"I - I thought you needed help." Wu Xiaoming pretended to be scared, flinched and answered with a lowered voice: "What - what's happening with him?"
"He's posse - I mean he's on drugs." The man in a black suit sighed and shook his head: "I'm his friend, and I came here to visit him, just to see him like this. "
Wu Xiaoming frowned and narrowed his eyes: "But why - why is it not safe here?"
This question obviously caught the man off guard, he stammered for a few seconds before relenting: "Alright - alright. You wanna know the answer? Actually he was possessed, not on drugs."
"Possessed, by a demon, you mean?"
"Something like that. And this man is just another poor victim who happened to be here at the wrong time and has caught the attention of a violent spirit." The man took out a small bottle from his inner pocket and sprayed some liquid on the man in a changshan: "That's why you should leave, young man, it's not safe here for you, me, anybody."
"But why are you - "
"I am an exorcist, okay? I am here to investigate and hopefully resolve the issue here. You're happy now?" The man sighed and shook his head: "That's why I am telling you to leave. You'd better listen, I can't be held responsible for your safety here."
"Okay. But do you know what you are looking for?" Wu Xiaoming asked, then pointed at the man in a changshan: "And what about him?"
"I've answered your questions already, just leave! Go downstairs! Go on a hike or a tour! What's wrong with you?"
"Well, okay. But - are you sure you're okay?" Wu Xiaoming did not simply want to go, so he just asked again: "I mean, if things are really dangerous here - "
"Just leave!"
"Okay! Okay." Seeing the man was about to lose his temper, Wu Xiaoming turned around and began slowly walking away, while still trying to figure out how he could potentially do his own investigation and exorcism without getting into a conflict with the man. If he suspected correctly, this man would be the same medium consultant that drew the chalk line behind the building.
He looked back at the man in a suit, just to see him pushing the unconscious man in a changshan back in his room and turning away from him - towards the direction of the Queen's Suite. So he stopped where he was and hid in the doorframe of a room close to him - just to make sure the man did not see him stopping and not actually leaving this floor.
The ghosts in the hallway were gone. It was hard to tell when that happened, but without them present it was sure less depressing and stressful.
But just as Wu Xiaoming let go of a breath he was holding, the man in a suit looked back, and caught him right in the door frame staring.
"Hey! I told you to leave!" The man barked: "Why can't you - " Before he could finish, a door to his left burst open, and another man, in his bathrobe, charged out at him and pushed him right onto the wall on his right.
"Shit!" Wu Xiaoming immediately took off towards the man. The man in a bathrobe was growling, with his face and his forearms covered in black veins. The man in a suit was taken by surprise, but he was no untrained civilian. He pushed his assailant away with a knee strike, before launching two kicks onto his new opponent's chest.
The man in a bathrobe stumbled back a few steps, and was immediately tackled by Wu Xiaoming and held against the ground, with his hands behind his back.
"Is he possessed as well?" Wu Xiaoming asked with a raised voice, because the man was barking, growling and moaning, in an almost inhuman way.
"Yes! That's why I said you must leave!" The man in a suit pulled out another piece of red cloth and shoved it into his new opponent's mouth - he had to pull back a few times because the man just kept biting.
The man in a robe screamed as smoke arose from his nostrils, ears and scalp. In Wu Xiaoming's eyes, the dark energy surrounding his entire body began to dissipate, but simply not fast enough. Additionally, another source of dark energy was flowing into him.
"This is not working!" The man in a suit looked up at Wu Xiaoming: "I need help!"
"Okay! What?!" Wu Xiaoming nodded.
A moment of silence went by - silence from Wu Xiaoming, but the man in a suit was still ruffling through his pockets, trying to find something, while the man under Wu Xiaoming was growling and struggling. The red cloth's effect on him was getting weaker, as the dark smoke around his body was gradually regaining ground.
"Shit! I left my stuff in my room!" The man in a suit yelled: "I need you to keep him down as long as you can and wait for me to come back. "
"Okay, and?"
"And - " The man hesitated: "If you're in danger, just run. Staying alive is more important than anything else."
"Okay!" Wu Xiaoming nodded. At least right now, this man seemed trustworthy - it would be pretty great if he was indeed the exorcist or medium collaborating with the LAPD, and more importantly, he was capable.
As the man in a suit ran towards the door near the fire escape, Wu Xiaoming redirected his focus on the man beneath him. He never stopped struggling and growling, but was not able to move much with Wu Xiaoming on top of him and holding his two arms. Holding this man appeared to be easier for him than he had expected - it must be his increased physical power from all those fights - albeit in the ethereal realm.
It was simply not the time to use his spells or other skills right now - he needed to save them for when the fight would get rough. He leaned in on the man, tried holding the man's both arms using his left hand, while reaching his right hand into his backpack.
The first thing he grabbed was a handful of cinnamon bark and dried sage. Without hesitation, he slapped these supposedly anti-evil spices against the man's face.
The man coughed and was annoyed for a moment, but had only struggled more violently. These herbs simply did not work. He reached into his backpack again, and only found the canister of black dog urine.
The canister was closely sealed, and was not easy to open. So he had to jump up and twist it open. The man in a bathrobe stood up, barked and then charged at Wu Xiaoming, only to get splashed in the face by black dog urine.
His growl turned to scream, black smoke arose from his face and chest. The dark veins even began to recede visibly. The energy around his body rumbled as it turned into dust and smoke. Red color like rash or blush spread through his face and chest, as steam and smoke arose from his skin.
The man went limp and almost fell down on the ground. Wu Xiaoming caught him just at the right time - the dark energy that had once shrouded his entire body was gone - for now.
The smelly urine in the canister was only used by a small chunk after that splash, yet it had already created a small zone in the hallway with what small amount spilled on the carpet and wall. Wu Xiaoming put the canister of black dog urine down and pulled this man back into his room, basically throwing him back into his bed. The man's luggage was open and laid by the closet. On the table were his phone charger, some loose change and his hotel keycard. It seemed that his possession might have taken him by surprise.
A black mark on the back of the man's neck caught Wu Xiaoming's attention, he went over and lifted the bathrobe collar slightly - they were dark hand prints, around the back of his neck, his shoulders and his entire upper back. He checked the man's arms and legs - there were hand prints on his wrists and ankles as well.
He came out of the room, picked his backpack and black dog urine canister up and paced towards the location of the Queen's Suite. The fight had already begun and he barely had any time to waste.
Smoke arose from the ground, the spirits that had just been gone manifested before him. All of them stared at Wu Xiaoming, with unblinking, lifeless eyes.
"Back off, or get a shower of this." Wu Xiaoming raised his canister at those spirits.
None of the spirits moved, they simply kept staring at Wu Xiaoming, dangerous energy glowing in their eyes.
Out of instinct, Wu Xiaoming avoided prolonged eye contact and simply scanned through the horde of spirits. None of them seemed willing to make way for him, and more of them actually manifested in the hallway.
"Alright, so it's gotta be like this." Wu Xiaoming took a deep breath before charging forward, with the canister in hand, ready to spray.