A bright moon hung high in the sky.

The cold moonlight illuminated the pitch-black woods on the ground, and the houses in the glades that were wrapped in flames.

The door of the house was knocked outside by the powerful telekinesis, and the night wind poured into it, causing the tongue of fire to lick out of the hole even more violently.

A scorching heat wave is encroaching on the outdoors.

Dean and Hope stood in front of the burning wooden house, solemnly examining the two "people" who had just been rescued with telekinesis.

"Catherine's breathing and heartbeat are flat... There are no obvious signs of trauma or aggression, and there should be only a temporary coma. Dean God Perspective scanned the woman's body and touched her neck again, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Ryan Reynolds is about seven years old now, and he can't die anymore." Hope crouched down and withdrew the hand that had touched the charred corpse, the corpse's limbs and flesh and blood, and the black cloth fused together, revealing only a rough human form and Ryan's facial outline, and even more permeable, with the hot air and the smell of roasted meat.

Hope looked at his companion incomprehensibly, "Why did the kidnappers die so miserably, but Catherine survived so well?" ”

"There is a strange power in this house to isolate perception, I only saw a flame and their approximate location before, I can't see what happened, the specific situation can only be known after Catherine wakes up," Dean shook his head regretfully, and looked at the charred corpse with a complicated look, "But judging from the results, Ryan is most likely not the perverted criminal we imagined, and we are afraid that we have been misunderstanding him." ”

Hope raised an eyebrow, "He attacked the police, beat Nick into a pig's head, and kidnapped another lady, and he is not a criminal, could he be a saint?" ”

Dean looked at the raging fire, "There's no point in arguing now, you send people to the hospital, and I'll put out the fire so that it doesn't burn into the woods." ”

Hope thought for a moment, nodded, and drove away with the two parties.

Di An'an moved,

A burst of black mist appeared behind him, and the "Shadow of the Past" was fully loaded, shaping the mind into the shape of an excavator bucket, aiming at the ground under the elm tree not far away, and digging it, a three-ton cloud of wet soil was suddenly shoveled into the air, and floated smoothly and quickly to the door of the wooden house.

Boom!

Mental trebuchets tossed the dirt into it, pressing down on the tongue of fire in the doorway, cutting off its air support, and white smoke rose from the sparks to the spark.

Dean wasn't fast enough, waved his hand, bang!

Telekinesis smashed through a large hole in the roof, and then turned into an invisible dirt pump truck, digging out the soil from the ground and transporting it to the hole to water it.

Ball after ball, lasting no more than five minutes.

The flames in the hut were completely extinguished, leaving only heat, sparks, and surging smoke.

Dean nodded in satisfaction, with his current level of telekinesis, he could raze the wooden house to the ground in two or three minutes with all his might.

He stood in the night and waited for a while, until the smoke cleared, and then he stepped on the ground mixed with charcoal and mud and sand and walked into the house.

Only the ceiling revealed a large scalp-ting, mysterious black line, Dean looked at it for a while, took out a pen and paper from the illusion space, and selected the most "VV" and "PM" symbols from the lines, ready for Hope to help check it.

With a wave of his hand, several charred wooden planks flew out of their own accord without wind, blocking the large holes in the door and ceiling.

Then, Dean took out the psychic motherboard and the board from the fantasy space, and sat down cross-legged on the ground, slicing his fingers and dripping blood.

"Friends gathered, heartfelt, soul close, I am calling you."

"Now I'm going to start divination, please listen to my words from the souls that wander in this house."

"Ryan Reynolds, owner of the mysterious antique book, Catherine's old man, is your soul near me?"

The board against the motherboard does not move at all.

Whew...

Only the whimper of cold wind creeping through the cracks in the planks.

"Ryan Reynolds, if you have any regrets, I'll do my best to make it up to you."

But no matter how Dean summoned, he received no response, and he was disappointed to put away his divination suit.

"This house can't be considered a regular dwelling, can't hold a psychic ceremony, or is the soul of the person who died in the fire also burned by the flames, or is there some other reason?"

Dean couldn't figure it out for a moment and glanced at the system.

After rescuing Catherine and Ryan from the fire, the progress had jumped to forty percent, but it was still far from completing the event.

The whole incident, he only had a general direction in his mind, and there were many details missing.

"I hope Carl's investigation of Ryan, as well as Mr. Owen's translation of antique books, can help 100 percent."

Dean turned and walked into the night.

……

Early the next morning, Hawkins Town Central Hospital.

A hint of pale golden morning light shines through the window.

Catherine let out a soft "hmm" and woke up from her deep sleep, only to feel refreshed and relaxed, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but grin sweetly, and even more beautifully, she saw the person as soon as she opened her eyes.

"Dean? What's the situation, where am I? Catherine couldn't help but stretch, and the charming curves of the white hospital suit feasted Dean's eyes,

"In the hospital. Forget, last night you were tied up by Ryan Reynolds to a cabin on the outskirts and passed out. Dean handed Catherine a peeled apple, and looked at her serene face tenderly, "How do you feel, is there anything uncomfortable?" ”

Ryan Reynolds?!

The name awakened memories of nightmares in Catherine's mind, and she hugged her arms in horror to examine her body.

"Don't worry too much." Dean pulled her wrists, and the two double V-shaped wounds on her wrists had scabbed overnight, leaving only faint marks that were about to disappear, "The hospital has examined you, and you have not been affected by anything other than these two wounds and some anesthetic drugs in your body, as long as you don't feel uncomfortable, then it's fine." ”

"It's as simple as that?" Catherine opened her mouth for a moment, "You don't know how terrible Ryan Reynolds was last night, I thought he was going to dismember me." ”

"Go on?" Dean took her warm little hand and wrapped it in his palm, "Don't worry, I'm here, no one can hurt you anymore." ”

"He kidnapped me to another 'home' and forced me to drink a strange liquid that was very unpleasant... Around my body, a circle was drawn with salt ...

As Catherine narrates, Dean discovers that progress in the system begins to slowly increase, but unfortunately she falls into a coma too early and has limited understanding, and her progress rises to 45 percent and is no longer moving.

"So you caught Ryan?" Catherine asked,

Dean nodded and shook his head, "You're trapped in the basement of that burning log house and aren't threatened by the flames, but Ryan wasn't so lucky..."

When Catherine heard Ryan's ending, her eyes widened, and she seemed to be scared silly.

"It may not sound incredible," Dean said thoughtfully, "but your description confirms that Ryan's purpose is not to hurt you, but to complete some mysterious ritual recorded in the antique books. ”

"What ritual?"

"I don't know."

The woman asked, "He didn't want to hurt me, so why was he so rude to me?" Why don't you make a request to me directly? ”

Dean asked rhetorically, "Thinking about your weird experience last night, even if he brought it up, would you agree?" ”

Catherine was silent for a moment, then shook her head, "I'd love to let me do a report on the occult, but let me be involved, I don't dare." ”

"So he can only force you," Dean analyzed, "and I feel like he's creating some kind of illusion to deceive something." ”

"What do you mean?"

"He decorated the cabin exactly like your home, and took away your clothes and blood, as if he was trying to disguise yourself as some kind of existence."

"Dean, don't say it."

"Well, don't mention these bad things today, you have a good rest, and contact me if you need anything." Dean smiled at her and was about to get up and leave,

"Wait," Catherine tugged at the corner of his coat, a hint of pleading in her soft eyes, "can you stay with me?" ”

"Absolutely." Dean has always been a helpful person, especially when facing a sexy and kind lady, so he took Catherine's hand and sat on the edge of the bed.

The woman showed a very vivid expression of gratitude, and quite femininely pulled a strand of blonde hair behind her ear,

"I've worked hard for you during this time, I just wanted you to help Chacha Ryan, but I didn't expect so many accidents to happen, but fortunately, there was no irreparable situation."

"We've known each other since Las Vegas, and we're old friends, so a little bit of help isn't enough." Dean looked into her eyes and changed the subject to a lighter one, "So, are you going to write about this experience in the news?"

"Perhaps, but I always feel like it's not over yet, and I'm still a little worried," Catherine pursed her lips, "a favor?" ”

"What's the busy?"

"Lend me a shoulder."

Dean stopped talking, leaned on the head of the bed and took the initiative to reach out and wrap his arms around Catherine, gently hugging her into his arms, feeling the warm and delicate body full of elasticity, sniffing the faint blonde hair...

Catherine leaned her face against his chest, her eyes narrowed into crescents, feeling a steady and powerful heartbeat, revealing a reassuring smile,

"Can't go any further, Catherine, that's pretty much the end of it."

……

The next few days.

The Hawkins Police Department worked hard to test all kinds of evidence recovered from the charred cabin, as well as Ryan's body.

Dean also investigates the meaning of the "VV" and "PM" symbols through various news channels, while waiting for news from Carl and Owen.

The rest of the time, apart from maintaining daily training and meditation, he stayed in the hospital almost all of the time, chatting with Catherine and bringing her fruits and delicacies every day.

The relationship between the two quickly warmed up, but Dean couldn't figure it out, and every time he just had a further idea, he was noticed by Catherine in advance and gently resolved.

On the fifth day, the day Catherine was discharged from the hospital, Hope called Dean to the door of the hospital room and looked at the beautiful woman folding the quilt next to the bed.

"Boy, it's very comfortable to pick up girls these days?"

Dean said solemnly, "Director, compared to your level, I'm still far behind. ”

"Ahem, don't talk nonsense, you have been patronizing Ms. Reporter these days and have not returned to the ancestral house, Jane is very angry, and she has sat on the bed several times and secretly brought an eye patch, I suspect that she is using her superpowers to peek at you."

What?

Dean's face froze instantly, he forgot about this stubble, and in the future, when he did something important, he was stolen by this little clairvoyant.

"Can't you teach her something else to divert her attention?"

"It's obviously your kid's problem, why do you blame me?" Hope glared at him dissatisfied, "If you don't want to be watched, go back to accompany Jane." Okay, back to the point, I found the mysterious symbol you asked me to look up last time. ”

Dean looked straight, "VV and PM? ”

"Well, it was Nick who reminded me that these symbols seemed to be mysterious, and they might have something to do with religion, so I went to the church and consulted the priest, who identified them as 'witchcraft symbols' with mystical powers in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly used to ward off evil spirits from the underworld."

Dean's pupils contracted,

Exorcism, Hades, evil spirits?

One of them means to ask the Virgin Mary for peace. Catherine had two VV symbols drawn on her wrist, and there were countless witchcraft symbols in the charred wooden house. ”

Hope lowered his voice and said,

And the hospital's lab sheet showed that Catherine had drunk a large amount of liquid containing sage and table salt that night. According to the priest, salt has a folk effect of purifying magic, defending against bad energy, and evil spirits, and sage has a similar effect. ”

"What do you think it means that all these spiritual substances are concentrated around Catherine?"

"So, Ryan Reynolds kidnapped Catherine to exorcise some kind of evil spirit parasitic on her, and he did not hesitate to give his life for this?" Dean felt as if he had been struck by an electric current, giving him goosebumps, and he glanced back at the woman in the room, who smiled sweetly at him.

And the progress of the system suddenly jumped from 45 percent to 50 percent.

"Did Reynolds' exorcism succeed?"

"How could it be successful. He used coercive illegal means to help people exorcise evil spirits, and he did not notify the parties in advance, which is really a brain problem. Not even the stupidest fools and liars can do such stupid things. Hope shook his head, "Reynolds was 100 percent a severe hallucinator and eventually set himself on fire and died." ”

"With that said, I have to keep pushing Owen to make progress on the translation."

……

"Dean, I'm packed, let's go?" After Hope left, Catherine, dressed in a light blue dress, walked to the door with a bag of clothes and took the initiative to hold Dean's hand.

"Where do you want to go?" Dean stroked her blonde hair naturally,

"I've been sitting in the hospital for a few days, my bones are rusty, how about taking me for a ride?"

"Willing to help."

……

The two got into the car and drove down the road to the suburbs, Dean looked at Catherine in the passenger seat through the rearview mirror, she rested her right hand on her cheek, her elbow propped up on the window, her eyes staring at the speeding scenery on the side of the road, and a faint smile on the corner of her mouth.

Wavy blonde hair fluttered lazily in the breeze, and the sun gilded her fair cheeks with a jade glow.

The whole person is as beautiful as an oil painting.

Dean couldn't bear to break the beautiful atmosphere, but finally gritted his teeth and got straight to the point, "Catherine, I've always had a question for you. Since you were a child, have you been different from ordinary people, and there are some things that bother you. ”

The smile on Catherine's face froze, and she looked away a little weakly.

Dean didn't rush, and drove intently out of the town to the sparkling creek near the quarry.

Catherine couldn't help but speak, "Did Audrey tell you?" ”

"No, just a guess."

"Well, I don't want to lie to you. I'm really different from normal women, I can't be overly intimate with anyone. ”

Dean recalled the experience of the past few days, his eyes showed a sudden expression, and he gently took the woman's hand, "When did this happen?" ”

"More than a decade ago, during spring break when Hawkins was in ninth grade," Catherine said, looking out the window of her car at the clear river, "I accidentally drowned while swimming in this quarry ditch. ”

Dean said, "I remember the last time we had dinner, we mentioned this, you had a cardiac arrest for twelve minutes, and you almost couldn't get it back..."

"Yes, but I didn't finish it, when I was in cardiac arrest, unconscious, unconscious, and about to disappear from this world, I heard an indescribable voice in the darkness..."Catherine's big eyes flashed with fear and a strange brilliance, "and it said—'Your soul belongs to me.'" ’”

Your soul belongs to me?

The system has jumped to 55 percent.

"It was like God's will that pulled me back from my near-death state." A hint of distress flashed in Catherine's eyes, "But since then, I've been under a spell to kiss anyone or make out of it, otherwise I'll be in pain." ”

Dean was stunned for a moment, if this strange disease is the sequelae of evil spirit possession, then it is not very harmful at all, Ryan Reynolds is guilty of sacrificing his life in a cruel way to exorcise evil spirits?

"Other than that, there are no other symptoms, such as hallucinations, nightmares, seeing some kind of strange monster?"

The woman shook her head very firmly, and said in a tone that met Dean's gaze,

"If you doubt, if you want, we can give it a try. I haven't tried it in years, and I've been thinking for the past few days, maybe I've been cured of my strange disease? ”

Dean said expectantly and hesitantly, "Will this hurt you?" ”

"It doesn't matter, it's like being stung by a wasp at most." Catherine's slender fingers cupped his face and she stepped over the main driver, and Dean didn't hesitate any longer, looking down at the flush.

The cramped car echoed with a thin panting.

After a long time, the corners of Dean's mouth tasted a slightly cool bitterness, and he saw Catherine's blushing face full of tears and a smile of surprise,

"It doesn't hurt... I'm back to normal, I'm cured! Woo..."

"Dean, I'm cured!"

"Isn't this worth celebrating, why cry?" Dean wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Catherine's strange illness is cured, which means that Ryan Reynolds's strange and cruel exorcism is a complete success.

"I'm so happy, so excited... I—" Catherine's cheers came to an abrupt end, her ruddy face losing its blood and turning pale for a moment, her brow furrowed with a touch of heartbreaking pain, and the nails of her right hand pinched the back of Dean's hand, but it was blocked by the tough skin of cowhide.

"Catherine? Catherine? ”

The trembling body in Dean's arms suddenly stiffened, and he lifted her face to check, only to find that her eyes were closed, and she fainted in pain.

Dean suddenly felt cold in his heart,

"Ryan Reynolds' exorcism failed?"

(End of chapter)