The Bizarre Detective Agency

In the misty morning, with a thin layer of fog covering the air, pedestrians began to appear on the cobblestone streets.

To his slight surprise, the first person to arrive at the gallery was Benjamin. Spotting Lu Li safe and sound standing at the entrance, Benjamin spread his arms wide in delight. “It’s so good to see you, Mr. Lu Li.”

Lu Li stepped back to avoid Benjamin’s embrace and got straight to the point. “I’ve identified four ghosts, one of which I’ve already dealt with. There are some issues with the other three. Perhaps you know something about them.”

Benjamin lowered his arms without complaint, removed his hat, and stepped into the gallery, closing the door behind him.

The wooden door shut out the noise of the cobblestone street.

“What would Mr. Lu Li like to know?” The obese man shed his previously shifty demeanor, instead exuding a sincerity that had been absent the day before.

Perhaps it was because Lu Li had proven with his actions that he could handle the matter.

“Do you remember Athena?” Lu Li asked.

“Athena…” A nostalgic look crossed Benjamin’s face. “Of course I remember her. Poor girl. She died in childbirth after being abandoned by her fiancé. Her vengeful spirit lingers in the gallery, refusing to leave.”

“You knew about this?”

“Yes, she was one of my employees. Of course I knew.” Benjamin lowered his head, letting out a faint sigh. In the dim, silent gallery, his face was hard to make out. “I know about all the supernatural things you’ve encountered here.”

Lu Li’s dark eyes narrowed slightly. “And yet you continued hiring regular night guards.”

“Because they only appear at night, and they didn’t seem to want to harm anyone,” Benjamin explained briefly before sighing again. “At least, not until a few days ago, when the previous night guard was attacked and scared away.”

“And then you wavered, unsure whether to spend a large sum on hiring an exorcist to deal with the four ghosts, eventually deciding to hire another guard instead, hoping it was all just a misunderstanding by the last employee. After all, hiring an exorcist isn’t cheap, especially since you’re dealing with more than one ghost.”

Benjamin didn’t speak but nodded silently.

“Allow me to be blunt. The four ghosts in this gallery have already grown quite powerful. You may not realize that the girl in the painting can now freely leave her frame, the statue follows people’s footsteps at night, Athena has shown signs of attacking humans, and Ruth…”

Here, Lu Li paused briefly, his dark eyes fixed on Benjamin.

“She attacked me. I killed her.”

Benjamin seemed to come to a decision. Smiling bitterly, he said, “I understand the situation now. Well then, Exorcist, I officially commission your services. How much do you want?”

“How much can you pay?” Lu Li countered.

He was still unfamiliar with the local rates for exorcism.

“1,000 shillings.”

That seemed a bit low—250 shillings per ghost.

But Anna and the statue weren’t actively harmful. The real threats were Athena and Ruth—of which the latter had already been dealt with.

“Agreed.” Lu Li nodded calmly, not bothering to haggle over the price. “What else do you know about Athena?”

“I’ve told you everything I know.”

“What about the painting of Anna and the statue?”

“The painting was here before I took over the gallery. Madame Anlef once said it was a gift for Anna’s 16th birthday, painted by a renowned artist. The statue, I bought cheaply from a bankrupt art museum in Schimfast. You know, the Nightly Calamity destroyed people’s interest in art.”

“The ghost in the painting claims to be Anna.”

Benjamin dismissed the notion immediately, as though hearing a joke. “That’s impossible. Anna is dead. She and her mother died in the plague. Perhaps there’s something wrong with the painting, and it just thinks it’s Anna.”

Lu Li didn’t argue the point, letting that topic drop.

“Are you starting the exorcism tonight, Mr. Lu Li?”

“I need to investigate something about Athena first,” Lu Li replied.

After all, he wasn’t a genuine exorcist. His only means of dealing with ghosts was the Spirit Gun, which likely wouldn’t be very effective against Athena. He needed to find another approach to deal with her.

“And for today…”

“None of them will appear during the day. If you’re concerned, you can close the gallery for the day.”

“That’s a relief…” Benjamin let out a long breath, though it was unclear whether it was in response to the former or the latter—likely the former.

As Lu Li left, Benjamin opened the door and hung up the “Open” sign.

Adjusting the collar of his coat and pulling up his hood, Lu Li stepped into the morning mist. His destination wasn’t his detective agency—it was Hades’ place.

…

Ding-ling—ding-ling—

The bell above the wooden door rang as it opened.

“Oh, look who’s here! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. So quickly saving up the money—you really are the gold digger… I mean, rising star of exorcists.”

Exaggerated exclamations spilled from Hades’ mouth. His gold teeth gleamed as he spread his arms wide.

Just like last time.

Lu Li approached the counter and took a seat. “I just have a few questions.”

Hades’ enthusiasm visibly waned, his outstretched arms dropping to rest on the counter.

“You think I’m running a charity?” Beneath the oil lamp’s glow, Hades’ expression turned unreadable.

“If you’ll answer my questions, the commission fee I earn from this job will be enough to pay for the information.”

Hades’ gold teeth reappeared. “What do you want to know?”

Just like last time.

On the way over, Lu Li had prepared his questions. He got straight to the point. “Can the Spirit Gun grow stronger? I dealt with a ghost, and part of the floral pattern on the gun bloomed.”

Lu Li placed the Spirit Gun, still in its holster, on the counter and slid it toward Hades.

“Why wouldn’t it? That’s part of its dangerous allure. It has the potential to grow stronger, but the longer you use it, the greater disaster it brings to its owner…” Under the warm glow of the oil lamp, Hades admired the rose patterns on the gun, noting that one of the buds had partially bloomed.

“But be careful. Don’t let this power go to your head.”

Hades tossed the gun back to Lu Li, who caught it and returned it to his holster.

“Second question: I encountered a ghost. She had a strange shadowy figure behind her…” Lu Li described the phantom-like silhouette he had seen with Athena.

“That sounds familiar…” Hades paused, as though the answer had just occurred to him. “But this one’s gonna cost you.”

Lu Li didn’t fall for his ploy. “I’m sure other exorcists wouldn’t mind answering this for free.”

“Tch…” Hades grumbled in disappointment, visibly losing interest. “That’s an unformed wraith.”

“What are the writhing tendrils about?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know either. If I did, that information would be worth at least 1,000 shillings.”

“Could I deal with it? This unformed wraith?”

“Deal with it? If I were you…” Hades scoffed, leaning forward slightly. His narrowed eyes gleamed with a dangerous chill, and his whisper echoed through the empty tavern.

“I’d demand more payment.”