The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 161: Anna Grows Stronger

Chilled, exhausted, and hungry, Senger huddled at the dining table, perched on the very edge of his chair. He didn’t dare sit properly—a sudden coldness kept washing over him, making him reminisce as if his life were about to end.

He turned toward the window. In the glass, reflecting the passersby on the street, he saw his own gaunt face. The reflection that had once robbed him of his sleep now seemed... not so terrifying.

Lu Li's composure was contagious.

Three against one—or four, if he counted himself. The odds were clearly in their favor. Besides, the detective seemed remarkably confident...

As Senger was lost in thought, another figure appeared in the window's reflection.

Lu Li approached the table and placed a bowl of broth before him. "This should help you restore the strength you've lost over the last few days," he said.

"A special soup for exorcising spirits?" Senger wondered. He picked up his spoon, ready to try the dish, which looked delicious despite having gone cold.

"It's not free."

"Huh?"

Lu Li went back to the kitchen, washed the cutting board and knife, and leaned them against the wall. Anna's disgruntled voice floated out to him. "Why are you giving away what I made?"Lu Li didn't answer. He glanced toward the dining room, where Senger was gulping down the soup in large spoonfuls, his face screwed up in a grimace from the unpleasant taste.

Can she really not tell?

Lu Li picked up the packet of what Anna had mistaken for salt and tossed it into the rubbish bin. It was sugar.

Lu Li had a habit of frowning when something troubled him. His brow had been furrowed ever since breakfast, hours ago.

That spoke volumes.

At five o'clock in the evening, darkness began to settle over the detective agency.

Anna lit the oil lamp on the writing desk, its glow pushing back the uncomfortable gloom.

As night drew closer, Senger’s anxiety and fear began to creep back in.

According to his story, the entity in the mirror was due to appear around this time.

Lu Li picked up the mirror, turned it facedown, and handed it to Senger.

Senger took the mirror with trembling hands. He glanced uncertainly at Lu Li and asked, "Do we really have to do this?"

"There's no need to be afraid," Lu Li replied. "Ghosts aren't as terrifying as you imagine. They were people once, so there's nothing to fear."

This rule, of course, didn't apply to Vengeful Spirits or Evil Spirits, which were far more powerful than ordinary ghosts.

"I know... But I'm still terrified..." Senger managed, forcing a pained smile that looked more like he was about to cry.

Unless a person experienced it for themselves, it was difficult to believe that ghosts weren't terrifying—especially for someone so firm in their beliefs.

"And what if it gets out and takes my place?.."

"Then you're out of luck."

"W-what?.."

Senger lifted his head, stunned. He looked at Lu Li, whose shadow stretched across the bookshelf behind him, his face half-illuminated by the lamp and half-swallowed by shadow. "Then... I... I'll start..." he stammered. "You have to... you have to protect me..."

With trembling hands, Senger slowly turned the mirror over.

His face appeared in the reflection, and he immediately squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to look.

"Now?" Anna whispered.

"Not yet," Lu Li answered.

If Senger was right and the spirit in the mirror was trying to take his place, it was bound to attempt an escape.

"It's here! It's appeared!"

Senger shrieked, shutting his eyes tight again after a fleeting glance at the mirror. His hands trembled, blurring the reflection.

Lu Li remained silent, watching intently.

A faint, cold aura began to emanate from Senger, spreading into the air around him.

Unlike before, the mirror now radiated the same cold aura, as if in response.

"Don't replace me, don't replace me, don't replace me..." Senger muttered, his hands trembling ever more violently.

The same face stared back from the shaking mirror. Time ticked by, and the two cold auras merged into one. At that exact moment, the reflection diverged from reality.

Senger's outstretched arm continued to tremble, and so should have the reflection. But the instant the auras merged, the image in the mirror became perfectly still.

Senger's face was now perfectly clear in the mirror, a ghastly smile spreading across its lips. The real Senger, eyes still squeezed shut, was deathly pale.

The spirit had manifested.

The spirit in the mirror seemed oblivious to its surroundings. As Lu Li and Anna watched, it slowly drew closer to the surface of the glass, pressing its face with that ghastly smile right up against it, and then...

Its face was stuck, confined within the small, palm-sized looking-glass.

Anna, hidden behind the desk beside Lu Li, bit her lip to stifle a laugh.

The spirit in the mirror quickly realized that approach wasn't working. Its face, a perfect copy of Senger's, pulled back from the surface, and it reached out a hand toward the glass.

The surface of the mirror rippled like water, and a pale, translucent hand emerged, reaching for Senger, who stood muttering with his eyes clamped shut.

Lu Li remained sitting at the table, not moving.

This job was for Anna. She had to destroy the spirit herself to absorb its power.

The pale hand emerged completely from the mirror, its fingers mere inches from the trembling Senger.

Just then, Anna shot away from Lu Li's side. She swooped toward the mirror from the side and seized the spirit's hand.

She still hadn't learned to control her power, so, as always, she unleashed her full might!

A sound like tearing fabric ripped through the air.

Using all her strength, Anna ripped the pale arm clean off, and it dissolved into thin air.

"Aaaah!!!"

A piercing scream erupted from the mirror. Anna's dress billowed as she gathered her power again and struck the mirror!

Senger flinched at the shriek, dropping the mirror and grabbing his head.

The mirror was sent flying, and the scream cut off abruptly.

Before it hit the floor, a web of cracks spread across its surface, and for a fleeting moment, a mournful figure flickered within the glass.

Crash!

The mirror shattered into a thousand pieces.

Senger, who had scrambled aside and was shielding his head, opened his eyes. Panting heavily, he exclaimed, "That scream... it was my... no, it was his! Did you destroy it?!"

"Yes."

Lu Li glanced at the empty space beside him. He could feel Anna's presence, and her power was growing stronger.

She had succeeded.

"Now, let's discuss payment for my services and the soup," Lu Li said. He paused, his gaze drifting to the floor behind Senger. "And for the broken mirror."

After seeing Senger out, Lu Li rose from his desk and walked over to the window.

Passersby hurried along the dark street.

He watched as Senger exited the building and paused by the door. His back was straight now, the fear gone from his posture. He adjusted his fedora, then, as if sensing he was being watched, turned to look up at Lu Li in the window.

His expression held none of the gratitude or astonishment one might expect—only a calm that mirrored Lu Li's own. Like a true gentleman bidding farewell to a friend, he smiled, removed his hat, and pressed it to his chest in a slight bow. Then, settling the hat back on his head, he turned and vanished into the crowd.