Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

North Brook District, 21:08, the weather turned overcast.

In the first-floor reception room, where Du Wei's taxidermied display case was hung up on the same wall as the Antique Clock.

From the position of the sofa, one just had to look up to meet Annabelle's gaze directly.

Meanwhile, in the second-floor washroom.

Having finished his ablutions, Du Wei changed his clothes and stepped out.

Of course, the silver crucifix dagger he had received from Andrew Dowqui was always kept close to his body.

Although this item seemed somewhat superfluous to Du Wei, at times it indeed proved to have unexpected effects.

Before returning to his bedroom, Du Wei paused, turning his head to glance downstairs.

Great swathes of shadow obscured the view below, with only the mechanical and highly regular sound of ticking... the rotation of the minute hand, heard.

But...

Still, no anomalies occurred.

Du Wei hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door and entered the bedroom.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Being constantly on high alert had taken a toll on him, especially since bringing Annabelle home, not a single abnormality had materialized in the whole house, which was very strange.

Of course, what he found strange was that both the Evil Spirits and the Antique Clock had shown no reaction whatsoever to the presence of Annabelle, as if they completely ignored her.

...

"This is highly abnormal," Du Wei muttered to himself, turned, and pushed open the bedroom door.

The door was the same as before, with a large hole broken into it, obviating even the peephole installed by the previous tenant when the apartment was leased, allowing him to glimpse the outside with just a quick look.

One could say that its symbolic significance was greater than its practical function.

...

Meanwhile, next to the Mental Health Clinic—that is, at Roy's house.

On the second floor, in the room that Du Wei and Officer Tom had entered, the walls and ceiling were covered with strange symbols and patterns.

On the floor was drawn a Hexagram Array in blood, with a candle placed at each point.

A group of women wearing black uniforms and with numb expressions murmured inarticulate words in low voices like they were performing some sort of ceremony.

Their tones were awkward, and some of the vocabulary had shifted meanings, becoming veiled references to something else.

Time ticked away, bit by bit.

The woman who appeared to be the leader walked to the window and yanked the curtains open.

From her position, she could easily see the state of Du Wei's bedroom across the way.

"The lights are out; he's already lying in bed," she said.

"Can we be sure that Roy's death is related to him?" another asked.

"There's almost no way to dismiss the connection. At the time of Roy's sacrifice ceremony, there weren't seven people, so she set her sights on this man, who had the most contact with her, but..."

She paused there, looking towards the others.

In the room, besides her, stood seven expressionless women of varied races and ages, all clad in black uniforms.

Clearly, they were the Cultists Officer Tom had mentioned before.

"...before she died, Roy had bought him a pack of cigarettes. Of course, she also prepared Ether and tools, but this man had gone to make a house call at his patient's place. By the time he returned home, Roy was already dead."

"And we still haven't found her head."

"The ritual must not be interrupted, prepare yourselves," the leader said.

"Nerella, you go. Follow the ritual and start the operation at this time tomorrow."

"I will offer his flesh and blood to the Veda..."

After speaking, these uniformed black-clothed women left the room one after another.

A few minutes later, the candles on the floor abruptly extinguished all at once.

...

Nerella remembered that it had been five years since she had joined the Veda Sect, and during these five years, her thought process had undergone an immense transformation.

She knew how cruel and evil the things she did were, killing and sacrificing, each of which was enough for her to die countless times over.

But still—

Nerella reveled in it, for in her worldview and value system, only through death could the ignorant and foolish commoners return to the embrace of the Vedas and achieve salvation for their souls.

Hmm…

Even though she still couldn't establish contact with the Vedas given her status, she believed that as long as she sacrificed enough people, she would eventually receive a response from the Vedas.

While the rest of her companions waited in the car, Nerella slowly walked in the night to the door of the mental health clinic.

She held a higher position than Roy in the Veda Sect and had long since passed the stage of killing merely for sacrifices.

The sacrificial ritual required selecting targets, leaving marks, and acting at the appropriate time.

Only in this way would the Vedas be pleased.

"Roy's sacrificial ritual was really a mess, no wonder she ended up dead,"

Nerella muttered under her breath as she drew a short dagger, about ten centimeters long.

"Return to the embrace of the Vedas."

Chanting to the Vedas in a low voice, Nerella extended her left hand, which had distinctly protruding knuckles and a palm full of scars from cuts, looking extremely rough.

Hiss…

The dagger made a cut across her index finger, and blood immediately began flowing from the wound.

In the teachings of the Veda Sect, physical pain was a necessary condition for the liberation of the soul, and blood and wounds were the only ways for the faithful to demonstrate their devotion.

Then, she crouched down and began drawing a set of symbols at the bottom of the door. In their teachings, once these symbols were completed, it signified that the Vedas had noticed the sacrificial target and would watch over the soul of the one to be sacrificed.

After the sacrifice was completed, the soul of the sacrificed would belong to the Vedas.

Soon, the symbols were finished.

Just as Nerella was about to get up to leave, she suddenly thought she heard a sound.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

It was as if something behind the door was rubbing against the wooden surface.

She found it strange, so she stood up and looked through the peephole.

All she saw was pitch-black darkness, as though something was lurking within, but it was impossible to see clearly.

Darkness, profoundness…

Different from the normal darkness brought on by a lack of light.

If a room is completely dark without any light, one's vision would still extend forward when looking into it.

But Nerella didn't feel this way.

"Very strange, it's as though something is blocking it."

Nerella was certain that no one was in Du Wei's house, and that this man was also asleep by now. If he chose to come downstairs, she would have heard footsteps or some other noise.

"Maybe he's put something over the peephole."

She told herself this and turned to return to the car.

Meanwhile—

On the first floor of the mental health clinic, the display case mounted on the wall, which locked up Annabelle, suddenly began to shake.

The new television set turned on by itself as if short-circuiting and switched to a late-night program.

But just then, the hands on the Antique Clock mounted on the wall hesitated for a moment, and the overlapping hour, minute, and second hands shifted out of alignment, looking just like an ordinary clock.

As if sensing something, the display case calmed, and the television shut off instantly.

And when everything had ended, the hands of the Antique Clock returned to their original state, continuing to overlap and move in a mechanical and regular motion.