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

In the dimly lit Japanese-style room, several monks knelt on prayer cushions, chanting sutras with their eyes closed.

Several thick ropes hung from the ceiling of the Japanese-style room, and lanterns emitting a dim yellow light were placed on every step of the floor.

Incense smoke curled and billowed.

In the center of the room, half of a black-haired boy's face was hidden in the smoke. He sat upright on a futon, looking somewhat drowsy.

When they saw several figures reflected on the shoji screen, the monks stopped chanting.

A man, bound hand and foot, was brought in by two samurai.

The black-haired boy adjusted his white sleeves, bent down slightly, and touched the top of the stranger's head.

"Fushihara, can you give me a compliment?"

His tone was soft, his voice devout and slow, and his fair face glowed with a soft light in the candlelight.

"How could the request be so simple?"

Upon hearing this question, the Fujiwara family elders, who were waiting for the reset cost, couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

More than a month has passed since the incident at Todai-ji Temple, and this latest incident involving rope dolls has plunged the noble class in Heian-kyo into a strange panic.

This time, the scope of the rope-man incident was much smaller than that of the Sugawara family. Apart from the monks of the temple, more than twenty nobles died. Two elite sorcerers from the Fujiwara Hoku family's "Sun, Moon and Star Shogunate" were also involved in the incident.

Unlike the Fujiwara and Sugawara families who were aware of the situation, the other nobles in Heian-kyo were terrified by this indiscriminate and random killing.

Every year from January 14th to 16th is the day when court nobles celebrate with great fanfare. In previous years, the Rokujōin Palace in the Imperial Palace would be bustling with activity during these days, but this year, due to the Rope Man Incident, there were very few participants, and even the Emperor claimed to be ill and did not attend.

Unlike the others, the six-eyed young master of the Sugawara family went directly to the head priest of Todai-ji Temple after the second appearance of the rope man, and the head of the Fujiwara family quickly learned some of the hidden details.

Fujiwara no Michimitsu had no choice but to reveal the existence of Alluka.

Just like him, after learning of the existence of the spell that could grant wishes, the first thought of the Fujiwara family head was to conceal the cause of the matter from the Emperor.

They moved Alluka to a shrine near Heian-kyo, intending to use the lives of commoners unrelated to the family to explore the limits of Alluka's wishes.

The child usually makes three requests, and they try to get people to agree to half, refuse half, or agree to and refuse only.

After several attempts, they gradually discovered the pattern in making wishes.

If you grant the child's three requests, he will help you fulfill one of your wishes.

After refusing his four insistences, at least one more person, besides the one who refused, would die a violent death.

The greater the request made by the previous person, the more difficult it becomes for the next person to fulfill it. If that person is unable to fulfill Alluka's request, the difficulty of that child's request will return to its initial state after a large-scale rope incident.

Yuan Hai and those who died were paying the price for Hui Xiang's wish.

The Fujiwara clan chief spent a long time investigating the patterns that led to the deaths of those rope people before finally uncovering the connections between them.

Every one of these dead people had recently been in contact with Yuan Hai.

Among them, the monks of the temple had the most contact with Yuan Hai.

Most of the nobles who died were people Yuan Hai had come into contact with when he and his monks went to the mansion to perform an exorcism ritual.

The sorcerers in the Fujiwara family's "Sun, Moon, and Stars Team" were all handpicked from among a group of promising children. Among these elites, two of them secretly contacted monks from Todai-ji Temple, something the Fujiwara family's leader had not anticipated.

After guessing some of the patterns in the appearance of the rope men, Fujiwara no Michimitsu found himself covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

He was once only one step away from death.

Fortunately, he usually communicates with Yuan Hai through his subordinates.

After learning of the existence of this power, the head of the Fujiwara family and the elders were both afraid of Alluka and wanted to use him.

This child's ability is activated through their name, which is kept secret. Just be careful not to have any contact with the person who made the wish or refused it.

The Fujiwara family wanted to use the lives of refugees to find out the limits of Alluka's wish-granting ability. These refugees had been forced to leave their homes due to the snow disaster a year earlier and had little contact with the nobles of Heian-kyo. Some of their deaths would go unnoticed.

The requirement to create sorcerers and cause the death of political enemies means that the scope of those who will pay the price is not very large.

The Fujiwara family elders planned to use this ability in rotation, even though the previous person's wish was to eliminate the monster in Mutsu.

The monster created by the Sugawara family caused the Emperor a long-standing headache, resulting in countless deaths and injuries among the surrounding civilians. Some self-important sorcerers attempted to eliminate the monster, but without exception, they all failed.

The Fujiwara family planned to have the being inside Alluka destroy this monster. The last person they prepared made the same wish, but is it that the next person's request for such a high-level wish is to restore the beginning?

While they were discussing, the man who was tied up in the room had already answered Alluka's three questions.

Two samurai seized the opportunity to step forward, took out a dagger, and slashed at the man's neck.

Bright red blood flowed from the slit throat.

The man bent himself into a bow shape in agony, the sound of blood gushing from his ears filling his ears.

He whimpered in pain, but the rupture of his trachea prevented him from speaking.

"Just make a casual request this time, we'll talk about it after we've investigated that monster."

The elders of the Fujiwara family discussed the matter quietly for a while and reached a consensus.

Based on the costs of previous wishes, the price of eliminating that monster will definitely be more than just returning to the starting state, and the number of deaths will certainly be very large.

The man lying on the ground was a tool they had carefully selected.

The only people this man had ever met were the villagers from his own village. He was arrested by the Fujiwara clan just two days after arriving in Heian-kyo.

The Fujiwara family didn't want anyone else to know about their wishes, so everyone who made a wish would die on the spot.

When the monster, with its deathly pale face and features resembling black holes, appeared.

A man dressed in a gorgeous kimono walked to the center of the room and knelt down to look at Nanika, who was sitting on a futon.

"Please take a rest!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man who had fallen to the ground behind him was forced to comply by the samurai behind him.

The so-called sacrificial offering flared its nostrils, desperately digging its fingers into the bricks on the ground, its lips trembling as it emitted short, intermittent trembling sounds.

He trembled like a leaf, nodding vigorously, large tears falling helplessly from his eyes.