Success

Gilan entered the movie world once more, his heart filled with murderous intent.

He did not waste time on meaningless actions to alter the original sequence of events. Instead, he followed the progression of the dream, leading Maive and Brennan to the village before suggesting they split up.

Gilan wandered around aimlessly and returned to the stone-paved square at the village entrance, finding, as expected, only the young woman, Maive.

"Miss Maive, I didn't find any valuable clues." Gilan walked over, cradling his double-barreled shotgun, then asked a question he already knew the answer to: "Where is Dr. Brennan?"

"I didn't find anything either." Maive shook her head, then turned to look at Gilan, her face etched with worry. "I didn't see Dr. Brennan when I arrived. He left a message on the ground, but I don't know where he went."

As she spoke, the young woman gestured for Gilan to look at the ground nearby.

Gilan turned his gaze downward. The handwriting, which had been blurry in the dream, was now crystal clear—

"Path on the right side of the square, big banyan tree, red brick house, map, beware of the axe man!"

These were a few words and short phrases written in blood, somewhat scrawled as if written in haste, with the initials "B.F." at the end—clearly an abbreviation for "Brennan Franker."

"Dr. Brennan took the path on the right when we split up. It seems he found a very important clue over there..." Maive furrowed her lovely brows, analyzing the situation. "But during that time, he likely encountered some accident or danger, forcing him to leave a hasty note before fleeing."

Gilan stared at the blood-written words, his gaze lingering on the final phrase.

He was almost certain that Dr. Brennan had run into that terrifying axe man.

"I suspect Dr. Brennan found a map of the village." Gilan pointed to the fourth phrase on the ground and looked up at Maive. "Let's go. We'll follow his trail first. If we can get our hands on that map, it will be easier to track down Dr. Brennan's whereabouts."

"Yes, I think you're right, Mr. Gilan."

Maive offered a sweet smile and gave a slight nod.

Gilan held his double-barreled shotgun and took the lead, guiding the young woman toward the path on the right side of the square.

The road conditions here were just as muddy as those on the left, with numerous stone and wooden bungalows lining both sides. The only difference was that this area was planted with many banyan trees.

Lush, verdant leaves spread out, and countless aerial roots hung down like whiskers, some having already pierced the earth to serve as support pillars. At first glance, they looked like massive nets enveloping the surrounding stone houses.

The two walked through the mist for several minutes before catching sight of a twisted figure approaching them.

"God... God... forgive us... have mercy on us..."

The figure emitted a hideous, bizarre sound, as if several people were speaking at once, or like the hoarse wailing of someone on the verge of death.

Gilan and Maive stopped in their tracks.

"Good heavens!" Maive covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes widening. "What kind of monster is that?!"

Gilan's pupils contracted as he watched the twisted, half-naked monster stagger closer.

It had three heads—or rather, three men's heads fused together.

The three faces were like churned batter, blended into one; eyes, noses, and mouths were misplaced and asymmetrical, yet linked to the same neck and torso.

Two pairs of withered arms grew from its shoulders and ribs, wrapping around its torso like a lover's embrace. Even on the front of its thighs, two lumps of muscle protruded, layering into another pair of deformed legs that were wrapped around its waist, like bodies in an inseparable, lingering entanglement.

"Woman! Such a beautiful woman!" The fused monster spotted Maive, its six crooked, misaligned eyes staring straight at her, filled with beastly desire and malice.

The three conjoined mouths split open simultaneously, howling loudly:

"The Cliff family has no heirs! Come, hurry and bear children for the Cliff family! Hurry!"

Maive looked at the disgusting, hideous monster before her and nearly vomited.

She suppressed her discomfort, intending to take out the brass "Pull Door" hanging from her neck, but a roar erupted in her ears first—

BANG!

Gilan pulled the trigger of his double-barreled shotgun. The buckshot struck the monster's head with precision, blowing that twisted face to shreds.

Yet, after a miserable shriek, the monster continued to flail its limbs and lunged toward Maive.

BANG!!

Another gunshot rang out. A chunk of the monster's torso seemed to have been bitten away, revealing a basin-sized hole, and its entire body was sent flying backward.

Even so, it continued to writhe in the mud, performing obscene gestures like a squirming maggot.

It took several breaths before the monster finally lay still in a pool of blood.

"It... it's the influence of the 'Mother of Fertility'!" Maive covered her mouth, her pretty face deathly pale; she was clearly terrified by the creature. "This village must be steeped in the worship of the Old Gods. The Second Pillar, the 'Mother of Fertility,' symbolizes birth and reproduction, which is why they have been fused together by mysterious power into this grotesque form."

Gilan listened silently to the young woman's explanation, absorbing the secret lore.

His hands did not stop, quickly reloading the shotgun.

Click.

The shotgun snapped shut with a crisp sound.

Maive looked at the blond young man before her. For some reason, a sense of security and an inexplicable feeling stirred within her. Instinctively, she took a step forward, moving closer to him.

Gilan, however, frowned slightly.

Could this woman have been affected by the mysterious power of the so-called 'Mother of Fertility' as well?

After this thought flashed through his mind, he glanced at the monster's corpse on the ground.

This time, Gilan did not avoid Maive; instead, he crouched down directly and reached out to touch the body.

Iridescence emerged, and the twisted monster began to decay rapidly, finally turning into dust that drifted away.

The iridescent number "4" in Gilan's eyes flickered and changed to "6."

Beside him, Maive showed no sign of surprise, as if she hadn't seen the scene at all.

Gilan carefully observed the young girl's expression, and realization dawned on him.

It seems the characters in this cinematic world feel no confusion toward the corruption of monsters, or perhaps they automatically ignore the process... My efforts to avoid them earlier were unnecessary.

"Let's go."

Gilan stood up and said calmly.

"Very well, Mr. Gilan." Maive nodded with a smile, following closely by his side.

The two continued deeper into the village.

Before long, they encountered several more crazed villagers on the road. The young girl, Maive, pulled out the brass "Pull Door," which kept the villagers from daring to approach. Gilan took the opportunity to fire his gun, shooting them in the head one by one.

It was also at this moment that his ammunition finally ran out, but through the "iridescent" corruption, the colorful number in his eyes increased by another 4 points, accumulating to a total of "10."

After walking another hundred meters or so, an unusually tall banyan tree gradually came into view on their left. Remembering the blood-written message left by Dr. Brennan, Gilan stopped and cast his gaze past the large banyan tree to survey the surroundings.

Before long, he discovered a red brick wall behind the tree.

"Found it!" Gilan felt a surge of joy and spoke aloud.

He and Maive exchanged a glance, then immediately picked up their pace, stepping over the dense, hard tree roots and pushing into the bushes behind the banyan tree.

Soon, they arrived in front of a two-story red brick house.

The front door was standing wide open, and seeing this, the two walked inside cautiously.

As soon as he entered the house, Gilan saw a map hanging on the wall of the entryway.

"Third Edition Map of Oldraf Village, drafted by—Scribe Espi."

Maive, the girl in the white dress beside him, softly read the text aloud.

She revealed a joyful smile, her beautiful eyes fixed on the map as she continued:

"That's wonderful! There is an exit at the very back of the village that leads to the outside world! Dr. Brennan must have seen this map and gone ahead; perhaps we can meet him there!"

"Indeed." Gilan curled his lips into a smile, silently committing the map to memory.

Finally found it—the scribe's residence... Then the item the exorcist Orlando is looking for must be in the basement of this house!

With this thought, he turned to Maive and said:

"Miss Maive, please find a place to sit and rest. I will check the other rooms; perhaps I can find some useful supplies or equipment."

"Very well, Mr. Gilan." Maive was in high spirits and gave a sweet smile. "You truly are a gentleman of great character."

Gilan offered a perfunctory smile and turned to walk deeper into the house.

There were only three rooms on the first floor, and he soon found the entrance to the basement in the stairwell next to the master bedroom. Gilan carefully pushed open the wooden door, raised his gun, and descended with vigilance.

The wooden stairs creaked under his weight, and dust and grit rained down from both sides.

However, there was no danger in the basement, and Gilan reached the bottom safely.

Feeling his way through the dark, he found a box of matches on a table and lit a nearby candlestick. Under the glow of the flame, the cramped basement environment came into view.

Aside from a workbench, there were only a few miscellaneous items here.

Gilan waved his hand to clear the dust before him and began to search carefully. Soon, he found a paper parcel in the workbench drawer, marked with the words "Exorcist's Commission Reward" in thick marker.

"This is it!"

Gilan's eyes lit up, and he tore open the package without hesitation.

Inside were two finger-sized gold bars and a hardcover notebook.

He picked up the notebook immediately, and iridescent colors instantly manifested the corresponding text description:

"Espi's Secret Notes. It contains excerpts of an ancient secret technique called the 'White Cross Body-Forging Technique,' said to originate from the 'Healing Knights' of three hundred years ago. Those knights of extraordinary martial prowess gained their superhuman physiques and combat skills through this very technique, making them invincible on the battlefield."