The fallen leaves plain, Shimfast at night is silent.
But it is not lifeless.
Star-like light spots fill every corner of the city in the middle of this plain, reflecting the entire sky.
In a sense, the night disaster makes the night more lively.
Outside the city, a carriage was parked in front of a manor, and the faint light of oil lamps inside was shining through the curtains.
The rain fell on the horse's mane and back, and a faint white mist spewed between the horse's mouth and nose.
It's too cold, maybe less than 10 degrees.
Lu Li, holding an umbrella, got off the carriage, and Anna, with an illusory figure, followed behind him and came to the gate with Lu Li.
Lu Li reached out to touch the wet and cold iron door. The iron door swayed, making a sound of metal collision and could not be opened.
The door was locked.
Before Lu Li did something, some movement came from the night watchman's hut behind the door. As the door was opened, a ray of light and shadow extended out of the door.
Anna's figure behind Lu Li faded away, and the rain fell in the position where she was originally standing, passing through her.
The old man guarding the door was wearing a coat on his shoulder and limped to the back of the door with an oil lamp.
He raised the oil lamp in his hand, reflecting Lu Li's face.
"It's Mr. Investigator in the afternoon..." The gatekeeper recognized his black hair and black eyes that were still fresh in his memory: "Is there anything wrong with you when you come to the academy?"
Lu Li said: "I want to go in and investigate some things."
The old man at the gate knew that he knew the dean’s wife, but he hesitated with dissatisfaction: “Are you going to enter the academy?”
“Just in the manor.”
The old man at the gate relaxed his brows: "Okay, please wait a moment."
He returned to the cottage and took out a large string of copper keys, opened the chains on the door, and opened one of the wooden doors.
After Lu Li and the invisible Anna walked into the door, they walked towards the elm tree with the family treasures buried.
"Don't follow us too close." Lu Li said to the old gatekeeper who seemed to want to follow them.
The old man hesitated for a moment, stayed by the door, and watched the figure that was almost integrated with the night walking towards the path with an oil lamp.
When he was a little further away, Anna reappeared.
Her pace was very fast, and Lu Li also accelerated his pace and came to the dry elm tree with her.
The filled pits still maintain their appearance when they left in the afternoon.
"She's name is Anne, and my mother said it's name that I gave it."
Anna whispered, approaching the elm tree like daytime, with her forehead resting on the trunk of the neck.
She closed her eyes and quietly felt the consciousness of the elm tree. This might be stupid, and what's even more stupid is that Anna didn't feel the slightest consciousness from this tree.
"Maybe it's just my illusion..."
Anna murmured, her forehead leaving the cold tree trunk.
"Not an illusion."
Lu Li's voice came from behind.
"You said you never dream."
Anna frowned and pursed her lips: "But I really can't feel any breath or consciousness."
“This does not mean it does not exist.”
Lu Li's palm left the psychic gun and covered it with a holster.
"Maybe it's still weak and cannot communicate with you directly."
"You just..." Anna's eyes fell on Lu Li's retracted palm.
"Um."
"You feel it...Anne...?"
"It should be."
Lu Li did feel the undetectable weak aura on this elm tree. If the first rose did not bloom in Sequence 1, he would ignore it directly.
This new breath is not malicious, but it can be uncomfortable - just like other existences around you.
This doesn't mean anything. When Lu Li holds the psychic gun, he will also feel an uncomfortable breath from Anna, evil and powerful... just like Mixue Liya once.
"It calls me sister..." Anna murmured, raised her head and looked at Lu Li. There seemed to be stars flashing in her eyes under the oil lamp. "Can we take it back to the detective agency?"
"A tree is hard to transport." Lu Li's voice was as cold as the temperature.
Anna's eyes dimmed.
But his voice rang out: "Tomorrow I'll ask how to transport the trees."
Anna raised her head in surprise, suddenly hugged Lu Li, hugged his neck and made a crisp laugh, just like before.
In the distance, the gatekeeper was in a hut. The gatekeeper looked at the figure dozens of meters away in confusion, muttering, "How could he hear the girl laughing..."
Anna let go of Lu Li, and the dimness covered the blush on her face well. She changed the topic and said, "Why did the tree... Anne have a consciousness?"
"What is the area that has not been explored by humans?" Lu Li asked instead of answering the question.
Anna thought about it seriously, shook her head and said, "I don't know."
"I don't know either."
Anna was stunned for a moment before she realized that Lu Li was answering her own question and covered her face embarrassedly.
This is indeed what Lu Li said.
If you think about it carefully, the characters in the storybook can appear in reality and send letters. It seems that a tree suddenly has consciousness is not so difficult to understand.
After all, when Anna was a child, she would always sit under her sister Anne's tree and talk to her.
"Then when will we take it back?" Anna said with expectation.
"It's better now, but we can't do it."
Move away a tree and transport it to 150 miles away. This requires professionals to do it.
But Lu Li didn't want to leave the tree here for the time being. He couldn't tell when the consciousness of the elm tree was born, before or after Anna appeared around her.
The breath was so weak that it seemed that a gust of wind would be extinguished and disappeared in the long rainy night.
"Speaking of this, if we take Anne away, where will we put it?"
The detective agency cannot put down a tree five or six meters high.
“It won’t be difficult to resettle.”
Lu Li replied.
"Don't forget that the shelter we selected had an elm forest."
Anna seemed to want to say something to Elm, but she was over the age to talk to objects - and there was Lu Li there.
Anna and Lu Li, who were indescribable, stayed for a few minutes. Lu Li left an oil lamp for it, carried another oil lamp that Anna went to the carriage to retrieve, and instructed the old man to return to the carriage.
Hope nothing happens.
...
"The winner is - Henry of Iron Fist!"
In the underground fighting hall that extended downward, dull shouts and warm cheers and curses came faintly.
After a while, the sounds became clear and dull again after a few seconds.
A young figure walked up the steps. He was wearing only a thin vest on a cold rainy night. Under the street lights, the heat turned into white mist and rose up on his upper body.
He turned to the side and walked a few meters away. Suddenly he heard a call for help coming from the alley beside him, and then his blood-stained face appeared under the street lights, and was pulled into the alley by several pairs of big hands.
"Waiting for the lady, I'll get rid of these damn bastards now!"
The young man was stunned for a moment, his eyes instantly became firm, and he shouted and rushed into the dark alley.
But after he ran into the alley, all the sound suddenly disappeared.