The three of them exchanged contact information.
Li Dan promised to sponsor their shows, provided the projects interested him. He would double the funding for any show he took part in himself.
The two immediately described the shows they were planning.
Ghost hunts in cemeteries, paranormal games—that sort of thing.
Unfortunately, none of them interested Li Dan. Class was about to start, so they left it at that.
The classroom was almost full.
A young professor stood at the front. He was short and looked like a typical white academic.
It was hard to believe someone so young could be obsessed with paranormal studies.
Goodman straightened his notes and began by setting the scope for the day's discussion.
"Paranormal studies examines everything that conventional science can't explain."
"For example, the existence of souls and communication with them, mediums summoning the dead, mysterious forces and supernatural abilities. Many unverified horror stories, even the dead returning, can be explained as paranormal phenomena."
"Modern technology has also brought new discoveries to ghost research. You're all familiar with infrared thermal cameras, electromagnetic field detectors, high-sensitivity recording equipment... Devices like these have shifted paranormal investigations away from eyewitness accounts and toward recorded data..."
Goodman covered a lot of ground. He even brought up quantum physics to argue for the existence of ghosts.
Clearly, his research had become an obsession.
Some students were nodding off. Others listened with rapt attention.
On closer inspection, the alert-looking students were the ones half asleep, while those with pale faces and dark circles under their eyes listened the hardest.
Before people saw certain things for themselves, they didn't believe. Only after experiencing them did they know fear.
Lance, for instance, didn't believe in any of it.
He was only there to gather material for his show.
Li Dan listened fairly closely, though the Thai man chattering beside him was getting on his nerves.
Half an hour later.
Goodman looked over the students' mixed reactions, finished going through his notes, then rapped hard on the desk to get their attention.
"That concludes today's theory lesson. Next is the question-and-answer session. To help verify certain paranormal phenomena, I've invited the Warrens, renowned paranormal investigators affiliated with the Church. If anything puzzles you, you can ask them or me."
His words breathed life into the listless classroom.
Everyone perked up. Most had come for the Warrens; they were the main attraction.
The classroom door opened.
Led in by the teaching assistant, a young couple stepped up to the lectern and briefly introduced themselves.
"Ed Warren. Paranormal investigator."
"Lorraine Warren. Ed's wife and a paranormal investigator."
Professor Goodman gave up his place and let the Warrens sit in the center.
A stir ran through the room.
The first question came quickly.
It was a personal one.
"People say you can communicate with spirits, Ms. Lorraine. Is that true?"
Lorraine hesitated, then nodded.
"Communicating with spirits is only useful under certain circumstances."
Once the first person had spoken, a second and third soon stood up.
"Do ghosts exist forever?"
"Have you really driven out demons?"
"If I encounter a ghost or something supernatural, can I call on you for help?"
"How can I tell if a demon has appeared around me? And how do I protect myself?"
"What should I do if I meet a ghost I can't kill in my dreams?"
The questions grew more difficult by the minute.
The Warrens answered each one patiently, but there were some even they couldn't answer.
They had little experience with an unkillable ghost appearing in dreams; it was the first time they had heard of anything like it.
Then there was whether ghosts existed forever, and mutated humans...
Even the famous Warrens didn't know everything. They were bound to encounter problems they couldn't solve.
Hwahye, the man from South Korea, had a question of his own.
Were the world's seven most terrifying places really haunted?
Lorraine couldn't answer. She could only advise the young people to stay away from places said to be haunted, whether the stories were true or not.
After listening for a while, Li Dan asked his first question.
"How does someone become an exorcist?"
Many people wanted to know the answer, especially those troubled by something evil.
Lorraine glanced at her husband. Ed could more or less be considered an exorcist, though he hadn't wanted to answer.
To him, exorcists were treated as expendable. Apart from a few with exceptional abilities, most had no chance against evil spirits or demons. They were often less equipped than priests.
But he had agreed to serve as an adviser for this public lecture.
"To become an exorcist, you need special powers or weapons. I know some of you might think the work sounds cool, but it's brutal. You can never be sure what you're facing."
"Ordinary people can't pass the Church's trials."
That dampened their enthusiasm.
The crowd sobered up. The requirement for special powers alone ruled out ninety-nine percent of them.
"Thank you for your answers, Ms. Lorraine and Mr. Ed."
After thanking them, Li Dan sat back down to watch. He also struck up a conversation with a brother and sister.
They were driving home, and their route happened to suit Li Dan. He offered to chip in for gas.
He hadn't approached them at random. The siblings looked familiar, as though they were characters from some series.
The two were happy to have another passenger to share the travel costs.
Besides, Li Dan was Asian.
In North America, Asian faces were often seen as safe and honest. If he had been Black, they would have refused without hesitation.
The older sister, Trish, was a blonde beauty. Her younger brother, Daley, had delicate features but was very thin. They attended a school far from home.
With school closed for Halloween, they were planning to go home for the break.
The day before they left.
Both were interested in the paranormal lecture, and the Warrens were going to be there, so they had come to listen.
After the public lecture ended.
Li Dan went straight to the Warrens.
"Mr. Ed, I want to become an exorcist. Could you recommend me to the Church?"
Ed frowned slightly. He could recommend someone, but Li Dan was young, and he didn't want the boy throwing his life away.
"An exorcist needs special powers. You're too young, son. You don't know what you'd be facing. Once you do, I can guarantee you'll regret it."
Ed had seen too many exorcists die over the years.
"Special powers? Would this count?" Li Dan stepped into a corner where only the Warrens could see him and released the Soul Severing Clown.
The Warrens felt the evil spirit's power radiating from the Soul Severing Clown.
Their first thought was that the clown had bewitched the young man.
But the moment the clown appeared, he knelt before Li Dan. Like a loyal servant, he obeyed every command Li Dan gave him.
Controlling evil?
They had never seen a power like it. They had only seen cultists sacrifice their souls to demons in exchange for help.
The Warrens fell silent.
Before you continue