Curse

In the chaotic slums of the Spring Returns City, a child stumbles and runs towards a thatched hut.

The black rain falling from above quickly soaked his thin clothes and gave his whole body a strange stench.

The child didn't pay attention to any of that; he just walked faster.

After finally reaching the thatched hut, the child looked at the door, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Uncle, I'm back! Open the door for me!"

He called out several times, but there was no response from inside. But the child seemed quite certain that someone lived inside, and stubbornly refused to leave.

Just as he was about to reach out and ram the door, the dilapidated wooden door, which creaked and swayed in the wind, was finally pulled open.

The child, seemingly oblivious to the frown on the face of the person opening the door, walked right in without a second thought, regardless of whether they were allowed in or not.

As he walked in, he complained, "Uncle, why do you always open the door for me so late? I've been waiting outside for ages. I was thinking if you didn't open the door soon, I'd just break it down and come in myself. I brought you some spirit chicken soup today, it's been simmering for ages, it smells amazing. If you hadn't taken so long, the soup would still be hot."

"What are you doing here again?" The man's voice was hoarse, but he sounded very young, though his features were obscured.

He watched the child's actions coldly, his brow furrowed, clearly showing no appreciation.

The child was used to hearing these words, so he didn't care at all. Instead, he skillfully rummaged through the dark room and found a clean bowl, then poured out the spirit chicken soup.

Spirit chickens are already precious in the Hidden Nether Realm, and the rich aroma of the chicken soup wafted into the noses of everyone present as soon as it was poured out.

The child was somewhat relieved. "Oh dear, luckily I kept the jar close to my chest the whole way, and the chicken soup hasn't gotten cold yet, so it's perfect to drink now."

Upon hearing this, the man frowned even more deeply. Just as he was about to say something, a person suddenly appeared from the depths of the house, hopping out and snatching the chicken soup from the child's hand, much to the child's surprise.

"Oh! This is top-quality chicken soup! What a treat!" The long-haired old man chuckled and gulped down the entire bowl of soup. He wiped his mouth and handed the empty bowl back to the child. "Is there more? Give me another bowl."

The child finally snapped out of his surprise. He pushed away the old man's outstretched hand and pulled out another bowl. "That won't do. This is for my uncle. You've already had a bowl, and he hasn't even tasted it."

"Hey!" the old man exclaimed, "Even if you feed him right to his mouth, he won't eat it. You might as well just give it to me to drink; it won't be a waste."

The child was Qi Ingestion at his words, but he had to admit that the man was right; given his uncle's temperament, he certainly wouldn't drink the "spirit chicken soup."

Or rather, after giving himself to that couple in Xicheng as their son, he no longer wanted to have any contact with him, much less accept anything he brought.

Sure enough, after the old man said that, the man spoke up, "I've already told you, you have nothing to do with me anymore, you shouldn't have come here. The chicken soup is something I owe your family, I'll find a way to pay you back in a few days, you should leave now."

The child felt wronged, clutching the hem of his clothes and refusing to leave. "We're not related at all, you're my uncle."

They had always depended on each other for survival, and he didn't understand why his uncle would suddenly kick him out and forbid him from seeing him.

But the man had no more reason to argue with the child. He deftly poured the half-finished chicken soup into the bowl and shoved the empty jar back into the child's hands. Before the child could say anything more, he was already being chased out of the house.

"Alright, you can leave now. Don't come back again, I won't open the door for you anymore!"

The child stubbornly called out "Uncle" many times from outside the door, and even banged on the door. Realizing that no matter what he did, the other person would no longer pay attention, he left dejectedly, clutching the jar.

The room was dark, with no lights on.

The old man happily sipped another bowl of chicken soup, occasionally smacking his lips. "So you're really planning to abandon your nephew? This is the last little seedling of your clan."

"My affairs are none of your business," the man replied indifferently.

The old man chuckled twice, "Don't be angry. You can't afford to get angry right now. If you accidentally trigger the Curse on you, you might die on the spot."

The man turned his head and looked over. The light streaming in through the broken window fell directly on his face, revealing the scarlet runes that had been hidden by his long black hair.

The runes seemed to grow out of his flesh and blood; if you looked closely, you could even see something moving inside them.

The runes almost covered his entire face, and because the man's expression was so ugly, his face, which used to be praised for its handsomeness, now looked ferocious and terrifying.

"I told you, this is none of your business!" He seemed furious and embarrassed.

The old man wasn't intimidated by his cold expression at all; in fact, he chuckled and continued, "Hey, don't be so short-tempered. Look at the chicken soup your nephew brought today..."

"He's not my nephew; we have no relation anymore."

The old man ignored him and continued, "I'll make an exception and give you a divination to see if the Curse on you can be removed."

The man suddenly turned his head and looked over, his eyes burning with desire.

The old man didn't look at his expression; he simply pulled out a few chess pieces from his tattered clothes. The pieces were engraved with strange patterns, and the man nearly had his eyes burned after just one glance.

The old man casually tossed the chess pieces a few times before leaving them on the table. He straightened his sleeves and shouted, "Let me see just how lucky you really are..."

Upon closer inspection, the old man's expression gradually turned serious.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, and his expression was more serious than ever before, the man himself became worried as well.

"How is it?" the man asked.

After a long while, the old man stared at the chess pieces on the table, grinned, and slowly said, "It seems we are truly destined for each other; our luck is about to change!"

"Curse?"

Inside the inn, listening to the innkeeper's words, Sang Ying couldn't help but become curious about this term.

"Yes, Curse." Seeing her interest, the shopkeeper continued, "You probably don't know, but our Hidden Nether Realm is a small world targeted by Curse! People in the Hidden Nether Realm will suddenly develop red markings on their bodies at some unspecified age. As time goes by, these markings will multiply until they all grow into their eyes, at which point that person will 'bang,' turn into a blood mist, and disappear from this world..."