A long queue of horse-drawn carriages was lined up, moving slowly forward under the gloomy and rainy sky.
At the front of the congested road, several figures wearing black ponchos stood in front of the fork in the road, stopping the approaching carriage and saying something. They formed a cordon around the left fork in the road.
"What a terrible weather... When will those municipal gentlemen remember to repair the road?" The policeman watched the carriage drive past him to the right fork, pulled down the brim of his cloak, and couldn't help cursing.
The carriage behind was still approaching. John waved to the carriage and glanced sideways: "They have more troublesome things to do now. Everyone is busy, so stop complaining."
Keep your mouth shut.
The carriage stopped in front of them, and John and his men walked around to the carriage.
A fat palm with a ruby ring opened the car curtain, revealing a middle-aged woman wearing a lace evening gown and a wide-brimmed hat. She was still complaining: "It's really rare that there is a traffic jam in this kind of rural place."
, I thought Agate Lake would be crowded with horse-drawn carriages only when there was a dinner party at home.”
John ignored the fat woman's boast and shouted to her: "Madam! The road ahead is flooded!"
Panic appeared on the fat woman's pale face covered with makeup: "You can't do this, I have an emergency at Endfast!"
John couldn't hear her voice, so he leaned forward and shouted, "What? Please be louder."
"I said I was going to Endfast!" the fat woman had to shout loudly, and then muttered "Damned rude devil" in a low voice.
John pointed to the road on the right and shouted: "You can go through Conch Town, the road there is still intact!"
"That's going to go in a circle!"
"There is no other way, ma'am, the road ahead is impassable!"
"It's really... troublesome. If it weren't for the housekeeper at home to go home for the New Year, I wouldn't..."
The fat woman said something again, but John, who had left the carriage, could no longer hear it. He waved to the coachman and signaled the carriage behind to come over.
The car curtain opened a limited corner, revealing a pair of pitch-black eyes. John was stunned, and said to the mysterious man: "Sir! The road ahead is flooded!"
"Will Linhai be flooded?"
"There is a low-lying land ahead! It cannot be drained into the sea!"
The man in the carriage stopped worrying about this issue and asked instead: "I want to go to Himfast."
"You can go to Conch Town! Just follow the carriage in front and you can get there!" John pointed to the carriage in front, which had not disappeared into the rain.
"Thanks."
The reins extending into the curtain shook slightly, and the horse turned to the right side of the road, slowly catching up with the previous carriage. After following for dozens of seconds, he overtook the previous carriage and accelerated towards his destination.
Passing the reins to Anna, Lu Li folded the map again and extinguished the oil lamp.
Darkness returned to the carriage.
Anna pursed her lips and said to Lu Li, "Do we still have time to reach Himfast before dark?"
Lu Li's silhouette was revealed in the dim carriage. He raised his head to look at the outside world, where the sky was darker than before. He shook his head and said, "It was never too late. It will be slower now."
It was already around 1:30 in the afternoon when we rented the carriage and left the detective agency, and it was already three in the afternoon. With this bad weather, it would probably start to get dark before five o'clock.
The muddy road limited their speed, especially after the shortcut was flooded, so they could only make a circular path, first to Conch Town, and then from Conch Town to Himfast.
The sky darkened earlier than Lu Li expected. At four o'clock in the afternoon, we were still more than ten miles away from Conch Town. There was only a dark outline around us, and the fuel lamp had to be lit in the carriage.
The carriages with faint outlines in front and behind the road also lit up one after another, giving people a sense of hope that they were not alone in the gray rainy day.
Half an hour later, the carriage drove into Conch Town.
The town is not big, with only a few thousand residents. On a clear day, you can see the end of the town at a glance.
Neither Lu Li nor Anna had any intention of staying here. The carriage went straight through Conch Town and headed for the road leading to Himfast.
"Your friend seems to be here." Anna remembered something.
"Um."
Remy and Jimmy are in Conch Town at this time.
If they really appear in this world.
After hesitating for a moment, Anna asked in a low voice: "Do you want to find them?"
"You can find them when you come back," Lu Li replied. "And they will go to Belfast sooner or later."
"Um!"
Anna nodded heavily and her tone became more relaxed.
Lu Li opened the map, looked at the distance between Conch Town and Himfast, estimated the current speed, and gave the approximate arrival time: "We will approach Himfast around 11 p.m."
"I hope it's not too late..." Anna murmured.
Ten minutes after leaving Conch Town, the road around turned into an icy rainy night. For Lu Li, he finally no longer saw the illusory huge shadow lying on the horse's back.
Maybe the illusion is still there, but it has merged with the surroundings.
The journey at night was not peaceful. Anna felt the malice hidden around the road several times, but when she released her breath, the malice disappeared silently.
"It's the sixth one..." Anna stopped breathing, the brows on her delicate cheeks frowning.
"Still a ghost?"
"Um."
It's bad news and good news. The bad news is that these ghosts appear very strangely, and the good news is that Lu Li and Anna are good at dealing with such existences.
If it were other types of monsters, it would be difficult for Lu Li and Anna to harm them.
The journey was uneventful, and at 11:15 midnight, the carriage entered Himfast.
The buildings and bright street lights dispelled any uneasiness in Anna's heart. Lu Li took the reins from her hand and turned into the street where Mary's residence was located.
The carriage stopped in front of Mary's residence. The dim light in the room illuminated the rainy night. There was someone at home.
Lu Li held up an umbrella and got out of the car, walked up the steps and knocked on the door.
A moment later, footsteps were heard from behind the door, and the cat's eyes dimmed for a moment, and then the door opened, revealing a haggard and frightened face.
"You... I thought you would come again tomorrow."
"Time is running out." Lu Li noticed that Mary was only wearing pajamas. Lu Li lowered his gaze to her face and gave a brief reply.
"Come in quickly."
Mary made way for Lu Li and Anna to enter the room.
She closed the door and asked with concern: "You guys... have you eaten? Do you want to eat something first?"
Anna, who was getting more and more anxious, opened her mouth slightly to say something, but suddenly stopped.
She remembered that Lu Li didn't eat anything along the way.
And because of the cold and the bumpy road, his face was always pale.
