The Warrens' Visit

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Li Dan received an email.

The reason was that several students at the school had gone missing, and their parents had already reported it to the police.

If any classmates have seen these students, please report it to the school immediately or contact their parents and the police department.

Li Dan glanced at the names and realized he didn't recognize them. He figured they were probably just a few unlucky souls who had encountered something or run into trouble.

In this free country.

It's not just horror incidents that lead to death; there are also gang fights, kidnappings, extreme sports...

All sorts of self-destructive activities, if you can think of it, someone's doing it.

Noon.

The Warrens chose the sunniest time of day to pay Li Dan a visit.

When they first saw Li Dan's residence, they exchanged a glance, their minds filled with speculation. Not lacking money meant that generally, no one would dare to bully him.

At most, it would be a lack of parental affection during childhood.

Ninety-nine percent of children from wealthy families generally live very happy lives.

"Ding dong."

One minute later.

The door opened.

Li Dan greeted the Warrens with a smile and led them inside to tour his home.

Lorraine's eyes immediately fell on the little girl playing in the yard, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is that your daughter?"

She asked this for a reason; many Asians in this area have children at a young age.

Li Dan put his hands on his hips, looking helpless.

"That's my neighbor's child. She likes to come over and play, and her father knows about it. She's not a troublesome kid, so I welcome her. That doll belongs to her."

Upon hearing this, Lorraine's face broke into a gentle smile. If he was so friendly to his neighbor's child, other aspects of him probably wouldn't be a problem either.

"You're doing a great job."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Li Dan led the couple into the house. This time, he didn't offer them Pepsi Cola but instead served two cups of tea.

Ed watched Li Dan's fluid tea-making process with curiosity.

"Is this the ancient tea ceremony from that country to the east? I didn't expect you'd know that too."

Hearing this, Li Dan knew that the couple had definitely investigated him. That was normal, though.

"I'm just an amateur. I just brew it casually when I'm bored. Be careful, it's a bit hot."

Ed took the teacup and blew on the steam. He took a small sip, finding the taste a little strange and not entirely to his liking, but it didn't stop him from complimenting Li Dan's skill.

This is what's called social graces.

They have this here too, but ordinary people usually don't have access to it.

Coupled with the fact that many physically strong, brainless Black people exist, many people naturally assume that there's no such thing as social graces here.

In reality, it exists everywhere.

After a brief tasting, the three of them got down to business.

Lorraine clasped her hands together on the table.

"Can you explain your ability in more detail?"

Li Dan knew this part was coming, so he was prepared.

"I don't know how to describe it, but if I want them to help me, I have to put them in some kind of restricted state. Then I can contain them and make requests."

Li Dan didn't elaborate further, as he couldn't explain it in detail even if he tried.

Lorraine nodded and continued to ask.

"So, you need demons that are sealed or restricted, but is there really no price for them helping you?"

Li Dan had carefully considered this question. If he said there was no price, it would be too unbelievable, so...

"Some require it, some don't. Whether they're willing depends mainly on my intention; they can't force a transaction with me."

Ed took notes on the side.

Lorraine continued to ask.

"So, you have the upper hand in this transaction, which is good. How do you avoid being influenced?"

Those who have come into contact with such entities, apart from a very small number of survivors who are still living normal lives, most have ended up in mental hospitals.

This is also why so many American Horror Story seasons mention various types of hospitals.

When you interact with these things too much, you really get affected. A mental breakdown is perfectly normal.

Li Dan asked in confusion.

"Affected? Have I ever felt that? I usually seal them in cards."

Lorraine said in surprise, "Cards?"

Li Dan: "Yes."

Lorraine was silent for a moment, clearly having never heard of this.

"Can you show me?"

Ed paused his writing, very interested in this as well.

"Of course." Li Dan slowly walked to the living room drawer, took out a deck of Texas Hold'em, and in front of the couple's expectant eyes, told them that this was what sealed demons.

Just kidding, how could he possibly take out a Ghost Card? It was already good enough to use ordinary playing cards as a cover.

Besides, even if he took it out, others wouldn't be able to see it. Otherwise, why would it be called a "Ghost Card"?

Lorraine took the deck of cards and examined it carefully. Li Dan didn't seem like he was lying. Perhaps there really was something sealed inside that could seal demons.

Ed also picked up a few cards and looked at them.

But no matter how they looked, they were no different from ordinary playing cards.

Li Dan didn't keep them in suspense and took back the deck of cards to explain.

"In front of others, this is indeed an ordinary deck of cards, but in my hands, it is the Club that can seal demons."

The Club 4 in Li Dan's hand flipped gently. When it flipped back, the pattern on the card had somehow turned into the appearance of a black and white clown.

The Warrens: "(⊙o⊙)"

They could swear they were staring at the card the whole time and there was no possibility of swapping it. This could only be described as magic.

Lorraine made a request.

"Can I see this card?"

Li Dan flicked his fingers holding the card: "Of course."

Lorraine took the card and looked at the lifelike black and white clown on the pattern. It even had its name on it.

"Soul Severing Clown."

She could truly feel the presence of evil from this card.

A simple Texas Hold'em card could seal evil, which was far more convenient than a priest or a cross.

Like Ed, they could only place the sealed demons and evil spirits in the storage room.

"What would happen if you released it?"

Li Dan said, "Nothing much. The Soul Severing Clown is the type that doesn't require any price."

After speaking, Li Dan made another joke.

"Maybe it's a masochist."

Dark humor, but the Warrens didn't laugh. They even asked Li Dan if the clown could hear him. If it could, it would be best not to say such things, as it might provoke the clown.

They were thinking of Li Dan's well-being.

Having experienced a lot, they knew that once these things were provoked, they would become very crazy.

Li Dan glanced at Art, the smiling clown on the card, and nodded, acknowledging Lorraine's advice.

"Then do I qualify to be an Exorcist for the church?"

"Of course, but first, we still need to ask a few psychological questions. This is a mandatory assessment for the church. Ed and I both think you're fine, but we still have to follow the proper procedures."

Lorraine smiled brightly, feeling that it was basically a sure thing. Although she could communicate with spirits, she had no direct means of dealing with demons, and neither did Ed.

When encountering supernatural events, they could only investigate first and then report to the church to send someone over.

But if there was a powerful and trustworthy Exorcist by their side, their safety and other aspects would be guaranteed.

Therefore, Lorraine had high hopes for Li Dan. Even if the church didn't approve, she would use her connections to help Li Dan get through.

After all the assessments were completed.

Li Dan then took out Mary Shaw's doll. It was time to deal with this thing.