The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 409: Faceless Shadows and Ficus Trees

Lu Li and his companions had only a few minutes to catch their breath.

The servants of the unknown evil god were drawing near, and with every passing minute, the scales tipped further in their favor. Stalling for time, hoping they would destroy each other and create an opening for escape, seemed like a good idea, but it meant nothing more than waiting—waiting for a slim chance of rescue, and... death.

Cooperating with one evil god to fight another sounded absurd, but right now, it was the only way to resolve the situation in Tenebrae.

Lu Li took out the statuette of the Mother of the Swamp and, following their prearranged method of communication, squeezed it in his hand. "How do we get inside?"

A faint, ghostly whisper echoed in the depths of his mind: "...Follow the shadow... Avoid the guardians..."

"These ficus trees?" Lu Li glanced up at the lifeless trees.

"...Yes... They will kill... anyone they sense..."

"Can't you guide us directly?"

"...Not... now... An endless stream of servants... is advancing... I... cannot be distracted..."

The Mother of the Swamp's voice grew slower; perhaps, as she had said, she needed to focus on her battle with the unknown evil god and its servants.Lu Li mused aloud, "Does this mean if we decide to leave, you can't do anything to stop us?"

This time, the Mother of the Swamp was silent for longer than usual. Her whisper held a note of bewilderment: "...You want... to break our deal...?"

"If I wanted to break the deal, I would have done it already, not announced it," Lu Li replied. He was simply gauging the gravity of the situation.

"We'll go through."

With that, Lu Li slipped the statuette into his coat pocket and turned to Anna and Jojo. "It's time to go."

Taking the suitcase and the oil lamp, Anna concealed her aura and followed Lu Li and Jojo into the dark, silent forest. A shadowy guide pointed the way, revealing safe passages.

There was one other piece of good news: the dangerous bogs that had previously been at every turn had vanished.

As they moved away from the stream, the sound of the water gradually faded, replaced by silence.

After a few minutes, Jojo could no longer tell which way they were going and simply followed Lu Li.

Lu Li stepped over a thick, gnarled root. The edge of his coat brushed against it. Both Lu Li and Jojo stopped in their tracks and looked up at the roots dangling from the ficus branches.

The hanging roots, like vines, seemed to sway in a breeze, before falling still again.

There was no wind here.

When all was quiet again, Jojo carefully stepped over the root and moved closer to Lu Li.

They pressed on.

Occasionally, they had to touch the ficus trees, but as long as they froze and remained motionless, their surroundings would quiet down.

In time, they ventured deeper into the swamp, drawing closer to its heart.

It might have been noon by now, but the crimson clouds and the thick canopy of the ficus trees blocked out the daylight. Twilight reigned all around.

Slightly out of breath, Jojo struggled to keep up with Lu Li. Although her past ordeals had hardened her, and she could sometimes even best her brother in a fight, the constant tension in this forest was taking its toll on her.

Jojo was glad the ficus trees didn't react to breathing, otherwise...

Suddenly, Lu Li stopped. Jojo looked up and saw that he had raised the oil lamp high.

What had he noticed?

Jojo looked ahead.

Beyond the lamplight, countless white figures hovered in the dark forest. They glowed with a faint, ethereal light, like plankton in the deep sea, creating an illusion of something beautiful.

But it wasn't.

As soon as Jojo made them out clearly, the illusion of beauty shattered, replaced by sheer horror.

The hovering figures were not harmless. Their lack of faces revealed their true nature. They weren't floating on their own; they were hanging by their necks from countless roots, swaying in the air like gruesome fruit.

But there was no wind here.

They were...

Jojo clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.

Lu Li nodded, confirming her suspicion. The presence they had felt in the ship's hold had most likely been these very creatures.

Ahead, beneath the ficus canopies, hung the Faceless Shadows. They were motionless, merely swaying from the branches, occasionally turning their empty sockets toward Lu Li and Jojo, sending a shiver down Jojo's spine.

They had no faces, yet Jojo felt as if they were staring right at her.

Jojo rose onto her tiptoes and whispered in Lu Li's ear, "Can we go around them...?"

Lu Li didn't answer, his eyes scanning the area for the shadowy guide.

It was hiding among the very ficus trees from which the Faceless Shadows hung, barely visible in the gloom.

The guide was pointing the way through this horrific area.

After a moment's thought, Lu Li shook his head and stepped into the grove where dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Faceless Shadows were hanging.

They moved silently between the still-hanging bodies, trying not to touch the roots or give in to the terror that gripped them.

In that moment, Jojo understood that there were things far more frightening than death.

Unlike Jojo, who walked with her head down, Lu Li was carefully observing the Faceless Shadows.

They were not yet dead.

They still reacted to their surroundings.

As Lu Li and Jojo passed by, the Faceless Shadows slowly turned their empty eye sockets toward them.

At first, it might have seemed like a coincidence, but when every Shadow did it...

But that was the extent of it.

Lu Li calmly led Jojo onward. Aside from the horrifying sight, the Faceless Shadows posed no real threat. The Mind Level counter remained silent.

The entire grove was dotted with hanging bodies, but they soon passed through the area, and darkness and silence reigned once more.

Jojo didn't let her guard down. The stories she had heard taught her that danger often strikes at the most unexpected moment.

Her premonition proved correct. Just as they were about to leave the forest, a Faceless Shadow, concealing its aura, appeared before them.

The situation became critical. The ficus trees reacted to auras, so Anna couldn't manifest to use her powers, and the Spirit Gun remained holstered.

If the Faceless Shadow released its aura, the ficus trees would instantly attack it—along with Lu Li and Jojo.

But before that could happen, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. Ficus branches shot out from the darkness and wrapped around the Shadow's neck, hoisting it up to hang with the others.

Strangely, the ficus had attacked the Shadow, which hadn't revealed its aura, yet it left Lu Li and Jojo alone.

Lu Li's gaze lingered on a dark hollow in the trunk of the ficus tree before he led Jojo away.

From the hollow, a charred hand emerged and slowly waved them goodbye.