Chapter 65: Evil Emma Marries Misfortune

“Huh? Oh, oh.”

“Our faith… upholds human ethics and traditions; any sexual activity before marriage is impure and unacceptable… Only by preserving one’s purity can one…”

“Stop, stop, stop.”

Nuel interrupted Carrie; she had figured it out—Carrie probably didn’t even believe in this faith herself, and all these rules sounded utterly nonsensical.

It was all about how to maintain the precepts.

Just like the rigid, hypocritical faiths she remembered.

Carrie fell silent, looking at her with anxious unease.

“Carrie, do you believe hell and heaven exist?”

This question stunned Carrie; she didn’t answer immediately, but fell silent.

After a moment, she shook her head.

That was answer enough.

Nuel thanked her and walked upstairs; she needed to ask Louis.

Without clarity, she couldn’t rest.

Seeing Nuel leave, Carrie turned helplessly to Emma. “What’s wrong with Nuel?”

Emma rubbed her chin, then suddenly smiled. Having gone through the Estelle incident together, she could guess why Nuel had asked those questions.

Afraid there’s really a hell~

She’s scared.

Coward!

Pfft!

As for her, she wasn’t afraid. She’d already done it—what good would regret do? If fearing hell meant suppressing herself and pretending to be a good person, she’d rather go to hell.

Even when Louis first tormented her daily, she only surrendered partially.

“Nothing. She’s just guilty and scared. Ignore her. Come, let me show you this.”

Emma pulled out a thin book from behind her back, its pages faintly revealing figures dressed in revealing, sensual attire—what kind of book this was seemed obvious.

Carrie’s face turned bright red. “Th-this-this… I—I—I’m going home.”

But Emma grabbed her arm. “Friend?”

One word silenced Carrie.

“This took me ages to hide. If you tell anyone, I swear you’ll never have a friend again—not ever.”

“Y-yes, yes.” Carrie’s eyes filled with terror.

At that moment, in Carrie’s eyes, Emma had become utterly “evil.”

“Besides, sharing secrets is what friends do. I’ve shared mine with you—aren’t you happy?”

Carrie froze. Sharing secrets?

It was true—friends shared secrets with each other… so…

Well, Emma didn’t seem so “evil” after all. Even if she sometimes spoke harshly, she really was a friend.

“So, if anything happens at school with Nuel, remember to tell me, friend.”

“Mm.”

Carrie nodded without hesitation.

Together, they sneaked through the pages; Carrie nearly screamed several times, but Emma stopped her each time.

When they returned home, Carrie was dazed. Could women really wear clothes like that? So bold—too, too, too impure!

But Emma said women wore such clothes to seduce the men they liked…

So… which kind did Louis prefer?

She really wanted to know~

Just as she opened the door.

Margaret sat in a chair, watching her coldly, like a judge.

“Where have you been? Did I ever teach you to come home this late? Disobeying household rules, Carrie, you’ve disappointed me.”

“It’s all my fault!”

In truth, it was only seven o’clock.

Yet Margaret suddenly began slamming her head against the wall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each impact was heavy—she was using real force.

Carrie rushed forward to stop her.

This wasn’t the first time. Every time she misbehaved, her mother resorted to self-harm to force compliance. Carrie resented it but couldn’t bear to see her mother hurt—so she always gave in.

This time was no different.

But when she finally stopped her, and handed her mother the bundled stack of papers as Emma had instructed, her mother’s expression changed abruptly.

First shock, then anger, then fear, then terror, finally silence.

After that, her mother didn’t launch into another hysterical lecture or punishment.

She made it through the night safely.

…

Time passed slowly.

June arrived—the graduation season for many middle schools.

Louis and Emma officially graduated and moved on to high school. Before that, they’d have a wonderful summer to enjoy.

After taking graduation photos, they declined invitations from classmates to throw a party.

Louis called Emma, and they headed home together.

David was already waiting inside; beside him, Jenny had just finished lunch.

“Children, our travel destination is set—we’ll drive from Florida to Texas, enjoying the scenery along the way. What do you think?”

“I’m fine with it.”

“I have a problem. Have you planned the exact route? I don’t want to run into any biker gangs.”

“Of course. Most of the route follows standard tourist paths—very safe. For the few remaining stretches, we’ll only travel during daylight. And just in case, I’ve prepared this.”

David pulled out a brand-new semi-automatic rifle. On the sofa lay several other differently styled firearms—Remingtons, Winchesters…

Well, truth in hand, courage surged instantly.

Especially when Louis touched the several grenades in his pocket—he felt even more confident.

After finalizing the route, they didn’t depart immediately. They planned to spend the next two days gathering all necessary gear—tents, supplies—before setting out.

Louis also had his own preparations. His Qi had reached its limit; all he needed now was to rest and gather strength before breaking through.

And his magical techniques needed preparation too.

For example: collecting cow's tears, performing the transfer-of-calamity ritual.

Before leaving, rid himself of his bad luck—wouldn’t that ensure a smooth journey?

He acted immediately, heading out to the back mountain—and just happened to see Carrie and Emma running wildly outside.

For some reason these past two days, Margaret had loosened her grip on Carrie, even allowing her to play with Emma. But every time Carrie returned, Margaret would cling to her and cry—as if Carrie had been wronged.

Strange.

Louis didn’t care. It was probably Emma’s revenge working—Margaret was afraid.

Minor matters. All minor matters.

Louis reached the cave at the back of the mountain. Several new corpses had been placed inside—plump, clearly recently replaced.

Beside them stood two bizarre-looking black-skinned goats, their wool stained red with dripping blood. Their eyes were lively, almost human in expression, and they wore muzzles to silence their cries.

Louis ignored these human traffickers’ beasts.

He took out vermilion paper, checked his position, and began drawing the Eight Trigrams array according to his lineage. Once complete, he dripped his blood into each section according to his birth chart.

Then he pulled out a ten-dollar bill, paused, and put it back. Instead, he took out a one-dollar bill.

These bills had been on him daily for days—they qualified as personal items.

Why not ten dollars? Why one dollar?

Couldn’t bear to spend it.

(End of Chapter)