Exorcist's Self-Cultivation
Chapter 38 038, Annabelle (Modified)

"Hmm... I know you don't believe... What?!"

Tom was startled for a moment, as the words Du Wei had just said flashed through his mind.

This...

Furrowing his brow, Tom's gaze towards Du Wei was filled with discomfort. It was as if he was burdened by some earth-shattering secret that, aside from himself, the rest of the world seemed to be aware of.

"This isn't scientific. How could you know that there are ghosts in this world? You shouldn't believe in such things!"

"Why shouldn't I know? Why shouldn't I believe?"

Yes!

Why shouldn't he believe??

"No!" Tom choked on Du Wei's words, and violently shook his head with a flushed face, saying, "You are a psychologist, a well-educated social elite. You should be a firm materialist, believing in science. How can you believe that there are ghosts in this world?!"

Du Wei said speechlessly, "Tom, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Tom opened his mouth...

What had he been about to say again...

"Fuck!"

Annoyed, he hammered the coffee table and glared at Du Wei with bloodshot eyes.

"I want to tell you that there are ghosts in this world. Miss Aisha, Roy, as well as Linda whom you met on the bus in Esselgreen, all died at the hands of a ghost."

Speaking through gritted teeth, Tom continued, "And the church, you know about that, right? They have exorcists among them, and I'm not talking about the kind from novels or movies. You get it? They call this 'Evil Spirit'."

Du Wei nodded slightly, saying indifferently, "Of course I understand, because I am an exorcist."

Tom's face turned stiff: "You're an exorcist? Aren't you a psychologist?"

"Who told you a psychologist can't be an exorcist?"

Du Wei gave him a curious glance and said, "If you don't believe it, you can go to the church in North Brook District and ask the priest there for confirmation."

"Also, Officer Tom, if you just wanted to inform me of these things, I think we can end our conversation here. In fact, I'm about to handle an evil spirit incident right now, I'm very busy..."

Having said that, Du Wei stood up, ready to leave.

Seeing this, Tom quickly stood up as well: "Wait, I'm just having trouble accepting that you're an exorcist. However, I do have something to tell you. It's about that cultist, Roy."

"Please speak."

Du Wei thought for a moment, then sat back down.

On the other side, Tom organized his thoughts before speaking: "I remember warning you before that you might face retaliation from the cultists... erm, I'm referring to Roy's associates."

Du Wei frowned and said, "Hmm, I remember she had a boyfriend. Did you replace him?"

"Not yet!"

Tom shook his head: "But I've found out some information. Recently, many cultists have entered New York, related to Roy, so I suspect they might come looking for you."

Du Wei noncommittally said: "Perhaps."

"Aren't you afraid? They are cultists! Their minds are muddled, who knows what they might do. Aren't you worried?"

Du Wei said indifferently, "Will you have officers stationed at my doorstep to ensure my safety?"

"Uh..."

Tom coughed a few times and said, "The New York police don't handle these matters well, so all I can do is warn you..."

Du Wei spread his hands, saying, "See, even you know you can't help me, yet you're still asking if I'm afraid. To use an Eastern phrase, it's like taking down your trousers to fart, completely unnecessary."

"However, I do appreciate the warning, and I'll be careful."

With that.

Du Wei stood up, went to the counter to pay, and Tom thought for a moment before following him.

At first, when Tom found out that evil spirits and exorcists existed in the world, his disbelief turned to shock, then to fear.

This was a normal psychological progression for anyone.

"Wait a moment, Dr. Du Wei, I have another question I'd like to ask."

Outside the café, Tom stopped Du Wei.

"What question?"

"For an ordinary person like me, how can I avoid contact with evil spirits, or what should I do if I encounter one?"

"Find me to handle it..."

"Uh, aside from that, do you have any professional advice after coming into contact with the Evil Spirit?"

Upon hearing this, Du Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Then try to stay in well-lit areas, and, daytime is the safest."

After finishing his last sentence, he lit a cigarette, lowered his head, and left.

On the spot, Tom watched Du Wei's receding figure and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

Stay in well-lit areas, what kind of advice is that?

Buy a plane? Wouldn't it be easier to just follow the sun!

...

Elsewhere.

After leaving the café, Du Wei headed towards his home.

As he walked, he picked up his phone and dialed the family that had been tortured by that doll named Annabelle.

"Beep..."

A minute later, the call was answered by a man's voice, a family member.

"Hello, this is Du Wei from the psychological counseling clinic; we had contacted each other online before."

"Oh, hello, Dr. Du Wei, I'm sorry, may I ask what you're calling about?"

"Uh... I wanted to replace out if there's been any improvement in your girlfriend's condition."

"Thank you for your concern, you're truly a qualified psychologist. Following your advice, she has been taking her medication regularly. Apart from sleeping a little longer, everything else is fine."

"Sleeping a bit longer means?"

"That is, she sleeps for about 14 hours, sometimes not waking until after midnight, and starts to rest only during the day."

When Du Wei heard this, he frowned and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"So, what about Annabelle, the doll? Where is it now...?"

"That doll, ah, I almost forgot to tell you, I discovered its secret yesterday. Every time I threw the doll away, my girlfriend would go out in the middle of the night to pick it up, and we even had an argument over this."

"Is that so? Is it at your house now?"

"No longer, this morning, just so happens that the owner of the Horror House nearby was collecting some old dolls to set up some scary scenes, so I sold it."

"You sold it???"

"Yes, is there any problem?"

"No, but could you give me the address? I mean, the address of the Horror House."

"Sure… okay."

...

After hanging up, Du Wei glanced at the address in the text message, his expression turning somewhat strange.

Should he be called carefree or too trusting of his own misdiagnoses before encountering the Evil Spirit...

"Annabelle was actually sold!"

Du Wei stubbed out his cigarette butt and tossed it into the trash can, rubbing his slightly painful forehead.

This was unexpected.

He could never have imagined something like this happening.

It's just that Annabelle couldn't be discarded, couldn't be damaged.

No matter how far it was thrown, it would replace its way back to that family and continue to torment them.

"And the Horror House... I hope not too many people come into contact with it..."

If Du Wei delayed any further, Annabelle might become more and more difficult to deal with.

Keeping the victim in a prolonged state of sleep had already confirmed that its power was accumulating strength, and its purpose was obvious.

[Some Evil Spirits attempt to control people's bodies to achieve possession and certain evil objectives.]

[And Evil Spirit Transformation requires contact with the Evil Spirit, solving or investigating an Evil Spirit incident is the most direct way, like that eerie bus.]

Du Wei muttered under his breath, "Going to the Horror House to come into contact with Annabelle, if possible, maybe I could capture it..."

He looked at his pale right hand; the two Evil Spirits at home would actually accelerate the transformation process, but he had already contained the source of one, and the growth of the other was not as fast as he had imagined.

Therefore, he needed to make contact with more dangerous Evil Spirits to speed up the process.