When the couple learned that the evil spirit hiding in their home had been banished, they burst into tears of joy and held each other tightly. Watching this scene unfold, Theresa sincerely felt happy for the family.
Turning her head, she saw that Su Fan was already standing by the car.
Theresa had assumed he would leave right after finishing the job, but instead, she watched him pull a case out of the trunk. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked over.
“Su, what are you doing?”
As she drew closer, she saw him take out yellow paper, ink, a brush, and an inkstone from the case. He carried them over to a table in the courtyard not far away, and she couldn’t help but ask.
“Drawing talismans,” Su Fan replied softly.
“Talismans? You mean those mysterious symbols you drew in the air with your bare hand earlier?”
Theresa immediately recalled the sight of Su Fan tracing runes midair with his finger.
“Yes. But this time, they’re for them to keep.”
There was no wind, and the weather was reasonably pleasant. Drawing talismans outdoors posed no problem.
In fact, it didn’t really matter where he drew them. Ever since acquiring the Tongtian Lu (Divine Talisman Scripture), Su Fan was no longer bound by the need for brush, ink, paper, or inkstone. The reason he still carried these tools was twofold.
First, the talismans he’d been making so far were all on yellow paper with black ink. Suddenly changing the format would probably make customers uneasy. That fixed impression of the product had already formed, so there was no need to tamper with it unnecessarily.
Second, the process of grinding ink was, for Su Fan, a way to relax and unwind.
“Bathsheba has been destroyed, but the contaminated water and other things still carry a faint trace of evil energy. On top of that, the family’s minds and bodies have been worn down by the spirit’s torment—they’re weakened, which makes them easy targets for other unclean things.”
Theresa nodded after hearing Su Fan’s explanation, signaling that she understood.
This time, the act of drawing the talismans mattered more than the talismans themselves. Compared to the time before the showdown with Paimon, Su Fan’s movements were noticeably slower.
He ground the ink, laid out the paper, and guided the brush with smooth, steady strokes—measured, fluid, and done in one go.
While drawing, Su Fan felt an unprecedented sense of calm wash over him. The effect was remarkable—even during his meditation sessions, he had never experienced such stillness.
Perhaps the Tongtian Lu was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. It didn’t just enhance his talisman arts—it brought him other things as well. Looking back at all the abilities and skills he had acquired so far, their descriptions were all rather vague. That meant he would have to explore their full potential on his own, little by little.
The Tongtian Lu was likely no exception.
By the time Su Fan emerged from that state of perfect stillness, he turned to find Theresa holding a small stack of talisman papers in her hands.
“All done?” she asked gently.
Noticing that Su Fan had slipped into a delicate trance, Theresa had chosen not to disturb him. She’d simply stood quietly by his side, occasionally gathering the dried talismans to keep them from being blown away by a sudden gust of wind.
“All done,” Su Fan nodded.
He took the papers she handed over and flipped through them.
Aside from the basic talismans for warding off evil and protecting the home, there were also talismans for restoring health, summoning thunder, calming the mind, and more.
From the pile, he selected nine and handed them to Theresa.
“Take these to the family.”
The nun listened carefully as he explained the purpose of each talisman, how to use them, and the basic precautions. But before she could set off, she saw the Perron couple walking over, leaning on each other for support.
“Ms. Caroline, you came at just the right time.”
Theresa handed the talismans to them and relayed Su Fan’s instructions verbatim.
Roger, being the only one in the family who had used a talisman before, knew better than anyone just how miraculous those yellow slips of paper were. Seeing so many of them, he was both overjoyed and deeply moved.
“Please, you must stay the night so we can properly thank you both,” he urged.
“No need. We’re heading to the next place,” Su Fan declined with a shake of his head. “You should check on the state of your house. Brace yourselves—the damage isn’t catastrophic, but it’s far from minor.”
“I think repaying your kindness matters more than the state of our house,” Roger insisted.
Just as he finished, the frail Caroline spoke up as well.
“From morning until now, you two haven’t even had a sip of water. After everything you’ve done for us, we’d feel terrible if we didn’t do something in return…”
Caroline had suffered the most under Bathsheba’s influence, and her condition was the worst of everyone’s. But thanks to Su Fan’s talismans and Theresa’s prayers, she was at least able to speak and walk again.
They both looked at Su Fan with earnest hope, but he simply shook his head once more.
“We truly appreciate your kindness, but we’ll have to take a rain check. Your family’s finances aren’t exactly comfortable right now—there’s no need to push yourselves.”
Seeing that Su Fan wasn’t willing to elaborate, Theresa stepped in and politely declined on his behalf.
“Until we meet again. We’ll be going now.”
——-
After leaving the Perron family, Su Fan didn’t head straight to the last location on his list. Instead, he drove toward the direction of the Walk of Fame.
Having obtained critical intelligence, Su Fan was now feeling a rare sense of urgency. One thing was certain: from here on out, every evil spirit he encountered would be stronger than the last.
To be safe, he decided to head back to the shop and pick up his sword and the lightning-struck wood knuckle-dusters first.
Theresa, sitting in the passenger seat, seemed to be lost in thought.
“I heard from Ms. Elise that you charge for your exorcism services, and that the talismans come at a price too, right?” She turned her head, resting her cheek on her hand. “So why didn’t you ask the Perrons for payment? Was it because you couldn’t bear to?”
“They couldn’t afford it anyway,” Su Fan replied flatly.
They’d taken out a loan to buy a haunted house, couldn’t afford proper renovations, had five kids to raise, and Roger was the sole breadwinner. After covering basic living expenses, whatever little money they had left went straight to paying off the loan. Under those circumstances, how could he possibly ask for payment?
Besides, this whole affair was tied to Su Fan in a way he couldn’t escape.
Bathsheba herself wasn’t all that powerful. Ed and Lorraine could have handled her on their own. But because of Su Fan’s presence, that otherwise unremarkable spirit had been granted power by a demon lord.
What started as one person’s suffering—Caroline’s—had now dragged the entire family into torment.
That was exactly why Su Fan had done everything he could to keep them alive during the exorcism and had left them talismans afterward.
The strong grow stronger; the weak grow weaker. What a matching system.
Su Fan grumbled inwardly.
The next exorcism case waiting for him would probably be just like this one—already lying in ambush, expecting his arrival.
Using this brief moment of respite, Su Fan began racking his brain, trying to recall every detail he could about that horror movie—Annabelle.
