu Li temporarily set down his knife and fork and went upstairs to retrieve a map. On the crumpled, yellowed parchment map of the Main Continent, the Eternal Forest was a massive shape in the west—almost larger than the Lennon Archipelago.
Several rivers flowed into the Eternal Forest and emerged from its southern edge.
The closest city to the Eternal Forest was Wigtown, the final stop on the railway and the very edge of human expansion.
But with the fall of Vinnelag, their connection to the railway towns had become intermittent, and the towns in the latter half of the line had lost contact entirely.
One could only assume their situation was not good.
Fortunately, the Flowing Cat was still there and might be able to protect Wigtown.
Committing the shape of the Eternal Forest to memory, Lu Li returned to the dining room below.
The moment he sat back down in his chair, Lu Li suddenly felt a wave of fatigue and weakness bloom in his chest.
The exhaustion washed over him like an unstoppable storm, shattering the vessel of his mind and plunging him into a deep drowsiness.
Before he sank into senseless oblivion, the last thing Lu Li saw was Professor Haig abruptly standing up, then collapsing and overturning the dinner table.
And also, the impassive Mym and the still foolishly smiling Sisoran.
...
A carriage moved slowly through the streets of the inner city, heading toward the outer city.
The unsecured "cargo" inside the carriage bumped dully against the walls.
The jolting and a cold touch against his skin slowly brought Lu Li back to consciousness.
Changing light filtered through the cracks in the carriage doors; they were moving.
His black eyes, deeper than the carriage's gloom, scanned his surroundings. Lu Li looked down.
He was leaning against the carriage wall, his body bound with ropes. The holsters at his waist were gone, and his stomach had been emptied. Leaning against the other side, Professor Haig was in the same predicament and had not yet woken up.
"Professor Haig..."
It was unclear whether it was Lu Li's call or the carriage lurching and bumping a knot on his forehead, but Professor Haig slowly regained consciousness.
"Your Excellency Lu Li..."
He saw Lu Li looking at him calmly, moved instinctively, and then discovered he was tied up. The realization that he had been drugged by his wife and son flooded his chaotic mind.
"How could this be... What is Mym doing?!"
Professor Haig had yet to recover from his wife's betrayal.
"Stay calm. Don't let them know we're awake."
Lu Li gestured for Professor Haig to be quiet, but it was too late.
The carriage door was suddenly thrown open, and a dazzling light poured into the gloomy interior.
His dilated pupils constricted, and Lu Li vaguely made out the figure of Sisoran, shrouded in light and shadow.
"Father, nice-smelling Lu Li, are you awake?" a muffled voice asked.
"Sisoran? Quick, let us out!" Professor Haig, still clinging to hope, lost his composure and roared.
"Mama said... no!"
Sisoran gave a dull refusal. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Lu Li could see Mym driving the carriage.
"No...!"
Sisoran shut the carriage door on Professor Haig's anguished cry.
Unable to comprehend the bitter betrayal, Professor Haig began to struggle and shout, but the carriage only swayed slightly, and no passersby heard his cries.
The struggle continued for several minutes until the breathless, bruised professor stopped. The ropes were thick and strong, and the knots were so tight that his blood could barely circulate.
"I never could have imagined... that Mym and my son would betray me."
In the stuffy, dark carriage, Professor Haig's hoarse, low voice echoed.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency Lu Li... I shouldn't have invited you over."
Professor Haig was filled with guilt and remorse.
His wife, Mym, had been a problem for a long time... a very long time. She had gotten close to Professor Haig as part of some conspiracy against the Academy of Giant Trees. But because Professor Haig had invited Lu Li, a lie that had lasted nearly ten years was exposed, revealing the ugly truth—
After a few minutes, the clip-clop of hooves slowed, and the carriage came to a halt.
The carriage stopped, and voices could be heard outside.
"I am the wife of Professor Spit Haig of the Academy of Giant Trees. I need to get to the surface."
"Those are the inner city guards..." Professor Haig suddenly raised his head and shouted to the outside:
"She's lying!"
"As is customary, we need to inspect the carriage," a city guard's voice said.
"Of course."
An anxious exchange followed, then Sisoran opened the carriage door. In the light that should have symbolized hope, Lu Li and Professor Haig saw the city guards.
"I am Professor Haig, and this is the exorcist Lu Li! They've kidnapped us!" Professor Haig shouted at them, his voice no longer hoarse and sharp.
Lu Li leaned against the back of the carriage, calmly watching as the city guard inspected the interior before stepping back, having apparently found nothing.
"Everything is in order, Mrs. Haig. Have a safe trip. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
"What are you doing?! That's Lu Li! The legendary exorcist! You can't do this!"
Professor Haig screamed madly, hysterically, but the narrow carriage seemed to be cut off from the world.
"They've even bribed the city guards..."
Professor Haig whispered, feeling as if they had fallen into a spider god's conspiracy, sinking deeper and deeper.
"Perhaps not."
Lu Li recalled the city guards, whose gazes had never once focused on them.
"The city guards can't hear us, and they can't see us."
With a slight shudder, the carriage started moving again, carrying away the despairing, remorseful Professor Haig and the calm Lu Li, rolling over the young grass growing in the cracks between the stone slabs.