novelraw Chapter 202: Everything at Once
Chapter 202: Everything at Once
Lu Li wrote while Anna fed the crow.
A few minutes later, Lu Li finished penning the last of his thank-you note to the library ghost. The crow, having eaten its fill, lost interest in the food and began preening its damp, black feathers.
Anna put the bread away. Coming out of the kitchen, she saw Lu Li fold the note, slide it into the message capsule, and snap the lid shut.
“Thank you,” he said, opening the window.
“Caw!” the crow rasped, as if in reply. It spread its wings and launched itself from the sill, soaring over the rooftops until it became a black speck against the sky.
A few passersby glanced up in surprise. By the time they looked back toward the window, it was already closed.
“Does it understand what we’re saying?” Anna asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice. She wished she could have stroked its feathers.
“I don’t know,” Lu Li replied, latching the window. He returned to the table, put away his notebook and pen, then picked up the telephone and dialed a number.
“Lu Li?” came Tesla’s voice, warped by the connection.
“Can you tell me about the Spirits of Defilement?”“You received the message?”
“The crow just left.”
“I see... I can, but I don’t know much about them myself. They’re a mystery. These beings are different from anomalies, somewhat similar to Evil Spirits and Evil Gods, but not quite. Hmm... Let me think. Based on the information I have, Spirits of Defilement possess the rituals of Evil Spirits and the intelligence of Evil Gods, generally leaning toward chaos. That is, they can think and communicate like people. Some are hostile toward humans, while others are benevolent, like the one you encountered.”
The description immediately brought the girl with the umbrella to Lu Li’s mind.
“How can I learn more? Is the library the only way?”
In the library, Lu Li could only access ordinary books; information on anomalies wasn't kept there.
“Go to the Traders. They work for our three organizations and are a good source of information. You can buy what you need from them with money, information, or contribution points. An easier way is to ask other exorcists, but be careful—they might overcharge you.”
“By the way, you already know about the Traders, don’t you?”
Contribution points served as a form of currency within the organization.
“Yes,” Lu Li answered, sensing something more in Tesla’s words. “They are...?”
“You’ll find out later,” Tesla said. After a few more words, he invited Lu Li to visit sometime and then hung up.
With the True Library inaccessible and no new assignments, Lu Li, accustomed to constant activity, found himself with free time on his hands.
Literally.
The base salary for a trainee investigator, 350 shillings a week, meant Lu Li earned 50 shillings a day even if he did nothing. He didn't find cases every day, and not every case paid well.
Marcus from Prosperity hadn't contacted Lu Li in a long time. Perhaps he had been arrested and thrown in jail, or maybe he had found more exorcists or had fewer clients, and Lu Li's services were no longer needed.
Oliver had all but vanished, his existence only confirmed by the occasional letters from Mrs. Slav. Oliver's sister hadn't visited in a long while either.
The Bloody Tentacles remained four in number, suspended deep within the clouds, motionless and unchanged.
Lu Li had handed the Richard case over to the Investigators. It was their problem to solve him and the Bloody Tentacles; all Lu Li could do was wait.
It was the same with the Door. The Investigators, now aware of the general situation, would have to devise a plan of action.
The issue of his Mind Level depended on a response from—and the arrival of—Remi and her brother.
To get a promotion, he needed an assignment from the Investigators' headquarters.
The shopping list he’d compiled for the Traders would have to wait until their next meeting, whenever that might be.
This rare spell of inactivity for Lu Li lasted until ten in the morning.
Lu Li went out to buy groceries. Considering their lack of work, Anna's improving culinary skills, and the need to vary their diet, he purchased an extra three ounces of carrots and a few spices to enhance the flavor.
When he returned to the agency, Anna was in the kitchen preparing brunch.
A few minutes later, a knock came at the door—the postman with the day’s papers.
Across all three newspapers, news of the hurricane had been pushed from the front pages. The headlines varied.
The Daily News’s top story was the successful germination of plants in an artificial greenhouse.
The Allen Principality Herald focused on the continued disappearance of the Kodasserlsen, the lack of contact with the Land of Hope, and the imminent arrival of the Lennon Archipelago's fleet at the Isle of Gaze, where the vessel was last seen.
The Valsen Gazette’s main feature was the trial of Baroness Joseph. After the baroness presented compelling evidence, the plaintiff was now preparing new testimony and exhibits.
The rest of the news was typical fare: an unidentified body found somewhere; a family of three on Elm Street in Belfast who vanished into the darkness when their oil lamp suddenly went out, prompting the author to urge readers to keep multiple lamps lit at night. The heavily decomposed carcass of a sperm whale, covered in a black, viscous substance, had washed ashore at Moon Bay. On the Allen Peninsula, kerosene prices remained stable, and a company caught diluting their product with water had been shut down by the police.
Just as Lu Li was finishing the last page of the paper, another knock echoed through the room.
It was the postman again, in his dark green uniform. This time, he carried two letters.
Could it be a reply from Remi and Jimmy?
Lu Li took the letters and closed the door. Before he could take a step, one of the letters slipped from his grasp and seemed to stick to the floor.
He still held two letters in his hand.
Lu Li bent down to pick up the fallen envelope. Anna peeked out of the kitchen, her curiosity piqued. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Li picked up the envelope and asked thoughtfully, “Can you see this letter?”
Anna shook her head.
“What about these two?”
Anna nodded quickly.
The Door was meddling again.
Lu Li opened the letter from the Door first. Inside, written in Tesla's name, was an assignment for his promotion trial.
The Door was certainly keeping up with the times.
Returning to his desk, Lu Li opened a drawer, placed the letter with the others from the anomaly, and then opened the second one.
The paper was odd, as if torn from a notebook, with jagged edges. On the back, something was written in a clumsy, awkward script.
The scene felt eerily familiar to Lu Li.
He turned the page over and scanned the uneven lines of text.
[...the grown-ups say there's a swamp ahead... What’s a swamp? April 12. I'm so sad... I don't know what happened, my father and mother burst in, panicked. They grabbed me and ran into the woods...]
Lu Li lifted his gaze toward the kitchen door.
From within, he could hear Anna humming a cheerful tune.