Detective Agency of the Bizarre

Before the sky was fully light, Lu Li carried the sculpture down from the second-floor office and placed it back in its original position.

The oddity of the night calmed as the windows outside gradually lightened.

The cobbled streets shrouded in a misty haze began to see some pedestrians in the early morning.

Surprisingly, the first to arrive at the gallery was Benjamin. Seeing Lu Li standing unharmed at the door, he opened his arms with joy, "I'm glad to see you, Mr. Luli."

Lu Li took two steps back to avoid Benjamin's embrace and got straight to the point, "I've temporarily found four ghosts, one of which has already been dealt with. There are some issues with the other three, which you may know something about."

Unconcerned, Benjamin lowered his arms, removed his hat, stepped into the gallery, and closed the front door behind him.

The hustle and bustle of the cobbled street was blocked by the wooden door.

"What would Mr. Luli like to know?" The portly man shed his former mercantile demeanor, showing a sincerity he had not displayed the day before.

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

Lu Li asked, "Do you remember Asina?"

"Asina..." A trace of nostalgia crossed Benjamin's face, "Of course, I know her, the poor girl who died in childbirth after being abandoned by her fiance, and her undead spirit lingering in the gallery without dispersing."

"You knew about these?"

"Yes, she was my employee, of course I knew." Benjamin lowered his head with a slight sigh, his face obscured in the quiet, dim gallery, "I knew about all those paranormal events you've encountered."

Lu Li's dark pupils gradually narrowed, "But you still hired ordinary people to be night watchmen."

"Because they only haunt at night, and none of them wanted to harm anyone," Benjamin explained briefly, sighing again, "until a few days ago, the last night watchman was frightened away by a ghost."

"Then you hesitated whether to spend a lot of money to hire an Exorcist to remove these four ghosts, instead choosing to take a chance on hiring another night watchman, in case the previous employee was wrong. After all, hiring an Exorcist isn't cheap, especially when you have more than one here."

Benjamin didn't speak but nodded his head.

"Forgive my bluntness, but the four ghosts in the gallery have grown to a certain extent. You may not know that the girl in that oil painting can freely leave the portrait, the sculptures will follow in people's footsteps at night, Asina has shown signs of attacking people, and Ruth..."

At this point, Lu Li paused slightly, his gaze fixing on Benjamin.

"She attacked me, and I killed her in self-defense."

Benjamin seemed to make up his mind, smiling bitterly, "I understand the situation now. So, Exorcist, I decide to formally hire you. How much would you like as a reward?"

"How much can you pay?" Lu Li counter-asked.

Lu Li was still unclear about the local Exorcist pricing.

"1000 Shillings."

It sounded a bit low, with four ghosts amounting to 250 shillings each.

But Anna and the sculptures wouldn't attack people proactively; the real threats were only Asina and Ruth—the latter already dealt with.

"That's acceptable," Lu Li nodded calmly, not dwelling on the price too much. "What else do you know about Asina?"

"I've told you everything I know."

"What about the others, the oil painting of Anna and the sculptures?"

"The painting of Anna existed before I took over the gallery; Madame Annette said it was done by a painter on Anna's 16th birthday. I bought the sculptures for a low price from an artist in Himfast who went bankrupt. You know, the Night Calamity has left the public with no mood for art."

"The spirit in that painting claims to be Anna."

Benjamin denied it outright, seeming to hear a joke, "That's impossible, Anna is dead, she and her mother died in that epidemic. Perhaps there's just something wrong with the painting, and she thinks she is Anna."

Lu Li didn't agree or disagree and didn't discuss the matter further.

"Mr. Luli, are you going to start the exorcism now?"

"I'll wait until tonight; I need to investigate something about Asina," Lu Li replied.

He was not a real exorcist after all, his only means of dealing with ghosts was the Spirit-Calling Gun. And the Spirit-Calling Gun evidently wouldn't be very effective against Asina, he needed to find a different approach, to try to resolve her from another angle.

"So today..."

"They won't come out during the day, if you're worried you can close for the day."

"That's good..." Benjamin let out a long breath of relief, it wasn't clear whether he meant the former or the latter—probably the former.

When Lu Li left, Benjamin opened the front door and hung up the open for business sign.

Adjusting his collar and smoothing it down, pulling up his hood, Lu Li walked into the morning mist, not heading towards his Detective Agency but towards Hades instead.

...

Ding-a-ling—Ding-a-ling—

Wind chimes swayed behind the wooden door.

"Oh, look who's here? I really didn't misjudge you, gathering up enough money so quickly, you're truly a gold digger... I mean, a rising star among us exorcists."

The exaggerated interjection came from Hades's mouth, his gold teeth gleaming as he spread his arms wide.

Just like last time.

Lu Li walked to the counter and sat down: "I just have some questions."

The enthusiasm visibly disappeared at a measurable speed, as evidenced by the lowering of the once-raised arms, now resting on the counter.

"Do you think I'm some kind of charity?" Under the oil lamp, Hades's face was tinged with a fluctuating shade of darkness.

"If you're willing to answer some of my questions, the fee I earned from this assignment is enough to buy answers."

Hades's gold teeth shone again: "What do you want to ask."

Just like last time.

On the way over, Lu Li had already prepared what he wanted to inquire about, speaking directly: "Can the Spirit-Calling Gun become stronger? I dealt with a ghost, and part of the pattern on its barrel bloomed."

The Spirit-Calling Gun, along with its case, was placed on the counter by Lu Li and pushed in front of Hades.

"Why not? That is what makes it dangerous yet fascinating. The possibility of constant strengthening, but the longer you're in contact with it, the more it brings disaster to its owner…" Under the oil lamp, Hades indulged in admiring the rose pattern on the barrel of the Spirit-Calling Gun. One of the rosebuds had bloomed some.

"But be careful, don't let this force cloud your mind."

The Spirit-Calling Gun was tossed back to Lu Li by Hades, who tucked it away behind him again after catching it.

"Second question, I encountered a ghost with a strange, unformed shadow trailing behind her..."

Lu Li described the shadow that lurked behind Asina.

"Sounds familiar..." Hades looked startled for a moment, seeming to have an answer in mind. "However, this question requires a fee."

Lu Li was not fooled by his little trick: "I think other exorcists wouldn't mind answering that, free of charge."

"Tsk..." Hades expressed some disappointment, lacking enthusiasm: "That is an unformed specter."

"What are the swirling, illusory tentacles?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know either, otherwise that information would be worth at least a thousand shillings."

"Can I handle it? This unformed specter."

"Handle? If I were you..."

Hades sneered, leaning slightly forward, his narrowed eyes twinkling with a dangerous cold light, his whispered voice echoing through the empty tavern.

"I would ask for a lot more pay."