Demons Beside You

Chen Zhao and David stayed at home, waiting for Sienna’s return. Half an hour later, Sienna and Chris came back.

However, Sienna seemed somewhat clumsy. Her face was very dirty and her clothes looked as if she had been rolling on the ground. Chen Zhao had no idea what she had just experienced.

“Sienna, what happened?”

“Sigh, it’s that old dormitory in UCLA. It’s occupied by a small group of evil spirits which I can’t settle. Chen, I’ve helped you so many times. Shouldn’t you help me once too?”

“How many times have you helped me again?”

“That’s not important. Shouldn’t friends help each other?”

Chen Zhao thought over Sienna’s suggestion. Even without their friendship, Chen Zhao would still obtain angelic crystals by killing evil spirits.

“After we get Ken out of the police station, I’ll go to the place you just said.”

Hearing Chen Zhao’s promise, Sienna’s face filled with delight. “Let’s do it quick then. The pay for that job is quite high. What’s the current situation here?”

“We found out that there’s a witch-like existence in town.” David repeated Bant’s words.

“Not witch-like. That old woman is definitely a witch,” Sienna said firmly after hearing David’s description. “Also, I suspect that she’s already dead.”

“What? She’s dead?”

“That old woman should be a toxicologist. Her body’s long dead, but she used Soul Binding to bind her soul within her body, turning herself into a ghoul. She must feed on living things’ blood in order to maintain her bodily functions and not rot...” Sienna seemed to be very serious. “Chen, that old witch’s surely stronger than me. Can you defeat her?”

“I’m not sure either. If she’s purely an evil spirit, I’m most certain that I can, but I have no idea how to deal with someone whom we don’t even know is dead or alive. Is there anything special with a toxicologist? I mean, something that I need to look out for?”

“She’s now just a ghoul. Even without sorcery, she’s more dangerous than the most ferocious beast on land in terms of close combat. Guns are ineffective against her. Secondly, her soul has already turned into an evil spirit.”

“You said that witches can become very dangerous if they turn into evil spirits, right?” David recalled Sienna’s words in the past.

On their third night protecting Aisha, Sienna had said that should a witch turn into an evil spirit, she would become exceptionally powerful. Even she would not be able to defeat the spirit.

“Correct,” Sienna nodded. “Moreover, toxicologists are adept at using magic poisons and curses, therefore making them more threatening than the other classes. All in all, this old witch’s already become the most deadly monster.”

Hearing Sienna’s words, David could not help but swallow his saliva and look at Chen Zhao.

“Actually, I have something that can cause massive damage to evil spirits or even kill them directly,” Chen Zhao said. “But I’m not sure if it works on a ghoul.”

“What is it?”

Chen Zhao took out some angelic crystals from his spatial ring and put them on the table.

Everyone stared at the white crystals of various sizes before them and then looked at Chen Zhao, puzzled. “What are these?”

“That’s not important. Anyway, they’re very deadly against demons and evil spirits.”

Sienna took out a piece of angelic crystal. “It’s filled with a sacred scent... I know what to do!”

“What?”

“I’ll do it, but I need some time.”

“How long?”

“Maybe one or two days. The main problem is difficulty finding the materials I need.”

“What do you need? Perhaps I have them,” Chen Zhao said.

“No. I promised you that I’ll help you. Anyway, just leave this to me,” Sienna interrupted Chen Zhao’s speech.

“Also, most importantly, even though we know that the old witch is the real culprit, how do we help Ken to clear his name?” Chen Zhao added.

“If we tell the police that Deppler was killed by an old woman who’s over a hundred years old, we’ll probably be arrested first, right?” Chris commented.

“Not if we can obtain some key evidence,” David said. “Chen, did you say that the winery’s owner, Trede Pemton, is involved in all this?”

“It’s merely my suspicion for now. Can’t confirm it yet.” While Chen Zhao really suspected Trede, he had no solid evidence to prove his guess yet.

“Then we’ll let them expose themselves,” David suggested.

“How?”

“Let them know that I’m investigating them, and then show up in front of them. Perhaps they’ll take me as a sacrificial offering in order to conceal the truth.”

Frowning, Chen Zhao shook his head and rejected, “It’s too risky. Let me be the bait.”

“Chen, don’t forget that I’ve taken your potion. I’m at least twice as strong as a normal person now.”

“Can you survive a bullet?”

“Err... No.”

“So it doesn’t matter how strong you are.”

Just then, Fali came home. The conversation came to an abrupt stop.

Fali scanned everyone in the living room. “Is there something going on that you’re not telling me?”

“No,” said everyone in unison.

“So you are hiding something from me,” Fali confirmed.

“It’s useless for you to know it. There’s an old monster in town, so Fali, starting from tomorrow, Walter will be with you. Chris, you’ll have Carrie. David, you’ll be frequently on the roads, so Beelzebub will follow you. Sienna, bring Raymond with you,” Chen Zhao said.

They were overjoyed to be able to get a pet each.

In the mirror ward last time, they saw for themselves how terrifyingly powerful these pets were.

“David, Sienna, don’t count on Beelzebub and Raymond. Under normal circumstances, they’re just trash.”

Woof, woof!

Beelzebub barked to display his dissatisfaction. Chen Zhao rolled his eyes at Beelzebub for his reaction.

“But they’re more sensitive towards danger. If they realize there’s imminent danger, turn around and run. Do not hesitate.” Chen Zhao kicked Beelzebub. “When this is over, I’ll reward you. If you ruin it, I’ll fry you alive.”

Hearing Sienna’ description, Chen Zhao had already realized that the current situation was entirely different from the last few times.

The first time, although there were a lot of horrifying enemies, Blackie was with him.

Blackie was truly an evil spirit buster, after all. It did not even matter how many evil spirits there were.

The second time was in the Reflection Demon’s ward. While the Reflection Demon was indeed strong, Beelzebub and Raymond could also use some of their real powers. Moreover, Chen Zhao’s Gluttony Bloodline was activated and he devoured the Reflection Demon’s projection directly.

This time, however, Beelzebub and Raymond were of little use. Carrie was suppressed and would also not be able to unleash her full power. Walter was even worse, being only able to use brute force. The team was at a severe disadvantage against a ghoul.

Therefore, in the end, Chen Zhao could only hope that angelic crystals would be effective.

Otherwise, Chen Zhao could only take out all his demonic ritual implements and summon a demon army.

Nonetheless, he still wished that the situation would not be that bad.

A demon army would look really stylish, but he would become broke afterwards.