If possible, Lu Li preferred to settle things quickly.
However, he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure if the statue was a ghost or something else entirely. Using the Spirit Gun came with significant side effects—it was like an irreversible progress bar. Every moment spent holding it pushed the bar forward one notch.
Overusing it would drag Lu Li closer to that realm of malevolent spirits.
So, as Hades had advised, he chose to “talk” with the ghosts. As long as the ghosts didn’t display hostility, Lu Li wouldn’t make the first move either.
Knock, knock, knock—
Knock, knock, knock!
Suddenly, a rapid and forceful knocking echoed from the entrance.
Seated behind the desk, Lu Li glanced sideways, listening quietly.
Knock, knock, knock—
Knock, knock, knock!The knocking echoed down the vast and silent gallery hallway.
“Who is it?” Lu Li asked toward the door, his tone casual, as if addressing a neighbor.
He waited for a long moment, but no reply came from outside.
In the following silence, an eerie tension began to grow.
Lu Li scanned his surroundings, confirming that nothing unusual had appeared, then stepped toward the door.
Knock, knock, knock—
Knock, knock, knock!
The door began to shake again, visibly trembling and shedding dust.
As soon as the knocking ceased, Lu Li reached the door. He placed his hand on the knob and pulled it open—
With the barrier removed, the light from the oil lamp on the desk spilled out into the dimness, illuminating a figure standing at the threshold.
The statue had returned—or perhaps it had never left. One of its arms was raised mid-knock, frozen in place.
Lu Li remained silent for a few seconds, then stepped aside to clear a path.
The statue didn’t move.
He remembered that it couldn’t move while being watched. So, he picked up the statue from outside and carried it back into the gallery, shutting the door behind him.
In the brief moment before the door closed, Lu Li noticed something outside—a vague presence seemed to stir in the gray, murky fog that blanketed the street.
Perhaps that was the reason for Belfast’s infamous rule to stay in the light after dark?
Bang.
With the door closed, the outside world was sealed away, and tranquility reclaimed the space around him.
Lu Li walked past the statue, which had shifted slightly when he wasn’t looking, and picked up the oil lamp. He then headed deeper into the gallery.
He now intended to investigate the second floor of the building.
The paintings hanging on the walls were mostly portraits, each exuding an uncanny aura. As Lu Li passed with the oil lamp, the eyes in the paintings seemed to follow him, only to revert to lifeless stillness whenever his gaze landed on them. ṙάŊο𐌱ĘS̈
The statue trailed behind him, keeping a subtle distance.
The constant sound of shuffling movements behind him made the journey feel a little less lonely.
Passing the empty pedestal where the statue had originally stood and walking by the still-unchanged painting of the girl, Lu Li reached the end of the hallway, where a staircase appeared before him.
The staircase ascended for a short distance before turning at a corner six meters ahead, then continuing upward.
Notably, directly facing the staircase was a large portrait of a medieval figure from Europe.
Lu Li stepped onto the stairs, inevitably drawing closer to the portrait. It was larger than he had expected, depicting a half-length figure in period clothing, with proportions matching those of a real person. Up close, the unsettling details of the painting became even more apparent.
The figure wasn’t mentioned in the letter as one of the paranormal phenomena, so Lu Li paid it little mind and turned to ascend the stairs.
Behind him, in the sudden darkness, the eyes within the painting slowly turned to follow him.
Tap—tap—
The sounds of his footsteps echoed through the empty, desolate hallway, fading into the darkness.
Dust particles floated in the glow of the oil lamp, swirling into tiny whirls as Lu Li passed through.
He casually opened the door closest to the stairs, stepping into what appeared to be an office. The arrangement led Lu Li to realize it was Benjamin’s personal space.
Unless Benjamin had unwavering trust in his employees, this likely meant the office contained no money or valuables.
Lu Li entered the office and closed the door behind him, though he chose not to lock it.
His gaze swept over the bookshelves before he approached the desk, picking up a staff ledger lying casually on its surface.
The ledger listed all current and past employees of the gallery:
Athena Leslie
Clare Joyce
Vera Griffin
Daphne Garcia
Smith Duncan
Chaplin George
James Campbell
Dewey Raphael
Powell Taylor
Edith Bell
Joan Joyce
Leona Murphy
The names of the two female employees who had become ghosts were likely among them.
Creak—
A faint sound of the door opening reached Lu Li’s ears. He looked up to see a familiar figure in the doorway.
The statue, which had been trailing behind him, had caught up.
Choosing to ignore it for now, Lu Li flipped to the last page of the ledger, memorizing the dozens of names before placing the book back on the desk. He picked up another book to browse.
This one recorded the gallery’s daily visitor numbers, which fluctuated between a few dozen and a hundred each day.
After a moment of quiet reading, Lu Li suddenly recalled something and looked up.
The statue had stepped inside the room.
Retracting his gaze, Lu Li sat down at the desk, holding the ledger as he resumed reading.
A few seconds later, the ledger slipped from his hands, revealing his deep, dark eyes.
The corner of his gaze caught the statue, now closer than it had been before, though still motionless.
After skimming through a few more books on the desk and confirming that there were no useful clues, Lu Li returned to the door, unlocking it as he left.
The office door closed slowly behind him.
Click.
The subtle sound of the door locking from the inside echoed faintly.
Lu Li stepped away and turned toward the hallway to explore other rooms.
Tap—tap—
His footsteps echoed down the empty corridor.
Tap—tap—click—tap—
A barely perceptible sound mixed with his footsteps.
Lu Li paused, turning toward the source of the noise.
Not far from the office, the door was slightly ajar. From behind it, a rigid, expressionless face peeked out, staring at him with an eerie calm.
Dong—dong—dong—
Somewhere, a distant clock began to chime, piercing the stillness of the night.
Lu Li stopped mid-step, his gaze shifting to a window on the opposite side of the hallway. His eyes narrowed slightly.
The street stretched toward the coastline, where a crescent-shaped bay met the sea. At the far end of the bay, a lighthouse surrounded by rocky outcrops emitted a clear beam of light, scanning the open waters.
In that moment, an almost tangible darkness seemed to surge from the depths of the ocean, spreading toward the harbor.
The clock chimed five times before falling silent, though its resonance lingered, manifesting in the surrounding environment.
The lights within nearby homes grew brighter, as if the residents had added more sources of illumination. Faint screams and cries could be heard in the distance.
Sensing that something was amiss, Lu Li halted his exploration and retreated to the office.
Carrying the statue blocking the doorway inside, Lu Li followed and locked the door behind him.
He lit the wall-mounted candelabra and the oil lamp on the desk. The additional sources of light banished the room’s dimness, filling it with a brightness that instilled a sense of safety.
Sitting at the desk, Lu Li silently waited for the indescribable, incomprehensible darkness from the deep sea to reach the gallery.
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