Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Truth be told,

Du Wei never imagined that his luck could be so rotten.

Was it because he had made too many enemies?

Or was the world just too dangerous?

It wasn't that trouble found him wherever he went; rather, wherever he went, there were Evil Spirits, Demons, and Strangeness that he had wronged.

The only thing missing was a Demon God.

"Could it be my problem?"

In the painting, Du Wei watched the outside world with a sullen face.

He was now hiding within the painting; neither the bus nor the Horror House had been able to pinpoint him, but two terrifyingly strange beings definitely knew he was in New York.

They just didn't realize that his location hadn't moved at all.

At that moment, a cold aura suddenly emanated from Du Wei's pocket, and he turned his head to see an envelope struggling to wriggle out.

"What's going on with you?"

Ever since he entered the Three Stone Coffins of Boine, the envelope had not come out again; it seemed to be trapped in some weird state.

And now, it was silently awakening.

Right at this moment.

No sooner had the envelope emerged, than Du Wei saw countless needle patterns crawling all over it.

The patterns twisted together, heaping up as if foreshadowing something.

This scene had happened before.

It was after Du Wei touched the Stele that bore the patterns of the Demon Gods, letting the envelope approach it on his behalf, that an aberration had occurred.

But that time, the envelope just failed to reveal any information related to the Demon Gods.

Beyond that, it could still communicate normally.

However, this time, the situation was much more severe.

[...]

The envelope hovered in front of Du Wei, shaking up and down incessantly as if trying to convey some message, but no matter what, it was unsuccessful.

A shadow flickered across Du Wei's eyes.

"Envelope?"

There was no precise response.

He asked again, "The Three Stone Coffins of Boine, did they make you remember something? You want to communicate it to me right now, don't you?"

The envelope trembled frantically.

Du Wei's gaze became even more dangerous, "Is it related to me? Or is it about the Demon Gods?"

It hesitated for a moment, then bobbed up and down as if nodding.

"Both?"

Du Wei was stunned, "Can you recover by yourself? Like last time, would you destroy yourself and then come back to life again?"

Those deeply hidden pieces of information were what Du Wei always longed for.

But the more he uncovered,

the more he realized there was a significant problem with himself.

Something was always affecting him; it might have been Rahmer's Bell or perhaps some other entity.

Therefore, a fire was always smoldering in Du Wei's heart.

The more he suppressed it, the angrier he became.

And the more he detested.

Just then, the envelope covered with dense needle patterns and floating in front of him suddenly burst into flames.

It understood Du Wei's words.

When the ashes scattered and it resurrected and crawled out from the inside,

a line of text starkly appeared on the paper.

[Master, that Three Stone Coffin of Boine, for some reason, it affected the envelope, the envelope remembered what happened last time, what's recorded on the Stele is, those Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods of Solomon...]

[They're spreading...]

The text appeared to this point when those bizarre symbols started to emerge, spreading outward again.

It seemed as if they were preventing the Envelope from revealing the truth.

[No good, the Envelope will soon forget that information, Master, you must remember, among the patterns on the Stele, there's one that represents you… ah… I'm dying, I'm dying.]

[Master, I, the Envelope, am indeed your most loyal dog!]

After the last line materialized, the entire Envelope once again turned to ash.

When it resurrected later.

[Huh, what just happened? Master, there's something wrong with your eyes, is there anything the Envelope did recently that you're unhappy with?]

Du Wei clenched his fists, and with a forced smile, said, "No, you've been doing very well lately, I'm very satisfied, I just suddenly really want to kill something."

The Envelope trembled with excitement.

[Brother Shadow, come out, it's time for you to give your all.]

Hiss...

A Dagger instantly pierced through the Envelope, and Brother Shadow, with his head tilted, stared with bloodshot eyes, puzzled and uncomprehending as he looked at the Envelope.

It was only then that the Envelope noticed.

Brother Shadow had been standing behind it the whole time, and another Dagger was also thrust through Gascogne's chest, pinning him firmly to the ground as he lay there unconscious and bleeding out excessively.

[Brother Shadow, don't do this, we're both the Master's most loyal subordinates, why should we fight to the death?]

The Envelope's attitude suddenly became obsequious.

And it continued spouting words incessantly.

[Where's that idiot Brand? That fool, disgusts me, I, the Envelope, detest bootlickers the most, he should be the one to die.]

Du Wei, with a somber tone, said, "He's already gone, we're inside the painting now, outside is New York, but two Strangeness are dragging the city's reflection, it seems they want New York to fall."

Whether it was due to the Envelope's strong bootlicking skills,

Or because its self-proclaimed image as Du Wei's most loyal dog had indeed become fixed,

Du Wei actually spoke patiently, explaining the situation to it.

This surprised and delighted the Envelope.

[Master, what's gotten into you? Why are you treating the Envelope with such an attitude? It's not fitting for someone of your villainous stature, you're supposed to coldly exploit the Envelope!]

[Wait a minute, you couldn't be fake, could you?]

[My Master is a being even more ruthless than the most evil capitalist, there's no way you'd converse with me, the Envelope, with a smile.]

[Who the hell are you!]

Seeing this, Du Wei's expression instantly became blank.

"You're about to become Freddy."

While saying this, he grabbed the Envelope and tore it into pieces.

Then he stopped bothering with the Envelope and cautiously observed the situation outside; he had no time to wonder why his own name would appear on the Stele that recorded the Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods.

In fact, he hadn't seen it.

Unless his true name had also turned into one of those bizarre patterns.

Right now, what concerned him was what the bus and the Horror House were trying to do; whether they wanted to trap him in New York and destroy the entire city along with him.

Behind him, the Envelope torn into pieces gathered together again.

[This familiar feeling, Master, I was wrong, I shouldn't have doubted you, you did exactly the right thing, your punishment of the Envelope isn't really punishment.]

[It's all your teaching.]

[The Envelope understands, the Envelope knows you best.]

Du Wei frowned and scolded, "Shut up."

[As you command, my great Master.]

The Envelope did not dare to produce any more words; it retreated in front of Brother Shadow; or rather, it faced the unconscious Gascogne.

[Yo, isn't this the idiot dog who foolishly confessed to Minette in front of my Master of the Evil Spirit, go ahead and be arrogant, why aren't you speaking, why are you covered in blood...]

[Tsk... bootlickers really don't end well.]

At that moment, Du Wei suddenly said in a cold voice, "Wait, their target doesn't seem to be me, but Boine's Three Stone Coffins."