The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 401: Don't Leave Yourself Room for Regret

"Human skin."

Lu Li crouched before the table, examining the intact suit of human skin discarded beneath it. In the yellowish glow of the kerosene lamp, the skin looked almost lifelike, but its empty eye sockets made the sight less gruesome. The skin was dressed in baggy clothes: dark brown work trousers and a blue jacket—exactly as JoJo had described. Only, this wasn't Oliver.

"Is this the work of your servant?" Lu Li asked the Mother of the Swamp.

"Its servant..." a quiet whisper sounded, audible only to Lu Li.

"Tell me about its abilities."

"Wears skin... pretends to be human... gets close to people..."

"What about its other servants? Tell me everything," Lu Li said, glancing back at JoJo, who sat despondently by the door. "Oliver might have changed his clothes, or he might already be dead in Tenebrae."

Devoid of tact, Lu Li voiced his suspicions.

JoJo was in a daze, lost in her own thoughts.

Without disturbing her, Lu Li drew his Spirit Gun and touched it to the skin, but nothing happened. He holstered the weapon, stood up, and began to inspect the hut while listening to the Mother of the Swamp's whispers."The head... turns anyone who sees it into one of its kind... weak... but its dying scream summons the other servants..."

The walls of the hut were covered in dried moss that resembled dark brown slag. It seemed incredible that the floor, neglected for decades, could still support a person's weight, though it was clearly at its limit. With every step, the boards sagged and groaned, threatening to give way.

"The woman... appears in crowded places... tears off faces... turns people into her own kind..."

Lu Li stopped just in time, before the floor beneath him collapsed. The boards had become unnervingly soft, like marshy mud.

He stepped back toward the door, his gaze falling upon the dining table. In a wooden bowl on the table sat an unpleasant, viscous, gray-green mass that resembled tentacles. It had obviously appeared here recently—over decades, anything like it would have long since dried up and decayed.

Lu Li brought the lamp closer. Beneath a thin layer of water, he could see remnants of moss and fungus.

"The monkey... servant in human skin... sharp hearing... lures people into traps with conversation... flays their skin... turns people into its own kind..."

"It can talk?"

"It imitates the sounds it hears..."

Lu Li looked under the table. A hole gaped in the floor. Crouching down, he noticed a scrap of fabric on the edge.

The opening was small; only someone very thin could squeeze through. Lu Li extended his hand with the lamp inside, illuminating the mud beneath the hut. The surface of the mud was smooth, without any tracks.

"And finally, the bat... the patrol... reckless... the strongest servant..."

"What about the beacons made of eyes on the streets of Tenebrae?"

The scrap of fabric on the edge of the hole was the size of a thumbnail. Aside from its color, nothing else could be determined.

"Part of its shell... it subjugates servants... and people..."

"You are being hunted," Lu Li said, straightening up.

JoJo's gaze focused on Lu Li.

"All of its servants are searching, killing, and converting. Their numbers will only grow."

That was why, when they passed through Tenebrae, they had seen only blood, but no bodies. The unknown evil god had turned all the dead into its servants. Tenebrae had a population of at least four or five thousand people. Even if only half had been converted, the number was still terrifying.

"Can your servants be converted too?"

"No..."

That was something, at least. Lu Li paused, noticing a darker board on the tabletop. As he moved closer, he caught the faint smell of kerosene. The scent hadn't yet dissipated, which meant the kerosene had been spilled very recently. Lu Li glanced at the skin under the table, lost in thought.

"Was someone else here?" he asked.

"Perhaps..."

"Perhaps?"

"My eyes see much in the swamp... but there are hidden corners... In fragments of memory... I saw someone leave... come here... and walk down the Swamp Road... Its servants pursued him..."

"This person was strong... but he went the wrong way... He went deeper into the swamp... where it is full of my servants and its... He hid on a ship..."

"How did a ship get there?" Lu Li asked. The Tenebrae Swamp was shallow, but because of the dense trees, it was difficult to navigate by boat even in the rainy season, let alone by ship.

"A hurricane brought it... on the day you delivered my invitation," the Mother of the Swamp replied. Lu Li remembered that hurricane in the swamp hut all too well. It was then that the sinister secrets of this world had first been revealed to him.

"What happened to those two people?"

The Mother of the Swamp fell silent, as if considering whether to tell him. Finally, as before, she decided to be candid with Lu Li. "She passed through the forest like smoke... burst in on my feast... saved the man who was about to be turned... and escaped..."

But the figure in the bird-beak mask and the Inquirer had never appeared again. Following the instructions in her letter, Lu Li had sold everything in her house that could be sold, except for the items that had to be handed over to the Investigators.

Having dealt with the past, Lu Li again asked about the person who had hidden on the ship. "How tall was he?"

"His height... The mud obscured my view... He had a kerosene lamp..."

"A kerosene lamp..."

Whether it was Oliver or not, he was most likely in the abandoned village. Lu Li relayed the Mother of the Swamp's words to JoJo. The young woman kept her eyes on the deity, not trusting her. Just like Anna. Perhaps Lu Li didn't trust her either, but he didn't show it. If he considered the Mother of the Swamp's actions with malicious intent, then they were like prey walking deeper into a trap: from Tenebrae to the edge of the swamp, then cutting off their own retreat by venturing into its depths, and now they had to go even farther. They were walking step by step into a web woven by the Mother of the Swamp. And that was likely the truth, for she was an evil god, and she wanted something from Lu Li. Humans deceived one another; what more could be expected from such a powerful being?

"That's enough..." JoJo suddenly lifted her head, her eyes red. "Thank you for everything you've done for my brother, but... let's stop... We don't need to risk any more."

"And what if it is Oliver?" Lu Li asked calmly, looking at JoJo. "Don't do something you'll regret."

A short pause followed, and JoJo thanked Lu Li once more.

"...Thank you."