Exorcist’s Self-Cultivation

June 4th, 5 A.M.

Dawn was breaking, and the rain had lessened.

Eight vehicles slowly drove into Esselgreen, stopping in front of an old house.

The lead car’s door opened.

Du Wei and the others stepped out one after another.

By this time, the two bishops had already dispelled their doubts about Du Wei, and their attitude towards him had also visibly changed.

After all… he was a newly minted hunter.

Slivka looked at Du Wei’s pale, composed face and took the initiative, saying, “Honestly, the fact that you killed a monster like Mary Shaw and still haven’t rested, yet your energy remains so abundant, your willpower is admirable.”

Jon, standing by, nodded in agreement.

Though he was a man of few words, he was well-informed about Du Wei; it was quite rare for an outstanding exorcist, who had suddenly become a hunter, not to have his will corrupted.

One must know.

Many exorcists with firm resolve would face self-denial and mental collapse after becoming hunters.

Du Wei, upon hearing Slivka’s words, responded somewhat indifferently, “I’m already accustomed to this pace of life.”

His tone and behavior were very much in keeping with the identity of a new hunter.

Both solitary and somewhat aloof.

Naturally, Slivka and Jon didn’t see anything wrong with this. They sighed and exchanged looks.

Then, with some hesitation, Jon said, “I have already conveyed your situation to the church. They should respond soon, and I think it should be good for you.”

After all, in everyone’s eyes, Du Wei was an outstanding exorcist, enjoying the church’s benefits and bearing the appropriate responsibilities.

If not for the Evil Spirit incident in Yard City being assigned to him, he would never have become a hunter, entangled in the deadlock of Evil Spirit Transformation.

In a sense, the church owed Du Wei.

Moreover, that man’s girlfriend… was quite significant.

After listening to Jon, Du Wei just nodded, not speaking, his gaze somewhat dim.

Seeing this, Slivka quickly changed the subject and, pointing to the house, said, “We have mostly dealt with the situation in Esselgreen, but the biggest trouble lies within this house.”

Du Wei, curious, asked, “Please explain.”

Concise and to the point.

Slivka hurriedly explained, “Here’s the thing, your police friend’s neighbor—that’s Joanna—was actually marked by a Cultist from the Veda Sect even before she was born.”

"A Hexagram birthmark represents a certain ritual, and there were many other children just like her.”

"These children were all born at Maria Maternity Hospital at the same time, just before a fire broke out.”

"Marked newborns were taken away, while the ordinary infants died in the fire.”

"After that, the Veda Sect people sent the marked newborns to families plagued by evil spirits to delay the evil spirits’ actions, but this was done with malicious intent.”

"When Joanna dies, she will start to undergo Evil Spirit Transformation, and it seems the Veda Sect people could influence her.”

"And those families that had been safe for over twenty years would once again be targeted by evil spirits, and the spirits’ vengeance is very thorough—it will commence a slaughter.”

As he said this,

Slivka sighed, “The church has already collaborated with the authorities to search for those who have been marked. However, we haven’t found any useful information yet. As for this house, it belonged to Joanna’s parents.”

"After Joanna’s death, they were also killed by the Evil Spirit.”

"We have dealt with that specter, but we found something in the house that shouldn’t exist.”

Upon hearing this,

Du Wei frowned and said, “If that’s the case, why not just burn this house down with Bone Powder?”

Slivka gave a bitter smile, “We’ve tried, but nothing worked. Anyway, you’ll understand once you’re inside, that thing is quite bizarre.”

As he spoke, Slivka gestured to the other Exorcists to stay put outside.

Seeing this, Du Wei became even more curious.

Jon timely explained, “The object is safe for now, and we have taken some containment measures. Too many people going in could actually be detrimental.”

Following that, Slivka added, “So don’t do anything, just stand by and watch. Of course, I’ll include your name in the report.”

Du Wei managed a forced smile, “Does that even mean anything to me anymore?”

The conversation suddenly took on a heavier tone.

He was still acting…

However, neither Slivka nor Jon noticed any flaws in his performance. For a psychologist, or for someone like Du Wei, pretending was as simple as eating and drinking.

Slivka said gravely, “Let’s go, stop thinking about those things.”

As he said this, he hesitated, then reached out to pat Du Wei on the shoulder.

"Hunters are a despairing group, but I don’t think that will affect your relationship with Father Tony and the others.”

Then, he took the lead towards the door of the old house, pushing it open and walking in.

Upon seeing this, Du Wei’s dim eyes firmed up quite a bit as he quickly followed suit.

Jon, who had been watching him closely, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Du Wei with much softer eyes.

…

Inside the house.

Since it was still early morning and there was a light rain, the interior lighting was very dim.

With a click,

Slivka turned on the light switch.

Instantly, the room brightened considerably.

At that moment,

Du Wei’s pupils suddenly contracted as his gaze came to rest on some photos hung on the wall.

There were many photos, but Joanna was the main subject. Apart from three family portraits from different periods, there were various photos of Joanna from childhood to adulthood.

Yet, what caught Du Wei’s attention was a group photo of Joanna when she was about fifteen or sixteen years old with her classmates.

In that photo, Joanna and another girl of the same age were both wearing school uniforms, both smiling. Even though the photo had yellowed with age, the vibrancy of youth could still be seen.

However,

The girl in the photo with Joanna seemed very familiar to Du Wei.

Because she was the Evil Spirit high-school girl with the Black Umbrella on the bus.

Or rather, the girl before she had become the Evil Spirit.

In Massas City, the high-school girl with the Black Umbrella had once played the role of the leader of the Evil Spirit Squad.

Back then, Du Wei was cornered into a dead end by the terrifying and endlessly extending highway. He used the Joker Card, which represented the gamble, to win over the identity of the adversary’s leader.

With that, he drew the Evil Spirit Squad and the highway into the middle of the streets, dug a large hole, and trapped all those Evil Spirits in it.

Phew…

Du Wei took a deep breath, diverting his gaze from the photo, but his mind began to swell with intense doubt and wariness.

The photo must have been taken more than a decade ago, and both Joanna and the Evil Spirit were students at the time.

This meant they must have both attended the same school…

And the first time he encountered those umbrella-wielding student Evil Spirits, their boarding point was also at a school.

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