Devil's Eye Reborn - Shadow Angel Awakens - Chapter 53

Chapter 51: Visiting the cemetery at night
 

The priest said that Fumiko was one of the infants, and that I had been sent to the orphanage with her. Although the true identity of the man in the blood-stained clothes remained unknown, Fumiko undoubtedly had some connection to Satan.

I stole a glance at Zicheng, who happened to be looking at me with a questioning expression. It seemed we were both thinking the same thing.

The priest, unaware of our change in demeanor, continued speaking while caressing his teacup: “Hmm, I never explicitly told the orphanage staff about the origins of you and Fumiko. I vaguely mentioned that I found you two abandoned at the orphanage gate at midnight. Though abandoned infants were not a common occurrence, the staff did not suspect anything unusual and took care of you both as usual. After that night, I would go to the back garden alone every night, waiting for that mysterious man to appear again, but he never returned.”

The priest took a sip of tea and turned to me, speaking slowly: “After more than a month of calm, one day your mother, Tokiko, suddenly visited with her husband. During our conversation, they mentioned that besides visiting their old home, they wanted to adopt a baby as their own. At that time, there were not many newborns in the orphanage, and including you and Fumiko, there were only five. You and Fumiko were the youngest. After seeing the babies, Tokiko and her husband decided to adopt you.”

“Did they take the cross necklace with them?” I asked.

The priest nodded and said, “I had kept the two necklaces safe. When your parents decided to adopt you, I handed them the cross necklace, telling them it was something your biological parents left for you, and urged them to keep it safe.”

I responded with a simple “Hmm,” and said no more.

Although the priest’s words did not reveal my true identity, they confirmed that the man was key to the mystery of my origins. Even though I knew nothing about him, I at least had a direction to pursue.

As for the cross necklace, it must hide some secrets. My two fathers must have approached my mother because of it.

“Hmm, I’ve told you everything I know. Do you have any other questions?” the priest suddenly asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I shook my head and smiled. “That’s enough. Thank you, Father, for explaining everything to us.”

“It was no trouble at all,” the priest said with a faint smile. “By the way, it’s getting late. Do you plan to stay here tonight?”

“Yes, but will it be an inconvenience?” Zicheng asked cautiously.

“Silly child, this is Fumiko’s home, so it’s also your home. How can it be an inconvenience?” the priest chuckled, and Zicheng scratched his head, smiling sheepishly.

“Alright, it’s time for the children to have dinner. You should join us,” the priest said, slowly standing up.

As we left the church with the priest, we saw Yan’er pulling Yuko back.

Though the two girls were holding hands, Yuko still seemed absent-minded, and Yan’er kept trying to engage her in conversation, to which Yuko responded only sporadically.

However, when Yuko saw Zicheng, she seemed to wake up, opening her mouth as if to say something but then stopping herself.

“Yuko…” Zicheng wanted to comfort her but was stopped by me.

I gently shook my head, signaling him to hold back. Zicheng reluctantly nodded, pretending not to notice Yuko’s sadness.

After dinner, Zicheng and I followed the nun to the guest room in the men’s dormitory, while Yan’er, being a girl, shared a room with Yuko.

“Xiao Nuo, could it be that Ru is also one of Satan’s heirs?” As soon as the nun left, Zicheng asked me seriously.

“No,” I said, opening the curtains to reveal the faint crescent moon in the sky, casting a dark shadow over the grass outside the dormitory.

“Why not? She was sent here with you. Isn’t her identity suspicious?” Zicheng asked.

“Her identity is indeed suspicious,” I said, turning to look at him. “But she doesn’t have the ‘Mark of the Beast,’ so she can’t be Satan.”

“The ‘Mark of the Beast’?” Zicheng asked, puzzled.

I nodded, then took off my shirt, bit my left middle finger, and raised my hand high.

As the blood from my finger flowed down to my chest, it spread out instantly, forming the eerie mark, 666.

“This… this is the ‘Mark of the Beast’?” Zicheng, seeing the legendary mark of Satan for the first time, was shocked.

“Yes, one of the bullets that hit your wife was in her chest, right? If she were truly Satan, the blood from her chest would have formed the same mark,” I said, putting my shirt back on and smiling. “But you never mentioned seeing such a mark when she died, so she shouldn’t be one of Satan’s heirs.”

“Hmm, but I didn’t expect Ru to have such a connection with you,” Zicheng said with a bitter smile.

I patted his shoulder and comforted him softly, “Don’t worry. Since I have an extraordinary relationship with her, I won’t let her death go unavenged. Besides, Li Hongwei has a deep hatred for me. Even if you don’t kill him, he will come after me sooner or later. When that time comes, I will have to kill him.”

Zicheng nodded vigorously. After a moment, he suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, why did you say the priest’s words were problematic earlier in the church?”

“Hey, the priest’s words about Nanako were insincere,” I said, lying down on the bed in a big spread-eagle position.

“Insincere? Are you saying the priest lied?” Zicheng asked in surprise.

I sat up and looked at him seriously. “Yes. From the beginning of our conversation with the priest, I was listening to his heartbeat. When he mentioned Nanako’s death, his heart suddenly started pounding, clearly indicating he was hiding something from us.”

“He has always treated Nanako and the other two like daughters. Could his increased heart rate be due to his emotional reaction to Nanako’s death?” Zicheng asked doubtfully.

“You are too trusting,” I laughed. “When we talked about your wife’s death and Yuko’s abnormal behavior, the priest looked very sad, but his heartbeat remained calm.”

“What does that mean?”

I looked at him and smiled. “It means his sadness was an act.”

Zicheng was stunned, then shook his head, still not believing. “No, that’s impossible.”

Seeing his expression, it seemed the priest was a sincere person in his eyes.

“You’ve been a demon for less than a month, and there are many things you don’t know,” I laughed. “Didn’t Rahab tell you? We demons can smell human desires.”

“Human desires? What does that have to do with the priest lying?” Zicheng asked, frowning.

“Heh, I can smell that the kind priest exudes lust and sexual desire when looking at Yan’er and Yuko,” I said, standing up and walking to the door.

Zicheng seemed to understand but still didn’t want to believe it, his brows furrowed deeply.

“Do you know where Nanako’s grave is?” I asked with a smile, opening the door. The corridor was dark, with only the faint moonlight shining in from the window, indicating that the orphanage had a habit of going to bed early.

Zicheng nodded, looking confused. “Yes, but so what?”

“Hey, of course, we need to find out the true cause of Nanako’s death,” I said, walking out of the guest room and disappearing into the darkness.

“Clang… clang… clang…”

Zicheng and I took turns digging up the soil in front of the tombstone with rusty shovels.

The sweet image of Nanako on the tombstone seemed to smile at us, while the crows in the cemetery cawed mournfully, as if encouraging us.

Although the sky was overcast and the surroundings were dark, the Devil eyes emitted a faint red light, allowing Zicheng and me to see.

“Hopefully, Nanako’s body hasn’t decomposed. If her eyes are damaged, the ‘Eye of Reminiscence’ will be useless,” Zicheng said softly, dumping the soil, his left eye glowing with a demonic red light. The cemetery, located not far north of the orphanage, seemed to have been well-maintained despite its desolate appearance.

“Yes, but I’m afraid the priest might have destroyed the body, making it impossible to find,” I laughed, shoveling another pile of soil, releasing a rich earthy smell.