Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

The next day at noon.

A black Cayenne turned off the highway leading to Yard City and drove directly into the city.

Du Wei didn't drive the McLaren GT that Alex had given him, because the torrential rain showed no sign of stopping, and in this weather, it was more suitable to drive an SUV.

In Alex's garage, there were basically all kinds of cars...

After a few turns, he arrived at the old neighborhood.

It had a pleasant name: Tulip.

This was where the Evil Spirit incidents in Yard City had occurred.

Du Wei parked the car and took a moment to survey the entire community.

From the outside looking in, the whole community exhibited the architectural style of the 1980s, seemingly well maintained by the property managers, it did not give the impression of a dilapidated neighborhood.

But it looked outdated no matter how one looked at it.

He thought for a moment.

Then, carrying his backpack, he got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the community.

The downpour continued...

New York and Yard City weren't far apart, so the weather hadn't changed much here either.

Du Wei held a Black Umbrella, peering through the railing at the entrance of the community.

At the very edge of the community, there stood a residential building painted entirely white.

The building had the same number of floors as the others, five in total.

While looking, Du Wei took out his phone, opened the photo album, and clicked on a picture.

The picture also showed a building, identical to the one he was looking at.

But under the Spirit Vision state, Du Wei didn't notice anything unusual.

He couldn't even feel a trace of oppressive atmosphere, as if it couldn't have been more normal.

"Is there really an Evil Spirit in this place?"

Du Wei couldn't help but feel puzzled, even beginning to doubt whether the church had received the wrong information. Not only Evil Spirits could kill people.

At that moment.

Suddenly, a series of rapid footsteps sounded from behind.

"Hey, sir... this community has been sealed off, please don't approach."

A man in a raincoat holding a baton ran over, his eyes wary as he looked at the man with the Black Umbrella and the backpack.

Du Wei turned to look at him, his gaze lingering on the baton in his hand for a second, and he spoke slowly, "You are a police officer?"

The other man cautiously said, "Yes, I am Allen Lawrence, a police officer from Yard City. You look unfamiliar, you're from out of town, right?"

Du Wei nodded, taking out the paper permit that Officer Tom had written for him from his pocket.

"I'm Du Wei, a psychiatrist from New York, here to investigate the incidents that have happened here. I heard that over a dozen people died in this community, right?"

Officer Allen didn't answer but took the paper permit, examined it carefully, and frowned, "The issuer is Tom; what's your relationship with him?"

Du Wei said in surprise, "He is a good friend of mine, do you know him?"

Officer Allen's expression turned strange as he said, "Didn't he tell you that he graduated from the police academy right here in Yard City? If he hadn't charmed our instructor when he was here and then dumped her after graduation, he wouldn't have run off to be a cop in New York."

Continuing, Officer Allen added, "I'll need to make a phone call to confirm your identity with him, otherwise, I won't answer your questions."

Du Wei said indifferently, "Of course, that's fine."

Officer Allen cautiously sized up Du Wei while taking out his phone to dial Tom's number.

Soon, the call connected.

...

Because of the heavy rain, the noise was too loud, so he had to lean in and loudly ask, "Hey Tom, there's a psychological doctor here named Du Wei who says he's your friend, here to investigate that troublesome matter."

On the other end, Tom replied, "Is there a problem? I issued his permit myself, he's my best friend, and also the most reliable friend of the New York police force."

Allen shouted, "Okay, but you need to know, if anything goes wrong, I'll definitely be complaining about you to folks in New York."

Tom answered with disdain, "That's why I got promoted, and you're still a patrol officer. Du Wei is my best friend, and he's much more formidable than you think."

Allen asked doubtfully, "Are you sure? Because this matter is quite troublesome."

Tom sneered, "There are some things I can't tell you, but leaving this matter to him couldn't be better because he's a professional, more so than us."

Allen was skeptical. This man carrying a black umbrella and a bag didn't look like a professional detective at all.

But since Tom had said so, he could only mutter, "Fine, I got it..."

...

Allen hung up the call and turned to Du Wei, saying, "Sorry, I apologize for my rudeness just now."

Du Wei shook his head, "It's okay, you were doing what you should. But now, please tell me what happened here."

Allen hummed in response, the wariness in his eyes mostly gone as he looked at Du Wei and slowly said, "Indeed, more than a dozen people have died here, and the entire community has been evacuated. Until the issue is resolved, entry is prohibited to prevent unnecessary casualties."

In the past week, this community, established in the 1980s, experienced a series of deaths, causing widespread panic.

With an already small permanent population, the remaining residents chose to leave.

Now, the entire community was deserted, with only Allen and a few other officers patrolling the other entrances.

"Can I go in and have a look?"

After listening, Du Wei thoughtfully said.

Spirit Vision had not detected any anomalies. If there was truly an Evil Spirit, it obviously hadn't triggered its mechanisms yet. It was necessary to go in and check things out.

Allen hesitated, "I don't really recommend that you go in because there's an eerie notion within the police force about so-called Evil Spirit incidents."

Then, somewhat conflicted, he added, "It sounds hard to believe, but we simply can't find the murderer, nor any trace of evidence."

Upon hearing this, Du Wei promptly took out his Exorcist qualification certificate, "Actually, apart from being Officer Tom's friend, I am also an Exorcist."

Since Allen also considered the possibility of an Evil Spirit being involved, the identity of an Exorcist would now come in handy.

Seeing this, Allen's mouth twitched, "I thought you were a psychological doctor?"

Du Wei said with some resignation, "Does that conflict with me being an Exorcist?"

Allen replied with a wry smile, "Not at all, but since Tom vouches for you and you are an Exorcist, I can indeed let you go in and take a look."

Having two identities, had it been any less, he wouldn't have let Du Wei enter Tulip Community so easily, because if anything dangerous occurred, he would be held accountable.

Following that.

Allen led Du Wei to the nearest entrance and took out his keys to unlock the community's gate.

Du Wei walked ahead, his gaze calmly surveying his surroundings.

At that moment, Officer Allen behind him suddenly pointed at the building painted with white and said, "By the way, Mr. Du Wei, that's where you're intending to go, right?"

Without turning back, Du Wei replied, "Yes, the information I have indicates that all of the victims are within the perimeter of this residential building, and it all originates from a horror legend about someone named Mary Shaw."

Officer Allen's face turned a peculiar shade, "Wait... you mean Mary Shaw? She's not some horror legend; she is the owner of a small hotel nearby."