Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

North Brook District, noon, and the rain was still falling.

A brand-new Subaru Impreza was driving on the road, splashing up large chunks of mud.

Du Wei sat in the driver's seat, glancing at the gloomy sky outside the window.

According to the latest weather forecast, New York would be experiencing this kind of rainy weather for the next few days, accompanied by heavy rain and lightning.

In other words, when the church's exorcist arrived, and preparations began to deal with the possessed nun, they would be carried out on a rainy day.

"This is not a good sign,"

he murmured, turning the steering wheel and driving onto another road.

...

Mrs. Miina's home was located in the central region of the North Brook District. Although the area was not bustling, the housing prices were not cheap.

Du Wei had once considered opening his psychology counseling clinic here, but after considering the cost-effectiveness, he abandoned the idea.

After he parked the car,

Du Wei, carrying his bag and holding an umbrella, walked slowly in the rain.

Across from him was a small, independent two-and-a-half-story villa which looked quite a few years old, but was equally valuable.

In front of the villa, there was a sheltering eave.

After putting away his umbrella and placing it in the rack at the entrance, Du Wei walked up and stared quietly at the door.

In his Spirit Vision state, he felt an odd sense of oppression, yet for some reason, it seemed very faint.

The only sound that could be heard around him was the fine rain, and the villa in his sight appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary, as if he didn't know that Mrs. Mina's daughter had been possessed by an Evil Spirit.

If it hadn't been for the fact that his Spirit Vision had reached the Third Phase, Du Wei guessed he might not have noticed anything wrong at all.

He checked the time on his phone; twenty minutes had passed since Father Tony informed him of Mrs. Miina's disappearance.

"The chances of her surviving are not great,"

Du Wei said, turning the doorknob.

Click...

It was the sound of the door being locked...

Du Wei frowned; most villa locks come with anti-theft and memory features, and without a key, unless one resorts to force, the likelihood of picking the lock successfully is virtually zero.

After a moment's thought, Du Wei turned and walked along the wall, looking for a suitable entrance.

Before long,

he arrived in front of two windows on the right side of the villa. One of the curtains was not drawn tightly, allowing a view inside.

However, due to the angle, Du Wei could only vaguely see that the furniture in the room had been moved, the sofa was overturned on the floor, and broken dishes and bowls were everywhere, as if it had just experienced an earthquake.

Unlike the New York he remembered, this city was inland and not near any earthquake zones.

Thinking this, a trace of contemplation flashed in Du Wei's eyes, "Could it be the noise made by the Evil Spirit?"

In the book given to him by Father Tony, there was a record of such situations.

[Some powerful Evil Spirits possess extremely terrifying abilities, enough to affect the surrounding environment, and to a certain extent, they can even distort space and time.]

Recalling the information in the book, Du Wei took a deep breath, "It looks like things have gotten complicated. I hope to find some clues to give an explanation to Father Tony."

At this moment, Du Wei no longer had any hope for Mrs. Miina's survival.

He had warned her before but was rejected.

Although Mrs. Miina also felt that her daughter was abnormal, she was stubbornly unable to make a decision, insisting on giving an answer before her destiny of death arrived.

Therefore, Du Wei felt neither guilty nor uncomfortable.

He only did what he had to do.

So, Du Wei looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then took out the silver cross dagger from his pocket, pulled out the blade, and stabbed hard along the edge of the glass.

Crash...

The glass window shattered on cue, with shards everywhere.

Du Wei rolled over and crawled in, not bothering to consider whether the surveillance cameras caught the act.

After all, Officer Tom would surely understand.

…

Inside the villa.

Du Wei picked up the family photo from the broken frame and casually tucked the silver cross dagger into his pocket.

In the photo were Mrs. Mina and her husband, both smiling and holding the hand of their daughter, Kelly.

The photo must have been taken not long ago, as Kelly looked almost the same as when he had last seen her—just as delicate and lovely, with a few faint freckles still on her face.

What caught Du Wei's attention, however, was Mrs. Mina's husband; he was tall, with an ordinary appearance but a piercing gaze, radiating the aura of a societal elite.

"He's almost identical to the Evil Spirit on the bus, wearing a mask. If you ignore his face and the golden brooch, you can almost be certain it's the same person."

As he said this, Du Wei's gaze suddenly fixed on the man's right hand on the back of Mrs. Mina's husband in the photo.

"A strange tattoo—why a hexagram?"

In many literary works, the hexagram often carries an auspicious meaning.

But in the church's records, the hexagram is a symbol of certain cults.

Just as the church's symbols are the Crown of Thorns and the Sacred Burning Holy Grail, the Turin Cult's emblem is an abstract face.

The upper half of the hexagram represents man, while the lower half represents woman.

Its original meaning was not very pleasant, but rather eerie.

Therefore, most people would not get a tattoo of this pattern, even in modern times, as they would alter the design from its original simplicity to something more conforming to contemporary aesthetics.

"Perhaps I should look into Mrs. Mina's husband," Du Wei mused as he folded the photo and slid it into his wallet before walking further into the house.

What could be confirmed at this point was that things with the letters 'val' were somehow connected to the nuns, although the details were unclear; but they likely possessed some eerie powers.

For instance, during his Spirit Vision state, Du Wei could occasionally see visions of future deaths.

However...

He couldn't yet determine whether this ability was brought about by that ring or the Antique Clock.

He walked through the rooms one by one.

Soon, Du Wei reached the bedroom on the second floor.

He tried the doorknob, and it wasn't locked.

Pushing the door open, Du Wei's expression changed slightly as he saw something he wasn't supposed to see.

"It seems this bedroom belongs to Mrs. Mina."

The decor around was simple yet featured a dressing table next to the bed, with dresses and lingerie hanging in an open wardrobe on the wall.

Du Wei glanced around briefly, found nothing of note, furrowed his brow, and turned to leave.

Suddenly, he turned back, fixing his gaze on the bed in the bedroom, his dark eyes turning cold.

"A bed with a pink butterfly quilt, women's clothing; even if the husband is missing, or even dead, that just happened two days ago."

Psychologically, in a normal marital relationship, even after one spouse suddenly passes away, the other would cherish memories of their shared life.

In reality, some hold on to their partner's clothing and other items, even keeping the urn at home as a constant remembrance.

Yet, Mrs. Mina's bedroom had no men's clothing or personal items, which was quite illogical.

Unless she hadn't slept in the same bed as her husband for a very, very long time.

One could even boldly speculate that she and Kelly weren't sharing a bed either.

Du Wei vaguely felt that the information Mrs. Mina had given him earlier was one-sided, and there were definitely important details she hadn't shared. Experience tales with empire