The Seventy-Two Pillar Demon Gods of Solomon.
Hearing this, Su Fan frowned.
These were beings depicted in the widely circulated occult book The Key of Solomon, known in both his past and present life.
Solomon, who received wisdom from God, made a pact with seventy-two demons, branding their necks.
Each brand represented a demon.
“Paimon, known as the King of the Principalities. Legends say he possesses profound knowledge in science, art, and the secret arts,” Sam read from the book’s records over the phone from the antique shop.
“He can impart this knowledge to a human in an instant.”
“On our way to the antique shop, Dean and I posed as relatives of that girl. We learned from her teacher that the girl possesses remarkable artistic talent.”
“She is Paimon’s vessel,” Su Fan finally interjected.
“You’re mistaken. She’s his current vessel.”
“Paimon prefers a male body. His goal is to seize Peter’s body—the girl’s older brother.”
“The cultists who worship Paimon will stop at nothing to help him complete this transfer.”
“You and Dean continue the investigation. Keep an eye on the shop for me. I’ll be back soon to get my sword. Contact me by phone if anything comes up.”
“…Understood.”
After hanging up, Sam looked up to see Dean, who had been preparing earlier, suddenly stop what he was doing.
“Will the holy water we’re preparing even be effective against a demon god of Paimon’s level?”
Dean’s question left Sam silent.
When they faced the demon possessing Meg, they had already realized holy water wasn’t as potent against stronger demons.
Ranked by level and sequence, Paimon was among the foremost of the seventy-two demon gods.
Legends say he is one of the nine Kings of Hell, commanding 200 legions of demons, entrenched in the northwest of Hell.
If the legends were true, then even when possessing a human, he wouldn’t be something ordinary exorcists could handle.
“Keep researching. We might still find some weakness of Paimon’s,” Sam said.
“True. If we actually manage to take down Paimon together,” Dean said, suddenly sounding optimistic, “then dealing with the bastard who killed our mom shouldn’t be a problem either.”
“Be confident. It’s just a demon acting through a human host, not its true form. Maybe Su will even be counting on us to rescue him.”
As he said this, Dean picked up the laptop beside him, but his expression quickly changed.
“Damn it, Su’s antique shop isn’t even hooked up to the internet!”
Back at the police station, Su Fan, having hung up, turned to the detective.
The latter had seemed like he wanted to say something ever since the call started.
“I’ve seen this symbol before,” the detective said, his face looking rather grim.
“Before you arrived, Su, an officer came by to deliver some documents. He was wearing something around his neck exactly like the symbol on this paper.”
“That officer has been working at the station for over a year now. His behavior has always seemed normal…”
“He was probably recently inducted into the cult. But this should serve as a wake-up call for you,” Su Fan paused.
“The demon we’re dealing with this time has the ability to bestow knowledge in science, art, and the occult upon its followers.”
“You need to pay special attention to technical specialists within the police force, and people in the community’s administrative departments.”
“An operation on this scale couldn’t remain so hidden without cooperation from relevant government personnel.”
Hearing Su Fan’s calm and measured tone, the detective realized he had been thinking of the cult too simplistically.
They weren’t just a bunch of raving, violent lunatics. They were real people, hidden within society, holding various identities.
The followers who had infiltrated every corner were no different from ordinary people in their daily lives.
But at certain critical moments, they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice their colleagues, friends, family, even their own lives to the evil entity they worshipped.
The most terrifying part was that they were organized, disciplined, and even more capable than average public servants.
For instance, this time, if Karl hadn’t had his protective talisman and hadn’t stumbled upon their plot by chance, their goal might have been achieved before anyone even knew what was happening.
The detective suddenly realized: while ghosts were frightening, the wickedness of the human heart was no less terrifying.
“Su, be careful,” the detective said gravely.
Su Fan gave a slight nod, then leapt nimbly out the window, disappearing from the detective’s sight.
The detective took a deep breath.
To root out the mole, he needed trustworthy help.
Within the entire police station, Karl, who possessed a protective talisman, was the least likely to be manipulated.
Thinking this, the detective pressed the intercom on his desk phone.
“Send Karl to my office.”
…
Exiting the police station, Su Fan soon returned to the antique shop.
Opening the door, he only saw Sam flipping through a book. Dean was nowhere in sight.
“Where’s Dean?”
“Went to the nearby Starbucks to mooch their Wi-Fi,” Sam replied, making Su Fan feel a bit sheepish.
He didn’t own a computer, so naturally, he hadn’t gotten an internet line installed at his shop.
Labor was expensive, and so was the internet bill.
“How’s the research going?”
“Not much useful information. Most of it just records how powerful Paimon is, when he appears. Methods to defeat him aren’t even mentioned,” Sam said, closing the book.
“If there’s no method targeting a weakness, then we’ll just have to do it the hard way,” Su Fan said, not disappointed.
“There’s a Chinese saying: ‘Yi Li Jiang Shi Hui.'”
“What does that mean?” Sam asked curiously.
“Brute force works wonders,” Su Fan replied.
As his words fell, he took out another stack of yellow paper and began grinding ink.
If there’s no way, then force your way through.
Are we supposed to wait until the opponent possesses the ideal vessel and comes knocking at our door?
This time, I’ll draw twenty or thirty… no, fifty or sixty Five Thunders Talismans.
I’ll just overwhelm him with a barrage of Five Thunders Talismans!
As Su Fan was halfway through his preparations, Sam suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. A delivery arrived earlier. I signed for it.”
Hearing this, Su Fan stopped what he was doing and turned to ask, “Where is it?”
“Here.”
Sam retrieved a small cardboard box, feeling somewhat puzzled inside.
He had even caught a flash of pleasant surprise in Su Fan’s eyes just moments before.
Having spent some time together, Sam knew Su Fan wasn’t the type to easily show his emotions on his face.
Whatever could make him show such an expression must be quite the treasure.
After handing the box to Su Fan, Sam watched intently as he opened it.
Inside the box was… a piece of wood?
No, strictly speaking, it was a pair of wooden knuckledusters.
Wooden knuckledusters?
What are those supposed to hit?
Several question marks popped up in Sam’s mind.
