One hundred and forty-eight. But Mick went too far, Anna came to the detective agency after hearing
The smoke drifting out of the chimney blended into the blizzard night.
The fireplace buried in wet mud returned to silence.
"Don't light a fire, it will attract too much attention."
Lu Li was using wooden boards removed from wardrobes, tables and chairs to cover the windows as he conveyed Ophelia's reminder.
They are outsiders, or a group of humans. It is not wise to keep a high profile in a city occupied by weirdos.
"But the clothes and boots are soaked, and it would be even more troublesome to deal with the illness." Caterina looked at Ophelia: "It would be great if Ophelia would dry them."
"Only...Lu Li's...can." Ophelia was firm on this point.
Catalina looked at the busy Lu Li again: "Or ask Anthony to take away the wet clothes and dry them before bringing them back?"
"Businessmen are not servants who do these things."
Lu Li said, using a wooden board to block the view from the window.
"So not?"
"Can."
After blocking the last window in the living room, Lu Li blocked the stairs leading upstairs with the remaining furniture.
Of course they can't stop monsters, but they can give warning when monsters are approaching.
"...10 investigation points."
This seems to be the only way businessmen can express their protest.
"Take it from Lu Li." Catalina took off her coat and put her hands behind her back to take off her leather armor.
If a month ago someone had offered her 100 shillings to wash her clothes, she would have stuffed that person's mouth into his ass.
But things are different now. How could the only exorcist be short of money? What's more, Lu Li has wealth that cannot be matched by all mankind combined.
After all, Lu Li didn't ask the merchant to "dry a pile of wet clothes and bring them back" like a servant, he just asked him to bring a few new clothes.
The businessman walked towards the door, and Lu Li picked up the oil lamp and followed behind.
"Where are you going?" Katerina asked.
"See if the footprints have disappeared."
The turbulent wind and snow pushed the wooden door and poured into the living room through the open gap. It seemed that even the light of the oil lamp and fluorite became dim.
A blizzard ravaged the streets, snow piled up in the corners, and the traces of the group had long since disappeared.
Waiting for the merchant Anthony to go out, Lu Li closed the wooden door and hung the latch. A few minutes later, the merchant Anthony came back and opened the door for him.
"Lu Li, help me take off my skin armor." Catalina said.
Her left hand was twisted and it was difficult to reach the joint of the leather armor.
Heat waves came from behind, and Ophelia came over to help her untie her leather armor.
"Thank you."
After calmly taking off the last layer of underwear, Catalina wiped her body with a blanket, carefully crossed her eyes over her belly, and put on dry clothes.
"What is that?" Ophelia asked, looking at the eyes that pierced the skin.
"My pollution." Catalina put on clothes to cover up the distortion.
Without a fireplace, food could not be cooked, so the cans could only be heated by placing them next to Ophelia.
On a snowy night with a howling blizzard, everyone fell asleep again after dinner, leaving behind Ophelia and a book brought back by the merchant Anthony from the ice-free port of Vina.
Books are one of the few psychological comforts for the resentful souls who do not need to rest or eat.
Perhaps what kept her from being polluted by the outside world and turning into an evil spirit was not only sealing herself off, but also the collection of books.
Katarina and Pusius didn't sleep well. In addition to the hypothermia caused by long-term hypothermia, the blizzard blowing fiercely outside the Danger House in Ryalstan City made it difficult to sleep well.
The tiles and wooden boards slapped against the wall, like an uninvited guest knocking on the door. The half-sleep lasted for several hours, and Caterina fell asleep late at night, while Pusius woke up and ran to Ophelia's side to talk to him.
Read a book together.
…
call
In the early morning, Catalina slowly woke up.
When I opened my eyes, there was a faint light shining through the boarded-up windows, and it was already dawn.
Pusius fell asleep lying next to the oil lamp, and Lu Li was buttoning up his shirt sleeves. Everything was peaceful.
Catalina was happy to still see the early morning light and her companions.
Woo...
Pusius's sobs suddenly called her attention.
Pusius, who was lying on his side, was full of anxiety and fear, waving his limbs as if running away from something.
Ophelia slapped him awake, and Psius gasped in shock.
"Are you having nightmares again?" Katerina sat up and put on the slipping blanket.
"Um……"
Pusius's wet hair was sweating a lot.
Lu Li asked and looked at Ophelia.
"Didn't... pester him," Ophelia replied.
"I'm fine...Mr. Lu Li." Pusius got up weakly and turned his head to shake his hair.
Looking away from Psius, the merchant Anthony took out the can and gave it to Ophelia to prepare dinner.
A biting cold wind blew outside the window, and the snowstorm was still raging across the land, but it was no longer as terrifying as last night.
Waiting for the time for Ophelia's can to heat up, they quietly listened to Lu Li arrange his next plan.
The forts built by previous generations around the excavations have not been discovered, meaning they had difficulty reaching them. And gray fog may have filled the entire excavation.
This means that no matter what, they must step into the gray fog and contact the existence in the gray fog, as well as the lord named Socrates.
If the lord has not been replaced yet.
"Wait until before the gray fog."
Lu Li paused briefly and looked around everyone with his calm black eyes: "I will enter the gray fog, you stay outside."
"No... don't think about it." Catalina shook her head.
"You and I...go in," Ophelia said.
"The rank of lord will not be lower than that of the evil god." Lu Li replied.
Catalina's resistance was more intense than she imagined: "Maybe we are not as smart as you and not as sober as you, but don't underestimate our experience in survival."
No one backed down at this point.
After everyone finished breakfast, they put on their bulky clothes and cloaks and left the hut.
The city of Ryalstan gradually disappeared into the wind and snow behind it, perhaps because the destination was just ahead, perhaps because there was no longer a headwind, or perhaps it had nothing to do with them and it was because the gray fog was spreading outwards.
The snowstorm gradually weakened in the afternoon, and the small people in the white land were able to see the dividing line between white and gray in the hazy distance.
Pause briefly in front of the strange and pervasive gray fog, and then step into it.
That's why they came here.
The howling snowstorm outside moved away as we stepped into the gray fog.
"Let's stay close and don't get separated."
Pusius's low voice stopped abruptly, and he turned his head in panic, but there was only gray mist surging around him...
…
Lu Li looked calmly into the depths of the gray mist.
He felt that something was waiting for him deep in the gray mist.
Maybe someone else is going through the same thing?
Stepping on the gravel, Lu Li walked towards the depths of this desolate excavation site filled with gray mist.
Broken stones, broken iron picks, they lie across the only road in Luli, and gradually become complete. Complete stones, intact iron picks, vague outlines of stone statues, and iron picks piled next to them
At the end of the road, a stone head sculpture as tall as a person stands quietly.
"A lost man looking for answers..."
The whispers of the stone statues echoed around.
"What's confusing you...?"
"I'm looking for someone, her name is Anna." Lu Li felt the stone statue looking at him. Its hair was connected to its beard, like tentacles piled on its lower jaw.
"Why……"
The whispers surrounding the gray mist were filled with doubts.
