Detective Agency of the Bizarre

The feather pen, stained with ink, was grasped by a hand and paused over the paper.

"Mr. Luli, you may speak now," said someone.

The psychologist looked up and gestured at the black-haired man sitting opposite.

Outside the window was a harbor, the overcast, grim weather leaving only a silhouette of Rodest Port.

The smokestacks of the industrial district had been idle for many days, yet a strange haze still enveloped Belfast.

"It's a long story," the black-haired man known as Luli began.

The psychologist showed no concern, "Please, take your time. There's still plenty of daylight left."

The man nodded, pausing briefly before he slowly started to speak.

"I am an exorcist," he said.

On a morning cobblestone street, Luli said to the elderly couple inside the house.

"I heard there's been a ghost appearing in your home?"

The two elderly people sized up Luli from head to toe, their murky eyes swirling with an emotion called caution.

The man across was dressed formally. Most civilians only wore such formal attire during holidays or soirees, but he wore it daily. A white shirt with a black tie and draped in a black overcoat, yet he lacked a cane and a top hat.

The black hair and eyes were rare in Rodest Port and even throughout all of Belfast, his calm black eyes as deep as abysses, involuntarily drawing people in.

"Who are you?"

The caution in the old couple's eyes diminished a bit, as they didn't perceive the well-dressed, handsome man as a thug.

"The Weird And Multicolored Detective Agency, Exorcist Luli," he introduced himself.

Luli took out a brand-new postcard and handed it to the elderly couple.

Wrinkled hands took the card, confusion flashing in their eyes, until they saw the detective agency's name and address on the card, grasping the purpose of the card.

"Are you here to help us with the ghost? Please come in quickly…" they eagerly made room.

Luli stepped inside, his figure swallowed by the room's dimness.

The sky was overcast, and the room was very dark.

A musty, moldy smell permeated the air.

Glancing over the plain and simple room, Luli withdrew his gaze and met their hopeful eyes, "Can you tell me the details? Like what happened."

The elder spoke mysteriously, "Did you see it…"

Luli gently shook his head, "I didn't feel anything, which is why I'm asking."

The old couple clearly showed their disappointment, but they still began to recount their experiences.

Sounds like marbles dropping at night, a baby's cry at midnight, a fleeting white shadow outside the window, strange noises in the kitchen.

Luli listened quietly, "These occurrences might not be the work of a ghost; they can be explained scientifically… Do you know about science?"

The old couple looked at each other, "We know it; we heard that steam cars and iron ships are made by science."

Luli didn't correct the couple's minor misconceptions; most people here had only a superficial understanding of science: "Roughly, yes. So, continuing, the sound of marbles you heard is the noise made by building materials as they expand and contract with the temperature. The crying might be a wild cat I saw when I came here; the mating call of cats can sound like a baby. The white shadow could likely be from a pedestrian on the street."

"As for the strange noises in the kitchen…" Luli did not glance at the kitchen; he didn't need to. "You might need to put up a mousetrap."

"I… we didn't lie to you! We really saw a ghost! Just ask my spouse!"

"Yes, yes, that night..."

The two elders hurriedly defended themselves, trying to convince Luli of what they had seen.

"Alright, I understand," Luli said calmly, stopping the elders' narrative. He had encountered many such adamant claims in recent days.

"I can't find the ghost just yet, so I will set up an exorcism ritual in the room next. Could you please wait outside the door?"

"This…" The elder's faces showed difficulty as they looked at each other.

Ghosts were certainly frightening, but handing their home over to a stranger…

Knowing what they were worried about, Luli said, "You can stand outside the door; I have nowhere to run."

The hesitant couple half pushed, half led themselves out of the house, standing in the street, following behind Luli as he casually closed the door.

Clang—

He slid the bolt into place.

Hearing the sound of the bolt, the expressions of the two elderly tightened, and then they heard the low, incomprehensible incantations from behind the door, spoken in a language they couldn't understand, pronounced in a strange and cumbersome manner.

After a moment of whispering, silence fell behind the door.

Suddenly, a muffled thud sounded, the door trembled, and several patches of mottled plaster fell from the wall.

The two elderly were so frightened that their bodies shook, almost retreating to the middle of the street.

The room suddenly erupted with sounds of a fierce scuffle and roaring, conjuring up an image of an exorcist battling with a ghost.

Meanwhile, in the house separated by just one wall.

Contrary to the elderly's imagination outside, Lu Li sat calmly at the dining table, occasionally kicking a wooden chair or knocking on the table, emitting a few groans.

After a few dozen seconds, feeling that enough time had passed, Lu Li stood up, kicked over the chair, and rammed his shoulder against the wall.

A dull thump, the wall vibrated.

Then, there were a few seconds of calm.

The two elderly held their breath, as time ticked slowly by…

The door opened, revealing a figure.

Lu Li's dark eyes were calm, his forehead was slick with what looked like sweat, his breathing nearing stability, "It's dealt with, now it's time to talk about the payment."

...

"Wait a minute, you said earlier that you were an 'exorcist'," the doctor interrupted Lu Li's narrative. He emphasized the word "exorcist."

Lu Li retorted, "Do you think I'm the type of exorcist who grabs a ghost by the neck and then shouts 'In the name of God, I banish you'?"

The doctor fell silent, gesturing for him to continue.

...

"The ghost has already…" The two elderly peered into the room, trying to find traces of the ghost's presence.

"Been dealt with." Lu Li stepped aside, gesturing for them to come in.

The income of the two elderly was low, and Lu Li, almost charitably, only symbolically charged 10 Shillings as payment before leaving.

"I will come to you."

As he stepped onto the street, a whisper suddenly resonated close by.

Lu Li swiftly turned around, seeing the relaxed expressions of the elderly couple as they closed the door.

A breeze blew, tossing his hair, and although it was daytime, the chill was bone-piercing.

...

"So your dilemma is… you encountered a ghost and suspect it to be a psychological issue?"

"Yes."

The psychologist looked at Lu Li with a peculiar glance, sizing him up, "Are you a foreigner? Or perhaps a noble who seldom goes out?"

"Is there a problem?" Lu Li neither denied nor admitted.

The psychologist spread his hands, "As everyone knows, ghosts truly exist. So, rather than worrying about a psychological disorder, you should be more concerned about the complications of being entangled by a ghost — after all, you are not a real exorcist."

"Is that so." Lu Li was noncommittal. "What if I tell you a different story, that I come from another world?"

"Could you elaborate?" The psychologist shifted his sitting position, appearing quite interested.

Lu Li briefly described Earth's situation.

"Wow… tons of metal flying in the sky? Buildings hundreds of stories high? Communication across thousands of kilometers face to face?" The psychologist scoffed involuntarily, then hastily recomposed himself, straightening his face with severity, "Mr. Lu Li, this is a very serious case of hysteria. Your condition is more severe than I had thought."

"I was just asking, not seeking treatment," Lu Li replied.

False existence turned into reality, and the real became false. It was more believable for ghosts to exist than for hundreds of tons of metal to fly in the sky.

"Well… it's up to you, you've already paid the consultation fee," the psychologist shrugged, placing the paper and quill on the desk, and turned to look out the window. "It's getting dark, please hurry if your residence is far from here."

The sky had darkened a bit more since the conversation started.

"Thanks for the reminder."

Lu Li stood up, shook hands with the psychologist who also rose, and left the clinic.

A saying circulated in Belfast.

After it gets dark, stay in the light.