The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 423: The End and the Beginning

The Shadow Swamp, in the banyan forest.

A straight path stretched into the distance.

Lu Li walked the path with an oil lamp in hand, Anna keeping pace beside him.

If he followed it south, Lu Li could reach the southern shore of the Shadow Swamp. From there, he could circle the swamp's edge and return to Tenebrae, where his journey had begun.

The Mother of the Swamp had offered two options: one was to take the path, the other was to wait for her to regain control of the banyan guardians, which would allow Lu Li to pass safely and directly through the swamp. The second option was faster.

Lu Li needed to bandage his wounds and rest, but he still refused the quicker route.

Despite the understanding they had reached, and despite knowing the Mother of the Swamp's past, he still didn't trust her.

Right now, he had no one to help him deal with the Mother of the Swamp if something went wrong.

"She might change her mind..." Anna whispered, voicing the thought that was also on Lu Li's mind.

"I hope not."The Mother of the Swamp had no reason to kill Lu Li, but evil spirits were impossible to comprehend, their motives unpredictable.

Even those who retained a sliver of their humanity.

"And what about removing the ship from the stream?" Anna asked again.

"She'll do it."

The Mother of the Swamp would never tolerate an uncontrolled anomaly in her territory. If the ship wanted to leave, she would gladly help it on its way.

Anna fell silent, and they continued their journey.

From time to time, Anna's voice would break the silence of the damp trail. She would ask questions, sometimes nonsensical ones, as if she simply wanted to keep a conversation going.

As if she were afraid that the wounded and exhausted Lu Li might lose consciousness.

JoJo had also taken this path, but Lu Li and Anna hadn't seen any sign of her. They could only hope she had returned to Roostown safely.

After nearly two hours of dragging his weary legs, Lu Li caught the faint scent of the sea.

Gradually, the banyan trees lining the path gave way to twisted, dead trees. The blood-red clouds that had hung in the sky finally dispersed, revealing a grim, gray overcast.

The weather hadn't improved, but at least the forest had grown brighter.

The lead-gray surface of the sea appeared on the horizon, and the sound of waves, carried on a damp, salty wind, reached Lu Li's ears.

Stepping out of the forest, they set foot on the gray-brown sand. Only then, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, did Anna feel a true sense of relief.

"I'll show you the way to Roostown."

Outside the swamp, Anna no longer needed to hide her power.

In his current state, Lu Li would never be able to walk the dozens of kilometers back to Roostown.

"Alright."

The gray sea seemed even gloomier than the sky, but the cool wind and the sound of the waves helped to dispel the oppressive feeling.

"There's a ship."

Anna pointed to a cluster of reefs to the east. There, a badly damaged sailboat was stranded on the shoals.

The broken mast and the gash in its hull looked familiar to Lu Li.

Not long ago, he had seen this very ship in a vision of death.

"Is something wrong with it?"

Lu Li didn't betray his emotions, but Anna could tell from his fixed gaze that he had noticed something.

"I saw this ship in a vision of death," Lu Li said quietly, shaking his head as he told Anna what he had seen.

The story moved Anna, but finding the frame seemed impossible. "It fell into the sea. We'll never find it in the ocean."

As soon as she spoke the words, a sharp corner emerged from the sand. Some intuition compelled Anna to reach out, and the outline of... a picture frame appeared from beneath the sand.

"Is this it?" Anna asked in disbelief.

The coincidence was so incredible it felt as if the frame had been placed here specifically for Lu Li to find.

Lu Li reached for the frame, but Anna intercepted it.

"It could be a trap. I'll take it," she said.

The frame's glass was shattered, and the photograph inside was long gone, washed away by the sea.

All that remained was the frame itself, and now it was impossible to know if it was the one Lu Li had seen.

"Can you throw it onto the ship?" Lu Li asked.

"Yes."

Anna glanced at the wrecked ship, stuck on the reefs several hundred meters from shore. She filled the frame with her power and threw it with ease.

The frame blurred, leaving a distortion in the space behind it, and instantly vanished into the distance, landing on the ship.

After that minor incident, Lu Li and Anna continued on their way.

A strange light flickered deep within Anna's cold, scarlet eyes. She moved toward Lu Li, about to lift him into her arms.

But just then, Lu Li looked out at the sea. "There's a ship."

Its silhouette was reflected in his eyes, a dark shape on the lead-gray surface of the water.

The strange light in Anna's eyes vanished, her expression turning cold once more. She glanced indifferently at the steamship. "I'll make them come closer."

"No need. It looks like it's already heading this way," Lu Li said, his gaze fixed on the sea.

The steamship drew nearer to the shore, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

Anna helped Lu Li sit on the sand, away from the surf.

"Does the wound hurt?" she asked, noticing his frown.

When he shook his head, she looked at his wrist. "It's still ticking..."

On the path, Anna had thought the clicking from the Sanity Counter was somehow connected to the Shadow Swamp.

But now... it seemed the swamp wasn't the cause.

Anna quietly stepped back.

"Farther."

Lu Li's voice cut through the air. Anna froze for a moment, then silently retreated another six or seven meters.

"It's not you."

Lu Li shook his head. The Sanity Counter hadn't stopped clicking when Anna moved away.

Suddenly, he remembered something and touched the holster carrying the First Pistol.

The moment his fingers brushed against the leather, the clicking grew more rapid.

"The Spirit Gun? But how..."

Anna watched in surprise as Lu Li unbuckled the holster and flung it away, pistol and all.

It sailed through the air in an arc and landed on the sand about ten meters away from them.

The clicking stopped.

"The roses on the pistol have fully bloomed. It's no wonder the holster can't block its influence anymore," Lu Li explained.

"Because of what happened to you in... the Old Mother of the Swamp's shell?"

Lu Li hadn't told her what had transpired, but Anna guessed he had endured something terrible and dangerous.

"Yes."

The sea breeze seemed to carry away his fatigue. Lu Li squinted at the approaching vessel. He could see someone on the deck waving flags.

They had spotted him on the shore.

[Lu Li...]

Somewhere in the depths of his mind, a soft whisper called his name.

"What is it?" Lu Li replied, assuming it was the Mother of the Swamp.

Anna glanced at him, but for the next few minutes, the whisper did not return.

"Was that the Mother of the Swamp?" Anna asked, noticing Lu Li had turned back toward the Shadow Swamp.

An unpleasant premonition stirred within Lu Li.

"Perhaps not..." he said slowly.

It was the whisper of "the door."

And "the door" had received an answer.

The steamship, a symbol of hope, drew ever closer.

But Lu Li was shrouded in an endless darkness.