A plain carriage, devoid of any emblems or patterns, pulled to a stop before the gates.
The rain had temporarily ceased. Perhaps the weather in Belfast didn't reach Khimfast, a city one hundred and fifty miles away.
Beyond the ornate wrought-iron gates lay a weathered estate, stripped of its greenery. A drive wound from the entrance toward the main building, circling a dry fountain.
The drive was well-kept, and people could be seen coming and going from the estate and its main building from ti to ti.
This place was not abandoned.
"It's an academy now... The last ti I was here, everything was different," Anna said, her voice laced with a mixture of emotions.
Had she not died, she would now be around the sa age as these students.
"Where did you go last ti?" Lu Li asked.
"Ho, and then to my mother..."
Back then, after visiting her mother's grave, Anna had returned to the gallery in turmoil, shutting herself away for months before finally re-erging to et Lu Li.
The carriage, stopped at the estate gates, had drawn the attention of the watchman. An elderly man with a limp appeared at the entrance.
"Excuse , who are you here to see?"
Lu Li's attire and bearing prompted the old man to speak more courteously.
"I need to see the person in charge," Lu Li said, stepping out of the carriage and stopping at the gate.
A gust of wind stirred Lu Li's hair as the unseen Anna followed close behind him.
"Do you an Madam ry, the academy's director?"
"If she's in charge, then yes."
The old man hesitated for a mont before asking uncertainly, "Forgive , but you are...?"
His mory wasn't what it used to be, but he was certain he had never seen this man with black hair and black eyes before.
"An Investigator," Lu Li replied, revealing his badge, which depicted a three-eyed black crow.
Confusion flickered in the old man's eyes. He had never heard of Investigators. Perhaps so kind of governnt official?
"Please wait here. I'll inform Madam ry," the old man said and limped off toward the three-story building.
Lu Li didn't put away his badge, waiting by the gate. The old watchman might not have recognized the title, but the director surely would know of the status and emblem of an Investigator.
He didn't have to wait long. A woman in a long black dress erged from the building's entrance. Lifting the hem of her dress, she hurried around the fountain and approached the gate at a brisk pace. Her pleasant face was etched with concern.
"Good day, Mr. Investigator! Tell , have you discovered so kind of anomaly at the academy?" she asked, her voice filled with anxiety.
She definitely knew sothing.
"No. It's... complicated to explain," Lu Li said, glancing past Madam ry at the approaching watchman. "Let's speak sowhere more private."
The old man opened the gates, and Lu Li stepped onto the estate grounds. The invisible Anna followed him. Together with Madam ry, they started toward the main building.
The woman, who appeared to be in her forties, relaxed slightly, though a sense of tension still clung to her.
"We can talk in my office."
"That won't be necessary. Here is fine."
After walking about twenty yards, Lu Li turned back. The old man had already returned to his gatehouse.
"Anna, you can tell her," Lu Li said.
Madam ry looked startled and was about to ask a question when a translucent silhouette materialized beside Lu Li.
"Aunt ry..."
"My God, Anna, you... Wait..." Surprise, astonishnt, shock, and joy all swirled together within the older woman. She covered her mouth with her hand, unable to utter another word.
Lu Li turned abruptly and walked away, not wanting to intrude on the sentintal scene.
"Don't go too far," Anna's voice drifted after him.
"Alright."
Waiting until Lu Li was several yards away, Madam ry eagerly asked Anna:
"What is all this?"
...
About thirty yards away, Lu Li veered off the drive and onto a small path.
Like everywhere else, the plants on the estate had withered. The shrubs and grass blended into the barren earth, and the naked trees were without a single green leaf.
There was no sense of life on this estate.
Just like the rest of the world.
The estate was full of trees, and Lu Li couldn't tell which one was Anna's "sister." He watched silently for a mont when a lock of hair on his forehead stirred, though there was no wind.
Lu Li averted his gaze and walked back toward Anna and Madam ry.
"Anna said you've returned to retrieve her family's treasure," Madam ry said, looking at Lu Li with a degree of warmth.
The fact that Anna had told her about the treasure ant that he could be trusted.
At least, that's what Anna believed.
Lu Li nodded.
"Please, look for it, but try not to disturb the students."
"It's on the estate," Lu Li said, turning to Anna. "Can you find it?"
"I could never forget..." Anna whispered, her clear eyes fixed on a withered tree in the distance.
She stepped off the drive, her bare feet touching the dry grass.
Lu Li followed her. Madam ry remained on the path, watching them from a distance.
Anna drifted toward a withered elm growing in the garden. Its branches were thick and tangled, but not a single leaf clung to them.
Tracing a hand over the rough trunk, Anna circled the tree and then floated a few feet into the air. At that height, she saw a faint scratch on the bark.
"You've grown so much..."
Anna touched the scratch and whispered softly. She pressed her forehead to the mark for a few seconds before drifting back to the ground. "The treasure is here," she told Lu Li.
Without waiting for his reply, Anna, having recalled the spot, began to dig in the earth beside the elm, less than two feet away from its base.
An invisible spade turned the soil, flipping over dry grass and scattering clumps of earth. The hole grew steadily deeper.
About a foot and a half down, the soil suddenly felt soft, like freshly baked bread.
Anna paused and lifted out a soft, strange "stone."
Dirt crumbled away from the "stone," and as she pulled it free, its true shape was revealed: it was a filthy, earth-caked doll.
Anna pressed her lips together, set her forr best friend aside, and continued to dig. A few monts later, a small, palm-sized wooden box appeared at the bottom of the pit.
Anna knelt, retrieved the box, brushed the dust from its lid, and carefully opened it.
Inside, there was only a single, yellowed sheet of paper.
Forgotten mories flooded back to her. Anna rembered that this was where her mother had asked her to bury a letter—words addressed to the woman she would be in twenty years.
She unfolded the paper, revealing a child's handwriting:
[I hope everyone will love
and my paintings]
Below the words was a drawing of two figures, one large and one small, holding hands.
Anna stared silently at the drawing and the mories it stirred within her.
The clouds on the horizon were turning a bloody red. Behind her, Lu Li stood as still as a statue.
There was no treasure here.
There was only Madam Anlei's most precious treasure.
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