The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 564: The Puzzle Comes Together

Could Rod be trusted?

Perhaps.

At the very least, Rod's position gave his words weight, and he seemed to have noticed Anna's presence.

Kig Fule and Muffin didn't deny it. This was a common belief in the world of exorcism, one especially ingrained in exorcist families.

They knew a little about Michael Tesla's story, and while his decision to bind his life to an anomaly made them uncomfortable, his move to the Allen Peninsula had been the best outcome for everyone.

The bonfire burned brightly, but the gathering was drawing to a close.

Before leaving, Rod picked up an oil lamp. "There's something Uncle Michael asked me to give you."

"Did Tesla guess we would come to the exorcist council?" Lu Li wondered, asking Anna to wheel him closer to Rod.

"Michael asked me to give this only to Mr. Lu Li," Rod said to Anna.

Intrigued, Fule and Muffin exchanged a look, then gathered their things and moved away."Tesla knows me," a cold voice drifted from beneath Anna's hood.

"He asked me to give this only to Lu Li..." Rod looked a little embarrassed.

"We'll be nearby," Lu Li told Anna, then followed Rod away from the bonfire.

As they moved away from the bright flames, darkness enveloped them, and the light from the oil lamp in Rod's hand seemed faint and insignificant. From the darkness, near the pebbled shore of the lake, came a sound like the lapping of waves.

Lu Li wondered what Tesla wanted to tell him.

Was he worried that Lu Li hadn't understood the meaning of his letter and had sent his nephew with an explanation? Or was it something else?

Crunch.

Rod stopped, his foot stepping onto the damp pebbles.

Nearby, a hostile energy roiled beneath the water—the drowned ones. Hiding at the bottom of the lake, they were invulnerable to the exorcists, but they couldn't come ashore either.

"I'm sorry, I deceived you by using my Uncle Michael's name."

Lu Li looked at Rod calmly. "So, Tesla didn't want you to give me anything?"

"That's right. After he went into the shelter, all contact was lost." Rod stared intently at Lu Li. "He mentioned you often. I thought you must know what happened."

"I only have my suspicions," Lu Li replied.

His assumptions were too dark and unbelievable—who would believe that the three organizations that had protected humanity from anomalies for centuries had decided to abandon everyone and save themselves in a shelter, preserving only a "spark" of civilization.

"And those suspicions aren't good, are they?" Rod let out a bitter laugh. He had asked his father and other family members, but they all remained silent, as if it were a forbidden topic.

Lu Li was about to say something, but just then, the wheelchair sank.

The smooth pebbles couldn't support the thin wheels. The wheelchair got stuck, and Lu Li pitched forward—right into the shallows of Star Lake.

Splash.

The sound of his fall broke the calm surface of the water. Ripples spread across the lake in the darkness.

The drowned ones, stirring at the bottom like seaweed, caught the scent of prey and swam toward the shallows.

The water only came up to Lu Li's knees, but when he tried to stand, his soul separated from his body. His body fell back into the water, while his soul rose to its feet.

Rod, who had meant to help Lu Li, froze in shock. "Why is his soul..."

The drowned ones reached the shallows. Beneath their tangled black hair, their bodies were shapeless. Extending clawed hands, they grabbed Lu Li's lifeless body and began to drag it toward the center of the lake.

Just then, a shadow flashed past Rod, radiating a cold so intense it almost made his soul leap from his body.

The drowned ones scattered in a panic. One, unwilling to release its prey, disintegrated into pieces along with the water surrounding it.

The surging wave momentarily exposed the lakebed. Anna emerged onto the shore, holding Lu Li, whose soul had already returned to his body. A torrent of water crashed down on Rod, drenching him from head to toe.

Soaked to the bone, Rod stood frozen. He felt a suffocating pressure, as if an evil spirit were standing before him, but the sensation vanished as quickly as it came.

"Anna," Lu Li called out softly from her arms. "It's not his fault. I fell on my own."

The pressure vanished, and Rod could finally breathe again. He stammered an apology, "I'm sorry... I just... from what I saw..."

Remembering how Lu Li's soul had separated from his body, Rod fell silent again.

"It's a side effect of a journey to Hell. That's why I'm in a wheelchair," Lu Li explained.

Anna placed the soaked Lu Li back in his wheelchair and returned to the bonfire to get warm.

"What happened?"

Hearing the commotion, Fule and Muffin ran over. By then, Lu Li was already back on the shore, so they turned to the drenched Rod and asked what had happened.

"Lu Li fell into the lake..." Rod answered bitterly. The two exorcists, assuming Rod had saved Lu Li, breathed a sigh of relief and clapped him on the shoulder.

The meeting, which should have ended, dragged on for another half an hour until Lu Li's and Rod's clothes were dry.

Muffin told a couple more stories, but Rod's silence prevented the previous relaxed atmosphere from returning.

After extinguishing the bonfire, they descended the hill and parted ways at a crossroads.

"It's my fault... It's a good thing your assistant was there in time."

Lu Li collected his carriage, which he had left at a stable. Before leaving, Rod lowered his head guiltily. "I'm in your debt."

"It's all right," Lu Li replied calmly. Anna took the reins and steered the carriage toward their inn.

Ignoring the puzzled looks from Fule and Muffin, Rod departed in silence.

...

The capital rightfully earned its name as "the city that never sleeps."

While it didn't look as magical from the ground as Belfast did from the sea, its scale and grandeur were staggering.

Even at this late hour, the streets were still bustling with merchants, tourists, and locals, as if no danger existed at all.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, the carriage pulled up to the inn.

Lilia, who had been waiting for them all evening, returned to her room with a sigh of relief. Lu Li changed, cleaning the dirt from his clothes. He thought Anna would leave, but she stayed, watching him without blinking.

After all, Anna had taken care of Lu Li for some time in the shelter, and they had grown very close.

"It was just an accident," Lu Li said, realizing Anna was still thinking about the incident at the lake.

"He shouldn't have been distracted..." Anna replied coldly.

"It happens to everyone."

"You almost died because of him."

"You were there, so it was fine."

"I won't forgive him for this," Anna whispered.

Anna's current temperament was a consequence of Lu Li's own actions—unable to reason with her, he resorted to another method.

He looked at her intently.

And he spent the entire night sleepless. Fortunately, he had a few books to help pass the time.

Anna stayed in the room, keeping Lu Li company, as she did every night.

The night passed peacefully.

The next morning, Lu Li, Anna, and Lilia went downstairs for breakfast. Just then, a carriage stopped at the inn's entrance.

An agitated Fule stepped out of the carriage and approached Lu Li with terrible news.

Rod was dead.