novelraw Chapter 151: Coming Home
Chapter 151: Coming Home
The carriage rattled along the streets as Lu Li and Anna observed the city's slow recovery in the aftermath of the hurricane.
Most of the ruined buildings were old wooden structures. A knot of worry tightened in Anna's chest as she thought of their detective agency—and the sculpture.
The sculpture possessed a consciousness and could move, but its body was made of fragile plaster. Even a minor fall could shatter it.
Anna prayed silently, hoping the agency was alright. A moment later, the carriage turned onto Sailor Street.
Just like most of the city, Sailor Street bore the scars of the storm, with several houses reduced to rubble. Thankfully, the residents who had been trapped in the debris had all been rescued.
Yet the atmosphere here was the most oppressive they had encountered anywhere in the city.
As the carriage rumbled over the cobblestones, the sound of weeping drifted from the houses. The faces of the few people on the street were etched with despair. Children, their usual cheerfulness extinguished, stood under awnings with red-rimmed eyes, staring blankly into the distance.
Sailor Street was, after all, home to the largest community of sailors in the city.
And most of the fishing vessels that had set out to sea the day before the storm... had never returned.
Anna spotted their building up ahead. It was still standing, though its windows had been blown out. It would take some time to get everything back in order.Yet Anna found she wasn't as relieved to be back as she'd expected.
Only Lu Li remained as calm as ever, seemingly untouched by any emotion.
The carriage pulled up to the detective agency. To their surprise, the windows had been boarded up, protecting them from the worst of the storm. Inside, however, was a mess.
Turning invisible, Anna slipped inside. Lu Li gathered his belongings from the carriage and followed.
The landlord, a middle-aged man with thinning hair, approached Lu Li with a smile. He explained that he'd boarded up the windows before the hurricane, then cautiously asked if there were any ghosts about.
Lu Li didn't refuse the request. He held the Spirit Gun for a moment and, to his surprise, detected no ghostly presence.
Lu Li wasn't sure if that was normal, but the news was enough to make the landlord let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed he would be able to sleep soundly tonight.
Walking down the hall, Lu Li pushed open the agency's half-closed door. From inside, the dim glow of an oil lamp spilled into the corridor.
Anna tossed a spent matchstick into the wastebasket and floated to the door to take the bags from Lu Li's hands, then began putting things away.
The sculpture stood in its usual spot, wrapped in Lu Li's coat against the day's chill.
The detective agency looked almost exactly as it had two days ago. The familiar surroundings brought a sense of calm and security.
The only thing missing was a bouquet of flowers—or something of the sort—left at the door.
Lu Li picked up another lamp and told Anna he was going to return the carriage and then meet with Gades. As he'd promised, he kept nothing from her.
Except for his past.
This time, Anna decided to go with him, even if it meant meeting another exorcist. Just as she'd resolved before, she was going to protect Lu Li.
Beneath the umbrella, the rain fell in a solid curtain, streaming from its edges.
Carrying an unlit lamp, Lu Li made his way back to the carriage.
People huddled under the awnings of the houses—children, women, and the elderly. They all seemed to be waiting for someone.
The residents regarded Lu Li with even greater respect than before, and... there was a strange flicker of hope in their eyes.
Suddenly, a small boy broke free from his mother's grasp and ran out into the downpour, shouting as he rushed toward Lu Li.
"Mister Exorcist, can you help me?"
Soaked to the bone, the boy stood in the rain and tilted his head back to look up at Lu Li.
Wordlessly, Lu Li tilted the umbrella to shield the boy from the rain. His own back was instantly soaked, but Anna, filled with sympathy, used her power to deflect the falling water.
"Can you see my papa?" the boy asked, his large eyes filled with a mixture of pleading and sorrow.
Lu Li didn't answer immediately. He glanced over at the boy's mother, who stood under the awning with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Her eyes held the same grief, shadowed by a fragile hope.
Lu Li suddenly understood why the residents were looking at him with such desperate anticipation.
Their loved ones were not coming back. They were never coming back.
Lowering his gaze to meet the boy's, Lu Li nodded. "I can. He's right beside you."
The boy stared at Lu Li, stunned, then whirled around and scrambled back to his mother.
"Mama, did you hear?! The Mister Exorcist said Papa is right here! Mister Exorcist, you..." The boy turned back, but all he saw was the carriage flap being lowered.
As the horse's hooves clopped past, the woman could no longer hold back her tears. She covered her face with her hands.
"Thank you... Oh, thank you..."
...
Inside the carriage, Anna watched Lu Li.
She knew he hadn't seen anything.
He hadn't even touched the Spirit Gun.
Anna kept stealing glances at Lu Li. A few minutes later, the carriage pulled to a stop in front of Gades's detective agency.
His agency, too, had weathered the hurricane unscathed.
Ting-a-ling... Ting-a-ling...
The small bell over the door chimed softly.
"Well, look what the storm dragged in! You reek of the sea... Don't tell me you actually went out there?" Gades greeted Lu Li like an old friend before his tone shifted instantly. "Did you bring my fee for the information?"
He always had a phenomenal memory when it came to money.
"How do I contact the Spirit Hunters Association?" Lu Li asked, ignoring Gades's question entirely.
Gades eyed Lu Li suspiciously, his gaze flickering to Anna, who stood just behind him. "Why would you want to do that?"
"Personal reasons."
Gades shook his head. "I don't know. I don't have any dealings with them."
"Are you sure?"
Gades opened his mouth to reply, then paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. After a few seconds, he spoke again. "Not entirely... Your reputation is high enough now. Sooner or later, the Traders will start dropping by your agency. They might know something."
"The Traders?"
"That's right. The mysterious types who sell all sorts of strange Anomalies. You didn't think I made the Spirit Gun and Silver Bullets myself, did you? I bought them from the Traders, of course... Damn it! Why did I tell you that?!"
Gades slapped his hands to his head.
His anguish was genuine.
...
Dizziness!
A soul-crushing vertigo!
Cold!
A cold that pierced him to the bone!
Pain!
An all-consuming agony!
The rush of waves... Harben forced his eyes open.
Am I... back...?
Am I... alive...?
Harben struggled to sit up, feeling the grit of sand beneath him and hearing the rhythmic crash of the surf.
His head was splitting, and every attempt to move sent a jolt of sharp pain through his body. It took him a long moment to gather his senses, to anchor himself back in reality.
Finally, the confusion in his eyes gave way to a wild joy. He scrambled to his feet and began to run, stumbling along the beach toward the distant city lights—toward his home on Sailor Street.