Hill Steven was sure that his nightmare was the work of Jason. He sternly warned Lily, "Don't provoke him, he's not to be messed with. Dammit, he scared me." He and Lily were staying in a hotel in town, and spoke to Lily before returning to his room.
"Take care of yourself, I'd love to see you piss your pants when he scares you." Lily replied and closed her door.
On the way back, she and Jason had talked about something - why zombies existed in this small town, and why creatures like the giant catfish and Lamia existed. These incidents seemed to be isolated, but they were not that simple.
"That's your business, not mine." Jason declined their request to pursue the truth without hesitation. Even if he couldn't be as carefree as Master Lu Zu, he wouldn't seek so-called demons and monsters to promote his own Taoism without reason. Going with the flow, perhaps, was the natural rule of Taoism.
The Steven siblings were disappointed, especially Hill, who harbored more resentment towards Jason. But he dared not voice his grievances in front of Jason. Truthfully, he wanted to speak up, but he didn't dare. He could only vent a little to his sister. It was clear that Lily was somewhat influenced by Jason now, which was a bad sign.
Outside the window were scattered lights, mingling with the stars in the night sky. One could see the city of Laredo in the distance. Lily sat by the window, somewhat dazed by the night sky. In reality, she wasn't tired. Demon hunters often had to work at night, so she was used to pondering things like this.
She had met all sorts of people, but she had never met anyone like Jason. She was shocked, it had a significant impact on her demon hunting lifestyle. She felt her previous demon hunting was simply messing around.
And then there was the appearance of the zombie. Who had buried the female corpse at the bottom of the pool? And nurtured such a terrifying zombie? Moreover, this type of zombie was much more powerful than ordinary ones.
There were no legends to pursue for clues. They only knew of one person who had disappeared, and this person only had a name - Liz Wood.
Deep down, she knew that Liz Wood was likely a presence even more challenging than Lamia. She hoped Jason would join them in finding this person and pursuing the final answer. She even felt that he might be the biggest boss. But... Jason had disappointed her.
"What a strange jerk!" Lily Steven pulled her gaze from the window and couldn't help but curse.
The sky was beginning to brighten, so she had to set aside her thoughts and go to bed. Tomorrow... tomorrow might be a fresh start. They had essentially achieved their purpose in coming to the small town of Harold. Now it was time to leave. Of course, she wouldn't beg Jason to join them.
Demon hunters always acted alone. They were slightly different, usually acting as a sibling pair. Over the years, even without Jason, they lived this way.
The next morning, Jason awoke, his energy always abundant. He didn't have the habit of exercising, just spending a certain amount of time breathing exercises in the woods after waking up.
A car drove over, recognizable as the Steven siblings'. Sure enough, after the car stopped, the siblings got out and waited for Jason without disturbing his strange posture. They waited for about an hour before Jason finished his postures and walked towards them.
"Mr. Jason, good morning!" Lily Steven was the first to wave and smile at Jason, "You always surprise me."
"Do you mean my standing posture?" Jason smiled slightly, "You're leaving, aren't you?"
Lily Steven nodded, "Yes, we're leaving. We have fulfilled our purpose here. Now it's time to go. Regardless, even without Mr. Jason's strength, aside from hunting demons, we have no other work, we can't do any other work."
"Then I wish you luck." Jason extended his hand to her.
Lily Steven shook hands with Jason and even hugged him. Her firm chest pressed against Jason, it was unclear whether it was deliberate or not anyway it felt like an ambiguous hug. But Lily Steven just hugged him, without saying anything further. She let go and watched Jason shake hands with her brother Hill.
"I know you pranked me, but I don't mind because I can't prank you. If..." Hill Steven said to Jason with a smile.
"There are no ifs, you'll never be able to prank me." Jason laughed, patting his shoulder and waving at Lily, "Safe travels."
Lily and Hill got in the car, didn't linger, and just said their goodbyes to Jason. Then they prepared to leave. Although there were some secrets in the town that had not been unearthed, they had more urgent things to do. The oddities in this world seemed to never cease.
"I didn't think you'd compromise." In the car, Lily laughed at Hill, who was driving. "No, I'm just compromising for now. If one day, I can surpass him, I will definitely get my revenge. I will let him enter that illusion and make him think he's eating dog poop..." Hill gritted his teeth and said, but ultimately, he couldn't help but laugh. Indeed, how could he ever surpass Jason?
"So... where are we going now?" Lily looked at the scenery whizzing past on the highway, unable to see the end of the winding road, she murmured to herself.
Yes, where were they going?
All that awaited them were long roads and countless towns or cities. Their journey was endless, their destinations not a finale.
After the Steven siblings left, Jason made a decision he'd been mulling over for a while. He had lived here for over a decade, it felt like just yesterday. He had no concept of time, such repetitious days were nothing significant for a Taoist practitioner.
Several peaceful days passed. Elizabeth's injuries had completely healed, and she moved freely. Moreover, she'd received admission notices from four universities. It was time for her to seriously consider her next steps. Lisa, too, was at home on vacation, spending her days at Kote's house.
Kote's home had been fully renovated and returned to its previous condition. However, there was now an observation deck on the roof and security cameras installed throughout. They had become quite cautious.
However, today Jason invited him and his family to dinner at his small cabin. Others who received invitations included Joseph and his daughter, Officer Patton, Chief Louise, Santos, and even the cashier from the supermarket.
By evening, everyone had arrived. The small cabin seemed cramped with so many people, but Jason had set up a large dining table on his front lawn, so dining was no problem, even rather spacious.
Dinner was lavish, and everyone ate heartily. Some even drank quite a lot. Jason, contrary to his usual aloof demeanor, toasted with everyone and drank a significant amount of alcohol.
"He seems a bit off today." Possessing a woman's unique sensitivity, Lisa pulled Elizabeth aside and whispered, "I have a feeling he's about to make some major decision."
"Well, it's definitely not announcing that you're his girlfriend, so don't bother thinking about it." Elizabeth shook her head at Lisa, "We shouldn't speculate about his private thoughts, okay? Just enjoy the drinks!" As she spoke, she glanced deeply at Jason, who was toasting.
That night, except for the supermarket cashier who left early, everyone else drank until they were somewhat drunk and slept on Jason's bedroom or living room sofa.
After an unknown amount of time, when the sunlight became glaring, Lisa woke up. She had drunk some alcohol the previous night, seemingly with Joseph's special permission, and even Chief Louise hadn't objected.
She shielded her eyes from the sun and lazily looked around, then her eyes widened, and she let out a sharp scream.
They were sleeping in a field of wild grass, some leaning on trees, others lying on the ground, though all on blankets. They were clearly in the cabin yesterday. Then, to her horror, she found the cabin had disappeared, but she vividly remembered the front lawn of the cabin...