The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 313: The Funeral

A tall figure strode down a narrow, silent cobblestone path.

A damp haze shrouded the cemetery. Headstones, tall and short, stretched into the distance amid the withered grass.

The sharp spire of a church strained to pierce the curtain of rain. Not far from the burial site, a crowd had gathered, all clad in somber gray and black. They stood in small clusters, their voices a low murmur.

Lu Li's arrival drew the attention of only a few people nearby. Noticing the stranger, their gazes lingered on his dark eyes for a moment before they looked away.

"You're late."

Tesla, wearing a black, wide-brimmed hat and holding a black umbrella, approached the gate and offered Lu Li a white rose.

Raindrops glistened on its petals, reflecting the somber world around them. Lu Li lifted the rose to his nose—it felt cool, but carried no scent.

"It's fabric," Tesla sighed. "Real flowers are hard to find these days."

Lu Li remained silent and, following Tesla's example, pinned the rose to his coat lapel.

"When does it start?" Lu Li asked, his gaze drifting past the edge of the umbrella. The grave was already dug, but there was no sign of a coffin.Considering the state they found Thomas's body in, even if a coffin arrived, it would likely be empty.

"Soon. His daughter is in the chapel, praying for her father's soul."

"Is she religious?"

"You could say that. In times like these, people need something to believe in," Tesla replied enigmatically, but didn't elaborate. "Shall I introduce you to a few people?"

"No, thank you."

Lu Li had no desire to make new acquaintances.

"Alright. Feel free to go over there and get something to drink. I want to speak with an old friend, and I'll find you when the ceremony begins," Tesla said, pointing to a canopy at the edge of the cemetery. He then headed toward a middle-aged man with a thick mustache, dressed in a black suit.

Lu Li went to the canopy, folded his umbrella, and asked a nun serving drinks for a glass of juice.

These days, juice cost as much as an equal weight of beef, a luxury only the wealthy could afford—and even then, it wasn't guaranteed to be fresh.

The scent of the juice cut through the cemetery's lingering odors of decay and damp earth. Lu Li watched the scene unfold with a detached air.

Most of the attendees were men, the remainder women in black dresses. People conversed with one another, but some, like Lu Li, kept to themselves, showing no desire to talk.

The funeral was attended mostly by Thomas's colleagues and fellow exorcists.

Lu Li finished his first glass and was taking a second—orange juice—when a coffin emerged from a side door of the church.

All eyes turned toward it, and the quiet conversations trailed into silence.

The crowd watched the approaching coffin, though some gazes fell upon the young woman in a veil and wide-brimmed hat walking behind it. The pallbearers reached the grave and set the coffin down beside the open plot.

An elderly priest in a gray cassock stood before the coffin and began the eulogy: "Three days ago, we bid our final farewell to Rudolf Thomas... Life is a battle, from birth until death, and he was born to carry a message of hope to the world..."

Given Thomas's particular line of work, the priest omitted many of the usual religious phrases, such as "returning to the arms of the Lord" or "the gates of heaven opening." Instead, he spoke in metaphors that only the exorcists present would understand, alluding to the deceased's true profession.

"Care for some milk?" Tesla's quiet voice came from beside him.

"They don't have any. The juice is good, though," Lu Li replied, gently swirling the orange liquid in his glass.

When Lu Li first came to the city, he could afford oranges, but now, he was lucky to even see one.

"I'll have one too, then, please," Tesla said to the nun.

"Have your troubles been resolved?" Lu Li asked.

"More or less. They won't be back," Tesla answered, his gaze fixed on the priest. "What do you make of Sissy?"

"I don't know her."

"Sissy Thomas, Rudolf's daughter."

Lu Li looked at the woman in the black dress standing behind the priest and, ignoring Tesla's question, asked, "Why do you ask?"

Tesla smiled, accepting a glass of juice from the nun. "For a long time before his death, Thomas was searching for a suitable husband for her. Rumor has it that's what caused the rift between them."

Lu Li was quiet for a moment. "This is hardly the time."

Tesla understood Lu Li's meaning. He fell silent as well, his thoughts turning to a future devoid of hope.

A few minutes later, the priest concluded his eulogy, and workers began lowering the coffin into the grave. The headstone bore only a photograph, one that looked as if it had been cut from a larger group picture. Thomas's smile in the photo seemed slightly strained, but it was filled with fatherly love.

One could easily imagine that in the original photo, his daughter had been standing right beside him.

Sissy raised a handkerchief to her face and dabbed at her eyes.

Then, the final farewell began. The guests formed a line in front of the grave, each tossing their rose onto the coffin.

When his turn came, Tesla solemnly placed his fabric rose on the coffin and whispered, "Farewell, old friend."

Lu Li was next. He said nothing, merely placing the rose on the casket before turning away.

Once the procession of farewells had ended, the workers began to fill in the grave. Earth fell in shovelfuls, covering the polished wood layer by layer, until the coffin vanished from sight. Only the smile in the photograph on the headstone remained, a final reminder that Rudolf Thomas's life was over.

Afterward, the guests were free to socialize. Some departed, but most remained, catching up with friends they hadn't seen in ages—opportunities for investigators to gather like this were rare.

Lu Li remained under the canopy, drinking glass after glass of juice, when a somewhat hoarse female voice spoke up beside him.

"Did you know my father?" Sissy asked, her face still concealed by the veil.

Lu Li glanced around. The only person he saw was Tesla, already walking away.

"No."

Beneath the veil, Sissy's eyes were red-rimmed, as though she had been crying, but her voice was sharp. "Funerals are for friends."

"I only saw him before he died."

Sissy clearly knew more than she let on. She pressed on, "Tesla said you were with my father during his final moments."

"His death had nothing to do with me."

"I know that. I'm asking..." Sissy's voice suddenly softened, laced with a sliver of hope. "Did he say anything... before the end?"

The normally detached Lu Li instantly understood what she was hoping for.

He considered for a moment, then answered, "He said..."

Finishing his final glass of juice, Lu Li felt he had overindulged. He set the empty glass down and turned to leave.

"Wait. Can you tell me... who he was?"

"An exorcist," Lu Li answered without turning around.

It was no secret. Or rather, it wouldn't be for long. Soon enough, everyone would learn the true nature of the world.

As Sissy stood frozen in place, Lu Li's gaze met Tesla's, who had been watching from afar. Then, he left the cemetery.