The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 706: But the End on the Wounded Land Was Foreordained

"The Shadow Maiden attacked a lawyer and a professor in Kandergin yesterday and this morning."

Lu Li was speaking with The Merchant under the shade of a withered acacia tree on the edge of the Old Riverbed Plain.

"Is that the codename for a new evil spirit?"

"Yes."

"Kandergin... What happened there?"

Lu Li had never heard Anna mention the place. She had never been there herself.

Perhaps a book based on the events in Kandergin had left a strong impression on her?

"170 years ago, a coup took place in Kandergin. The Kingdom of Elloria collapsed, and Kandergin became an independent city-state. The coup was carried out by seven members of the city council..."

"Was there some impressive love story worthy of a whole book?" Lu Li interrupted The Merchant. Anna clearly had no interest in politics.

"...The Clotian Tragedy." Perhaps no one had ever asked The Merchant about love stories before, because he paused for a few seconds. "During the coup, a girl named Cloti, who belonged to the conservative party, was sentenced to death by guillotine. The executioner was her lover. In the end, to protect his family from danger, he killed his beloved, and then took his own life that same night. 140 years ago, a book was written about it called 'The Clotian Tragedy'."That was probably it.

So, Anna was attacking members of Kandergin's high society—those who had once held power.

After parting ways with The Merchant, Lu Li set foot upon the plain, which now looked more like a desert.

The Old Riverbed Plain had once been the most fertile place in this land. If oases were the source of life for a desert, then the Old Riverbed Plain was the lifeblood of the Wastelands.

But over time, something had happened. The snow from the World's Spine mountains ceased to melt and nourish these lands, and the Old Riverbed Plain gradually turned into a wasteland.

Lu Li walked across the plain, surrounded by the parched beds of former rivers.

The sheepskin map showed many villages and towns on the Old Riverbed Plain. However, after the Third Calamity, most of them had been abandoned.

At least, the village Lu Li had just passed was completely devoid of life.

Empty settlements evoked an even greater sense of unease than the wilderness, so Lu Li didn't enter the village, choosing instead to go around it.

Along the way, Lu Li saw abandoned villages, packs of wolves in the distance, old sailing ships run aground in dried-up riverbeds, and strange holes of unknown origin.

They were like wounds on the earth's body, not too frequent, but scattered across the entire plain. Some were the size of a fist, while others could swallow a whole house.

All of them were bottomless, as if they reached into the very heart of the planet.

Fortunately, they were conspicuous enough not to become traps for unsuspecting travelers.

However, these strange, unsettling holes reminded Lu Li of a long-forgotten story: the incident in the Fallow Lands known as the Abyss.

Thirty-two investigators had died then, and seventeen had retired.

But Lu Li didn't feel the overwhelming urge to throw himself into them that the investigators had spoken of.

Perhaps these were not the first Abysses to appear, perhaps Lu Li was keeping a sufficient distance from them, or perhaps his high level of humanity helped him resist their call.

During the day, Lu Li paused briefly to wet his parched and cracked lips and looked into the distance. Far off on the horizon, a winding river flowed from south to north.

It was a river that had been diverted to cope with the aftermath of the Third Calamity.

This new river was not marked on the sheepskin map. If its course followed the old one, then after crossing the river and traveling another 150 kilometers to the northeast, Lu Li would reach his destination.

Taking a sip from his flask, which was less than half full, Lu Li continued on his way.

The rustle of the wind across the desolate plain was gradually joined by the sound of flowing water. An hour later, Lu Li reached the riverbank.

The river flowed from south to north, carrying with it a damp sea breeze.

He didn't need to taste the water to know it was salty.

Dong... Dong... Dong...

The Anomaly Detector's warnings grew more frequent.

Lu Li surveyed the river. It was no more than fifty meters wide, and though the murky water concealed the bottom, the river didn't seem deep—likely no more than ten meters.

To continue, he had to cross the river. The alternative was to backtrack 150 kilometers to its source and cross there, but that was practically impossible.

Waiting until the ritual of Silence had passed, Lu Li began to prepare for the crossing.

He threw his four spiritual pistols to the other bank to reduce his weight and minimize the risk of them getting wet—assuming, of course, they didn't break on impact.

The straw doll, the Beacon, and the oil lamp, Lu Li wrapped in oilcloth and tucked close to his body to avoid losing or damaging them.

He left his cloak on the bank.

Splash...

Dipping his hand into the water, Lu Li felt it was quite cold. Once he reached the shore, he would need to wring out his clothes as quickly as possible to avoid freezing.

He sat on the bank and submerged his feet in the water, allowing his body to acclimate to the temperature to prevent cramps. Then Lu Li dove into the river and swam toward the opposite shore.

The current wasn't too strong, but the murky water made it impossible to see what was happening beneath the surface.

Reaching the middle of the river, Lu Li felt something soft brush against his fingertips. He raised his hand—there was no mud, nothing at all.

Lu Li picked up his pace.

Suddenly, he was dragged sharply underwater, as if something had pulled him down. A few seconds later, a muffled sound came from beneath the surface, and a meter-high fountain of spray erupted into the air.

Lu Li resurfaced, gasping for breath. In his raised hand, he clutched a spiritual pistol with an empty magazine.

He had no time to look for his attacker. Tossing the pistol into the water, he continued swimming toward the bank, now only ten meters away.

Here, Lu Li was out of his element, even with the enhancement from the Book of the Apocalypse. All he could do was reach the other side as quickly as possible.

When he was less than five meters from the shore, he was violently yanked down again.

This time, something had grabbed the Beacon in his left hand.

Lu Li squinted, trying to see something, but the murky water obstructed his vision. He tried to ignite his humanity, but the light couldn't penetrate the oilcloth.

With his right hand, he drew his last spiritual pistol and pulled the trigger, aiming toward the source of the pull.

Nothing happened. The soaked pistol failed to fire.

The unknown force was dragging Lu Li down, into the depths. He had to unclench his fingers and let go of the Beacon. He kicked his legs, broke free from the water's grip, and scrambled onto the bank, gulping down the cold air.

Coughing up the salty water that had entered his airways, Lu Li retreated from the river.

Nothing could be seen in the murky water mixed with sand, as if nothing had happened.

A light breeze blew, and his wet clothes clung to his body, outlining his frame and leeching away his warmth.

Lu Li took off his clothes, wrung them out, and grimaced as he put them back on. Then he gathered the four spiritual pistols scattered on the bank.

All of them were damaged. Worse, one of the pistols exploded in Lu Li's hand when he pulled the trigger, the barrel rupturing into something resembling the bell of a trumpet.

His wet clothes continued to drain his warmth, and many hardships still lay ahead: the night, the strange fog, his useless pistols. Compared to all that, hypothermia seemed like a minor problem.

He should retreat, return to the nearest town to get his bearings and replenish his supplies, then set out again.