The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 372: A Quiet Change of Heart

Whooo...

The wind howled outside the closed windows.

A sailor stood at the door. On his carefully raised arm perched a crow the size of a human head. Ordinary crows would have looked like chicks next to it.

It looked just like the massive, eagle-like crow from the fresco at the entrance to the Investigators' headquarters.

“Is this your pet? Mrs. Wright found it on your windowsill when she returned.”

Lu Li stepped aside, and the intelligent crow, spreading its nearly meter-wide wings, flew into the detective agency and landed on the desk.

Only a bird of this size could fly in such a storm.

“Thank you.” The crow’s behavior spoke for itself. Lu Li thanked the sailor and closed the door.

Anna went to the kitchen for some bread, while Lu Li approached the crow, but he found no message capsule on its leg.

At that moment, the black crow lifted its beak and let out a piercing cry, “The stars are in their places, the black sun has risen, the Fallow Lands have fallen! The stars are in their places, the black sun has risen, the Fallow Lands have fallen! The stars are...”The crow was mimicking a human voice. Its piercing cry, which sounded like a wailing child, carried the distinct accent of the southern part of the continent. The Investigators' headquarters was located there, which made it clear where the bird had come from.

“What is the black sun?” Lu Li asked.

“The stars are in their places, the black sun has risen, the Fallow Lands have fallen!”

It was no use. The crow paid no attention to Lu Li’s question, ceaselessly repeating its unnerving phrase.

“I understand,” Lu Li replied.

Only then did the crow fall silent and begin to preen its feathers, on which raindrops glistened.

“The crow can talk...” Anna said in surprise, approaching with breadcrumbs.

The crow stopped preening and tilted its head to one side. Its black eyes reflected the approaching ghostly figure and the breadcrumbs.

Anna placed the crumbs on the edge of the desk, and the crow began to peck at them.

“Crows can mimic human speech. They’re very intelligent, and not as fragile as pigeons,” Lu Li explained to Anna.

The crow ate quickly. Its hard beak tapped against the old desk, leaving behind white marks.

Seeing that the crow had eaten everything, Anna was about to bring more, but the bird cawed loudly, flapped its wings, circled once, and landed on Lu Li’s outstretched arm.

Now it had to find the next exorcist who was meant to receive the message.

“I'll see it out,” Lu Li said.

After letting the crow out, Lu Li returned to the detective agency, closed the door, and walked over to the desk to pick up the telephone.

His call to Tesla was redirected to the telephone service. An operator informed Lu Li that the telephone lines in the Belfast area were damaged due to the severe weather and would only be restored after the storm had passed.

Hanging up the phone, Lu Li took a biology reference book from the shelf and resumed his reading.

The hands of the clock ticked on. The footsteps and voices in the hallway gradually faded as the residents went to bed.

Around nine in the evening, Anna came out of the kitchen with a dry blanket and spread it over the sofa.

Lu Li looked up, closed the book he had nearly finished, and walked over to the sofa, removing his tie.

The dry blanket held a pleasant warmth. The scent of warmed wool mingled with the aroma of smoke from burnt firewood, creating a cozy feeling.

When Lu Li lay down, Anna brought another blanket and carefully covered him with it.

Previously, Anna would never have done such a thing, but now her movements were natural. She gazed at Lu Li, her crimson eyes glowing brightly in the dim light.

“Good night.”

As Lu Li closed his eyes, Anna picked up her own book, sat down at the desk where Lu Li had been sitting earlier, and began to read.

The agency grew quiet. The only sounds were the patter of rain and the howl of the wind outside.

That night, during the storm, the detective agency was relatively peaceful. However, the silence did not last long—it was broken by a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The slow, soft knocking sounded mournful.

Lu Li, who hadn't yet fallen asleep, opened his eyes. He met Anna's gaze, sat up, threw off the blanket, and went to open the door.

Creak...

A woman in a faded, coarse white dress stood on the threshold. A small boy stood in front of her. She lifted her head, looked at Lu Li, and asked quietly, “Good evening, Mr. Lu Li. I'm your neighbor, Patricia Murphy. I... Do you have any food to spare? Could you... give us a little? I can bear it, but my children haven't eaten in a day and a half...”

“Please, Mr. Exorcist, give us anything at all. My sister is sick,” the boy pleaded, looking up at Lu Li. He looked terribly thin and frail.

Lu Li looked at the boy and his mother, then turned to Anna, who was standing behind the door. “Bring the canned food.”

Soon, Anna brought six cans of preserved meat and two of fruit. She stood behind the door, where the mother and son couldn't see her. As Lu Li took the cans, they thought they glimpsed someone else in the room, but then their attention was completely captivated by the small stack of canned goods.

“This is too much...” Patricia Murphy said hesitantly. The boy, however, stared at the cans without taking his eyes off them, having forgotten how to speak.

“It should be enough to last you until the storm ends,” Lu Li said, holding out the cans to Patricia Murphy.

“Thank you... Thank you so much! I don't know how to thank you... Ike, thank Mr. Lu Li!” The woman's voice was trembling as she quietly prompted her son to thank Lu Li.

“Thank you, Mr. Exorcist,” the boy said quickly.

The mother and son turned and left. The boy's joyful exclamation—“Hooray! Canned fruit! Sister will be so happy!”—gradually faded into the distance.

Lu Li closed the door in silence.

“What's wrong?” Anna asked, noticing the change in Lu Li's mood.

After a moment of silence, Lu Li frowned and looked at Anna. “Do you remember the story about the little fish? I've realized I can't save them.”

A powerful storm was raging at sea. Compared to it, a person was so small. Lu Li, having released the fish back into the ocean, couldn't guarantee they would survive.

After all, even he himself could barely escape the storm while on the shore.

Anna, of course, remembered the story. Her gaze softened even more. She quietly comforted Lu Li, “You did everything you could. That's enough. We can't save everyone.”

Although Anna didn't understand why Lu Li was upset about not being able to help others, she realized that he had grown even closer to her.

Instead of always remaining cool and rational, like some soulless being, Lu Li was now showing his humanity, and that pleased her.

Lu Li quickly composed himself and returned to the sofa.

Silence once again settled over the agency, but not for long. At midnight, it was broken again.

Opening the door, Lu Li saw JoJo. Despite her cloak, she was completely soaked. Water was streaming from her boots.

JoJo's eyes were red. Rain mingled with her tears.

“Something's happened to my brother!”