The Exorcist

Book 4: Chapter 24: This is an affair?

Matsui Iwane was sleeping.

At least, thats what it seemed like on the surface.

Wan Li ostentatiously strolled randomly around the luxury ward, looking here and there, putting on an appearance of checking the instruments. In reality, he was observing the entire ward, checking to see if there were other secrets hidden here. All his attention was focused on the person lying on the bed.

Ruan Zhan told him to adapt to the circumstances, but Wan Li wasnt like Ruan Zhan who controlled his emotions, only making a move when he had a plan in place. Wan Li was a little more like Xiao Xia. He liked to uncover things and then face the opponent head on. This was probably why he got along so well with Xiao Xia!

However, he wasnt as impetuous as she was!

At this moment, he wanted to provoke that old fellow into dropping his act. That way, he could directly see his opponents abilities. At the least, provoking him into acting would give Ruan Zhan an advantage! However, he also had to ensure his own safety. Therefore, he stuck some talismans with extremely powerful protective abilities onto his chest before stepping towards the sickbed.

Matsui Iwane lay there silently, surrounded by tubes and machines. His entire body seemed like a grapevine made of flesh, limp and powerless.

Its clearly an act. Wan Li thought. If he never woke up, it would be a huge blessing.

Although he was a psychiatrist, he still had some basic medical knowledge. According to the instruments, this old fogey was truly in danger. However, since he knew the full story, he knew Matsui Iwanes condition was fake. He could actually control his own bodys condition. As expected, he was an expert!

However, Wan Li wasnt afraid no matter what kind of expert he was, even if this old fellow turned out to be more terrifying than an evil spirit. Although his expression remained unconcerned, his entire body was tensed in anticipation.

Good old Chairman Mao had an excellent saying: treat the enemy with disdain when making your plans, but treat them seriously when executing your tactics.

He bent over slightly and stretched his hand out to lift the patients oxygen mask. He was waiting to see how long his opponent would keep up the act, but there was still no reaction. This aroused his interest and his childishness burst forth. He wanted to see how much a Japanese person, who were known for their endurance, could actually endure. Therefore, he poked and prodded the old fogey but there was still no movement.

Truly good at enduring!

He praised insincerely in his mind as he stretched his hand into his shirt and pulled out a talisman. He made to stick in in between Matsui Iwanes brows. This time, the opponent finally reacted. Wan Li felt his hand being grabbed by a wizened yet forceful hand. At the same time, those eyes in front of him opened wide!

Japanese? I cant understand it. After the opponent spat out a vicious line in Japanese, Wan Li was still beaming. He pulled his hand away but actually wasnt able to get free.

Dont underestimate an old mans ability! Matsui Iwane spoke in stiff Chinese.

But theres a saying in Chinese: the fist fears the vigor of youth. Wan Li pulled harder and immediately pulled free. The pain in his wrist made him suck in many cold breaths in his heart. However, he kept an indifferent expression on his face.

Matsui Iwane sat up with a swish, as though there was a spring installed. There were no signs of illness at all. His speed in getting up gave Wan Li a fright. He didnt have time to react before Matsui Iwane formed a strange seal with his hands. There was a flash and something white shot straight towards his chest.

He instinctively stepped back. His vision blurred and there was no time to defend himself. There was a bang and a heavy force struck his chest. Luckily he had placed the protective talismans inside his shirt in advance. Therefore, there was only a slight burning pain. He merely fell against the wall in his attempt to dodge, but wasnt as heavily injured as the ambusher intended.

He lowered his head for a look and saw a white icy mark on his chest. As he watched, it swiftly melted.

Yo, my clothes are wet. Itll be cold! He fished out a talisman from his shirt as he spoke and pounced over at Matsui Iwane.

At that instant, he had suddenly felt it was a good opportunity to attack. The Japanese person had some ability but it wasnt enough to threaten his life. Wan Li had some understanding of spells and also had talismans with Ruan Zhans concentrated spirit power.

Matsui Iwane also received a shock.

He thought his ice spike would penetrate Wan Lis chest and infiltrate his heart, turning him into his servant within three days. Then, Wan Li would die inconspicuously after Matsui Iwane left China. He didnt expect his full-powered strike to fail. His opponent pounced over like a ferocious tiger.

However, he still had some composure and didnt panic when facing death. Seeing Wan Lis large figure pressing down upon him like Mt. Tai, he hurriedly formed another seal and shot the ice spike that formed at Wan Lis brow.

Their circumstances were identical. The outcome depended on who was faster!

Actually, Matsui Iwane was faster. He was a Yinyang master infused with spirit power after all. The ice weapon he shot forth reached Wan Lis brow before he made his move.

There couldnt be a protective talisman in that location! The spike would shoot through his brain!

At this moment of life or death, the ice spike touched Wan Lis skin. Then, to both of their amazement, it seemed to lose all its power and fell to the floor. By the time it shattered, Wan Li had already reached the bedside. Under Matsui Iwanes glower, he didnt use any talisman and instead gave him a vicious blow to the temple.

The arrogant elder Matsui immediately fell unconscious!

Wan Li took a rough breath and touched his brow. He didnt understand why the ice gave him a burning pain. Luckily he wasnt bleeding. He was also lucky he hadnt been faster. If he had advanced another ten centimeters, his head would definitely have a new hole in it.

He bent over and repositioned the unconscious Matsui Iwane. I didnt ambush you, right? I clearly knew you were playing dead, but still woke you up first! We Chinese people have always done things openly.

He grumbled while wondering why the ice spike suddenly lost its power. Was Matsui Iwanes strength lacking or was there someone watching over him?

Regardless, he had managed to avoid calamity!

His plan was to provoke this old fogey and suffer some serious injury while reducing his opponents strength in return and mess up his plans. This was to seize the initiative for Ruan Zhan and then he would run for his life!

This was the hospital after all, a public place. The Japanese people couldnt make too much of a commotion here. As a last resort, he would just make a huge ruckus. There was no way his opponent wouldnt restrain himself. Furthermore, he also had the protective talisman. Ruan Zhan had even drawn a clarity talisman on his back which prevented his mind from being attacked. However, it had been Ruan Zhans first time drawing it and he himself wasnt sure of its effectiveness.

However, the strength Matsui Iwane displayed gave him the urge to attack. He had a feeling that was almost subconscious. This old man might very well be an expert, but his powers currently seemed to be exhausted. He looked strong on the outside but was actually weak. He was just an ordinary Yinyang Master, and he was even frail due to age. He didnt have many advantages.

What had happened? If his powers had decreased so dramatically, did someone elses increase accordingly? Matsui Shigenori was dead. Was there really a fourth person? Or was Matsui Noriko the true expert here?! Where had she gone just now? What had she gone to do? Did Wan Li end up following the wrong person? Would Ruan Zhan be in trouble?

The string of questions made it hard for him to come to any conclusions. He stood there pondering with his brow furrowed and didnt hear the approaching footsteps. Only when someone politely greeted a passing nurse by the door did he notice. He didnt have time to think things through and could only dive under the bed. He also brushed the ice fragments underneath, completely forgetting he had an invisibility talisman in his pocket.

The door opened. A person walked over lithely. From the steps and the clothing, Wan Li immediately recognized Matsui Noriko. This made him let out a breath since this meant she hadnt gone to the love motel. Even if she was extremely powerful, it wouldnt have been possible for her to defeat Ruan Zhan in such a short time. Wan Li was extremely confident in this. Ruan Zhans experience meant the stronger his opponent, the stronger he would become.

Matsui Noriko hesitated for a moment after entering, slowly walking to the window. Wan Li thought her feet were a little large. Thinking of her tall and delicate body along with her beautiful and exquisite face, he felt her feet were a flaw. He finally understood that all beauties had their flaws.

But as he was lamenting over Matsui Norikos flaw, she started speaking. She spoke Japanese so he couldnt understand. He just felt her womans tenor was very pleasant to listen to and very gentle.

The room was silent. Only the beeping machines responded to her.

Master. Suddenly, a male voice rang out. It spoke in Chinese, but it was a little rigid and strangely accented.

The abrupt voice startled Wan Li.

There wasnt anything wrong with his eyes. He had even checked all the cabinets and drawers when he entered. There truly hadnt been anyone else! Was it that fourth person? Where had he been hiding? Why didnt he notice him? Had he been hiding or was it sorcery?

Shigenori-kun has already gone over. I helped him release the toxic gas. That man continued speaking. I just dealt with the aftermath at the morgue. He laughed lightly. Shigenori-kun is really sloppy. He didnt even close the door properly. People would be frightened if they noticed it.

Cold sweat trickled down Wan Lis back. The first reason being this was the first time he heard that Matsui Shigenori hadnt died, and had even burst out of the morgue to roam around. The second reason was that the mans laugh made him recall a personMatsui Noriko.

Matsui Noriko was a man?! Such a beautiful, exquisite person was male, or perhaps a transvestite? Why was he speaking Chinese? Had Wan Li been discovered? More womanly than a woman, but with a male voice. This was truly weird!

While Wan Li was astonished, Matsui Noriko continued speaking. Master, my Chinese has improved. You said I should practice my Chinese while in China, but I keep forgetting. Im so jealous of Shigenori-kun. Hes a prodigy at learning the Yinyang Arts, but the only thing I managed to learn after all this time is to cast fog. That day when he exchanged his inner breath, he didnt kill those women. He even turned them into snow skeletons and brought them all with him today. Probably to deal with that Chinese person. I think he did the right thing. Otherwise, people would get suspicious if innocent people died in the hospital. Its also very useful since theyre still human after all. That Chinese person wouldnt kill his own people, right?!

Controlling women to do his bidding? This was something else that they hadnt anticipated. Could Ruan Zhan handle it? Wan Li grew more anxious the more he listened.

Master, why arent you saying anything? Matsui Noriko started feeling something wasnt right in the abnormal silence. She swiftly walked to the bed, switching to Japanese due to anxiety. The bed also started shaking. There was no need to guess what she was doing.

Without waiting for Matsui Noriko to figure out what had happened to Matsui Iwane, Wan Li stretched his hands out from beneath the bed and exerted a little force. That beauty fell directly to the floor.

Wan Li swiftly crawled out from under the bed. Even he hadnt thought he could move so fast. The moment he got on top of Matsui Noriko, he unrestrainedly copped a feel.

Male, as expected. He announced his verdict.

Matsui Noriko didnt react due to shock, and merely glared with his pretty eyes.

So beautiful yet actually a man. Are you a freak? Wan Li stretched his hand out as he spoke and felt his chest. He wasnt being perverted. These three Japanese people were too weird and unexpected things kept happening. He had to be completely sure.

His touch confirmed that despite there being a bra for pretenses, it was definitely a males flat chest under the clothing. Furthermore, it was a very frail one.

Matsui Noriko finally reacted at this point, roaring a line in Japanese. He was probably cursing Wan Li. However, Wan Li couldnt understand a word, and he also didnt much care. This person was a bro after all.¹ The Japanese man who was more beautiful than a beauty wasnt able to overcome him at all.

However, at this time a nurse knocked on the door and came inside. She seemed to be doing routine inspections. She happened to see Wan Li and Matsui Noriko tangled together in an embrace, probably looking very enthusiastic.

She was obviously shocked, standing a full ten seconds with her mouth open.

Havent you seen an affair before? Wan Li reacted swiftly and said. Please leave. Let us continue.

That nurse didnt say a word and practically fled. She didnt even forget to close the door on her way out.

As expected of a nurse in the luxury ward! Wan Li praised. He then turned back to the Japanese sissy. Unfortunately, youre going to have to sleep for a while.

He mercilessly sent out another fist, striking that lovely face.

It seems Japanese Yinyang Masters truly dont accept any women! He spoke as he threw the unconscious person onto the sofa. He fished out that invisibility talisman, stuck it on and walked out.

He probably didnt have the opportunity to warn Ruan Zhan anymore. Matsui Shigenori had already gone over. If he called Ruan Zhan at this time, he might give his position away.

He had been lucky and encountered the weakest group. He could only hope the other two wont be in too much danger.

He couldnt leave. He had to make sure the two werent able to make any moves, and ensure the minor characters couldnt become a major threat. The rest would depend on the other two. He could only wait and see if their trusty trio was unbeatable.

He also had to find some chloroform. If those Japanese people woke up at an inopportune moment, he didnt want to resort to violence again.

He was a cultured person with higher education!

1. The raw used wordplay where the term for slut/cheap person is kind of a homophone for gym rat.