Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

"Why do I feel this sense of familiarity?"
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Du Wei muttered to himself as he scrutinized the wax figure of the white male with a scrutinizing gaze.

His memory had always been excellent.

He could generally remember the plots of books he had read over the past five or six years, and images and videos that made a deep impression were even less likely to be forgotten.

People who evoked a sense of familiarity in him were usually those he had met several times or talked to.

As he looked at the blurry face of the wax figure, Du Wei squinted, pulled out a silver crucifix dagger, and stabbed it straight in.

As soon as the dagger pierced the wax seal covering the face of the figure, he felt a sense of resistance.

It was like he had hit the soft tissue of a human body.

Du Wei's hand paused for a moment, then he pulled out the dagger, bringing out a strand of fresh blood.

"Is it a person?"

Staring at the blood stained on the dagger's blade, Du Wei's expression was very subtle.

"Bob, or another man?"

In the Horror House, the only men Du Wei had encountered were these two; it was impossible for others to appear here, so it had to be one of them.

So, Du Wei simply used the dagger to cut open the sealed wax covering the face of the wax figure, this time he controlled the force so skillfully that he did not hurt the skin.

"Is it you?!"

When the face of the wax figure was revealed, Bob's other male companion came into view.

Of course, he was already dead.

Du Wei looked at the corpse turned into a wax figure, his gaze flickered slightly, then he regained his calm and indifference.

He was somewhat puzzled as to why this body had appeared in the Wax Museum.

Now, every aspect within the entire Horror House was controlled by Evil Spirits or ghosts, and all the thrills and horror that people wanted to experience were very real.

But even if one really encountered an Evil Spirit and died at their hands, they shouldn't appear right in front of him.

"This doesn't make sense."

Du Wei silently said to himself, and no longer looked at the body turned into a wax figure.

Earlier, when he was lingering outside the Wax Museum in Spirit Vision state, he did not detect the presence of an Evil Spirit.

Initially, he was somewhat puzzled, but now he thought that this situation was somewhat similar to that of the Undead Mummy.

With this in mind, Du Wei walked toward the other wax figures.

Each wax figure was lifelike, with a variety of forms.

Some were students, some were children, and others were working staff and adults of different identities.

The deeper he went, the more chilling it became.

All the wax figures, from initially serene poses, became increasingly fierce and horrible.

The facial expressions of each wax figure carried fright and tension, their eyes wide open as if they had seen something incredibly terrifying.

Looking eye to eye with a workman's wax figure, Du Wei stared emotionlessly into his eyes.

After a moment of silence...

He paused, then said to himself, "The Undead Mummy and the bodies in the Horror Wax Museum were caused by Evil Spirits, but so far, I have only encountered one ghost and one Evil Spirit. That means, including Annabelle, there are at least two more Evil Spirits in the Horror House."

"Are they all on the first basement level?"

But there was no way to retreat anymore.

Du Wei took a deep breath.

Further down were the stages of the Ghost Claiming Lives and the Evil Spirit Doll, as well as the exit in the area of Ferocious Ghost Street.

No longer paying attention to these wax figures, Du Wei headed straight for the entrance to the first basement level.

It was located at the very back of the Wax Museum, a wooden Ground Gate hidden in the floor, marked by handprint marks drawn in red paint on the side.

Lifting the Ground Gate, what met his eyes was darkness, with the faint outline of a staircase constructed of old wooden boards.

After adjusting to the dim light, Du Wei went straight down.

A sudden snap...

With the wooden ground gate closing, a burst of dust was stirred up.

The entire wax museum once again returned to its previous state, a deathly silence pervading the space.

At this moment, all the figures made into wax statues seemed to receive some kind of signal and turned their heads in unison, looking towards that ground gate.

...

"Eek-creak..."

Walking up the old stairs, although Du Wei was very careful, he still couldn't avoid the squeaking, frictional sound of the wooden structure caused by his movement on the rudimentary stairs.

Unlike what he had imagined, the stairs weren't very long, probably no more than two or three meters, but because they were covered by shadows and their full extent obscured, they gave the impression of being much longer.

Tap...

Flicking his lighter, Du Wei descended the stairs and surveyed his surroundings.

It was so dark it sent chills down his spine, the feeble light from the flame barely illuminating the small space directly in front of him, as if everything else faded into nonexistence.

The air was stuffy, and the ground was covered with dust.

After only taking a few steps forward, Du Wei looked back and could no longer see the stairs he had come down.

His heart sank slightly; the space was large, but it was obvious that he hadn't reached the thrilling part of the Horror House setup yet.

Moreover, here...

Under the state of Spirit Vision, he found nothing abnormal, which meant there was no presence of Evil Spirits.

But this did not lessen the vigilance in Du Wei's mind.

Because he detected a faint scent of blood.

During his university days when he majored in forensic science, apart from attending regular classes, he spent the rest of his time dealing with corpses.

With time, this had almost become an instinct.

Now, upon detecting the scent of blood, Du Wei looked around at the pitch-black environment and involuntarily conjured up an image in his mind.

In the darkness beyond his sight, there might be bodies either lying down, standing, or piled on top of each other, each with a horrific death, dripping with blood.

"I need to speed up."

Shaking his head, Du Wei crouched down and, using the faint light from the lighter, inspected the ground around him.

He needed to find a way out.

"Found it."

In the dim light cast by the lighter, Du Wei saw many messy footprints. Although there weren't too many, it was clear that the people who had previously been here must have been frightened out of their wits by the oppressive darkness surrounding them.

Next, he found the most concentrated set of footprints, all moving in one direction, and followed them.

The Horror House would not create an environment with no way out; its purpose was only to provide visitors with a sense of thrill and let them enjoy the fun of completing the challenge.

If there really was a dead end, it would be a mockery of its visitors, and it would be almost impossible for it to have stayed in business until now.

Therefore, with a bit of time, he was certain to find an exit.

Moreover, Du Wei did not sense the presence of Evil Spirits, so he followed normal logic and, after some analysis, chose the quickest path.

Three minutes later.

Du Wei touched a cold, damp metal door, and with his lighter, he waved it around nearby and saw a handle.

He grabbed it and lightly pulled.

The sound of mechanical operation immediately followed.

The next second, blinding light flooded in.

Du Wei turned his face away, shielding his eyes from the light, and after getting used to it, his pupils abruptly narrowed.

He saw that before him was a room styled like something from the mid-last century.

What was surprising, however, was the multitude of dolls replacing the areas that should have been decorated with ornaments.

And at the doorway of the room was a chair placed.

Under the Spirit Vision state, a woman in a filthy, unkempt gown was sitting there, facing sideways to Du Wei, watching the door outside expressionlessly.

In her arms, she held a doll about forty centimeters long, with large eyes and cheeks painted with rouge, maintaining a smiling arc that felt exceedingly eerie.

It was Annabelle...