735: Two hundred fifty-four.
Set up the script 735: Two hundred fifty-four.
Set up the script Bridgehead Port is just a small port.
You can tell by its name and the small town it belongs to called Wildcat Town.
There’s nothing here but rocky sand and withered shrubs.
Yet, it provides Wildcat Town with a unique advantage: its terrain.
Wildcat Town is located at the edge of the Spine of the World Mountains.
To the north, the land rises as it stretches inland from the coast for thousands of miles, until reaching the blurred limits of the Spine of the World Mountains.
To the south lies a gentle continental shelf leading to plains.
This gives Wildcat Town’s northern area a natural deepwater port.
Even a simple pier can enable a giant like the Ashuli to dock.
Of course, this also causes unease.
Because beyond the beach lies the abyssal, dark deep sea.
The sound of the steam whistle echoes in the evening twilight.
Lu Li and Emin Grolyn, along with a handful of other passengers, disembark here.
The Ashuli will remain for a while to resupply.
Lu Li helps Emin Grolyn carry her suitcase as she follows, clutching three hefty books.
They bypass the local residents preparing to board and step off the creaky wooden planks of the dock.
The lights of the distant Wildcat Town flicker on.
Emin Grolyn quickens her pace to keep up with Lu Li, muttering like a secretary, “According to the Exorcist’s handbook, we should first investigate the area and ask the locals if there are any abnormalities… Right, Mr.
However, it might be possible to bypass these steps if Anna is waiting in Wildcat Town or has left clues there.
They enter Wildcat Town.
Due to the shipping line, it lacks the lifelessness of many inland small towns, but feels deserted due to its sparse population — most residents have moved two hundred miles away to live in Luo Lei Castle.
Before nightfall, Lu Li takes Emin Grolyn on a loop around Wildcat Town.
The locals of the Barren Lands are not significantly different from those on the Main Affinity Continent, aside from their sun-kissed, wheatish complexion.
Previously, their complexion was even darker, but ever since clouds have constantly shrouded the land a few months ago, nullifying sunlight, the people here have become much paler.
Luli, we can split up and investigate, then meet back here,” Emin Grolyn suggests.
Lu Li does not refuse.
He draws Aunt Mary’s symbol with a pen and hands it to Emin Grolyn.
Your Spirit-Calling Gun isn’t just for show,” Lu Li reminds her.
Emin Grolyn also has a Spirit-Calling Gun, but she may not have the courage to pull the trigger.
“Of course, don’t underestimate me, Mr.
Emin Grolyn lifts her chin proudly, revealing her fair neck, “After all, I am a child of the Grolyn family.”
The two go their separate ways, with Lu Li carrying two oil lamps and continuing down the street.
One is an ordinary oil lamp, the other a black “Lighthouse.”
There’s a tavern open in the town center, not too busy, but the patrons are quite familiar with the boss behind the counter.
As Lu Li enters, they lower their voices, eyes following this unfamiliar face.
“I need to ask about something.” Lu Li says as he reaches the counter.
“Of course, outsider.”
The boss grins widely; people from the Barren Lands are still quite distinct from those elsewhere.
“Have there been any strange occurrences in Wildcat Town and Luosha Town recently?”
The boss’s smile freezes, and after a pause of several seconds, he slowly whispers, “You shouldn’t know about these things… Heed my advice, just get some sleep and then go back.”
“I’m an Exorcist,” Lu Li replies calmly.
“…Saying it here might scare my customers, let’s talk upstairs.” The tavern keeper gazes deeply at Lu Li, reassures the curious patrons to carry on, and takes Lu Li to the second floor.
“Are you here to solve it!?”
As soon as they enter the room, the tavern keeper eagerly asks.
“I need to know what’s happening first.” Lu Li responds.
“Of course… Of course…” The tavern keeper repeats in a low voice, slowly recounting the shadow that has recently enveloped the two towns.
Wildcat Town and Luosha Town are like the closest brothers.
They made money together because of Bridgehead Port, fell into decline together during The Time of Silence, and together were beset by strange attacks.
The first victim was a coachman transporting goods.
He vanished in the short twenty miles between Wildcat Town and Luosha Town, leaving only a cart of goods.
People followed the footprints, but unfortunately, everything was covered by the incessant daytime and nighttime sands.
Soon, the next victim emerged, an elder of considerable standing in Luosha Town.
Strangely, on the day he disappeared, everyone saw him conversing just as usual.
People were curious about where he was headed, but the elder never returned after leaving the town.
The third victim was a ticket seller at Wildcat Town’s port.
The poor woman was simply selling tickets from a narrow ticket booth, and then she vanished.
Soon, the fourth, fifth, and more victims appeared.
Some disappeared suddenly, while others inexplicably told their family and friends “It’s calling me” or “I’m leaving now,” before vanishing beyond the outskirts of the town.
The residents of the two towns lived in fear, as the local exorcist was merely a priest from a small church temporarily taking on the role, rather than a true exorcist.
Their situation was almost identical to Aunt Mary’s, suggesting the true culprit had been found.
But where are Anna and Aunt Mary now?
He continued to ask the tavern keeper if he had seen Aunt Mary, or a figure shrouded entirely in a cloak.
The tavern keeper shook his head, saying he had never seen them.
Before leaving, the tavern keeper requested that Lu Li help resolve the crisis for the two towns.
Lu Li said he would consider it and then left to meet with Emin Grolyn.
The tavern keeper returned to the hall, where patrons quickly asked him what had happened and one even joked if it was his wealthy nephew from afar.
“It’s dark; you should all go home now.”
The tavern keeper seemed impatient as he waved them off, “Also, mind your manners.
That was a respected Demon Slayer from the Main Affinity Continent, here to help solve our problem.”
The previously sparse tavern suddenly became noisy and chaotic.
Demon Slayers are even stronger than Exorcists!”
“Will the honored Demon Slayer be able to solve the disappearances?”
“Did you tell the Demon Slayer about the many people disappearing in a single day!?”
The patrons chattered noisily, and the tavern keeper took a deep breath, then roared, “I’ve told Lu Li everything, now get out of my tavern!”
The customers begrudgingly complained as they were ushered out by the unyielding tavern keeper.
With the hall now quiet again, the tavern keeper’s anger gradually faded, replaced by an eerie sense of discordance.
The tavern keeper bent down to pick up a shriveled wallet from the floor, placing it along with a letter on the round table, where there had been patrons not long ago.
Then he mindlessly walked out of the tavern and, like a rigid corpse, slipped into the dark alleys devoid of light.
Not far off, three diners reeking of alcohol were approaching the tavern, one of them continuously patting his clothes as if searching for something important he had lost.