Water Official Curse

Chapter 6: Water Official Curse

Knowing the cause of Lu Yuzhu's death, Qi Zhiyong's assigned task was considered complete.

But Wu Xian didn't leave.

Driven by his professional detective instincts, he meticulously searched the room. Finally, behind a wall painting, he discovered a secret compartment containing something that exceeded his expectations.

A god statue!

The statue depicted a being with an eagle's head and a human body, seated cross-legged on a divine throne. Countless venomous snakes of varying lengths and thicknesses coiled around it. The snakes were carved with extreme detail, appearing so lifelike they seemed ready to leap out and bite at any moment.

On the table before the statue were two red candles and an incense burner. Beneath the statue was a brass base, its edge inscribed with the statue's name:

Water Official - Xuanming the Great God!

"A god statue!"

Wu Xian's breathing quickened. After burning the red-robed hanging ghost, he had obtained a branch incense. The item description in the Record of the Devoted's miscellaneous section stated:

Suixiang: Originating from Yisu, an evil spirit's possession. It purifies filth and obsessions, formed from condensed yin essence. Burning it can increase yin virtue and allow for the worship of gods.

[Water Official Curse]: 'Uncomfortable Coffin'

"You wait, I'll give you a surprise."

It seemed these god statues could only be worshipped once.

"Find me, hurry up and find me."

This copper coin sword was short and thick. Its blade was adorned with ten layers of copper coins, each layer consisting of five stacked coins: Qin Dynasty Banliang coins, Han Dynasty Wuzhu coins, Kaiyuan Tongbao, Song and Yuan Tongbao, and Yongle Tongbao.

Through his peripheral vision, Wu Xian saw a man's head resting on his shoulder. The man's profile was cracked and ice-blue from the cold, with fine ice shards on his broken skin.

"Damn!"

In his eyes, Wu Xian was already a dead man.

Hearing about ghosts, a flicker of relief crossed Qi Zhiyong's eyes. He quickly comforted Wu Xian, "Don't rush, tell me slowly. What did you discover?"

Copper Coin Sword: Woven from Prosperous Era Five Emperors Coins, it measures one foot and three inches. It heats up when encountering ghosts and can harm evil spirits.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

After speaking, the man vanished, leaving only a puddle of ice water on the ground behind Wu Xian.

But the problem now was, how to find this 'Mr. Wang'?

As he rejoiced, Wu Xian suddenly felt a chill.

This was a Buddha statue.

A coffin is a home for the deceased, but Mr. Wang disliked the home his wife had given him. Please find Mr. Wang and release him from this uncomfortable home. Until you find him, your body temperature will continue to decrease.

The building had four floors. Floors two, three, and four each had eight guest rooms. The first floor housed the front desk and the innkeeper's living space. The doors on the second and third floors, like room 405, had been violently destroyed. The furniture inside, like old photographs left out for too long, was fading and weathering.

Although he had chosen to hide his abilities, Qi Zhiyong's attitude still annoyed him greatly. He decided that after lifting the curse, he would give Qi Zhiyong a piece of his mind.

"I... I'm so cold."

If he were outside, Wu Xian wouldn't have trouble finding someone. If Mr. Wang lived nearby, the information contained in those few sentences would be enough for Wu Xian to locate him.

He had just worshipped the Water Official statue and immediately received the Water Official curse. Clearly, this curse was a result of worshipping the god. He hadn't stumbled upon a windfall; he had bitten into a sugar-coated bullet!

Amidst his anger, Wu Xian also felt a creeping dread.

This was Mr. Wang's hint to Wu Xian!

"Since he's in a hurry, I won't be."

Two new pieces of information appeared on the Ordination Certificate. One was about the copper coin sword, which was within Wu Xian's expectations. The other piece of information was...

He didn't mention worshipping the god, and he concealed some of his discoveries, instead emphasizing the horror of being cursed. Qi Zhiyong nodded along.

Wu Xian, stammering, told Qi Zhiyong the fabricated story he had prepared.

An inexplicable cold spread from the depths of his heart. Goosebumps covered his body. A form colder than ice pressed against him, its bone-chilling cold rendering Wu Xian immobile.

A curse!

Wu Xian took a while to recover. He shivered, his limbs ice-cold, his fingers and toes numb. A layer of frost had formed on his left ear. He quickly rubbed his ear with his left hand while clumsily opening the Record of the Devoted with his right to check for any new information.

Wu Xian cursed angrily.

As Wu Xian blamed himself, Qi Zhiyong's voice came from outside, "Why aren't you out yet? Did you die in there?"

Anger surged in Wu Xian. Just as he was about to curse back, he remembered his persona.

Wu Xian briefly glanced at the effects of the three magic treasures before reaching into the water vapor and pulling out a wet copper coin sword.

Qi Zhiyong offered a perfunctory comfort to Wu Xian before sending him off to find supplies. He had gotten what he wanted and didn't want to waste any more time on Wu Xian.

Pure Dusting Brush: Peach wood handle, spirit horse tail. Cleanses the body and purifies the ground, sweeping away darkness.

"Heh heh heh, looks like he's more anxious than I am."

While playing the victim, his body temperature had gradually returned to a level slightly lower than normal. At this rate of decrease, he wouldn't lose mobility due to hypothermia for at least several hours.

The blessed land was too unfamiliar, and the time left for Wu Xian was too short, so a brainstorm began in his head.

Wu Xian no longer rushed downstairs, but instead wandered around floor by floor like an old man out for a stroll, with his hands behind his back.

So he messed up his hair, took a deep breath until stars appeared before his eyes, and stumbled out, grabbing Qi Zhiyong's arm with a look of horror.

"I'll be waiting for you."

As Wu Xian turned a corner, he suddenly realized that his left cheek had been cold just now, but after turning the corner, it became his right cheek that was cold. He turned back a few more times and finally determined that the cold came from a specific direction.

"There, there's a ghost in there, and a woman..."

Wu Xian chuckled and tucked the copper coin sword into the back of his waist.

Then, he walked past the stairwell corner and found a solution.

Searching the scene was just a habit of his, but he didn't expect to actually gain something. With this copper coin sword and the true fire incantation, he now had basic self-protection in the blessed land.

Demon-Identifying Mirror: A polished ancient bronze mirror. After rubbing the Daoist markings with a finger, it can reveal the true form of ghosts and monsters and break their tricks. Each use consumes spirituality, and once depleted, it becomes a common object.

"This coffin is full of ice, it's narrow and small, I can't lie straight and can't sleep well. Hurry up and let me out, I'll be waiting for you right here."

After bidding farewell to Qi Zhiyong, Wu Xian grumbled.

Every time he used the copper coin sword to injure an evil spirit, a layer of the blade would wear off. When all ten layers of the blade disappeared, the copper coin sword would become unusable.

But other than that, the second and third floors were very clean.

After he made his choice, the god statue turned into a pool of clear water, which then quickly evaporated into mist and dissipated.

The suixiang incense burned, releasing not smoke, but a faint blue mist. This mist floated on the desk, forming three shapes of artifacts.

Surname Wang, in the refrigerator, married and dead...

The evil spirits in the blessed land were by no means something that some talismans and magic treasures could contend with. If that thing stuck to him earlier had wanted to kill him, Wu Xian wouldn't have even had a chance to draw his copper coin sword!

The thought of having self-protection just now was utterly foolish!

There were no severed limbs or blood on the floor, only thick mortar, and a humanoid cement sculpture that was completely out of place in the inn's environment, along with... a pervasive smell of rotting corpses!

Qi Zhiyong was still waiting outside, so Wu Xian didn't waste any time and directly inserted the suixiang incense.

Wu Xian endured the strange smell and walked around, and he actually found something useful.

The lotus throne was piled high with treasures and artifacts. A Buddha head was placed on top of the pile of treasures, its face showing a strange smile as if it were greedy for wealth.

The name of the god was written on the throne.

Outer God - Many Treasures Tathagata statue!