The wind had died down, and the rain had eased. The ship no longer rocked violently, and the sound of waves striking the hull had settled into a steady rhythm.
Chen Wuya stood on deck, supporting Bai Zhi as she slowly stepped out of the cabin. Her face was still pale, her breathing shallow but steady. Mo Feng followed behind them, holding the mechanism case while keeping his eyes fixed on the compass.
"Are we there?" Bai Zhi asked softly.
"Close enough," Chen Wuya said. "Two more days from the South Sea's main route. The foreign fleet won't pursue us any farther."
Mo Feng looked up at the sky. "The storm cleared quickly. There's a break in the clouds—we can see the stars. The route is fine."
Chen Wuya nodded and turned to close the cabin door. The moment his back brushed the edge of the bed, a sudden pain stabbed through him.
It was as though a red-hot needle had pierced his flesh, right beneath his shoulder blade.
Frowning, he reached back to touch it. His fingertips came away with a slick sensation. Not blood—something was slowly writhing beneath his skin.
[Warning: High-grade bloodline curse attachment detected.]
The system's voice exploded directly in his mind.
A translucent interface appeared before his eyes, and a line of red text sprang out:
[Curse Name: Sacrificial Infant Curse] [Source: Foreign Secret Art · Blood Sacrifice Branch] [Activation Time: The instant the fetus leaves the womb] [Consequences: The mother's vital essence will be drained, the infant's soul seized, turning it into a living sacrifice vessel]
The image flickered, revealing a black rune twisted like a snake as it seeped bit by bit into a diagram of his meridians.
Chen Wuya lowered his head and lifted the back of his robes. Under