"What happened to her?" Wan Chunhui's face turned pale. How could the female employee be in trouble before Lu Fei even started handling the situation?
"Lingling suddenly went crazy and tried to jump out of the window. Thankfully, the windows in the hospital room can't be opened, but now she's trying to run outside, biting anyone who gets in her way. We can't hold her down," came the frantic voice from the phone, loud enough for Lu Fei to hear even without speaker mode.
"You can't control one woman? What are you all doing?!" Wan Chunhui shouted angrily.
"Manager Wan, it's not that we're not trying, but Lingling's strength is abnormal. Even the doctors can't manage her. We're guarding the door, but if this continues, we might not be able to stop her."
"Do whatever it takes to hold her down! If anything happens, you'll be held responsible!" Wan Chunhui barked before hanging up, his expression dark.
"Manager Wan, Lingling is the employee who came into contact with the painting, right?" Lu Fei asked immediately.
"Yes! She was acting strange after being admitted, putting on bizarre makeup, but now she's gone completely mad." Wan Chunhui rubbed his temples, visibly stressed. He motioned to the guards. "You guys, head over there and help!"
Lu Fei interjected, "Manager Wan, this might be a case of possession. Sending them won't help."
"What should we do then?" Wan Chunhui frowned.
Lu Fei glanced at the storeroom. "I'll come with you and help restrain her. If she ends up hurting herself or worse, the painting will only become more powerful."
"That's perfect!" Wan Chunhui said with relief.
"Leave a few people here to keep watch. No matter what you hear or see, don't cross the incense ash line," Lu Fei instructed, placing the ghost-headed knife in the storeroom as a safeguard.
With two guards left behind, the group hurried to the hospital.
At the psychiatric ward.
As they stepped into the hallway, a woman's piercing screams echoed from a nearby room. A crowd of onlookers had gathered outside.
"Make way, make way!" Wan Chunhui pushed through the crowd, with Lu Fei and Tiger following closely.
"Manager Wan!" shouted a burly man at the door. His face was scratched, and his arms bore bloody bite marks. He looked disheveled and battered.
Not only him, but three other men guarding the door also bore injuries of varying degrees.
"Is she still inside?" Wan Chunhui asked anxiously.
"We held our ground and didn't let her get out!" the man reported.
Lu Fei peeked into the room.
Inside, a woman with disheveled hair and a crazed expression was panting heavily, her bloodshot eyes glaring menacingly at those outside the door. Her face was painted with exaggerated makeup, and her teeth and nails were stained with blood, making her look like a vengeful ghost. No one dared meet her gaze.
Lu Fei noticed a heavy black aura surrounding her.
"Manager Wan, have everyone clear out. I'll try to calm her down."
"Please do!" Wan Chunhui said, signaling to the doctors and onlookers to disperse.
Just as Lu Fei was about to enter, he paused and turned to Wan Chunhui. "Manager Wan, have someone go to the guard's room and keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't go mad too."
Understanding dawned on Wan Chunhui's face, and he quickly sent guards to the other room.
Luckily, the rooms were all in the same building, so they could reach it quickly.
Lu Fei and Tiger cautiously entered the room.
The female employee let out a shrill scream and lunged at them.
Tiger's heart jumped, and he hastily raised the bagua mirror in his hand.
She halted for a moment, and a grotesque ghost face seemed to flicker across her face before her blood-stained hands clawed at Tiger's face like talons.
Tiger used the mirror to shield himself.
The woman's fingers struck the brass surface, and black smoke rose from her hands as if burned. She let out a high-pitched, agonized wail, her face contorted with pain.
While Tiger distracted her, Lu Fei moved in, striking her back with a willow switch.
The woman shuddered in pain, and the black aura around her thinned. Her blood-red eyes shifted to Lu Fei, staring at him with venomous rage. For a moment, a ghostly face flickered across her pale features.
Lu Fei felt as if he was facing not the woman but that ghostly face.
The eerie gaze sent a shiver down even his spine.
Maintaining his composure, Lu Fei continued to whip the switch.
The woman, now fully enraged, lunged at him with renewed ferocity.
"Tiger, hold her down when you get the chance."
Lu Fei steered her toward the wall, lashing out with the willow switch.
Tiger stashed the bagua mirror in his bag, circled behind her, and grabbed her arms with a practiced move, pinning her against the wall.
"Ahhhh!"
The woman screamed, struggling wildly.
A possessed person's strength was unnaturally strong. Even a sturdy man like Tiger had to use all his strength to hold her down.
Lu Fei quickly took out the pomelo leaf water and poured it over her head.
"Ugh…"
The woman's body shuddered, and her screams subsided. Her struggling lessened.
"Exorcise!"
With a deep breath, Lu Fei channeled his power and struck the woman's forehead with his palm.
The ghostly face vanished.
The screaming stopped abruptly, and the woman's eyes rolled back as she collapsed like a limp noodle.
"The evil aura is gone," Lu Fei said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Dealing with the possessed wasn't that difficult, but the ghostly face intrigued him.
Tiger laid the woman gently on the bed, panting. With the earlier experience, he was much calmer this time, and he and Lu Fei worked well together.
"Manager Wan, she's fine for now," Lu Fei said to Wan Chunhui, who cautiously peeked into the room.
Seeing the scene, Wan Chunhui entered, barely believing how terrifyingly strong the woman had been.
"Shopkeeper Lu, thank goodness you came. I don't know how we would've handled it without you!" He no longer doubted Lu Fei's capabilities.
"It's all part of subduing the evil object. The aura around her is gone, but her soul isn't stable. She can't endure any more shocks," Lu Fei said, placing a ghost-repelling symbol on her. He glanced at the sky outside.
"It'll be a while before night falls. Since we're here, I might as well see firsthand what the guard is drawing."
"Of course!"
Wan Chunhui called in the doctors to continue treating the woman and led Lu Fei and Tiger to the guard's room.
The guard hadn't gone mad or violent. He was eerily calm, tirelessly smearing blood on the walls.
His eyes were covered in gauze, and his ten fingers were chewed to the point of being nearly raw.
Every wall of the room was covered in grotesque, blood-drawn images, so dense they overlapped, forming a nightmarish sight for anyone with trypophobia.
What was he drawing?
Lu Fei frowned.
Tiger looked closer and blurted out, "Boss, don't these look like faces?"