I went to Musheng for the third time before daybreak.
It seemed that Mu, too, had stayed up all night; she was sitting in the shop playing with her cards with a calm expression, as if she had anticipated my surprise visit. She had already placed a glass of orange juice for me on the table.
Anything I dislike, she offers more of; this is a fact reflected by her Orange Juice Theorem.
"You're here to return something you accidentally took away, right?" she asked smilingly, flipping through the cards in her hand.
"The card is yours, but the things in the card are not. So I suggest you retrieve what doesn't belong to you first, and then I'll return what belongs to you." I sat across from her and confidently took out the "Tower" card, but with absolutely no intention of giving it back to her.
The simplest and most effective way to break most of the curses in the world is to have the caster retract their magic.
Even if there is only a one in a thousand chance, I still have to give it a try.
"I'm merely helping these kids, that's all," Mu said dismissively, clearly aware of my true purpose in coming, "They told me they're dissatisfied with their current lives. They don't want to spend day and night doing exercises, memorizing books, taking exams, and then waiting in constant fear for the parent-teacher meetings. They envy those top students who are liked by teachers and pampered by parents. Meanwhile, they are always overlooked, stuck in a state of neither progress nor regression, unable to see where their future lies." She looked up and smiled, "Since they're so unhappy living in this world, it's better to go to another world. There are no exams, no exam rankings, and no harsh looks from parents and teachers in that world, which is perfect for them. If there are others looking for the same kind of help from me in the future, I'll be happy to continue assisting them."
Boom!
A flame erupted out of nowhere, originating from my direction, racing along the black tabletop like a drawn sword, heading straight for Mu on the opposite side.
Sharp-eyed and nimble, she gathered the cards on the table and leaned back, sliding both herself and the chair half a foot away. The crimson-edged blue-core flame brushed against her forehead and singed a small section of her bangs.
Clearly, she hadn't anticipated this.
My principle is diplomacy before violence. I'm averse to solving problems by force, but that doesn't mean I won't resort to it when needed. Special circumstances require special measures.
Frankly, her being so nonchalant during her speech just now had displeased me — very much so.
I don't appreciate any behavior that treats life as inconsequential.
"Did I make you angry?" Calm as she was, she must have been startled by this unexpected turn of events. At least, I caught a momentary hint of panic on her face, even if it was quickly masked by a mocking smile. "Tree Demon Shaluo, you haven't attacked anyone in ages, have you?"
"Haha, yes, a gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist." I smiled, and with a flick of my finger, the roaring flames burning between us on the table condensed into a thread as thin as a hair, obediently returning to my fingertip and disappearing. There was no trace of any burning on the table. "But then, I've never considered myself a gentleman, you know, especially when dealing with someone who refuses to accept their mistake."
She stood up unhurriedly, her light green dress turning pale and gray when immersed in the darkest light just before dawn. Her originally slender and graceful body now looked like a strange gap that had opened in the dark night.
Mu raised her hand, and the tarot cards in her hand flew into the air, floating in a circle that surrounded her. On each card, an eye as cold as ice appeared, looking straight at the world without any emotion.
"You have your Unceasing and I run my Musheng, everyone minding their own business. Big Sister Shaluo, why bother meddling in other people's business? It's not your style." Her gaze was a hundred times sharper than those on the cards.
I had no intention of probing into her origins, and I was even less interested in knowing how she knew my identity. I just calmly replied, "Of course I don't care about other people's business, but you stole my customers and affected my turnover. So, this is not meddling."
"Hehe, you love collecting gold, and I love collecting lives. Each to their own. Big Sister, why bother going toe-to-toe with me?" She lowered her eyes slightly, her red lips unusually vivid amid the pallor.
"Don't. I'm a loner. No Big Sister Little Sister please," I waved my hand at her. "But don't say you're not my younger sister. Even if you were my real sister, I would still do what I should do!"
The second way to break a curse is to directly kill the caster. Once they are gone, their magic will also fail. The fact is I don't wish to use this simple but cruel method to solve the problem.
Mu sighed deeply and suddenly lifted her head. Her dark green eyes filled with a ferocity waiting to be unleashed. She held the Death card between her fingers and said, "Perhaps I'm not your match, but you're not time's match either. If you want to fight, I'm up for it."
I was a bit startled.
She's indeed a clever woman, knowing how to find her opponent's weak spot and remind them at the right time. Yes, in a direct confrontation, she might not be my match. However, winning against her means nothing to me; my goal is beating time.
I have only twelve hours. It's her tarot card, and she must know what I have done to it. Of course, I can also bet that I can obliterate this woman's body and soul within these twelve hours. But thinking of my unwavering commitment to those unlucky kids, I decided not to treat their lives as bargaining chips.
"I had hoped that if you see the error of your ways, we might be able to peacefully coexist in the future." I smiled, "But now it seems that's not possible."
She watched as I walked away.
I heard her last words to me: "You will lose everything."
She is an intriguing opponent. I left without looking back.
After leaving Musheng, I called Jiu Jue.
I briefly explained the situation to the old chap who is even more experienced and knowledgeable than me, but I changed the person involved to someone else. I don't want Jiu Jue to know that I am the one who wants to go to that card to save lives. The last thing I want is to give my friend trouble, especially with potentially dangerous problems.
He explained that some warlocks or evil spirits use the Frozen Flame Soul Binding curse to trap living beings in another space. The form of that space is uncertain, but it looks exactly like our real world. It can also be a heaven or hell setting. In any case, those imprisoned living beings, after a certain period, will eventually be herded to the Underworld by the power of that space. Once they arrive in the Underworld, the curses within their bodies will combine with the Underworld's own formidable negative power, unleashing a tremendous repulsive force, making their bodies disappear in a flash and compressing their souls into thumb-sized soul orbs. Ultimately, these soul orbs will flow against the current of the River of Forgetfulness, returning to the caster's hands. The caster will then absorb the soul orbs refined from the living people into the body, which is highly effective in rapidly improving spiritual power. However, after all is said and done, it's a crooked way.
Upon hearing his words, I then realized that I only knew one aspect of this evil magic but was oblivious to the other. I had no idea that some beings go so far as to use such a method to improve their cultivation. This woman Mu…
However, Jiu Jue also shared another solution with me. The Frozen Flame Soul Binding curse is one-way in nature, but it actually indicates 'to walk out alive, return from the dead.' It seems that once people enter the primary space, such as the world within the tarot card, it becomes impossible to send them back to their original world along the way they came. While the Underworld seems to be a way out, it is only viable after they have transformed into soul orbs, which is not much different from death. The only way now is to "protect" them before they are forcibly sent to the Underworld, and then actively locate the passage leading to the Underworld. After passing through, one will encounter a field of red spider lilies blooming by the river. Walk against the river along the red spider lilies, and as long as one ensures that those little rascals from the mortal world will not be harmed by the power of the Underworld before leaving it, they can be rescued unharmed. However, finding someone or something that can come and go freely in the Underworld without being affected by its internal power is incredibly difficult.
I fell silent for a moment and told Jiu Jue that from now on I'll give him a fifty percent discount on all drinks whenever he comes to Unceasing.
There was a stunned silence for a long time on the other end of the phone, and he asked, "Little tree demon, are you alright? The friend you said is anxious to save lives isn't you, is it?"
"Am I that great?" I retorted. "Alright, you go on having fun in Xi'an. I'll allow you to bring your two friends with you next time you visit Unceasing."
I hung up the phone feigning nonchalance, reassuring myself that there's nothing to worry about and I'll surely be able to handle this trivial matter.
In reality, I'm actually eighty percent sure. I already have a plan on how to save the kids and how to get through the Underworld.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh air buried deep in the first rays of the morning sun, I rode the clouds, flying away at the fastest speed of my life in a certain direction…
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