A Visit from the Warrens

Three days flew by.

That day, Li Dan received an email.

Several students at his school had gone missing, and their parents had contacted the police.

Anyone who saw these students was asked to notify the school immediately or contact their parents or the police.

Li Dan glanced at the names and found that he didn't recognize any of them. They were probably just a few unlucky souls who had run into something or met with some misfortune.

In this land of freedom,

people didn't only die in supernatural incidents. There were also gang shootouts, kidnappings, extreme sports...

All sorts of death-defying activities. If you could imagine it, someone could do it.

At noon,

The Warrens chose the brightest part of the day to visit Li Dan.

When they first saw his home, they exchanged a glance, forming a few more guesses about him. Having money generally meant that few people would dare bully him.

At worst, he might have lacked parental affection during childhood or something along those lines.

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

"Ding-dong."

A minute later,

the front door swung open.

Li Dan welcomed the Warrens with a smile and led them inside to show them around his home.

The first thing Lorraine noticed was the little girl playing in the yard. She couldn't help asking, "Is she your daughter?"

She had a reason for asking. Many Asians here had children at a young age.

Li Dan planted both hands on his hips and explained helplessly,

"She's my neighbor's daughter. She likes coming over to play, and her father knows about it. She's not a brat, so she's welcome here. That puppet belongs to her."

Lorraine smiled warmly at his explanation. If he was this kind to a neighbor's child, he probably didn't have any major problems in other respects either.

"That's very good of you."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Li Dan led them into the house. This time, instead of serving Pepsi Cola, he brought them two cups of tea.

Watching Li Dan brew the tea with smooth, practiced movements, Ed Warren asked curiously,

"Is this the ancient tea ceremony from that country in the East? I never expected you to know how to do this too."

That remark told Li Dan that the couple had definitely looked into his background. That was only natural.

"I'm just an amateur. I brew some now and then when I'm bored. Careful, it's a little hot."

Ed Warren accepted the cup, blew on the steam, and took a small sip. He found the taste a little strange and didn't particularly like it, but that didn't stop him from praising Li Dan's skill.

That was called social tact.

It existed here too. Ordinary people just didn't usually encounter it.

With so many muscular, brainless Black people around as well, many people simply assumed that this place had no such social niceties.

In truth, they existed everywhere.

After briefly sampling the tea, the three moved on to business.

Lorraine clasped her hands together on the table in front of her.

"Could you explain this ability of yours in more detail?"

Li Dan had known this part was coming, so he had prepared for it long ago.

"I don't know how to describe it, but if I want them to work for me, they have to be restrained in some way first. Then I can contain them and make my requests."

Li Dan didn't elaborate further. Even if he tried, he wouldn't know how to explain it properly.

Lorraine nodded and continued,

"So you need demons that have been sealed or restrained. But is there really no price for having them work for you?"

Li Dan had thought this question over carefully. Claiming there was no price at all would make his ability sound a little too outrageous, so...

"Some require a price, and some don't. Whether I agree is mainly up to me. They can't force me into a deal."

Ed Warren took notes beside her.

Lorraine continued her questions.

"So you have the upper hand in these transactions. That's good. But how do you avoid being affected?"

Among those who had come into contact with such beings, only a handful of survivors still lived normal lives. Most had ended up in psychiatric hospitals.

That was also why so many different psychiatric institutions appeared in American Horror Story.

Frequent contact with these things really did affect people. A mental breakdown was perfectly normal.

Li Dan asked in confusion,

"Affected? Is that a thing? I've never felt anything like that. I usually seal them inside cards."

Lorraine asked in surprise, "Cards?"

Li Dan said, "Yes."

Lorraine fell silent for a moment. Clearly, she had never heard of anything like this.

"Could you show me?"

Ed Warren paused his pen. He was very interested in this too.

"Of course." Li Dan leisurely walked over to a drawer in the living room and took out a deck of Texas hold'em cards. Then, under the couple's expectant gazes, he told them these were what he used to seal demons.

As if he would actually take out the Ghost Card. Using ordinary playing cards as a cover was more than enough.

Besides, even if he brought it out, no one else could see it. Why else would it be called the "Ghost Card"?

Lorraine took the deck and studied it closely. Li Dan didn't look as though he was lying. Perhaps there really was something hidden within it that could seal demons.

Ed Warren picked up a few cards and examined them too.

But no matter how they looked at them, they seemed no different from ordinary playing cards.

Li Dan stopped keeping them in suspense, took the cards back, and explained,

"To anyone else, this really is an ordinary deck of cards. But in my hands, a club can seal a demon."

The four of clubs in Li Dan's hand turned over gently. When he turned it back, the image on its face had somehow changed into a black-and-white clown.

The Warrens: "(⊙o⊙)"

They could swear they had been watching the card the entire time. There was no way he could have switched it. This could only be described as magic.

Lorraine made a request.

"May I look at that card?"

Li Dan flicked the fingers holding it. "Of course."

Lorraine took the card and examined the lifelike black-and-white clown depicted on it. His name was printed there too.

"Soul Severing Clown."

She could truly sense an evil presence inside the card.

An ordinary Texas hold'em card could actually seal away evil. It was far more convenient than priests or crucifixes.

She and Ed Warren, by comparison, could only keep sealed demons and evil entities in their storage room.

"What would happen if you released him?"

Li Dan said, "Nothing much. The Soul Severing Clown is one of those who don't require a price."

Then Li Dan cracked another joke.

"Maybe he's a masochist."

It was dark humor, but the Warrens didn't laugh. Instead, they asked Li Dan whether the clown could hear him. If he could, it was best not to say things like that, since they might anger him.

They had Li Dan's best interests at heart.

After everything they had experienced, they knew that beings like this became utterly deranged once enraged.

Li Dan glanced at Art, the smiling clown on the card, then nodded in acceptance of Lorraine's advice.

"So am I qualified to become an exorcist for the Church?"

"Of course. But first, we still need to ask a few psychological screening questions. The Church requires that assessment. Ed Warren and I both think you're fine, but we still have to follow the proper procedure."

Lorraine beamed, feeling that this was all but settled. Although she could communicate with spirits, she had no means of dealing with demons directly. Neither did Ed Warren.

Whenever they encountered a supernatural incident, they usually had to investigate first, then report it to the Church and wait for someone to be sent over.

But with a powerful, trustworthy exorcist at their side, their safety and every other aspect of their work would be far better assured.

That was why Lorraine had such high hopes for Li Dan. Even if the Church rejected him, she would use her connections to get him approved.

Once all the assessments were complete,

Li Dan finally brought out Mary Shaw's puppet. It was time to deal with this thing.