Demons Beside You

Sienna smiled bitterly. “If I have any other trump card, I wouldn’t have kept it till now.”

“So… do we open this door?”

“Are you sure the monster behind the door wouldn’t eat us?”

“Maybe… Maybe it’s with us?”

Maria had almost managed to stuff her body into the basement. Suddenly, however, her movement stopped.

Maria tried to turn her head around, but her body blocked the entire door.

“What’s that? You bastard, stop touching me…”

Clearly enraged, Maria attempted to kick away the thing that was touching her.

However, the next moment, a painful look appeared on her face.

Everyone discovered Maria’s unusual behavior. Her expression changed from agony to horror as she held on to the basement door with all her might.

“Sienna… Save me… Save me…” Maria was totally terrified. “Save me…”

Just then, Maria was pulled out of the basement by some kind of force, along with the basement door.

She had used more than ten minutes to stuff half her body into the basement, but she was dragged out in less than a second.

Then, everyone heard Maria’s extremely tragic screams from above.

The entire process was unbelievably quick. In just a few seconds, Maria’s screaming disappeared. The whole place fell into a deafening silence.

“What, what was that…”

“Must be the mixture of evil spirits…” Sienna was unsure as well.

Clack, clack…

Footsteps were heard from outside the basement. Then, an amiable figure appeared at the basement entrance.

“Hi everyone. Looks like I’m a bit late.”

With their eyes widened in surprise, everyone stared at Chen Zhao who had just appeared.

“Fortunately, you haven’t opened this door.” Chen Zhao walked into the basement and pulled out the key on the magic door.

“Eastern, you…”

“Chen, it’s great to see you!” David hugged Chen Zhao in excitement.

“Where’s Maria? And the group of evil spirits?” Sienna looked at Chen Zhao in disbelief.

“Worry no more. They’re not there anymore,” Chen Zhao answered with a light tone.

“What do you mean by ‘not there?’ Have you already exorcised them? That’s not possible! There were hundreds of evil spirits, many of which were powerfully inauspicious…”

Compared to being saved suddenly, Sienna was more unwilling to accept the guess that Chen Zhao had actually eliminated all the evil spirits.

Huh…

Suddenly, Aisha who was lying on the wheelchair gave out a soft sound.

“Aisha… Aisha! You’re awake?” Bord shouted in pure delight.

“Dad… Where are we?”

Sienna frowned and looked at the time. “It’s not one in the morning yet. Is it over already?”

“Let’s go out. Are you planning to stay in the basement for the entire night?”

When Fali walked out of the basement, she saw a mess in the living room.

“Chen, I want you to explain what’s happening. And who are they?”

Chen Zhao sat on a sofa. It was the only sofa that was intact in the living room.

“Didn’t you see it for yourself? What do you want me to explain?”

“How did you eliminate Maria? How did you dispel those evil spirits? You can’t have possibly done it.”

“Fine, fine. I didn’t do it. Happy? Can you leave my house now?”

“Chen, can I stay here tonight?” David was clearly too scared to walk outside in the dark again.

“Mr. Chen, you’re not going to let me carry Aisha back at this late hour, are you?” Bord’s reason was very convincing as well.

“How about you, Ms.?”

Sienna was somewhat hesitant. “I’m staying too. I have many questions to ask you.”

“Sorry, but I’m not obliged to answer your questions. Mr. Bord, you can sleep in the guest room with your daughter and also use my towel. There’s some disposable toiletries in the restroom, but no clothes.”

“Thank you. You’ve saved my daughter twice. Thank you.”

“It’s fine, I didn’t do much anyway.”

“Dad, what’s happening? Are we not going home?” Cuddled in Bord’s arms, Aisha looked very clear-headed, as if she had already totally recovered.

“Chen, where do I sleep?” David asked, moving towards Chen Zhao. “If you don’t have enough rooms, I don’t mind sharing one with another person.”

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Sienna.

“Here.” Chen Zhao pointed at the floor. “Living room.”

“You must be kidding, right?”

“I’m tired. Good night.” Chen Zhao turned around and walked away.

“Wait…” Fali pulled Chen Zhao. “You can’t leave before explaining everything to me.”

“You’ve already seen both what you should have and what you shouldn’t have. What else do you want to know?”

“What’s hidden in the basement? I mean behind that door.”

“I think I’ve told you that this house is haunted, right?”

“Are there really ghosts here?”

“As long as you don’t open that door for no reason, the thing inside wouldn’t come out. At least don’t open it in my absence.”

Everyone swallowed their saliva as they unleashed their imagination to the fullest.

After Bord brought his daughter to the room, everyone started taking turns to wash themselves.

Then, either casually wearing pajamas or half-naked, they sat in the living room and started chatting.

Soon, Bord who had put his daughter to sleep also came out. He seemed to be much more relaxed.

The group formed a circle, drinking beers and eating snacks.

“Chen, I really have to thank you this time… Of course, thanks to Ms. Sienna too for your hard work.”

“I don’t want to speak about this again. I’m a doctor; being a spiritualist is only my part time job.”

“Even if you are considered an amateur, then what am I as a professional witch?”

“Are you a witch?” Fali looked at Sienna, her eyes glowing.

“Yes, here’s my name card. If you need things like eliminating spirits or summoning your ancestors, you can call me. Oh, I also sell magic potions.” Sienna immediately gave Fali a name card. “Or even divination. I can contact a diviner for you.”

“Do you teach magic? I wanna learn magic too.”

“I can’t, you don’t have the talents.”

“Chen, can you do a check-up for my daughter? I’m worried that she would have a sequela.”

“I can do that, but I wouldn’t be able to help with any mental injuries. I’m not a psychologist. Also, there will be a charge.”

“Err… How much will that be? I just lost my job recently…”

“A hundred dollars for the check-up. Also, I only accept cash and there wouldn’t be a receipt. I don’t have a license.”

“You’re an illegal doctor?” David asked in surprise.

“What, you want to arrest me?”

“Please, why would I arrest you? You’re not in my charge anyway.” David rolled his eyes.

“A hundred dollars for a check-up? Why is it so expensive?”

“You don’t even have a hundred?”