Chapter 97: You, Human or Ghost?
Room 315's door opened.
The small cross pendant on Father Samuel's chest suddenly grew warm. Father Samuel quickly pressed his hand against the cross, took a slight step back, and said with a concerned expression,
"Tell me any unfinished business you had. If I can help, I certainly will!"
Marcus's heart tightened, but he calmly asked, "What does Father Samuel mean by this? Are you planning to silence me to cover up the truth of my nephew's tragic death?"
Father Samuel was puzzled, carefully examining Marcus and feeling the cross still growing warm in his hand.
He made a sign with his right hand and pressed it onto his left hand, which was covering the cross. The cross stopped heating.
Then he pulled out a palm-sized blessed compass, stared at Marcus for a moment, then stared at the compass again, muttering under his breath,
"Half-living, half-dead, neither fully alive nor fully gone!"
"Strange, very strange that he can still exist without a proper life signature!"
Ordinary people couldn't hear the low voice, but Marcus could. After thinking for a moment, he said,
"Father, please come inside and sit down. There are too many people at the door, and it's difficult to discuss my nephew's matter with Reverend Thomas."
Perhaps it was the name "Reverend Thomas" that triggered the key phrase, because Father Samuel hesitated for a moment, nodded, and went inside, closing the door behind him.
Marcus invited Father Samuel to sit down, poured him a glass of water, and put away the leftover takeout.
Father Samuel glanced around, then stared at the food Marcus had put away. Unable to contain himself any longer, he asked with a puzzled expression,
"Are you human or spirit?"
Hearing this, Marcus picked up Kyle's photo, wiped it, and pushed it, along with some recent company registration documents on the table, in front of Father Samuel. He slammed his fist on the table and roared,
"Father Samuel, my nephew is dead, and your student, Reverend Thomas, is dead. I've asked you to find the murderer. Is this the excuse you came up with on the way here? Another one of your church performances?"
"You ask if I'm human or spirit?"
Marcus asked angrily. Suddenly, Father Samuel felt a pressure emanating from the surrounding space, a strange palpitation gripping his heart, the air seeming to thicken.
It was as if the entire room was awaiting his answer.
Father Samuel fell silent, his mouth tightly shut. He took out a blessed mirror and looked at Marcus, but there was no change. He then lit a consecrated candle.
There was no wind in the room; the candle flame burned steadily upward.
Mr. Davis exuded no dark aura; his spirit was perfectly integrated with his body, and he showed no signs of supernatural corruption.
Father Samuel seemed relieved, yet his expression was filled with regret.
He raised his wrinkled hand to his face, as if to chastise himself, but paused in mid-air, hesitating before stroking his beard.
Father Samuel truly regretted asking such a question so hastily. As long as the other person wasn't a malevolent spirit, wouldn't that have been enough?
Who cares about the specifics!
He glanced at Kyle's photo, sighed, and said with a resigned air,
"Of course you're human!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the oppressive atmosphere in the room vanished instantly, but Father Samuel's hair and beard became dull, as if they had instantly lost their vitality.
His skin darkened slightly, and two more wrinkles appeared on his face.
Marcus hadn't expected Father Samuel to be able to perceive something; he had already made a contingency plan.
If Father Samuel said something wrong, he would directly deploy extreme measures at close range, and even if he was caught in the effect, he wouldn't die.
Fortunately, Father Samuel seemed to have chosen the right answer.
However, the sudden change in the other person's appearance, making him look several years older, surprised Marcus. It seemed that this answer had cost the other person some kind of price.
Before Marcus could ask, something inexplicable surged from the ground and entered Marcus's body.
He felt his mind become clearer, and his spiritual power was also increasing.
It only stopped when it had doubled in strength.
This unexpected windfall caught Marcus completely off guard and was entirely beyond his expectations.
He had been so tense that he was ready to fight, but it turned out to be a blessing?
This Father Samuel is really unpredictable!
"Father Samuel, are you alright? What happened?" Marcus asked softly.
Since he had received such a benefit, Marcus felt a little embarrassed to continue pretending to be furious. After all, anyone who wasn't blind could see the other person's aging.
"Cough, I lost three years of life force. I really didn't expect to encounter someone without a proper spiritual signature in my lifetime. You should have felt the changes in yourself!"
Father Samuel shook his head and smiled bitterly. It was his own fault for being so hasty.
"I feel like my mind is clearer now. Why don't I have a spiritual signature?"
"Did you experience a near-death experience overseas? Perhaps it's because you've been away from home for too long and lost your spiritual roots!"
Before coming, Father Samuel had naturally read the information about Frank Davis, and thus knew about Frank's departure overseas at the age of 16.
Marcus recalled that Frank had indeed experienced more than one near-death experience.
For immigrants, especially undocumented ones, survival abroad wasn't easy, let alone building a substantial fortune.
However, Marcus guessed that this had nothing to do with Frank; it was probably due to Marcus himself.
He had transmigrated to this reality and, upon waking, had become a Keeper.
"I see!" Marcus nodded, seemingly enlightened.
While nodding, he seemed to accidentally glance at the photo of Kyle on the table, and his eyes instantly turned sorrowful again.
Seeing the change in Marcus's expression, Father Samuel finally remembered the important matter:
"Mr. Davis, what you said on the phone about Thomas and your nephew dying mysteriously, what happened?"
"Father Samuel, just call me Frank."
Marcus began to elaborate on the story of the tragedy he had uncovered five years ago, perpetrated by the 'Soul Collector'.
He had investigated and found the Soul Collector still imprisoned under a tree at the town entrance.
A janitor had seen dark energy flying from the direction of that location in the middle of the night, heading towards the ritual procession.
"So, Frank, you mean the mastermind behind this is the 'Soul Collector,' and that the Soul Collector commanded the female evil spirit?"
Father Samuel frowned, thinking carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
He knew about the Soul Collector, a demonic entity with some notoriety.
Moreover, according to the police officers at the scene, there were two other people present: one transformed into a grotesque creature, headless but still able to move; the other skinned and dismembered.
This method clearly matched the style of dark occult practices; that's how it was done in those circles.
And the Soul Collector is also a demonic entity!
"I'll go back and prepare, and give you an answer tomorrow."
Marcus could tell from Father Samuel's eyes that if the Soul Collector was real, he would definitely take action, but he planned to verify it again.
"Father Samuel, please wait a moment!"
Marcus called out to Father Samuel, who was about to leave.
Father Samuel sat back down upon hearing this, looking at Marcus curiously.
Marcus went into the bedroom and came out carrying a luxuriously packaged wooden box, about two feet long and half a foot wide.
"I'm sorry that Father Samuel has lost his life force. I wonder if this will be useful to you."
What Marcus gave Father Samuel was the last and best-quality century-old ginseng that he had kept in his storage.
"This is such a rare treasure, it's very difficult to find now! This ginseng can replenish my life force for two and a half years."
Father Samuel said with joy upon seeing it.
"In that case, Father Samuel, please accept it, no need to be polite!"
Marcus placed it in Father Samuel's hands, refused his request for payment, glanced at the cross on his chest, and watched him walk into the elevator.
One thing at a time: dealing with a charlatan like Reverend Thomas who made a quick buck is one thing, and exploiting Father Samuel is another; but the fact that the other party sacrificed three years of his own life force to benefit him is also a separate matter.
Things need to be clear. The main concern is that Father Samuel might falter, feeling his energy depleted and unwilling to exert himself.
Besides, this item really isn't useful to him.
However, the blessed artifacts Father Samuel possesses are truly excellent.
(End of Chapter)
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