Devil's Eye Reborn - Shadow Angel Awakens - Chapter 52

Chapter 50：The Mysterious Origin
 

The priest asked Yuko to serve the tea. When I took a cup from her, I accidentally touched her hand, causing her to shudder and nearly spill the tea.

“I’m sorry,” Yuko apologized, seeing the tea stain on my sleeve.

The priest noticed and smiled at me. “Mr. Bi, I’m sorry for dirtying your clothes.”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” I waved it off with a smile, but Yuko kept bowing and apologizing.

Seeing Yuko’s nervousness, Yan’er quickly helped her up and said, “Sister, big brother is very kind. He won’t get angry easily.”

Hearing Yan’er, Yuko finally stood straight, but she still seemed nervous and avoided looking at me.

“Don’t worry, a little tea stain is nothing,” I said to Yuko with a smile, though I noted her overreaction.

After Yuko finished serving the tea, the priest asked her, “Yuko, I need to discuss Nanako with Zicheng. Would you like to stay?”

Hearing Nanako’s name, Yuko’s expression changed, and tears streamed down her face again. “Nanako… Nanako is gone… returned to the Father,” she murmured sadly.

Perhaps because they were both girls, Yan’er seemed to empathize with Yuko’s pain. With tears in her eyes and a red nose, she said, “Sister, please don’t cry.”

Yan’er gently held Yuko’s hand, but Yuko remained despondent.

The priest sighed and said, “Yuko, why don’t you take this young lady for a walk?”

Yan’er, not wanting Yuko to hear our conversation, nodded and said, “Sister, could you show me around?”

Yuko glanced at Zicheng, then softly said, “Follow me,” and led Yan’er out of the church.

“She must have been close to Nanako, right?” I asked, watching the two girls leave.

“Yuko, Fumiko, and Nanako grew up here together. They were like sisters, always inseparable. When Fumiko left to marry in Hong Kong, her two sisters were heartbroken, crying all night before parting,” the priest explained, pausing to look at Zicheng. “Fumiko said that once Nanako and Yuko were adults, she would bring them to Hong Kong. Nanako just turned eighteen a few months ago and was eager to go to Hong Kong. But last week…”

The priest stopped, his eyes red.

Zicheng, crying, patted the priest’s shoulder. “Father, don’t be too sad. Fumiko and Nanako wouldn’t want us to be sad.”

The priest nodded, wiping his tears, and sighed. “Who would have thought that of the three happy girls from ‘House of Light,’ two would be gone now? Yuko has been in a daze since Nanako’s death, so I didn’t tell her about Fumiko to avoid further trauma.”

Zicheng nodded and then asked, “What happened to Nanako?”

The priest looked at me before answering, and Zicheng quickly said, “Yongnuo is a good friend of Fumiko and me. You can speak freely.”

The priest nodded and sighed. “Nanako committed suicide.”

“Suicide? Why?” Zicheng asked, shocked.

“Since she was seventeen, Nanako would go with Sister Jincheng to buy groceries from a store outside the forest every weekend. The store owner’s son was very handsome. Nanako fell in love with him and would linger to talk to him. Eventually, they started dating, and we didn’t stop them because she was almost an adult,” the priest explained, taking a sip of tea.

“But our orphanage has strict rules. The children aren’t allowed out often, so Nanako could only see him on weekends. She started sneaking out at night to meet him. I found out from her diary after her death,” the priest continued.

“But how did this lead to her death?” Zicheng asked, puzzled.

“The boy seemed good on the outside but was rotten inside. He tricked Nanako into a sexual relationship and got her pregnant. When he found out, he denied being the father and broke up with her. Heartbroken, Nanako hanged herself in the garden at night,” the priest said, crying again.

Seeing the priest in tears, Zicheng quickly comforted him. “Father, don’t be too sad. They’re gone now.”

“Nanako just passed, and now I hear about Fumiko. How can I not be sad?” the priest said, wiping his tears.

“Fumiko was murdered. I must avenge her!” Zicheng said, his face filled with anger.

“Child, God teaches us to forgive seventy times seven. Those people are evil, but we can’t seek revenge. Judgment Day will bring them justice,” the priest said gently.

Zicheng, unwilling but unable to argue, shook his head.

Seeing the priest’s words didn’t match his feelings, I subtly signaled Zicheng to stop asking questions.

Zicheng was puzzled but knew that I always had my reasons for doing things, so he blinked lightly to show his understanding.

Not wanting the conversation to dwell on Nanako, I asked the priest, “By the way, when did you become the director of ‘House of Light’?”

“Hmm, let me think… about twenty years ago,” the priest said, holding his cup.

Hearing his answer, Zicheng and I exchanged glances, because twenty years ago, I was adopted from this place and taken to Hong Kong by my mother.

“Do you remember a female orphan who grew up here and later moved to Hong Kong, taking a male infant with her about twenty years ago?” I asked, clenching my fists, feeling very tense.

“A female orphan and a male infant?” The priest closed his eyes, muttering to himself, thinking for a while. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at me warily, asking, “Who are you, and why are you asking this?”

I felt a surge of joy and quickly smiled. “Don’t misunderstand. I am that male infant who was adopted.”

“You… you are that infant?” The priest looked surprised but then skeptical.

“Yes, my mother is Tokiko Higashijo, one of your orphans,” I said. “Father, do you know how I came here back then?”

“Do you have any proof that you are that baby?” the priest asked, still doubtful.

“This is a photo of me with my parents when I was young.” I pulled out a piece of scrap paper from my pocket and handed it to the priest. Before he looked at it, I used the “Eye of Illusions” to create an illusion.

The priest compared the “photo” with me, seeing the striking resemblance between the child in the picture and me. He relaxed and sighed, “I never thought I would see you again.”

After handing back the scrap paper, the priest closed his eyes for a moment before saying slowly, “Yes, it was twenty years ago. The original director here suddenly fell ill and died, and I was instructed by the Japanese church to take over this orphanage.”

“I had just arrived and wasn’t used to everything here. I had trouble sleeping every night,” the priest said nostalgically. “It was springtime, and the cherry blossoms in the garden were in full bloom. One night, unable to sleep, I went to the garden to enjoy the blossoms. To my surprise, I saw a man standing rigidly in a cherry tree. He stared at me for a long time without moving. The lighting was dim, and he was covered in blood, so I couldn’t see his face, but he was holding a baby in each arm.”

The priest raised his head, his expression incredulous, as if the man were standing before him.

“Two babies? Was I one of them?” I asked urgently.

The priest nodded. “Yes, you were one of them.”

I speculated about the man’s identity, but the priest couldn’t see his face, leaving me with no clues.

Seeing I had no more questions, the priest continued, “The man asked me in a deep voice, ‘Where is Naoki Higashijo?’ Naoki Higashijo was the previous director who had died. His tone was strange, so I didn’t dare lie and told him the truth. The man trembled and stood there silently for a long time. I found his behavior odd but didn’t dare ask anything. After a while, he muttered, ‘They’re coming.’ Then he called me over. When I reached the tree, he suddenly threw the two babies down. I was terrified but managed to catch them. The babies were beautiful but seemed to be in a deep sleep, not waking even with the jostling. The man, seeing they were safe, said, ‘Take care of these babies for me. I will come back for them in a few days. If someone wants to adopt them, it’s fine, but remember, the cross necklaces they wear must stay with them!’ I looked down and saw silver cross necklaces on their necks. When I looked up to ask more, the man had vanished.”

At this point, Zicheng interrupted the priest, asking urgently, “Wait, you said each baby had a necklace. If Xiao Nuo is one of them, then the other one…”

“Was Fumiko,” the priest said with certainty, his face hidden behind the steam from his tea, adding a touch of mystery to his words.