The Exorcist

Chapter 12 Exchange of Information

"Children are the easiest to lose their minds and get frightened. Come on, let me take a look." Bao Datong took a step forward and picked up the child, letting the child's body fall completely on his shoulders. He patted the child gently with one hand. all over his body, muttering something in his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Lu Yan asked worriedly.

"It's okay, I didn't scare him." Bao Datong put the child back into Lu Yan's arms and narrowed his eyes.

Nothing unusual. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was exactly the aura that a child should have. Even if he used Taoism to secretly detect the child's body, there would be no reaction. But why does he think this little thing is weird?

"Oh, Xiao Xia, your hand is bleeding." Lu Yan exclaimed, quickly put the child on the bed, and pulled up Xiao Xia's left hand. She saw a deep scratch on her ring finger, and there were some scratches on the edge of the wound. Rusty, "Let me help you deal with it."

"It's better to go to the hospital." Bao Datong stopped Lu Yan, "If there is rust, it is better to disinfect and get vaccinated, otherwise you will die if you get tetanus. Let's go first, I will come to help tomorrow "Yes." Bao Datong said and glanced at the child again, and saw that the child was still sitting on the bed with tears in his eyes. He looked fragile and harmless. Could it be that he was neurotic?

"Okay." Lu Yan said embarrassedly, "You guys helped me so much, but Xiaoxia got hurt. I'm really sorry."

"Looking at what you said, it's not your fault." Xiao Xia quickly comforted Lu Yan, and then faced Xiaotong, "Xiaotong, Auntie is gone and will come to see you later."

The child nodded, his eyes full of reluctance, but he still said goodbye obediently and watched the three adults walk out of the room.

The footsteps were far away, and only the sound of traffic outside the window came vaguely. There was a strange silence in the room, not even the sound of breathing, as if it was another world blocked from the human world.

The child, a five-year-old disabled child, jumped out of the bed, as dexterous as a monkey and as silent as a fallen leaf.

He slowly walked to the closet, looked at himself in the mirror, and the expression on his face changed. Bit by bit, as the corners of the mouth raised and the eyes changed, innocence was slowly replaced by elation.

He grinned and laughed silently for a while, then looked down at the small fist he had been holding - in the open palm, there was a bloody rusty iron nail. He picked up the iron nail and quickly drew a spell on the mirror.

The iron nail scratched across the mirror surface, making a harsh 'squeaking' sound, and as the spell was drawn, the 'little boy' pressed lightly, and the iron nail sank into the mirror surface, making a 'wu' sound, as if crying.

"You promised to play with me, auntie." The 'little boy' sighed softly, his expression turned stern again, his eyes stared horribly, motionless.

Da da da--

The sound of footsteps came, and the child knew it was Lu Yan, so he jumped up and sat back on the bed. The mirror, darkened because of his departure, was a small human figure, as if his shadow was left in the mirror.

With a wave of his hand, the mirror returned to its normal state, and Lu Yan just walked through the door.

"Little boy, what have you done?" Lu Yan asked with a straight face.

Just as these changes were taking place in the child, Xiaoxia and Bao Datong had already arrived on the street. What just happened made Xiao Xia a little dizzy, and the sunshine in the sky was quite fierce, so Bao Datong ran to the roadside stall to buy ice cream, while Xiao Xia stood under the shade of the tree and waited.

Although the change in the child just now was not as obvious as that day, no matter how idiotic and slow she was, she still felt the difference deeply. What she doesn't understand is why such a cute child can make people feel chilled all over. ! She knew that Bao Datong had already tested it when he held the child and patted it, but since he didn't say anything, it proved that he didn't find it. But why would a child suddenly become a stranger in such a lovable situation? Is it a mental illness or something strange?

She was puzzled and looked aimlessly at the people on the street.

Play with me!

Suddenly, a voice sounded in her heart. At the same time, she suddenly discovered that the street scene that passed her eyes was very familiar to her, and she couldn't help but look towards that place again!

A little girl stood on the opposite street corner, about five years old, with a floral dress, long hair, an oval face, and big eyes. Who else could it be if it wasn't the long-missing Zhang Jialin?

Xiao Xia stood up suddenly, "Zhang Jialin!" She shouted and wanted to run to the other side of the street, but as soon as she reached the street, an arm stretched out from behind and dragged her back.

Then there was a crisp sound, and the signboard of the store that was being renovated fell down, hitting the place where Xiaoxia was about to run.

Everyone was shocked, including the decoration workers.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry - I don't know what's going on." He tried his best to explain, "I obviously installed it and it's not loose. I don't know - I -"

"Okay, okay, as long as no one was hurt." Bao Datong supported the frightened Xiaoxia, "Please clean up quickly, it will be bad if you hurt other people."

Seeing that the victim had no intention of pursuing the case, the worker left with a lot of gratitude.

Xiaoxia looked up at the street corner in shock. But the little girl is gone! The crowd was still bustling, but the girl disappeared like air, as if she had never appeared.

"I - I may be hallucinating." Xiao Xia faced Bao Datong's eyes uneasily, "I am really lucky, otherwise I will definitely die this time."

"It's not an illusion." Bao Datong helped Xiaoxia sit under the pergola, licked the hand that had thrown away the ice cream but still had some melted cream on it, "I saw it too. Zhang Jialin, didn't you?"

"Did you see it too?!"

"That's right." Bao Datong turned his head and smiled mischievously, not at all like he had just experienced a frightening moment, "Do you think this sign fell down for no reason? Do you think it's because you are lucky? The former is because of evil spirits. The latter is because of me! Little fool!"

Ruan Zhan also saw the child, but like him, he found nothing unusual. At first they thought it was something bad about the house, but since strange things happened with the mother and son, it was obvious what the root of the problem was.

"Exchange information!" Bao Datong said while sitting at the bar.

Today is the weekend, but the bar is not open yet. Only the owner and the psychiatrist are there.

"First tell me what happened to Xiaoxia's hand?" Ruan Zhan frowned.

As soon as Xiaoxia entered the door, he noticed the injury on her hand. Although she kept turning sideways, trying not to be seen. But even though his eyes were not looking at her, his heart revolved around her, and her every move, including the slight frown, could not escape his sight.

"This is also considered a piece of information, let's exchange it together."

"Tch, won't I ask myself?" Wan Li scolded lightly.

"What's going on, or you'll just pack up and get out." Ruan Zhan said with a cold face, "I promised your father to help you, but I didn't say I would let you eat and live for free!"

"Okay, okay, I'll say it." Bao Datong raised his hands in surrender and recounted the scene that happened at Lu Yan's house at noon.

Wan Li was quite surprised. He looked at Ruan Zhan with a solemn expression and said, "What do you think? Is there any problem with the mother and son?"

Ruan Zhan said nothing and frowned.

"Sometimes the most unlikely is the most likely." Bao Datong said, "But what I don't understand is, why can't we feel the evil spirit?"

"There is a possibility." Ruan Zhan also sat down, "That is, his Taoism is much higher than ours, so he can restrain the evil or demonic energy so that we will not notice it at all."

"It's the big guy again, our lives are really hard." Wan Li sighed.

This time, Bao Datong did not reply.

He had also thought of the possibility Ruan Zhan said. But he has been unwilling to face this problem. It's not that he's afraid, it's that he can't imagine it. He has practiced Taoism with his father since he was a child, and Ruan Zhan is even more talented. If none of them can see it, then his opponent will most likely have hundreds of years of Taoism. But how could this make him believe that a delicate young woman and an innocent child were the culprit of everything! But what is this for?

"There may also be other reasons unknown to us." Ruan Zhan seemed to know the contradiction in Bao Datong's heart, or he also had this complicated mood. "The vast world hides too many things that we cannot know. Everything can only be revealed in the end." If you reveal yourself, there will be any possibility."

Bao Datong shrugged, "You're right, then let's compete and see. Anyway, everything will come to an end. This is what they came for, it's not me who caused the trouble!"

"So - this is your information?" Wan Li asked, "The information you have been working on for more than a week?"

"Hey, I've been helping Xiao Xia do charity this week, and I almost broke my leg. Are you trying to open a store with so little money and such a short time?" Bao Datong complained, "That's it, I still found time to investigate. He learned about Zhang Zixin’s matter, and by the way, he also touched the bottom of Lu Yan’s mother and son in reality.”

"Tell me and listen." Ruan Zhan said.

"Zhang Zixin is a reporter for this city's Morning News, you know that." Bao Datong said, "But you may not have noticed that he is a reporter for the social news page, and he is an amateur writer, especially keen on reportage. Five years Before, that is, on the eve of his wedding, he originally decided to combine the statutory marriage leave and the accumulated vacation leave to use it for his honeymoon in Hainan with Lu Yan after the marriage. However, for some unknown reason, he suddenly terminated the plan and applied in advance. I have to rest. According to Lu Yan, he had an urgent interview mission, but according to my investigation, he heard about supernatural events, so he decided to interview and then write a reportage. Because he does not believe that there are ghosts in the world. Demon, he wants to solve this mystery!"

"Did you investigate?" Ruan Zhan listened extremely seriously.

"Yes." Bao Datong was a little proud. "The police had thoroughly investigated his disappearance back then, and there is no conclusion yet. But when I went to investigate, I noticed that his best friend Wang Yong was an absolute idealist. You know, we people are the best at observing what is happening, so he told me things that he did not disclose to the police."

"Did you use some illusion again?" Wan Li asked.

Bao Datong chuckled twice, "That's not true, I just - just made him dream about his friend who disappeared five years ago, and then interpreted his dream for him."

"Bao Datong." Ruan Zhan frowned, "Don't blame me for not reminding you. As a magician, you can use this ability to do good, but you can't blindly influence others. Unless someone asks you, otherwise it will be against your will. Moral."

"I know." Bao Datong did not refute, "I also know that this has happened more recently, but this matter is really too old, and it would be impossible to investigate without using such methods. However, for the wealthy real estate businessman, What do you say?"

Ruan Zhan stretched out his thumb.

"This is the first time you agree with me. I will write a diary later to record this touching day." Bao Datong joked, "But what do you think Wang Yong said?"

"Would you like to buy a ticket to listen to your story? Come on quickly." Wan Li urged.

"If he doesn't tell me, I really don't know. Five years ago, works about debunking supernatural phenomena were popular, such as the one about 'Devil's Valley'. Our reporter Zhang likes this kind of reading very much, and he wants to write about it day and night. One book, but he never had a chance. It was not until shortly before he got married that he heard that there were rumors of supernatural events in a place. So he ignored the busy preparations for the wedding and applied for a vacation to go there, hoping to complete the investigation of the supernatural events. The story behind the phenomenon and then use it as material to write a book.”

"What happened? Where is it?" Wan Li asked.

Unexpectedly, Bao Datong shook his head, "I don't know about that. I only know that Zhang Zixin booked a flight to Xi'an. You have to know that sometimes best friends may have completely opposite personalities. Zhang Zixin and Wang Yong are like that. In this way, firstly, Wang Yong is timid and does not want to get involved in these matters, and secondly, Zhang Zixin wants to solve the supernatural events by himself and write a sensational book, so he did not reveal too much."

"This is a very small piece of information," Wan Li said. "It just points out the general direction and is not very constructive."

"Then let me add one more thing - Lu Yan and Xiaotong are indeed real people with complete files and did not appear out of thin air. So - if there is something wrong with their mother and child, their physical bodies are normal. So, what is your news?"

"We visited the ten families with missing children in the name of Master Bao, and we heard that-"

"Ten families? Not seven?" Bao Datong interrupted Wan Li in surprise.

"Obviously you have been very busy these days and have not read the newspaper." Wan Li said, "Three more children have disappeared this week. The official has reminded the public to pay attention to their children and not to allow criminals to take advantage of them."

"But this has nothing to do with child trafficking, right?"

"It really has nothing to do with it. Because from the current point of view, they are just kidnapping, not selling."

"Then why, isn't it for food?" As soon as Bao Datong said this, he himself was shocked.

I hope this won't be the result, that would be too cruel. Eating children, he couldn't imagine. If this is the case, they are facing a demon!

Wan Li ignored Bao Datong's speculation and continued, "We asked many parents of missing children, and everyone said that the children's disappearance was very sudden, without any warning in advance. Moreover, all the children disappeared in the middle of the night, and the doors were opened from the inside. Open. But there is a problem. The missing children are all between four and six years old. They are very young. Some cannot even wear clothes. If the security door is locked from the inside, some children cannot open it by themselves. But When these children disappeared, they were all wearing their favorite clothes. When they disappeared, their parents were sleeping deeply and heard nothing. The important thing is that every mother heard some strange noises on the night their children disappeared."

"What?"

"Before going to bed, these mothers heard the cry of their babies, but when they opened the door, there was nothing. And when they just fell asleep, they kept hearing the voice of a child on the street calling - Mom! Mom!"

"Boy or girl?" Bao Datong asked.

"Nonsense!" Wan Li let out a sigh of relief, "How old is a child, how can one tell the difference between male and female in voice?"

"Also -" Ruan Zhan took over, "some parents of missing children claimed to have seen a strange little girl appearing around. Because the little girl was weird, she was very impressive."

"Is it Zhang Jialin?"

Ruan Zhan nodded, "Yes. There is another strange phenomenon - all the missing people are girls!"