Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Mistaken assumptions are built on norms, fixed patterns of thinking and cognition.

If a bus can hold sixteen passengers, then how many seats are there in total?

Most people would think there are sixteen.

But Du Wei thought there should be seventeen.

The driver's seat should also be counted, even if in a certain sense, this is a BUG.

At this moment, inside the compartment.

Du Wei pulled out a silver cross dagger and struck the partition window fiercely.

With a crash, glass shards scattered all over the ground.

Reaching in, he pushed open the lock of the driver's compartment with the back of his hand and then gripped the driver's arms.

When he touched them...

It felt hollow.

It was as if he had grabbed a skin suit, and the sensation transmitted to Du Wei's fingers gave him a jolt of terror for the first time.

He had thought it was a corpse, but it turned out to be just skin.

Without time to think further, Du Wei forcefully dragged the driver out of the seat and tossed him aside, leaving him limp on the floor, nothing more than a thin layer of skin besides the clothes.

Then, he took the driver's seat, placed his hands on the steering wheel, and pressed the door close button.

Now, Du Wei was playing the role of the driver.

With a creak...

The front door of the bus instantly shut.

In the bus, the last woman who boarded, wrapped in bandages, stood still and glanced at Du Wei, then turned and walked towards the back.

At this instant, the seat that had been Du Wei's was now taken by the first male passenger, the tall figure with a head and palms wrapped in bandages.

The last female passenger walked towards Linda, who was in a daze, reached out her hand, and pressed it on her head.

Click...

Du Wei saw in the rearview mirror of the bus that Linda's head was removed, and what was eerie was that there was not a single trace of blood at the wound, and no blood spurted out as one would expect.

Then, it unwrapped the bandages around its head, revealing nothing inside, stuffed Linda's head in, and re-wrapped the bandages...

The process was repeated, and the entire torso was filled in turn.

It was as if it were making nesting dolls...

Du Wei took a deep breath, withdrew his gaze, and no longer paid attention to it. The bus had already begun to move slowly, heading towards the next stop.

For some reason, once he took the driver's seat, his Spirit Vision began to fade gradually.

Although he didn't understand the principle behind this phenomenon, it was ultimately good news.

...

Midnight, 11:21.

The bus slowed down and came to a stop.

This time, the passengers holding black umbrellas started to disembark one after another.

Du Wei let out a slight sigh of relief.

He glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed that the two bandaged entities, which are likely Evil Spirits sitting in the seats originally occupied by him and Linda, showed no intention of getting off.

"Looks like I'll have to wait for the next one, or maybe the one after that,"

Du Wei silently told himself in his heart that the chance to leave was approaching.

In fact, he didn't want to stay another moment. If it weren't for the fact that his Spirit Vision automatically disappeared as soon as he sat in the driver's seat, and he felt a faint sense of security, he would have already crushed the mirror.

Sitting in the driver's seat of the bus, Du Wei dared not relax and remained vigilant, on guard for any dangers that might arise at any moment.

He still had plenty of items in his backpack, enough to handle some emergency situations.

Suddenly...

Du Wei noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the human skin lying on the ground, or more precisely, the half cross that was protruding from his chest pocket.

It was covered in rust, but he could vaguely make out the elaborate relief—some kind of inscription from the church and angelic patterns.

This is…

Du Wei furrowed his brows and looked at the silver cross dagger held in his right hand, the inscriptions and patterns on its surface were essentially similar.

"It's something from the church."

Du Wei felt an ominous sense and, after pondering for a moment, bent down to pull over the clothes that were originally on the human skin.

Besides the rusty cross, Du Wei also found a small booklet in the pocket.

The first page read:

[Name: Andrew Dowqui]

[Date of Birth: November 09, 1856]

[Date of Admission: October 14, 1871]

[Duty: Exorcism]

The second page read:

[In 1873, assigned by Bishop Matthew to Jedecra State, resolved fourteen Evil Spirit incidents by 1882 and was awarded the Steel Medal by the church]

[In 1883, due to severe Spirit Vision phenomenon, underwent Evil Spirit Transformation. After years of the church's baptism, the hidden dangers were eliminated, but he lost the ability of Spirit Vision and could only go to Yard City to serve as a bishop]

[In 1885, due to an Evil Spirit incident in Yard City, influenced by the Evil Spirit, Andrew Dowqui re-entered the Third Phase of Spirit Vision; baptisms were ineffective and in August of the same year, he was enrolled into the Hunters]

At this point, an unusual light shone in Du Wei's eyes.

The first two pages of this booklet narrated the life of Andrew Dowqui, but they revealed a great deal of secretive information.

For instance, Evil Spirit Transformation and the Third Phase of Spirit Vision mentioned in the second and third points.

In this segment of information, the word 'again' was used, corresponding to Evil Spirit Transformation in the second point, suggesting that there was some connection between the Third Phase of Spirit Vision and Evil Spirit Transformation.

Moreover, Du Wei noticed that when Andrew Dowqui re-entered the Third Phase of Spirit Vision, the baptisms were ineffective, and he was incorporated into a group known as the "Hunters."

What exactly were the Hunters?

And what does the so-called Evil Spirit Transformation mean?

Also, Father Tony, who had him board this public bus, was there a connection to this Hunter?

Du Wei carefully pondered; the first two questions had no immediate answers, but regarding Father Tony...

He thought it was highly unlikely because when the request was made, the goal was only to have Du Wei investigate and contain the two bizarre buses. If Father Tony was aware of the existence of Andrew Dowqui, there would be no need to hide it from him.

Because doing so would only complicate matters, a superfluous move.

With this thought, Du Wei turned to the third page.

The pages following the third were filled with information written by Andrew Dowqui himself, akin to diary entries.

Du Wei quickly flipped past the initial information, directly searching for entries about this public bus:n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

[1899: June 28]

[I've received a letter from Matthew. He wants me to investigate a public bus haunted by an Evil Spirit. I have agreed, though my feelings are complex. After so many years, he has entered the higher echelons of the church, leading all Exorcists, while I have become this neither human nor ghost figure, compiled into the Hunters. I know this is my fate; my life is destined to struggle against these evil entities. Even if one day I become an Evil Spirit and lose my self-awareness, I will have no regrets]

…

[1899: June 30]

[I've finally found that bus. I attempted to destroy its medium, but regrettably, I failed. It seems as though its medium can never be destroyed]

…

[1899: July 1]

[It appears that the bus only emerges on rainy days. Today, the rain is particularly heavy. With no other choices, I decided to board the bus and try to destroy it]

…

[1899: July 1]

[It's the middle of the night. I've spent an entire day on the bus. I've discovered that this bus seems to be ferrying Evil Spirits to their destinations. The bus itself seems to be something more terrifying than the Evil Spirits, but I can assure, it's definitely not an Evil Spirit. It follows its rules, and neither human nor Evil Spirit can defy it]

…

[1899: July 2]

[It's now midnight. I am unable to leave this public bus. I feel I'm becoming a part of it. I am resisting. Remember, time... time... must remember the time...]