Demons Beside You

When they reached home, Chen Zhao poured Fali a gla.s.s of water.

"Tell me what happened."

"I was about to go to sleep. As usual, I used the night vision binoculars to check the coastline. Then, I discovered that... there seemed to be someone in the sea. I thought it was a drowning person, so I swam towards him."

"And then you were attacked by evil spirits?"

"I heard that "drowning man" calling for help. I grabbed him, but he was dragged into the water by something. I tried to pull him up, but then I was dragged into the sea too. Under the surface, I saw a s.h.i.+p packed with... people. They were the ones pulling the drowning man down."

Chen Zhao thought of a word. "Ghost s.h.i.+p?"

"Yes! It was a ghost s.h.i.+p roaming in the sea! I watched as the ghosts on the s.h.i.+p tried to pull me down too. Then, Walter came and saved me."

This confirmed their initial suspicion that it was a supernatural event.

"Chen, I"m now somewhat scared of the sea. I"m afraid that... I will never be able to work in the Coastal Rescue Team again." Fali was in a similar state as Daniel.

The attack was truly a psychological trauma for her.

"I"ll settle the problem," Chen Zhao a.s.sured.

Nevertheless, it was really a troublesome problem.

The key was that Chen Zhao had no experience of locating evil spirits.

After some consideration, the only person that Chen Zhao could think of was Sienna.

"Sienna," Chen Zhao called Sienna"s phone.

"Chen, do you know that staying up late is the most damaging thing to a lady"s body?"

"Do you want to earn money?"

Sienna was wide awake at once. "What is it?"

"Fali was attacked by evil spirits today."

"Is she alright?"

"She"s just a bit scared."

"What do you want me to do?"

"According to her description, she was probably attacked by a roaming ghost s.h.i.+p in the sea."

"Ghost s.h.i.+p? I"m no match for a ghost s.h.i.+p."

"Are ghost s.h.i.+ps very difficult to deal with?"

"Do you know how my teacher died?"

"How?"

"Twenty years ago, a ghost s.h.i.+p appeared at West Coast. My teacher formed an alliance of thirteen witches but in the end, they all died in the sea."

"Are ghost s.h.i.+ps really that scary?"

"Yes. The biggest problem is that ghost s.h.i.+ps hide in the sea most of the time."

"Do you have a way to find or track them?"

"If you really want to fight against a ghost s.h.i.+p, you better prepare for the worse."

"I don"t need you to fight it with me. Just tell me if you have a way of locating it."

"Let me think about it... How much money will I get?"

"Ten thousand."

"Deal... I just need to find the ghost s.h.i.+p, right?"

"Yes, you don"t have to battle with the s.h.i.+p."

Sienna was a spiritualist, a supposedly comfortable and high paying occupation, but everyone who knew her also knew how poor she was.

"Alright. I"ll inform you if I find anything."

　　...

The next day...

After was.h.i.+ng up, Chen Zhao knocked on Fali"s door.

"Fali, are you awake?"

"Come in," Fali said from inside the room.

When Chen Zhao entered the room, he realized that Fali still looked rather pale. She had yet to recover from the incident.

"How do you feel now?"

"Not good."

"I"m going out later. Help me to take care of Black-Ma and White-Ma. Oh yeah, White-Ma"s injured," Chen Zhao said.

"White-Ma"s injured? By who?"

"He was attacked by a shark in the sea yesterday."

"Is he alright?"

"I"ve already treated him. It"s not fatal, but he won"t be able to do vigorous exercise in the next few days."

"Sure. Leave him here. I"ll take care of him."

Then, Chen Zhao left the house, bringing only Beelzebub, Raymond, and Carrie with him.

　　...

Chen Zhao went to the fitness center for his boxing cla.s.s.

Gaia"s cla.s.s was strict as usual, but Chen Zhao was gradually getting used to it.

Unlike the first few sessions, Chen Zhao was now able to block or counter some of Gaia"s attacks.

This meant that Chen Zhao"s boxing ability had improved significantly. Nonetheless, how well he could perform in an actual fight was another issue altogether.

In the face of danger, Chen Zhao might not even be able to react in time.

The biggest difference between amateur fighters and professional fighters was their reaction to danger.

Chen Zhao"s greatest advantage was his physical fitness, but he needed practice on his reaction speed.

"Chen, that"s the end of today"s lesson," Gaia said.

To be honest, Gaia already found it somewhat tiring to teach Chen Zhao.

She had experienced for herself how good Chen Zhao"s stamina and strength were.

In the past, she could counter Chen Zhao"s attacks with her skills. However, as Chen Zhao also became more skillful, she was no longer able to deal with him that easily.

She taught Chen Zhao mainly free sparring.

Because she was larger in size than Chen Zhao, she was less agile.

She had no advantage in speed, and definitely a disadvantage in strength and stamina.

"Chen, be prepared. Next time, I"ll arrange an a.s.sessment for you."

"What a.s.sessment?"

"I"ll find a few experts in sparring. You"ll have to fight against them at the same time."

"..." Chen Zhao was speechless. "Is that really necessary?"

"You don"t want to waste the money you gave me, do you?"

　　...

In the afternoon, Chen Zhao went to Mr. Doman"s house to give his daughter Normans her slimming session.

When Normans saw Chen Zhao, she clearly did not seem happy.

"Normans, let"s start."

"Did you cast a spell on me? Why didn"t I have any appet.i.te since last night?"

"You need evidence to say something. If you don"t have any evidence, stop accusing me."

"If you don"t explain everything clearly, don"t expect me to cooperate."

"Are you hungry now?" Chen Zhao looked at Normans with a smile on his face.

Rubbing the extra meat on her belly, Normans" face darkened.

"You wicked wizard!"

"Alright. Stop b.i.t.c.hing and start exercising."

Normans gritted her teeth and stared at Chen Zhao. In the end, she still gave in.

After Beelzebub returned her her appet.i.te, she started to feel starved.

She really wanted to be unyielding and say that she would not cooperate, but she simply could not.

"Can I eat after I run a kilometer?"

"No. One kilometer and you only get an apple."

"What? No way! Do you want me to die of exhaustion?"

"If you don"t run, you won"t even get an apple."

Doman stood at the windows, watching his daughter and Chen Zhao run around the lawn.

Normans" cursing could be heard from miles away.

Doman did not know whether he could be happy or sad. Chen Zhao had been running just in front of Normans.

"Mean, shameless, perverted, abject fool, b.a.s.t.a.r.d, trash..." Normans cursed. Before she even finished one kilometer, she was already covered in sweat.

Chen Zhao slowed down and ran beside Normans. "Normans, speaking continuously as you run will only make you expend your energy quicker."

"Isn"t that exactly what you want? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"Of course. Please cuss me louder, I beg you," Chen Zhao taunted.

After one kilometer, Normans actually showed no sign of stopping.

"How much do I have to run in order to eat grilled meat?"

"Ten kilometers."

"That"s not possible! You"re just giving me an unrealistic goal!"

"So you should stop having unrealistic thoughts too."