Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Princeton turned and left without looking back, heading straight out of the basement.

Evelyn watched his disappearing figure, her eyes blazing with anger.

Chapter 55 The Great Master's Devout Followers

Levi navigated the labyrinthine corridors, finally stepping out of the Riverside Theatre. But he felt no relief; he knew perfectly well that he hadn't truly escaped the Hyena Gang's control.

“I’ve already infiltrated the Hyena Gang, but I’m restricted by the Book of Notarization. I can’t tell the unbelievers anything about that evil god, nor can I betray Him. How can I tell Ms. B and the church the information I have?”

"The most urgent task is to find out just how strong the restrictive power of that notarized document is. Should I reveal nothing, or can I offer hints, or subtly convey information through other means? At least for now, it seems that while I've been plotting to betray that evil god, the notarized document hasn't restricted me, which proves that its power is also limited."

"However, under these restrictions, it would be difficult to gain the church's trust with only vague hints. But Ms. B already knows some of the Hyena Gang's secrets, so it should be easier to pass on information to her."

As Levi pondered this, he returned to the Kingfisher Bar in the shadows of the night.

He silently walked up the stairs and came to Rowling's room.

Rowling was wearily tidying her pajamas, preparing to go to sleep, when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it with a hint of reluctance, and upon seeing Reeves, her face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Livia, what brings you to the bar at this hour?"

Rowling welcomed Levi in ​​with a mixture of surprise and delight, feeling her mood improve upon seeing her beautiful face.

Reeves asked with a grave expression:

"How are the girls being settled?"

Rowling replied:

"Two people have already left the bar, but most of them are still living there because they have been out of touch with society for too long and haven't found a good place to go yet, so they are staying here for the time being until they find a good place to stay before leaving."

Reeves' heart sank, and he tried to say:

"Get them out of here immediately."

After speaking, he waited anxiously for several seconds, but the promised punishment did not materialize. Logically, allowing the women to leave would undoubtedly harm the interests of that evil god, and could be considered a betrayal. Yet, the contract sealed by the Book of Notarization remained unaffected. It seemed that this level of action was insufficient to be considered betrayal.

Levi breathed a slight sigh of relief, vaguely grasping the boundaries of the oath's constraints. Actions of this magnitude would not yet be seen as a betrayal of that evil god, leaving room for maneuver and testing the waters.

"Immediately? Why?" Rowling looked puzzled. "It's the middle of the night."

Reeve said with a serious expression:

"They're staying at the Kingfisher Bar, consuming rooms and food, but they don't generate any revenue. Why should they stay? They should be kicked out immediately!"

Levi didn't dare explain the reason to Rowling, otherwise even if the notarized document was weak, it should have detected his betrayal.

Rowling's eyes were filled with shock, and she said in disbelief:

"Livia, what's wrong with you? You weren't like this before. Where's your compassion? Where's your mercy? How can you bear to let them live on the streets?"

Reeves felt a pang of pain in his heart, but he still pretended to be calm and said:

"Not only them, but you must leave too."

"Me? Why?"

Rowling asked, her eyes full of confusion as she looked at Levi.

Levi took a deep breath and hardened his heart, saying:

"What you did at the Kingfisher Bar has already damaged the interests of the Hyena Gang. As a devout follower of our great master, how can I allow you to continue your reckless behavior?"

Rowling was completely stunned; the color drained from her face instantly, and shock and anger welled up in her eyes.

"Livia, what are you saying? We went through so much trouble to kill Samira, and in the end, you say you want to protect the interests of the Hyena Gang? You've become a devout follower of our great master? Are you crazy, or am I crazy?!"

Reeve tried with difficulty to speak:

"I have already received the teachings of XXX."

He wanted to say Xia Lani's name, but his heart immediately felt a sharp pain. A force choked his throat, making it impossible for him to utter the name, and even breathing became extremely difficult.

"It seems that this level of intelligence transmission is no longer possible. Even if we don't say a bad word about her, just mentioning her will trigger the Golden Book's punishment."

Looking at Levi's pained expression, Rowling asked, both shocked and saddened:

"Livia, what's wrong with you? What happened? Tell me, I can face this with you."

Levi gasped for breath, trying to ease the pain in his heart, and slowly said:

“I have received the teachings of the great Master and am determined to uphold His interests. You and those ladies must also uphold His interests.”

Rowling shuddered, her voice trembling:

"Never! If you want to become the next Samira, I will definitely..."

Before Rowling could finish speaking, her eyes were already wet, and her gaze towards Reeves was filled with anger and disappointment.

Reeves looked at Rowling, a sorrowful expression in his eyes. He sighed and said, as if in a plea:

“Now, take those girls away. Their presence is a waste of Kingfisher Bar’s resources, and your presence will damage Kingfisher Bar’s revenue. Do you understand? I beg you, Rowling, for the sake of our great master, please take them away.”

Looking at his unusual demeanor—the deliberate coldness, the barely concealed pain, and the humble pleading—Lorraine felt a sudden jolt. A thought quietly surfaced in her mind, and she tentatively asked:

"Livia, you wouldn't be...?"

Livre drew her revolver, chambered a bullet, and resolutely shoved it into Rowling's hand:

"If you don't leave, for the sake of our great master, I will definitely kill you, do you understand? I will definitely kill you!"

As she spoke, Livre grabbed Lorraine's hand, pointed the gun at her own head, and looked at her with desperate pleading in her eyes.

Rowling stared blankly at the gun barrel pressed against Reeves' head, a complex expression of shock crossing her face.

"Livia, were you controlled by the boss and his men? And then, they sent you to kill me?"

Livre answered Rowling with silence.

Upon hearing this, Rowling's expression turned solemn, and a hint of sorrow appeared in her eyes.

She returned the pistol to Reeves and grabbed his arm:

“I understand. Let’s go together and take those girls with us.”

Reeves silently pulled his arm away, and said with a wry smile:

"I cannot leave; I must stay and serve my great master."

Rowling said urgently:

"I know you've been contaminated, and perhaps even more so than I have. But I've come up with some possible solutions. Come with me."

Chapter 56 Escape

Reeves' heart skipped a beat, and he carefully considered Rowling's suggestion.

He desperately wanted to leave with Rowling, but he was likely being monitored by Sharane. Even if Sharane couldn't monitor him, Evelyn could still locate him through the statue within him if it were activated again. Leaving rashly would likely attract pursuit, only becoming a burden to Rowling and the other women.

Furthermore, Sharon requested that she bring back Lorraine's body tomorrow night. If she left with Lorraine earlier, it would increase the risk of being exposed. If she left later, she could buy some time for Lorraine and the others.

Thinking of this, Levi revealed a resolute expression:

"You don't need to worry about me, you can't help me."

"But……"

"Stop talking, let's go!"

Rowling was about to say something when she was rudely interrupted. Levi pulled out his revolver again, cocked it, and his eyes held a mixture of threat and pleading.

Rowling's eyes welled up with tears. She raised her hand to wipe her eyes, went into her bedroom, took some small belongings, and then went downstairs.

Soon after, in the quiet of the night, Rowling, with seven or eight young women, boarded a rented carriage and quietly drove off into the darkness on the outskirts of Tingen.

Levi stood by the window watching the carriage leave, sighed, and quietly slumped into a chair.

He felt physically and mentally exhausted, almost to the point of collapse, but he had no desire to sleep.

He sat there for an unknown amount of time until the sun rose over Tingen.

Today is Monday, the start of a new week, the day of the mutual aid society meeting, and also the day that Sharon stipulated he should hand over Rowling's body.

Reeve stood up from the chair, looking haggard.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die. We need to buy train tickets to leave Tingen now and escape the city. Hmm... let's go to Backlund. It's known as the City of a Thousand, the largest city in the world. The chances of being found there are the lowest."

He wrote a letter to Emily, reminding her to take care of herself and leave Tingen as soon as possible. He then carried the letter with him, intending to mail it to Emily from the mailbox at the train station if he managed to reach it.

“I didn’t have any valuable luggage. I carried a pistol, a dagger, a mirror, a vain butterfly, and £530 in cash with me at all times.”

Levi quickly tidied himself up to look presentable before leaving the Kingfisher Bar.

Mark, who was smoking at the door early in the morning, saw Reeves and asked casually:

"Have you seen Rowling? I need to talk to her."

"No."

Reeve responded coldly and walked out the door without even glancing at Mark.

Enraged, the thug who had once tried to sexually harass Livre spoke threateningly:

"Don't think you can act like you're above everyone else just because Rowling is protecting you. If you dare to offend me, I'll show you what I'm capable of!"

Levi stopped, a wave of desolation washing over him.

Perhaps it is because of people like Mark that the oppression between people will not stop, and the fertile ground for the existence of evil gods will not be extinguished.

He sighed softly and left the Kingfisher Bar without looking back.

Walking onto the street at Iron Cross, Rivi flagged down a horse-drawn carriage in the early morning and headed to Tingen train station.

On the way, Reeves would open the window from time to time to check his route and prevent Evelyn from ambushing him like last time.

Fortunately, this time, the carriage stayed on the right route.

On the bumpy road, as they got closer to the train station, Levi suddenly felt a heavy pressure in his chest, which gradually made it hard for him to breathe.

Levi didn't know if this change was due to a problem with his body or if his attempt to escape Tingen City had triggered the punishment of the Book of Notaries. He nervously gripped his pistol and mirror, ready to deal with any pursuing enemies at any moment.

When the carriage arrived at the train station, the oppressive atmosphere reached its peak, making it extremely difficult for Rivi to even walk.

He walked unsteadily to the ticket window and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth:

"A train ticket to XXXX..."

The ticket seller asked, somewhat puzzled:

"Miss, where would you like to buy a ticket for?"

Levi was drenched in cold sweat. He tried his best to say the words "Backlund," but the pressure on his heart turned into waves of excruciating pain, as if he were being repeatedly ravaged by an invisible hand.

He had a premonition that if he actually forced himself to say Backlund's name, his heart might be crushed by that invisible hand.

After a futile struggle, Rivi almost collapsed in front of the ticket window, and the people queuing behind him began to urge him on impatiently.

In the end, he chose to give up and staggered away from the ticket booth.

A single, murky tear slid down his cheek. Levi trembled as he raised his hand to wipe it away, only to find his fingertips touched warm, sticky blood. His vision blurred, gradually fading into a blackout.

He sighed heavily, got back into a taxi, and with his last bit of strength instructed the driver:

"Go to No. 32 University Street, the Tingen City Women Teachers' Mutual Aid Association..."

In the swaying carriage, Levi almost lost consciousness, his whole body was drowsy and he seemed to have fainted, his body extremely weak.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he gradually regained consciousness and felt that he had recovered some strength, but his body was still very weak. At this time, the bumpy carriage also stopped.

Levi forced himself to look out the window and saw that he was in an unfamiliar alley, which looked dilapidated, dirty, and deserted, unlike the university street.

At this moment, two men dressed in menacing manners approached. The driver jumped out of the driver's seat, whispered a few words to the two men, and then looked at Levi with a guilty expression.

He walked to the car window and mumbled:

"I'm sorry, miss, I don't want to do this either, but my wife and daughter are in their hands. If I can't find a woman to bring them to them, they will do something to my wife and daughter..."

The driver, his eyes red-rimmed, drew the crimson moon symbol on his chest as he spoke:

May the goddess bless you.

Levi was filled with mixed feelings, wondering if he had fallen into the hands of Sharani and the others again. He cautiously observed his surroundings, but for the time being, he did not find any extraordinary individuals.

At this moment, the two men who looked like gangsters approached, sized up Levi's appearance, and said with surprise:

"Beautiful lady, please get off the bus. A pretty girl like you will find a good place for you."

Levi feigned fear and tentatively asked: