Chapter 500

An invisible force struck the woman with a resounding crack, sending her front teeth flying. Her head snapped to the side, blood gushing from her mouth. She screamed in pain. The force sent her crashing into Gareth's arms. Before Gareth could react, she collided with him, pinning him beneath a nearby car. His weight trapped him under the chassis, crushing the woman's foot.

"The pain was intense," Gareth muttered, holding her legs down, making it impossible for her to move. As she opened her mouth, another tooth came loose. "My leg! My mouth! My teeth!" she wailed, her face contorted in agony.

She watched Odalys stand nearby, hands clasped behind her back, staring. At that moment, the woman came to her senses, looked at Odalys, and shrank back subconsciously. Her lips trembled as she said, "I thought you were devout! How could you hit me?"

"Aren't you afraid of retribution? You will be punished for hitting me! I'll curse you!" the woman shouted. She raised a finger, pointing at Odalys. The moment she extended it, a loud sound echoed. A brick flew from nowhere and smashed her finger. One of her fingers was severed. She stared in disbelief at her now four-fingered hand, blood dripping from the stump. "My hand! My finger!" she screamed in terror.

Odalys walked toward her, stood tall, and looked down. "Do you know who threw that brick? It was your son."

"My son? You're talking nonsense!" The woman panicked.

Odalys smirked faintly, enjoying the woman's terror. With a casual wave of her hand, the sky darkened. A chill wind swept through the area, and in the dim light, a frail figure emerged. It was a boy, his eyes fixed on the woman with a cold, accusing glare.

"Mom, why did you take his money, using me as a tool for pity? Why didn't you save me? Yesterday, all you had to do was ask him to return my life force. I could have been saved. But you chose money over me," the boy said, stepping closer with each word.

The woman shook her head frantically, struggling to free her crushed leg, but the pain immobilized her.

"No! I couldn't save you. It was Odalys who lied! She said you could be saved, but it was all a trick!" she cried, desperately trying to shift the blame. But the boy stood before her, gazing at her with disappointment.

"She didn't lie. She was saving me. She told you how to save me, but you didn't. You are the one who killed me." The boy lunged at her. The woman was so terrified that she involuntarily urinated.

Fortunately, the little boy stopped at the last moment. He stared at her blankly and said, "In the next life, I don't want to be your son anymore. I'll let you off. Don't let me see you in the next life." His words pierced her heart. She regretted her actions. She reached out to grab him, but he turned and walked away. His figure grew smaller and smaller until it vanished entirely. As he disappeared, the dark clouds parted, and sunlight poured down, blinding her.

"My son, don't go!" The woman tried desperately to keep him, but it was too late. She looked at Odalys, realizing she must have helped her son appear.

"Odalys, I was wrong. I shouldn't have tried to harm you. I should have saved my son. Give me another chance, let me save him again," the woman said, trying to crawl forward. Unfortunately, it was futile.

Odalys stared at the woman, a mixture of hatred and pity swirling within her. Grief was etched on the woman's face, the pain of losing her son ever-present. It was karma, pure and simple. The woman had faced a life-altering trial. If she had chosen to save her son, she would have passed her ordeal unharmed. But she had not. Instead, she had watched her son die, and now his resentment compounded her misfortune, sealing her fate.

As Odalys considered this, a wave of emotion washed over her—perhaps relief, perhaps something else entirely. She didn't look back, turning and striding away.

Percival stood at a distance, a smoothie and a hot dog in hand. Seeing her approach, he moved to meet her. "Hungry? Have some of this," he said. The thought of stopping her from enjoying street food never crossed his mind. He had parked nearby just as she got out of the car and headed for the food stall. While she handled the troublesome group, he had quietly ordered and packed the food for her.

"Alright," Odalys replied in a low voice. She took a bite of the hot dog. Percival thoughtfully put a straw in her smoothie and handed it to her.

"I haven't eaten any of these in a long time. They taste pretty good. Do you want to try some?" Odalys asked with a smile, holding the hot dog to his mouth. She was just being polite, but she didn't expect Percival to take a bite where she had just bitten. Odalys was stunned. She watched him take a bite, then chew gently and say, "It's delicious." Odalys froze, staring at the spot where his lips had touched. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, and her mind couldn't help but conjure the thought of an indirect kiss.

The owner of the roadside stall stood there, looking into the distance. Just then, someone squatted nearby and started livestreaming. The scene was broadcast live. Even some extras were watching.

"That's so bad. That woman is malicious! Odalys gave her a free fortune-telling and taught her how to save her son, yet she repaid Odalys's kindness with treachery and harm!"

"I'm so mad. I'm going to go beat her up!"

"Count me in!"

Many extras ran out angrily. Quickly finding where Gareth had parked his car, a group of people rushed up and began to punch and kick Gareth and the woman. Soon, a police car arrived. By the time the police arrived, Gareth had been severely beaten and was taken away by the police. The woman was injured, and the police called an ambulance. When the police called the ambulance, she panicked, afraid that her son would come back to claim her life. She hurriedly dragged her broken leg and rushed out. Unexpectedly, there was a pit in front of her. She missed her footing and fell, her body impaled by the steel pipes erected inside the pit. By the time the ambulance arrived, she was barely breathing. As she was being carried into the ambulance, she vaguely saw her son.

At that moment, a vision appeared before her, an alternate life. She had no selfish desires, and after saving her son, she won the lottery and lived happily ever after with him. But her greed and mistrust had led her astray. She had doubted Odalys and believed her son could survive without her intervention. That single choice had cost her everything. Her trial, her fate, had always been tied to her son. If her son died, she had to die too, but if her son lived, she would have a happy life and wouldn't have to suffer anymore. It was a pity she didn't know.

"She died. That's karma," someone said indignantly.