Chapter 109: Cult
As the footsteps of the two men faded away, Linlang heard no further sound. Many questions arose in her mind: These two undoubtedly sounded like important members of the organization, but who exactly was this "Gege" they were referring to? What was their purpose in recruiting Elliot, the head of the Lu family and their teacher? Did their allusions to Satan, hinting at a close connection between the organization and Satanism?
Linlang couldn't figure out the answers to these questions for a while. Since the Yu Zhenzhu servant she was following had arrived here, she asked the two of them to arrange for them to go to the church hospital, and decided to start the investigation from the local hospital.
Linlang made up her mind and went to the other side of the T-shaped corner. After a short walk, she finally found the exit, right at the edge of a well. Fortunately, the well was not deep. She left a mark inside the tunnel and then carefully crawled out.
After looking around, I found that this was a small town with only about ten houses. Since it was just dawn, the town was still very quiet, not even the crowing of chickens or the barking of dogs could be heard.
Although there was no one around, the sound of running water nearby drew Linlang in. As she got closer, she could finally see a canal, only half a meter wide, running along the edge of a field, heading north. Following the canal, she noticed two buildings nearby: a low church to the west and a three-story building with a green cross to the east. This seemed to be the missionary hospital they'd been talking about. Between the two buildings, a half-acre flowerbed filled the space, filled with vibrant flowers. In the center of the flowerbed stood a short banyan tree.
Linlang's girlish nature has not faded, and she was involuntarily attracted by the bright flowers. She came to the fence of the flowerbed to stop and admire them.
"Oh! Girl, are you here to see the flowers?" A woman speaking Chinese with a stiff accent asked Linlang.
Linlang then noticed that there was a woman in monk's clothes standing under a locust tree not far away, smiling at her. She seemed to be a little older than her.
"Oh...yeah, these flowers are so pretty! Who are you?"
"I'm a nun from that church over there. My name is Anne."
"Hello, Sister Anne. My name is Lin Yu, and I'm not from here." To be on the safe side, Lin Lang only gave her pseudonym.
"Ms. Lin, you came at a perfect time. Most of the flowers in this flower garden are in bloom. Look—how beautiful!"
"They are indeed beautiful. What kind of flowers are these?"
Sister Anne pointed northwest, "Over there are bluebells and pansies," then northeast, "Over there are tulips and irises," then southeast, "Over here are lavender and edelweiss," and finally southwest, "Over here are violets and roses."
Linlang nodded frequently. "It's amazing that there are so many beautiful varieties. But it sounds like many of them are native to Europe, right?"
Sister Anne smiled and said, "These are the seeds our church brought from Europe. We saw that the soil and water here are very suitable, so we planted them here."
"If someone hadn't taken good care of this huge flower garden, it would have been hard for it to grow so beautifully," Linlang sighed.
Annie wanted to continue chatting with Linlang, but suddenly the church bells rang. She immediately became serious, "It's time for worship. Miss Lin, I'm sorry, I have to leave you." After that, she nodded politely to Linlang, then turned and walked towards the church.
Linlang recalled the Satanic deity she had overheard the members of the organization discussing, and wondered if the deity worshipped in this church was also related to Satanism. Could there be a so-called Satanic deity hidden somewhere in this place?
She followed Sister Anne calmly and lightly, cautiously reaching the church door. Peering through the stained glass windows, she saw a dozen people standing solemnly in two rows. A middle-aged man, resembling a priest, led the chanting and prayer on the steps, Bible in hand. The crowd below included men and women, some in church attire, others in formal attire, all with solemn and reverent expressions.
Linlang took another quick look at the church's decor: the hall, stained glass windows and ceiling, confessional, and statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary—it was basically a typical European church, with no decorations seemingly associated with Satan. After waiting for a while, the middle-aged man in the center of the hall said in a quiet voice in English, "May God bless us. Amen!"
"Amen!" the believers responded in unison.
As the crowd dispersed, it seemed the prayers were finally over. Linlang wondered if Yu Zhenzhu's female attendant was among them.
She hid behind a tree outside the church, watching the believers walk out the gate one by one, each heading their own way. Except for Sister Jenny, the other four female believers seemed to have agreed on something and all headed towards the hospital on the east side of the flower garden.
Could they all be hospital staff? Perhaps someone knew where Teacher Elliot was? Thinking this over, Linlang followed quietly, not noticing a male pilgrim lingering at the rear, also on his way back to the hospital, who bumped into her.
"This lady..."
Linlang was startled and turned around to see a man about her age, with a flat head and a straight face. He looked gentle and refined, but he was wearing Western clothes and looked like a Han Chinese.
"Uh... sorry, I was just passing by and saw the gardens were so beautiful that I wanted to stop and admire them." Linlang answered a little flustered, but still politely.
"Well, yes, the flowers in this garden are indeed gorgeous. No wonder they attract an elegant and beautiful lady like you."
It seems that he is very sweet-talking and good at communicating with the opposite sex.
"What is your name, miss?" the man asked.
"Lin Yu."
"What a beautiful name! My last name is Feng, and my English name is Duke. You can call me Duke Feng."
Linlang frowned, "Mr. Feng is an international student?"
"Yes, I studied abroad in Birmingham, England a few years ago, majoring in surgical medicine."
"Oh! A top medical student! My apologies." Linlang complimented him, then pointed at the church. "Did you just finish a service there? Are you a Christian?"
Duke Feng was a little embarrassed. "After so many years abroad, it's inevitable that I've been influenced by foreign beliefs. If there's a chance, I hope Miss Lin can go out and see the beautiful scenery and people of foreign countries. Whether they are British or Americans, their spirit is much stronger than that of Chinese people."
Linlang laughed inwardly. How could he know about her experiences adrift in the West? All that was left behind was misfortune and tragedy. But there was no need to explain further, so she nodded politely. "You're truly insightful. It's really enlightening."
"That's where I work." He pointed toward the hospital. "How about coming to my office?"
Linlang had originally intended to follow the lead and, using Dr. Feng's name, go to the church hospital to continue tracking down clues about Yu Zhenzhu's female attendant and Teacher Elliot, but Sister Anne unexpectedly emerged from the church and called out to him, "Mr. Duke! Please come back. Mr. Philip wants to see you."
Duke Feng was stunned. "Oh...Okay, I'll be right there." Then he turned to Linlang and said, "Excuse me, Miss Lin, I have to excuse myself for a moment. Why don't you go to the flower garden and admire the flowers first? I'll be back soon."
Linlang smiled and nodded, then greeted Sister Anne. Anne smiled back at Linlang and accompanied Duke Feng back to the church.
Walking along the path through the flower garden, Linlang felt a surge of joy as she gazed upon the vibrant blossoms of every color. She remembered the last time she'd wandered among flowers, back when she and her teacher, Elliot, were traveling across Western Europe. It was a hillside near the sea in Coimbra, western Portugal, where irises and wild chrysanthemums covered the entire landscape. Back then, she was only nineteen, and wandering amidst a sea of flowers was a source of immense joy.
Those were some of the few pleasant memories I had while abroad, and even thinking back on them many years later still made me happy.
While this flower garden wasn't as large as the sea of flowers back then, it boasted a vast variety of species and a fragrance so abundant that Linlang couldn't help but sniff a few more times. However, amidst the rich fragrance, there seemed to be a faint stench. On second thought, however, it might be the fertilizer the gardener had applied to the flowers, which wasn't surprising.
Linlang strolled leisurely through the flower garden, feeling relaxed and relaxed. Reminiscing about her youth, she had unknowingly let down her guard. But who would have thought that just as she strolled under the banyan tree in the center of the flower garden, a figure suddenly appeared behind her, like a ghost, holding a rake high and aiming at the back of her head.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
