Chapter 179 - 179 Thirty-six

Words : 1390 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

179: Thirty-six. On the Road 179: Thirty-six. On the Road The horseshoe tread across the morning cobblestone path shimmering with dew, mixing with the puddles it splashed. The shops on both sides of the street opened their wooden doors, spreading the sweet smell of baking bread throughout the street. Men prepared for work early stood in front of their doors, wiping their bodies with the rainwater collected in buckets. This somewhat dispelled the chilliness of the gloomy, cold weather. The carriage briefly stopped at Mrs. Phelin’s bakery, where Lu Li alighted to buy five pounds of bread. While the clerk was busy packing the freshly baked bread, he left the bakery and walked toward the nearby newsstand. The newsstand cart had just set up its stand, with a tarpaulin covering the newspapers, not yet removed. “Please give me today’s newspaper. There might be no one at the Detective Agency these days, you can just slip the newspaper through the door gap.” Thanks to his unique black hair and black pupils, most people who had seen Lu Li found it hard not to be impressed by him. The elderly man managing the newsstand took off his hat to greet Lu Li, and while turning to lift the tarpaulin to get the newspapers Lu Li needed, asked, “Are you planning to travel?” “Hmm.” The old man pulled out a brand-new newspaper from the stack, turned around, and handed it to Lu Li with a strong scent of ink, “Enjoy your trip.” “Thank you.” Lu Li took the newspaper, returned to the bakery, and got back on the carriage with a full leather sack of bread. “So much...” Anna craned her neck to look. “We need to eat for a day, and just in case there are any changes in Shadow Town.” Such as the food there not suiting our taste. He placed the leather sack at the edge of the carriage and sat down at the edge, pulling the reins, and the obedient horse slowly moved forward. Clop clop clop clop— Amid the crisp sound of horseshoes and the slight sway of the carriage, Lu Li placed the oil lamp beside him and opened the newspaper tinged with the scent of ink. [The Kodasselson (Immortal Giant) set sail from Hasko Port in the Lennon Islands yesterday morning] Beneath the headline was a low-quality black and white photograph of a steamship resembling the Titanic leaving the port with colorful flags hanging and families gathered before the railings, waving at the cruiser. The bottom part of the newspaper included a line of text: “—dubbed the steel beast that never sinks.” It seemed that giant ships that were named and called such usually didn’t end well. Lu Li thought about this as he briefly finished reading the news that took up half of the front page and looked at the second item. [The case of Baron Joseph has entered the evidence presentation stage] [Our reporter learned from Watch Town Police Station that both the plaintiff and the defendant have entered the evidence presentation stage. Baron Joseph’s hired attorney is Sauron, a well-known attorney from Watch Town——] The two names appearing were somewhat familiar to Lu Li. The third piece of news was still about Baron Joseph. [Baron Joseph’s new prey? Witnesses saw Baron Joseph leaving the home of a mysterious man——] [Two days ago, Baron Joseph disguised himself and went to a Detective Agency in Sailor District to meet someone privately. It is understood that the detective at this agency is a man of mysterious identity, and as the witnesses mentioned, Baron Joseph stayed at the mysterious man’s home for several minutes before leaving...] What Lu Li did not expect was that his first public exposure would happen in such a manner. Fortunately, other than those who knew Lu Li, no one else knew who the person mentioned in the newspaper was. Looking at the second edition, Lu Li knew why Baron Joseph was featured in two pieces of news in the first edition—nothing had happened yesterday. The following three editions were all filled with trivial everyday affairs. For example, a wealthy man being robbed on the street, a painter criticizing other painters’ work as nothing but a pile of dog crap, and the body of a homeless man found on the street with no injuries, his face wearing a smile, the police deduced that this homeless man died after falling into darkness. This was not uncommon in Belfast, there were always those with great courage, unconventional thinkers, friends making bets, drunkards, homeless people, and extremely stingy individuals who died after falling into darkness. What was different, though—most people who fell into darkness usually disappeared, instead of leaving a body behind. Closing the newspaper and setting it aside, Lu Li looked at the horses advancing up the sloped street and turned to ask, “Do you know Shadow Town?” “No.” The conversation ended. As the day approached full brightness, the carriage left the Belfast area and began heading northwards where the terrain was gentler. They passed through a birch forest, which would normally be vibrant with green, but now it was a desolate and grey silence without the sign of insects or birds. May was about to end. In past years, the backside of the Sugard Mountain would have been verdant with plants and farmland, but as of now, most plants had yet to even sprout. It wasn’t just the Sugard Mountain, it seemed that the entire continent had fallen into a state where no plants were growing, not even the most fertile lands in the north showed signs of greenery. Perhaps only inside the nobles’ estates would one see expensively cultivated plants and flowers still blooming. The ugly barren terrain was uneven, and by the roadside, already plowed and sown fields were showing no signs of sprouts. The Ailen Peninsula would normally enter autumn by late September. Time was running out. If the plants continued not to grow, and no solution was found, this disaster would unfold into a situation far more terrifying than any night plague. As Hades had pessimistically put it before, this world was withering away. The sky was fully bright now, yet it remained dim and overcast, and it began to rain. Perhaps over Shadow Town, the Blood-Colored Tentacles in the skies had gradually become blurred, adding a layer of unreality amid the mist-like drizzle. Lu Li climbed back into the carriage, lifted the curtain, and steered the carriage toward the correct path. Anna sat with Lu Li for a while, then due to the boredom and the many passing carriages on the road, she retreated back into the carriage to read a book. “Too dark is bad for your eyes.” Just as she picked up a book fastened to the floor, Lu Li’s voice emerged from the front, and he passed the oil lamp into the carriage, its dim yellow light dispelling the gloom. “Oh.” Anna instinctively caught the oil lamp. Her palm passed through the handle and Lu Li’s fingers before she realized, and she switched to using telekinesis to take the oil lamp, placing it aside. Thinking about what Lu Li had asked earlier, Anna hesitated, “I do know a bit about Shadow Swamp...” “Like what?” asked Lu Li from under the carriage curtain without turning back. “Like its length and the species that live in it...” Anna’s voice faded, realizing that what she knew from textbooks might not be very useful. Lu Li didn’t speak again, and silence fell inside and outside the carriage. Anna felt awkward for a while, gradually getting drawn into the content of the book. Occasionally, she would look up at Lu Li’s back in front of her, then continue reading. The roads slowly became smoother, and they had completely left the Sugard Mountain area. The air was no longer filled with the smell of seafood, but the scenery remained unchanged: barren and grey. The carriage jostled for an entire day, and by evening, they finally saw a group of low buildings situated on the plains at the end of their view. Looking higher, those incredibly unreal Blood-Colored Tentacles within the deep clouds seemed to become more real, swaying slowly like aquatic plants behind Shadow Town.

Chapter 179 - 179 Thirty-six

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