Chapter 31: What is Exorcism?
Qing Ming nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
I stood frozen for a moment, sensing a lack of fighting spirit among everyone…
Jiang yan took a sip from the blood bag, now transformed into strawberry juice. “Let’s assess the situation first. If we don’t put up a fight, Mr. Yang won’t let us off the hook.”
“Yes, yes!” Mao Mao tightly clutched the hem of his clothes. “Teacher Yang is too terrifying! We can pretend to be injured.”
“Great!” Si Yino suddenly raised his hand, visibly excited. It was the first time I had seen him so joyful!
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I glanced at everyone. “Isn’t deceiving others like this not a good approach?”
Several people fell into silence simultaneously. Mao Mao, Si Yino, and Qing Ming looked towards Jiang Yan, whose expression subtly changed. He turned around abruptly and said, “Let’s go and see.” With that, he walked towards the apartment building.
All along, I could sense that Jiang Yan acted as the unofficial leader of our dormitory, and everyone relied on him, whether it was speaking on their behalf or following his commands.
Did my earlier opposition make Jiang Yan angry?
However, I am not someone who gives up without even trying. That would make me feel extremely disappointed in myself.
I gazed at the apartment building in front of me. It had an old-fashioned style, reminiscent of the early 1990s, or maybe even earlier. On the north side, there was a communal corridor, and there were no balconies. Clothes and miscellaneous items were piled up there. There were approximately eight rooms in a row, making a total of five floors.
Mao Mao and the others had already entered following Jiang Yan, and I followed suit.
Xiao No was in front of me, so I asked with confusion, “Do you guys know what we’re supposed to do?”
Si Yino timidly turned his face to look at me, keeping his head low. “All the information is on our phones…”
I see! It’s clear that I lack experience, isn’t it?
I took out my phone, and indeed, there was a message:
Mission: Exorcism
Address: Liberation Apartment 403
Target: Lin Qinqin
Age: 20
Mission Progress: The useless team had arrived at the destination.
What on earth… even the official calls us the useless team.
I looked up, and indeed, Jiang Yan was already standing at the door of 403.
People nearby started opening their doors, looking at us with doubtful and eerie gazes.
“Knock, knock, knock.” Jiang Yan knocked on the door, and it opened a crack. A middle-aged woman with a tired face and dark circles around her eyes appeared. She seemed stunned upon seeing us. Jiang Yan spoke up, “We are doctors.”
The middle-aged woman’s eyes widened instantly. “Are you here for that thing?”
“Yes,” Jiang Yan nodded, and the middle-aged woman immediately opened the door wider. “Please come in, please come in!”
Jiang Yan and the others entered the house. The interior was unusually dim, as if all the curtains were drawn shut.
After Si Yino entered, I followed suit. Immediately, I felt an unusually strong and throat-irritating stench, and at the same time, an indescribable chilling sensation made my whole body uncomfortable! Moreover, I noticed that the pendant hanging on my chest was starting to emit a faint heat. This was an unprecedented phenomenon!
I had always thought it was just an ordinary pendant, but now it seemed that it wasn’t.
I stood frozen at the doorway, unable to enter.
After Jiang Yan and the others had entered, they noticed my hesitation, and Jiang Yan looked puzzled. “Xiaolan, come in.”
I furrowed my brows tightly. “Why does it smell so strange in there?”
“What smell?” They looked confused.
I was taken aback. “Don’t you smell it?”
They also froze.
Qing Ming glanced at Jiang Yan. “Medium?”
Mao Mao and Si Yino both turned to me at Qing Ming’s words.
Jiang Yan glanced at me, deep in thought for a moment. “It’s also possible that some humans retain a trace of spiritual sensitivity and can sense certain monsters and ghosts. Xiaolan, can you see ghosts?”
I shook my head. “But sometimes, I can feel something peculiar passing by me…”
Jiang Yan smiled and gazed at me. “That’s normal. Come inside.”
“Alright.” I held my breath and entered the room. As the neighbors began to gather around, I closed the door.
“Where is your daughter?” Jiang Yan asked the disheveled middle-aged woman, who promptly pointed to a nearby closed door. “She’s in there! Please, you must save my daughter!”
Jiang Yan reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we came here to save her.”
Oh, a vampire telling someone that he came to save their daughter. It feels so contradictory.
Mao Mao helped the middle-aged woman sit on an old sofa to the side. “No matter what happens later, do not leave this sofa.”
“I understand, I understand.” The middle-aged woman sat on the sofa, clutching the worn-out fabric tightly.
Mao Mao began affixing talismans around the sofa that I couldn’t comprehend, but they seemed genuine.
The room was dim and cluttered, filled with various objects. Next to the dining table stood a large wardrobe with a dressing mirror in its center.
Jiang Yan looked at everyone. “Are you all ready?”
“Yes!” We all nodded in unison. Then, he opened the door, and what I saw was… a scene identical to that in “The Exorcist”!
A girl was bound to a wire bed, a cloth gag muffling her mouth, writhing on the bed, emitting struggling sounds like “Mmm… Mmm…”
My jaw dropped. It truly was an exorcism!
In China, it’s referred to as “ghost possession” rather than exorcism, but I believe there is a distinction between the two. In the latter, demons mostly come from hell in movies, while the former refers to ghosts in the traditional sense.
However, movies are just movies. Watching them extensively doesn’t mean I understand exorcism!
With resolute determination, I entered with the others. Everyone’s expressions had turned serious. Jiang Yan looked at me. “Xiaolan, close the door.”
“Ah!” I immediately closed the door. I didn’t have any talismans or anything, but it felt strange not to do anything. I took out my notebook and drew a cross, then turned around and moistened it with saliva before sticking it on.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan, Mao Mao, Qing Ming, and Si Yino had already gathered by the girl’s bed. The girl truly appeared abnormal!
Her bulging eyes looked at Jiang Yan and the others with a sinister smile. “Hehehe…”
Could she be mentally ill? I wondered to myself.
“Is it just a few of you sent here…” Suddenly, the girl spoke from her throat! Her mouth was clearly gagged, but she really spoke! And her voice sounded strange, neither male nor female!
Jiang Yan leaned closer to the girl and then looked at everyone. “How does everyone feel? Is it dangerous?”
Everyone shook their heads. What? Were you conducting a risk assessment?
Si Yino clutched the white scarf, which gradually turned back into a small white snake. He timidly said, “It was probably a case of ghost possession…”
“Yes!” Qing Ming also nodded.
“In that case, we can solve it with talismans!” Mao Mao took out a talisman, held it between her fingertips, and shouted, “Disperse!”
“Snap!” She released the talisman, which stuck to the girl’s forehead. Immediately, the girl screamed, “Ah!”
The sharp scream instantly shattered the cloth gag in her mouth, piercing through our ears. Everyone covered their ears, “Crash! Crash!” All the glass in the girl’s room shattered. I looked at the cross I drew and stuck on the door, and even that disintegrated into pieces amidst the girl’s piercing screams.
Was this really ghost possession? Are you sure?!
Even if the cross I drew was useless, what kind of supernatural power could turn a piece of paper into ashes?
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Translator’s note:
I laughed so hard when she drew the cross, then wet it with her saliva. LOL. This girl is hilarious!
