Holding Teresa’s slender, delicate wrist, Su Fan stared intently at the cup in her hand.
The malevolent spirit hadn’t directly touched Caroline, but manipulating people’s minds wasn’t limited to possession or hypnosis. Slipping something into their daily food and drink was far more subtle.
And ordinary people wouldn’t taste anything amiss.
“Are you thirsty?”
Teresa looked as clueless as ever, but Su Fan caught a hint of something else in her clear eyes.
Last time, her overreaction had caused Caroline to relapse prematurely. This time, the nun had learned her lesson. Even if she suspected Su Fan was questioning the water, she didn’t show any shock. Instead, she actively played along.
“Yeah, let me have a sip first. I haven’t had a drop since morning.”
With that, the cup naturally passed into Su Fan’s hand.
As he held it, he channeled spiritual energy into his palm, instantly detecting the faint evil aura lurking within—and then dispelled it.
The water was indeed tainted.
Su Fan expanded his divine sense to its maximum range, trying to trace the source of the water supply.
This place was a fair distance from the city’s residential areas. Of the utilities, only electricity came from the municipal grid—water and gas had to be handled independently.
Residents typically dug a well nearby and installed a water filtration system.
With his divine sense fully unleashed, he quickly located the storage tank behind the house.
The metal tank was just an ordinary object, offering no resistance to his perception. Everything inside was laid bare.
Within the clear drinking water, a thick hemp rope lay at the very bottom, steadily emitting waves of black malevolent energy.
Was this the same rope Bathsheba had used to hang herself?
Su Fan withdrew his divine sense and frowned.
He recalled that in the original story, this rope was supposed to be hidden in a secret compartment of the house, alongside a music box.
Had Bathsheba moved it into the water tank herself?
In an instant, Su Fan connected numerous details.
But none of that mattered now…
“Su… look over there…”
Teresa, standing beside him, spoke up, her voice trembling slightly.
Not far away, little Emily, who had been running around busily with her sisters, had suddenly stopped in her tracks, standing as still as a statue!
And it wasn’t just her—the other four Perrin sisters in the house were frozen as well!
The bags of food in their hands dropped to the floor, the only sound breaking the silence in the spacious living room.
The little girl turned her head slowly, bit by bit, like a wind-up doll.
Her expression no longer held any trace of childish innocence.
On her young, undeveloped face was a malicious smile that sent chills down the spine.
“You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?”
Aside from little Emily, the other girls wore the same unsettling grin.
At that moment, the entire Perrin family had fallen completely into Bathsheba’s grasp.
Su Fan’s gaze deepened, as if he could see Bathsheba’s ghostly face lurking behind the five motionless figures.
Like a puppeteer pulling strings, she gleefully hid in the shadows, constantly creating trouble for him.
“Why’s it so quiet in here? Are they all ready? Perfect—Officer Daniel just woke up on my side too…”
The eerie silence caught Li Jieke’s attention. He stepped out from the side hall—and walked straight into the scene of Su Fan facing off against the five possessed sisters.
In that instant, all the girls’ heads swiveled toward him. Five pairs of green, glowing eyes fixed on him with an unblinking, sinister stare!
Murderous intent radiated from them, malice boiling over!
Li Jieke’s appearance shattered the fragile calm in the hall.
The five girls, controlled by the malevolent spirit, each lunged at a different target!
They twisted and crawled in unnatural ways, but moved with terrifying speed!
But Su Fan was faster!
In the blink of an eye, he struck down Nancy and Andrea, who were charging at him and Teresa!
His figure blurred, flashing like lightning along a zigzag path as he caught up with Christine and Cindy, who were pouncing on Li Jieke.
He grabbed both by the ankles, yanked them out of midair, and without even turning around, knocked out Emily, who had been sneaking up behind him!
The entire process took less than two seconds!
By the time Li Jieke had processed what happened and fallen back on his rear in fright, Su Fan had already dragged all five girls together and was preparing to expel the evil spirits.
Teresa, who had witnessed the whole thing, was utterly shaken.
She could hardly believe what she’d just seen.
Those movements were beyond human capability.
If she hadn’t known Su Fan, she might have thought he was the one possessed!
But after a brief moment of shock, Teresa quickly grabbed her case and hurried over.
She hadn’t forgotten her duty.
Emily and the others, controlled by the malevolent spirit, needed her help!
Holy water, a crucifix, a Bible…
As she pulled out each iconic item from her case, Teresa began the prayers preceding the exorcism.
“Hehehe…”
A woman’s hoarse, cold, mocking laugh came from Christine’s mouth—though the girl had been unconscious just moments ago.
It was Bathsheba.
This malevolent spirit, hiding within the house, was using Christine’s voice to speak to Su Fan!
“Having this little girl perform the exorcism? Aren’t you going to do it yourself?”
Her eyes opened wide, green pupils fixed on Su Fan.
“Or have you already run out of strength?”
Before she could finish her sentence, a splash of holy water was thrown directly onto her face!
Teresa gave her no time for idle chatter. She pressed the crucifix against the possessed Christine’s forehead and began reciting passages from the Latin Bible.
Under the combined effect of holy water, the crucifix, and the scriptures, wisps of black energy began to seep from Christine’s head.
Feeling the pain, Bathsheba abandoned Christine, and the girl’s head lolled to the side as she fell unconscious again.
“Why aren’t you using those mystical powers?”
Cindy’s voice rang out.
“The power to summon thunder, the might to shift between reality and illusion, the blade that cuts through all things…”
After Cindy came Nancy’s turn.
The girls’ voices varied, one after another, like a relay—each speaking a single line.
Watching from the side, Li Jieke suddenly understood.
This was the malevolent spirit’s taunt aimed at Teresa, who was in the middle of performing the exorcism.
“Your power is far weaker than before, Eastern exorcist.”
“You’re even stingy about using those mysterious runes.”
“What can you do now?”
“Resort to useless brute force, beating up puppets I control?”
As the last words fell, the remaining three girls burst into mocking laughter—a cacophony that grated on the nerves and disturbed the mind.
“You’ve broken the rules, Eastern exorcist.”
“As creations of God, demons cannot be killed. Only God has the authority to judge them.”
“Word has spread that Paimon was severely wounded by you and has been forced into a long slumber. The demon lords of Hell have taken a special interest in you.”
“Baal, Asmodeus…”
“I will offer your soul to them.”
