All Chapters of The Divine Tree's Blessing: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

I was planting seeds in the fields when the village secretary, Isaac Holton, ran over to me. His face was crinkled in joy as he exclaimed, "It's finally your turn, Hailey!"I tossed the seeds aside and excitedly rubbed my hands. "Really? Thank you so much, Mr. Holton!"Isaac was pleased by my reaction. He gave me a once-over with his hazy eyes, not bothering to hide the lecherous glint in them.I wasn't bothered by his gaze, but the woman working in the next field shot a look of disdain at us before muttering, "She only married into the Emerson family some time ago, but she's already acting so promiscuously. Fred sure is unlucky to have a daughter-in-law like her."I rolled my eyes and retorted, "You're a shriveled up, old hag now, so it makes sense that you don't understand what a privilege it is to serve the divine tree. I'll definitely satisfy it. You agree with me, don't you, Mr. Holton?"Isaac nodded vigorously. Using the saplings around us as cover, he ran his greasy hand al

Chapter 2

It didn't take long before news of me being the divine tree's next offering spread like wildfire throughout the village.The men shot strange looks at me when I left the hall. Meanwhile, the women huddled together and discussed among themselves."I heard that she managed to peel the egg.""She did. She's such a slut. The men couldn't take their eyes off her when she was peeling it.""Fred's so unlucky to have a daughter-in-law like her."I stuck my nose in the air as I walked past them, intentionally swaying my hips in an even more exaggerated manner.I didn't care what they said. They would have no choice but to shut their mouths once I returned from the divine tree, looking radiant.My useless husband, Jack, was squatting in the doorway and smoking a cigarette when I returned home. He didn't even bother looking at me. He blew a smoke ring before asking, "You're going to serve the tree?"I kicked off my muddy sandals and puffed my chest out."What? You can't even keep it up f

Chapter 3

I kneeled in front of the tree by myself, listening to the sound of my heart hammering against my ribcage.The concoction I drank had heightened my senses. I could smell a sweet fragrance wafting from the divine tree. It smelled like the bradford pear trees that lined the entrance of the village.I wasn't sure how far David and the others had gone, but I could feel multiple sets of greedy eyes staring at me, making goosebumps erupt all over my skin.I looked up at the soft but powerful vines again. I licked my lips. My mouth felt a little dry.The vines looked exactly like the ones in the murals in the church. They seemed to be able to sense my presence as they began slithering toward me.The first vine brushed against my shoulder. I shivered at the cool and smooth sensation. I could feel the little bumps on its surface when it wrapped around my arm like a snake and began to rub against my skin.The concoction began to take effect. I felt my body heating up, and I reflexively mov

Chapter 4

Before I could figure out what was happening, a rough, masculine voice reverberated in my ear."This woman is even sluttier than I expected!"My eyes flew open. The blood in my veins froze when I took in the scene before me.The vines weren't actually part of the tree. They were just elastic props that were wrapped in tree bark.About eight men stood around me. Their lower halves were exposed as they grinned at me wickedly.The concoction made my thoughts sluggish. My voice trembled as I stammered, "You… What are you…"David stepped out from behind the tree. He slowly unbuckled his belt as he said, "The divine tree isn't real. It's just an excuse we made up to trick you stupid women. "For the past two decades, every woman who married into our village has been forced to go through this. You should thank your lucky stars that you were fortunate enough to be selected to serve us."A chill ran down my spine. I finally understood why the women who were sent to the divine tree alway

Chapter 5

I screamed as the excruciating pain yanked me out of my memories and back to reality.The men continued torturing me. One of them even used a branch to hit me, staring at the red welts on my body with a manic glint in his eyes."Why is this bitch so quiet now? She was moaning so wantonly earlier!" one of the men spat in irritation.Another man approached me and placed his finger under my nose, checking to see if I was breathing. "We can't let her die so easily. I haven't had my fill of fun with her yet."I bit down hard on my lip. The metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue. I couldn't die here. I hadn't taken revenge for Sarah yet. I was determined to make these beasts pay for what they had done to her!The man breathed a sigh of relief before he grabbed my breast with a wicked grin. "She's still breathing. We can still have fun with her."Just then, a piercing whistling cut through the air.The men paused and exchanged glances with each other.David buckled his belt a

Chapter 6

Jack and I snuck into the village when night fell.Having infiltrated the village five years ago, we knew every nook and cranny like the back of our hands. We first cut the phone lines before spiking all the wine barrels in the only wine cellar in the village.The drugs weren't lethal, but they were made from herbs that were strong enough to paralyze a person's entire body.Jack and I went over our plan again.Jack nodded as a cold glint flickered in his eyes.…Chaos erupted in the village the next morning.Dozens of men had suddenly become paralyzed. They became bedridden and could only stare with wide eyes.The village doctor was at a loss for what to do. He blinked his hazy eyes as the villagers pressured him for an answer. Finally, he sank to his knees and exclaimed that the divine tree was exacting its punishment on the village.…That night, Jack and I put our revenge plan into motion.Our first target was David.We carried him to the divine tree and treated him the

Chapter 7

That night, the rest of the men gathered in the hall, keeping the lights burning through the rest of the night.I carried a pot of stew that I had spiked with a "special ingredient" into the hall and said softly, "All of you have been working so hard. You should have some stew to keep warm."They gratefully accepted the bowls of stew from me and began scarfing it down.Meanwhile, I stood in a dark corner and watched as they collapsed one after the other. They foamed at the mouth while their limbs twitched erratically.Finally, only one man was still breathing. He pointed at me with terror shining in his eyes. "You… The stew…"I kneeled down next to him and whispered into his ear, "Remember how you killed Sarah Langdon five years ago? She's my sister."Jack was waiting for me outside when I left the hall. He was carrying two bags with him."Is it done?"I nodded and stared at the silent forest in the distance. "Sarah can finally rest in peace."I turned to look at the corpses t

Chapter 8

Surprised gasps erupted among the crowd.An old woman with gray hair suddenly sank to her knees and let out a wail. "What a terrible tragedy… I already told them that they would get their comeuppance…"Jack retrieved a metal box from his bag. There was a stack of yellowed photos inside. He distributed the photos to the women.I could see their hands trembling.The color drained from a young woman's face as she stared at the photo. Her husband was with the other men in the photo, doing terrible things to Sarah, who was strung up in a tree.Another woman suddenly whipped around and began dry heaving. Her eyes were shining with shock and fear.The photo that she had been looking at showed a group of men surrounding a naked woman. They were grinning cheerfully as the woman kneeled on the ground with a terrified, pained expression.I remembered that woman's face. The woman holding the photo was the mother of the woman in the photo."He told me that our daughter went missing. He told

Chapter 9

Three months later, Jack and I jolted awake when we heard someone hammering on our door one morning."It's the police! Open the door!"Jack and I exchanged glances with each other.It seemed that our actions had finally caught up with us.I inhaled deeply before heading toward the door. I turned to look at Jack before I opened the door and noticed that he was wearing an odd expression.It wasn't fear or resolve. Instead, it was a complicated emotion that I didn't quite understand.Two uniformed police officers were standing outside the door along with a few other officers in casual clothes.The officer at the front of the group showed me his ID and said, "Ms. Hailey Langdon? We're from the municipal police station. We need you to cooperate with us to solve a terrible crime."I nodded and shifted to the side to allow the officers to enter the house.Jack stood in the center of the room. The color had drained from his face.The next few hours were like a hazy nightmare.Time t

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