This Wasn't Hex Magic

Meng Huai set the paper cup alight, and pink flames sprang up at once, giving off a peculiar fragrance. With a special technique, however, he kept the scent concentrated instead of letting it disperse!

The fragrance slowly swirled back in. Eventually, all the liquor in the cup vanished as well, leaving only a strange, crystal-clear powder.

Meng Huai carefully put the powder away, then let out a long breath. Though the Lust Gu wasn't the most powerful kind of gu, it had always been difficult to remove. The key was keeping his own state of mind under control.

Yun Zimo asked curiously, "What's that powder? You seem to think it's pretty important!"

Meng Huai said casually, "It's refined from the Lust Gu, so naturally, it's the finest aphrodisiac around. It would fetch a fortune on the market!"

Yun Zimo's eyebrows shot up. Pointing at him, she said, "And here I thought you were a decent person! I never imagined you were that kind of scum, making something like this to hurt people!"

Meng Huai spread his hands indifferently. "Could you please get your mind out of the gutter? Who told you aphrodisiacs were necessarily bad? Can't married couples use them to spice things up?"

"It's like a knife. A knife can kill people, but can you blame the knife? Besides, I have to eat too. If I don't sell this stuff, am I supposed to live on air?"

For reasons even she couldn't explain, Yun Zimo snapped angrily, "Don't give me those excuses! It's something that hurts people, no matter what you say. I'll support you myself if I have to!"

That declaration was utterly commanding. The entire room fell silent, and the models stared, dumbfounded. They had never imagined those words would come out of their boss's mouth. They had always thought she was cold and aloof!

Yun Zimo's pretty face flushed slightly too, but she still gritted her teeth and said, "What are you all staring at? He's my fiancé. What's wrong with me supporting him? And just what happened yesterday to cause such a huge mess?"

She changed the subject with practiced ease. A model immediately recounted what had happened the previous night. Everyone had waited and waited, but when she never arrived, they had gone onto the runway themselves.

Yet after just one round, those few models had suddenly acted as if they were possessed, tearing at their clothes and screaming as they rushed toward the male guests.

If the other models hadn't reacted quickly, and the security guards hadn't come up to help, there was no telling what might have happened. Those men had taken advantage of them and then played the victims, all condemning the women.

Yun Zimo waved a hand. "I'll have the PR department handle this and minimize the fallout as much as possible. From the looks of it, someone set us up."

Every one of the girls looked at Meng Huai, feeling their boss was stating the obvious. They had all seen what had just happened. Of course someone had set them up.

But they couldn't explain it publicly that way. Surely they couldn't tell people they had been possessed? That would only make things worse. They might as well admit they had gone crazy.

Meng Huai shook his head slightly. "I'm afraid this isn't that simple. I don't think the other party was targeting these models. Their main target was you."

"You were just lucky. You were with me last night, so you escaped this disaster. But I don't think they'll let it go. They'll definitely try again."

Meng Huai hadn't meant anything by his words, but the models certainly read something into them. So this man had been with their boss last night! Remembering how those models had behaved earlier, they felt what had happened between the two of them went without saying.

Yun Zimo's face turned scarlet again, so flushed it almost seemed moisture might drip from it. She couldn't tell whether it was the gu's influence or simply because too much had happened.

When she heard him mention what had happened between them, she felt no aversion at all. Instead, a trace of sweetness welled up in her heart. She even thought that perhaps she could just let the mistake stand. Carrying on like this might be rather nice.

Though Meng Huai was quite capable, his emotional intelligence left much to be desired. He didn't notice the change in her and merely kept grinning foolishly.

One model plucked up her courage and said, "My name is Fan Yuli. I like watching horror movies from Silla. Those worms you took out just now, Brother Meng—were they part of hex magic?"

Meng Huai waved a hand casually. "This wasn't hex magic. It was gu magic from our own Miaojiang here in Huaxia. Compared to gu magic, hex magic isn't even fit to carry its shoes.

"What you call Silla's hex magic is merely an offshoot of Huaxia's gu magic. Years ago, there was an upheaval within Miaojiang's Black Witch Cult, and some of its traitors fled to Silla.

"Those traitors weren't particularly skilled, so the higher-ups didn't pay them much attention. Later, in Silla, they combined what they knew with the local witchcraft and created what people call hex magic."

"Hex magic may look eerie, but at its core, it still uses the Black Witch Cult's methods. Those people learned only a tiny fraction of them, so its overall power is limited."

"To give you the simplest example, if someone wanted to harm you with hex magic, they'd need a medium. They'd have to get hold of something belonging to you, or make you eat something they'd prepared, or have you carry it on you.

"Gu Arts is completely different. By using your Life-Bound Gu, you can control other gu to attack from a distance, or send them in to infiltrate a specific target."

"Of course, that takes quite a bit of effort. The simplest method is still the same as hex magic: using a medium to plant the gu in you. That saves both time and energy and makes things much easier!"

The girls listened with rapt interest. They had never imagined there were so many intricacies involved. But they also grew even more frightened. After all, someone could infest them with gu at any moment. It was truly terrifying.

Meng Huai smiled cheerfully. "You don't need to worry so much. Under normal circumstances, very few people use gu poison to hurt others. After all, doing so violates the natural order, and they'd have to shoulder enormous karmic consequences."

"Besides, Miaojiang has Gu Masters whose job is to oversee those who practice Gu Arts. If any of them dare commit crimes or evil deeds, they'll be killed without mercy. I'm a Gu Master myself!"

At that, the girls gazed at him with admiration. They thought he was incredibly impressive, downright amazing—the very hero they had dreamed of.

Seeing the looks in these girls' eyes, Yun Zimo felt deeply displeased. She coughed loudly and said, "We may have had an incident, but that's no reason for everyone to neglect their training. Those of you who were affected can go home and rest. The rest of you, keep practicing!"

Then she looked at Meng Huai. "If you have time to stand here charming girls, you might as well think about how to help me resolve this. What are we supposed to do if they try something again?"

Meng Huai tapped his fingers on the tabletop. "For all of you to have been infected at the same time, you must have ingested it. Think back. Did you and those girls eat or drink anything in common yesterday?"

Yun Zimo frowned and racked her brains. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She really had thought of something.