The man in the white paper hat fled without a trace. Knowing he was not someone they could catch, Lu Yang and Zhao Po put the matter out of their minds.
Zhao Po took out a small gong and tapped it lightly, producing a melodious chime.
"This is the signal my friend and I use to keep in touch. If she's in the valley, she should be out to meet us shortly."
Before long, a slender young woman walked out from Seven Emotions Valley. Her eyes brightened slightly upon seeing Zhao Po, though she concealed her joy remarkably well before speaking in a somewhat disgusted tone. "What curse did you get hit with this time?"
Zhao Po paid her sharp tone no mind and smiled faintly as he made the introductions. "This is a friend I just made, Lu Yang of the Dao Seeking Sect. He has a matter he hopes the Valley Master can help with."
Turning to Lu Yang, Zhao Po added, "This is Luo Yu, a true disciple of Seven Emotions Valley. Her master is the Valley Master."
"Lu Yang?!" Luo Yu gasped in astonishment at the name. "You're the Lu Yang who took first place at the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony, and then, not satisfied with just that, went on to beat up the judges?"
Lu Yang felt he possessed an abundance of fine qualities; there was truly no need to be renowned for that sort of thing.
"I have a friend who has fallen victim to an unspeakable curse that is exceedingly difficult to dispel. I would like to ask the Valley Master for assistance."
Luo Yu looked at Lu Yang with a hint of pity. Yet another cursed soul claiming to have 'a friend.'
"Master will be emerging from seclusion soon. However, whether the venerable elder will be willing to help you dispel the curse is hard to say. Please, come inside first."
"It's not me. It's a friend of mine," Lu Yang corrected.
"I understand completely."
The two followed Luo Yu through the formation's entrance and stepped into Seven Emotions Valley.
"By the way, does your Dao Seeking Sect have someone named Xie Shanren?" Luo Yu suddenly asked.
"Yes, Xie Shanren is our Fourth Elder. Is something the matter?"
The Fourth Elder rarely traveled into the outside world, so people outside had no knowledge of his name.
"There is a bit of an issue. When Master was young, she fancied a man named Xie Shanren. They met by chance, and Master fell in love with him at first sight. The two of them often sat together discussing the Dao in delightful conversation. Master even taught him methods for dispelling curses to prove her feelings. Alas, Xie Shanren ultimately refused her affections. He cast Master aside, left Huangzhou, and returned to the Dao Seeking Sect.
"Judging by how Master has constantly muttered Xie Shanren's name over all these years, she still hasn't let go of him in her heart. As to whether that lingering feeling is love, or love twisted into hatred, nobody can say for sure."
Cold sweat broke out all over Lu Yang.
No wonder Seven Emotions Valley was the sect most adept at curse arts in all of Huangzhou, yet the Fourth Elder had never told them to come here, recommending the Corpse Driving Sect instead. So this was the reason!
Yet having already stepped inside Seven Emotions Valley, turning around and leaving now would be rather embarrassing.
*Hopefully the Valley Master is broad-minded and magnanimous enough not to take things out on a lowly Dao Seeking Sect disciple like me.*
Lu Yang felt he had sacrificed far too much just to resolve Meng Jingzhou's curse. Even a devoted father couldn't do more than this.
"Do friends always like acting as each other's elders?" the Immortal Fairy asked Lu Yang, seemingly reminded of something.
"Not all of them, just a few."
"I see."
"Did something come to mind, Fairy?"
The Fairy nodded, a simple and honest smile gracing her lips. "The first time I cooked for Immortal Kirin, he shouted 'Mother!' at me. Turns out he was treating me as a friend. Sharing a meal really does foster closer bonds."
The Immortal Fairy looked breathtaking when she smiled, far more pleasing to the eye than the icy Eldest Senior Sister. But this was hardly Lu Yang's first day knowing her, and he was not about to be duped by her innocent look.
"Could you explain in detail what actually happened?"
"Well, after I defeated Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Kirin across realms, I felt a bit bad about it, so I treated the two of them to a meal. At first, they were terribly wary of me, thinking I meant to poison them. Later, seeing how smoothly I cooked and that there were no signs of poison, they finally felt safe enough to dig in.
"Immortal Kirin took a single bite of food, screamed 'Mother—', and passed out on the spot. It was probably too much rich nourishment for his body to handle.
"Immortal Ying Tian passed out as well.
"Immortal Kirin was born from the convergence of heaven and earth's providence, having neither father nor mother. He must have hallucinated me as his mother." The Immortal Fairy shook her head gently, feeling that Immortal Kirin was quite a pitiful soul.
Lu Yang suspected that what Immortal Kirin had actually tried to scream back then was *"Motherfucker, it's poisoned!"*—only to black out after the very first word, leading to the Immortal Fairy's grand misunderstanding.
While future generations found it difficult to judge which of the ancient young immortals had been stronger, Lu Yang had his own method of comparison.
Judging by how Immortal Kirin had managed to squeeze out one word while Immortal Ying Tian couldn't utter a single sound, Immortal Kirin's cultivation had clearly been a cut above.
In the real world, the three walked through Seven Emotions Valley. Lu Yang witnessed many people entering the valley's inner grounds seeking help to dispel curses—these were all difficult, complicated cases that the disciples staffing the consultation booths at the entrance couldn't resolve.
"Curse Master, every night when I sit in meditation, I keep hearing mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, and my whole body itches terribly! I heard your sect researched a new type of curse with this exact effect. Could I have been struck by it?"
"Fellow Daoist, our Seven Emotions Valley has indeed developed such a curse. But in my assessment, your body shows no trace of a curse, and there are visible mosquito bites on your exposed skin. There are probably just real mosquitoes around you."
"I don't believe you! Your sect must have cursed me!"
The Seven Emotions Valley disciple let out a quiet sigh. The cost of casting that curse was astronomically high; with your meager cultivation, who would ever waste such a curse on you?
"Very well. Take this item and place it beside you when you go into seclusion. The curse will trouble you no longer."
"What is this?"
"Mosquito incense coils. Three hundred spirit stones a coil."
...
"Curse Master, ever since I was young, no female cultivator has ever liked me. Every single time I confess my feelings, they reject me without exception. Everyone my age is already married, and I don't even have a girlfriend! Was I cursed?"
"Fellow Daoist, your situation is not the result of a curse. Your personal charm is beyond question; what you lack is merely spirit stones. Our Seven Emotions Valley offers lending services. Would you like to borrow some spirit stones from us? The annual interest rate is only twenty percent."
...
"Curse Master, recently after I killed someone, the bloody appearance of the victim right before he died keeps flashing before my eyes! He screamed and roared that he would curse me to never know peace! I keep having nightmares now, where the dead man crawls toward me drenched in blood demanding my life. I'm terrified to even fall asleep!
"Lately, a chill runs down my spine, and I feel like someone is stalking me from behind, but whenever I turn around, there's nothing there!
"Whenever I sit down to cultivate in seclusion, eerie laughter echoes in my ears from time to time, as if mocking my pathetic state. I flee in sheer panic, yet the sound keeps ringing by my ears!
"Sometimes a red silhouette even appears before my eyes, but when I rub them and look closer, the figure is gone!
"Was I cursed?"
The Seven Emotions Valley disciple noticed that the man's forehead was dark, the rims of his eyes swollen, and his gaze terrified. The disciple nodded gently. It was rare to run into someone who was genuinely cursed.
"You are indeed cursed, and by an exceptionally tricky Wrongful Death Curse."
"Is there a cure?"
"Of course there is. There is no curse my Seven Emotions Valley cannot break. However, this curse is too difficult for me to dispel alone. Wait here while I call my Senior Brother to assist."
Before long, the Seven Emotions Valley disciple returned with his Senior Brother, pointed at the man, and yelled, "Senior Brother, it's this murderer right here! I can't beat him on my own—let's join forces and haul him to the yamen!"
Chapter 413