Chapter 171: The Exorcism Client
West Virginia, Green Highway.
An old road sign was stuck by the roadside, with a line of text painted on it: "Food and Rest Area, Green Town Welcomes You!"
Before long, a pickup truck drove from the distance. After passing the road sign, it kicked up a cloud of dust.
Screech!
The sound of tires rubbing against the ground suddenly rang in the air.
The pickup truck stopped in place, then slowly reversed to the road sign.
The window rolled down.
William pushed down his sunglasses with his index finger, looking at a restaurant across the highway.
A wooden sign hung on the red brick wall, and there was a kerosene lamp at the door.
He took out a piece of paper from the storage compartment on the side; the words on it matched the sign—Mountain Side Stove.
Ding-a-ling.
The restaurant door was pushed open.
William scanned the interior and quickly locked onto a location.
"Mr. Jack Webb?"
He walked to the seat and looked at a middle-aged man wearing a gray-green plaid shirt.
The latter raised his head upon hearing this: "Father William?"
Confirming he found the right person, William sat on the chair opposite immediately.
At this time, a young waitress walked over. She was wearing a flannel shirt and a denim apron.
"Sir, can you order now?"
The waitress spoke softly. Seeing that the newcomer was a handsome young man, she took a few more glances.
"Uh..."
Jack looked hesitant, staring tentatively at the priest opposite.
William raised an eyebrow.
Seeing the other party's dirty clothes and stains remaining on his face, he understood instantly.
"Order," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Getting permission, joy revealed in Jack's eyes.
"Thank you."
He picked up the menu on the table.
"I want Smoked Pork Neck with Apple Sauce, French Fries, Beer..."
William shook his head helplessly.
Clients couldn't always afford exorcism fees, so the Church generally provided obligatory assistance.
And this part of the expense would be passed on to the teachers and students of the seminary.
The waitress quickly put away the menu and left.
"Let's talk; what content must be discussed face to face?" William's tone was flat.
Jack nodded crampedly: "Thank you for treating me to a meal. To find Jenny, I have spent all the money on me."
He thanked him first, then narrated the content of the commission.
"More than ten days ago, I took Jenny hiking in Green Town, but when crossing a local forest, Jenny accidentally got separated..."
"The local police refused to send officers into the dense forest, saying it was a cursed land inhabited by a group of Cannibals..."
"I heard the Church specializes in such supernatural events, so I decided to ask for your help."
"At first, a few priests did come to investigate, but not long after entering the dense forest, they returned again, with terrified expressions on their faces. The rating of the commission rose higher and higher. I heard it seemed to be 'Mutation' at first, then turned into 'Dangerous'."
"Now no one from the Church comes anymore..."
William frowned; these things were already in the commission file.
According to the reports of previous priests, this primeval dense forest seemed to be shrouded by some mysterious power.
As long as one was inside the forest, the holy artifacts carried would become invalid, and would not recover even after leaving.
The Church's investigation results showed that the polluted holy artifacts were up to five years vintage.
All the Holy Power inside was drawn away, leaving no traces of evil.
Therefore, it dissuaded many clergy members who wanted to try.
"Although it is impolite to ask, a nineteen-year-old girl has been missing for more than ten days in a forest full of cannibals."
William looked up at the other party.
"Has Mr. Jack ever thought..."
Jack was silent for a while upon hearing this.
"No!"
He suddenly raised his head, staring straight at William.
"Jenny will be fine."
William raised an eyebrow.
This guy seemed very confident about this.
Seeming to realize he lost his composure, Jack hurriedly lowered his head and said,
"When Jenny was young, I taught her many wilderness survival skills; she has the ability to protect herself."
Regarding this, William was noncommittal.
"What you said just now is all in the file," he continued. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Okay, okay!" Jack nodded hurriedly.
"Later I found a local and spent some money to get information."
"It turns out there was a paper mill in this dense forest, which later became a wasteland due to bankruptcy, but the chemical substances there polluted the water source..."
"Most residents decided to evacuate, but some families chose to stay."
"They drank dirty water for years, gradually becoming deformed, and even engaged in inbreeding."
"This led to the birth of many ugly monsters, and eating people also started from then..."
William raised an eyebrow; this part of the content was basically consistent with the original work.
If he remembered correctly, it should be the content of the first few movies.
"Later I heard a priest passed by and decided to purify the evil inside, but not long after entering the dense forest, he was also forced to withdraw..."
"According to that priest's description, this dense forest has many man-made traps, but this is only the smallest threat."
"Deeper inside, even 10-year vintage holy artifacts don't work. Moreover, there are some extremely resentful dead spirits entrenched."
"Most importantly, the cannibals in the depths of the dense forest are very terrifying. They have powerful strength and speed, completely surpassing normal humans..."
Speaking of this, Jack took a sip of water and looked towards the kitchen for a moment.
William rubbed his chin.
This information was indeed important and did not appear in the original work.
He remembered that the first few movies of this series were basically stories of "Human Mutation," which could be solved by pure physical attacks.
But after listening to Jack's words at this time, William began to ponder which force was behind this.
"Your meal is served."
The waitress brought two plates and placed an empty bottle in front of William.
Jack gulped, staring intently at the steaming food.
William took out a glass bottle from his cloth bag, poured the Holy Water inside into the empty cup, and then pushed it to the opposite side.
"Uh... I'll just drink this."
Jack signaled the beer at hand and smiled awkwardly.
But William took the beer mug in front of him, then looked at the other party.
Jack could only compromise and enjoy the food with Holy Water.
On the other side, William was still pondering.
"10-year vintage holy artifacts will fail; it seems the danger of this place is higher than imagined."
"However, since [Devout Baptism] advanced, the holy artifacts I prepared start from 20 years, so I don't need to worry about this aspect."
"Resentful spirits entrenched... do they cooperate with that group of cannibals?"
"It seems before entering the forest, I have to go to the town to understand the situation..."
"Previously when driving around nearby, there were several locations different from what was shown on the map. Maybe due to traps, the terrain here has changed greatly..."
Thinking of this, he raised his head.
"Where can I buy a local map? It needs to be more precise."
Jack's mouth was full of food; hearing this, he swallowed hard for a moment.
"Green Town, there is an old bookstore in the central square. The owner used to be a hunter."
William nodded.
"Before entering, I have to set up escape routes first. Since the place is too big this time, let's prepare five sets first," he thought to himself.
A moment later, Jack finally finished eating.
Seeing that the other party showed no abnormalities after drinking the Holy Water, William silently withdrew the crucifix under the table.
"By the way, were there any abnormalities around when Jenny got lost?" he asked.
Jack showed a look of recollection.
"I remember we had just entered the dense forest not long ago, and then encountered a trap."
"Jenny slid down from the slope. When I went to look for her, she was no longer there, leaving only her backpack..."
"No other traces at the scene?" William continued to ask.
"There were some animal bones; I didn't find anything else." Jack shook his head.
Then he showed a painful look again.
"My poor Jenny, how scared she must be alone."
A strange color flashed in William's eyes, and then he placed a file on the table.
There was a photo on the cover, showing a young girl with shoulder-length short hair.
Pale blue eyes, a small and straight nose, and a sweet smile.
From the appearance, she indeed looked very similar to Jack.
"According to the report, Jenny got lost on the afternoon of the 16th, and the local police received the report five days later."
William stared at the other party carefully.
"Why was there such a long interval during this period?"
Jack smiled helplessly.
"In a place like the forest, the police's skills shouldn't be as good as mine, so at first I planned to search by myself. Later I realized I should have asked for help earlier."
This answer seemed very reasonable, and William did not continue to press.
"Father... William."
Jack spoke.
"You can help me find my daughter back, right?"
Looking at the other party's pleading eyes, William poured a bucket of cold water on Jack.
"Not necessarily; you have to prepare for the worst."
He put away the file.
"I will search within my ability. Once encountering danger or certain unsolvable matters, I will prioritize my own safety."
"I hope you can understand."
Although Jack looked disappointed, he still nodded: "I understand; this is as it should be."
"I will contact you again at most five days later. Do you have anything else to say?" William looked at him.
Information about the clothes Jenny wore when she went missing and the location of the accident were already indicated in the file.
Therefore, he didn't ask more.
"Oh, please take this."
Jack touched his pocket as he spoke, then took out a pendant.
William reached out to take it, then raised an eyebrow.
This was a metal diamond-shaped amulet with a rose pattern engraved on the surface.
"Jenny's mother died early, leaving only this relic. Seeing this thing, Jenny will know I invited you." Jack sighed.
There was not much description of Jenny's mother in the file, only mentioning that she died in a disaster very early.
William put away the amulet.
"I have one more question. Why not put this intelligence in the file?"
He raised his head.
"Aren't you afraid I will refuse to fulfill it after hearing it?"
William indeed had one chance to refuse a commission, although there would be certain penalties.
"5-year vintage holy artifacts failing" had already dissuaded many people, not to mention "10-year vintage."
Hearing this, Jack shook his head bitterly.
"Precisely because the danger inside increased, I decided to hide it. In this way, seeing the vague commission details, most people definitely wouldn't choose it proactively."
He raised his head, his eyes bolder.
"And those who dare to accept it under such circumstances must be very confident in themselves. Only such exorcists can possibly save my daughter."
William narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.
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