บท 13: Thirteen. The Conspiracy at the Center of the Vortex
The next morning, early hours.
Ding Ling——Ding Ling——
The wind chimes on the door rang clear and pleasant, echoing through the spacious, quiet hall.
Lu Li took a few more glances at the wind chimes that hadn't been there yesterday and walked into the dim hall.
The oil lamp on the counter lit a small area, and the figure behind it was counting something, quickly putting away the things on the table when they heard someone coming.
"Oh, look who's here? I really wasn't mistaken, you have amassed enough money so quickly; you are indeed a gold digger amongst us exorcists… I mean, a rising star."
The exaggerated exclamations emanated from Hades' mouth, his gold teeth glinting as he opened his arms, as warmly as if greeting an old buddy not seen for years.
Lu Li walked to the counter where the wooden chair from yesterday still stood in place, and he sat down, saying, "I only have 500 shillings."
The warmth visibly faded, manifesting as the open arms falling down and resting on the counter.
"That's not enough, as you know," Hades said, his face under the oil lamp dark and unstable.
"I want to ask some other questions, like about that ghost."
Hades's gold teeth gleamed again, "That's enough, what do you want to ask."
Lu Li, ignoring Hades's opportunistic demeanor, recounted his encounter from the previous night.
"So, what's your question?"
"Can ghosts communicate?"
Hades didn't answer Lu Li but instead posed a question, "What do you understand about ghosts?"
"Ethereal forms."
"Not that, I mean, who were ghosts before they died?"
It was obvious to the point of almost directly giving Lu Li the answer.
Lu Li naturally understood what Hades was implying and asked, "So, ghosts can communicate?"
"They were once humans, of course they can, but it depends if they want to communicate with you. If you're brave and have good personal charm, you could definitely try to communicate with them," Hades opened a new door for Lu Li.
"It's not common, but it happens often."
...
"But... but should I really do it?" Oliver was pushed forward by a big hand, stumbling to the telephone, pitifully small and helpless as he looked up at the imposing figure facing him.
In the dim night, eyes like beacons gazed down at Oliver, the tone gentle, "Dear little Oliver, go do it."
Oliver, having never heard Mrs. Slav speak so gently, asked subconsciously, "Are you talking to me?"
"No, I'm talking to the painting on the wall behind you… Quickly call your boss!"
The wind howled in his ears; Oliver, terrified, rushed to the telephone and dialed his boss.
After connecting, as he held the receiver to his ear, Oliver's eyes kept darting to the robust figure standing with hands on hips beside him. A minute later, he pulled a forced smile and lifted the receiver, "The boss didn't answer, he might have gone out for breakfast, I guess?"
"Oh poor Mr. Lu Li, he doesn't even have someone to look after him. As his employee, can you really bear to see him like this?"
"No… I can't bear it…"
"Good, try calling again in half an hour."
Mrs. Slav turned and walked away, Oliver shook a few times as if drained, then heaved a sigh of relief.
...
After hearing these words, Lu Li fell silent.
Although it differed slightly from the traditional understanding of ghosts, it made sense. Ghosts are transformed from living people after death and naturally possess human emotions, logic, and intelligence.
And this matched the ghost Lu Li had encountered.
After a thought, Lu Li spoke up, "But it's not that simple, right?"
"Of course, not even all living people can be reasoned with, let alone ghosts. I can see you're intrigued, but remember my warning, our relationship with ghosts is asymmetrical, especially the stronger ones. They are hunters, we are the prey; do not place your safety in their potential reasonableness. If you are not cautious enough... the graveyard outside the Kael'thas Cathedral has buried countless reckless exorcists."
"I'll be careful."
Lu Li's humility pleased Hades, who gestured dismissively and said, "But it's not that serious, spirits weaker than vengeful spirits have limited capabilities, you might as well hear what they want to say, you might end up pleasantly surprised."
"Like an inheritance or a valuable final commission."
"What about vengeful spirits and malevolent spirits?"
"Ghosts grow stronger at a cost, the stronger they are, the deeper their connection with that space, and the more twisted their minds become. You can try to communicate with vengeful spirits, but my advice is either to deal with them or to run away."
"You left out the malevolent spirits."
Hades paused for a moment, then slowly said, "That relates to the core secrets of the Exorcist."
Which meant it wasn't free.
"Please continue."
"The sense of ritual," Hades said.
"I've never seen a malevolent spirit, only heard some news from other nearly dead old Exorcists. Being targeted by a malevolent spirit pretty much seals your fate, but before they kill their target, they have a unique sense of ritual. If you break its ritual, there's a slight chance you could escape from the clutches of a malevolent spirit. It's unclear, you must experience it yourself to understand, so..."
Hades didn't want to talk too much about his encounters with malevolent spirits, as if doing so would bring him bad luck.
However, he hadn't forgotten the matter at hand, and spread out his palm: "500 Shillings, for your patronage."
"100."
"Take the money."
Consultation finished, Lu Li rose from his seat.
"Not staying longer?"
"If it's free."
"Then take care on your way."
Donning his hat, Lu Li stepped out of the Detective Agency and climbed into the waiting yellow carriage outside.
'Nearby Detective Agency.'
The carriage slowly started moving, heading towards its destination.
In this world, the meaning of Detective Agency was equivalent to that of Exorcist, the term dating back to three hundred years ago.
A few minutes later, the carriage arrived at a new Detective Agency, where the setting was somewhat normal, at least not resembling a tavern.
Lu Li, pretending to be a common man haunted by a ghost, asked the Exorcist some general knowledge questions, mostly in line with what Hades had said.
But when Hades came up in conversation, the Exorcist showed a brief moment of disgust and agitation.
"That man is a disgrace to Exorcists!"
"Why do you say that?" Lu Li asked.
"The guy has no professional ethics! Once, he exorcised for a poor noble, and he split it into five exorcisms, charging over a thousand Shillings!"
It sounded like something Hades would do.
Lu Li said he would consider whether to hire the Exorcist and turned to leave.
"Never go to Hades, that guy would do anything for money!"
The Exorcist shouted after Lu Li.
He didn't know that this was precisely why Lu Li collaborated with Hades.
Exchanging money for knowledge, Lu Li thought it was a good deal, and so did Hades.
Boarding the carriage, this time Lu Li didn't go elsewhere but directly returned to his own Detective Agency.
Not long after returning to the quiet Detective Agency, the telephone rang.
Lu Li answered, and Oliver's voice came through. It was still about yesterday's matter, Mrs. Slav wanted to see him.
Lu Li didn't refuse.
"I'll be there in about an hour."
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