Exiled

Inside the isolation room, the floor, walls, table and chair— everything was pristine white, so pure that it bordered on oppression.

Song Zhuyu sat in silence, staring blankly at the dried bloodstains clinging to his hands. He hadn't even gotten the chance to wash himself before he was locked up in here. 

Everything had spiraled out of control back at the bar. Even until now, Song Zhuyu felt like he could still hear the terrified screams of the onlookers echoing beside his ears, see the horror reflected in Zhen Yan's eyes, and feel the sickening sensation of his blade slicing through flesh.

Worse of all, Song Zhuyu had no idea what he had done wrong.

He believed it was the best preventive measure he could take under the perilous circumstances. In his training as an exorcist, he had learned about the soldiers and how dangerous it would become if one of them managed to cross over with human vessels.

It signified the start of a catastrophe, and he had done the right thing by preventing it from happening. Even if it meant he had to kill someone for it. Sure, he had acted without consideration of the location and spread panic among the citizens, but at least, he managed to prevent any more victims, didn't he? 

So why, then, was he locked up here like he was a criminal?

Through the one-way mirror before him, he knew that the five higher-ups were scrutinizing him from the adjacent room. And his conjecture was proven correct when the speaker crackled to life shortly after, and Father Ning's voice echoed within the sterile room,

"Song Zhuyu."

"Yes," Song Zhuyu raised his head, staring right into the mirror as if to meet the sharp gaze of the person on the other side. "I am."

"At 10.43 PM tonight, you visited Haven Bar on the Fourth Ring Road. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"From the statements of the witnesses, you were performing an exorcism on a woman named Lu Mengjie."

Song Zhuyu didn't actually know the woman's name, but he surmised it must be the soldier's vessel, so he nodded. "The level of pollution was heavier than expected," he took the initiative to explain. "I performed an exorcism on her, but as it turned out, it wasn't enough. The spell backfired, and a soldier was almost born from her. I had to get rid of the soldier as soon as possible before it managed to cross over. Father Ning, I did what I needed to do."

His voice was firm, each word articulated with clear and measured composure, and his logic was without fallacy. On top of that, he looked extremely sober. There should be no problem about the accident tonight, but—

"You!" This time, Chief Song's cut through like a whip, laced with anger and disbelief. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?! A soldier? Hah! Do you think our Special Department is unable to detect the appearance of a soldier that we need a brat like you to solve it?!"

That was, ironically, the exact same thoughts Song Zhuyu had back in the bar. However, he could sense that Song Juwei's anger didn't stem from the fact that he had completed a mission without alerting the Special Department. 

Presumably seeing his confused appearance, this time Professor Fu took over, delivering a bombshell of facts right at him. 

"We've conducted a thorough sweeping around the bar, and the level of dark energy didn't exceed normal range. We have also performed a preliminary autopsy on Miss Lu Mengjie's body with her parents' consent, and guess what the results?" Professor Fu snorted lightly, and all of a sudden, Song Zhuyu had an extremely bad feeling about this.

"There was never a soldier, Song Zhuyu. It was a simple possession, and your friend, Mr. Zhen, has also testified that the dark energy has left her body. But you still went ahead and killed her. Do you understand what this means?" 

He declared, "You've taken the life of an innocent person, Song Zhuyu."

Song Zhuyu's pupils shook as he stood up in a clatter. "Impossible! I– I saw it—" he intended to clarify the situation, but then a sudden déjà vu crashed over him. 

This absurd predicament he was in right now… it felt extremely familiar. 

Hadn't he gone through something like this just five days ago? He had seen things other people couldn't perceive, and upon deeper investigation, all the witnesses and evidence would be against him. 

This time, too, was it another episode of hallucination?

"Fucking hell…" Song Zhuyu muttered through clenched teeth, his fingers clawing through his hair in a desperate attempt to anchor himself to reality. His head throbbed as if it was about to explode, each pulse intensifying the doubt and confusion raging within him. And it didn't help that a searing sensation suddenly flared from his right hip. 

His breath abruptly caught in his throat as the realization struck him. The forsaken voice that had pierced the chaos, the sinister whisper that had haunted him moments before the fatal blow— it was all the demon's doing! 

That's right, it must be the one who had set this trap for him! 

Fiery anger surged in Song Zhuyu's chest like never before, almost eroding his composure. What did the demon wish to achieve by doing this?! Toying with his mind, manipulating him into committing one mistake after another he would have never done otherwise— what exactly did it want with him?!

When Chief Song spoke again, his voice was noticeably calmer, yet no less solemn. "By the unanimous decision of the five of us, we hereby declare that you're not fit to continue your duty for the time being. Under normal law, you're supposed to serve in prison for your crime, but taking into consideration your years of faithful service and the successful missions you've undertaken, we decided to cover for you… just this once. 

"That's as far as we can do for you, Song Zhuyu. From now on, you must keep a low profile and don't show your face around here. We will arrange the accommodation and transportation for you, so use this time to calm yourself and seek redemption from God."

Great, Song Zhuyu almost laughed in anger. Now, he was fired until an indefinite amount of time in the future. Not only that, he would also be exiled out of Yacheng— his hometown and the only city he knew his whole life.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Song Zhuyu abruptly recalled the dead zone he had witnessed five days ago, and a sudden impulse overtook him. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down, enough to convey his intention clearly, "If I'm going to be fired and exiled, may I at least choose the destination?" 

A heavy silence followed, pregnant with unspoken tension, before Chief Song's weary response cut through the air. "... Don't take a mile after being given an inch, young man," he warned, a little speechless.

"It's a remote place, far away from here. I'm not even sure whether there's internet access there, so you can be rest assured that people won't recognize me there," Song Zhuyu tried to reason. "And if you're still unconvinced, you can always send someone to keep an eye on me."

Song Juwei's sigh was full of resignation, "...Where is it? Let's hear it first."

A cold smile tugged at Song Zhuyu's lips as he disclosed the location of the dead zone. "Shenci[1] Island." He let out a mirthless chuckle, "Isn't it quite an apt name?"

If the demon intended to lure him there, then fine, he would play along for now and see what it wanted to do. And when the time came, he would destroy it once and for all without even leaving its ashes behind. 

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[1] Shén cí (神慈) literal meaning God's mercy/compassion

A/N: new book event is on... is what I'd like to say but unfortunately I haven't been writing regularly so I have no redeem codes *cry* still, I'd really appreciate it if you can leave me a review to let me know what you think of the story so far. I know it's a little too early since we haven't even met ML yet *sweat* but it won't be long! We will soon meet our little menace in a few more chapters ><

Some of the forbidden words in reviews: BL, lmao, GL, adult, smut, also any curse words like damn, shit, hell etc will cause your review to be blocked by the app, so please be careful ^^ if you want to add them, make sure they're censored like sh!t or sm*t lololol

The first ten chapters are more like prologue, and the real story will start once Song Zhuyu arrives at Shenci Island ^^ thank you so much for reading up to here and giving the book a chance! I promise you a thrilling and suspenseful ride from now on~