Sophie couldn’t hold it in anymore and blurted out the words. To call him a heartless man was truly no exaggeration! After all, she had waited for so long!
He must have gone to the Henderson family to find Sariah. Their relationship was anything but ordinary. In fact, it was entirely possible that, as the rumors went, they were involved in some secret, clandestine affair.
But even if that were the case, Sophie wouldn’t just give up. Kayden was the first man to make her heart skip a beat. Even though she knew that there was no future for them, she knew that if she didn’t express the feelings that had been building up inside her, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Having waited this long, she had already braced herself for rejection, and with that resolve, she made up her mind to wait for Kayden to come out.
When Kayden and Greedy Wolf walked into the Henderson Mansion, they immediately sensed that something was amiss.
Normally when they entered this mansion, they would pass by numerous servants and staff, but this time, the place felt unnervingly quiet. The front door was wide open, but there wasn’t a single housekeeper or servant in sight. The silence was strange. Had something happened to the Henderson family?
After a few moments, they passed through the corridor leading from the entrance and into the main hall. It was there they noticed a large crowd gathered. All Henderson members and servants were there. The people had formed concentric circles, packed tightly together, almost like a wall.
As one of the most influential families in Inassea, the Henderson family owned a large number of servants and bodyguards.
Greedy Wolf and Kayden didn’t make a sound as they quietly edged closer to the center of the crowd, curious to see what was going on.
As they drew near, the scene before them began to unfold, and they realized this was a mediumship ritual.
In the open space just outside the grand hall, a large square table stood, its surface covered with a yellow cloth. On the table, a censer sat, flanked by two flickering candles. Scattered around the censer were incense papers, as well as several bowls filled with rice and dishes. At the very center of the arrangement stood a water bowl, surrounded by the other bowls like a sacred offering.
Of course, no such scene would be complete without a psychic clad in flowing yellow robes, holding a peach-wood sword that seemed to radiate an otherworldly aura. The psychic appeared to be in his fifties, his movements graceful yet intense as he swung the sword with practiced ease. Hanging from the blade were several yellow talismans, fluttering as he moved. With each swing, the psychic muttered an incantation under his breath. Then, he raised the sword higher, lighting the talismans at its tip, and watched as the flames grew fiercer, crackling with energy.
The servants surrounding the altar gasped in amazement, their eyes wide with wonder at the sight of the ritual.
Nearby, seated beside the altar, was an elderly man. It was none other than Lewis Henderson. His frail body slumped in a chair, his face a ghostly shade of pale, his features drawn and hollow. His eyes were sunken, glazed with a faraway look as if his spirit had already begun to slip away. He appeared utterly drained as if his illness had already consumed him from within.
They had arrived halfway through the ritual, so Kayden couldn’t make sense of what was going on at first. But as he watched more closely, he quickly realized that the psychic was nothing more than an imposter. Why? Because while chanting his supposed exorcism spells, he made several glaring mistakes. To an untrained eye, the psychic might seem like a master of the craft, but to Kayden, the man’s tricks were as transparent as glass.
What truly baffled Kayden was why would Lewis have fallen for such a sham. He was not a man that would be easily fooled, after all.
No matter the psychic’s intentions, Kayden knew this kind of deception wouldn’t work in his presence. Since the psychic was so eager to play his little game, Kayden had no qualms about turning the tables and offering him something far more thrilling.
He was more than willing to fight fire with fire!
If the psychic thought he could summon and subdue evil spirits, Kayden was about to show him otherwise!
With that thought, Kayden reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of red paper. In the blink of an eye, he folded it into the shape of a paper effigy. Murmuring a few spells under his breath, Kayden was about to hurl the red paper effigy into the air when-
Suddenly, something inexplicable happened!
With a sharp crash, one of the bowls on the altar shattered on the spot! A soft whoosh followed as water spilled from the broken bowl, splashing across the table and dripping steadily down onto its surface. Almost immediately, the altar itself trembled violently.
The sound startled the psychic, who had been chanting under his breath, causing him to halt mid-chant. His eyes visibly shrank in alarm.
Kayden clearly saw a shadow flicker and drift past the crowd. It was the same shadow that had been fiddling with the table. This was not a living person; its outline was faint and ethereal, but it could be made out that it was a woman.
As a Hermit, Kayden’s senses were far sharper than those of ordinary people. At times, he could even bridge the realms of the living and the dead, allowing him to perceive spirits and phantoms that others could not.
Do ghosts really exist in this world? Perhaps most people would stubbornly deceive themselves into saying no, while only a small minority knows they are real. Ghosts do exist, but in another form. Those who don’t believe in ghosts are like those who refuse to believe in the existence of Seclela’s Hermits.
Upon seeing the apparition, Kayden swiftly withdrew the paper effigy from his hand. It seemed unnecessary now.
The psychic furrowed his brows slightly. He then raised his peach wood sword and shouted, “Evil spirit, you think you can escape from this?”
He recited a string of incantations and bit into his middle finger, drawing blood. He smeared the blood on the sword and lunged forward, thrusting the weapon straight at the shadow. But the ghostly figure did not move, standing its ground without flinching.
Its strange reaction made the psychic pause. He felt an unsettling shift in the air. His confidence faltered. At this point, all he wanted was to grab his payment and leave. He realized that continuing this ritual might unleash something uncontrollable.
With that, he recited a string of incantations. “A plea to the Five Emperors in the Five Directions to send your generals who slay ghosts! Let your soldiers descend to the mortal realm, united in purpose to capture the spirits of the dead. Please seize the ghosts lurking in every corner of this home. Please capture the vengeful spirits of the executed. Please capture the restless souls haunting doorways, wells, and stoves. Please capture the evil ghosts of all wicked forces. I plead with you; immediately show your divine power.”
With his incantations finished, he tucked the peach-wood sword back, and his demeanor settled into one of quiet satisfaction as though the job was done.
He let out a long, deliberate sigh, then, put on a relaxed smile, turned toward Lewis, who was slumped in his chair. “Old Mr. Henderson, you can relax now. The evil spirits in your home are gone. Don’t worry, they won’t dare come near you again.”
“Mr. Remington, are you certain they’re really gone?” asked Lewis’s eldest son who was standing nearby. Skepticism was clear in his voice.
Miguel Remington didn’t respond immediately. Instead, a middle-aged man who was standing not far away spoke up with assurance. “Of course! Mr. Remington never does anything halfway. I recommended Mr. Remington to Old Mr. Henderson, and I can vouch for his abilities.”
The man was in his fifties, impeccably dressed in a well-cut suit. He was radiating the unmistakable aura of wealth and power.
At the sight of this man, Kayden understood why Lewis had believed in such an imposter. It was clear that this man had played a large part in persuading Lewis to hire this psychic, Miguel Remington. Without a doubt, this man had hyped up Miguel’s abilities-either he had also been duped himself, or he was in on the scam, working hand-in-hand with Miguel to deceive the Hendersons out of their money!
Miguel clearly felt quite unpleasant, and he turned back to Lewis’s son, his eyes narrowing with sharpness, like the edge of a sword. “What’s this? Are you doubting me?”