Hell Demon

Chapter 10

Zhang Wen turned back in anguish and cried out, "Ali, you want to die, don't die!" He refused to accept the fact that his wife was dead!

Suddenly, Zhang Wen grabbed a broom from outside the door and angrily began swatting at the spiders, large and small, that were crawling out of An Li's body. At the same time, he frantically stomped on the spiders that had fallen from the bed to the floor. With a series of violent "slap slap slap" sounds, Zhang Wen had beaten the spiders so badly that their corpses were strewn all over the place, their juices flowing everywhere. The bed and the floor were covered with the mangled spider carcasses.

After a frenzied massacre, Zhang Wen could no longer contain his grief and fear. He threw down the broom, sat on the ground, and began to weep... In the afternoon of Part 8, in a seafood restaurant called Zhi Ji in a seaside fishing port where the sea breeze was blowing gently, Zhang Wen and Father Mott were meeting.

With a pained expression, Zhang Wen recounted his terrible experiences from yesterday to today to Father Mott in detail.

"Father, do demons really exist in this world?" Zhang Wen asked with a wry smile.

“Yes, your wife must have been killed by the evil spirit in this New Conley Hospital. I suspect it's also related to the deaths of our monk Zhang Xinyan and Shanling. It even warned me over the phone not to meddle, Mr. Zhang. There really is a terrible evil spirit there.” Father Mott said in horror, “I’ve studied demonology. Those evil spirits that live in certain places really hate religious people like priests, monks, and so on. I think we must have offended it!”

“I’ve already asked Ah Shi to check the hospital’s past records,” Zhang Wen said with a bitter smile. “Father, but I can’t tell my superiors about this idea, otherwise they’ll think I’m mentally unstable. I don’t know what to do.” He clutched his head in anguish. He had never been afraid of gunfights with drug dealers with handguns before, but this time, facing this incredible supernatural power, he felt a fear he had never felt before!

“As far as I know, evil spirits can only cause trouble in their own territory, and the victims must live there. Moreover, it takes a long time for them to manifest themselves. But the evil spirit in New Conley Hospital is completely different. It can come to us at will, cause trouble, and kill people. This is definitely not an ordinary demon. It must be a demon king. It will definitely bring an even more terrible calamity and kill more people. I am also afraid!” Father Mott said.

"So do you think it will let us go?" Zhang Wen asked, trembling. He was beginning to regret taking on Wang Tiansheng's serious case!

“I don’t know, but we have to find a way to solve this!” Father Mott suddenly stopped, because he and Zhang Wen suddenly had an unseen feeling, as if someone was watching them from outside. A terrible thought flashed through their minds, could it be…? They both turned to look outside, and through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, they breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that on the open ground of the dock outside, an Indian street performer wearing a blue turban was performing by throwing three flaming sticks with both hands, smiling and watching them, attracting about a dozen people to watch.

Suddenly, the mustachioed Indian performer took the three fire sticks and flung them forcefully. For some reason, the three fire sticks turned into three white doves in his hands. He tossed them into the sky, and the three white doves took flight and disappeared into the distance in an instant. The Indian performer's magic show received applause from the onlookers, and some people even gave him tips.

"How amazing!" Zhang Wen said to himself. The Indian mustachioed vagrant waved his thanks, turned to look at Zhang Wen and Father Mott, smiled and waved to them, and then walked away with strange steps.

"Indian, I've heard there are many incredible things in that place?" Zhang Wen asked, watching the departing figure of the Indian vagrant.

“So, you and I need to find an old priest named Wright who can exorcise demons, Mr. Zhang. I hope we can go to North Spirit Island together tomorrow to find him.” Father Mott got to the point. “He has studied witchcraft, and we’ll ask him to come out of seclusion and help us.”

“That’s great,” Zhang Wen seemed to have found a glimmer of hope amidst his despair. “I know some fishing boat friends; let him take us to Beiling Island tomorrow! We’ll meet at this pier at eight o’clock tomorrow! What do you think?”

“Alright, it’s a deal. See you at eight tomorrow morning.” Father Mott raised his glass and clinked it with Zhang Wen’s.

But Father Mott was also filled with apprehension. He had heard rumors in the monastery about exorcists who had failed in their exorcisms and died suddenly. Although he didn't know if they were true or not, they made him uneasy.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [38]: When night fell, Zhang Wen dared not go home. He dared not admit that he was afraid that the thing was still at home. He stayed at a hotel near the dock. He made several phone calls there. Once he called his assistant Zhu Mingshi and asked him to bring the information about Xinkangli Hospital that he had found to Beiling Island to him the next day. He also asked him to ask Director Sha for three days off.

"Don't worry, Brother Wen. Director Sha just asked me to tell you to go home and rest for a week. He's very saddened by your wife's death. By the way, Brother Wen, what are you going to Beiling Island for tomorrow morning? It's very desolate there! I heard there are only about twenty fishing families there."

"It's a very important matter, Ashi. I can't explain what it is right now, because you won't believe it."

"I understand. By the way, Brother Wen, I also have something really strange to tell you!"

"What's up?"

“Brother Wen, ever since we went to New Kangli Hospital yesterday, I’ve been having a strange nightmare last night and during my lunch break today. I keep dreaming that I’m in the former site of New Kangli Hospital, a strange three-story old villa. I keep dreaming that there’s blood everywhere in the house, and I also dream that there’s a small secret room in the villa that looks like an altar. Every time I dream, there’s a person wearing a big black raincoat killing pigs and dogs in this secret room, and also slaughtering some stolen babies, as if they’re doing some kind of ritual, using their blood to worship something. It’s so scary, and every time I wake up from the nightmare in fright.”

"Men in black?" Zhang Wen couldn't help but recall the strange nightmare he had before taking over Wang Tiansheng's case.

"Yes, but the image of the man in black is very blurry. I can never see him clearly. I'm really a little scared!"

"Brother Wen, could this be due to excessive work stress?"

"Maybe!" Zhang Wen said, then hung up the phone.

He then called his father-in-law, who had learned of his daughter's tragic death that afternoon. The two discussed the funeral and other arrangements with deep sorrow.

"Life and death are predestined, Wen. Please accept my condolences. I will handle Ali's funeral arrangements. I've always only cared about making money. I admit I owe my daughter too much... Waaah..." Zhang Wen's father-in-law appeared very sad.

"Thank you!" Just as Zhang Wen was about to end the conversation, his father-in-law's voice stopped him in time, "Wen, there's one more thing!"

His tone sounded very tense.

"What's up?"

“I hope I can take back that villa, but of course, wouldn’t that be too much… you know, I’m short on cash right now.”

“I completely agree, Father-in-law. The villa belongs to Ali, and if I continue to live there, it will only make me more heartbroken and remind me of her.” Zhang Wen had no intention of returning to the villa.

"That's great, that's great! I told you long ago, Wen is a good son-in-law. Don't worry! I'll take care of all of Ali's funeral arrangements. Waaah, my daughter died so tragically!" The father-in-law instantly went from tense to grief.

"Please accept my condolences, father-in-law!" Zhang Wen said, hanging up the phone. He gave a wry smile; a businessman is indeed a businessman. However, his biggest concern right now was his own safety. He wondered if he would be alright if he flew out of Hong Kong immediately.

"No, I must avenge An Li!" Zhang Wen clenched his fist and said.

That night, Zhang Wen had a terrible nightmare while sleeping in his hotel room. He dreamt that he was lost alone in an empty police station building. He ran frantically through the dark corridors and stairwells, but couldn't find a single person. He couldn't escape the police station building no matter how much he ran. All the stairwells and corridors seemed to stretch endlessly, with no end in sight—it was extremely bizarre!

He ran and ran, running down the stairs endlessly, not knowing how many floors he had gone down. The stairs seemed to stretch downwards without end, and he even felt that he had run to a very deep, dark place underground, but he still could not see the end.

Then, somehow he ran behind a policeman who was standing motionless, his back glowing faintly white in the darkness, standing on the dark ground at the bottom of the next flight of stairs.

“Officer, there’s an exit here and there.” Zhang Wen walked weakly to his side and realized that there were stairs all around.

"There is no exit here. Welcome to the underworld. This is the passageway to the netherworld." With a sinister, echoing voice, the eerie policeman automatically turned around.

Good heavens! Zhang Wen was terrified the moment he saw it. The policeman's face was a terrifying horse's head. "Heh-heh-heh," it hissed, its eyes flashing a blinding red light with each terrifying breath. Good heavens, this was a ghostly policeman! At the same time, with a whoosh, a blazing inferno erupted from the dark steps, engulfing Zhang Wen in flames. "Ammonia..." Zhang Wen let out a final scream amidst the inferno... "Ammonia!" Zhang Wen screamed and woke from the nightmare. He sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat, his forehead dripping with perspiration, trembling all over. Good heavens, what kind of ominous nightmare was this?

The next morning, under a bright and clear sky, a motorized fishing boat more than ten meters long roared with the sound of its motor as it cut through the shimmering blue sea, splashing up two plumes of spray that spread high and backward at the stern, heading north into the vast ocean.

Zhang Wen and Father Mott leaned against the bow of the boat, gazing at the azure sea under the golden morning sunlight, watching the white clouds dotting the horizon, and occasionally seeing seabirds flying overhead. The fresh, comfortable sea breeze, carrying an invigorating salty scent, made them feel incredibly relaxed and at ease. The beautiful seascape truly seemed like a fairyland.

"The sea breeze is so refreshing." Zhang Wen closed his eyes, breathing in the fresh sea air, gazing at the endless seascape and the islands dotted with green hills that occasionally appeared on the horizon. He felt truly captivated. In that instant, Zhang Wen felt as if the series of terrible and unbelievable events that had occurred in the past few days were all a dream, as if they had long since left him. He almost felt as if he could forget those horrific memories!

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [39]: Father “Awen” Mott’s voice brought Zhang Wen back to reality. “Last night when I returned to the monastery, Dean Jia told me that he had spoken with Father Wright on the phone and that Wright had agreed to help us.”

"That's great. I hope this can be resolved as soon as possible. I had another nightmare last night. I'm really scared!" Zhang Wen said with a wry smile.

“Don’t worry! The Lord will protect us,” Father Mott said solemnly.

Suddenly, a chilling wind blew against their backs, sending shivers down their spines and making their hearts race. They instinctively turned around, only to see the bearded captain in the cockpit. Seeing them turn, the captain smiled and waved, calling out, "We'll arrive at North Spirit Island in an hour."

"How strange, are we being a bit paranoid?" Father Mott said to Zhang Wen with a wry smile.

Pak Ling Island is a small, isolated island near Cheung Chau Island, covering only about five square kilometers. The island has a small hill covered with trees, a small pier and fishing village to the north, while Father Mote lives alone at the foot of the hill by the sea to the south.

After the fishing boat docked, Zhang Wen and Father Mott walked through the nearby fishing village of only twenty-odd households, climbed over the winding, undulating hills and forests, and arrived at the south side of the island after thirty minutes.

On their way down the mountain, they came across a small church on a flat area below the hill, with some dense woods nearby. A strong, white-haired old man in his seventies, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, was chopping wood in the open space outside the church.

Zhang Wen quickly went over and asked, "Excuse me, is Father Wright here?"

The white-haired old man stopped chopping wood, put down his axe, and looked up. His face was square, etched with the wrinkles of time. But his eyes were bright, sharp, and alert. Moreover, his broad eyebrows and wide forehead gave him a spirited air, making him appear energetic despite his age.

“I am Father Wright!” the old man said in a loud, clear voice. “You must be the friends that Dean Jia introduced!” As he spoke, the old man gestured for them to come into the church with him for a detailed discussion.

As Zhang Wen walked, he noticed that Wright's gait was steady and powerful, indicating that the old man was very strong.

After the two sides introduced themselves in the chapel, Father Mott and Zhang Wen told Wright everything that had happened after they went to the new Conley Hospital.

After listening, Father Wright remained silent for ten minutes before finally speaking, "Based on the information you provided, there is indeed a terrifying demon in this hospital."

"What kind of demon is this? How can it be so terrifying? It even turned into my wife and killed her. Please help me, I want revenge." Zhang Wen smiled bitterly.

“Although I have been expelled from the church, as a believer in God, I will never turn a blind eye to evil. I once swore that I would never use witchcraft again, or else the Lord would punish me and send me to hell.” Wright paused for a moment. “However, this time, in order to find out the true nature of this evil, I will make an exception and go to hell!”

"Wait a moment," Father Wright said, then came out from the back room with a box in his hand.

Then, at Father Wright's signal, the three of them sat down together at a table on the north side. Wright then opened the box, took out a crystal ball, placed it on the table, and closed the door, plunging the entire room into darkness.

Zhang Wen and Mott sat down opposite Wright, who clasped his hands together in front of his chest and said, "Lord, please forgive me for using witchcraft, because I need to find out the origin of the evil spirits in this hospital!"

After finishing his speech, he sat down. In the darkness, Father Wright gazed at the crystal ball on the table, closed his eyes, and waved his hands while chanting the incantation, "Ada Bodi Da, Ranzhi Nabomi..." As the incantation made Mott and Zhang Wen's hearts race and their heads spin, "whoosh!" the crystal ball unexpectedly flashed with a bright, crystalline light, as dazzling as a multicolored pearl. In an instant, Mott and Zhang Wen were so blinded by the intense light that they involuntarily covered their eyes with their hands, unable to open them.

Holding on tighter, Father Wright's incantations became faster and louder. In a dazzling display, Mott and Zhang Wen saw, to their astonishment, the crystal ball, gleaming with dazzling light, rise unbelievably from the table into the air. In an instant, its dazzling brilliance illuminated the entire room, leaving Zhang Wen and Wright speechless.

Father Wright continued chanting the incantation aloud, his entire body focused intently on the crystal ball suspended in mid-air, and then he shouted, "I see it! I see it! It's a spider demon that has cultivated for hundreds of years. It has boundless magic power! Lord, help me defeat it!"

After he finished speaking, Father Wright slowly placed his hands back on the table, and the dazzling crystal ball slowly fell back to the table from mid-air. As soon as it returned to the table, its brilliant light dimmed, and the crystal ball returned to its original form, and the room returned to darkness.

Zhang Wen and Mo Te, who were blinded by the bright light, finally regained their senses and opened their eyes. However, they still felt dizzy from the glare and black clouds seemed to be flashing in front of them.

Father Wright sat there for ten minutes before opening his eyes and saying, "Father Mott, the demon in this hospital is a hundred-year-old spider demon. Judging from the image in the crystal ball, its magic is extremely powerful, unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've never seen such a terrifying demon." Zhang and Mo could tell from Father Wright's tone that even Wright himself felt fear from within the crystal ball.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [40]: "When the seven stars align in the eastern sky at midnight tomorrow night, I will use magic to lure it here, and I will fight it to the death tomorrow night." After he finished speaking, he took out two bracelets from another box and handed them to the two of them.

“These are bracelets blessed with my invisibility spell. You must wear them tomorrow night and hide in the woods behind the church. They will make you invisible to demons on the night of the conjunction of the seven stars. However, you must remember one thing,” Wright said with a serious expression.

"Remember what?"

“If anything happens to me, you must not come to my rescue. You must remain completely still in the woods and not make a sound. This demon is extremely powerful, and if you are not careful, it will find you. In all my years of exorcising demons, I have never seen such a terrifying opponent. I don’t know if I can defeat it. If I fail, you must leave Hong Kong immediately,” Father Wright said solemnly.

“Father, you will not fail,” Zhang Wen said.

“I hope so too, but this spider demon’s magic is unfathomable. There are only two outcomes for an exorcist—victory or death. I must prepare for the worst.” Wright’s face showed an unprecedented level of tension.

Then, as he went into the inner room, he came out with two sets of white, skeletal human skeletons, each with a sharp axe hanging from its claws.

"What is this?" Zhang Wen asked.

“These are the skeleton spirits that the great sorcerer gave me when I was learning magic in Malaya. I’ve sealed them away for forty years. These spirits are very fierce, and their power can help me fight that demon. I will fight fire with fire and use magic to fight this monster.” As he spoke, he put down the skeleton warriors. He also took a magic wand from the wall next to him.

"Wouldn't using witchcraft...?" Father Mott was clearly a little worried that it might violate church rules.

“I know it violates religious rules, but can we let this evil spirit continue to wreak havoc and harm people? I learned from the crystal ball that it will carry out a terrible massacre in the next few days, and many people in that hospital will die. Mott, I have no choice. If I fail tomorrow night, remember to leave Hong Kong immediately and seek help from the Vatican. There are highly skilled Catholic priests there who can deal with this demon.” Wright said solemnly, “May the Lord bless me to succeed. To defeat this demon, I would gladly go to hell!”

In the afternoon, Zhu Mingshi came to collect relevant information about the predecessor of New Kangli Hospital.

That evening, Zhang Wen, along with Father Mott and Father Wright, carefully reviewed these documents and files.

It turns out that the New Kangli Hospital on Dayao Mountain was a pirate hideout more than a hundred years ago. It is said that they used this place as an execution ground to kill many of their traitors and many kidnapped children, turning it into a terrible mass grave.

Later, the pirates were wiped out by the British army, and they were all killed. Villagers in the vicinity believe that the area is haunted by ghosts and spirits.

In the 1930s, a powerful sorcerer from Yunnan arrived in Hong Kong. His sorcery was said to be extremely potent, attracting many local tycoons and celebrities. It was even claimed that some triad bosses had risen to power with his help. The sorcerer amassed a fortune and built a three-story villa at the site of the hospital on Tai Yau Shan. He also recruited many disciples and established his own sect. He became a celebrity in the city.

But one night, the great shaman suddenly died in his room, the cause unknown. After his death, his followers and disciples also died mysteriously one after another. The villa became deserted, and no one dared to live there anymore. It is rumored that shamans in the Yunnan area have a custom of raising evil spirits, poisonous insects, and other supernatural beings. This great shaman was no exception; legend has it that there was a secret altar chamber in the villa where he worshipped and raised these evil spirits and insects.

After the great wizard's death, the building became an empty house. Later, it was rumored that someone found the remains of an infant in the wizard's villa. Considering the frequent disappearances of babies in the area during the wizard's lifetime, people suspected that the wizard had captured them before his death, but no one knows whether it's true or not. However, since then, every now and then, villagers crossing the road at night in the Dayao Mountain area have been mysteriously killed, and the deaths are said to be extremely gruesome.

Later, in the 1940s, when the Japanese army invaded Hong Kong, an infantry brigade occupied the area and used this large house as its command post. The commander even renovated and expanded the house into his private villa. However, one night after moving in, the Japanese commander in the building died mysteriously in bed without any injuries. The following night, two Japanese sentries went insane. On the third night, all sixty Japanese soldiers stationed in the building died mysteriously overnight. After that, the Japanese army abandoned the building and a nearby air-raid shelter. The Japanese army never dared to go there again and believed that the building was haunted. For more than fifty years, the building, which had been expanded by the Japanese army, was abandoned due to lack of management, and no one dared to live there again. Even a pig slaughterhouse built diagonally opposite the building in the 1970s could not escape the same fate. A fire broke out and killed twenty-eight workers, and the slaughterhouse owner went insane and committed suicide by jumping off the building. As a result, the north side of Tai Yau Shan was regarded as a haunted and forbidden area by the nearby villagers, and no one dared to build buildings or factories there.

Until two years ago, Wang Tiansheng, a newly emerging real estate tycoon, took a liking to the environment and incredibly low prices here. Together with several other wealthy individuals, he built the New Kangli Sanatorium here.

During the construction, there were many unexpected events. Nine construction workers died and four went insane. It is said that the contractor of the hospital also died suddenly after the hospital was built. Some workers who had worked on the site claimed that many terrifying strange things happened during the construction of the hospital, such as the shovel truck driving automatically, the shovel machine operating automatically, tools mysteriously disappearing, and the elevator going up and down automatically for no reason. --- Magpie Bridge Fairy replied [41]: Later, when Zhang Wen was looking through another book, he saw a black and white photo of the three-story villa built here by the great wizard in the 1930s. He was horrified when he saw it. My God, this house is exactly the same as the house that the black-clothed man pointed to in his nightmare that night. My God, the strange villa he dreamed of was the predecessor of the New Conley Hospital. This is too mysterious.

Amidst the chilling sensation, he also perused other materials, one of which was a rumor from a Hong Kong newspaper in the 1930s. The rumor claimed that this great wizard liked to wear a black raincoat robe from head to toe every time he performed a ritual, and that he would kill a large number of pigs, chickens, and dogs each time he performed a ritual, making his methods extremely terrifying.

Looking at this terrifying information, Zhang Wen felt a chill run down his spine. Could the man in black he saw in his dream be this great sorcerer? Was Zhu Mingshi's nightmare in the secret room a scene of this great sorcerer's ritual?

Looking at this terrifying information, Zhang Wen couldn't help but wonder, "Could there really be demons in this world?" He had never believed in superstitions before, but his terrifying experiences over the past few days had made him start to believe that some terrifying supernatural and evil forces did indeed exist in this world.

He also had a strange feeling: could the great shaman have died at the hands of this spider demon? Although he didn't know what the relationship was between this terrifying demon and the great shaman from Yunnan, could it be that the spider demon was brought to Hong Kong from Yunnan by the shaman? Could it be that the spider demon was the great shaman's insect spirit? Didn't the previous information say that shamans in the Yunnan area had this kind of custom?

At midnight the next day, seven bright stars were indeed seen twinkling in the dark sky to the north, a celestial phenomenon of the seven stars aligning.