73: Seventy-three.1000 shillings 73: Seventy-three.1000 shillings “Inhale—”

The white-dressed female ghost sniffed back the snot that fear had caused.

Lu Li paused slightly and then continued, “You can continue to stay here, as long as you don’t harm anyone.”

Regarding whether to also dispose of the remaining two ghosts, Lu Li and Anna agreed: It was meaningless and unnecessary.

Neither of them was fond of killing, even if the target was a ghost.

The ghosts had limited strength and were relatively peaceful, merely hiding in the haunted house to scare tourists.

Perhaps Lu Li’s flintlock pistol needed nourishment, but he would not harm indiscriminately just to grow stronger.

“We won’t harm anyone, please rest assured,” Mark hastily agreed, then shifted the topic, “Mr.

Exorcist, we now consider ourselves under your care, would it be possible to have your contact information?

For anything that might come up…

it would be good to be able to contact you…”

Lu Li responded by handing over a business card.

Mark took it with both hands, quickly glanced it over, and carefully stored it away.

“Problem solved, we should leave now.” Lu Li prepared to say goodbye, he turned his head to ask Anna, “The notes?”

“What notes?” she responded, looking up blankly.

“…?” Lu Li took out three notes from his pocket and showed them to her.

“The clue notes from the Ghost House.”

“Did you find these?

How could I possibly have something like that, you’re being silly,” Anna said indignantly, hands on her hips.

Lu Li’s calm gaze silently turned to Mark, “Boss, could you please lead us out of the Ghost House?”

“No problem, no problem, Mr.

Exorcist, Miss Ghost, and uh…”

“Assistant.”

“Oh right, and Miss Assistant, the three of you please follow me.”

Mark scampered ahead with a grin, leading the way, while the remaining white-dressed female ghost and twisted phantom shakily followed behind.

Exiting through the safety exit, the dim twilight replaced the equally dim oil lamp, and a cool cold breeze blew, clearing the stuffiness that had accumulated in the cramped Ghost House.

Standing under the eaves, Lu Li looked into the distance.

The rain was the same as when they arrived; they hadn’t spent much time.

The park scenery was faintly visible through the misty rain.

This scene was only temporary; soon the rain would intensify again.

A chubby hand holding a cigar trembled into view.

“I don’t smoke,” Lu Li answered.

“Oh, oh.” Mark suddenly understood, withdrew the cigar, and also sheepishly removed the unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling coldness emanated from behind Mark, freezing to the core.

Anna hovered behind Mark, her presence cold and pervasive—if she weren’t pouting cutely, perhaps she’d look somewhat frightening.

“Where’s the gift?”

Anna, who hadn’t found a single clue note, still expected a completion gift.

“Ah?

Here, here it is…” Enlightened, Mark rushed to the gift stand, returning with three paper-bagged stuffed animals in his arms.

“The haunted house doesn’t make much profit, so the gifts are a bit…

modest.

Please forgive us, Miss Ghost.

Next time, we’ll definitely prepare something better.”

“Hmm…” Anna crossed her arms and turned away.

Jojo, acting as the assistant, stepped forward and took the three stuffed animals.

Lu Li extended his hand for a paper bag and placed a stone mask inside it.

With the gifts in hand, there was no reason for Lu Li and the others to stay any longer.

They opened their umbrellas and walked into the raining curtain.

One person and two ghosts stood under the eaves, staring blankly at the fading figures in the rain, occasionally exchanging words.

“It feels like a dream…

so exorcists really do exist…”

“We…

you’re all ghosts now, isn’t it normal to have an exorcist?”

“Let’s head back now.

Sigh…

we’re down two staff members, might be overwhelmed when the rainy season ends…”

…

Unlike her excitement when she arrived, Anna left in low spirits.

She did not experience the joy in the park that she had imagined.

“Haven’t you been here before?”

Lu Li, noticing something, spoke up.

Anna, floating beside him, pouted and muttered, “No one has ever accompanied me here…

and it’s not fun to play by myself so…”

“Hmm,” Lu Li nodded silently.

“Let’s come again after the weather clears up.”

“I, I don’t need your pity…” Anna muttered softly, her annoyance masking her shyness.

“Then forget it,” Lu Li walked away.

“???”

…

The weather was a bit chilly, possibly because of the rain, or perhaps it was the cooling system built into the carriage: a ghost.

After riding the carriage to the client’s location to collect the reward, they took Jojo back to the academy, then Lu Li and Anna returned to the Detective Agency.

A few minutes later, Lu Li came out again with 1000 shillings.

It was time to uncover the truths of the world from Hades.

…

Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling—

The wind chimes clattered, shaking as the wind and rain poured into the opened pub…

or rather, the Detective Agency.

Creak—

As the door closed, the sound of the wind chimes gradually subsided.

The Detective Agency was darker than usual, and a pair of eyes watched from the dimly lit bar under the lamp.

Hades always appeared leisurely and unoccupied, perhaps Lu Li, who often came with questions, was his only recent visitor.

Lu Li ignored Hades’ fourth or fifth repetition of the same greeting and took out a stone mask that was stored in a paper bag, pushing it across to Hades.

“What is this?

Is it related to the Spirit-Calling Gun?”

“Damn it, you think I’m your appraiser—” Hades began to complain.

“I’ve gathered 1000 shillings,” Lu Li reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of bills made up of 100 and 50 shillings.

“My charming friend, you guessed right, it indeed is a homogeneous item with the Spirit-Calling Gun… may I touch it?”

“Sure,” Lu Li disregarded Hades’ complete turnaround in attitude.

Swish—

Hades pulled the stone mask out of the paper bag, and as he touched it, a whisper of ghostly essence emanated from him.

He squinted slightly, and in the dim light cast by the oil lamp, his eye sockets appeared deeper: “Its essence is very weak…

it is quite ancient…

yes, it is indeed a peculiar item.”

“A peculiar item?”

“This one’s on the house, considering the 1000 shillings,” Hades grinned, revealing a gold tooth.

Lu Li noticed he had one more gold tooth than in previous days.

“Spirit-Calling Guns, stone masks can all be categorized as peculiar items.

If you plan to continue in this line of work, you’ll come across them often.

As for why they are called peculiar items, that’s just what we call them in our circle.

In Belfast, there are many disagreements over the names, and it’s the same outside, with no unified term.”

“I want to know what it is.”

“That ties into the next question you want to ask,” Hades chuckled, eyeing the stack of bills in Lu Li’s hand.

“Unless you don’t plan to ask anything.”

The oil in the lamp was running low, the flame flickering, casting inconsistent light.

Hades’ gaze followed the trajectory of the bills.

The stack of bills was placed on the table, then pushed towards Hades by a slender hand.

“Now, tell me the answers to the questions I want to know,”

Lu Li’s calm voice resonated.

“What’s in the darkness?”