Chapter 124

At the entrance of Shizhuo Village, there is a large stone table with a chessboard carved into its surface, surrounded by six stone stools.

Legend has it that during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, two Taoist priests, traveling through the area, were suddenly inspired to play chess. They carved a table and chairs from the mountain rock and invited spirits from all directions to sit and watch the game.

One game of chess lasted for three days and three nights.

After the game, the two Taoist priests vanished, and the spirits from all directions no longer bothered the villagers, bringing peace to the area.

Today, all four corners of the stone table are chipped and cracked, and the patterns on its surface have long been eroded and blurred by wind. Only two of the six stone stools remain. A pagoda tree has grown beside the original stone table, its roots growing thicker and more twisted, tilting the table.

A group of elderly men and women were sitting under the pagoda tree, some knitting clothes, some mending shoe soles, and some coughing while smoking dry tobacco. They occasionally exchanged a few words, but without much enthusiasm.

From a distance, you could barely make them out, as the elderly people's skin and the old pagoda tree's bark were almost the same color.

Even up close, without a careful look, you might mistake them for a cluster of gnarled old tree roots.

Zhao Mengyao walked past, dragging a suitcase, dressed in long sleeves, a hat, and a silk scarf.

The elderly people under the pagoda tree stood up one after another. Although the person was fully covered and her face wasn't visible, they recognized which family's girl she was just by her clothes and build.

"Zhao family girl, are you back home?"

"Why didn't your grandpa pick you up?"

"Didn't your grandpa leave the village the day before yesterday? Didn't he come back with you?"

"Have you eaten yet?"

Unlike the greetings and care shown by elderly people in other villages towards younger generations, the elders here showed a hint of caution and flattery towards Zhao Mengyao.

There was only one family named Zhao in Shizhuo Village, living at the east end of the village.

Currently, those in the village who made money eagerly built two- or even three-story Western-style houses. However, the old Zhao family, instead of building upwards, expanded outwards, adding one courtyard after another, transforming their original brick and tile bungalow into a large compound with multiple courtyards.

Strictly speaking, occupying so much land for building was against regulations. However, the old Zhao family supported the widowed and elderly in the village and adopted abandoned children from nearby areas. If it were officially recognized, it would be as if they had opened a nursing home and an orphanage in their own house, making their house expansion beyond reproach.

The elderly people under the pagoda tree, in a few years, would likely have to shamelessly ask the old Zhao family for three meals a day.

The old Zhao family was not prosperous in terms of descendants. Counting back four generations, there was an old ancestor, currently the oldest person in the village. She married a live-in son-in-law, who had a son. That son then had a single daughter, who also married a live-in son-in-law and gave birth to fraternal twins, one of whom was Zhao Mengyao.

Now, the Zhao family consists only of that old ancestor, her son Old Zhao Tou, and the twin siblings.

Though there were four generations, only four people remained.

The old Zhao family was wealthy. It was said that during the Republic of China era, a warlord invited the Zhao family's old ancestor to perform divination and fortune-telling. Later, before retreating to Tianjin to live as a retired official, the warlord specifically arranged for someone to send the old ancestor back to Shizhuo Village, along with several boxes of gold and silver.

After the founding of the People's Republic, the old Zhao family did surrender some assets. However, villagers spread rumors that their true family fortune had been buried underground long before. As soon as the political climate changed, the old Zhao family quickly regained its prominence.

But even without the rumors of hidden gold and silver, the Zhao family's old ancestor and her son, Old Zhao Tou, were well-known fortune-tellers throughout the surrounding villages. The mother and son rarely took ordinary clients. Every month or so, either people dressed in *Jianghu* attire would come seeking their services, or small cars and jeeps would drive directly into the village. How could their income possibly be small?

Zhao Mengyao pushed open the gate and walked through the courtyard. Under the long corridor of the east wing, a row of elderly people sat, each with a pallid complexion, quiet and still, simply remaining there silently.

In the west wing was the nursery, where several children with obvious intellectual disabilities, crooked mouths, and squinting eyes were playing, adding a little activity to what would otherwise be a lifeless atmosphere.

A strong smell of herbal medicine permeated both the east and west wings. If one were to go inside at that moment, it was certain that many, whether elderly or children, would be lying in bed enduring the torment of illness.

It was normal for the elderly to fall ill as they aged. Among the abandoned infants, many were male and carried congenital diseases, making their chances of early death even higher.

Therefore, the old Zhao family frequently held funerals, freeing up space, yet this rarely aroused suspicion from outsiders, as no one truly cared about widowed elders and abandoned infants.

From a young age, Zhao Mengyao disliked the smell of her home, that putrid and decaying odor that often drove her to madness, making her wish she could set fire to both wings and burn them down.

Even when she was older and understood the purpose of these people, she still felt disgusted.

Fortunately, her great-grandmother was very open-minded. Not only did she allow her to study, but she also permitted her to take entrance exams for schools outside their local area, only hoping that she would eventually bring home a man of proper appearance and profound good fortune as a live-in husband.

"Mengyao, why are you back?"

The question came from her brother. Although they were twins, born one after the other, her brother Zhao Xilu had the weathered appearance of someone nearly thirty years old.

At that moment, Zhao Xilu was brewing herbal medicine, with a total of eight small stoves in front of him. He held a fan in each hand, busy and seemingly enjoying himself.

In the corner behind Zhao Xilu, there was a dirty woman, bound with chains. She was insane, constantly holding a ragged cloth doll and pretending to nurse it.

To outsiders, this appeared to be an act of kindness by the Zhao family, who had adopted her.

In reality, Zhao Mengyao knew that when she first started high school, this woman had become pregnant twice by her brother Zhao Xilu, giving birth to a boy and a girl. However, the first child died before reaching one hundred days old, and the second didn't even survive a full month.

After the woman went mad, she was locked here.

When Zhao Xilu got up in the morning, he would lead her into the courtyard to sunbathe, and in the evening, he would lead her back indoors.

Zhao Mengyao disliked her brother. Although he had always treated her well, she found him hypocritical and heartless, unlike her own straightforward and kind nature.

Even though the family had hired help, her brother still insisted on doing things himself every day.

It would have been one thing if he didn't know what those "things" were used for, but her brother was very much aware, and his talent for casting spells was far greater than hers.

But as things stood, she could only cry out tearfully to her brother:

"Brother, I've been cursed."

With that, Zhao Mengyao took off her hat, rolled up her sleeves, and revealed the area of skin that was festering.

Seeing this, Zhao Xilu was startled and quickly stepped forward to examine it.

"How did this happen to you?"

"I was cursed by someone."

"Where's Grandpa? Didn't Grandpa go to find you?"

"Didn't Grandpa come back?"

"No, did you not see Grandpa?"

"I saw him, but I thought Grandpa went home after I signed those two maintenance agreements."

"You..." Zhao Xilu frowned, "Mengyao, go inside and sit down for a moment."

"Where's Great-Grandma? I need to see Great-Grandma."

"Great-Grandma is with guests right now; she's not available."

"I'm in this state! What guest could be more important than me?"

"People from the main family are here."

"The main family?"

Zhao Mengyao was stunned. She had heard about the main family. In their ancestral hall, offerings were arranged in two columns: one was empty, and the other, which contained the spirit tablets of her parents and grandmother, could only be placed in a secluded corner below.

The empty space in the very center was reserved for the main family. Even if their spirit tablets couldn't be displayed, the space had to be kept open for them.

When Zhao Mengyao was little and didn't understand, she had asked, "Why can't we place the main family's spirit tablets?"

Her great-grandmother had smiled grimly and replied, "Because the main family considers us bad luck."

The main family was in Jiujiang. Unlike the minor, unconventional branch like the Shizhuo Zhao, the Jiujiang Zhao main family were true practitioners of *Jianghu* arts, having produced a "Dragon King" during the Qing Dynasty.

However, according to *Jianghu* rules, if only one family member successfully "walks the river" or if there are no successors for a hundred years before or after, the plaque of a Dragon King family is still not qualified to be displayed.

Therefore, the main family only referred to themselves as the Jiujiang Zhao clan, never as the Dragon King Zhao.

Sometimes, if a family's foundation and strength were insufficient, forcibly displaying the Dragon King plaque could easily invite disaster.

"Then what... what should I do?"

"Mengyao, I told you, go wait in my room. I'll be right there."

"Okay."

Zhao Mengyao had no choice but to enter the courtyard first, pass through the long corridor, go through a small door, and arrive at her brother's room in the back courtyard.

The furnishings inside were simple: a study to the north, a living room in the middle, and a bedroom to the south.

Beneath an old wooden bed in the bedroom, there was a den, with a food bowl and a water bowl placed in front of it.

Not long after, the room door was pushed open again, and Zhao Xilu entered, leading the woman.

"Mengyao, take off your clothes."

Zhao Mengyao hesitated slightly.

Zhao Xilu took a deep breath: "Then I, your brother, won't help you."

"No, Brother, you have to help me."

Zhao Mengyao took off her clothes, her mouth twitching frequently as she did so, because many of the festering areas were stuck to her clothing, making the act of undressing like tearing off a layer of skin.

"Mengyao, come into my study."

Zhao Mengyao walked into her brother's study.

Inside the study, an offering table with an incense burner and candles was already set up.

Zhao Xilu repeatedly heated a black needle in the candlelight, then stirred it into the incense ash, finally removing it and walking to Zhao Mengyao, directly pricking her forehead.

"It hurts..."

"Bear with it."

After the needle pierced her skin, Zhao Xilu beckoned to the woman on the floor.

The woman crawled over, came to Zhao Mengyao's feet, opened her mouth, and bit down on Zhao Mengyao's ankle.

"Ah..."

"Bear with it, sister."

Zhao Mengyao lowered her head and looked at the woman, her eyes revealing malice and hatred.

The woman was sucking.

Gradually, the festering areas on Zhao Mengyao's body began to shrink, and dead skin appeared, showing a clear improvement. Meanwhile, multiple festering areas appeared on the woman's body.

Zhao Mengyao felt even greater disgust for her brother. He had actually cultivated the woman who had borne him two children into a cursed object container.

The purpose of this container was to transfer curses cast upon a person onto itself, and it could also transfer toxins.

The woman opened her mouth, prostrated herself on the ground, gasping for breath, blood continuously overflowing from her mouth.

Zhao Xilu extended his foot and kicked the woman, scolding, "Go outside to cough up blood, don't make a mess here."

The woman immediately crawled out.

"Mengyao, are you better now?"

"Brother, I'm much better."

"Good, rest here for a bit. I'll go see if Great-Grandma is done."

Zhao Xilu left the room and went to the main house in the back courtyard. The door to the main house was already open, indicating that the meeting had concluded.

As soon as he entered the main house, Zhao Xilu saw a gloomy young man, about his own age, sitting there. The young man had a cracked wound on his forehead, which looked like an old injury, yet also like a fresh scab.

Behind the young man, an elder was drinking tea with his great-grandmother.

His great-grandmother was very old, but she still looked energetic, with plenty of black hair mixed in with her white.

"Xilu, come and greet Young Master Yi from the main family, and then Elder Tian from the main family."

"Yes, Great-Grandma."

Zhao Xilu first bowed to the gloomy young man: "Greetings, Young Master Yi."

As soon as he finished bowing, Zhao Xilu saw the other man slowly turn his head, fixing his gaze upon him.

The wound on the gloomy young man's forehead seemed to squirm.

A sarcastic smile appeared on the young man's lips:

"You are truly purely filthy."

Although Zhao Xilu was displeased, he showed no emotion on his face, turning instead to bow to the elder: "Greetings, Elder Tian."

Young Master Yi must be named Zhao. This Elder Tian should be a family retainer born into the main family.

The elder waved his hand with a smile and said, "Alright, our disturbance is over; I should be going."

"What disturbance? We are family; we should visit more often. I'll see you out."

"No, don't bother. If we're to visit more often, let's not shackle ourselves with formalities."

The elder walked to the young man's side, first wrapped the young man's forehead with a cloth band, then bent down, carried the young man on his back, and walked out of the main house.

After they left, Zhao Xilu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Great-Grandma, why did someone from the main family suddenly come?"

"That Young Master Yi is ill. His third eye has opened at his brow, like a crack in the gate of life and death, neither yin nor yang, blurring the line between human and ghost. He was born with a deformed appearance that should have resulted in a stillbirth, not even able to leave the womb, yet he was born alive and has survived until today.

The main family wants to find a way to suppress the gate of life and death, to let him fully recover. They've tried many methods in recent years, but none have been effective. That's why they thought of us, their impoverished branch relatives, hoping to find a way to break this deadlock using curse arts."

"Then, Great-Grandma, do you have a method?"

"Of course there's a way. All that's needed is to suppress the gate. Why bother whether to use living or dead energy? Just cast a 'substitute unjust death curse' and use another's life to seal it; wouldn't the gate of life and death close then?"

"That is indeed a good method."

"But they disagreed."

"Why?"

"They said they didn't want to use such a harmful method, fearing they wouldn't be able to escape the consequences later."

"What's there to escape from? Doesn't our family have a way to get out of trouble?"

"It seems to me that the main family intends for Young Master Yi to 'light the lamp and walk the river.'"

"'Walking the river'?"

"If he's 'walking the river,' then he can't be involved with these things, fearing problems during the process. Oh, by the way, why did you come to find me?"

"Mengyao is back. She seemed to have been cursed, and I just helped her remove it."

"Didn't your grandpa help her remove it?"

"That's the strange part. Grandpa didn't come back with her."

"What?" The great-grandmother's eyes showed confusion. "Call Mengyao in. I need to ask her in detail."

"I'll go now."

Soon after, Zhao Mengyao was brought in by Zhao Xilu.

"Great-Grandma..."

As soon as Zhao Mengyao entered the room, she started crying, kneeling down and embracing her great-grandmother's legs.

She disliked her great-grandmother's scent. She didn't look very old, but she had a smell of decaying flesh, especially up close, where it broke through the disguise of cosmetics, making it even more nauseating.

But she knew clearly that her ability to live happily in this house, and to capriciously take a human skin curse object to college, was all thanks to her great-grandmother's support.

"Get up, and tell me properly what happened."

"Yes, Great-Grandma."

Zhao Mengyao recounted the events.

She spent a great deal of time describing how Zhou Yunyun had bullied her and other classmates, portraying her own cursing of Zhou Yunyun as an unavoidable retaliation.

Her great-grandmother patiently listened to the preceding nonsense, but when she heard the very end, her eyes immediately gleamed fiercely.

"Slap!"

A forceful slap landed squarely on Zhao Mengyao's face.

"Great-Grandma!"

Zhao Mengyao looked at the old woman in front of her in disbelief, her voice rising in volume.

"Slap."

Another slap, this time harder, sent Zhao Mengyao tumbling to the ground.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!!!"

Her great-grandmother cursed her three times, calling her an idiot: "Since your grandpa hasn't returned, he must have received the blood boat you burned. Given our family's nature, he's probably gone to settle things.

But since you went to the hospital during the day and saw that Zhou Yunyun wasn't dead, and was still lying on a hospital bed recovering, you should have known that something happened to your grandpa!

If even your grandpa couldn't withstand their attack, what right do you have to be alive?

What kind of curse is this?

They were just playing with you, waiting for an idiot like you to lead them straight to our home!"

The great-grandmother immediately looked at Zhao Xilu: "Quick, go fetch Elder Tian and Young Master Yi back!"

"Yes, Great-Grandma."

Zhao Xilu immediately ran out. Not long after, he returned with a panicked expression: "Great-Grandma, Young Master Yi and Elder Tian are no longer here. They've probably left the village and gone far away."

Upon hearing this, Great-Grandma Zhao Juanhua leaned back into her grand armchair.

Zhao Mengyao remained on the ground, covering her face. This was the first time her great-grandmother had ever hit her, as far as she could remember. Even when she was mischievous and caused trouble as a child, her great-grandmother rarely spoke harshly to her, showing a favoritism that exceeded what she showed her brother.

Zhao Xilu tried to comfort her: "Great-Grandma, it's not certain that Grandpa is in trouble. Perhaps he was delayed by something else. Look, Grandpa hasn't traveled far in a long time, and they say the outside world has changed a lot; maybe Grandpa got confused.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if people truly come knocking, this is Shizhuo Village, and we are the Shizhuo Zhao family. We wouldn't let outsiders act presumptuously here."

Zhao Juanhua covered her forehead with her left hand and waved her right hand:

"That Zhou Yunyun, cursed by this idiot, is from Nantong. Since they sent a message to this idiot about 'Nantong Corpse-fisher Li,' it means they already found out this idiot was responsible.

They scheduled a meeting with this idiot to demand an explanation. This idiot didn't go, but do you think they actually intended to show up?

It's likely they saw through her idiocy long ago and just intended to use her as bait.

Coincidentally, your grandpa had already set off because this idiot misused the human skin curse object, and he was right there, so he actually got caught.

After catching their fish, they weren't satisfied. They continued to use this idiot as a link, even specifying new meeting times and locations.

Again and again, their actions were so precise and methodical. Do you really think they were doing all this for this idiot's benefit?

They took every step 'openly and righteously,' showing it to the Heavenly Dao.

Tell me, what kind of person would use this 'method of walking'?"

Zhao Xilu was unable to answer.

"Go prepare wine and a banquet. Since they have the confidence to approach us like this, I... will temporarily humble myself."

Old Man Tian first carried his young master out of the old Zhao family's house. As soon as they were out the gate, he started running frantically.

After running out of the village, he deliberately avoided the main road, heading specifically towards the fields and the stream.

He ran until he started sweating, then finally slowed down. He could still run, but the young master on his back was getting too jostled.

"Young Master, are you alright?"

"I'm fine..."

"Young Master, that place is truly filthy and stinks. No wonder you don't like it; I don't either. It feels stifling."

"It is filthy. They refine curse objects using living people; they rely on supporting the widowed and elderly and adopting children as mediums to transfer backlash.

This branch family has truly mastered these ways."

"That's why our main family split this branch off back then. It was a decision personally made by our Zhao family's Dragon King at the time, who also set a family rule: no descendants of the main family shall practice curse arts.

If it weren't for finding a solution for your health problems, Young Master, the family head wouldn't have had me carry you here to try our luck.

It's just strange, though. This branch has been separated for so many years. When they first acquired this location, Shizhuo Village, we thought it would be a Zhao family village. But who would have known that upon arriving, we'd find only one Zhao family, and their population so sparse."

Zhao Yi: "That old hag uses the lifespans of her descendants and blood relatives to sustain herself. How could their population not be sparse?"

"This..." Old Man Tian's face showed shock. "She actually does that!"

"Grandpa Tian, we must not get involved with this branch family anymore."

"I understand, Young Master, rest assured. When we return, I will report to the family head. If we don't sever ties with this branch, I fear it will become a major hidden danger when you 'walk the river' in the future.

For your success in 'walking the river,' we might even have to ask the family head to..."

"No need. When we came in earlier, we saw Zhao Xilu. He and that old hag are of the same kind—completely defiled, with not a speck of purity left.

But the second time I saw him, his face was emanating the aura of an unnatural death, and that aura also transferred to the old hag.

This branch family, I fear, is facing a great catastrophe."

"So, Young Master, that's why you told me to run out quickly?"

"Yes. If we didn't run, were we supposed to stay and help them ward off disaster?"

"Are they even worthy? Bah!"

"It's just that for my illness, it seems hard to find a suitable method. I also want to 'walk the river' for our family, sigh."

"Young Master, don't worry. If we can't find a method lower down, the family head will naturally look higher up. Although our Jiujiang Zhao family is a renowned *Jianghu* clan, the river flows wide and deep, concealing dragons and hidden talents.

If all