The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 760: Lu Li

This was the second time the word "alchemy" had come up.

Lu Li posed the question again, hopeful that this time, the identity of the person answering would grant him a more coherent response.

"What is alchemy?"

"You don't know?" Professor Nuno Alexandrovich's surprised voice drifted from the carriage. He still hadn't shown his face.

Katerina suddenly interjected, "We're from Mantistown. It's a small town, so there's a lot we're not familiar with..."

She was still hesitant to reveal her true identity.

"It is indeed far from Midnight, but you shouldn't belittle yourselves. Many at the university know of Mantistown."

"Why?" Now it was Katerina's turn to be intrigued. Mantistown was her home.

"Let me think..." Professor Nuno Alexandrovich paused for a moment before answering, "The rule of Mantistown is to not harm yourself, correct? We old scholars once had a debate, trying to determine if self-harm for the sake of saving one's own life would be considered a violation of Mantistown's rule."

Katerina glanced at Lu Li in surprise. He had done the exact same thing when he learned of the City of Phantoms' rule."And what conclusion did you reach?" Lu Li asked.

"The deity of Mantistown is impartial," the voice replied from the carriage. "It is only concerned with the act of self-harm itself, regardless of the reason."

The University of Claire was located in the center of Midnight. The area was livelier and more crowded here.

The shop windows utterly captivated Katerina. She devoured them with her eyes, her resolve to stay hardening with every glance. Leaning in, she whispered so that only Lu Li could hear, "Is it the same as it was back then?"

"For the most part."

Lu Li answered curtly, his eyes still scanning their surroundings.

Well-fed people were a rarity on the streets, and colorful, fashionable clothing was just as scarce; most people wore little more than roughspun cloth.

Many ragged paupers huddled in alleyways or by the roadside. They didn't dare venture into the wildlands, left only to eke out a meager existence in the city, under the protection of its deity.

There was a noticeable age gap among the passersby—most were either teenagers or middle-aged, with very few young adults in sight.

Lu Li knew why.

If one calculated the timeline, a great number of children under the age of five had perished during the Third Calamity, known as Silence.

The timing matched what he was seeing.

"When did Silence come to be called the 'Hour of Silence'?" Lu Li asked.

"A very long time ago... at the end of the Old Era."

"Twenty-four years ago?"

"Let me see... Yes, I was about your age back then," the old man said, a note of nostalgia in his voice.

The timeline matched again.

"Do you remember the exact date?" Lu Li pressed.

"The exact date... I'll have to think carefully." This time, the old man pondered for much longer, until the carriage turned onto another street. Then, an apologetic voice emerged from within: "I'm sorry, it's been too long. I've forgotten..."

Lu Li rephrased the question. "About a month after Silence first appeared, is that when it became the 'Hour of Silence'?"

"I remember now... Yes, that was it," Professor Nuno Alexandrovich's voice quickened. "During that month, humanity tried every method imaginable, exhausting all its strength, but couldn't stop it. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Only... only a few million children died before it transformed into the longer, yet less terrifying, 'Hour of Silence'."

That gunshot hadn't killed the Third Calamity, but it had still affected it.

"Young man, why do you ask about this?" Professor Nuno Alexandrovich inquired.

Katerina tensed, worried that Lu Li was about to reveal his identity.

"I read about it in a diary," Lu Li answered simply.

"I'd advise you not to read random diaries of unknown origin," the old man responded.

The mushroom horse turned onto another street. At the end of the road, a massive estate loomed.

This was the University of Claire.

The university was more deserted than expected. There were almost no people in sight.

The mushroom horse stopped at the estate's gate. A gatekeeper swung open the iron gates, and the carriage rolled inside.

Professor Nuno Alexandrovich stepped out of the carriage, his gaze lingering on Lu Li's dry, slimy hair, before leading them to his office.

Settling into his armchair, the old man with the bandaged right hand looked at Lu Li and Katerina. "Now, will you tell me about this pure-blooded human?"

Katerina was still hesitant, but Lu Li answered, "That would be me."

Katerina had no choice but to add, "And he's from the Old Era."

"From the Old Era? You mean to say he was born back then?"

"No... He was the same age then as he is now. He's an exorcist who spent twenty-four years underground."

The old man looked at Lu Li. "But why haven't you changed?"

"Time stood still for me underground," Lu Li replied.

"I must consider how I am to believe your words." The old man fell into thought, then noticed Lu Li looking at a painting on the wall and remarked, "That's a painting of the Great Migration from Revoltown..."

Gazing at the painting, Professor Nuno Alexandrovich recalled the events of that time. "The cause was also an exorcist... an exorcist named... Lu Li. Do you know the ballad about him?"

Without waiting for an answer, the old man began to recite softly:

"At the foot of the World's Spine walked an exorcist with hair and eyes of black. Thorns blocked his path, but they melted away in his radiance. Cobwebs drifted down from a grim sky, where masks of reality and illusion flickered with a sinister light. A monster that toyed with illusions watched him with greed. His comrades lay buried in ice and cold. The young spirit hunter halted, defeated by his failures. But after a moment of reflection and self-examination, seeing the suffering of the people, he resolved to help them."

"At the foot of the World's Spine, the exorcist with black hair and eyes aided the desperate. Even if they were not human, he did not withhold his mercy. The people thronged around the exorcist, helping him search for his lost companions. In his cold heart, hope was born. He mourned his fallen friends. The people he had helped rejoiced and surrounded him. They sang the exorcist's name, carrying it across a land devoid of hope. But everything came to an abrupt end at the moment of parting."

"At the foot of the World's Spine, the exorcist with black hair and eyes walked alone. A cruel reality confronted him. He wanted to end it all with his own hands. But the end for this wounded land was already sealed, and the story had to conclude. The exorcist uttered his final answer: 'This shot is called "Goodnight".'"

"You..." the old man broke off, staring at Lu Li in shock. The image of the exorcist with black hair and eyes he had glimpsed beside the town leader during the migration slowly merged with the man before him.

Katerina suddenly held her breath. An unfamiliar feeling washed over her, bringing a sharp ache to her chest and tears to her eyes.

"I know." Lu Li tore his gaze from the painting, and his perpetually calm black eyes met the old man's. "That was me."