novelraw Chapter 568: A Little Later
Chapter 568: A Little Later
Lilia Toyalagon.
That was the name Lilia, who had not uttered her surname for decades, now called herself.
But she was still just an old woman in simple, worn clothes, her face a map of the years that had passed.
She was grateful to Lu Li for the news he had brought and tried to serve him like a maid. Lu Li had to reassure her that Anna would take care of him, gently dissuading her from what seemed the only form of gratitude she could offer.
Lilia seemed to guess that Lu Li was interested in Princess Rolan’s past and told him everything she knew, cautiously asking about the princess’s current fate.
Although she knew her ancestor had become a "deity," Lilia, being a commoner, had no access to such secrets.
When Lu Li told her about the price one paid for knowledge of strange beings, Lilia smiled bitterly and replied that at her age, she had nothing left to lose, not even her own life.
So, Lu Li told Lilia about the nature of anomalies, the origin of the Mother of the Swamp, and the subsequent schism between the old and new evil gods in Tenebrae.
At some point, both Lu Li and Anna felt a faint gaze fall upon them. The Mother of the Swamp had sensed her name being spoken.
Most evil gods possessed this ability, and the more powerful the entity, the keener its perception. If an evil god had existed since ancient times, the mere mention of its name could instantly shatter a person’s sanity, plunging them into chaos and malice.And though the Mother of the Swamp had inherited the legacy of the Old Mother of the Swamp, the schism and conflict had drained nearly half of her power. She could only barely perceive conversations about herself.
This time, her attention had been drawn by the mark left on Lu Li.
An unseen consciousness enveloped Lu Li, extending two invisible threads toward Anna and Lilia.
The thread reaching for Anna disintegrated before it could touch her, colliding with her aura. The thread extended to Lilia paused, then retracted to Lu Li, leaving a faint, silent whisper in his mind.
"Familiar..."
Lu Li relayed the message from the Mother of the Swamp to Lilia. Flustered, her eyes reddening with emotion, she said, "If I don't make it to the Swamp Road, please tell Princess Rolan that her descendants have never forgotten the glory of their ancestors."
"I will."
Lu Li agreed to Lilia’s request as if it were her final wish, and watched the old woman, trembling with emotion, as she departed.
For the rest of the day, Lu Li remained in his room, not venturing outside.
Anna didn’t understand why. If he wanted to know what was happening at the council, they could get information from the Traders at Sea Gaze Cliff without putting themselves in danger in Ellen Royal City.
After all, when so many exorcists gathered in one place, it was unlikely that intelligent anomalies and cultists would simply stand by and do nothing.
"I had planned to go out, but the Main Continent's hostility toward anomalies exceeded my expectations," Lu Li explained.
Evening fell. One by one, lanterns flickered to life in the streets, chasing away the gathering darkness.
"Because of... me?" Anna asked quietly, then remembered something else. "Should we go back, then? I have a bad feeling about this."
"That's why we’re staying here," Lu Li replied. He shared her unease, which was why they had chosen a hotel at the end of a street leading to the city gates. A single city wall couldn't stop Anna.
After dinner, night settled in, accentuating the bright lights of the sleepless city.
Gazing out the window at the bustling street below, Anna suddenly suggested a walk. "We won't go far..."
Lu Li agreed. He went upstairs to let Lilia know, and then he and Anna left the hotel, taking an oil lamp and the Beacon with them.
The evening streets glittered with light. The afternoon rain had left everything damp, and the pavement gleamed, reflecting the lanterns and the silhouettes of passersby.
The cool, humid air filled their lungs. Ellen Royal City smelled nothing like Belfast—it was heavier, more substantial.
Souvenirs were sold everywhere, with button-eyed dolls stuffed with cotton and scraps of fabric being particularly popular. Vendors tied them to strings suspended from wooden sticks. The tradition was an old one: settlers carving out new lands would hang such dolls by their doors to show that the home was occupied.
Anna suggested buying one to hang at the entrance of their shelter, and Lu Li purchased a doll of a girl with brown pigtails for five shillings.
The coarse fabric of its skin and the buttons for eyes gave the doll no strange or eerie quality. It was just an ordinary souvenir.
After putting the doll away, Lu Li and Anna walked to an intersection and decided to turn back.
Just then, a commotion sounded up ahead.
...
Knock, knock, knock.
"Mrs. Jonathan?"
A middle-aged man and woman stood at the door, knocking softly.
"Maybe they're not home," the balding man said. The windows were dark.
"But I just spoke with Mrs. Jonathan this morning..." the woman said doubtfully.
"Maybe they had something to do. We can come back tomorrow."
"Yes, I suppose so." The woman lowered her hand and, out of habit, gave the door a gentle push.
Creak.
The door swung ajar, and the light from an oil lamp spilled into the narrow opening.
"It's unlocked?" the woman asked, surprised. "Did something happen to the Jonathans?"
The smile vanished from her husband's face. He glanced around, spotted a police officer nearby, and hurried over with his wife. "Officer! My wife's friends aren't answering, and their lights are out, but they should be home at this hour. Could you please check on them?"
The police officer looked at the dark windows of the house the balding man pointed to and nodded.
"Five city fathers, afraid of the mist, Warmed by a fire, one ceased to exist.
Four city fathers, out walking till late, One fell asleep and sealed his own fate.
Three city fathers, inside for a chat, A corpse fell on one and squashed him flat..."
A group of children ran past, chanting the rhyme.
The officer watched the children disappear into the crowd and shivered. He had heard that song several times now... It seemed all the children had suddenly learned this unsettling counting rhyme.
Shaking his head, he approached the door with the oil lamp in hand and gave it a gentle nudge with his foot.
Creaaak...
Pushing the door open slowly, the officer stepped inside, lamp held high. The man and woman followed close behind him.
Whoosh...
An unseen breeze swept through the room, disturbing fields of blooming dandelions. They lifted into the air, drifting through the room like feathery seeds.
The Mind Level counter on the officer’s wrist remained silent, which calmed him slightly.
Taking a few more steps into the room, the officer saw a strange, dried-out, mop-like black object in the lamplight, covered in something like fluff.
The air around it seemed to be veiled in mist.