Demons Beside You

Together, the few police dug one meter into the ground. Just then, one of the shovels hit something with a bang.

“There’s a box below.”

“Lift it up.” The police lifted the box out of the hole. Opening the box, they actually saw a mother and a daughter inside. They were both naked and had some wounds on their bodies.

Chen Zhao was also astonished. “Wait… They’re not dead!”

“What?”

“David, call the ambulance. Walter, get me my toolbox.”

Chen Zhao removed his jacket and placed it on Amanda. Another police also did the same for Aisha.

Both ladies were in deep coma. Moreover, they had been severely harmed before this.

Nobody had any idea how long they had been buried. Although the box was quite big, it would probably only contain a few hours of air. It was hard to believe that they had pulled through.

Chen Zhao had to perform first aid on them immediately. There was no time to waste.

“All of you, stand back. They’re in suspended animation now which is extremely dangerous. Mr. Bord, you too.”

The police and Bord could not help either, so they took a few steps back.

As Chen Zhao fed the pair some medicine made from perfect crystal powder, he lifted his head and asked, “When will the ambulance arrive?”

The sky was already very dark at the moment. The police was lighting the place up with their flashlights, but their vision was still affected.

“About 15 minutes.”

As long as they were not dead yet, Chen Zhao was confident that he could save them. However, he could only save their lives and could not do anything about their psychological trauma.

Chen Zhao was very familiar with one of the paramedics on the ambulance—it was Faur.

“It’s you?”

“Mr. Chen, do you know each other?” David asked curiously.

“Kind of. We’re both doctors after all.”

“Ms. Faur, why are you looking at me like this? Now’s not the time to be distracted; the lives of these two ladies still depend on you.”

“Since you’re here, I believe that they’ll be fine,” Faur said.

“Thank you for the compliment. Buddy, if there’s nothing else for me, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Mr. Chen, let me send you home,” David invited.

“I live in Mountain Town, which is quite far away. Are you sure you want to send me back?”

“There ain’t any cabs around here.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

“No, we should be the ones to thank you. You’ve saved a mother and a daughter, a family indeed.”

“Sadly, I can’t save more.”

“Mr. Chen…”

“Call me Chen.”

“Chen, since the mother and the daughter aren’t dead, why can you see their souls?”

“I have no clue. I’m only an amateur spiritualist. You should ask a more professional spiritualist such a question.” Chen Zhao also wanted to know the answer. He decided to ask Blackie after getting home.

“Yet you’re already the most professional spiritualist I’ve ever seen.”

An hour later, David stared at Chen Zhao’s house. “Do you stay here? It looks…”

“Gloomy? I’ve rented this apartment. It’s haunted.”

“Err… Why’re you staying here if it’s haunted?”

“Because it’s cheap.”

“Fine, but you shouldn’t be bothered anyway. You’re a spiritualist after all.”

“Do you want to come in and take a seat?”

“Forget it. I need to rush back to the station. Next time.”

“Okay then. Right, don’t forget to help me find my friend.”

“Sure. If I receive any news, you’ll be the first person to know it.”

…

“Doctor, how’s my wife and daughter? How are they now?”

“Their vital signs are both very stable and they’re not in danger. However, your daughter has suffered from cerebral hypoxia and she might…”

“She might what?”

“She might suffer brain injury. She might remain in coma for an extended period of time, and her intelligence might also be affected.”

“No… No way… Doctor, Aisha is only twelve. Please help her…”

“These are only the worse possibilities. If she really remains in coma or suffers permanent brain damage due to this, there’s almost no way the current medical technology can heal her.”

“It doesn’t matter how much it costs… Please save my daughter…”

“I can’t… But maybe that person can,” Faur said, looking at Bord.

“That person? Who? Where’s the person?”

“The Asian who’s been with you earlier. His name is Chen, no?”

“Can he?”

“Yes. Go and plead him. If he wants, perhaps he can heal your daughter.”

“Can he really?”

“You don’t have any other choices now, do you?”

“I’ll go and find him.”

“By the way, don’t tell him that I’ve told you this.”

“Why?”

“There’s some resentment between the two of us. If he finds out that I’m the one who told you this, he might reject you. Get it?”

“Okay, I got it. Thank you, doctor.”

…

At the moment, Chen Zhao was in Blackie’s castle. Whenever Blackie was home, he would be in the laboratory with Chen Zhao.

“Blackie, I met the souls of a mother and a daughter today. They were not dead, but their souls appeared before me. Why did it happen?”

“They’re living souls. They appear after losing consciousness, but there are many reasons they can appear: strong personal will, or obsession with living, or fear of death, or unfulfilled wishes.”

“Oh yeah, that girl’s soul can perform some unbelievable actions. She can move physical objects.”

“Oh? That’s a soul with spiritual talents.”

“Spiritual talents? Spiritualist?”

“Yes. You’re considered as a spiritualist too.”

“Me?”

“Kind of.”

“What do you mean by kind of?”

“Spiritualists can only communicate with souls. They can’t speak with demons. In fact, they can’t even see me, but you can order demons at your will.”

“Seems like I’m stronger.”

“A spiritualist will only awaken after experiencing Trials of Life and Death. That girl has already started to awaken and passed Death Trial, but she still has to face Life Trial now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her Death Trial is the injury that she suffered earlier. However, because of your intervention, she’s passed her Death Trial, and what follows is Life Trial. If she can’t pass her Life Trial, she’ll remain in coma forever.”

“What will she face?”

“Now she’s like a dazzling gem. There’ll be many, many evil spirits that can detect her presence. Perhaps all the evil spirits in the entire city will feel her, find her, and then feed on her.”

“Doesn’t that mean her situation now is very dangerous?”

“Yes, extremely dangerous indeed, and not just her. The people around her will also be in danger.”

“Can you help me to protect her?”

Blackie smiled. Although he did not have a face, Chen Zhao could still somehow feel his smile.

“Just tell me what’s the price you want.”

“For every evil spirit I settle, I want one year worth of demonic crystals.”

“Deal.”