Chapter 183 – Detect Evil
It was strange. The water was so clean, the pure water I had always wished to drink. Yet, the moment it reached my hands, I instinctively loathed it, having no desire to drink it at all.
“Parul, drink quickly. Maybe it can heal your mutation?” Jayad urged, seeing my frown. He went through all the trouble of stealing holy water, wasn’t it all for me?
I furrowed my brow, thinking that good medicine tastes bitter but is beneficial for illness. I decided to try it and took a sip. The water was indeed very light, with no strange taste at all. But then, a strong stimulating sensation flooded my throat.
It burned like swallowing a knife, and only after I swallowed did my throat feel a bit better. My stomach still felt a wave of heat. What was going on?
To be sure, I had never felt any burning sensation even when drinking boiling potions directly. Drinking the holy water felt like drinking a high-proof liquor.
“Cough, cough, cough!” I quickly put down the cup, taking a long while to recover.
“Parul, are you alright?” Jayad asked with concern, unexpectedly reacting to my intense reaction.
“I’m fine, no problem. This holy water is harmless to me, but it’s too stimulating. Older Brother Jayad, you drink it.” I pushed the cup back.
“But, your mutation…” Jayad hesitated, looking at the cup.
“It’s useless. This cup of holy water is not enough, and drinking it is too painful. You should drink it instead. It will be more effective for you to drink it than me,” I said.
Actually, it was a little effective, but it was like a drop in the ocean. I felt that to remove these shell-like growths, I would at least need to soak myself in a holy water pool. But obviously, as a witch, I could never enter any church’s holy water pool.
“Alright.” Jayad no longer refused. His habit, cultivated from always living in the Slums, was not to waste anything or refuse anything, but to make the best use of everything.
For instance, when he was still under MacDuff, Jayad was the best fed and best clothed among all the orphans. And he never refused the food that was divided among him.
It wasn’t that Jayad didn’t want to be modest, but only by feeding himself and keeping himself warm could he have more energy to steal more things and support more orphans. The same applied to the other capable children.
It was the same now. Only by improving himself could he think of more ways to protect and heal Parul. Jayad took the holy water, with only a mouthful missing, and drank it all in one gulp.
A gentle Holy Light emanated from his body. This Holy Light was somewhat different from before. It lacked a certain sacredness but possessed more naturalness, as if it were the light of the rising dawn and early morning.
“Older Brother Jayad, do you feel anything new?” I asked.
“Uh, I feel… it’s so strange. I feel like there’s some very Evil aura around Parul,” Jayad said, frowning as he looked at me.
“Didn’t you see it before?” I asked. After he drank the Spirit Cat Potion before, he could see the Evil aura behind me.
“It’s not that feeling. It’s not seeing. This time, it’s feeling. There’s some Evil energy continuously eroding Parul. It seems to have already eroded half of your body,” Jayad said, looking at my shoulder.
Of course, I could feel it too. Perhaps when the Evil God’s magic power completely eroded my body, I would turn into a giant worm. “Can you feel anything else?”
“I feel like there’s also something Evil next door,” Jayad looked at the room we had previously stayed in. That was Miss Ghost. Jayad couldn’t sense Miss Ghost’s chilling aura before, but now he could.
Moreover, he revealed an increasingly pained expression, even clutching his head and crying out in pain: “There’s something above too! No, it’s on both sides! The entire building is filled with it, and there are many Evil auras I’ve never seen before!”
“Calm down! Calm down! Older Brother Jayad, withdraw your Inspiration. Stop looking,” I quickly held him, knowing what this was. It was just like last time when I drank too much Spirit Cat Potion, my Inspiration surged, and I received too much Intelligence.
I understood this feeling very well. Overly strong Inspiration would amplify certain terrifying things. Seeing them suddenly would be a huge shock, and feeling like there were terrifying things all around you would make one restless.
Jayad gradually quieted down in my arms. I gently stroked the back of his head, burying him in my chest. “It’s okay. Can you withdraw your Inspiration?”
Jayad nodded, his expression gradually softening. To distract him, I told him about Miss Ghost next door.
After hearing this, Jayad slowly returned to normal. He asked with doubt, “So, Parul intends to help her find her mother out of gratitude for her providing Intelligence?”
“Yes. Although it’s a bit difficult, and the information is still incomplete, as long as we help her recall slowly, she should be able to find her,” I said. Actually, it wasn’t just out of gratitude; there was also some sympathy and apology.
“Then, I think asking the Landlady might yield some information,” Jayad suggested.
“That’s simple.” I smiled. Asking the Landlady? She was a very enthusiastic person who loved to provide Intelligence, provided there was money involved.
When I saved Jayad before, the Landlady also provided me with crucial Intelligence. For example, the Hand of Glory that caused Jayad’s stiffness. It was precisely because I knew this deadly move in advance that I could prevent it.
Although it was a fair transaction on both sides, it had been of great help to me. I didn’t mind earning her a bit more money, so we went downstairs to find the Landlady.
The Landlady was peeling potatoes. Seeing us coming down, she revealed a smile. This brother and sister were generous spenders, truly making her earn a lot this month.
I got straight to the point and asked, “I have something I want to ask you.”
“Please tell me,” the Landlady said with a warm smile. Of course, whether to answer, or how much to answer, depended on the depth of the question and whether I could provide enough money that satisfied her.
“About the room we originally lived in… you know it’s haunted, right?” Jayad asked.
The Landlady’s expression changed. “I told you, deposits are non-refundable, and I already changed your room, didn’t I?”
“We’re not here to ask for a refund, nor are we here to argue about you tricking… no, swindling us into living in a haunted room.” Jayad emphasized the word swindling. “I just want to ask you, do you know who that ghost is?”
“I don’t know,” the Landlady denied outright. But then her gaze fell on my hand, where there was a Silver coin. Jayad was playing the bad cop, and I was playing the good cop.
“We only care about the origin of that Female Ghost, or what happened in that room before? As long as you provide the information, this Silver coin is yours.”
The Landlady showed a troubled expression. “I really don’t know. Before I took over the Apartment left by my Father, that room was already haunted. But…”
