Chapter 6: The Curse Is Not Broken
"If you keep up the fight, this child will be beyond saving." Li Ge's icy voice poured down like a bucket of cold water on Chu Yun's rage. Chu Yun paused, looking at Xiaoya, who lay in bed. The golden shield protecting Xiaoya had vanished during the fierce battle. Xiaoya's eyes remained closed, but her face was even paler than before, her brows furrowed in a frown. Her small body trembled slightly beneath the covers, as if in immense pain. "What do you mean?" Chu Yun's voice remained icy, but the talisman in his hand remained silent. Li Ge didn't answer him, but walked straight to the bedside. Chu Yun's eyes instantly grew extremely alert, and he stepped forward, placing himself between Li Ge and Xiaoya. "Get out of the way," Li Ge stared at him, his tone unwavering. "What do you want to do to her?" Chu Yun asked coldly. "Save her," Li Ge's response was simple and direct. "Use your ghostly medical skills?" Chu Yun's lips curled in a hint of sarcasm. "Why should I trust you?" "You don't need to trust me." Li Ge glanced over Chu Yun's shoulder at Xiaoya on the bed. "Just trust your own eyes. If you delay any longer, her soul will be completely shattered by the mark left by that thing." "Mark?" Chu Yun was stunned. "What do you think I just absorbed?" Li Ge's eyes once again revealed the pity he held for a fool. "That thing wasn't the true form of the evil spirit. It was merely a 'shadow' condensed from resentment and curse, a tool used to plant the 'curse mark.'" Chu Yun's heart surged. He had never seen such a bizarre statement in any of the texts of the Evil Suppression Bureau. "If you get out of the way, she can still be saved. If you don't, in at most a quarter of an hour, she'll be reduced to a hollow, breathing shell." Li Ge's voice was like stating a fact that had already occurred. Chu Yun met her cold eyes, then glanced back at Xiaoya, who was groaning in pain on the bed. He hesitated. What he hated most in his life were demons and the sorcerers who associated with them, but his father had also taught him that the duty of the Evil Suppression Department was to protect the common people. If what Li Ge said was true... In the few seconds he hesitated, Xiaoya on the bed suddenly twitched violently, and a trace of white foam escaped from the corner of her mouth. Chu Yun's pupils suddenly constricted. He made a decision and slowly, reluctantly, stepped aside. Li Ge didn't look at him again. She walked to the bed and sat down. With her pale, slender fingers, she gently brushed Xiaoya's hair away from her forehead. Her...
"If you keep making trouble, this child will be hopeless."
Li Ge's icy voice poured cold water on Chu Yun's rage. Chu Yun paused, looking at Xiaoya, who lay in bed. The golden shield that had protected Xiaoya during the fierce battle had vanished. Xiaoya's eyes remained closed, but her face was paler than before, her brows furrowed in a frown. Her small body trembled slightly beneath the covers, as if she were in immense pain.
"What do you mean?" Chu Yun's voice was still cold, but the talisman in his hand did not light up again.
Li Ge didn't answer him, but walked straight to the bed. Chu Yun's eyes became extremely alert in an instant, and he took a step forward, blocking Li Ge and Xiao Ya.
"Get out of the way." Li Ge looked at him with an unquestionable tone.
"What do you want to do to her?" Chu Yun asked coldly.
"Save her." Li Ge's answer was simple and direct.
"Use your ghost medical skills?" Chu Yun's mouth curled up with a hint of sarcasm, "Why should I believe you?"
"You don't need to believe me." Li Ge looked over Chu Yun's shoulder and looked at Xiaoya on the bed, "You just need to believe your own eyes. If you delay any longer, her soul will be completely shattered by the mark left by that thing."
"Mark?" Chu Yun was stunned.
"What do you think I just absorbed?" Li Ge's eyes once again revealed the pity he showed towards a fool. "That thing wasn't the demon's true form at all. It was just a 'shadow' condensed from resentment and curse, a tool used to plant the 'curse mark'."
Chu Yun's heart was filled with a huge wave. He had never seen such a strange statement in any of the books of the Evil Suppression Bureau.
"If you move aside, she can still be saved. If you don't, in a quarter of an hour at most, she will become an empty shell that can only breathe." Li Ge's voice sounded like he was stating a fact that had already happened.
Chu Yun looked into her cold eyes, then glanced back at Xiaoya, who was moaning in pain on the bed. He hesitated. What he hated most in his life were demons and the sorcerers who associated with them. But his father had also taught him that the duty of the Evil Suppression Department was to protect the people. If what Li Ge said was true...
Just when he hesitated for a few seconds, Xiaoya on the bed suddenly twitched violently, and a trace of white foam overflowed from the corner of her mouth.
Chu Yun's pupils suddenly contracted. He made a decision and slowly and reluctantly took a step aside.
Li Ge didn't look at him again. She walked to the bed and sat down. She stretched out her pale and slender fingers and gently brushed away the messy hair on Xiaoya's forehead. Her movements were very light and gentle, in stark contrast to her cold temperament.
"Concentrate and stay focused." Li Ge said in a low voice. His voice was no longer cold, but instead carried a strange rhythm that could soothe people's hearts.
She held her index and middle fingers together, and a faint, grayish-white aura lingered on their tips. It was chilly, yet not sinister. With that finger, shrouded in grayish-white aura, she gently tapped Xiaoya's brow. Xiaoya's violent trembling body instantly calmed, and her furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
Chu Yun stood by, watching all this unfold, his heart pounding with shock. He could clearly sense that what Li Ge had transferred into Xiaoya wasn't some healing yang energy or spiritual power, but rather a pure, cold, yin energy from the realm of death. This aura would be highly toxic to the living, but at this moment, it had an immediate, calming effect. This completely overturned Chu Yun's thirteen years of understanding.
Li Ge's fingers didn't leave Xiao Ya's brow. She closed her eyes, as if sensing something. After about ten seconds, she slowly opened her eyes and withdrew her hand. Her face was even paler than before.
"How is it?" Chu Yun couldn't help but ask.
"The soul has been stabilized for the time being." Li Ge's voice returned to its coldness, "but the root cause has not been resolved."
As she spoke, she reached out and rolled up Xiaoya's sleeve. Chu Yun's gaze was immediately drawn to her. On Xiaoya's fair, slender arm, blood-red lines, as fine as hair, had appeared. They slowly moved beneath her skin, forming a strange and sinister symbol. They seemed alive, emitting a chilling curse.
"What is this?" Chu Yun frowned tightly.
"This is what I call the 'curse'." Li Ge put down Xiaoya's sleeve, his voice solemn. "It's a living curse that uses nursery rhymes as a medium and is planted deep in the human soul. Those we killed before were just puppets responsible for 'sowing seeds'. As long as this curse is not removed, it will continue to absorb the host's essence and soul power until the host dies. After the host dies, the curse will mature and transform into a new 'shadow' to find the next target."
Chu Yun's heart sank slowly. He finally understood why so many people in this town had fallen into a coma—they were all "failures" who had been cursed but didn't meet the final requirements. And Xiaoya was the perfect "vessel" chosen by the evil spirit.
"How do we break this curse?" Chu Yun asked gravely. This was the first time he'd spoken to Li Ge in a tone of inquiry. He knew he couldn't handle it. He excelled at the powerful, masculine, and masculine techniques of the Evil Suppression Division, but he was helpless against this curse, one that had burrowed deep into his soul like a maggot in his bones. The strength he'd prided himself on seemed so feeble in this moment.
"Unlock it?" Li Ge glanced at him with a hint of mockery in his eyes. "Do you think this is just an ordinary talisman that can be unlocked by drawing a few talismans and chanting a few spells?"
"So what should we do?"
"It has already merged with part of the child's soul. Any attempt to forcibly remove it will cause her soul to collapse on the spot." Li Ge said slowly, "The only way is to use a gentler and more subtle force to 'persuade' it off the soul bit by bit."
"'Persuade' to come down?" Chu Yun couldn't understand this statement.
"To put it simply," Li Ge seemed to have no patience to explain any further, "I need some special materials as a guide, and combined with my ghost medical skills, to attempt the peeling. Moreover, the chance of success is less than 30%."
"What material?"
"A medicinal herb called 'Soul-Resting Grass' only grows next to century-old tombs where yin energy gathers. Also, you need at least three fresh souls that have just died and whose resentment has not yet dissipated as an inducement." Li Ge calmly stated the creepy conditions.
"Using a living person's soul as a medicine?!" Chu Yun's anger was ignited again, "What's the difference between you and the evil demons?!"
"The difference is," Li Ge looked at him coldly, "I use it to save people, and they use it to kill people. To a self-proclaimed righteous person like you, there may not be any difference, but to me, there is a world of difference."
“Heresy!”
"Whatever you think." Li Ge stood up, seemingly not intending to argue with him anymore. "The Soul-Restoring Grass might be found deep in the mass graves in the mountains behind Qingxi Town. As for those three souls..." She paused and glanced out the window. "They should be there tonight."
Chu Yun followed her gaze, his heart sinking. He understood what Li Ge meant—there was more than one evil "shadow," and there were other children in this town who were in danger!
He was about to say something when Li Ge had already walked to the door.
"Keep an eye on her." Li Ge said, "Don't let her die. If she dies, all our previous efforts will be in vain."
After saying that, she disappeared out the door.
Chu Yun stood alone in the room, looking at Xiaoya, still unconscious on the bed, then at his clenched fists. An unprecedented sense of powerlessness enveloped him. He could easily slay demons, yet he was helpless against this strange curse. He adhered to the principles of righteousness, yet he could only watch helplessly as an innocent child struggled between life and death. And the ghost doctor, whom he regarded as an evildoer, seemed to be his only hope. This profound conflict of understanding plunged his mind into chaos.
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