Chapter 37: The Curse

Yan Dan was horrified, not because of Nong Cui's words about the curse, but because she was far too extreme—preferring Liu Weiyang to be mistakenly believed by her own people as the murderer of her mother rather than let him leave.

With a soft click, the jade flute in Liu Weiyang's hand spun open, revealing a thin, sharp blade inside, pressed against Nong Cui's brow: "I hate being coerced more than anything."

He raised his hand, and several flashes of sword light instantly cleaved the low table beside him into dozens of pieces. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he vanished.

Yan Dan squatted down, picked up a piece of wood, and examined it closely. Every edge was exceptionally neat, and she murmured, "Very powerful..."

She touched her chest, thankful that she had only gained the upper hand verbally and hadn't truly angered Liu Weiyang. Otherwise, even with her boundless magic, she wouldn't have been able to piece herself back together after being cut into so many pieces.

Nong Cui suddenly covered her face with her hands and began to sob softly.

Seeing Nong Cui's tear-streaked face, Yan Dan felt a pang of pity, but truly no sympathy. Love between a man and a woman should be mutual, but to take it this far was simply too much. Even if she were Liu Weiyang, she wouldn't be able to stand it.

She couldn't help but think that when she first met Nong Cui, she found her both delicate and beautiful, but she never expected her to be like this. Her family was a prominent clan within the Luo Yue tribe; hadn't her parents properly raised her? How did she develop this personality?

As they walked out of the mortuary, they were greeted by warm, bright sunlight. Suddenly, Yu Mo whispered, "Sometimes, feelings really can drive people crazy."

Yan Dan thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "Feelings themselves don't drive people crazy; it's the weakness in human nature that drives the person trapped in the mire."

Yu Mo lowered his eyes and chuckled almost imperceptibly, "That's true."

Yan Dan was displeased and pouted slightly, "You could at least say something nice to me, right? Just a casual 'that's true' doesn't have any sincerity."

Yu Mo stopped and unconsciously reached out to turn her shoulder, but when he saw Yan Dan's smug face, which seemed to say, "Praise me now, praise me hard!" he fell silent. After a long silence, he finally said softly, "...I really can't say it, let's just forget about it."

Seeing him turn to leave, Yan Dan quickly grabbed his arm and stammered, "Yu Mo, you got hurt because of me...I know, it's all my fault...but, uh, thank you..."

Yu Mo turned his head away and smiled slowly, "You're welcome. It's not the first time anyway, I'm used to it."

Yan Dan was immediately embarrassed.

---

However, Nong Cui's curse continued, like a plague, slowly and silently spreading throughout the Luo Yue clan.

The second person lying in the coffin in the mortuary was the father of Yi Lan, the young man who had tried to tear up Nan Zhao's portrait that day.

Yi Lan's father was a renowned warrior of the Luo Yue clan in his youth, and later became the clan leader. He too had been stabbed to death in the chest; the wound, still running from his chest to his ribs, was uneven, as if cut by an unsharpened sword.

If Nong Cui's mother could be ambushed by an acquaintance with mediocre skills, how could Yi Lan's father possibly be defeated head-on by an incompetent opponent?

Before dying, Yi Lan's father mustered his last strength to crawl out of the room, screaming hoarsely, "It's a curse! They...they've returned!"

Blood gushed from his chest, his face contorted in a grotesque grimace.

By the time Yan Dan and the others arrived, Yi Lan's father was already dead, lying in a pool of blood, his face contorted in agony, eyes wide open.

Yi Lan, seeing them, lunged at them like a madman, his eyes bloodshot, screaming, "It's all you outsiders! You brought the curse! I'll kill you all, kill you all!"

Yan Dan knew he was utterly devastated and would likely take his anger out on them, so she dodged him without uttering a word.

But Liu Weiyang stepped forward, shoving him aside with his sleeve, and coldly said, "Think about it carefully, where in this world is there such a thing as a curse?"

Yi Lan fell to the ground, unable to get up for a long time, his eyes still fixed on him. Suddenly, Nong Cui said, "Everyone, calm down and think about it, who in our clan has the ability to kill the clan leader?"

Yan Dan's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but turn to look at her. She saw Nong Cui standing gracefully amidst the torches and lanterns, her face indifferent, yet exuding an indescribable ruthlessness.

Yi Lan's father was a renowned warrior in the Luo Yue clan, naturally with few rivals. The reason she said this was simply to shift the blame onto Liu Weiyang.

After a long while, the Luo Yue people, who had been looking at each other in bewilderment, finally turned their gaze to Liu Weiyang.

With a loud shout, a lithe figure pounced forward first.

In the blink of an eye, several flashes of cold light appeared. Liu Weiyang held a slender blade in his hand, his pale sleeves fluttering in the breeze. The clothes of the Luo Yue person who had lunged at him were almost completely torn, falling off piece by piece, yet the person's flesh remained unharmed.

Liu Weiyang said calmly, "If I want to kill, I won't leave that person with a breath left."

He slowly closed his jade flute, concealing it within his sleeve. His tone remained calm, yet carried an air of arrogance: "Now, if anyone else wants to come up, I don't care how many more I kill."

Only now did Yan Dan realize that Liu Weiyang was the true master of the Divine Firmament Palace, completely disregarding how others viewed him, acting solely according to his own will. For no reason, she felt a pang of envy.

After Liu Weiyang uttered these words, the Luo Yue people indeed dared not take another step forward, instead stepping back a distance. This silent standoff was strangely awkward and somewhat ridiculous.

At this moment, a young girl in a light purple blouse rushed over, panting, and cried out, "Father, Father, something terrible has happened! Nan Zhao has been beaten and thrown outside—wait, wait!"

Her eyes darted around, and seeing the scene before her, she knew something was wrong and shut her mouth.

"Shui Xing, what did you say happened to Nan Zhao?" Nong Cui's father asked in a deep voice.

Shui Xing patted her chest, caught her breath, and said softly, "I don't know what happened either. Nan Zhao had a large bruise on his neck from being strangled. When I found him, he was unconscious in the grass outside and hasn't woken up yet."

"It's very likely that Nan Zhao saw the murderer who killed the clan leader, which is why he was silenced. Young Master Liu, please forgive our rudeness, but you cannot leave until this matter is resolved." He cupped his hands in greeting and strode out. "Shui Xing, lead the way for your father. We'll wait for Nan Zhao to wake up."

"Should we leave or stay now?" Tang Zhou was silent for a moment before speaking calmly.

Liu Weiyang, holding the jade flute, seemed lost in thought: "Stay. This is definitely not a curse; there must be other secrets involved."

---

Yan Dan, bored, squatted by the stream watching Shui Xing and Nan Zhao practice martial arts.

From her vantage point, she could clearly see the large bruise on Nan Zhao's neck, indicating that the attacker had struck with considerable force. While Nan Zhao was unconscious, many prominent families in the Luo Yue clan sent people to wait for him to wake up, as he was likely the only one to have seen the assailant's appearance.

Unfortunately, after waking up, Nan Zhao had no recollection of how he had fainted in the haystack or how he acquired the large bruise on his neck; there was not a single clue. Everyone's attempts to extract crucial information from Nan Zhao were ultimately unsuccessful.

After watching for most of the day, she realized that Nan Zhao, despite being a year or two older than Shui Xing and destined to grow into a respectable man, was still inferior to Shui Xing in martial arts. And Shui Xing, frankly, wasn't very skilled; it seemed her recent association with experts had made her more discerning...

Just as she was thinking this, Shui Xing's face suddenly loomed large before her, and a loud cry of "Sister Yan!"

Yan Dan quickly covered her face, creating some distance, and asked weakly, "What are you doing?"

She was only there to watch these two young people practice martial arts thanks to Palace Master Liu. His casual remark had banished her here, forcing her to watch these two so youthful and beautiful. Even though she didn't want to admit she was getting old, she had to concede.

Although Liu Weiyang had said that if it was indeed a villain targeting Nan Zhao, they might try again if this attempt failed, and she could keep an eye on things from the sidelines. However, she had been watching all day and hadn't even seen many ants, let alone anyone suspected of being a thug. Instead, she had become mentally and physically exhausted, feeling like she had aged inexplicably...

Shui Xing skipped a few steps along the stream and waved to her, "Sister Yan, shall we go bathe in the river over there? I've been practicing swordsmanship and fist techniques all day and I'm sweating so much!"

"It's not even dark yet. Aren't you afraid someone will see you bathing now?"

Shui Xing shook her head, "Of course not. In our Luo Yue tribe, men only bathe in the men's river, and women only bathe in the women's river. No one usually walks by there."

Yan Dan only learned today that the Luo Yue people actually had this custom. However, she had spent some time in the Luo Yue village and felt that the customs and habits of the Luo Yue people were not much different from ordinary people. Even the swordsmanship and fist techniques that Shui Xing and the others practiced were similar to those that Tang Zhou knew.

It's just that if Shui Xing took her to the women's river, she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Nan Zhao. She thought for a moment, then pulled Nan Zhao over: "Come on, you come too."

Nan Zhao's face flushed red: "I... I can't go!"

Shui Xing chuckled: "When he first came here, he didn't know this rule. One time, he went to the Women's River, and my sister Nong Cui had even taken off one of her clothes. She beat him up like a pig's head."

When Yan Dan heard her mention Nong Cui, she tentatively said: "Your sister Nong Cui's personality is very different from yours."

Shui Xing thought for a moment, then pretended to be mature and said: "Of course they're different. My sister is older than me and has seen more of the world. She even saw Prince Xuan Xiang when she was little. It's a pity I wasn't born then, otherwise I could have seen him in person. Just looking at the portrait, I think he's a very handsome man."

Yan Dan didn't say anything. The impression Nong Cui gave her before and after was too different. This couldn't just be because she was older and more worldly-wise, but that shouldn't be related to the two previous bloody incidents...

"Ah, don't be fooled by Liu Weiyang's outward appearance. Let me tell you, there's absolutely no one worse than him in this world. It's one thing to enjoy living under someone else's name, but he even deliberately pretends to be that kind of despicable person. He used explosives to bomb me, burned me, and even pushed me off a cliff. The bad things he's done are too numerous to count."

"That sounds like a lot. What about Young Master Tang Zhou? I heard from Nan Zhao that Brother Yi Lan was very rude to him, but he never got angry."

You're all too naive. The only reason Tang Zhou doesn't bother with the other party is that he looks down on them and can put on an air of superiority. In reality, he's someone who would fuss over the smallest things.

Yan Dan was practically bursting with righteous indignation: "He's absolutely the second most wicked person in the world! He locked me in a magical artifact for a full twenty days, not only without seeing the light of day, but also without a drop of water or rice for those twenty days. When I finally got out, he locked me up with this restriction and that restriction. What's even more infuriating is that he told others that I was so strong I could kill a tiger. What woman would be happy to hear that?"

Shui Xing was speechless for a moment, and could only ask: "What about Young Master Yu Mo? He's very patient when he listens to others, and his smile is very gentle."

"You were still fooled. Yu Mo was a little better than the previous two, but not by much. The clan chief sent us to Yu Mo to be his concubines, and he chose me from among so many clansmen. I think it was probably because my looks and personality suited his taste. His next words were to tell me to go to the study and tidy up the desk, and he even called someone to teach me how to organize his room. Now, my clansmen scold their daughters, saying, 'Never be like Yan Dan. Look at her, even though she took her as a concubine, she never touched her. Later, she didn't even get the title of concubine anymore. If you're like her, no one will want you in the future.'"

Shui Xing murmured, "It sounds like you've had a miserable life..."

Miserable...

Yan Dan thought. Thinking it over, she honestly replied, "That's not quite it."

She stopped when she saw a small river in the distance. "Shui Xing, you go by yourself. Nan Zhao and I are here; I'm afraid someone might try to harm Nan Zhao."

Shui Xing had originally intended to pull her along, but hearing her last sentence, she nodded. "Then you must wait for me here, okay? Don't wander off."

Nan Zhao smiled shyly. "Go on, we'll wait for you here."

Yan Dan watched Shui Xing walk away, then turned to look at the bruise on Nan Zhao's neck and asked softly, "Don't you remember who hurt you at all?"

Nan Zhao shook his head apologetically. "I really can't remember. I just felt like I couldn't breathe, and then I didn't know anything else."

"If you see that person again, will you be able to recognize them?"

He frowned, pondering for a long time, and whispered, "Maybe... I won't be able to."

Seeing his dejection, Yan Dan gently patted his shoulder. They were about the same size, so it was easy to pat him. "It's better if you can't remember at all. That way, that person won't have any scruples and will probably attack again."

Nan Zhao lowered his head, blood rushing to his thin cheeks. "Actually, when I was young, I had a lot of talent for martial arts. Later, I got sick, and my body got weaker and weaker. I don't know why, but I can't learn sword moves that I used to be able to learn after seeing them once, even after practicing them dozens or hundreds of times... I know I'm useless, not even as good as Shui Xing..."

Yan Dan suddenly asked, "How old are you this year?"

Nan Zhao was surprised for a moment, and said shyly, "I'll be sixteen in a little over ten days."

Yan Dan smiled and hugged his shoulder, her voice gentle, "At my age, I'm more than old enough to be your great-grandmother. If you have anything bothering you, just tell me, maybe you'll feel much better after you talk about it."

Nan Zhao blushed immediately and stammered, "Miss Yan, everyone likes to say they're a few years younger, you look less than half the age of my mother, why do you want to be my great-grandmother?"

Yan Dan was very annoyed. It was rare for her to be so understanding, yet the other person still complained that she didn't have white skin and wrinkles.