Chapter 3: Exorcism-3

Andrei nodded.

He stared at the alpaca—it didn’t resemble anything real at all; more like a cartoon character with a colorful, white body and pinkish hair. Its eyes were large, eyelashes long, and its expression was very expressive—right now, it was smiling.

Eisen and the alpaca exchanged a look.

Eisen pointed at the alpaca: “This creature is called Teppiros, a type of demon. It’s quite lowly right now. You can call it an alpaca, because it hates being called that…”

Los complained loudly: “Unfair! If you tell him my name, he’ll curse me using my name, draw a hexagram, paint my face with sheep’s blood, say my name three times at midnight, spit in the center of the pattern, drink mugwort juice, and kill me. To be fair, you must also tell me his name!”

Eisen: “……”

Andrei: “So detailed—I don’t even know all that.”

Ansen continued: “Last month I lost my ‘compass,’ so I often get lost. The alpaca told me it saw signs of the compass here and begged me to spare it, which is why I came.” Ansen turned to look at the corpses scattered across the room. “But they were having a meeting. I thought my compass was here, but I couldn’t find it.”

Andrei was completely confused: “What is a compass?”

Eisen crossed his arms: “The compass is used to show direction. If I need to find demons or other creatures, it can indicate where they gather. Here,” he pointed at the alpaca, “it shows me where this creature’s kind live.”

Andrei glanced at the alpaca, feeling slightly annoyed at the thought that such a cartoon character was a devil.

Eisen, exhausted with patience, grabbed the alpaca’s tail: “But now there’s none here—I should give it some punishment.” He stood up straight and shifted his hand to catch the alpaca’s wings. “I have no patience. First, I’ll tear off one of your wings.”

The alpaca trembled violently: “Respected sensei, first let me express my sincere apologies. I swear your compass must be here—I can prove it.”

Eisen tossed the alpaca around impatiently, pretending to say, “Ah… I can’t hear clearly…”

The alpaca raised its voice: “I can prove it! Can I lick it?!”

Eisen lifted the alpaca, swinging his arms like a windmill, making the alpaca happy: “Better to fry the alpaca…”

The alpaca’s voice became indistinct as it spun: “I think it’s the compass!!”

Eisen stopped, and Andrei also looked over.

Taking this opportunity, the alpaca slipped out of Eisen’s hands: “I secretly licked the compass before. If I touch it with my tongue again, the compass will light up…”

The alpaca shivered its wings and looked at Andrei: “Can I lick it? Just a little—I’ll know then.”

Andrei shrugged, acting indifferent, and looked at Eisen.

Eisen pursed his lips and seriously asked Andrei, “Do you mind?”

Andrei didn’t care and watched the alpaca: “Come on.”

The alpaca flew carefully over, stretching its tongue toward Andrei: “I’m testing a hypothesis—seeking truth, not pleasure.”

Andrei found it amusing as the alpaca’s tongue touched his face, feeling cool, and slightly moved aside. The alpaca retracted its tongue and said to Eisen, “Could you hold his head still?”

Eisen looked at the alpaca with disdain, and the alpaca had no choice but to turn around and lick fiercely on Andrei’s face. Andrei thought it might reach his eyes, so he closed his eyes.

After the alpaca used its long tongue to lick over Andrei’s right cheek and then moved away touching his trembling eyelashes, Eisen threw to Andrei a short cloth used for wrapping crosses: “That’s all we have.”

Andrei picked it up from his leg: “Thank you.”

After licking, the alpaca nodded confidently and said, “Yes, definitely. My tongue is numb, just like a compass. And you saw that, right?” It turned to Eisen, “The red mud has changed color.”

While wiping his face, Andrei asked, “Can a compass be inside a human body?”

“Actually, a compass is just a living ‘mud’—I shaped it into the shape of a compass. It easily mixes in anywhere. Without a shell, it can blend with anything. So I guess something stole it and accidentally ended up with you.”

Andrei asked again, “Then why is it on me?”

Eisen waved his hand: “I’m not sure about that. I just followed its advice and came here.”

Andrei turned to the alpaca: “So it might have deceived you—it stole it.”

Eisen also turned to the alpaca: “Maybe it deceived me too—it stole it.”

The alpaca, observing the calm faces and fierce eyes of the two people, felt a strange understanding between them that doubled the effect. Its wings trembled in fear, then it stood straight: “Honorable sensei, hello. It’s not me. Please allow me to make a small contribution by finding red clay for you.”

The alpaca flew above Andrei’s head and said solemnly: “Sir, it seems you are an old acquaintance of Erebus. You are even more needed at this time. Even to find new red clay, you need to act as a compass guiding us for now.”

“Hee,” Eisen interrupted it unhappily, not wanting it to continue, but also staying silent. He crossed his arms and looked into the distance, looking very serious, though he didn’t seem thinking about anything.

Andrei looked at the alpaca and then at Eisen, understanding immediately that this was a request. He relaxed back in his chair, smiled slightly, took out a cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth. He turned to the alpaca: “Then why are you helping him? Aren’t you enemies?”

The alpaca stared at Andrei, its lips trembling, unable to speak for a long time. But Andrei seemed to see some hint of “humiliation” in its face.

“It fears me. And it is too weak.”

The alpaca blushed and argued: “It’s just weak right now. It’s injured, that’s all…”

Andrei interrupted: “How was it injured?”

Eisen rushed to answer: “I hit it.” He smiled as he reached out to touch the alpaca, which tried to avoid it but didn’t dare. “It’s better to be weak. If it were strong, you would already be dead.”

The alpaca: “……”

Andrei watched Eisen smile with pure innocence, recalling how Eisen always looked that way when he was a child and played pranks. Some of Eisen’s pranks were just jokes, but others were cruel.

After checking his pockets, Andrei couldn’t find a lighter. He looked at the alpaca and raised an eyebrow: “Can I borrow a fire?”

Eisen turned to look at him, then called out to the alpaca: “Give him some smoke.”

The alpaca flew forward with a displeased expression—it really couldn’t hide its feelings—and lowered its head. A bright red flame instantly appeared on its head. Fortunately, Andrei moved quickly, turning away from the fire that was about to hit his face.

The alpaca lifted its big, watery eyes and said in a teasing tone: “What’s up? Did it almost burn you? No way, right?”

Andrei reached out and grabbed its wings: “No, I’ll do it myself.” He put a cigarette in his mouth and smoothed the alpaca’s hair with one hand. “Come on, try again.”

The alpaca now realized that this person was tough. It glanced at Eisen and still gave the human some smoke, then was released.

As soon as it left, it quickly changed the topic to Andrei: “The main thing now is we need him to find the red clay. Maybe he has other ways to get in touch with it—or maybe he’s the thief who steals the red clay!”

Eisen turned his attention back to Andrei: “A thief? Impossible. Other ways…” He looked at Andrei carefully, showing that expression Andrei was familiar with—it meant Eisen was going to do something hurtful just for fun.

“As long as your physique attracts the red mud more, if a man enters your anus recently, he’ll give you the red mud.”

Andrei ignored Eisen’s intense stare and simply smiled casually without arguing.

The alpaca froze, looking at Andrei. Wasn’t he a tough guy? Such a tall, handsome guy didn’t react at all—why wasn’t he angry? Where was his courage earlier when he tried to catch devil wings? While humans might not dare challenge Erebus, humans could—a mother would knock out a whole Erebus with one punch.

The alpaca continued to observe, glancing at Andrei and Eisen. In the silence, it raised its hoof and said, “Do you know them? Actually, who is this person?”

“Her name is Anli,” Eisen said after looking at it, “my… stepmother. She sold herself for money and has a lot of debts. And besides that,” he turned to Andrei and smiled awkwardly, “she doesn’t pay her debts, gambles recklessly, kills like crazy—a complete scumbag.”

The alpaca immediately understood. Instead of introducing her, Eisen simply wanted to provoke Andrei.

Andrei still showed no reaction, just shrugged and looked up at Eisen: “Is it okay if I leave now?”

Eisen as if punching into empty air—trying to provoke but getting no response, finding it boring too, he stood back with a sigh: “Who said it’s okay? Whether the red mud is harmful inside the body is still uncertain…”

Andrei raised an eyebrow: “Will I die?”

“ Didn’t I say it was still uncertain? ” Eisen waved his hand. “Anyway, leave it to me. You don’t need to worry.” He tried to convey the boldness of a superhero movie, stood up straight, adjusted his clothes, looked around the church, as if reviewing his achievements, placed his hand on Andrei’s shoulder, and emphasized, “Don’t worry.”

Andrei wasn’t afraid either. Seeing Eisen reaching for a shelf, he nodded in agreement.

Eisen lowered his head and smiled quickly, clearly satisfied with his statement, believing his heroic aura must have filled the entire place, allowing him to leave perfectly now.

The alpaca watched quietly Eisen in the awkward position, along with Andrei, who seemed slightly wary. For a moment, it thought it saw Andrei frown.

Something feels off…

Dawn.

The first rays of sunlight entered, with Eisen, Andrei, and the alpaca standing apart, each thinking deeply.

Eisen was about to say goodbye, waving boldly, adjusting his glasses. The sunlight nicely outlined his profile. He stopped for a few seconds, like a model on a runway. Then he turned gracefully, stretched out his hand, and the alpaca followed instantly.

One person and one alpaca walked toward the door, where sunlight came in from outside, casting a tall, imposing silhouette that glistened brightly. Along with the sunlight, it disappeared behind the door.

Just like appearance, departure was equally dramatic.

As soon as they stepped out, the alpaca approached him: “Boss, your problem can be solved.”

“What?”

“If he has a rich love life, wouldn’t that be perfect?”

Eisen frowned as he looked at it silently, showing he was considering the alpaca’s suggestion.

The alpaca continued: “Time waits for no one…”