Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Walking alone in the darkness.

Du Wei's figure became increasingly solitary.

He harbored confusion and pain in his heart that ordinary people could not comprehend.

It was about himself.

No one could give him answers.

He was supposed to be just a passerby, yet when he looked back at himself on this day, everything seemed so distant from him.

So unreal that it felt surreal.

But Du Wei was also very clear.

Even if he analyzed everything again and again, thought over and over, without enough information, he could not arrive at an accurate answer.

No...

That's not right to say.

To be precise, even if he had the information he wanted, he wouldn't want to believe it.

Unless he could see with his own eyes, experience it personally, he might accept it.

Unrelated to anything else.

He just felt everything was very unfamiliar.

The world was too harsh on him.

At this moment.

Du Wei's heart was very complex, and his entire aura seemed listless.

The exhaustion of his body couldn't compare to that of his spirit.

Thus, the envelope in his pocket didn't dare to peek out, as it feared triggering an emotional outburst in Du Wei, because intuition told it that the current Du Wei was extremely dangerous.

He could possibly do anything.

Just as people who have been suppressed for too long need to explode.

The atmosphere was very strange.

This strangeness lasted until Du Wei, after walking in the dark for an unknown amount of time, suddenly came to a stop, allowing it to disappear.

"I should leave now."

The voice remained calm.

This man was always indifferent, it seemed like he was confident in whatever he did, no matter what indescribable difficulties he faced, he could confront them with the most rational attitude.

He took out the disassembled painting from his close-fitting clothes.

The creaking sound of the door being pushed open echoed.

Du Wei entered through the door and disappeared into the darkness.

...

Elsewhere.

In the real world, in a villa area of New York.

The house was still pitch-dark.

The hands of the Antique Clock returned to normal, slowing down from their rapid spinning.

Eventually, the hands overlapped, moving one tick at a time.

And above the clock face.

That pale arm stretched out again, and the index finger landed in front of the hands, blocking their path.

At this time.

It was exactly 8 p.m.

...

On the highway, five hundred kilometers away from New York City.

To be exact, on the back of what conceptually was a highway.

The reflection of West Gana City appeared on the backside of the highway.

Looking down.

The entire city's reflection was embedded upside down into this world.

It didn't exist in reality.

It was only a conceptual existence.

And within this reflected city.

The school that had been duped by Du Wei countless times, housing hundreds of student Evil Spirits, was hidden within.

The city was experiencing rain.

But those Evil Spirit students were trapped inside the school.

Because outside the school's door was parked a bus.

Well...

This was Du Wei's archenemy.

It had once been used by him as a mode of transportation, but later, during the confrontation with Evil Spirit Du Wei, it had become a sworn enemy.

It had once wanted to turn Evil Spirit Du Wei into a driver.

But in the end, Evil Spirit Du Wei had flipped the bus over.

However, at that time, the Evil Spirit Du Wei wasn't as terrifying as it is now, and it wasn't able to destroy the public transport bus.

As a result, that thing has survived to this day.

Now, the bus is stopped at the school gate, and it seems to want to take those students away, but a Horror House floating above the school is holding on for dear life.

These two Strangenesses have always been in conflict.

From fighting over the school to competing for the city's reflection.

It could be said that the bus is quite innocent; unless its rules are challenged, it generally won't kill.

In contrast, the Horror House harbors an indescribable malice towards living souls.

And it's practically a robber, not only sneakily abducting the school, but also relentlessly clashing with the bus up to this point.

Neither Strangeness can overcome the other.

They have maintained this stalemate for a long time.

...

Inside the Ghost Dimension of the oil painting.

Du Wei withdrew his gaze, his expression complex.

Yes, he had hidden in the door within the oil painting, observing the outside world for a long time.

He estimated it to be over two hours.

"Although I knew from the beginning that once I got out, I would definitely encounter the bus and Horror House, my condition is much worse now than before," he said.

"My trump cards are almost depleted, and for the time being, I can't and shouldn't use the identity of the Evil Spirit Du Wei."

"How did I manage to provoke so many ghostly creatures?"

Du Wei was now in a very awkward situation.

In the world beyond Hell's Gate, the Evil Spirit Du Wei used the power of the Golden Scales to sacrifice all the evil spirits behind the gate, except for Annabelle, and forcibly created another body to contain the Demon God.

The Legion of Evil Spirits he had accumulated for so long was swept away in one fell swoop.

Now, besides those special items, he only had the Demon Spirit-level shadow, the Envelope with a fighting power comparable to trash, and Annabelle hidden in the shadow.

Even with himself included, he wouldn't be able to escape alive through the crevice between the two Strangenesses.

"In the end, my trump cards are not enough," he concluded.

Du Wei remained calm, trying to analyze a way to survive.

Then, he took a shriveled, shrunken red balloon out of his pocket, thought better of it, and put it back.

"It's no use, even at the peak of Pennywise's power, it wouldn't be a match for two Strangenesses."

"The shadow won't do either, and my Marking Ability can't play any role."

He analyzed nothing of use.

The more Du Wei analyzed, the more he felt his situation was terribly dire.

If only he hadn't made enemies with the bus and the Horror House.

Du Wei would dare to leave the painting, board the bus, and depart.

If only the Evil Spirit Du Wei were still around, he could just change his identity and fight his way out.

But reality was as it was.

Du Wei was in too much discomfort.

"Based on the grudge the bus held against me last time, the moment I show my face, it will not hesitate to kill me."

"And the Horror House is right above the school."

"If only I could sneak out."

At this thought,

Du Wei's eyes lit up.

An audacious idea flashed through his mind.

"It seems I still have one hidden card I haven't played yet."

"Besides the shadow and the Envelope, and Annabelle whom I don't want to touch, I've trapped a Nightmare Evil Spirit in a dream."

As he spoke,

Du Wei closed his eyes.

...

In the dream,

Freddy was kowtowing.

With his sharp claws, he carved a name into the wall of the dissecting room:

That is—Du Wei.

"I, Freddy, have seen through it all; God, Satan, it's all bullshit," he ranted.

"In this human world, there is only one devil, and that is Du Wei."

"I, Freddy, am your most devout believer. If you can hear me, just give me a quick end, I don't want to live anymore."

The reason he used 'again' to describe his feelings,

Is that ever since being trapped in the dream, Freddy had been as if schizophrenic, fluctuating between wanting to live and die.

There was no help for it.

Why? Because every night at precisely 12 o'clock, Ryan would consistently call to harass him, insult him, mock him, heap the utmost scorn upon him, and even say he was a slave.

Even an evil spirit couldn't bear such days...