Betrayed by My Wife, I Became the Serpent Lord

Chapter 005

Vicky hurried around the counter when she saw Nick turn deathly pale.

"Nick! What's wrong?"

She pulled out her phone to call an ambulance, but he caught her wrist.

"Don't. Not yet."

An extraordinarily vivid image had appeared in his mind. It was as though he were looking down from above the Pugh Family Burial Plot, seeing everything around the shrine at once.

Behind the building, Michael Davis was directing several men as they piled firewood against the walls.

The bastard was going to burn down the last place Nick had left.

Nick steadied his breathing. When he raised his head, his eyes were cold. He took a handful of bills from his pocket and left them on the table.

"Keep the change, Vicky. I've got something I need to deal with."

He hurried outside and took a shortcut toward the burial plot, passing the house that had been his only yesterday. Joseph stood outside the front door smoking, with a deeply troubled expression.

As soon as he saw Nick, he rushed over and grabbed his arm.

"Nick, I've tried everything! Michael won't budge. I offered him twice what he paid, and he still refuses to sell. I'm starting to think he's mixed up with Alison somehow."

Nick tried to continue walking, but Joseph tightened his grip.

"Why don't you come in and have some tea? I'll call a few men. If Michael still won't cooperate, we'll carry him right out of the place!"

Nick suddenly understood. There was a good chance Joseph had arranged the attack on the shrine together with Michael. Keeping Nick occupied here would give the other man time to finish the job.

He stopped and turned toward Joseph with a faint smile.

"If you're so loyal to me, why don't you burn this house down? Every time I see it, I'm reminded of Alison. I'd rather watch it go up in flames."

Joseph froze. His hand fell away from Nick's arm.

Does he know what Michael's doing?

Surely not. There were only two routes to the burial plot, and Joseph knew the other one was guarded. Nick couldn't have seen anything.

"Joseph," Nick said quietly, "I'm starting to think there's no point in saving that little problem of yours."

Joseph's face turned white.

"Nick, I swear, it was Michael's idea! He said he was going to burn your family shrine, but I thought he was just talking!"

Nick's expression didn't change. Joseph was quick to betray his accomplice, exactly as expected. A vicious dog could still be useful if Nick pointed it in the right direction.

Joseph began jogging toward the burial plot with Nick following behind. On the surface, he and Michael were rivals, but they'd made plenty of money together over the years. Michael had suggested attacking the shrine after both men noticed how dramatically Nick had changed since spending the night there.

Yesterday, Nick had been a harmless pushover. After visiting the shrine, he'd become almost terrifying. There had to be something special about that place. If they destroyed it, perhaps his mysterious powers would disappear too.

Joseph had thought the plan was clever. Now, whenever Nick looked at him, it felt as if the man could see straight into his thoughts.

Nick quickly overtook Joseph. Impatient with the man's slow pace, he seized him by the collar and hauled him along like an oversized chicken. They reached the shrine in no time.

Several men were busy stacking more wood against the building.

"Hey! Stop that!" Joseph yelled. "I'll call the police!"

Everyone turned. Michael was standing beside the woodpile with a gas can, pouring gasoline over it.

Nick gave a cold laugh, swung Joseph by the collar, and hurled him straight at Michael.

"Michael! Catch me!" Joseph shrieked as he sailed through the air.

Michael instinctively grabbed him. The pair crashed into the stacked wood and rolled several times, splashing gasoline over both their coats.

"Get off me, you fat pig!" Michael gasped. "You're breaking my back!"

Some of his men rushed to help them up, while the rest charged Nick with clubs in their hands.

Nick snatched a wooden pole from the ground and met them head-on. He'd never been afraid of a fight, and with his newfound strength, they barely stood a chance. Within moments, several men were sprawled in the snow, groaning.

Joseph watched the fight in alarm. Any remaining thoughts of double-crossing Nick vanished. He fumbled out a lighter and held it up beside Michael's gasoline-soaked coat.

"Everybody stop! Take one more step and I'll set Michael on fire!"

Michael stared at him in disbelief, but the lighter was real, and so was the gasoline. He went rigid.

Watching Nick tear through his men, Michael began to regret how far he'd pushed someone he'd always considered harmless. His relatives and hangers-on stopped moving too. Most of them depended on Michael's money, but none wanted to watch him burn.

For Nick, the danger had passed, yet something was wrong. Heat flared inside his chest. For a moment, the people before him seemed stained bloodred, and an indistinct voice murmured deep inside his head.

Then the strange sensation flowed through his body like a stream, cooling his anger and restoring his control.

Nick planted the wooden pole in the ground and swept the crowd with his gaze. Men who'd been shouting threats moments ago lowered their eyes and stepped back.

Michael caught Joseph's attention and gave him a meaningful look.

Joseph frowned, then shouted, "Do any of you idiots know who Nick is? He's the true heir to the shamanic arts! This shrine belongs to powerful Guardian Spirits, and you've come here to destroy it? Clean this mess up before you bring disaster on all of us!"

The men looked to Michael for instructions. With Joseph still gripping his shoulder and holding the lighter, Michael had little choice.

"You heard him. Clean it up."

Nobody moved.

"Now!" Michael roared. "I'm covered in gasoline, you morons! I don't want to be burned alive!"

A sudden unease struck Nick. He pushed past the crowd and entered the shrine.

The altar had been ransacked. Memorial urns lay scattered across the floor, and a deep crack ran through the red urn at the center of the display.

As Nick bent to pick it up, the copperhead emerged from beneath the altar and bit his finger hard.

Pain shot through him, but it was nothing compared to his rage. He gently gathered the urn, wiped it clean, and returned it to its rightful place. Then he lit incense and bowed his head.

"I failed to protect you, honored Guardian Spirits. You were insulted because of my weakness, but I swear I'll make those responsible answer for it."

Perhaps sensing his sincerity, the copperhead dipped its head and slipped into his sleeve.

Nick turned abruptly. Through the doorway, he caught Joseph and Michael quickly pulling back their heads.

He walked outside and looked over the silent crowd.

"Who touched the memorial urns?"