The King of Curses

Chapter 236 "Beauty is a Trouble"

Cen Dongsheng and An Zhizhen walked hand in hand slowly through the streets of the ghost market.

Just after the hour of Mao, the remaining morning mist seeped out from the cracks in the ground, like a semi-transparent gauze, enveloping the winding and quiet alleys paved with bluestone.

The phosphorescent lights of the night market have gone out, replaced by the orange-red light falling from the cave walls and the glass lamps in the streets and alleys - the lampshades contain firefly-sized spirits, whose wing tips drag a very light blue halo, dyeing the eaves and corners a cold jade color.

Dressed in black robes or hoods and various disguises, guests from afar walk through the streets and gather near newly opened shops to bargain with the owners.

As a "market", Shanyin Ghost Market has a very unusual temperament.

If you look down from above, you can see a bustling and vibrant scene, just like an ordinary market; however, if you listen carefully, you will find that the ghost market is quiet, with only shadowy figures in the hazy morning fog, like a movie scene without the background sound.

Perhaps it was because both the host and the guest were curse masters, and those who held power had higher status and self-esteem than ordinary people, and were unwilling to argue and shout over a small dispute;
Or maybe it was the work of the Geomancers. They did their best to build this underground city. Although all the preparations were essentially cosplays of the atmosphere of mountain and wild strange stories in ancient people's strange literature, people are, after all, creatures who follow the crowd and like to linger on the surface of things. Once the "atmosphere" is formed, they are unwilling to break it.

To be honest, Cen Dongsheng really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the crowd shrouded in silence. He found this atmosphere very interesting.

He held his lover's soft hand, looked around, and occasionally stopped to look at the items sold in the store.

When I came here with my teammates yesterday, many unexpected things happened one after another, so I didn’t get to appreciate this place properly. Today is a good opportunity.

Looking at each shop one by one, they found that this ghost market seemed to be divided into a "morning market" and a "night market".

The underground world is dim, but the Geomancer Society has used artificial ambient light to divide the day and night.

Some shops will stay open all night long. When the morning comes, the plain white lanterns supported by bamboo frames in the paper-made shops are slowly fading, and the lights inside are gradually turning vermilion; the morning dew dripping from the corners of the eaves leaves plum petal-like marks on the stone slabs;

The sign of the teahouse next door moved without wind, and white smoke rose from the spout of the celadon teapot. The fragrance of tea was mixed with the bitter taste of pine needles and agarwood, blending into the damp mist. Several guests were sitting under the white sign, sipping tea leisurely.

The locust wood shelves along the street were covered with a thin layer of frost, and the only shops and stalls open at the night market were covered with plain silk; a bronze bird was perched on the eaves, and the bird was made of a mechanism that would open and close its wings at regular intervals, splashing water to clean the ground, which would fall into the mossy cracks between the bricks like stardust falling to the ground.

The sound of the underground river was much quieter than at night. A row of unmanned black-sailed boats were moored under the stone steps. The paper lanterns hanging on the bows had not yet been taken down, and the ink bamboo painted on the lanterns was blurred by the water vapor. The water surface slowly expanded in the mist, and was illuminated by the "morning light" emitted from the stalactites, making the waves sparkle.

The most amazing thing is the iron chain bridges across the sky. The old chains are covered with copper green, but now they are covered with white vine flowers. The flowers are only the size of a fingernail, and when they are scattered by the wind, they look like a fine snow floating upside down towards the sky.

Apart from the shops selling what the spell casters needed, there were a few shops that ordinary people could use, scattered among the intricate alleys, but business was mostly slow.

An Zhizhen took a fancy to a jewelry store. She pulled Cen Dongsheng into the shop, picked and chose, pointed at a butterfly hairpin inlaid with diamonds, and asked the owner.

"How to sell this thing?"

The boss looked up, glanced at her, and answered.

"This thing is not valuable. It's a gift."

Now An Zhizhen is no longer in an "invisible" state, completely disappearing from people's attention like when she first came ashore.

But in order to prevent their date from being disturbed by unknown guys, she still used the ability to reduce their presence on them. Now they are just an ordinary couple in the eyes of others.

If the elder sister showed her true appearance, the other party would probably be stunned, and it might even cause a commotion.

An Zhizhen had not been so exaggerated before, but since she had a relationship with him, her innate charm has been fully displayed, producing an almost demonic effect.

According to Sister Zhizhen herself, her "Tiankui Quanshou" underwent a slight change after being affected by her own emotions, causing her to unintentionally emit a huge gravitational force to the surroundings.

I don’t know if the elder sister has control now, but in front of him, she has never hidden her true self.

Do you think you can handle it? Do you trust him too much...

"Okay, then pack this and that, and add this as a gift."

Cen Dongsheng said nothing, but just kept paying the bill.

It seems that he is like an ATM... except that the money he has is actually given to him by women.

After leaving the shop, An Zhizhen put the butterfly hairpin behind her head. When she turned around, her long, smooth black hair brushed across his face.

The woman asked with a smile.

"How about this, is it suitable for me?"

Cen Dongsheng took a look and shook his head honestly.

"Not suitable."

This hairpin seems more suitable for girls with cute or pretty looks, and does not match the temperament of my elder sister.

An Zhizhen was not angry, but nodded with satisfaction.

"Well said."

She pressed the object into his hands.

"This is not bought for me, it's for you to take back."

"I?"

"That's right. You don't want to go back to see Sister Qingyan empty-handed, do you? At least bring some souvenirs with you."

"Oh……"

Cen Dongsheng nodded. Seeing his dazed look, the elder sister smiled happily and touched his cheek affectionately. Then she moved her hand down and held the man's large palm again.

"Okay, let's go."

After walking to a certain place, they saw the crowded downtown area ahead. In order to make this hand-in-hand journey go smoothly, An Zhizhen no longer concealed himself and began to use his abilities unscrupulously.

After a certain moment, the people around automatically separated, leaving a wide space, like a road cleared in the sea.

They were all spell-breakers; however, they had no ability to resist the "Tiankui Quanshou" and were unable to even detect any abnormalities. They could only become puppets that were manipulated at will on the stage.

Once a person doesn't even know that he is being mentally influenced by others, it means that this moment is lost in his life forever.

Cen Dongsheng watched this scene quietly and had a wonderful idea.

How can I describe this feeling...

In his eyes, these people lived in a fake world that would burst like bubbles at the slightest touch, while where she and he were was the real world.

This is the difference in vision brought about by overwhelming power. In the eyes of those who are born to stand at the top, everything below the mountain is nothing but a fragile mirage.

"This way, no one can see us."

Because the handshake lasted so long, my palms were already slightly sweaty.

"Yes, no one can see us, no matter what we do..." Having said this, a ridiculous idea suddenly popped up in Cen Dongsheng's mind. His elder sister's abilities have always been suitable for doing bad things.

An Zhizhen saw through his dirty fantasies at a glance and snorted.

"Hmph~ I'm not that hungry yet."

"No, I was just daydreaming..."

"You'd rather let your imagination run wild than take any action? Tell me the truth."

An Zhizhen squeezed his hand hard.

"You said you weren't tired of me, but your actual behavior wasn't like that. You clearly wanted to avoid me and distance yourself from me."

"... Sister Zhizhen, you have to understand that I have been suppressing my desire to talk to you. If I were really tired of it, I would not be in this mood... Every time I saw you some time ago, my mind was full of that kind of thing. It took me a long time to stay rational in front of you like I am now."

He answered honestly.

"Yeah."

An Zhizhen looked down at him. There was no need to do anything special. Cen Dongsheng just had to relax his guard and look at his elder sister's flawless face. When she raised her head, her pupils were filled with a moist light, which made him tremble in his heart.

"It seems to be true. You have worked so hard."

"…It was very hard. I finally managed to put the reins on the beast of desire and get it under control again."

An Zhizhen stroked the side of his face, seeming a little happy and a little confused.

"Why can't you just accept your desires? Love between men and women is natural. There's no need to resist it."

"That's true, but..."

Cen Dongsheng sighed.

"I've been a little worried lately."

"worry about what?"

“I’m worried about wasting time and delaying important matters.”

Cen Dongsheng did not hide his thoughts.

Even the biggest secrets had been shared, and there were no more secrets between them.

Although there is a saying that "even the closest lovers still need secret space", it is obviously not applicable to his relationship with An Zhizhen.

The elder sister pursues true intimacy, which is also influenced by her heavy personality.

If she wanted to know, she could easily pry open the secrets in anyone's heart in this world; but because of this, what she really likes is someone who is willing to open up his or her heart.

Cen Dongsheng didn't think there was anything wrong with it, if that was the price of being with her.

"You are the leader of the Super Working Committee. You told me your ideal. You want to bring a new order to a world that is destined to fall into turmoil in the future. You can become a god who shines on everyone and is worshipped by everyone... With such a great goal, it is not right for you to indulge in this kind of man-woman affair now."

"puff."

As my elder sister listened, she couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Laugh if you want to. I find these words weird, too."

"It's really unexpected that you are someone who cares about this kind of thing."

They stood side by side in the crowd, and An Zhizhen gently played with his fingers. It was itchy, as if scratching his heart... Even without sensitive physical contact, her small movements could make his heart flutter.

"And I always feel like our positions are reversed. Isn't this what women usually say to men?"

"It has nothing to do with gender. Because you are a natural born leader, destined to stand above others, and are more suitable than me to lead people to change the world."

"According to what you said, if I were the emperor, you would be a beauty who brought disaster to the country and the people, right?"

"..."

To be honest, he really thought so. If someone who could "see" the future understood his current relationship with An Zhizhen, he would come to the same conclusion.

To put it more bluntly, if his elder sister looked down upon her career because of him... he would feel like a disaster.

In his previous life, Cen Dongsheng had been a member of the ruling bureau for several years, and today Cen Dongsheng is taken care of by her again; not to mention An Zhizhen's feelings for him, his feelings for An Zhizhen are also very heavy.

An Zhizhen must become the philosopher king in his mind. This is very important to him and to the world.

Zu's realm is the ticket to becoming the "strongest in the world". It is still unclear who will win or lose; but if you want to find the most suitable person to rule the world among them, Cen Dongsheng actually has the answer.

After hearing these words, the elder sister nodded in understanding.

"It seems that I have scared you. You never thought that your idol would seem to indulge in desires... How interesting, you were actually my admirer before your rebirth."

"Yes, but this feeling has turned into pure respect and love for my sister, so I don't feel disappointed, just shocked."

"Then other than that, aren't you happy? I thought men would be happy when the opposite sex is infatuated with them."

"…I am very happy, but Sister Zhizhen means too much to me. I can't just look at you that way."

An Zhizhen's beauty is well known to everyone. However, what impressed people the most was not her beauty, but her other identities.

The side of a king, the side of a hero, the side of an unrivaled strong man, the side of a dictator.

Living under the same roof for nearly half a year and having an increasingly close relationship, he had the opportunity to see her feminine side, a treasure that belonged to him alone.

This is of course very important, it is something he wants to reach out and embrace and never want to let go; but every identity before this is equally important.

"Then I just need to reassure you, okay? I won't delay my work just to be with you. As you said, I have my ideals, and I have a promise with you."

My sister's voice softened.

"I have taken to heart what you told me about the special-grade forbidden spells you wanted to obtain and other special-grade forbidden spell masters who are worth paying attention to. The reason I took the initiative to visit you this time is related to the latter. The Super Working Committee received intelligence in advance that the Ten Thousand Immortals Dynasty would have its eyes on this place for some reason. In addition, you said that there might be a special-grade forbidden spell master standing behind the Earth Master Association. In this case..."

She held up three fingers, then slowly raised the fourth.

"If you are included, there are four suspected 'special class' who have set their sights on this place."

(End of this chapter)