Devil's Eye Reborn - Shadow Angel Awakens - Chapter 51

Chapter 49：Back to the orphanage
 

Yan’er giggled and then closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing to recover

I remembered that Zicheng was still trapped in the illusion of the ‘Scissors Hell,’ so I rushed to our original seat.

At the broken end of the train, there was a scene of devastation. Debris and blood were everywhere, and the passengers’ faces were filled with terror, all dead. It seemed that the battle between Yang Jian and Rahab was no less intense than mine with Miyamoto Musashi.

I searched but couldn’t find Zicheng, so I enhanced my hearing with my powers.

Instantly, countless heartbeats filled my ears.

Though the heartbeats were chaotic, one exceptionally fast heartbeat came from outside the train, likely belonging to Zicheng trapped in ‘Hell.’

Peering outside, I saw Zicheng lying in the grass far from the tracks, motionless. It seemed Rahab had thrown him out before the train was cut off to prevent injury.

Holding Yan’er, I jumped from the train to Zicheng’s side. Seeing his pale, sweat-covered face, I quickly clapped my hands to release him from ‘Hell.’

As soon as Zicheng was freed, he took a deep breath, finally relaxing.

I thought he had been trapped in ‘Hell’ for a long time, draining his spirit. I, too, had exhausted much of my demonic energy in battle, so I sat beside him to meditate.

Unexpectedly, Zicheng slowly woke up, weakly asking, “Xiao Nuo? Where am I?”

“Rest for a while. We’re by the train tracks. After you entered ‘Hell,’ enemies attacked,” I explained with a smile. “I was busy dealing with them and couldn’t free you immediately. You’ve lost a lot of energy, so let’s rest here before moving on.”

“Enemies? Are they from the Satanic Cult?” Zicheng asked, suddenly energized, despite his exhaustion.

I gently pushed him down, smiling. “No, it was the ‘Demon Extermination Association,’ a group that hunts demons. They were quite formidable.”

Zicheng relaxed, lying back down. “Who were they?”

“Miyamoto Musashi, Erlang God, and Howling Sky Dog,” I said with a smile.

Zicheng weakly laughed. “Hehe, our enemies are all legendary figures. They must be strong, right?”

“Miyamoto Musashi was strong, but Yang Jian managed to scar me,” I said, pointing to my chest wound.

Zicheng looked surprised. “Are you okay? What about Rahab?”

“I’m fine. I’ll recover in a few days,” I said lightly. “Rahab was captured.”

“What! Rahab was captured?” Zicheng exclaimed.

I nodded. “Yes, but I don’t think they’ll harm him immediately. Yang Jian said he’d come after me again, so we don’t need to search for Rahab. Our priority is to go to the orphanage and investigate the cross, then find the Satanic Cult’s branch in Japan to rescue Daji.”

“And we must cut Li Hongwei into pieces,” Zicheng said, his eyes flashing with anger.

We rested until we regained some strength. Soon, police, rescue workers, and reporters arrived at the scene.

Feeling a bit recovered, we took the opportunity to leave and boarded a bus heading to the orphanage, hoping to arrive before dark.

The orphanage was in the suburbs. As the bus drove on, the surroundings became less populated, with simple houses along the way. Occasionally, we saw children playing and laughing.

“Just down this path is the orphanage,” the bus driver said, pointing to a forest path.

Thanking the driver, we got off and entered the forest.

The forest was dense and gloomy, with intertwined branches blocking the sunlight.

Crows cawed, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Yan’er and I chatted casually, but I noticed Zicheng’s expression darkening, likely thinking of his late wife who grew up here.

As I was about to comfort him, we reached the end of the forest.

A lush plain spread out before us, with a large cross atop a church in the sunset.

The church looked old, with several yellowish buildings behind it, all surrounded by a grey wall—our destination.

“Ruoru, we’re back. Can you see?” Zicheng’s eyes reddened as he murmured to himself at the church gate.

“Let’s go. Show us where your wife grew up,” I said, patting his shoulder.

Zicheng wiped his tears and nodded, but before he could speak, a stern voice called from behind, “Who are you? Who let you in?”

Turning, we saw a stern-looking middle-aged nun holding some books, glaring at us.

“Sorry, we came to visit the director,” Zicheng said apologetically.

“Who are you? Why do you want to see the director?” the nun asked, her tone softening.

“I’m Fumiko’s husband,” Zicheng said with a bitter smile.

“Fumiko’s… Oh! You’re Mr. Zheng, Fumiko’s husband. You visited us months ago. Why do you look so haggard now?” the nun recognized Zicheng, her attitude warming.

Realizing Fumiko wasn’t with him, she asked, “Where’s Fumiko? Are these your friends?”

Zicheng’s face showed pain as he said, “Fumiko… she passed away.”

The nun’s eyes widened in shock. After a long pause, she said, “I’ll get the director.”

With that, she ran toward the buildings.

“Let’s go in,” Zicheng said, pushing open the church door and sitting on a pew.

I watched his forlorn figure and sighed softly.

Now, he was like a walking corpse. If he truly avenged his wife’s death, losing the only goal in his life, I couldn’t imagine what he would become.

“Big brother, Brother Zicheng doesn’t look well. Should I go comfort him?” Yan’er asked softly beside me.

I shook my head and pointed to the tear stains on the ground. “Let him calm down on his own for a bit.”

At that moment, hurried footsteps approached from a distance.

I turned to see a long-haired girl in plain clothes, tears streaming down her face, running towards us from the dormitory.

Zicheng, sitting in the church, stood up when he heard the footsteps and looked towards the door. The girl ignored Yan’er and me, running straight to Zicheng and throwing herself into his arms, crying loudly.

The girl’s sudden action caught Zicheng off guard. He quickly said, “Yuko… why are you crying like this?”

The girl named lifted her head, sobbing, “Brother Zicheng, Nanako… Nanako, she’s dead!”

Zicheng’s face filled with disbelief. He grabbed the girl’s shoulders and asked urgently, “Yuko, don’t cry. Tell Brother Zicheng what happened?”

The girl tried to hold back her tears and said, “Nanako, Nanako she…”

Before she could continue, another voice interrupted.

“Zicheng, you’re here?” An elderly priest with a kind face, though wrinkled and with eyes narrowed to slits, stood at the church door, speaking slowly.

“Hello, Father,” Zicheng said, supporting the girl and walking to the door to greet the priest.

The priest nodded at Zicheng and then waved the girl over. “Yuko, don’t neglect our guests. Could you fetch some tea for us?”

Yuko looked at Zicheng, then at the priest, and reluctantly said, “Yes.” She wiped her tears and walked out of the church.

The priest watched Yuko leave, then turned to us with a smile. “These two must be your friends?”

“Yes, this is Bi Yongnuo, and this is Yan’er,” Zicheng introduced us.

The priest nodded and sighed. “Sister Jincheng told me that Fumiko has returned to the Father, hasn’t she?”

Hearing this, Zicheng suddenly knelt down with a thud, sobbing, “I’m sorry, Father! I promised to take good care of Fumiko, but now…”

Zicheng was already crying uncontrollably.

The priest patted Zicheng’s head gently and said softly, “Child, don’t cry. Come in and tell me everything before Yuko returns. She doesn’t know about Fumiko’s passing.”

With that, the priest walked into the church with unsteady steps.

Seeing how close Yuko was to Zicheng’s wife, Zicheng immediately stopped crying and followed the priest inside. Yan’er and I, of course, followed.

We sat on a long bench, and Zicheng, fighting his grief, briefly recounted the events, omitting the parts about demons, to the priest.

The priest listened, his expression sorrowful, his aged face even more haggard. He sighed and said, “Life and death are unpredictable. Fumiko returning to the Father may not be a bad thing.”

Zicheng nodded, crying, “But I really can’t bear to lose her.”

“Child, life is but a few decades. You should focus on eternal life after death,” the priest said gently.

Hearing this, Zicheng looked embarrassed, perhaps because he had become a demon. Before he could say more, Yuko returned with steaming cups of tea.