Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 65 It’s all here
"There's really no one here."

Katie leaned closer, looking curiously at the empty coffin, her face full of confusion.

"Could it really have crawled out of a coffin?"

"I don't think so."

Anthony shook his head, struck a flamboyant pose, and took a drag of his cigarette.

"The coffin is buried in the ground and covered with such a thick layer of soil. I don't think it's possible for anyone to climb out of it."

"Do you think it's any use?"

Henry glared fiercely at Anthony.

"How about I stuff you in there, then bury you, and see if you can climb out?"

"Then I really can't climb out."

Anthony promptly backed down without any hesitation.

"If you ask me, I think they would have buried their ancestors and then run away."

"Huh? But what about the burial? People can't just bury an empty coffin, can they?"

Katie raised her question, noting that according to funeral customs, everyone should see the deceased one last time at the burial and offer flowers.

“Inspector Lestrade said that many people watched his burial, so there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Li Wei glanced around and answered Katie's question.

"So this person just vanished from the coffin into thin air? Like magic?"

"I think this is almost like performing magic."

Li Wei also leaned over and carefully examined the entire coffin... Well, he found nothing, not a single trace, as if the body had truly vanished into thin air.

Perhaps they really have simply vanished into thin air.

"The body is at the police station now, right?"

Anthony looked at Levi curiously and asked.

"According to your theory, could this guy's resurrection be related to the rumors surrounding him? The immortal Alexander?"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. If everyone thinks you won't die, then you won't die."

Henry scoffed at this.

"Besides, so many people watched his burial, how could they still think he wouldn't die?"

"Because humans crave excitement."

Li Wei looked at the empty coffin and sighed silently.

"Look, this person survived being struck by lightning and being swept into the sea, but then died of illness. Do you think that's a good story?"

"Indeed, as an ending, it's not very appealing."

Anthony nodded.

"That's right. I suspect that Alexander is the same, and... I suspect he may not have been resurrected voluntarily."

As Livy spoke, he recalled how Alexander was terrified when he died, even crying out, "Please, I don't want to die!" So, to whom was Alexander pleading for help?

Based on the clues provided by the couple, Alexander had approached them, claiming to be a distant relative of the Lancaster family and inviting them to inherit the property. Considering what happened afterward, it's highly likely that one of the couple was indeed a distant relative of the Lancaster family, and that their little daughter became the sacrifice to awaken the Ghost Knight.

As things stand, Alexander's actions were not of his own volition. In other words, Alexander was merely a pawn manipulated by someone else.

As for who this person is... Li Wei also has suspects.

It was the mysterious person X who killed Mrs. Durex.

Since the other party was able to kill Mrs. Durex through a curse from afar using a mirror, it's not entirely impossible that they could use Alexander's rumors to bring her back to life and use her as their subordinate.

However, these are all just guesses, not even deductions; anyone could have guessed them. The problem now is that we still can't find the mysterious person X, which is a bit of a hassle.

"Alexander's body is at the police station, right?"

Anthony asked curiously.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Cremate him directly."

Li Wei offered his opinion without hesitation: the people of the empire at that time were somewhat averse to cremation, believing it to be a way of dealing with evil beings such as cultists, heretics, witches, and sorcerers. A decent, good person, a kind believer, should be laid to rest in the earth.

In other words, the people Li Wei encountered were not good people, which is why there was no pressure regarding cremation.

Of course, for someone like Alexander who was already dead, cremation was even less of a concern.

"What if he crawls out after we cremate him?"

Anthony's mind clearly has its own unique thought process.

"Will it turn into a gray, shadowy figure? Or something else entirely?"

"He'd better not come out at all."

Li Wei gave a casual reply and waved his hand.

"Fill it up, there's nothing left here."

"…………………" Henry remained silent for a moment, then silently closed the coffin and filled the hole. Anthony stood beside him with a grin, watching him fill the hole. Henry then raised his head and glared fiercely at Anthony.

"If you keep looking, do you believe I'll put you in too?"

"I'd rather not take this; I can't stand the underground environment."

Anthony waved his hand, then stood up and walked over to Levi.

"So, our next focus in the investigation will be the church?"

"Do you have an idea?"

Li Wei looked at Anthony curiously, while the latter nodded shamelessly.

"Of course, it's actually very simple. We don't know what they're doing, so we can just sneak into the church and look for clues. If we can find any evidence, wouldn't that be better than us running here in the middle of the night to dig up graves? Anyway, we don't need to use that evidence to take them to court, right?"

"It seems that this is the only way now."

Li Wei nodded. From what he could see, almost every case, from the socialite assassin case to now, was inextricably linked to the Holy Lord Church. Not to mention the ruins and temples he had discovered, all bearing the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye. Even if you said there was no connection, Li Wei wouldn't believe it.

"So, since we're already here..."

Anthony gestured to Levi, pointing to the dark church not far away.

"Why don't we go inside and take a look?"

"Alright."

Li Wei glanced at his watch; there was still a long time until dawn. Since the church was currently the problem, they would start their investigation there. Besides, he had already checked with his puppet bird; the church was currently empty. Li Wei had originally considered investigating the church, and now that Anthony had brought it up, Li Wei naturally wouldn't object.

Li Wei agreed, and Katie naturally didn't object. The young lady seemed full of energy, as if it were her first time staying up all night at an internet cafe. Henry, as a soldier, was naturally skilled at similar nighttime operations. Soon, the four of them arrived at the church entrance like thieves, and—of course, the door was locked.

"let me."

Perhaps because he hadn't shown much interest in the haunted house, Anthony was quite proactive this time. He walked to the church entrance, took something out of his hand, and then, like a lock-picking thief on TV, scratched at the lock a few times. With a "click," the door opened.

It felt faster than opening the door with a key.

Anthony turned around and saw Katie staring at him with wide, curious eyes.

"Hahaha, just some little tricks, nothing serious."

Anthony just chuckled at Katie and then pushed open the door. Katie simply blinked, then looked at him and asked a question.

"You broke into the church, won't the Holy Lord punish you?"

"Uh... I don't think so."

Anthony's smile froze, and he hurriedly spoke.

"Besides, this is just a belief, it's not like... right? Otherwise, if the church were really doing something like subverting the empire, why would the Holy Lord sit idly by?"

"oh……………"

Katie nodded without saying anything more, while Levi seemed to be deep in thought.

Will the Holy Lord really intervene?
It's important to understand that the cases Li Wei encountered previously all involved rumors influencing reality, albeit on a small scale. But if we're talking about the largest-scale rumors in the world, isn't it religion?

The faith of tens of millions, or even more, people, surely cannot unite to form a holy leader.
If that's the case, then the church's actions might very well be orders from the Holy Lord himself... and the reason why Mrs. Durex and the others were willing to do these things might be a manifestation of the Holy Lord—well, let's not think too much about it now. In short, let's investigate the church itself first.

Li Wei shook his head at this thought. If that's the case, the story of Emperor Arthur is much broader, and there's no Emperor Arthur himself popping up anywhere.

Or is there some kind of pattern that I haven't discovered yet?
Li Wei did not tell anyone his guess. He was a modern young man who had received a modern materialist education and read online novels. The idea that gods were just beings in a higher dimension or species stronger than humans was already deeply ingrained common sense. Therefore, he did not have much awe for gods.

But people in this era are different; they are still very devout. If they knew that the church's troubles were ordered by the Holy Lord, they would probably think very differently.

Besides, this is just speculation, and there's no evidence.

Moreover, if the Holy Lord truly exists, with his abilities, he could simply strike Her Majesty the Queen with lightning in any public place; why go through all this trouble?

As he entered the church, Li Wei subconsciously looked up and glanced at the All-Knowing Eye.

Then, his eyes widened suddenly!
At the location of the All-Seeing Eye, a woman draped in a long black robe floated, her eyes glowing like LED bulbs. Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down, blending into the surrounding shadows, with specks of dandruff shimmering within—cough, no, starlight…

"…………………"

The woman stared quietly at Li Wei, then stretched out her hand and pointed to the ground.

"Detective?"

Katie's voice came from the side, which brought Levi back to his senses. He looked at the All-Knowing Eye and found that it was now empty, with nothing there.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at that spot?"

Katie looked at Levi, then at the All-Seeing Eye symbol hanging on the church wall, her face full of confusion.

"I just wanted to see if I could find any clues."

Li Wei's expression didn't change much, but he was already starting to think.

"Mr. Anthony and the others are planning to go up to the bishop's quarters. Where should we go?"

"Um……………"

Levi glanced at Anthony, Henry, and Katie beside him and thought for a moment.

"Let's go take a look at the underground cemetery."

(End of this chapter)