Chapter 70: Arrival

XinlanErVillage

The twilight's lingering glow spreads over this four‑hundred‑person village, turning the brick‑red roofs golden.

The old oak at the village entrance rustles in the wind, its shadows stretched thin like gaunt fingers reaching into the distance.

The air is filled with the scent of dry hay and cooking smoke; what should be a peaceful evening inexplicably feels oppressive.

Village Chief Deliwen paces back and forth at the village entrance, his brows knit, occasionally looking up toward the winding country road in the distance.

His leather shoes leave deep marks on the muddy ground, and his fingers rub the SilverCross at his chest.

It was a gift he received twenty years ago when he was baptized in Paris.

"Why haven't they arrived yet…?" he murmurs, his voice tinged with anxiety and fear.

Just then—

The roar of an engine comes from afar.

Deliwen jerks his head up, squinting his eyes as he looks.

A black off‑road vehicle drives in from the end of the road, its headlights cutting two sharp beams through the dusk.

As it draws nearer, he sees the object hanging above the license plate—a SilverCross bearing the distinctive emblem of the FrenchPapacy.

"Finally here!" Deliwen exhales a long breath and strides forward to greet them.

Four members of AiHuade step out of the vehicle.

But the very first second after stepping down—

They immediately sense—a vile, Hell‑born, nauseating aura.

AiHuade narrows his eyes and asks Deliwen, who stands before him:

"Enough idle talk, what's the current situation?"

Seeing his briskness, Deliwen skips the small talk and says directly:

"Yesterday, the Church sent two ApprenticePriests, AnLisi and HailunEr."

"At first they assessed the DemonLevel as LowLevelDemon; they could handle it, so I didn't tell anyone else, just instructed everyone to stay home."

"The demon appeared at the LuEn household in our village."

"To be precise, it was LuEn's daughter, sixteen this year, who loves ancient books; near her birthday, LuEn went out recently and returned with dozens of ancient books from an unknown source..........."

"I suspect that caused her to see forbidden passages in those books and act on them............ Half a month ago, their family stopped leaving the house, and every night the village's livestock were each lost one by one........"

"Later, someone saw LuEn and his wife leave at midnight; when called, they didn't respond, just stared blankly ahead and kept walking."

"I sensed something wrong and planned to check their home, but before I got close, my CrossNecklace warned me that there... was an evil presence!"

He said this, then lifted his CrossNecklace, projecting the word "ForbiddenWord" that appeared on it before the four AiDehua.

"So I immediately reported it to the Church."

"Yesterday the commotion was huge, but AnLisi and HailunEr told me to come out again tomorrow morning, so I didn't dare to look. When I went today… their bodies had already been thrown at the doorway........"

"But they left this behind."

At that point, he pulled a palm‑sized Notebook from his pocket and handed it to AiDehua.

AiDehua glanced at it.

Like the intel they received, it seems the Church has already reported the contents.

Believing they couldn't handle it, they escalated it to the Holy See.

This Notebook was obtained through HolyWaterBaptism; a Demon cannot directly or passively leave a message on it.

"Very good." AiDehua passed the booklet back.

"Which one is the LuEn house?"

Deliwen took it, turned, raised his hand, and pointed to a house now half shrouded in night shadows:

"That one."

"Hmm." AiDehua nodded, then spoke again:

"Promise me one thing, okay?"

"What? You say."

"Stay home tonight as well, don't go out."

"Yes."

The words hung in the air.

He watched the four's departing silhouettes.

AiHuade walked at the front, his black robe fluttering slightly in the wind.

Lan Luo walked to his right, hands in his leather jacket pockets, appearing nonchalant while silently reciting the ExorcismIncantation again in his mind.

Ke Laixi walked to his left, red hair blazing like fire in the sunset, SilverSword already drawn, its edge glinting coldly in the dusk.

Kedi carried two large BlackBoxes in his hands, with a Backpack slung on his back.

The four arrived before the LuEn house.

The dilapidated Wooden Door stood ajar, a chill seeping through the crack as if countless eyes stared at them from the darkness.

AiHuade halted, turned his head toward Lan Luo and Ke Laixi: "Same as always?"

Lan Luo and Ke Laixi nodded simultaneously.

Ke Laixi gripped the SilverSword tightly, moved to the front, and lifted the tip slightly, aiming at the doorway.

Lan Luo turned to Kedi: "Give me my HolyCrossbow."

Kedi quickly set down the box and Backpack, deftly opened the left box—inside lay a neatly arranged set of precision components.

His fingers darted among the parts at lightning speed, needing little thought; in just a few seconds, a silver‑gleaming HolyCrossbow took shape in his hands.

"Here." He handed the assembled HolyCrossbow to Lan Luo, then swiftly opened another box and, at the same speed, assembled a second HolyCrossbow, handing it to AiHuade.

"Kedi, good kid! After this mission is over, I'm going to take you to my party!"

Lan Luo praised Kedi, then took the HolyCrossbow, skillfully inspected the bowstring and the arrow groove, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth:

"Alright, let's see what thing is putting on a god act."

AiDehua also finished checking the bow and crossbow, and said to Kedi:

"Kedi, watch closely—if something happens, say we die, you just run straight away and get support."

"Got it?"

Kedi nodded, "Got it!"

The next moment.

The three of them walked inside.