"They have co again... Hide in the room and stay silent."
The old man whispered, clumsily and slowly returning downstairs, opening the silence-enshrouded wooden door.
Lu Li retreated silently, vaguely observing the hem of a black robe through the gaps in the floorboards.
Faint, intermittent voices ca from downstairs.
"Yes... It’s a young outsider... Who knows..."
Outside the door, a viscous presence spoke in long, hard-to-hear whispers.
The old man’s hunched figure: "I will convey it to the outsider."
The hem of the black robe left from outside the door, and the old man sighed, seemingly relieved, as he closed the wooden door.
"Are they here for ?"
A calm voice suddenly sounded behind him.
The old man turned to look at the outsider standing on the steps.
"Yes... Many townsfolk saw your arrival and inford the cult."
"The Daqi Esotericism?"
Lu Li spoke the na of the only church he had seen since arriving in the town.
Stains oozed from every corner of the room, the floorboards underfoot suddenly beca wet and sticky, and the view outside the window was replaced by deep, surging seawater. Lu Li gradually felt his body becoming damp and cold, with sothing spreading and growing on his scalp.
Snap—
The sound of a vase shattering suddenly arose, awakening Lu Li, who was falling into an abyss.
The sound ca from behind the half-closed door to the old man’s bedroom, where a vase lay shattered into pieces on the floor.
The room, which had flooded with seawater, returned to dryness and the pervasive scent of the elderly. A pale arm retracted behind the door.
The old man seed not to hear the vase breaking, surprised as he watched Lu Li, who had uttered that na: "Are you a Returnee? No... A Returnee wouldn’t be so ignorant... You’re like the first young noble to leave the manor, naively treating the outside world."
This description was not a complint but more like saying Lu Li was completely ignorant.
Lu Li was indeed lacking in common knowledge of the Weird Tis—searching for Anna left him no ti to understand this world deeply.
Returnee?
Lu Li temporarily ignored the spreading wetness on his head; the aning of the word prompted thoughts of Katerina.
"Is there anyone else here?" Lu Li suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
"Only myself."
Lu Li did not ask further because he saw that the once shattered vase behind the bedroom door now sat perfectly intact on the table.
"What does ’Returnee’ an?"
"I won’t tell you. If you still want to leave, don’t bring them up again."
"Why?"
The old man didn’t say, "Ignorance is bliss" or "Knowing is not a good thing," but simply and resolutely said, "I want to stay in this town."
This extinguished Lu Li’s idea of inquiring information from him.
"Then is there soone else who can tell ?"
The old man felt puzzled, "Child, why do you need to know this... Why are you here? What are you looking for?"
"I’m the one asking the questions."
The old man lacked the typical "Insmouth look," but that didn’t make him trustworthy.
Living in this small town and having nothing to do with the "Daqi Esotericism" that ruled it was nearly impossible.
"Alright... I can tell you where to get what you want. Can you answer now?"
"Where?"
"... The locals won’t tell you anything. Go find Zadok Allen, he’s like , you know what I an."
After a brief silence, the old man voluntarily gave Lu Li the answer. It’s not very safe outside, everyone is warily guarding against each other—he could imagine it.
"Strong liquor can loosen his tongue. This kind of liquor is only sold by the locals; they won’t sell it to you, but I happen to have a bottle."
"How much?"
"Free, outsider, now can you answer my question?" The old man now only hoped the man from outside would keep his word.
Despite many doubts about the old man’s trustworthiness, his credibility seed higher—
Believers’ thoughts are usually chaotic, not as coherent or ticulous, at least none of the believers Lu Li had encountered had such clarity of thought as this old man.
"I am an Exorcist."
"Exorcist? As far as I know, this group of things... had all died before they even appeared."
The old man couldn’t help but exclaim, startled by Lu Li’s identity, even glancing towards the door, worried that the light in the gaps would be obscured by a cloak of so skin-like material.
"For so reasons, I’m still alive..."
"So you ca here to..."
The old man dared not finish his sentence, but Lu Li could guess.
"I’m looking for soone. Her na is Katerina, brought here by... the Believers’ corruption."
"I don’t know, recently there’s only been you, the outsider." The old man replied.
"There have been others before?"
"Yes, those locals outside with blood... I won’t tell you." The old man, almost letting slip, quickly closed his mouth.
"Then do you know where those brought by the believers are kept?"
"I won’t say..." The old man slowly shook his head.
"Where is Zadok Allen?"
Convinced the old man wouldn’t divulge more, Lu Li readied himself to search for other clues.
"Around the slums at the northernmost part of the town, at this ti you can find him near the fire station, he’s always loitering there."
As he spoke, the old man moved behind the counter, trembling as he reached up for the liquor bottle on the shelf.
At this mont, Lu Li lowered his head and touched his scalp.
Slippery, cold scaly textures spread, it almost claid his entire head like the diterranean Sea. When Lu Li withdrew his hand, his palm and fingers were sticky with fallen black hair.
The old man’s warning ca too late; Lu Li had already peered into the port square, paying the price for his carelessness with the Weird Tis.
Just like Katerina, Midnight City, Giant Tree Academy, Vena Ice-Free Port, Mayor Matteus, Bishop Jone, and everyone said. Humans are terribly fragile, like freshly baked bread... Consumables, with a short shelf life, and also food.
"Homade strong liquor... Tastes almost as lousy as alcohol, but what can a drunkard splurge on?"
The finally retrieved liquor bottle was placed on the counter by the old man.
"Hmm... I’d like to ask another question, how is the situation outside—no, pretend I said nothing."
The old man displayed an ostrich-like ntality, just like Hades.
It was understandable.
They were unaware of the outside situation, worried they wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to leave once they knew.
Choices are always difficult, and when there’s only one path, people often stop resisting, no matter the outco, good or bad.
"Pretty bad."
Lu Li murmured, his black eyes low.
"Thank you for saying that." The old man indeed sighed in relief.
"Is there a hat here?" Lu Li calmly raised his face.
"A hat? Let see..."
The old man walked into the bedroom, soon returning with a black top hat.
"It’s clean, I haven’t used it in a long ti."
After Lu Li took and donned it, the old man couldn’t help but praise, "You look more like an Exorcist than I imagined; it’s also free, but be careful not to let the wind blow it away."
Lu Li nodded in acknowledgnt, moved towards the door, and reached for the doorknob.
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