The King of Curses

Chapter 342 "Take responsibility, Cen Dongsheng".

Extreme speed of spatial movement and instantaneous bursts.

Two dazzling beams of light, like shooting stars streaking across the sky, suddenly stopped just before they were about to collide.

The unconscious and seriously injured man fell from the sky. The high school girl grabbed his arm, while the college girl supported him on the other side.

Their eyes met at that moment, and a flash of electricity seemed to appear in the narrow space.

But Song Yutang didn't speak. Instead, she pursed her lips, her clear pupils reflecting the presence of the two of them, her emotions as stable as ever.

Yi Qingyan's gaze was slightly unfriendly, but she didn't say anything more.

……

The unconscious Cen Dongsheng was carried down to the ruins of the ship and carefully placed on the deck.

"My body... seems to be fine."

After observing for a moment, Jiang Yunmei, who possesses "clairvoyance," said this.

"Can this really be considered as without any problems?"

The man's body was a bloody mess, a pitiful sight, with huge wounds constantly tearing open and healing, being pulled back and forth in this cruel process.

"Given the strength and recovery ability of curse masters, especially Teacher Cen, it's really not a problem."

Jiang Yunmei's eyes twitched slightly, clearly showing that watching Cen Dongsheng suffer was not as calm as she claimed, but she still tried her best to keep her tone calm.

Her good friend, Song Yutang.

And then there are Cen Dongsheng's lovers, An Zhizhen and Yi Qingyan, the two women closest to him, who are both top-tier curse masters standing at the pinnacle of humanity, and now they are all standing around her.

Jiang Yunmei possesses the ability to "read minds," which allows her to perceive the emotions of others.

She could see the outline of the curse masters' inner emotions, and see their hearts burning like bonfires, casting shadows all around them.

However, the intense and dazzling light would make it difficult for Jiang Yunmei to open her eyes and observe, preventing her from touching the truth, and might even endanger her own ability to observe.

Therefore, she almost never looked at An Zhizhen or Yi Qingyan, only observing them once or twice out of curiosity at the very beginning. Even if their personalities are incompatible, a top-tier curse master can still have resistance when fighting against other top-tier curses, and "Without Obstacles" will be no exception.

But even without direct observation, Jiang Yunmei could still sense their emotions at this moment.

Anger, anxiety, worry.

The fire in their hearts burned so fiercely that even if they turned away and didn't look, they could feel the intense heat licking their backs.

Even An Zhizhen, who usually seems the calmest and most unfathomable, is like this. Below that abyss, a storm is gathering, and the echoes of the howling wind in the valley reverberate in her ears.

The war is over.

But at this moment, in this instant, beneath the silence lie the flickering embers beneath the pyre, ready to ignite into a more intense fire at any moment.

From any perspective, Jiang Yunmei was probably the calmest person in the crowd.

Furthermore, as the most observant bystander, she was originally closest to the truth, so Jiang Yunmei felt obligated to maintain this dangerous calm and balance.

Her stomach started hurting as usual, but since she had chosen to stay by Teacher Cen's side, she had to be prepared for it. The girl said without changing her expression.

"Not a problem? Ah, 'Otherworldly Freedom'... is very good at self-healing, and it also has the ability to 'resurrect'..."

"Song Yutang said. But her tone quickly turned somber, just like her lowered eyelids.

"But now that Master hasn't died or been resurrected, it's more like he's...being tortured. Isn't the situation getting worse?"

"So, what happened to my brother? Why did he become like this? Who... turned him into this?"

Yi Qingyan's tone was dangerous, and a chill was creeping into Jiang Yunmei's heart, making her feel like she was being pricked by thorns.

"It seems like I've been possessed... no, I should say I was possessed before."

She explained it in the simplest and least misleading language.

"It wasn't by any of us or any other top-tier curse masters, but by some kind of more special inhuman power."

"..."

An Zhizhen closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"The criminals are nowhere to be seen; they've already escaped far away."

"……All right."

In Jiang Yunmei's eyes, Yi Qingyan is certainly a bad kid with a very problematic personality, but that doesn't mean her thinking or decision-making is problematic.

"Now that the culprit is gone, let's leave it at that." A flame flickered beneath the ice in the girl's eyes. "The most important thing is to solve my brother's current problem. Was this left behind by the culprit?"

"Teacher Cen's body is caught in a tug-of-war between 'recovery' and 'destruction.' But wounds are like water without a source; if the body's owner could consciously manipulate the special-grade curse, he should be fully recovered by now."

"So, the problem lies with Dongsheng... in his consciousness."

"...Was it interfered with?"

Suspicion flickered in his cold eyes.

Of course, only this time, Yi Qingyan's murderous intent was not directed at An Zhizhen.

This was no time for jokes. She believed that one day, given the chance, the evil woman would turn her brother into a puppet who obeyed her alone, but she did not believe that she would make him suffer for no reason.

“That’s strange. I remember that just as my brother developed ‘immortality’ to resist my abilities, he also developed a similar characteristic to resist yours…”

"Preserve the spirit."

Surrounding the unconscious Cen Dongsheng were his four closest women, who were naturally aware of his true strengths and weaknesses.

The spirit can resist the control of the highest-level curse in the spiritual realm, "Tian Kui Quan Shou," and it is hard to imagine anyone being able to overcome this barrier.

"It seems I'll have to do it myself."

An Zhizhen said.

"..."

No one objected, except for Yi Qingyan, whose suspicion grew increasingly intense. The woman closed her eyes, her slender, pale fingers touching Cen Dongsheng's forehead.

*
An Zhizhen is a cold-blooded rationalist.

That's how the people around her saw her, and that's how she saw herself.

Of course, this doesn't mean she lacks human emotions—

The fire burning beneath the abyss may be unexpectedly intense and sincere, just like the star of the spiritual world hanging high in the sky.

Although, that was something I could only feel after meeting Cen Dongsheng.

However, this is not directly related to the topic we will discuss next. What we are talking about here is "worldview"—the way of looking at the world; and "epistemology"—the means of solving problems, abandoning fantasy, and following rules that can be repeatedly tested.

Although she is the one who manipulates the mind, she dislikes the type of person who indulges in the mental world.

But as one delves deeper into Cen Dongsheng's thinking, this habitual idea gradually begins to veer off course...

Because the current situation is truly unusual.

An Zhizhen has a deeper understanding of "preserving the spirit" than others, after all, this is the evolution that "Otherworldly Freedom" uses to resist it.

In reality, this ability has considerable limitations. If she wanted to, she could still use a more intense mental attack to severely injure or even kill Cen Dongsheng, but no matter what, she would never be able to interfere with Cen Dongsheng's thinking or turn him into her puppet.

But it is precisely because of its huge limitations that it appears all the more "reliable".

She was confident that even a higher-level evil god, in an incomplete state, would not be able to cross this barrier.

After rational analysis, only one answer remains—Cen Dongsheng voluntarily closed his heart.

"Could it be that she encountered some kind of setback and needs someone to comfort her? That's really..."

The woman, strolling through the memory space of her lover's mind, wore a smile that no one could see.

"Indeed, such scenes appear in stories, but they usually involve a huge blow. Did Dongsheng really have such an experience?"

The deep space is as vast as the sea, and countless fragments of memory, large and small, are strung together like stars, or like sparkling bubbles in the sea.

If she wanted, she could read through all of Cen Dongsheng's thoughts from beginning to end, like opening a book that offered no resistance, and gain a complete understanding of the man's life.

But An Zhizhen had absolutely no intention of going to see it.

Because of their close relationship and crucial commitment, he could get honest answers simply by asking, and he had already shared even his biggest secret with her.

Digging to the bottom of things would then lose its meaning.

Wouldn't it be boring if every page of a book was completely spoiled?
Therefore, An Zhizhen walked through the sea of ​​memories without caring at all.

……

Finally, she found that person.

Cen Dongsheng was meditating cross-legged. This was his usual activity when he was alone, and An Zhizhen, who lived under the same roof, knew all his habits.

"Ah, Zhizhen-jie..."

Upon hearing approaching footsteps, the young man's closed eyes twitched slightly, and he slowly opened them.

Although they were in the spiritual world, their attitude towards each other was no different from usual, just like in their home in reality.

"You came."

"Of course I'll come."

"Outside……"

"Your battle with Zhang Shidao is over, but you have fallen into a coma and your body is suffering repeated severe injuries."

“…That’s a side effect,” he replied. “The serious consequences of my rapid advancement to ‘Special Grade Curse Master’.”

"Oh I got it."

An Zhizhen quickly guessed the answer.

"Your advancement was very unnatural; you forced your way to this realm and suffered a backlash."

"That's right. After I wake up, I'll try to gradually regulate the power that's gone berserk."

"Then what are you still doing here?" she said. "Are you just making us worry for no reason?"

The man looked somewhat embarrassed and shy. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"I'm trying to figure out how to summarize what I learned last time. After my body was controlled by that evil god called 'Ruga,' I did a lot of crazy things, but it wasn't entirely without results."

"As for myself, I personally experienced the realm of a top-tier curse master. And... at one point, I even simultaneously controlled two top-tier curses, which is enough to make me the strongest human on this planet, bringing me one step closer to the realm of 'Ancestor'. I can share this experience with everyone."

"Isn't this all good stuff?"

An Zhizhen laughed.

"Why not come out and continue?"

Cen Dongsheng hesitated for a moment, then finally answered with a wry smile:

"I discovered a fatal flaw in myself."

"Ah."

"I seem to be... too trusting of people, mainly because of their appearance. Because of the evil god's looks, I lacked resistance. I am truly ashamed."

"...Just because of that? How stupid."

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Sister, I knew it all along. You're a scoundrel who's easily swayed by lust."

"Sigh, it's not just my sister."

"And there's Qingyan, right? You've made the same mistake more than once, she's probably getting used to it by now."

"Habit……"

"At worst, let her kill me a few times to vent her anger."

What sounds terrifying to outsiders is a real solution for Cen Dongsheng and Yi Qingyan, the brother and sister.

"Well, that's true."

Cen Dongsheng said.

"You don't even believe this half-truth, do you? I think you're more like craving a moment of rest."

The woman sat down next to the young man.

Even if you have to retreat to a corner of your own heart, you want to avoid everyone... for a while.

"Yeah."

Cen Dongsheng pondered the guess and nodded.

"It seems so."

The reason is not hard to guess. The young man probably realized that there has always been a discrepancy between his actual value and his own self-perception deep down.

He could pretend not to see it in the past, but after the evil god Louga forcibly pushed his realm to the top level and let him experience what it was like to be a top expert, this deviation became a source of trouble.

Presumably, regardless of whether he can continue to use the power of a top-tier curse master after waking up, people in this world will only place him in that position.

This wasn't a big problem; Cen Dongsheng felt he would accept it quickly. But…

"I won't let you off the hook. I'll pull you forward; there are still a lot of things we need to worry about together."

Even a moment's rest is too precious to grant; that's An Zhizhen.

Cen Dongsheng suddenly remembered that in his previous life, he had been this woman's subordinate, running around for someone he had never even met.

"hehe."

After the man reluctantly agreed, before leaving this space of consciousness, An Zhizhen decided to take this opportunity to say a few words that only they could hear. The woman spoke gently about her experiences.

"Just now, Qingyan and I encountered King Kurong."

"Uh?"

"According to the information you provided, he wouldn't have come out of seclusion during this period, right? But he has a certain ability to foresee the future, and your existence has greatly changed this 'future,' so he sees you as a thorn in his side."

"what?"

"The evil god is stirring, and top-tier curse masters are taking turns on stage... It's undeniable that you have changed this world. Not just those around you, but also everyone outside of that world who has the opportunity to change the times."

The woman was not a reborn being, nor a king of rise and fall; she had no ability to foresee the future. Yet, her smiling eyes seemed to pierce through the mists of time.

“You need to take responsibility properly, Cen Dongsheng.”

(End of this chapter)