The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 808: Flowing Cat

The glow of the oil lamp spilled through the doorway, drawing a stark line between light and darkness.

Lu Li met Her gaze calmly, his tall, slender figure leaning forward slightly, as if poised to take a step.

Suddenly, a stumbling figure rushed past Lu Li, making for the door.

It was Crippled Burn who broke the silence. His face, wrinkled as tree bark, was etched with piety as he approached the door step by step.

Lu Li reached out and stopped him, speaking calmly, rationally:

"There's fog outside."

"You don't understand!"

Crippled Burn wrenched himself free of Lu Li's grasp. His old body was suddenly suffused with immense strength; he tossed his crutch aside and plunged into the fog like the most devout of fanatics.

As he crossed the threshold between light and dark, Crippled Burn's figure dissolved into the murky fog, and even the sound of his footsteps vanished.

The street fell into a dead silence once more.The black cat was still there, sitting unhindered by the fog.

Whispers swirled in the fog—or rather, they seemed to swirl around Her.

Was this the Flowing Cat, or some indescribable entity from the anomalous fog, luring the living to their doom?

"The creatures in the fog heard your conversation and deceived you," said the Fallen, who was used to dealing with anomalies.

"The Merchant," Lu Li whispered.

"I don't know."

In the Age of Anomalies, the Fallen knew little more than Lu Li.

"Why isn't it coming inside?"

Lu Li watched the "Flowing Cat." It neither entered nor vanished.

"The creatures of the fog dislike light, as well as the ancient markings," the Fallen answered, less tight-lipped this time.

The walls of the house were covered in ancient markings, and fortunately, one or more of them seemed to be working.

Or perhaps, no one would be living in a house with fake markings—because they wouldn't have offered any protection.

After nightfall, half the homes in Wigtown remained dark.

Meow.

After a few minutes of standoff—or perhaps, of waiting for its prey to take the bait—the cat in the fog meowed, rose to its feet, and vanished into the narrow street framed by the doorway.

The fog swirled back to fill the empty space.

Lu Li moved to close the door, but Prusius was faster. He scampered over, planted his front paws against the wood, and pushed it slowly shut.

The wooden door blocked out the world, and the oil lamp inside seemed to burn a little brighter.

Click.

Lu Li slid the bolt home and stepped back into the center of the room.

Crippled Burn's room was squalid, but they decided to stay the night rather than venture out into the anomalous fog.

No one was particularly moved by his death. In the Age of Anomalies, death was a common thing, an occurrence of every passing minute—especially when, like Crippled Burn, one threw oneself into its arms.

Even Prusius remained silent.

"Can the creature in the fog understand what we're saying?" Lu Li asked.

"Why not? They're stronger than us, smarter than us." The hole on the Fallen's face split open, making it difficult to tell if it was a mouth or a nose.

Katerina looked at Lu Li:

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Almost."

"And is that 'almost' closer to a yes or a maybe?"

Katerina hadn't managed to absorb much in the way of subtleties during her few days of aristocratic living.

"'Almost,'" the literate Prusius clarified.

Lu Li had confirmed that the Hillerwig Cat and the Flowing Cat were one and the same: the black cat he and Anna had once owned. Back when She was still known as the Hillerwig Cat, Anna's shadow had been a faint presence behind Her.

But that had been twenty-four years ago. Since then, all the rumors about the Hillerwig Cat and the Flowing Cat no longer carried Anna's aura, only tales of a feline deity in the Hillerwig Mountains.

The only question was whether she was truly gone, or if all traces of her had been erased by the followers of the Flowing Cat.

"Tomorrow, we're going to the Church of the Flowing Cat," Lu Li announced.

The key to finding Anna lay with the Flowing Cat.

Fortunately, Crippled Burn, having taken a liking to Lu Li and hoping to draw more believers to his faith, had given them the church's address. They could head there at dawn.

"You take the bed," Katerina said, glancing around the room before her eyes flickered away from the cot in the corner.

"There's no need."

Lu Li pushed a sofa aside, removed his black cloak, and draped it over the armrest.

Katerina said nothing. She turned and walked toward the bed, which was piled with clothes that gave off a smell she found repulsive.

A floating, mist-like silhouette drifted past Katerina, settling onto the single bed before she could.

"Aren't you supposed to be protecting us?"

Katerina narrowed her eyes.

"The anomalous fog is irrelevant here," the hole on the Fallen's face—the one that served as his mouth—squirmed as it formed words humans could understand.

"If something can ignore the ancient markings and penetrate the light, none of us would be able to stop it."

"At least clean it up a bit."

Katerina gave up arguing and left the Fallen to the bed, both of which she despised.

The fire in the hearth was burning low, and only a small pile of dry wood remained nearby.

After what had just happened, going back out for more firewood was out of the question. They would have to make the remaining logs last until dawn.

Katerina dragged the other sofa closer to the hearth and sat down, letting out a contented sigh.

"Good night, Mr. Lu Li. Good night, Ms. Katerina. Good night, Ms. Elder Sister. Good night, Mr. Fallen," Prusius chirped, curling into a ball at Lu Li's feet.

"Just Elder Sister," the hooded figure protested, shaking a tiny fist.

The anomalous fog churned outside, and faint, eerie sounds whispered through the night.

With the exception of Katerina, who tossed and turned, unable to sleep, the others were already used to such nights and gradually drifted off.

The firewood ran out faster than expected. With two or three hours still to go before dawn, the last flicker of flame in the hearth died, leaving only cracked, glowing embers.

Moisture carried from the coast on the far side of the Hillerwig Mountains made Wigtown little warmer than Vinnelag. The dampness amplified the chill in what was now the coldest, darkest hour of the night.

Feeling the encroaching cold, they pulled their clothes tighter around themselves.

The Fallen seemed content. He had no qualms about the filth and had covered himself with Crippled Burn's discarded clothes.

Prusius had his thick fur, but Katerina, clad only in her leather hunter's armor, asked Lu Li for a spare coat from his bag. For some reason, he refused.

"She knows... and she wouldn't let it go," Lu Li said softly, his eyes closed.

"Who?"

Katerina received no answer. She could only cross her arms in frustration and huddle on the sofa, waiting for dawn.

For Katerina, the difficult night finally ended. The anomalous fog receded, taking the darkness with it, and they left the house.

Lu Li first reported Crippled Burn's death to the local watchman—a youth with no armor, armed only with a pitchfork—before heading to the Church of the Flowing Cat, a two-story building that had once belonged to the mayor.

The faithful were holding an early morning service in the main hall. They weren't hostile or unwelcoming to the strangers, but communication proved difficult.

"Where can I find Her?"

Lu Li asked one of the worshipers, who replied:

"The devout will naturally find their way to Her."

After several more fruitless inquiries, Lu Li finally received a piece of seemingly reliable information.

"To this day, the Flowing Cat still roams the ruins of old Nis, unwilling to leave."