Chapter 29 The Bloody Witch
The lanterns of Chinatown had just begun to light up the bustling streets when a Ford car slowly pulled up to the curb.
"You wait here for me!" Xu Yi dropped a line and got out of the car, heading straight for Aileen's house.
Policeman tape had cordoned off the entrance to Aileen's home, the gate was firmly locked, and a seal was posted.
Xu Yi saw no sign of the police, so it must have been just the usual closure for a death scene, but if he were to break in by force, the ensuing police inquiry would be a hassle.
He furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment before returning to Xu's Restaurant.
Xu Changrong was swamped with work and, although a bit puzzled by Xu Yi's early return, didn't ask any further questions.
Xu Yi strode up to the second floor, pushed open the rear window.
His house happened to be right next to Aileen's, and the old-style buildings had a major flaw: by stepping on the rain shelter eaves in the back, one could climb to the neighboring window ledge.
He remembered that the lock on Aileen's window seemed to be broken, and he wasn't sure if it had been fixed yet.
Regardless, he had to investigate Aileen's home if he was to possibly find the Vessel for the Evil Spirit.
Xu Yi made sure no one was paying attention, skillfully climbed out the window, and landed steadily on the eaves.
"This exorcism really is a physical job!" Xu Yi silently lamented.
Fortunately, the entries of combat had endowed him with a strong physique, saving him a significant amount of time from exercising.
He made his way to Aileen's window, pushed hard, and with a creak, the window slowly opened. Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief; the lock had not been fixed yet.
But that was normal, if the lock had been broken for so long and had needed fixing, it would have been fixed by now.
Xu Yi flipped into the room, wearing gloves and even covering his shoes with bags.
In this era, investigative technology was nowhere near as advanced as in later times, but it was better to be safe than sorry, so he took every precaution he could.
Being discovered by the police wasn't a big deal, after all, as an exorcist, he held an elevated social status. A good explanation would suffice, and the police wouldn't dare to make unfounded accusations.
If it were a Common person, they would really need to consider the implications carefully.
Xu Yi didn't want the hassle of dealing with the police, so he took protective measures to search for the Vessel privately.
The corpse from the room had already been removed, leaving only a chalk outline on the floor. The blood-painted Array was still clear.
Xu Yi frowned and observed those eerie symbols, but unfortunately, he knew very little about them and was unclear about the Array's origins.
"It seems I'll have to study up on this knowledge thoroughly!"
With his Spirit Communication Ability activated, Xu Yi carefully sensed the room's anomalies. The Array indeed retained a special magnetic field, but it was far too weak and entirely inconsistent with the requirements of an Evil Spirit's Vessel.
Where was the Vessel?
Xu Yi began to scrutinize the decorative items in the room.
Back on Rose Street at the antique market, Lisa had come into contact with Aileen. At that time, the blood on the glass shards had shown an anomaly.
But since it was just a flash of light and the Psychic entries had no reaction, the matter was dropped.
He remembered that Lisa had said Aileen went to the antique market to buy decorations. Now it seemed that it was then that Aileen had come into contact with the Vessel of the Evil Spirit.
He looked here and there but couldn't find anything abnormal.
Suddenly, a shadow leaped down from the attic. Xu Yi tensed up, but once he recognized the shadow, he relaxed.
"Black Carp, how did you get here?" Xu Yi crouched down in front of the black cat.
He and Lisa often fed this stray cat, and if it weren't for the lack of space at home, they would have taken it in already.
Touching the cat's fur, Xu Yi suddenly felt a light tingling sensation in his fingertips. It wasn't static but a resonance produced by his Spiritual Power.
"This Black Carp is quite unusual, indeed! It actually has Spiritual Perception!"
After his surprise, Xu Yi suddenly realized something.
Spiritual Perception is not exclusive to humans; many animals have Spiritual Perception that is even stronger than that of humans, and cats are a prime example of this.
As for the Black Carp, its Spiritual Perception is so strong that it could be considered the king among cats.
The Black Carp clamped onto Xu Yi's trouser leg and started dragging him in a certain direction.
"Are you trying to lead me somewhere?" Xu Yi suddenly understood the Black Carp's intent and let go of it.
The Black Carp meowed and darted toward the attic.
Following behind, Xu Yi reached the attic and saw the Black Carp squatting on top of a bookshelf.
The drawer of the bookshelf was locked, and after hesitating for a few seconds, Xu Yi found a tool and pried open the lock.
The drawer slid open slowly, and he suddenly shivered with the same familiar coldness he had felt before.
A book lay quietly in the drawer, its black and red cover stained with unidentifiable marks. As Xu Yi touched it, he couldn't tell what material the cover was made of; it felt like stroking a snake, wet, slimy, and sticky.
"Power! Dominance! Freedom!"
Sudden whispers filled his ear as if ancient secrets were being told in an ancient language.
Xu Yi's gaze dimmed for a moment but soon cleared again. He was somewhat surprised.
This book actually had the power to bewitch the mind?
He understood why Aileen might have committed suicide in the house; she was probably bewitched by this book and then performed Self-Sacrifice.
It was even possible that it was Aileen's Self-Sacrifice that awakened the Evil Spirit.
Without a doubt, this book was the Vessel for the Evil Spirit, and Xu Yi took the book and headed back the way he had come.
Ailent had been waiting by the road for Xu Yi, and as soon as Xu Yi got into the car, it started up.
"Where to now? Back to the hospital?" Ailent asked.
Turning on the car's interior light, Xu Yi opened the red book.
The contents of the book were quite complex, filled with various unknown symbols and piece-meal descriptions; he could only roughly determine that this was a Witchcraft Tome.
At the end of the book, a name appeared, which he subconsciously read aloud, "Gemeck Audron."
"Isn't the library closed at this time? I want to look up some information," Xu Yi suddenly felt compelled.
"It's almost nine o'clock now, the library is definitely closed, but no worries, I have a way!" Ailent made a phone call.
The Ford car sped through the streets, and seeing Ailent's confident demeanor, Xu Yi thought he might know some big shot; maybe the librarian was already waiting for them at the entrance.
But the reality turned out to be...
"Be careful! Don't get caught, I really don't want to lose this job!" a man dressed as a janitor was waiting in a corner behind the back door, waving at Xu Yi and his group.
"You can't turn on the lights inside the library, you will have to use flashlights, and absolutely don't take any books out!" the man advised.
Although the situation was a bit different from what he expected, Xu Yi still managed to get inside. He had researched here before and was quite familiar with the place.
"Gemeck Audron, The Bloody Witch, said to be able to control various animals, once commanded venomous snakes to assassinate the King!"
Xu Yi quickly found the information he wanted, which was entirely due to Gemeck's actions; after all, an entity who had attempted to assassinate a King would hardly go unnoticed.
Xu Yi's brows were tightly furrowed; the situation was more troublesome than he had imagined.
It is known that Evil Spirits come in hierarchies. If an Evil Spirit is transformed from an ordinary person, locating the Vessel and adding blood essence is usually enough to handle it easily.
But if Psychics or witches like Gemeck become Evil Spirits, they are much more powerful than common Evil Spirits.
Back at the Funeral Parlor, if the Psychic boy Jona had been influenced by resentment and turned into an Evil Spirit, the situation would likely not have been a mere "Resurrection Coin" level scenario.
This exorcism did not trigger a "Scene Check-in," which made Xu Yi realize that encountering the strange didn't necessarily mean a successful check-in and earning a Resurrection Coin.
"No good! Quick, call the hospital!" Xu Yi suddenly thought of something and felt a chill in his heart.
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