“Teacher, you're not going to ride your bike?”, Somad quickly followed Mingliang who walked toward the main street, leaving his bike at home.

“Not this time, we're going to take a taxi there.”, Mingliang answered without stopping, with long strides, he quickly arrived at the roadside.

Somad had to run to keep up, “Teacher, won't it be too expensive? Is it far from here?”

They didn't have to wait for too long, before Mingliang spotted a taxi and gave it a signal to stop, “It's quite far, besides our client ask me to come as soon as possible. He'll pay the taxi for us.”

“Oh... that's good then.”, said the boy, Mingliang could note a relieve in Somad's voice.

It made him realized how his image was in Somad's mind. He couldn't refute it though. His financial situation indeed wasn't promising at all. He quickly gave the address to the taxi driver. After the cab started moving, Mingliang closed his eyes and began to control his breathing. Somad wanted to talk about the case, but as soon as he saw Mingliang meditated, the boy decided to follow his example.

Without opened his eyes, Mingliang put the paper with the address on it, to Somad, “If you know this street, then keep your eyes open. Makes sure we're taking the right road.”

Somad took the paper, looked at the address and in awe staring at Mingliang, “Yes teacher, I know the street. I'll keep my eye on the road.”

Curiously, Somad observed his teacher's eyes. Very carefully he waved his hand before Mingliang while paying close attention to his eyes.

“Stop playing, look at the street.”

“Whoaa.... dude....”, with wide-opened eyes Somad gave his teacher thumbs up.

“Stop it.”, without looking Mingliang knocked his head with his knuckles.

It took about an hour before they arrive. Mingliang pressed the bell next to the gate. Right now, they were standing before an iron gate, of a big luxurious house. Somad felt a bit anxious because they were in an elite residential.

“Woof woof.”, a dog suddenly appeared, it ran toward the gate and barked at them.

Its eyes cheerfully stared at Mingliang. Its tail was waving nonstop. The dog was a mix breed. There was a bit of husky and a bit of golden retriever in its features.

“Teacher! A wolf!”, Somad quickly hid behind Mingliang.

“Don't be silly, that's just a dog.”

“Oh... I hate dogs. Is he angry? Is he going to bite us?”, with a distressed voice, Somad complained to Mingliang.

“No, he's not. Can't you see? He wants to play with you. Try to get rid of your prejudice. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Calm your mind, get rid your fear.”, Mingliang's calming voice charmed the boy, within seconds his heartbeat was back to normal.

“Now, open your eyes.”

Maybe it was Mingliang's voice, or it was Somad's presence which caught the dog's interest. When Somad opened his eyes, he saw the dog sat, tilted its head and stared at him with its round doe eyes.

“See, he just want to know you.”, Mingliang rubbed Somad's head, “Of course, sometimes you'll see a dog who barks to warn you for intruding to their territory. You should be careful by then, but don't let your fear cloud your judgment.”

“Well, he's barking, so I thought...”

“Haha, that's how dog talk.”

“Yea... but how would I know, what he means...? Wait a minute. Teacher, do you know dog's language? Can you teach me?”, Somad no longer feared the dog. Instead, now he was excited at the thought that Mingliang understood dog's language.

Mingliang laughed and messed Somad's hair, “You should watch this TV series, Dog Whisperer, there's this guy, Cesar Milan. I think he understands the dog's language. Me, I only know a bit about their behavior.”

“Oh... I thought you could talk with animals, like Prabu Angling Darma.”, Somad seemed a bit disappointed.

“Maybe we don't understand their language, but we could at least try to perceive their emotion. Just observe a lot and learn. Not everything has to be about supra-natural power. By observing, you also sharpen your intuition. Try to be as objective as possible, get rid baseless prejudice. You have to be skeptical and open-minded at the same time.”, Mingliang encouraged his only disciple.

“Humm... I think I get it.”, Somad nodded his head and turned his attention to the dog.

He squatted before the dog. When the dog tried to sniff his smell, Somad gave the dog his hand to smell. He just spontaneously did that without much thought. Before long, he was already rubbing the dog's head.

“Hi...Are you uh..., Master Mingliang? Sorry, it's chaos inside. We heard the bells, but no one could come right away.”, a middle-aged man was coming out of the house and greeted them.

“Ruben, stay inside!”, he opened the gate, one of his foot was blocking the dog.

“It's alright sir. We just arrived too.”, Mingliang politely shook his hand, “I'm Mingliang. And this is my disciple, Somad.”

“Oh, Robert. Just call me Robert.”, the middle-aged man shook Mingliang's hand politely and greeted Somad warmly, “Hi Somad, you like Ruben?”

“Oh, he's called Ruben? Yea, I like him, he's strong but friendly.”, Somad quickly fell in love with the dog. It was his first experience with a dog.

“You can play with him anytime you want. He likes children a lot.”, Robert smiled kindly, but he couldn't hide the trace of worries in his face.

He turned his attention to Mingliang, “Uh... Master Ming, please comes in. We're really at the end of the rope here.”

“Oh please, just call me Mingliang."

"Can you tell us, the whole story.”, Mingliang carefully asked.

With Robert in the lead, Mingliang walked along his side. Somad and Ruben followed closely behind them. Ruben ran around from time to time, full with energy. Watching the playful Ruben, Somad wanted to play with him, but he was afraid to miss something as Robert and Mingliang conversed. Somad listened attentively at Robert's story about his youngest daughter.

Robert and his family never had any experience with supra-natural phenomenon before. They were Christian, had been baptized and went to church every Sunday, but they were not a fundamentalist type of Christian. For them, it was more about being a part of the community.

Yesterday, their youngest daughter went to a midnight movie with her cousins. There were five of them, two males and three females. They went to watch a horror movie.

In their way home, they debated about supra-natural existence. In the heat of debate, one of them dared the other, to visit an old house which was known for being a haunted house. He said that he watched this YouTube channel who made a show about famous haunted places in Indonesia. Their last video was showing a house in their city, and they were going to pass that house, on their way home.

After some banter, they agreed to give the house a visit. The house was abandoned by its owner, for a very long time. The owner left it empty, and the doors were left unlocked. They got inside the house without much trouble. At first, nothing happened, but just when they were about to go home, Robert's daughter fainted. They were panicked and finally decided to carry her home.

“We called a doctor when she suddenly woke up. But since then she kept on laughing hysterically, and sometimes she growls like a wild animal. When the doctor came, he gave her an injection to help her sleep.”, Robert wiped the sweat on his forehead.

It was apparent how much he worried about his daughter. They went to the second floor and arrived before a room. The door was closed, and Robert turned to Mingliang before he opened it, “We called a doctor. He gave her a sedative. She's sleeping right now. We also call our pastor, from the church.”

“It's alright, let's see your daughter's condition first. I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best to help.”, Mingliang nodded and smiled reassuringly.

“Okay, thank you so much, really appreciate it.”, Robert nodded back before he opened the door.

The moment Mingliang stepped into the room, he felt the chills. Compared to his small room, the room was three or four times larger. The sun shone through a large window, and they tried to keep the air fresh for the patient. In spite all that, Mingliang felt some darkness presence in the room. He felt it in his chest, in his soul, not by his physical senses.

The whole family was there. Robert quickly introduced them one by one to Mingliang. The family doctor and the pastor were there too. The doctor politely shook Mingliang's hand. He curiously watched Mingliang with interest.

The pastor didn't hide his distaste for Mingliang's presence at all. He straightened his back, raised his chin, and vigorously shook Mingliang's hand, “You can't cast out demons by Beelzebul. You know those sayings aren't you?”

Sarah, Robert's wife anxiously turned to her husband, Robert. The flustered Robert stuttered, “Well... uh, let's try to put away any prejudice first. Now, all I have in mind is Nina.”

The pastor shrugged his shoulder. He was shaking his head to show his concern, “I'm telling you the truth, that's all I'm trying to do Robert. I care about Nina. I care about each one of you.”

He turned to Mingliang and sternly spoke to him, “I have my eyes on you, I'll watch you closely. I will not let any trick escape my eyes.”

Robert anxiously tried to apologize to Mingliang, but quickly Mingliang comforted him before he said anything, “It's alright. We all here for Nina.”

“Thank you. Thank you”, Robert was relieved, “So, how do you see it? Can you help her?”

“First, let me take a look at her. I'll do my best to help. Okay?”, Mingliang ignored the pastor. He asked permission to Robert and Sarah before he walked toward the bed and observed their youngest daughter's condition.

Nina's family gave way to Mingliang and watched him hopefully, while the doctor and the pastor watched him closely, for different reasons. Somad followed behind Mingliang, Ruben the dog, stood outside the room, right before the door. It curiously peeped inside the room. All attention focused on Mingliang, while Mingliang's all senses, physical and spiritual focused on Nina.

Even under the sedative, the girl slept restlessly. Her face was pale. Her eyes kept on moving. Mingliang took a deep breath, lightly touched her wrist and read her pulses. Aside from her mental anxiousness, she was relatively healthy. Mingliang replayed all the story about her in his mind.

He lifted his head and looked around the family, “Does she has a tendency or shows interest or maybe fears to demons, ghost or supra-natural phenomenon?”

“No, she is quite a skeptic.”

“Yes, she used to laugh at me, when I tell stories about ghosts.”

“She used to google for a scientific explanation of any supra-natural phenomenon we like to talk about.”

“That's why it's so shocking. I mean, we never thought...”

“No one thinks this would happen. We, including Nina, were teasing Andrea when Nina suddenly fainted.”

One by one, her cousins and brothers, answered. Mingliang sensed no lies or doubts in their answers. Their answers were consistent with Robert's story as well.

“Sometimes, what people believe as demon possession, is a form of self-hypnosis. So if she believes in them, it's more likely for her to experience it.”, Mingliang wanted to get a confirmation from the family.

The doctors quietly nodded in agreement, but the pastor still watched Mingliang in suspicion. He didn't like Mingliang at all.

“Before this happened, did she overwork herself, or maybe anxious about something? Lack of sleep?”

“No, she's fine. She's as always, full with energy.”, this time it was Sarah who answered.

Mingliang looked around, turned to other family member and all of them nodded their head in affirmation.

“Do you think it's real demon possession phenomenon? How do you see it?”, the doctor who previously watched quietly tapped Mingliang's shoulder to get his attention.

Mingliang shook his head. He observed the girl for a moment once more, before turned back to the doctor, “I'm not sure, but let's give it a try.”

“Mam, could you bring a glass of water for me?”, Mingliang turned around to find Sarah.

“Okay, wait a minute.”, Sarah quickly left the room and returned with a glass of water.

Everyone stared at Mingliang with some degree of curiosity. Nina's brother opened his mouth to ask, but Robert quickly stopped him. No one disturbed Mingliang, even the pastor who was looking at him with a great deal of suspicion. Mingliang held the glass and drew a rune on the surface of the water with his finger. His eyes focused on the surface of the water.

Once he finished with the runes, he closed his eyes and held the glass in both hands, for a long time.

Nina suddenly became more active in her sleep. She was still sleeping, but it seemed like something trying to wake her up. The clock was ticking. Minutes passed by. The air in the room was increasingly heavier and gloomier. Those in the room shivered for no apparent reasons. Even the pastor's expression changed, a hint of fears flashed through his face.

Mingliang finally opened his eyes and turned to Robert, “Please help me to make Nina drink the water.”

Robert hastily helped, he carefully lifted and held Nina. The girl was struggling to get away from the water, but she was still under the influence of the sedative. Everyone's hearts beat faster. They intuitively felt the unseen battle.

Mingliang gently opened Nina's lips and poured the water to her mouth. The temperature around the room suddenly dropped, and an unseen presence gave pressure to everyone in the room.

Mingliang felt the darkness grew thicker by a split of seconds. He sensed the crisis was coming, more than everyone else in the room. He was on alert and felt the darkness grew until suddenly it engulfed him.

Right at that moment, something dark and evil burst out of Nina's body and charged to his face in a blink of an eye.