Chapter 86 Scene out of a Horror Movie


    The olddy’s bedroom was decorated with hundreds of talismans of various shapes, sizes and colors.


    There was arge king-sized bed in the middle of the room surrounded by various machines that


    beeped in intervals. Old Mrs. Taylor was lying unconscious on the bed, dressed in the same green


    dress that her spirit was wearing. Her white hair was neatlybed and tucked, but she was intubated


    with various medical needles and tubes. A small gold bar piece was ced in her mouth. Valentine


    exined that it was an ancient ritual to bring back lost souls who have lost their way home.


    There was a statue of Mother Mary wrapped in a rosary and a few lit prayer candles on the small


    bedside table next to the olddy. Atop the bed headboard hung a gaudy spirit-calling banner that was


    asionally lifted by the breezeing from the open window. The room was not entirely dark thanks


    to the half-drawn curtains, but the interchanging shift from bright to dim made for a spooky effect. It was


    like a scene out of a horror movie.


    “This… is…” Pablo stared at his surroundings dazedly. He could now somewhat understand why Old


    Mrs. Taylor was still hanging on by a thread.


    Josh stood frozen where he was, paralyzed by fear and dread as terror streaked through him. Charlie’s


    palms felt hot and mmy, and the cellphone identally slipped out of his hand, crashing loudly onto


    the floor.


    Anthony still managed a semnce ofposure as he turned to Valentine. “What in the world is


    this…?” he asked.


    Valentine smiled sheepishly before letting out a sigh. “Over the years, I’ve gotten many experts to treat


    my mother, but all of them said that her soul is lost and needs to find its way back home…” he


    exined.


    Pablo frowned. “Lilly, ask him if he knows whether the olddy has already passed on,” he urged.


    Lilly raised her head toward Valentine. “Uncle Val, do you know that Grandma Taylor is already dead?”


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    she asked.


    “Wh… what? How could that be? Isn’t she still breathing just fine? Ms. Lilly, could you bring my


    mother’s soul back like how you did it for Young Master Shaw?” Valentine’s lips quivered as he spoke.


    He paused for a moment before continuing. “I’m sure her soul is just lost and can’t find her way back…”


    Pablo shrugged nomittally as he took in more of the garish decoration and religious relics


    scattered all around the room. “I can’t say for sure whether or not Mrs. Taylor will return to life, but this


    man here has definitely been scammed…”


    Lilly nodded with a serious expression on her face. “Mr. Val, did you spend a lot of money doing up this


    ce?” she probed.


    Valentine nodded. “These talismans cost me at least 10 million dors, the hand-sculpted statue of


    Mother Mary cost 50 million, the spirit-calling banner cost 60 million. The gold bar is the only thing


    preserving my mother’sst breath as well as her mortal body. That cost 100 million dors.”


    The crowd was momentarily stunned. “10 million… 50 million… plus 60 million… plus 100 million…


    That’s… 220 million dors!” Josh calcted and muttered to himself.


    “You believe in this sort of thing?” Charlie could not help but ask.


    Valentine shrugged. “It’s just a few million dors. I’d give a billion dors if my mother can be brought


    back to life!” Valentine said, leaving the crowd speechless once again. Valentine was a man with a


    stocky build and a belly so rotund that the buttons were hanging on to a thread. He looked like a typical


    conniving businessman, but he was unexpectedly filial.


    Pablo decided it was best to get down to business immediately. “Firstly, the statue of Mother Mary is a


    Catholic artifact, but the talismans are Taoist. They are two very distinct and separate religions, but now


    they are jumbled up together in this madhouse,” Pablo shook his head disapprovingly. It was one thing


    to be an atheist, but choosing to believe in multiple religions was a huge taboo that brought no benefit,


    contrary to what Valentine believed.


    Pablo eyed Old Mrs. Taylor lying on the bed. “The only marginally useful thing in this room is that small


    gold bar that she’s biting, but it works as a sedative spell. Old Mrs. Taylor’s is dead, but because her


    body is trapped here, her soul cannot be set free,” he exined. For some reason or another, the old


    “Ms. Lilly, is there something wrong?” Valentine asked with a hint of concern in his voice.


    “Yes, something is wrong. Very wrong,” Lilly replied. She pointed at the statue of Mother Mary. “Putting


    artifacts from different religions in one room is a big no-no. Those who do that will end up cursed.”


    “For… for real?” Valentine trembled.


    Lilly then pointed at the spirit-calling banner. “The script on the banner is all wrong too. You can’t even


    call a tiny ghost with it, let alone a spirit. All these talismans are just junk trinkets too.”


    Valentine turned as white as a sheet. “Are you saying… all these things don’t work at all? But, my


    mother…” His first reaction was not so much of anger from being scammed, but to worry for his poor


    mother’s soul.


    Old Mrs. Taylor’s spirit was still in the corner of the bedroom, eyeing her own human body wistfully. “I


    want to leave… I want to leave…” she repeated.


    “Well, it’s not all useless. The gold bar has some use,” Lilly reassured Valentine, who looked visibly


    relieved. “The gold bar can sedate a spirit…” Lilly continued.


    “Oh, so it wasn’t all for nothing!” Valentine beamed.


    “… Sedating a spirit means suppressing and destroying it,” Lilly cleared the air.


    “Mother!” Valentine yelped as he rushed over to his mother’s body and yanked the gold bar from her


    lips. Ghostly rays of light beamed from the olddy’s human body and seemed to flow into her spirit


    that was standing just next to her own body.


    For the first time, Old Mrs. Taylor’s spirit spoke coherently instead of repeating after herself. “My foolish


    son almost destroyed my soul! Can you believe it? My own son!” she huffed.


    “Ms. Lilly, can my mother still…e back to life?” Valentine panicked.


    “I ain’ting back to life, you fool!” Old Mrs. Taylor’s spirit scolded her son.


    “She says… she ain’ting back, you fool!” Lilly parroted, passing the message on. She ced her


    hand on her waist and cocked her hip exactly like Old Mrs. Taylor.


    “Wh… what do you mean?” Valentine blinked.


    Lilly pointed to the empty space next to Josh. “Old Mrs. Taylor is right there!” she eximed.


    Josh jumped up in fright. Why was the olddy next to him?!


    “You stupid fool! Getting yourself fooled out of 200 million dors!” Old Mrs. Taylor continued berating


    her son. “Do you think money grows on trees?”


    Lilly repeated Old Mrs. Taylor’s scolding back to Valentine word for word, including the olddy’s


    mannerisms. The rest of the crowd could not help but be slightly impressed with the little girl’s penchant


    for impersonations.


    Valentine did not know whether tough or cry. He slumped onto his mother’s bed weakly and held her


    hand in his. “So… she’s noting back, is she? I just want to see her for onest time…” the 300-


    pound began to sob like an overgrown child. His mother did not have an easy life raising him. All he


    wanted was to repay her for all that she had sacrificed for him and give her the opportunity to live her


    golden years infort, but she left way too soon…