The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 566: Silent Pain

The dandelion was as light as a speck of ash.

It had drifted from some unknown distance, carrying the scents of its long journey—over mountains and gorges, across seas and hills—finally reaching the inland territories.

Its path was straight and true, aimed for the heart of the gray plains where countless roads converged—for the majestic capital, a city spanning dozens of miles.

The long journey seemed to have exhausted the dandelion's last strength, or perhaps the humidity of the Ellen plains had weighed it down. It flew lower and lower... until it landed on the roof of a passing carriage.

The road stretched ahead, leading directly to the capital's city gates.

Neither the driver nor the passengers noticed the tiny dandelion on the roof. It swayed in time with the carriage's motion.

The carriage, with the dandelion on its roof, joined the long queue at the gates and entered the city.

The dandelion drifted off the roof and floated slowly toward the passersby.

Now it was time for the reward the dandelion had earned after its long journey.

Suddenly, the clatter of hooves echoed. A carriage came racing down the street, forcing pedestrians to scatter. The resulting gust of wind caught the dandelion and tossed it high into the air.The carriage screeched to a halt in front of a hotel. A man hastily stepped out and disappeared inside.

...

Fule had come not only to deliver the sad news but also because he suspected Lu Li. Rod hadn't helped Lu Li when he was nearly dragged away by the drowned ones, and then, by a strange coincidence, he had died tragically two hours later.

Lu Li's face, however, showed no emotion save for a calm composure.

"Was it the work of an anomaly?" Lu Li asked, lowering his gaze.

"No, an accident... a chain of fatal coincidences."

Perhaps he was mistaken, and Lu Li had nothing to do with it.

"They figured out what happened soon enough," Fule continued. "A dead rat was found in the tavern's courtyard. Apparently, it was starving and chewed through a barrel of kerosene by accident. The carriage was parked nearby, and all the kerosene pooled underneath it, soaking the wheels."

"Usually, the tavern staff checks the courtyard every evening, and the kerosene would have been discovered quickly. But that night, an employee got lazy, and it didn't happen. Rod got into the kerosene-soaked carriage, and just then, a drunk homeless man stumbled into the road and crashed into it. A lamp fell and shattered. The wick landed on the kerosene-soaked wheels and ground, and the carriage went up in flames like a torch."

"The homeless man ran off. The locals and the tavern staff knew him; he was always hanging around Meteor Street... So it wasn't planned."

Fule sighed. Just a few hours ago, they had been drinking together. "Poor Rod... He even said he'd bring you a gift tomorrow to apologize. He was terrified when you fell into the lake. Who would have thought..."

"When is the funeral?" Lu Li asked calmly.

"In five days. They need time to... identify him."

"I won't be able to make it. Please give my condolences to his family."

"Alright, I will."

Upset by his friend's death, Fule didn't linger. He left the hotel and departed.

Lilia seemed to guess what they were talking about, and after finishing her breakfast, she went up to her room.

"You shouldn't have done that," Lu Li said to Anna, who was sitting beside him.

A quiet voice came from beneath the hood. "I didn't kill him."

"I did," Lu Li replied calmly.

The black cloak trembled. After a moment, a troubled voice emerged. "I tried, but I couldn't control my hatred... Every time I remembered you struggling in the water while he just stood on the shore and did nothing... the rage clouded my mind... I won't let anyone hurt you, not even through inaction."

Anna hadn't been with Lu Li at that moment, and she blamed both herself and Rod for what happened. If she had only blamed herself, she would have sunk into darkness even faster...

Lu Li silently finished the last piece of his bread. "We owe the Tesla family. We owe Michael himself."

Anna didn't try to make excuses by saying Rod would have died anyway. She knew that wouldn't convince Lu Li. "We'll find a way to make it right."

"I hope so." Lu Li finished his broth, and he and Anna went up to their room.

Anna sat down next to Lu Li and gently touched his shoulder. "Are you angry?"

"I don't want you to sink into darkness," Lu Li replied.

"Even if I become an evil spirit, I'll still protect you."

"But there's no difference between an evil spirit that has lost its humanity and one that has lost its humanity but remembers only to protect you. They are both puppets driven by instinct, like the lesser demons of hell."

"Mmm... So you're not angry?" Anna gently leaned against Lu Li again.

"Not if you don't do it again."

Rod's death was tragic and gave Lu Li pause. Even if Rod hadn't been related to Tesla, the very idea that a young exorcist had died just because someone fell into the water was appalling.

He couldn't reveal Anna's existence or turn her in.

It was a difficult choice, but fortunately, he didn't have to make it.

Anna suggested they take a walk around the city while they had some free time. This illusion of safety wouldn't last long.

Lu Li refused. The Exorcist Council was starting tomorrow, and he expected that today would see the largest influx of exorcists from the Main Continent arriving in Ellen Royal City.

Exorcist artifacts, much like anomalies, possessed incredible properties. There was no telling if any of them might be able to sense Anna's presence.

So, just in case, it was better to stay in their room.

Lu Li had no intention of attending the Council personally. Ever since arriving in Ellen Royal City, he'd had a nagging premonition, a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

In any case, he could find out what happened at the Council while staying in the city, especially since he'd already made arrangements with Fule, Muffin, and the others.

As he was mulling this over, Lu Li suddenly saw a snow-white dandelion float in through the open window.

A dandelion?

At this time of year?

A white hand reached out from under Anna's cloak toward the dandelion.

As if caught by a light breeze, the dandelion dodged the ghostly hand and drifted down toward the pedestrians below.

"A shame..." Anna had wanted to take the dandelion seed with her to the top of the cliff.

"Seeds are easy to buy," Lu Li said, looking away from the street.

Seeds could be found everywhere, but they could no longer sprout.

Another gust of wind swept into the room, bringing a chill with it.

Goosebumps prickled on Lu Li's skin. Anna closed the window and helped him lie down in bed.

The dandelion that had floated past them drifted lower and lower. Caught by the wind a few more times, it swerved diagonally before finally coming to rest on a passerby's felt hat.

Of course, no one noticed, including the middle-aged man wearing the hat.