Chapter 15: The origin of Satan's Cult

"Satan's Cult? Isn't that just a deceitful organization? What's so interesting about it?" I whispered to Rahab.

Rahab pointed at the bald prisoner with his tail and telepathically told me, "Lift his shirt and check his left rib. Is there a mark?"

I instructed the bald prisoner to remove his shirt, and sure enough, on his skin, reddened by boiling water, there was a black mark.

The mark consisted of a large circle, a small circle, and a pentagram. The large circle was on the outside, the points of the central pentagram connected to it, and a small circle was in the star's center.

This pentagram was inverted, with two points up, three down.

After observing it closely, I asked, "What does this mark mean?"

"This symbol represents Satan: the outer circle represents the Earth, the inverted pentagram represents Satan because the two upward points symbolize Satan's horns, and the small circle in the star is the Devil eye," Rahab explained.

"I see," I said, realizing.

"The Satan's Cult that uses this mark is different from the mortal Satan's Cult," Rahab said. "The mortal Satan's Cult doesn't necessarily worship Satan. They just go against the norms and oppose society. According to the Bible, Satan is very rebellious, so people use him as a slogan."

"What about the real Satan's Cult?" I asked. "Was it founded by Satan?"

"Ha, quite the opposite," Rahab's face darkened with hatred. "The person who founded Satan's Cult is the one who killed Satan!"

I pressed for details, but Rahab said calmly, "I'll explain everything in detail once Zicheng finishes cleaning up."

The bald prisoner saw my silence and expressions, thinking I was devising some new way to torment him, so he didn't dare speak and just huddled up, trembling.

Seeing this, I smiled and patted his shoulder, "Don't be afraid. I don't eat people; I just kill them. But if you cooperate, I won't kill you."

The bald prisoner nodded vigorously.

"Does your Satan's Cult worship Satan?" I asked. He nodded.

"Doesn't that mean you commit all sorts of crimes?"

"Well... our Satan's Cult has its own rules. We don't let members act recklessly. Our cult teaches facing and releasing one's desires. Our biggest rule is not to irrationally suppress our thoughts," the bald prisoner said, regaining his composure.

"But you kill people," I laughed.

"No, hell is ruled by our master. Our master will use his body as the ground, allowing us to walk on his holy body and remain unharmed in the sea of fire," the bald prisoner said solemnly when talking about hell. "As long as we believe in our master, he will selflessly let people trample his body. Only those who don't listen to our advice will suffer the torment of hellfire. Our actions have been approved by our master, so we won't be harmed by the hellfire."

I shook my head with a smile, realizing that the core beliefs of Satan's Cult were similar to those of other religions.

At this moment, we heard the sound of the faucet turning off in the bathroom. Shortly after, Zicheng came out, dressed in clean clothes.

After speaking with the illusion of his deceased wife, Zicheng's spirit seemed much more invigorated, and his eyes regained their sharpness and determination.

Seeing the bald prisoner sitting on the floor, Zicheng suddenly grabbed him and shouted angrily, "Tell me! Was it your comrades who killed my wife?"

The bald prisoner, already broken by my mental torture, had long lost his usual ferocity. Now, being grabbed and questioned by Zicheng, he stammered, "I... I don't know anything. My orders were just to capture a young man or a black cat, dead or alive."

Hearing his words, I became even more certain that their target was Rahab and me.

Zicheng wanted to press further but suddenly turned to look at Rahab, a look of surprise on his face. Then, suppressing his anger, he slowly released the bald prisoner.

I guessed Rahab had used telepathy to urge him to calm down.

I continued to interrogate the bald prisoner about Satan's Cult, but unfortunately, his low rank meant he didn't know much. The most useful information he provided was the location of Satan's Cult's Hong Kong branch.

After repeatedly questioning him and confirming he had revealed everything he knew, I said to Zicheng, "Do you remember I told you that supporting the Devil eye's activities requires a lot of energy?"

Zicheng nodded and said, "I remember. You also said that, based on calculations, I only have seven days left to live."

"Yes, to survive," I pointed at the bald prisoner, "absorb his lifespan."

The bald prisoner listened to our conversation, not fully understanding, but he grasped the last two sentences.

"Don't kill me, please don't kill me!" He begged, panic-stricken, kneeling and pleading, "Didn't you say you wouldn't kill me if I told you everything I knew?"

It seemed that after my illusion torture, the bald prisoner's initial stubbornness and toughness had vanished.

I laughed, "Yes, I'm not going to kill you. I just need you to give him some of your lifespan. You've killed three people; taking a few years of your life isn't too much."

The bald prisoner kept kowtowing, begging for mercy.

"Let him go," Zicheng suddenly said.

I was stunned and then frowned, "But... you only have a week to live. If you don't absorb his lifespan, you'll die."

Zicheng shook his head and said, "I'll find another bad person. He's already very pitiful; let's let him go."

"But he's also a bad person. He's killed three people, and they were his comrades," I said.

"From his look, he probably regrets it deeply," Zicheng said, helping the bald prisoner up. "Let's give him a chance to reform."

I frowned, about to persuade him further, when an idea suddenly struck me.

"Alright, as you wish, let's let him go," I said, spreading my hands and pretending to be helpless. "But to prevent him from committing crimes again, you need to make a 'blood pact' with him. If he harbors any murderous intent from now on, his life will be transferred to you."

Zicheng thought for a moment, seemingly finding this plan feasible, and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's do it your way. How do I make the pact with him?"

I told him, "Just like when I sold my life to you, mix your blood with his and state the conditions. If both parties agree, it's done."

Zicheng then did as I instructed, biting his finger and dripping his blood onto the bald prisoner's wound.

After the blood mixed, Zicheng stated the terms of the pact. The bald prisoner, hearing that we would spare his life, readily agreed.

Once everything was done, we let him go. Before he left, Zicheng sternly warned him again.

The bald prisoner agreed repeatedly and then fled like an arrow.

I watched with amusement. At this moment, Rahab used telepathy to ask, "Xiao Nuo, what are you up to?"

I whispered, "Quickly go to the window and instruct a cat to walk past him."

Rahab didn't understand but followed my instructions, jumping to the window and softly meowing.

I also went to the window and saw the bald prisoner leaving through the back alley.

After Rahab meowed, a stray cat that had been lurking in the shadows responded with a low meow.

The stray cat then walked unhurriedly in front of the bald prisoner.

I shouted at him, and the bald prisoner turned to look back, seeing me smiling and waving. He forced a smile and quickened his pace, turning to leave.

As he turned, the stray cat stood right in front of him, but he didn't react and continued walking.

However, after a few more steps, he stopped and turned back to look at the cat with a smile.

Rahab made a surprised sound, clearly puzzled by the bald prisoner's actions.

The bald prisoner observed the cat for a moment, then suddenly lifted his right foot, seemingly intending to stomp the cat to death!

But as soon as he lifted his right foot, he couldn't put it down again because, at that moment, he had murderous intent.

According to the 'blood pact,' he had transferred his life to Zicheng.

"What is going on?" Rahab asked softly, frowning.

"Actually, when I shouted at him to make him turn back, I used the 'Eye of Illusions' to invade his mind and create an illusion. In his vision, that stray cat looked 80% like you," I explained with a smile. "I deduced that to avoid punishment from his organization, he would definitely try to capture the black cat and take it back as a substitute. To prevent the fake black cat from revealing the truth, he would kill it first. Thus, with murderous intent, he would transfer his life to Zicheng."

Rahab nodded in admiration after hearing my explanation.

At this moment, Zicheng lowered his head, touching himself in confusion, and said, "Why do I suddenly feel so energetic?"

I looked at the puzzled look on his face and smiled, "Is it like how I felt when I gave my life to you?"

"Exactly!" Zicheng raised his head and said.

"It seems that the bald man is dead." I shook my head and sighed, pretending to be helpless.