Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Dusk.

Inside the psychological counseling clinic.

After sending information about the Horror House to Father Tony, Du Wei began to pack up his things.

He could no longer handle the situation with the Horror House.

At least, it wasn't suitable for him to do so openly, because handling such a high-level threat, even an Elite Exorcist, could easily be broken inside, and getting out alive would be very, very difficult.

Father Tony conveyed that the church would soon provide feedback, but that was no longer Du Wei's concern.

Because by tomorrow morning, he would be off to Yard City to deal with the Evil Spirit incident there.

That is: the terrifying legend of Mary Shaw.

According to Father Tony, more than ten people in Yard City have died because of this so-called Mary Shaw, and the scope of deaths has been concentrated in an old residential building.

The expressions of those who died resembled those who had seen the most terrifying things, distorted with horror, as if they were scared to death.

But there was one thing in common among the victims: their tongues were all gruesomely pulled out.

No discernible pattern.

Upon arrival, Du Wei would stay in Yard City for two days to investigate the true nature of the Evil Spirit event and resolve the issue with this Evil Spirit.

Of course...

If things became very serious, he would leave immediately.

In dealing with Evil Spirits, any carelessness could lead to a gruesome death.

Because there is no clear difference in strength with these beings; their danger is connected to their killing patterns, and even an Elite Exorcist could die at the hands of the most common Evil Spirit if not careful.

And keeping calm is the first element of combating an Evil Spirit.

Sigh...

After packing his luggage, Du Wei sat on the couch at home with a complex gaze as he looked at the scene in the house.

The Antique Clock, Annabelle, the shadows, and the red balloon tied to the attic—Pennywise.

There were now four Evil Spirits in the house.

And on his person, he carried a Masked Evil Spirit, plus the Evil Spirits hidden in two Joker Cards.

Even within his own body, the most dangerous Evil Spirit Du Wei lingered.

If he added the dormant curse, he'd also have to consider the original nun source.

"Eight terrifying things, my home is getting more and more chaotic, completely inconsistent with my original intentions."

Du Wei sighed, rubbing his forehead with a bit of a headache.

Initially, he only wanted to rid himself of the threat of Evil Spirits, but as he resolved issues, the number of Evil Spirits in his house had only increased.

It's a perilously irreversible path.

But Du Wei couldn't stop now.

"I hope the church can quickly find the Evil Spirit related to the mirror; at the very least, that would let me deal with the trouble of Evil Spirit Du Wei and catch my breath a bit."

These words came from the heart.

Even Du Wei couldn't always be in such a nerve-wracking state; it would completely break him down.

Like a tightly stretched string, constantly being pressured without any relaxation, it would inevitably snap one day.

And at that time, Du Wei felt he would completely collapse, and even continuing the balancing mechanism would be futile.

"I still need to solve the problem of my Evil Spirit Transformation, but that'll be after I leave Yard City. Maybe then I can reveal my Hunter identity to the church, but it has to be reasonable..."

As Du Wei said this, his gaze toward the Antique Clock and Annabelle was somewhat unusual.

He was now contemplating something.

Whether or not to take one of the house's Evil Spirits with him, to use as a trump card at a critical moment.

Because the entity known as Mary Shaw in Yard City had already killed more than a dozen people, which was more than the shadows had slain.

Correspondingly, its threat level wouldn't be too low.

If taking one Evil Spirit out of the house could help the situation, then it seemed like a good idea to do so.

Annabelle was definitely not suitable, though, because as soon as it was removed from the display cabinet, it would immediately turn on itself.

After all, it had already lost twice.

"What a headache…"

Du Wei's gaze moved to the Antique Clock above.

The overlapping hands moved regularly, revealing no abnormalities.

He didn't care and said to himself, "According to my previous deductions, your target is me, because I'm the bearer of the curse, and you're the thing that imprisons the curse, so you're imprisoning me."

"But it seems you don't want me dead. So, if I take you out with me, would you help me if I faced danger?"

The idea was bold.

And yet it seemed feasible...

However, after giving it some thought, Du Wei decided to abandon the idea.

Because the Antique Clock was too mysterious and uncontrollable. If he used it as his trump card, any problems would leave him unprepared, making matters even more troublesome.

"Or maybe take Pennywise with me. It poses no danger to me, and in a critical moment, it might serve as a handy shield."

With a slightly more resolute tone, Du Wei considered that even though the current Pennywise was too weak to cause any commotion, as long as he could control it, he could use it for something.

So long as he convinced himself mentally, its power could grow stronger, creating many counterfeit presences of an Evil Spirit.

Plus, having forcefully bound it to himself, it would probably turn its guns on any other Evil Spirit that tried to kill him, maintaining what's called a balance.

"And then there's the shadow... But as long as I carry its photo with me, I can summon it at any time."

Having said this,

Du Wei felt considerably more confident. He checked his backpack to ensure nothing was left behind, returned to his bedroom, prepared to call Alex, and then rested.

"I've considered everything possible. I hope this Evil Spirit event can be resolved smoothly..."

...

Meanwhile,

At a theme park in the Orlando Area of Yard City,

Darkness engulfed everything as a torrential downpour pounded down.

The air was suffused with a suffocating, eerie silence.

In the darkness, something rustled, like people whispering or an object scraping against the ground.

Indescribably bizarre and terrifying.

And then,

In the eastern part of the Horror House area of the amusement park, a sudden 'click' sounded...

When the downpour fell around the Horror House, it was as if caught in some invisible vortex, twisting and converging into a stream of water suspended in the air.

As time slowly passed,

In the dead of night,

The stream grew denser and more concentrated, gradually forming a transparent curtain of water that enveloped the entire Horror House.

But through the water curtain, the view inside began to blur.

At first, the contours of the Horror House were visible, but not long after, those contours started to dim, as if some strange force was freely churning.

When it reached a critical point,

A whooshing sound.

The whole water curtain collapsed due to the disappearance of a certain force, falling heavily and washing the ground extremely clean.

Where the Horror House once stood, a huge hole had formed.

Just like Du Wei said, it moved...