Curse Returns: What did the human-shaped wishing machine do wrong this time?

"Little rascal, you're quite well-behaved."

The warm yellow candlelight illuminated the dim room, and the white-haired boy casually rested his elbows on his knees.

The soft glow of the moonlight and the candlelight combined to cast his long shadow on the screen behind him, which was painted with pine trees, cranes, and flowers of the four seasons.

Alluka was taken by this person to a mansion in an unknown location.

Having bid farewell to the howling wind and snow in the forest, every day a maidservant would bring warm food with a lantern on time.

This was a life Alluka had never experienced before, but he didn't really like it.

"Where did Mei go, my white-haired brother?"

The black-haired boy tilted his head slightly, revealing a faint smile with his eyebrows curving upwards.

"I don't know, maybe it's dead."

The white-haired boy waved his hand without any hesitation, showing no intention of hiding anything. He rested his chin on his hand and stared at the boy in front of him with great interest.

"oh."

Contrary to his expectations, the boy in front of him simply nodded obediently, showing no intention of pursuing the matter, as if the "Xiao Mei" he had just mentioned was just an insignificant person.

"What's wrong with the cursed spirit on you? Did you cause Sugawara Kazuka to become like that?"

He hasn't been here for the past few days because he's been dealing with this matter.

The owner of the armor was also found; it was one of the family members who had branched out.

According to rumors from his subordinates, the monster has been roaming the mountains of Higashiyama-do Mutsu recently, killing any spirits or ordinary people that pass by.

They currently have no plan to eliminate the monster. The Fujiwara family in the north heard about this and even impeached the Sugawara family to the Emperor, which is giving him a great headache.

The current political situation is already dominated by the Fujiwara family, making it difficult for the Sugawara family to break free. Now, this incident has occurred.

Nobles themselves don't care much about the lives and deaths of commoners, but the Fujiwara Kita family used this as a pretext, which made the Sugawara family lose face.

He was absolutely certain that the culprit was this seemingly harmless little child in front of him.

But he left it out for several days, and the child happily ate and slept without worrying about his companion at all.

He couldn't sit still any longer and came to confront them.

"Brother, what's your name?"

Alluka's long black hair shimmered with a dark, raven-blue hue in the candlelight. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes filled with obedience and gentleness.

"Logically, it's just a name, you know it and you know it, but my intuition tells me this is something I can't tell you, so... kid, you can guess for yourself!"

The white-haired boy raised his eyebrows. In the candlelight, his ice-blue eyes seemed like a clear and pure sky, so high and unfathomable.

"oh."

Alluka responded, but didn't ask anything further. Instead, she lowered her head and started playing with the temari ball in her hand.

This is a small toy made of colorful embroidery thread, with tassels adorning the ball, making it look exceptionally pretty.

This toy was brought over by envoys to Tang China a few years ago. Generally, only nobles could afford to play with it. Temari balls were more popular among noble ladies. The one Alluka had was brought over by a maid from Sugawara's household. He loved it so much that he couldn't put it down.

"The old men in the family have found out about you. If you don't tell the truth, you'll be handed over to the authorities."

The white-haired boy slightly raised his lips, uttering threatening words.

He thought the child would finally react, but after waiting for a long time, Alluka just kept playing happily with his head down, showing no intention of paying any attention to him.

He stood up somewhat boredly and shook out the wrinkles in his moon-white hunting robe.

"I don't understand what you're hiding..."

He concealed his expression with a folding fan, shook his head, and his figure gradually disappeared behind the curtain.

*

The white-haired boy wasn't just talking nonsense that day.

Over the next few days, Alluka was taken to her ancestral home in Kyoto by samurai from the Sugawara clan in an oxcart.

At first, no one paid attention to this seemingly harmless little boy, until one day an old man stepped into that dimly lit Japanese-style room.

"Are you the murderer who killed Ichiwa?"

It was an old man with a hunched back, his face deeply lined, his pale face showing as he stretched out his withered fingers, trying to grab the boy's wide sleeve.

"Grandpa, what's your name?"

Alluka blinked, put her hand on her cheek, and tilted her head to look at the old man in front of her.

"Kentaro Sugawara."

His eyes were incredibly murky, and he reached out with a ferocious grin, trying to grab Alluka's fragile neck.

Sugawara Kazuka was not a very important person in the Sugawara family, but he was the hope for their branch to climb up the social ladder.

If Sugawara Kazuka performs well in the tasks assigned by his family, his branch of the family will be promoted. But all of this has been ruined by this brat in front of him.

Kentaro Sugawara reached out and twisted Alluka's neck into a folded shape.

Anyway, no one will care too much about such an unimportant brat.

Just as he started to exert force on his wrist, the little brat burst into laughter.

The child in white robes and scarlet trousers tilted his head slightly, his blue eyes rippling in the candlelight.

"Kentaro Sugawara, could you give me your sternum?"

Alluka smiled and spread her hands, speaking in a dreamy, coquettish tone, but her words were utterly terrifying.

"Huh? Do you want to die even faster?"

Upon hearing such an unreasonable request, Kentaro Sugawara's pupils constricted, and his face turned ashen as he slammed the child he had picked up onto the ground.

A few snowflakes drifted in through the open door, and the cold air flowed slowly between the two people.

He did not directly answer Alluka's request, but the meaning behind his words was quite clear.

Alluka didn't seem to mind Kentaro Sugawara's rough treatment. He stood up, opened his dusty palm, and continued to ask in a very gentle tone:

"Kentaro Sugawara, could I have your spine?"

"I do not want."

Without a second thought, Sugawara Kentaro rejected Alluka's unreasonable request outright. He felt that the child in front of him might not be very bright, otherwise why would he make such a strange request?

The sternum and vertebrae are the most important parts of the human body; without them, one dies.

"Kentaro Sugawara, could I have your cervical vertebrae?"

Alluka tilted his head, his expression unchanged despite being rejected. He stared intently at the old man before him, his long, ribbon-like hair brushing against his soft cheeks in the wind.

He maintained his mannequin-like smile, his pale palms outstretched upwards as if asking for something.

"I refuse."

Kentaro Sugawara laughed in exasperation. With his back to the firelight, he stood tall in front of Alluka, looking down at her, wanting to see what other unreasonable demands this brat could make.

"Kentaro Sugawara, could I have your skull?"

This is Alluka's fourth request.

His fair face was illuminated by the flickering candlelight, and his azure eyes gleamed faintly. His tone was still as gentle as ever, but for some reason, Kentaro Sugawara felt that the atmosphere in front of him was somewhat abnormal.