American Exorcism Male God

The marble long table had plenty of seats, but the pair sat very close to each other, displaying an intimacy that suggested they were either a married couple or lovers.

Even exorcists need to show off their love? Xu Yi felt as if he had taken ten thousand points of critical damage.

Perhaps it was the bad influence of the Warrens; now it seemed to have become trendy in the Exorcism World to pair men and women together.

Both individuals were undoubtedly exorcists; their unique energy field was unmistakable. But what concerned him more was the metal case they carried with them.

A complex energy field surrounded the metal case, leading Xu Yi to believe that it contained Exorcism Artifacts—and judging by the circumstances, not just one.

"These two are Hunter and Laura, members of the Lopez family," the butler introduced.

No wonder they possessed so many Exorcism Artifacts, Xu Yi realized in an epiphany.

Members of the Lopez family had been exorcists for generations. At their zenith, they were the King's personal exorcists, but in modern times, their glory had begun to fade.

The butler prepared a sumptuous meal, Xu Yi ate heartily, while Hunter and Laura only picked at their food, and the mercenary Ryan didn't have much of an appetite either.

The exorcism was imminent, and they were far from as relaxed as they appeared on the surface.

They had not seen James, which Xu Yi had predicted.

A wise man does not stand under a shaky wall, and as an influential magnate, James certainly wouldn't put himself in danger.

"The rooms are all ready. You can rest after you finish eating. Tomorrow, someone will take you to the old theatre," the butler said, leading them to their respective rooms.

Xu Yi set down his luggage in his room and, turning around, realized the butler had not left.

"Is there something else?" Xu Yi could tell the man wanted to say something.

"Mr. James has a message he would like me to pass on to Mr. Xu," the butler said softly.

Xu Yi was puzzled; he had never met James, what would he have to say to him in private?

"Mr. James hopes that you will give up on this exorcism. If you're in need of money, we're willing to offer you 300,000 without any conditions," the butler said.

Could it really be such good fortune falling from the sky? Xu Yi's eyes widened.

But he quickly figured out the cause and effect. "Is it because of the Spiritual Awakening?"

Someone of James' stature would be the most well-informed of all; he probably had researched him long ago.

Apart from Spiritual Awakening, Xu Yi couldn't think of any other reason a tycoon would freely offer him 300,000.

"The 300,000 is just to forge an acquaintance with Mr. Xu. If there is a chance for Spiritual Awakening, Mr. James also has a small gift to offer—a row of 32 shops on a commercial street."

The butler spoke evenly, without a flutter in his voice, as if what he was offering were not 32 shops, but 32 heads of cabbage.

Xu Yi was inwardly astounded. True to being a wealthy family, they could offer something worth hundreds of millions as if it were nothing!

But he was well aware that this was not an offer he could accept.

The prerequisite for Spiritual Awakening was either meeting a Loyalty Value or Favorability threshold. For a magnate like James, who would never willingly play second fiddle to anyone, that was out of the question.

In fact, if James had asked the church for help, he could have probably resolved the Evil Spirit issue in the old theatre long ago.

But due to a recent dispute with the church, he had recruited these "Loose Cultivators."

All of this information had been gathered by Ailent, and there was likely no error in its veracity. To think that someone who wouldn't bend the knee to the church would pledge loyalty to him?

To accept probably meant welcoming a heap of trouble.

"I'm very sorry, but I appreciate Mr. James's kind intention. However, I'm here solely for the exorcism," Xu Yi politely declined.

"We were presumptuous. Mr. James said that if you are insistent on the exorcism, he hopes you take good care of yourself," the butler said gently.

Am I really not that promising? After all, I'm a genius exorcist from the Xia Kingdom! Xu Yi grumbled inwardly.

"Furthermore, we are going to increase the bounty to $500,000 for this occasion!" the butler announced another even more explosive piece of news.

Xu Yi's eyes lit up; if the exorcism succeeded this time around, not only would he have the money to buy a villa, but also the funds to set up his own studio.

If he economized a bit, he might even switch to a new car.

He had gotten quite tired of Ailent's old seventh or eighth-hand Ford that was noisy everywhere except the radio at higher speeds, as if it were about to fall apart.

"The previous exorcists collected some information, hoping it could be of assistance to Mr. Xu," the butler said, handing Xu Yi a stack of documents.

Xu Yi thanked the butler and then watched him leave.

"This James must be no ordinary person, to have a butler of such caliber!" Xu Yi exclaimed in admiration.

But that was to be expected; who would dare to cause trouble with the church if they were just an ordinary person?

"Anyway, I'm just here to perform the exorcism and get paid; I needn't concern myself with the rest." Xu Yi started to browse through the documents the butler had given him.

At the top of the documents were pictures that could very likely incite feelings of nausea and panic in common people upon viewing them.

The pictures were of dead people, who had died in very gruesome ways – their mouths agape, their tongues torn out from the roots.

Having looked through the photos, Xu Yi began to review the information beneath them.

After so many exorcists' investigations, the identity of the Evil Spirit was already no secret, which undoubtedly saved Xu Yi a lot of effort.

When conducting an exorcism, identifying the Evil Spirit is very important.

From the identity of the Evil Spirit, one could infer its abilities and even the location of its Vessel.

"Beware the stare of Mary Shaw, who had no children, only dolls. And if you see her in your dreams, be sure you never, ever scream!"

At the very beginning of the documents was actually a nursery rhyme.

Xu Yi gazed at the name "Mary Shaw," thoughtfully.

Beneath the nursery rhyme was an introduction to the information about Mary Shaw.

"Mary Shaw used to be a ventriloquist in a theater; during one show, she was challenged by a boy in the audience, leading to a fierce conflict that ended on a sour note."

"Not long after, the boy mysteriously vanished. The villagers suspected Mary Shaw of retaliating and killing the innocent child out of vengeance. In their rage, they stormed the theater, brutally tore out Mary Shaw's tongue, and threw her into the flames."

No wonder along the way, he had seen so many abandoned houses at the roadside! Xu Yi suddenly understood.

Soon after Mary Shaw's death, she turned into an Evil Spirit and brutally harmed the nearby villagers. Those who were fortunate enough to survive had long fled the area.

At the end of the documents were even suggestions for the exorcism, though it was unclear who had written them.

"First: Find the Puppets made by Mary Shaw and burn them! According to the investigation, Mary Shaw had a total of 101 Puppets, and up until now, 38 have been confirmed as having been burned."

Upon reading the first suggestion, Xu Yi's brow furrowed. If all these Puppets made by Mary Shaw were Vessels, that would be troublesome.

Finding and burning all the Puppets would not be an easy task.

No wonder so many exorcists had come before and still hadn't managed to deal with Mary Shaw.

"Second: Hidden within the old theater lies the secret of Mary Shaw; please explore with caution."

"Third: If you encounter Mary Shaw, remain calm, and remember never to scream in fright!"

It appeared that this exorcism was indeed well-suited for him, Xu Yi was confident. To kill, Mary Shaw required people to be scared and then scream out loud.

Against an Evil Spirit with such "rule-based" killing, once their method was rendered ineffective, their threat would be greatly diminished.