126: A REWARD (PART 14)

A REWARD (PART 14)

Xue Lin's body was drenched in sweat. Her face was also wet. Droplets of sweats formed on her forehead. She took deep breathes and slowly the throbbing pain in her chest reduced.2

Just then, a bell rang behind her. Most certainly it came from the house she just ran away from. In the silent night, the bell sounded like a siren. She saw flare shooting up, lighting up the sky and parts of the forest, and heard many angry voices. It reminded her of the night five years ago.

She turned around and ran. This time, she ran faster. While running, a sharp tree branch pierced through her right foot. "Hkk!" Xue Lin let out a groan and quickly covered her mouth.

Her whole body shook in stinging pain. The night was cold and the wounds ached twice as much as it should. She pulled out the tree branch and stumbled while running. She couldn't run like before but she still tried her best.

Xue Lin clenched her fists and bit down her lower lip harshly. It helped her to concentrate on the pain in her lower lip rather than her foot and she increased her speed.

However, in front of her, the ground was a bit low and she couldn't see in the dark. As a result, she slipped and rolled on the ground. It created some noise and in the dark, the small noise was loud enough to reach the people's ears.

"I heard something!" Someone screamed.

"She must be there!"

"Let's follow that direction!"

"Satan is showing the path. All praise to him!"

Xue Lin's head hit some stones several times and she lost consciousness. A hard slap on her face helped her to regain consciousness. She heard some screams and frowned. When she opened her eyes, she saw some sharp glares.

"Who slapped me? I'll cut that hand of his." Xue Lin spoke in a hoarse voice. What she hated the most is when someone physically hurt her.

"You still have the nerve to say that after escaping,"Balthazar said from behind.

"It's my life and my body. I have every right to do whatever I want with it. It's you who should know their places." Xue Lin was tired and her whole body was hurting, and it was all their fault. Thinking that made her angrier.

"Watch your tongue!" A man slapped her right cheek. His hand was huge and it brushed against her ear. She couldn't hear anything from her right ear for a while.

Someone asked, "Should we cut her tongue and legs?"

Balthazar shouted. "No! She is the sacrifice to Satan. She must be intact."

'They are talking as if I'm a chicken.' Xue Lin scoffed. She looked around and saw that she was in the open area and there were five huge bonfires. She frowned and looked at the ground and saw a huge pentagon. 'Yeah, right, I should have expected it.'

For some reason, she wasn't scared anymore. She believes in God but she doesn't know what will happen to her or what God wants for her. All she cared about, no matter what happened, she would look for another opportunity to run.

Xue Lin looked at her right leg and saw that the bleeding didn't stop. In her pale leg, the wounds looked hideous. She started to feel dizzy after losing a good amount of blood and she already had anemia.

'When mother told me to take iron medicine, I should have listened to her.' She thought of her childhood and chuckled. 'After I get away from here, I will take iron medicine every single day. If I can… no, I will survive.'

She looked for an opening but saw nothing. Though everyone was busy, there were people everywhere. She started counting, 'One, two, three, four, five…. thirty-nine, forty.' She was impressed to find so many people in China were devil worshipers. 'It must be because of Legion. He had Puja's husband's power and influence.'

Thinking of Puja, Xue Lin felt sad. Though she didn't have anything to do with her from the beginning, she was still her classmate for three years. And now she is going to…

"Are you in despair because your God has forsaken you?" A voice said.

Xue Lin raised her head and saw Balthazar. She stayed silent and glared at him without a word. But, her eyes were turning red. It wasn't because she lost faith in the God she believed in but thinking of Puja.

Balthazar was a Chinese man but no one could tell anymore. He sat down in front of her and said, "You know when Satan's disciple Lord Legion told me that he found you, I was waiting in front of the hospital. When I smelled you, I knew it was you. I felt such joy. I could never forget you. I despise you so much. There is no way I can forget even a strand of your hair."

Xue Lin said nothing. She didn't look at him anymore and looked somewhere else.

Balthazar moved closer and whispered, "You see, five years ago, when I told you to meet me in the prison, I cast a curse on you."

Xue Lin looked at him in shock. She was curious to know what the curse was about.

Balthazar smiled eerily and said, "I cursed you so that all your loved ones would have miserable endings before your eyes."

"!!!" Xue Lin's eyes widened. She recalled the time she went to visit him in the prison and soon after her life had turned upside down. Series of misfortune started to happen and finally the tragedy happened.

"Xue Lin!!!!"

She could never forget that scream full of pain, sadness, agony and despair. It came to remind her as a nightmare every night. Every time she thought of that, it gave her chills.

She almost forgot that scream after coming back to China. But, now she recalled that fateful day.

"Is it my fault? Did I cause everything? But how can that be? I chose the right path…' Series of questions hit her while her expression crumbled.

Balthazar asked, "Does that hurt you?" He was enjoying her suffering.

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