Light truly gave people a sense of security.
Even if that sense of security was sometimes false, it was enough as long as people believed in it.
By noon,
Rebecca had gone to the school to pick up Martin. He was a sensible, rather cute little boy, though the heavy dark circles under his eyes showed that he had not been sleeping well.
When Martin saw the man beside his sister, he asked quietly,
"Is this your new boyfriend?"
Rebecca smiled and explained, "No, Martin. He's the exorcist I hired to deal with that evil monster."
Little Martin did not know what an evil spirit was. Calling it a monster made it easier for him to understand.
"Really, sis?!"
"Really."
"Can I talk to Mr. Exorcist?"
Little Martin looked timidly at his sister, then glanced at Li Dan.
Rebecca looked at Li Dan. A faint smile appeared on his calm face.
"Of course. Your name is Martin, right? I heard about you from your sister. You're a very brave child."
Li Dan was not good at dealing with children, and he disliked bratty kids even more. Still, he had a favorable impression of well-behaved children who did not cause trouble.
Little Martin felt a little embarrassed by the praise.
"I'm not as brave as my sister says. I'm still scared when I see that black monster."
"Mm. Then can you tell me about the first time you encountered that monster..."
Watching the two chat, Rebecca finally felt her mind relax after so long.
She had not seen her brother this happy in a long time.
In Martin's eyes, an exorcist was an existence comparable to God. He knew calling for his mother or sister was useless; neither of them could stop the monster from approaching.
Over time, Martin had nearly become an autistic child.
Now that he had seen the only glimmer of hope in the darkness, how could he not be happy?
Even the passing teachers were surprised. Martin was known at school for being quiet and withdrawn, yet today he had turned into a little chatterbox.
If she had not been teaching his class that day, she would have suspected he had been replaced by another child.
Rebecca had no choice but to remind him,
"Alright, Martin. We should go home, or Mom will worry."
The moment Little Martin heard they were going home, he instinctively edged closer to Li Dan. It was a sign that he lacked a sense of security.
He looked up at Li Dan, as if gaining courage, then said firmly,
"Let's go home."
Rebecca's family lived in a residential complex in the center of town.
Before their father's accident, he had owned a factory, and the family had been fairly well-off. But after the family's breadwinner met with disaster, coupled with the harassment from the evil spirit, their circumstances took a sharp turn for the worse.
The family of three had moved from the center of town to the outskirts, but the evil spirit had remained with them like a shadow.
When Rebecca brought Li Dan and her brother home,
their mother, Sophie, was sitting in the middle of the yard, basking in the sun.
She did not like being alone in the house either.
Rebecca briefly introduced her mother to Li Dan.
"Mom, this is the exorcist I hired."
Sophie glanced at Li Dan without much reaction and continued sunbathing.
Rebecca apologized, "The doctor said Mom has some schizophrenia now. She wasn't like this before."
Li Dan said, "It's fine. Take me inside first."
Little Martin volunteered to show Li Dan around the house.
Right then, he was like Jerry after finding an older cousin to back him up, full of confidence and swagger.
After fusing with the Immortal Body, Li Dan no longer needed to constantly waste a Ghost Card to keep things secret, and he had grown much bolder.
Just as he was about to follow Little Martin inside, Li Dan paused. His gaze fell on the shadows behind the door.
He sensed a powerful, undisguised malice.
It seemed the evil spirit did not welcome him.
The moment Li Dan stepped through that door, it would be equivalent to entering its territory. If he left now, perhaps there would still be room to turn back.
Little Martin glanced back at Li Dan and asked curiously,
"What's wrong, Mr. Exorcist?"
"Nothing."
Li Dan stepped through the door and entered the living room.
The things inside were arranged messily, perhaps because they had just moved in, but the place still felt warm.
Little Martin showed Li Dan his room.
There were many flashlights and candles inside.
According to Rebecca, her brother only dared to sleep while holding a flashlight.
Li Dan casually checked the Ghost Card.
"Traces of the evil spirit Diana detected."
Oh? This evil spirit actually had a name—Diana?
After looking around the room inside and out, he found nothing particularly abnormal.
So they returned to the living room.
Rebecca was afraid Li Dan would simply leave, so she hurriedly explained,
"She only appears at night."
Li Dan looked at the sky and realized there was still some time before nightfall. He asked,
"Rebecca, do you know a woman named Diana?"
"Diana?"
Rebecca tried hard to recall anyone connected to that name. Touching her head, she said uncertainly,
"I think I've heard Mom mention that name before. It seemed to be at a psychiatric hospital..."
Another psychiatric hospital.
Li Dan was beginning to realize that no one who ended up in a psychiatric hospital was simple.
Rebecca stood up. "Wait here. I'll go ask her."
Rebecca walked straight into the yard and spoke with Sophie.
Very quickly, after only a few words, mother and daughter began arguing, and it was the irreconcilable kind.
Li Dan's enhanced hearing allowed him to hear everything clearly.
As their mother, Sophie said Diana was a friend she had met at the psychiatric hospital. She would make Diana accept Rebecca and Martin.
Those words immediately made Rebecca break down. That black monster knew her and her brother?
She had thought her mother did not know about this, but she knew and had even indulged it. Had she never considered that Diana might hurt her and her brother?!
Rebecca frantically berated Sophie over Diana's actions.
It was incredibly melodramatic.
Li Dan deduced one possibility: there really had been a woman named Diana in that psychiatric hospital.
Sophie and Diana had been friends, but Diana had long since died.
The current Diana was merely an evil spirit wearing a human name.
In many Western legends, evil spirits could disguise themselves as humans.
Annabelle was a demon pretending to be the soul of the carpenter's daughter.
Dead Silence was even more outrageous. Mary Shaw had directly hollowed out a man's internal organs and used his skin to create the illusion that the protagonist's father was still alive.
Everything had clues to follow.
Once night came, the truth would become clear.
Ding.
His phone vibrated.
Li Dan took it out and saw it was a message from Jennifer.
"Darling, all the equipment you bought has arrived. I put everything in the storage room without unpacking it, but what's that camera for? Are you planning to film... (blushing)"
The corner of Li Dan's mouth twitched. He had no plans to film adult movies.
That camera was meant for recording videotapes, while the rest was playback equipment.
Li Dan had obtained the Curse Transmission ability before. Though he had no immediate use for it, one could never have too many ways to save one's life.
Curse Transmission: One of the abilities from Soul Severing Clown.
Li Dan had drawn it previously, but the professional equipment had not arrived, so he had not had the chance to record a videotape.
This curse was quite useful.
As long as the videotape was playing, he could use the curse to leave The Further or any dangerous place. The videotape functioned much like a marker, just as Sadako could crawl out of a television playing her videotape.
It was only that Soul Severing Clown's Curse Transmission was not that powerful.
It could also be affected by outside interference and fail to transmit.
Before you continue