Chapter 324 - 324 One hundred eighty-one

Words : 1334 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

324: One hundred eighty-one. The Departing Wraith 324: One hundred eighty-one. The Departing Wraith “Because you’re not human,” Lu Li replied. The voice, full of resentment, echoed around the alley: “I am human.” “You’re not.” At the edge of the alley, a pale face appeared under the dim yellow streetlight, covered in blood and grime, growling at Lu Li: “I am human!” There was no change in Lu Li’s tone: “You’re not.” After a brief silence, the face by the alley’s edge suddenly began to twist, turning from cocked to parallel—and then kept rotating. Soon, her jaw faced the sky while her head hung towards the ground. As it continued this horrifying rotation, it inquired, “How do you know I’m not human...” “Humans cannot survive in the darkness,” Lu Li replied. The rotation paused briefly for a few seconds and then continued, with the neck in the darkness twisting like a twisted rope, round after round: “If I’m not human, would you not save me...” “I would.” The head’s rotation paused yet again and then, like a wound-up spring, it continued, whispering as it had before: “Why won’t you save me...” Lu Li replied, “If you’re not human, you shouldn’t be restrained by a few men.” The woman’s eyes, which did not move with her rotating head, shifted and settled on Anna: “A fellow kind... Why are you with a human...” Anna was terrified, and worried her true nature would be revealed, she instinctively released her aura while stealing glances at Lu Li’s profile. Lu Li looked at the head at the entrance of the alley: “That’s none of your business.” “Damn clever human...” The rotating head, with its resentful gaze locked on Lu Li, retreated unwillingly back into the darkness of the alley. The dark alley was silent once more and, after a while, the malice pressing on Lu Li eased somewhat. The vengeful spirit was leaving this area. “It’s leaving,” Anna, who remained alert at his side, whispered. “Can we ambush it?” Lu Li asked her, turning his head. This vengeful spirit was a treasure trove. Understanding her could yield information, killing her could result in extra rewards, and it would strengthen the Spirit-Calling Gun. Anna shook her head gently: “It seems we’re not strong enough...” “Then forget it.” Lu Li quietly sensed the malice fading until it had completely dissipated, then pulled the reins again, bringing noise to the abandoned street. The carriage moved away, leaving the dark alley behind. The road under the tarpaulin and the streetlights were just as cold. ... “Where have you been?” After sending the carriage to the garage, Mary was awakened by the noise of Lu Li and Anna returning home. Or she had woken up when they left. “The manor,” Lu Li answered briefly. A glint of amusement flashed in Mary’s eyes as she looked at Anna: “Did you sneak back home to see it?” Unable to hide her emotions, Anna was quickly found out by Mary to be not the case, who expressed some confusion: “Or did you two discover something?” She thought of Lu Li’s identity. Before Mary could further speculate, Lu Li explained: “Sort of, we’re planning to take away Anna’s sister.” “Her sister... that tree?” “Yes.” “Of course you can, I happen to know a gardener. Anna, do you remember Old Henry? He used to work at the manor, but he retired after the plants stopped growing.” “Um... then we count on you, Aunt Mary.” Mary didn’t drag Anna along with her this time, but it still made Anna feel uneasy—watching herself and Lu Li return to their room. The oil lamp was placed on the table, and Anna diligently fetched a towel to wipe the fog off the glass cover. She watched as Lu Li took out two small wooden boxes from his pocket, opened them to inspect, and then tucked away the one containing eyeballs. The wooden box with decaying flesh was left by Lu Li on the desk, and the window was left open at the same time. There was not the slightest scent, only the mold spores growing on the rotting flesh were unpleasant to look at. “Won’t crows get sick from eating that?” Anna asked curiously. “Crows are scavengers.” “But wouldn’t they get sick from eating something moldy?” “Are you saying the things sold by traders make the black crows sick?” “Hmm... that’s also true.” Anna decided to give up on thinking it through. The minutes on the clock she brought with her ticked by, and time slipped away second by second. Three minutes later, a familiar fluttering sound came from outside the window. In the gap where the curtain was lifted by the wind, a crow folded its wings and landed on the windowsill. This black crow arrived quickly. Lu Li quietly watched Anna for a while, motionless. Fifteen minutes later, carried by the wind along with the sounds of flapping wings, another crow landed and hopped onto the desk. In the midst of Anna’s soft gasp, Lu Li opened the message cylinder tied to the black crow’s leg, only to find it empty inside. The crow that came later was attracted by the decaying flesh in the small wooden box. It hopped in front of the box and pecked at the rotting flesh with its sharp beak. “Some information, I need you to deliver to the local investigators’ base,” Lu Li said as he rose to close the window, tore off a blank page of the notebook, and jotted down everything about the encounter with “the cries for help in the alley.” Under normal circumstances, Anna might have eagerly fed the crow, but now she was entangled with something disquieting. She was eager to know the answer. Seemingly nonchalant, Anna casually asked, “The ritual for that resentful spirit seemed quite simple.” “Not necessarily,” Lu Li replied while still writing. Confused, Anna asked, “Didn’t you let it go quite easily? With just a few words...” “It left because of you.” “Because of me...” Panic struck Anna’s heart. “You sensed we were in the midst of the resentful spirit’s ritual, which reminded me,” Lu Li paused, finishing a line before continuing, “Otherwise, I might have chosen the wrong approach, like leaving or trying to help.” The outcome showed that either approach would have fallen into the trap of the resentful spirit’s ritual, and the ending wouldn’t have been good. Anna suddenly realized, no wonder Lu Li’s actions were different than usual—he had always been one to either leave or escape. “So we didn’t flee or assist, and that allowed us to pass its ritual in the end?” “Perhaps,” came the reply. Anna didn’t understand, how could there still be uncertainty? Lu Li answered, “Because I’m not sure if we truly passed the ritual, or if your presence stopped it from attacking.” Although a resentful spirit is much weaker than an evil spirit, the remnants of humanity that haven’t yet dissipated give it an element of unpredictability—put another way, a machine will operate according to instructions, but a person will not. “That sounds so unsolvable...” Anna muttered to herself. She couldn’t help but think about what an ordinary person would do in such a situation: unable to run, help, or do nothing... However... She couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at Lu Li, who seemed yet unaware that he was a resentful spirit himself. Anna breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the resentful spirit hadn’t revealed her own situation. On the other hand, having finished writing about tonight’s encounter, Lu Li thought for a moment and then added one more line at the bottom. “I hope the money for the decaying flesh to summon the black crows can be reimbursed.”

Chapter 324 - 324 One hundred eighty-one

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