Chapter 10: Preparations Before the Exorcism
William took his travel bag out of the car.
When he looked up again, the shadows he had seen earlier had vanished.
He narrowed his eyes, guessing they had gone into hiding.
He hadn't expected these dead spirits to roam so freely in broad daylight.
Was there no justice left in this world?
Going into the house under these conditions... wasn't that walking into a trap?
Thinking of this, William suddenly felt that the ground beneath his feet was much safer.
On the way over, he had asked Renai for more details.
Combining her story with his memories, William pieced together the plot of the original movie.
The Lambert family had five members. One of them, the son named Dalton, had the ability of astral projection.
Every night, Dalton's soul would leave his body and wander near the house.
But the world where souls were active was different from reality.
It was a place without time or boundaries.
It was filled with wandering dead souls and even evil spirits.
People called this space—The Further.
When Dalton's soul wandered, his physical body was left in an "empty" state.
To other dead spirits, this was a perfect vessel for possession.
As long as they could successfully occupy it, the dead could regain life and return to the human world.
But possession wasn't easy. Only when the connection between the original owner's soul and body became weak enough did the dead spirits have a chance.
That was why Renai's family was haunted by dead spirits, and why moving houses didn't help.
William calculated based on the current situation.
Right now, it should be the Lipstick-Face Demon from the original movie holding Dalton's soul captive.
If he remembered correctly, later on, the Lamberts would get help from a medium, and eventually succeed in retrieving Dalton's soul.
But the medium would lose her life in the process.
At this moment, that medium shouldn't have intervened yet.
Maybe William could save her life too.
He was quite willing to do such convenient good deeds. After all, he was working for the Lord now.
Renai came out of the house with tea.
She had never seen an exorcism before. seeing William pull out so many items, she assumed it had already started, so she felt a little nervous.
"Where is Dalton?" William asked.
"In his bedroom."
"Please bring him out here."
Renai nodded. Although she was confused, she really wanted William to take a look at her son's condition.
A moment later.
"Dalton isn't asleep, nor is he in a coma from falling off a ladder."
Using his [Night Vision] ability (which allowed him to see spiritual auras), William checked the boy's condition. It was exactly like the movie.
"Astral projection?" Renai looked bewildered.
Seeing this, William explained it in simple terms.
Tears streamed from Renai's eyes.
She had been tormented every day for months, and finally, she had found the truth!
William took out an Exorcism Bible. "Right now, Dalton's shell hasn't been occupied yet. Place this on him."
This was the bible William had specially prepared for this commission. It was the one the old priest used to use.
Its holy power was second only to the bible William practiced with daily in the church and the pocket bible he carried on his person.
Renai took it carefully.
She had already witnessed William's skills. Seeing hope for her son at last, she was overcome with emotion.
After taking her son back inside, Renai called Josh's mother to share the good news.
Josh's mother had been staying with them recently but was out on errands today.
Meanwhile, William looked around.
This was a typical North American residential neighborhood.
Wide streets, low fences, neatly trimmed lawns.
It gave off a strong middle-class vibe.
But!
Such an open space had absolutely zero defensibility!
Couldn't any ghost just waltz right in?
William's sense of danger skyrocketed.
He immediately got up and took tools out of his travel bag.
Dustin followed behind excitedly.
William first did a lap around the house.
There was a lake behind the main house, separating this side from the opposite bank.
To ordinary people, the scenery was beautiful.
But to William, this was a dead end! If they encountered danger, there would be no way to run.
The houses on both sides were close to neighbors, so those weren't viable escape routes either.
Only the main street in front of the house could be used for evacuation.
"Such weak safety awareness!" William muttered to himself.
His church had eight exits prepared, distributed both above and below ground.
In case of danger, William could ensure he was gone within three minutes.
"Whatever. It's not my house. I'll just have to make do."
So William took out his bells and set up a Demon-Trapping Array two meters outside the house.
Then, another one at ten meters.
Then, another at twenty meters.
After finishing, he buried icons of saints between the three arrays and paid special attention to the escape route, just in case of emergencies during withdrawal.
With this, one-third of the preparatory measures were complete.
"Huff... puff..."
Dustin was panting heavily. He had been running around with William and was now covered in sweat.
"Is this what exorcism is like...?"
He thought it was finally over.
But in the next moment, he saw William walking towards the house next door.
...
Ding-dong.
Mary opened her door and looked at the child in front of her with a strange expression.
Standing on the street behind him was a priest.
"Can I help you?"
Dustin felt awkward. clutching the crucifix in his hand, he said, "Um... Ma'am, have you noticed anything strange lately...?"
After some awkward communication, Dustin returned dejectedly.
"Isn't Renai's house the one that's haunted? Why did you make me go next door?"
Dustin threw the crucifix back to William and asked angrily.
Exorcism wasn't fun at all!
But William didn't answer. He just moved on to the next house.
Half an hour later.
The two had visited all the neighbors within a thirty-meter radius.
And William finally confirmed that none of these people were possessed.
He wasn't being paranoid.
Renai's house was so "lively." What if one of the spirits sneaked out?
If they coordinated an attack from inside and outside, William and his group might be done for!
That was why he had Dustin knock on doors while he observed.
This arrangement wasn't because William was cowardly.
Right now, he was the only professional. If they really encountered an evil spirit, William needed to ensure he could control the situation.
Of course, he didn't put Dustin in danger.
While visiting, the kid had a year's supply of holy water in his pocket!
William had even given him his personal crucifix.
But after all this, Dustin already regretted coming.
The exorcism he imagined involved holding a cross and facing down demons and ghosts, resolving the battle in a cool and flashy way.
But now, he was just doing manual labor!
Just then, Renai came out again and invited the two inside for dinner. Josh had called to say he would be back a bit late.
But William refused again.
"No rush. I've only finished the preliminary perimeter work."
As he spoke, he took out a pile of holy artifacts and handed them to Renai, instructing her to place them in various spots around the house.
Entrances, windows, under beds, behind doors, cabinets...
These were all favorite hiding spots for ghosts.
As for why William didn't do it himself?
Hehe.
Obviously because Renai was more familiar with her own home and could do it more efficiently!
Anyway, William and Dustin ate their dinner outdoors.
William didn't eat immediately after getting his food.
Instead, he waited for Dustin to wolf down his meal, then waited another twenty minutes before he started eating.
During this time, Josh returned from school.
Seeing his wife holding crucifixes and amulets and placing them all over the house, he hurriedly asked what was happening.
When he heard that Renai had hired a priest to save their son and had to pay $1,000, Josh immediately thought his wife had lost her mind!
"Renai, you've been scammed! Ghosts, gods... it's all bullshit!"
Josh pushed open the doors to every room, shouting, "Where is that guy? Get out of my house right now!"
But Renai pointed outside. "He hasn't come inside yet."
Josh froze, following his wife's finger.
Sure enough, there was a priest standing there, but he was quite far away—at least twenty meters.
He thought for a moment, then rushed out of the house.
He raised his finger to point at the man, wanting to say something, but was momentarily speechless.
Tell him to get out?
But the guy hadn't even come in.
Call him a scammer?
Seemed plausible.
But Renai hadn't paid him yet. And they hadn't lost anything; in fact, Renai had taken a bunch of stuff from him.
After holding it in for a moment, Josh only managed to blurt out one sentence:
"You really are a coward!"