Chapter 235 - 235 Ninety-two

Words : 1390 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

235: Ninety-two. Their Faith 235: Ninety-two. Their Faith “I’ve finished reading the books.” The next morning, Anna, groggy and bleary-eyed, floated towards the couch. The mold on the ceiling spread, turning into a dense, black mist. Lying on the couch, Lu Li’s gaze shifted from the ceiling to look at Anna. Even though it was just a normal-length popular novel, between two to three hundred pages thick, finishing three books in one night was still somewhat exaggerated, even if Anna had stayed up all night. “You finished them all?” “One of them wasn’t interesting, so I didn’t read it, eheh...” Anna scratched the back of her head, embarrassed. Lu Li had picked books with potential usefulness in mind, so two were storybooks, and the other was titled “Wildlife Observation Notes.” Such books with a professional slant naturally wouldn’t be liked by most people. Especially by a young girl. “Understood, I’ll go buy some later.” Lu Li looked away, the mold on the ceiling having disappeared. Anna, holding the last book with only about ten pages left unread, drifted towards the bedroom. “Don’t stay up too late reading next time.” A calm voice came from behind. “Eh?” Anna stopped in her tracks, her bright eyes widening as if she was seeing Lu Li for the first time. Is he concerned about me? This guy actually shows concern for others now... “Got it,” Anna replied crisply, returning to her room. Soon after, humming could be heard coming from the bedroom, the Ghost Girl seemingly in a pleasant mood. If she kept staying up late reading like this, all the shillings she earned would be spent on books. Thinking this, Lu Li, who had been awake for a while now, sat up and looked out at the gloomy sky. The rainy season this year was unusually dark; there were always a few sunny days in past years, but this year, the clouds never scattered. But compared to the plants that hadn’t yet grown, this didn’t seem like much. Lu Li turned his gaze away, rolled up his sleeves, and entered the kitchen, where the sounds of washing up soon emanated. After a bit, he emerged from the kitchen with small droplets of water clinging to the hair on his forehead. He picked up the kettle and a 1-shilling coin from the table and went to the water room at the end of the hallway to get hot water. There was a line at the water room, just two people. The first person was holding a wooden bucket, filling it from a large barrel like those used for wine. The second person had beside him ... a wooden bathtub, the large kind used for bathing, nearly blocking the hallway. With the rule that one shilling per tub, regardless of size, having a larger bucket to collect water was naturally better; it certainly couldn’t hold less than what the water meter pipes provided. The resident leaning against the bathing tub made way, politely letting Lu Li go first. Lu Li thanked him. After the first person filled his bucket, Lu Li got a pot of water, still hot from being boiled recently, and returned to the Detective Agency. Filling a cup with water, the steam rose, and Lu Li placed the kettle on the dining table, fastened the buttons at the cuffs of his shirt, picked up the black tie draped over the back of the couch, put it around his neck, and tucked it into his collar. “Are you going out?” Anne, hearing the movement, poked her head out from the bedroom. “Yes.” Having tied his tie, Lu Li walked over to the coat rack and took down his tweed overcoat. Buy books, breakfast, and see if there was any tea. Perhaps because of the low technology, the taste of drinking water without a modern filtration system was bad, and even after boiling, it had a slightly astringent taste. Lu Li needed tea leaves or something similar to mask this flavor. Of course, it’s possible that the water intended for the common folk simply didn’t need to be filtered as finely. Picking up the umbrella by the door, Lu Li straightened up and grabbed the doorknob. “Don’t forget to buy some meat to bring back.” The hand ready to exert force on the doorknob paused, “Do I still need to cook?” “Yeah, I’ll cook for you personally~” “...No need.” Anna’s voice quieted down significantly, she asked pitifully, “Is it because my cooking isn’t tasty...?” “Yes.” Anna clasped her hands together, pleadingly, “I will improve! Please give me another chance, I beg of you...” Lu Li didn’t say anything, he set down the umbrella and temporarily entered the kitchen. After looking around, Lu Li took away all the items that Anna could potentially use as ingredients. The bag of expired cane sugar, the laundry soap nuts, the rat poison in the corner, and a small clump of dirt on the windowsill. Under Anna’s puzzled gaze, Lu Li packed these items into a leather bag and took them away, then returned to the front door and pulled it open. Creak— The door opened, revealing a tall silhouette standing straight behind it. It was a figure taller than the doorframe, clad in a filthy coat, with an equally dirty scarf almost completely covering the face. This attire resembled that of homeless Scavengers who, in order to keep warm, would wear all the clothes they found, such as wearing several shirts or overcoats. However, the clothing on the figure, although dirty, did not have that unpleasant odor. “Merchant?” The mystery and appearance of the figure outside made Lu Li think of something. The Merchant appeared the day after Lu Li contacted the investigator, it’s possible they knew something. Perhaps there had been progress in joining the investigators? “What do you need?” a deep voice emanated from behind the scarf. Lu Li did not respond, instead, he stepped aside from the doorway, “Come in.” The doorstep is not the place for conversation. The Merchant bowed his head as he entered the Detective Agency, and Lu Li closed the door, using the opportunity to consider what he needed. Knowledge wasn’t very important to him at the moment, if he could join the investigators, he could acquire most of the knowledge internally. Meeting the gaze from behind the scarf, Lu Li spoke, “I need books on geography and history, the region is not important but preferably on the Ailen Peninsula, as well as four maps: the map of Belfast, the map of Ailen Peninsula, the partition map, and the world map.” The Merchant was brief in speech, “Official map or internal map?” “Is there a difference?” “The internal map includes more things.” “Understood, one of each then.” “Alright, the next Merchant will bring them.” “When roughly?” “After the next Merchant arrives.” “What kind of payment is required?” “Shillings, information, items, Homogeneous Items.” Anna, hiding in the bedroom peeking out, felt that their exchange was like watching two Lu Lis in conversation. The talk ended there, but as the mysteriously dressed Merchant prepared to leave, Lu Li suddenly asked, “How much for the Spirit-Calling Gun?” “500 shillings.” ... Half an hour later. Kneeling on a chair to water the potted plants on the windowsill, Anna saw a familiar figure pass by the window. Her world instantly brightened as she got up and floated to wait behind the door. Faintly, footsteps could be heard in the corridor outside, approaching from afar. Before the footsteps reached the door, the door was pulled open ahead of time. Lu Li entered the room, and Anna took two large leather paper bags from his hands, nodding towards the desk, “You’ve got mail, it was delivered a few minutes after you went out.” Love letters for today? Lu Li placed the umbrella by the door, shut it, and took off his coat, raising his hand to hang it on the rack. “Who’s the sender?” “Two people, um...” Anna tilted her head as she thought. “I think their names are Raimy and Jimmy.” Lu Li’s motion of raising his hand abruptly froze.

Chapter 235 - 235 Ninety-two

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