novelraw Chapter 327: She Paid Too Much
Chapter 327: She Paid Too Much
The coincidence felt like a conspiracy.
“I started this job two weeks ago,” Lu Li replied curtly.
Ben Petra was also an ordinary investigator, but he had been working for over two years, and his experience far surpassed Lu Li’s.
In other words, a high rank among the Investigators was a testament to one's ability.
Ben Petra nodded knowingly. “Don’t worry, the Shadow Puppeteer isn’t that difficult. If you’re open to it, we could team up and tackle this ritual together.”
But Lu Li was concerned about something else. “Did you come here to investigate the evil spirit incident?”
“Of course not. The Investigators haven’t released any information about this incident,” Ben Petra said with a shrug. “I was just traveling through and happened to hear the baroness was hiring exorcists. I thought I’d see what was going on.”
Most Investigators, much like moths, are always drawn to new knowledge.
“And the Night’s Watch?”
“You mean, are they on a case? Definitely not. Otherwise, you’d see those grim-faced fellows here already, with the whole place cordoned off.”Lu Li fell silent upon hearing this.
The evil spirit’s attack on Baroness Joseph filled him with a strange sense of unease.
It wasn’t the incident itself, but the fact that both organizations had ignored this particular evil spirit.
Best case, they believed the baroness could handle the problem on her own. Worst case... both organizations were too busy to deal with evil spirits in Belfast.
From what Lu Li knew of them, the first possibility was highly unlikely.
“Excuse me.”
With those words, Lu Li stood and walked out of the drawing room into the hall, Ben Petra’s eyes following him.
In the middle of the hall, a man with a muscular torso was rubbing himself down with animal fat. Baroness Joseph was lounging on a sofa, watching the spectacle with an air of boredom. The noise from the drawing room door drew her gaze toward Lu Li.
Her expression immediately brightened. She sat up straight and waved a dismissive hand at her butler. “Give him some money and send him away with the rest of the circus acts.”
Ignoring the stunned exorcist completely, Baroness Joseph watched with smoldering eyes as Lu Li approached the sofa.
“I wish to decline.”
Lu Li’s words instantly soured the baroness’s mood. She scowled and protested, “No, you must stay!”
The moment she spoke, a chilling aura radiated from Lu Li.
The exorcist being escorted out by a maid flinched and glanced back, his face stricken with fear. Goosebumps erupted across his bare torso. His senses, sharpened by the coating of fat, screamed a warning of imminent danger.
But how could a living person radiate an aura as terrifying as a vengeful spirit’s...
As if sensing something, the butler’s lips tightened. He stepped in front of the baroness and addressed Lu Li, his voice impeccably level. “Has that gentleman spoken with you?”
Lu Li met the butler’s gaze, neither confirming nor denying.
A conversation between intelligent people is simple. The butler nodded. “We have not yet signed a contract. If you feel this arrangement is unsuitable, you are, of course, free to decline...”
“I do not agree!”
Baroness Joseph cut the butler off loudly. The undisguised possessiveness in her eyes made her seem like a little girl refusing to part with a favorite toy.
The chilling aura around Lu Li intensified. The bright hall seemed to dim, and a wave of apprehension washed over everyone present.
“Anna.”
Lu Li murmured her name.
A few seconds later, the aura began to dissipate, and the light returned to the hall.
Lu Li turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of a shadow disappearing behind the half-open door to the drawing room.
The baroness’s face was pale from the aura’s pressure, but she still stared at Lu Li with stubborn defiance.
The butler, apparently realizing the baroness was resolute, parted his bloodless lips. “You have seen the baroness’s sincerity. We are hiding nothing. If you agree to help her with her troubles, you will be compensated handsomely.”
Lu Li didn’t answer right away.
Willingly participating in an evil spirit’s ritual was never his style, but his shelter was not yet complete, and Lu Li was in dire need of money. Baroness Joseph, meanwhile, had it in abundance.
Having come to a decision, Lu Li turned his head slightly and whispered, “Anna, what do you think?”
He couldn’t make the decision for her.
A few seconds later, Anna’s reply echoed from the empty air:
“I’m with you. Anyone who wants to hurt you will have to get through me first.”
Lu Li gave a slight nod and looked at the butler. “Only if you agree to my terms.”
“What terms?”
Baroness Joseph asked before the butler could speak.
“Fifty thousand shillings as payment.”
Lu Li had deliberately named a high price, so that after some haggling, he would be left with...
“Done! You can have it right now. Lucy, prepare fifty thousand shillings for our charming exorcist, Lu Li,” the baroness answered hastily, forgetting even the husky voice she normally affected.
Lu Li frowned.
He should have asked for more.
The butler frowned as well.
The baroness had agreed so quickly it left no room for negotiation... Still, it was only fifty thousand shillings—less than the daily rent she collected from a few of her city blocks.
Regardless, the deal between Lu Li and the baroness was struck.
Once he completed this job, Lu Li would be able to buy the remaining Deep Sea Stone for his shelter and wouldn’t have to worry about finding more work for a while.
Lu Li returned to the drawing room to wait. Seeing the baroness’s impatience, the butler resumed the selection process.
Ben Petra was still sitting where Lu Li had left him. He gave Lu Li a nod, not asking what had transpired in the hall.
The selection process had clearly accelerated. Over the next half hour, exorcists filed into the drawing room one by one. A few minutes after the sixth one arrived, the sounds of the party in the garden resumed.
The selection was complete.
The six people in the drawing room were the only ones who had detected the evil spirit.
Except for Lu Li.
They assumed they would all be participating in the ritual to banish the evil spirit, but the butler soon returned and politely addressed two of them. “My apologies, but the number of participants for the ritual is limited. We can only take four of you.”
As compensation, the estate would provide a carriage and two thousand shillings.
Though they were clearly displeased, no one wanted to pick a fight with an aristocrat, and the two exorcists left without another word.
The butler then addressed the remaining four, including Lu Li. “Please wait. The baroness will be here shortly to give you the details.”
He left the drawing room briefly. A few minutes later, both doors swung open, and the baroness entered, flanked by her butler and maids, and took a seat at the head of the long table.
She glanced around, pursed her lips in dissatisfaction, and announced, “It’s too bright in here.”
The maids fanned out and began lighting the candles in the silver candelabras on the table and columns, extinguishing the chandeliers.
A fire crackled to life in the hearth.
The drawing room instantly took on the mysterious atmosphere of an ancient castle.
The flickering firelight illuminated the baroness’s profile. Her lips curved into a smile, and her lazy, husky voice purred, “Now... we can begin our story.”