Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Du Wei stuffed the white cloth into his backpack and slowly zipped it up. Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

He picked up the black umbrella that had fallen to the side, his clothes thoroughly soaked through.

And opposite him,

the only remaining "Evil Spirit Du Wei" stood motionless in the rain.

It watched Du Wei and answered the question he had just asked, "It's not a meme. I can't do something on the level of the nun's curse. You could think of the appearance of this imposter as a form of spreading me, thereby turning it into one of my vessels."

"Vessel? That word has a lot of loopholes," Du Wei said calmly, "You can't lay a hand on me because you're still inside my body. So-called vessels are more like you influencing it."

It, or rather the Evil Spirit Du Wei, revealed a chilling smile.

"That answer is quite dull, just as you can't fool me, I can't fool you either."

"But I don't plan to take action against you right now."

The meaning in these words seemed somewhat ambiguous to others.

But for Du Wei, it was clear and understandable.

Not being able to fool himself because lies have no effect on him or it.

Not planning to act now is because it can't, but that doesn't mean it can't act in the future.

Du Wei remained silent.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei also showed no intention of speaking further, its form gradually dimming, but its cold and deadly gaze became even more frightening.

From the moment the Evil Spirit Du Wei appeared, the relationship between the two of them had completely become indistinguishable.

A person is defined by memories, personality, thought patterns, and social relationships.

Putting aside the essence of evil spirits and humans and discounting the memory differences, there is absolutely no distinction between them.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei is another aspect of Du Wei, built upon the personality and all memories of Du Wei until the first appearance of the nun.

But once it takes over the body, it will replace Du Wei's existence. At that point, a different kind of contrast will occur between their memories.

Du Wei would instead become its past, while it would become the present Du Wei.

That's the so-called memory gap.

After a while,

Du Wei was the first to speak, "You've become scarier than before. Did you appear this time because of the clown or some other factor?"

The other factor he referred to was James.

If the Evil Spirit Du Wei could draw power from James and become even more frightening, its advantage would be infinitely magnified.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei elegantly smiled, "It's not what you think. But indeed, I can use James to do something. Of course, he is being watched very closely."

Then, it said, "What the clown created is just an imposter, a low-level imitator; however, as long as it imitates me, I can see it, influence it."

Du Wei frowned and asked, "So, by talking to me in this way, what are you trying to do? Some boring implications, or something else?"

He keenly picked up on the undertones of guidance and planning.

And that was precisely what he was best at.

But the Evil Spirit Du Wei simply said, "Just as I can't stop you from wanting to kill me, you can't ignore the amount of information in my words when I say this."

Continuing, it said, "The next time you take action against me, I will also take action against you. By then, you will surely die, and I will take back the body that belongs to me."

Du Wei calmly replied, "If I've taken back my body once, I can do it a second time. The one who will die is you, not me."

The Evil Spirit Du Wei scoffed nonstop, "Don't forget, whatever you can do, I can do, and whatever you understand, I understand. I am you, and you are me. Anything you can think of, I can think of too."

"The memory gap is a double-edged sword. You can use it against me, and I can also use it against you."

"I'm looking forward to the next time we meet."

Having said that, it became more and more transparent and gradually disappeared in the rain.

...

On the spot, Du Wei stood in the rain, holding a black umbrella.

He had just withdrawn from the Evil Spirit Transformation and slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.

"I too am looking forward to the next time we meet; it will certainly be interesting," he said.

His voice was flat as he watched the dark sky, his gaze profound and carrying a hint of chilling stillness.

The next second.

The slight chill that resembled death suddenly vanished as if it never existed.

But only Du Wei knew.

The risks brought by the Evil Spirit Transformation had become a bit more severe.

"It seems that if I encounter another Evil Spirit incident, I should avoid entering into the Evil Spirit Transformation as much as possible; otherwise, I might sink deeper and deeper," Du Wei murmured, turning his head and quickly making his way to the town's entrance.

He was different from the usual exorcists.

His past experiences had left him naturally detached.

After undergoing the Evil Spirit Transformation, he was even more prone to losing his humanity than the typical hunter.

Even with anchor points...

The anchor points of humanity are not enough to eradicate the root of this danger.

The only solution to this danger, for now, lies with the Dusk Bell Church and the church headquarters that are researching it.

...

At the entrance to Derry Town.

When Du Wei reached his parked car, he opened the door and sat down in the driver's seat.

He folded his black umbrella, shook off the rainwater, and placed it on the passenger seat along with his backpack.

"I wonder if Father Tony has found the Evil Spirit I've been looking for. I can't wait too much longer; I must quickly make my role as a hunter known to the church. If it comes down to it, I'll just have to drag him to see the deceased Mrs. Mina," Du Wei sighed to himself. After starting the car, he stepped on the gas pedal.

"First, I'll bring Pennywise Clown back to the clinic, although given its ghastly appearance now, I don't know if it can still partake in the wager. If not, I might have to keep it at the clinic," he said.

"This is troublesome..."

On the passenger seat.

The Pennywise Clown, wrapped in a white cloth, revealing only an outline of a balloon, was stored in the backpack.

As if sensing something, the whole backpack began to shake violently.

Yet Du Wei didn't even spare it a glance, continuing to drive.

...

Because of the rain.

His driving speed was not fast, and it took him half an hour to cover just over halfway.

It would probably take another half hour to return to his own psychological consultation clinic.

By then, the backpack on the passenger seat had returned to calm and showed no previous signs of abnormality.

It seemed as if it had resigned to its fate.

But in reality, Du Wei knew very well that Pennywise had not resigned itself— it simply had no strength left to struggle.

Without fear, it would become incredibly weak and unable to recover.

And at this moment.

Alex suddenly made a phone call.

After Du Wei pressed the answer button, he heard her lazy and somewhat uncomfortable voice say, "Honey, I've just woken up and feel a little... under the weather. Could you come over this afternoon?"