Another Effigy Curse

(The contract had just arrived at Qidian...) With its futuristic design and nearly silent flight, the mid-sized helicopter known as the Honghu was hundreds, even thousands of times more expensive than any BMW or Mercedes sports car from the gasoline age...

Tang Changsheng had seen one on a computer, but this was his first time seeing one in real life.

"Interesting. This friend of Zhang Dacheng's is no ordinary person..." Tang Changsheng murmured.

He watched the aircraft settle outside the General's Temple. Its broad, sleek body made barely a sound as it landed, and he fell into thought.

Then two men carried out an unconscious young woman.

She was quite young. A faint bluish tinge colored the small face that should have been snow-white, and unconscious as she was, she looked heartbreakingly vulnerable.

Ruan Wenhua carefully escorted her down and said quietly to Tang Changsheng, "Mage, it's all up to you. This young lady is very important..."

Tang Changsheng nodded without saying more and told them to carry her inside.

He could tell she was no ordinary young woman. She was not someone Zhang Dacheng could have picked up at random to test him!

But after examining her closely, his brow furrowed. This would be troublesome.

Tang Changsheng had known all along that Zhang Dacheng intended to test him, so he had expected the problem to be difficult.

Still, he had not thought it would be beyond him!

Since the great calamity that had changed the mortal world, masters of the Dao had all but vanished without a trace...

Even finding anything formidable in this world, such as a Vicious Ghost or a monster...

That was little more than wishful thinking!

Tang Changsheng himself was the heir to the General's Temple, yet in all these years he had never seen such a thing!

He had not believed Zhang Dacheng could find one to make trouble for him.

But the moment he saw the unconscious young woman, Tang Changsheng knew something was wrong.

She was definitely under an evil influence! And her condition was serious!

No, this was not an ordinary evil influence. It was more like an Effigy Curse!

After Tang Changsheng killed the black-robed Daoist last time, he had obtained the Yin Soldier Command, along with a token inscribed with "Jianguang" whose purpose he did not know.

He had also found a booklet recording the Effigy Curse!

In fact, Tang Changsheng had flipped through the booklet and tossed it aside.

In that other world, the treacherous and vicious Effigy Curse might have been an unfathomable art, but it was no secret at the General's Temple. The temple had its own methods for casting it, far more sophisticated than anything in that booklet!

That was why Tang Changsheng had immediately recognized that something was wrong with the young woman!

Are there still fellow practitioners cultivating the Effigy Curse these days? Tang Changsheng wondered.

By the old rules of the martial world, a fellow practitioner who encountered something like this would not intervene lightly.

It was an unspoken understanding among practitioners, meant to reduce the chance of conflict.

But there was another rule. The General's Temple held sway over Lower River, and ordinary people were free to come and go.

A fellow practitioner who came to Lower River, however, was expected to visit the General's Temple on Yin-Yang Mountain...

In the old days, this was called paying respects to the local power!

Yet someone had cast a spell on this young woman without visiting the General's Temple...

That made it serious. At best, it meant the practitioner had no regard for the General's Temple. At worst, it was a deliberate challenge—an open declaration of enmity!

Either way, the General's Temple had to save the young woman. Otherwise, it would look as though it feared the other party...

And if Tang Changsheng could not save her, the temple's reputation would be ruined!

In the old days,

it would have been like someone barging into a martial arts school and defeating its master. Of course, since the great calamity had left so few practitioners, these rules of the martial world had long since been consigned to dusty old records.

But Tang Changsheng, as head of the General's Temple, had been raised on those rules. He was old-fashioned enough to take them very seriously!

So his first thought was that another practitioner might be involved.

But he quickly shook his head. How many fellow practitioners could there still be these days?

And those who managed to master the Effigy Curse generally did not belong to the martial world...

Besides, the young woman's condition resembled an Effigy Curse, but it was not quite the same!

"Well? What is it? Miss Wen will be all right, won't she?" Ruan Wenhua asked nervously when Tang Changsheng remained silent for so long.

Tang Changsheng said nothing. Instead, he pulled open the young woman's collar, revealing a glimpse of alluring, snow-white skin.

The two men who had carried her inside tensed at once and instinctively reached for their waists.

But Tang Changsheng paid them no mind. He pulled a Necklace from around the young woman's neck.

The Necklace appeared to be carved from some unknown wood. It did not look particularly costly, but it was exquisitely made, with a rather abstract design resembling a bat...

Odd little accessories like that were common in shops, perfect for showing off one's individuality.

But the object Tang Changsheng had just removed was clearly not so simple.

As soon as the Necklace came off, the young woman's long lashes fluttered. Even her eyes seemed to start moving beneath their lids.

A faint smile appeared on Tang Changsheng's face. His judgment had been exactly right.

The two bodyguard-like men relaxed, their faces brightening as they hurriedly lowered their hands from their waists.

Every sign suggested that the young woman's condition had improved dramatically.

Before, she had been unconscious. Now that her eyes were moving, she seemed to be asleep.

People's eyes moved when they dreamed!

The two bodyguards looked at Tang Changsheng with admiration. Even Ruan Wenhua was overjoyed.

Since the young woman had fallen unconscious, countless specialists had examined her, and none had known what to do. Yet Tang Changsheng had made it look so easy.

But the improvement did not last!

Before long, terror spread across the young woman's face. She seemed to be dreaming of something dreadful. Her eyes darted rapidly beneath their lids, and her expression grew more and more frightened.

"So it really is an Effigy Curse..." Tang Changsheng murmured.

Unlike ordinary spells, the Effigy Curse would have looked to an outsider much like a malediction!

What made people turn pale at the mere mention of it was not its power alone, but the fact that it could affect high officials and nobles, even members of the imperial family.

A person's fortune shaped their life—its length, its hardships, and its successes. Those in high positions usually far surpassed ordinary people in both innate destiny and the fortune they acquired later.

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