Lu Li didn’t respond, silently staring at Hades.
Hades leaned back behind the counter, waving his hand dismissively. “Don’t look at me like that. If you want to deal with it, you might need several shots.”
“What are the real methods used by exorcists?”
The Spirit Gun was just one tool, not the only one.
“You don’t want to know.”
“I want to know.”
“It won’t do you any good.”
“I think it might be very useful.”
“…Come back with 1,000 shillings, and we’ll talk.”
Leaving Hades’ detective agency, Lu Li took a carriage back to Sailors’ Street.
The street was entering its busiest time of day as sailors finished breakfast and headed to the harbor.
At Mrs. Felin’s bakery, Lu Li bought two loaves of white bread, giving one to the children gathered outside and eating the other with hot water. Afterward, he called Oliver.
“Hey, boss.”
“Athena Leslie, a former employee of Madame Anlef’s Art Gallery. She’s deceased. Gather all information about her by this afternoon. Focus on her personality and the circumstances of her death.”
“Got it.”
After giving these instructions, Lu Li took off his coat, hung it on the back of his chair, rolled up his sleeves, and went into the kitchen.
Shortly after, the sound of running water echoed, continuing for some time before ceasing. A few moments later, Lu Li emerged from the kitchen, his face damp as he wiped it with a towel.
Returning to his seat behind the desk, Lu Li rested his head on the table.
Time ticked by, and the figure at the desk gradually stilled. The detective agency returned to its usual cold and lonely silence.
This time, the experience of falling asleep wasn’t pleasant. Lu Li felt his consciousness sinking, piercing through the floor, through soil and rock.
The surrounding moisture grew heavier, clinging to his awareness and pulling him further downward.
He couldn’t tell how much time had passed. The increasingly compact rocks around him suddenly gave way, and he found himself submerged in the silent depths of the ocean.
Faintly, a light seemed to shine above him, but as his consciousness continued to sink toward the vast abyss, the light grew farther and farther away until it was blocked completely by the unfathomable depth of the sea.
Light had no place in the abyssal depths. The suffocating pressure pressed in from all sides, though it didn’t intensify further.
Lu Li thought he would continue to sink endlessly until he lightly settled into the silt at the bottom of the sea. Perhaps he would see an ancient, seaweed-covered ruin in the eternal darkness.
But then, something changed.
The water surrounding him suddenly became a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors. They shifted and blended like layers of paint, intertwining and twisting together.
This was nothing like the abyss. It seemed more like… he had been intercepted by some indescribable presence.
Unable to think, Lu Li’s consciousness could only observe, watching quietly.
The swirling, chaotic colors—whether by chance or inevitability—formed into a door.
An ordinary, old wooden door.
The colors continued to shift, causing the door to change its form every moment. A metal door, an ornately carved grand door, a gate made of iron bars, a bronze door…
But without exception, every door had a lock with a key inserted into it.
Knock, knock, knock—
A familiar knocking sound suddenly echoed deep within Lu Li’s consciousness.
In that instant, the previously passive awareness gained the ability to think. He recognized the source of the sound.
Is someone knocking on the door?
As soon as this thought emerged, an irresistible force appeared from somewhere far above, pulling Lu Li’s consciousness upward at a speed that seemed to twist the space around him.
For a brief moment, Lu Li saw dazzling white light filling his vision, and then…
Bang!
He instinctively stood up, his knee striking the chair behind him, which toppled over with a moderate thud.
Like a fish stranded on the shore, Lu Li gasped for breath. Yet he quickly suppressed the reaction, his dark, cold eyes lifting to glance at the door.
Click.
The door opened a crack.
Oliver peeked in, glancing at Lu Li. Shrinking his neck slightly, he muttered, “Boss, you don’t look like you slept well…”
The edges of Lu Li’s dark eyes were streaked with bloodshot veins.
“Mm.”
Lu Li turned and walked back to his desk, sitting down and rubbing his temples.
The clock showed it was already afternoon.
“This is what I found,” Oliver said, handing a few sheets of parchment to Lu Li.
Lu Li accepted them, his gaze falling on the pages.
Though he recognized every word, when strung together into phrases and sentences, they suddenly seemed incomprehensible to him.
The problem wasn’t with the content; it was Lu Li himself.
He still felt exhausted. The bizarre dream he’d just experienced hadn’t alleviated his fatigue—in fact, it had worsened it.
Perplexed, Oliver watched as Lu Li set the parchment aside for now and stood, heading into the kitchen.
The sound of running water continued for a long while before Lu Li reemerged, drying his damp black hair with a towel.
He looked better now—not as drained and lifeless as before.
Returning to his seat behind the desk, Lu Li exhaled deeply and picked up the parchment again. This time, the words no longer felt alien.
Athena Leslie lived in the Blackwater District near the industrial zone. Before working at the gallery, she had spent a long time as a textile worker. It was there that she met Bill Eddy—the man who got her pregnant.
Their relationship had progressed quickly, moving from meeting to falling in love to living together. Then Athena became pregnant.
The textile factory wasn’t a suitable environment for a pregnant woman, so Athena quit her job. With Bill’s help, she found new work at the gallery.
The job was less physically demanding, and the pay was comparable to her previous role. Athena cherished this new job and often stayed at the gallery beyond her scheduled hours.
Things should have continued this way, peaceful and happy.
But one day, Bill Eddy disappeared. No one knew where he went. The police investigation narrowed it down to the area near the abandoned asylum on the outskirts.
Ten days later, Bill Eddy returned, acting as if nothing had happened.
Then tragedy struck. On the seventh day after his return, Bill Eddy attacked Athena in a frenzy, cutting open her stomach to extract their unborn child. His actions resulted in the deaths of both Athena and the baby, who was less than seven months old.
That was the extent of the information on the parchment.
“So Athena was murdered?” Lu Li rubbed his temples, setting the pages aside.
“That seems likely.”
“What about Bill Eddy?”
“He’s missing. My contact told me the police are still looking for him, but he hasn’t been found.”
“How did the police classify the case?”
“They said it was the work of cultists, that Bill Eddy had joined them, but it’s unclear what the insiders really think.”
Finding it difficult to think clearly, Lu Li shifted his focus and asked, “Do you have anything else to do right now?”
“Uh… not really,” Oliver replied instinctively.
Lu Li nodded, leaning back in his chair.
“You can stay here or go about your own tasks, but make sure to wake me up by five in the afternoon.”