Détruisez le mal

Chapitre 56

“Mr. Murphy and his son, Mr. Benny, and Miss Jumarin, but her daughter is fine.”

Marlene, poor girl, no wonder she was so cold to him—she was sick. This explanation cheered him up. Things weren't as bad as he'd thought. What could he do to make her feel better? All the usual methods—a huge bouquet of flowers, bubble bath—were clearly not available here. Perhaps a glass of honey water? His mind kept racing, waiting for a miraculous answer. Language—he knew the power of language. He just needed to use sweet words. He could handle those armed policemen; winning over Jumarlene would be a piece of cake.

“Marlene, darling,” he should say, “I’m back.”

He imagined her face, slightly flushed. Should he act like a doctor, assuring her she was alright? Or like a lover, swearing that love was her cure? Beryl was no expert in such romance.

Lost in thought, the bus had already returned to Mandala City.

Accompanied by Walter, Berhali was fortunate enough to arrive at the Golden Land Hotel, which was already past nine o'clock in the evening.

As soon as he entered the room, he heard Zhu Malin's voice from the next room: "What does a blood-dripping candlestick mean in a place like this?"

The poor girl, her voice was so pitiful, she was suffering from dysentery.

In the middle of the night, Marlene finally stopped going to the bathroom so frequently.

But then a group of noisy Lanna people arrived. They smoked, shouted, stomped their feet, and jingled bottles. The smell of smoke and cheap liquor wafted into the upstairs rooms.

Jumarin stomped her foot on the floor and yelled, "Shut up!"

After a while, Berhali spoke to her through the thin wall, "Marlene, darling, rest now, I'll go deal with them."

He went downstairs and knocked on the group's door. A man with red eyes opened it, staggering as if he'd just been beaten. Berhali saw five men gambling. The bright red liquor must be palm wine; how could he possibly convince these men?

A few minutes later, Berhali returned to his room and heard the people downstairs quietly leaving. They had a total of fifty dollars in their hands, which Berhali had given them.

They weren't leaving to thank Berhali; he had only told them to keep their voices down. They wanted to slip away before paying for their travel and drinks. The Kingdom of Lanna punished theft severely, and they would be incredibly lucky to escape.

A few miles away, to avoid a spirit riding a white horse, they drove their carriage into a ditch. The white horse stopped in the middle of the road amidst a clump of jacaranda trees.

Soon, two policemen, one tall and one short, arrived with guns and aimed them at the heads.

"Is it a deity?"

The police checked the documents, confiscated fifty dollars, two hotel blankets, and five towels, then put the thieves in a truck and disappeared into the night.

Bodhi Lake (1)

The water of Bodhi Lake is blue, and you can see the bottom of the lake on a sunny day.

Newborn babies bathe here. The dead are also placed in the sacred lake, facing the sky, and drift away with the current.

My friends arrived here on the morning of Christmas Eve.

They left Mandala easily, where they spent some time recuperating. Water found an opportunity to visit the Bodhi Lake Resort, where they could enjoy themselves to the fullest.

The car took them to the busy dock. While waiting for their luggage, the boy Rupert, with a book tucked under his arm, took out a knitted ball he had bought and nudged it with his knee.