Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

June 1st, 1:20 PM.

North Brook District, Psychological Consultation Clinic.

Du Wei pushed the door open and walked in.

Everything inside was as usual.

The antique clock hung on the wall, its overlapping hands moving rhythmically, producing a mechanical ticking sound.

Annabelle lay motionless within the display cabinet.

It had been quite docile recently…

Only the shadow, as always, lurked in the unseen corners, staring intently at Du Wei.

It was very tenacious.

But when Du Wei put his backpack on the sofa, pulled the zipper, and took out something wrapped in white cloth, uncovering a red balloon, that malicious gaze suddenly halted.

There was now an additional evil spirit in the house.

Du Wei grasped the red string with his left hand and took out the joker card which he had received first with his right hand.

He walked straight to the antique clock and said indifferently, "Actually, I'd like to gamble with you."

Whoosh...

Oddly enough, a cold wind blew through...

The shadow in the corner hesitated for a moment, then slowly faded into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

Annabelle in the display cabinet slowly turned her head, meeting Du Wei's gaze precisely.

The antique clock alone, as if it were a normal clock, had no response.

Du Wei glanced at the joker card.

The face of himself in a tailcoat on the card was very gloomy.

The gamble did not come to fruition.

But Du Wei didn't feel surprised, he just wanted to test the antique clock; no response was the normal reaction, and a response would have indicated trouble brewing.

However, this allowed Du Wei to feel much more at ease.

His eyes carried a strange intensity as he looked at the red balloon in his left hand.

Under the state of spirit vision, the entire balloon exuded a sinister and terrifying vibe, red as blood, strikingly noticeable, and unavoidably invoking fear in those who saw it.

Within the balloon, the faint face of a clown could be seen, although it was very dim and hard to notice unless one looked carefully.

Looking at it, Du Wei said softly, "Since that's the case, let's make a bet, whether you lose or win, you'll get the antique clock. Beyond that, we won't add any more stakes."

"This poses no loss for you."

However.

Pennywise gave no response, devoid of fear to feed on, it didn't even possess the qualification to gamble.

Immediately.

Du Wei frowned slightly, despite having anticipated this outcome, when the gamble couldn't proceed, he was still quite disappointed.

"If you're of no use to me, then what's the point of bringing you home?"

If it were just about settling the matter of the evil spirit in Derry Town, it would have been easier for Du Wei to simply kill the Pennywise clown on the spot.

Du Wei's eyes turned cold: "You're somewhat useless to me..."

The red balloon trembled imperceptibly for a moment.

Ordinary people are afraid of things like evil spirits.

Exorcists feel the same way, even those with the firmest resolve can't help but experience emotions such as fear.

But Du Wei was firmly handling Pennywise.

This made things rather complicated.

He had to keep Pennywise alive.

But Du Wei's biggest pet peeve was trouble…

So, he returned to the sofa and sat down, taking out a mask that lacked features.

It felt slightly cool to the touch, housing the presence of an evil spirit within.

Du Wei put on the mask and held both joker cards in his hands.

Two joker cards, one representing gambling.

The other represented the wishful heart, although the outcomes often manifested in strange ways, it was, in a sense, very useful.

Of course, there must be a limit to this ability, and it was not without cost; each use was a transaction with it, or rather, with the evil spirit.

"After I make my wish, Pennywise will willingly engage in a wager with me."

He was now wearing a new mask.

The price of making a wish was to be borne by the Evil Spirit inside the mask, not by himself.

The next second.

Du Wei looked at the red balloon and said calmly, "Now, we can proceed with the wager."

Having said that, he rubbed another Joker Card with his thumb and stated the rules of the wager.

"The stake is provided by me; win or lose, you can only get the Antique Clock."

"And the rule is, to see who can say the other's name first."

Previously, when playing wagers with the Evil Spirit, Du Wei would play word traps, digging holes, and deceiving the Evil Spirit.

But facing Pennywise, he had taken perfunctoriness to the extreme, not even bothering to deceive anymore.

Suddenly.

An extremely evil gaze swept over Du Wei and eventually settled on Pennywise within the red balloon.

On the card, the Du Wei in the tailcoat revealed a sinister smile.

The wager was established.

Pennywise was already inside the balloon, barely able to tremble slightly; there was no way it could say Du Wei's name.

But Du Wei wasn't going to be polite; he simply called out, "Pennywise."

"Congratulations, you've won!"

As the words fell.

The hands of the Antique Clock on the wall stopped moving.

The Joker Card in his hand became incredibly cold, like a block of ice, making Du Wei subconsciously throw it away.
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"Click..."

"Click..."

"Click..."

The hands ticked one after the other, the sound was regular yet inexplicably creepy.

Du Wei suddenly turned around to look at the Antique Clock.

"This..."

His complexion immediately darkened; under the state of Spirit Vision, the entire Antique Clock radiated an extremely horrifying malice, like a tide overwhelming the sky, rushing towards him.

This malice was so purely disturbing that even the pressure from the nun he encountered at Hill Psychiatric Hospital wasn't as intense.

Annabelle inside the display cabinet trembled, twisting her head away as if in fear...

Accompanied by this oppressively intense aura growing stronger and stronger.

The hands began to move faster and faster.

The entire room plunged into darkness.

Click click click...

The sound grew louder.

Bang...

The red balloon Du Wei was holding in his left hand, as if unable to withstand the pressure, burst apart!

In the moment the red balloon burst.

The movement of the Antique Clock's hands instantly stopped.

Light returned to the room.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Du Wei slowly removed the mask on his face, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion, "It seems that apart from death, there's no way I can get rid of you."

"You hold the ring captive, and because of that ring, I am tainted with a curse, and I have also worn it once."

"Am I to understand that you are holding me captive?"

"So what exactly are you? Even if you aren't as fearsome as the source of the curse, you are at least as terrifying as a bus."

No response...

But Du Wei knew that his thinking was correct...

On the side.

The fragments of the burst red balloon began to float, as if alive, slowly piecing together bit by bit, but at a very slow pace.