The wizard put some herbs into the barrel, and he stuck some talismans around it. Two wizards lifted the barrel and put it into the iron pot. The fire was getting stronger, and the water started to boil. Each of them held a sword made out of coins, and they danced to summon the divinities, and they mumbled all the time. Zachary felt extremely hot, and he was getting nauseated. “This is so hot. Let me out. Somebody save me, please!”
Zachary recalled where he heard these words as he yelled. These are the exact words from the scream I heard: He felt that his skin and muscles were about to burst, and he was being braised. He felt nervous and despairing. “Let me out; I can’t stand it anymore. I’m dying…” He was terrified of death. He stood up and wanted to push the lid away. He wanted to escape! But someone pressed the lid down when he pushed it open a bit! And he could not push it open even if he used up all of his energies. He cried, and he recalled that this was exactly what happened when he and Lilly were about to leave. So he was experiencing history itself. He felt scared from the outside of the barrel, and he felt despair when he was in it!
Lilly and Pablo were both watching it, and she grabbed his suit. Zachary was not possessed, and he would not die for somebody else. It was just that it happened to be the time that the female spirit was steaming, and she grabbed him so he would relive her death. “Master, can it really work?” She felt sorry for Zachary; she did not want him to experience such pain to awaken to his true power. She wanted him to take it slowly, like Josh.
Pablo said, “He has to be awakened, so why not make it quick?” Zachary was taking his sweet time. Pablo thought that he would regain his power after the surgery, as he was on the edge of dying. But three years passed, and he was growing too slowly. Lilly bit her lips, and her eyes reddened. “Okay, will Zachary be in pain until his death?” Actually, she knew better than anyone else that he would not die, but she could not help it. Pablo patted her head and replied, “Rest assured, nothing will go wrong.”
Although Zachary was not really in the steamer, he was experiencing it. His sweat soaked his clothes and hair. And he felt numb and suffocating. But he still tried to break free as long as he had the energy to. But he heard the wizard say, “Keep the lid closed; don’t let her out!”
Maria’s mother actually panicked and wanted to pull her out, but the wizard said, “Maria is not yelling for help; the spirit is!” He then said, “The spirit is almost chased out, so they yelled through Maria’s mouth.” He continued to say, “If we open the lid now, the spirit will break free.” He explained to them by saying, “Without us here, the spirit will be revengeful and come back to find you all.”
Her mother backed off after hearing his words. She wiped her tears as she heard Maria’s yell. Maria’s husband felt bad hearing her screams, but he could not do anything. And the wizards had convinced them that it was the spirit being chased out and that it was normal to experience pain. “Maria, just a little while more, and you’ll be well!”
Zachary did not have the energy to scream into the barrel. He felt that he was cooked. He saw that his skin was bloated and detached from his muscles. And he saw his skin turn white. He could also smell a strange cooked meat smell with all the herbs. It was completely silent in the barrel. Zachary “fainted”, but he knew that it was Maria that had fainted. And then he heard commotion outside, and some villagers tried to stop them. “It’s better to check inside now; she’s been completely silent!” Some of them said, “What if she’s killed?”
Maria’s mother and husband hesitated. But the wizard said, “No! This is the key time! The malignant ghost is being forced out, so they can’t yell anymore!” He then said, “Maria is cured! But we have to steam her for another 20 minutes just to be safe!”
“Once the malignant ghost is gone, she will be forever healthy.”
