It was late at night when Lu Ze and his group's carriage arrived in front of Old Neil's house.
The detached house was two stories high. At this moment, the glass on both sides of the main door was still lit, and the light shone through the windows onto the pathway in front of the door. They walked through a garden full of roses and golden mint, and while smelling the plants' fragrance, they also faintly heard the sound of a piano coming from inside. The piano music was beautiful and light, echoing leisurely in the quiet night.
This old man can play the piano? I didn't realize that.
Lu Ze thought to himself, but then he saw Dunn, Luo Yao, and Daly, who were familiar with Old Neil, all change their expressions.
"Old Neil doesn't play the piano," Luo Yao quietly explained to Lu Ze.
Lu Ze was startled. If so, then who was playing the piano in the middle of the night?
"The spirits around are very restless." Daly closed her eyes, sensing something.
"Hmm," Creste said calmly, "Then let's begin."
He did not enter the Door but stood on the pathway in front of the main Door, chanting softly. It was a song without lyrics, purely a melody. The song seemed to echo the night, and the roses and golden mint in the evening breeze swayed their branches and leaves. Everything was so peaceful and harmonious.
Lu Ze felt his eyelids grow heavy, but fortunately, the song's target was not him, so he shook his head slightly and dispelled the drowsiness. He saw a translucent object float out from Creste's raised collar, flying silently forward, passing through the main Door, and entering Old Neil's house.
And so, the piano music in Old Neil's house gradually stopped.
"Good, you can go in now," Creste said indifferently.
So powerful, controlling the target without a sound. This is a High-Ranking Cleric.
Lu Ze couldn't help but praise him. He followed the others to the main Door, and as Luo Yao grasped the doorknob and pulled it open, the scene inside the house was revealed.
The house was very clean and tidy, so tidy that it didn't even look like a single elderly person's home should. Beyond the entrance hall, where coat racks and umbrellas were placed, was a spacious living room. In the center of the living room was a printed carpet, and on the carpet was a heavy round table. Around the round table were comfortable benches, rocking chairs, and a piano.
Lu Ze subconsciously looked towards the piano; he seemed to see a transparent figure there.
At this moment, Old Neil was sprawled on the round table, his arms as a pillow, sleeping peacefully, a long distance from the piano. Besides him, there was no one else.
Behind him, the familiar eerie eye still floated, but now another transparent object was entangled with it, making it flip up and down, unable to cast its gaze towards Lu Ze. Lu Ze immediately recognized that this was the object Creste had released.
He couldn't help but look at Creste, and then realized that Creste was also looking at him.
"Tell me, what do you plan to do next?" Creste asked calmly.
On the carriage, Lu Ze had said that Old Neil still had a chance to be saved. This was not him seeking attention or speaking carelessly, but rather, he had discovered a clue during several days of observation—Old Neil did not seem to have completely degenerated into a Beyonder. Through careful confirmation, he found that the pair of eyes was only temporarily attached to Old Neil's body. Although they were constantly eroding Old Neil's body, they had not yet invaded the depths of his spirit.
It was just that Old Neil's defenses were already very weak, and he didn't know how much longer he could hold on.
"I need two candles and a dagger," Lu Ze said.
Luo Yao immediately got up and, familiar with Old Neil's house, entered one of the rooms. Before long, she came out with two white ritual candles and a silver dagger in her hand.
"Until last year, we often visited Old Neil's house," Luo Yao replied to Lu Ze's probing gaze, her eyes a little dim, "But at that time, he didn't have a piano in his house."
Lu Ze was silent, reaching out to take the candles and the dagger.
"Captain, please lay Old Neil flat on the floor and take off his upper clothes. It needs to be completely off."
Dunn nodded, his expression solemn as he supported Old Neil's armpit, lifting him from the table. Old Neil was sleeping so soundly that his body was like mud, unable to bear any weight. It took him some effort to pull him onto the floor.
He was supporting Old Neil's body and couldn't free his hands, so he frowned, seemingly considering whether to ask Daly or Luo Yao for help with undressing. At that instant, Creste's hand, holding the silver-white briefcase, shook slightly, and Old Neil's clothes seemed to be cut by a sharp and invisible blade, turning into countless shredded cloth strips that fell, revealing his old and thin upper body.
Suddenly without his upper clothes, Old Neil's body twitched slightly, grunting a few times, as if he felt cold. But his eyes remained tightly closed, unable to wake up.
Lu Ze also sat on the floor. He lit two candles between Old Neil and himself, then looked at Dunn.
"Captain, you know, I've only just become a Nighthawk, and my understanding of mysticism isn't deep enough. This method is also deduced from the rituals provided in the potion. It might not work, so…"
"It's alright, just do your best. No matter the outcome, I won't blame you," Dunn said with calm eyes. "I'm already very grateful that you're willing to help Old Neil like this."
That sentence is enough.
Lu Ze nodded. He then looked at the silent Creste to the side, swallowed, "Um… this method might use some bad power. Please don't consider me a heretic."
Creste stood behind him, looking down at him, his dark green eyes like a lake at night. "I'll be watching right here. Whether you are a heretic or not, I will judge for myself."
That's not exactly a promise.
Lu Ze grumbled inwardly. He steeled his heart and raised the dagger.
"Captain, please step back first."
After seeing Dunn retreat a certain distance, Lu Ze brandished the dagger in the air, and immediately, an invisible object sprayed from the dagger's tip. His movements were a bit clumsy, but he still successfully constructed an invisible barrier, separating himself and Old Neil from the outside world.
Old Neil taught pretty well, what a pity.
He looked around, thinking to himself.
This barrier was called the Wall of Spirituality, which could separate the inside and outside of the wall, preventing mutual influence. The invisible power used came from his body, and in mysticism, it was called Spirituality, which could be intuitively understood as mental power or spiritual power.
With the Wall of Spirituality successfully formed, Lu Ze no longer delayed. He gritted his teeth and used the dagger to make a deep cut on his finger. The wound was very deep, and blood immediately gushed out.
Hiss, so painful.
Lu Ze endured the pain, placed his bloody finger on Old Neil's chest, and quickly began to draw. His finger moved swiftly, drawing a simple True Creator holy emblem on Old Neil's chest, and then drawing a small circle outside the holy emblem, enclosing it.
After drawing, he steadied himself and then nodded towards Creste outside the wall.
The latter waved a hand, and the transparent object entangling the eerie eye stopped its restraint, instead passing through the Wall of Spirituality and flying back into Creste's body.
The giant eye, having regained its freedom, immediately floated up. It cast its indifferent and cruel gaze towards Lu Ze.
"Pfft." Lu Ze's nose immediately bled.
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