Lu Yang withdrew his gaze. Seven Emotions Valley certainly had a wide range of business. Beyond breaking curses, they sold mosquito coils, offered loans, and tracked down murderers. The diverse services truly opened his eyes.
Beside him, Luo Yu explained, "It really can't be helped. Ordinary people can rarely tell whether they've merely hit a rough patch or actually been cursed, so they all rush over to us in a frenzy, shouting that they've been hexed and begging for our help.
"We figured that since folks traveled all this way, it wouldn't be right to leave their problems unsolved. So, we had to tackle them from other angles.
"Take the loan service, for instance; that's fairly new.
"A while ago, a man came to us saying he was short on money and tried to borrow from the chambers of commerce. But whichever chamber he went to, they told him he had already taken out loans and couldn't borrow any more until he paid them off. He asked us if he had been cursed—perhaps hexed to sleepwalk into chambers of commerce and take out loans or something.
"We checked him several times and confirmed he wasn't cursed at all. In the end, we looked up the imperial statutes and found that any annual interest rate exceeding thirty-six percent is considered usury. With no other choice, we could only lend him money at an annual interest rate of exactly thirty-six percent.
"Ever since that incident, we've had a loan business."
Lu Yang: "..."
*What a way to 'have no other choice.'*
"Not to mention ordinary people—even those with some knowledge of curses can't always tell the difference. Zhao Po is a prime example. As a disciple of the Corpse Driving Sect at the early Golden Core stage, he often can't tell whether something is a curse or just perfectly normal."
At that, Luo Yu rolled her eyes at Zhao Po. Zhao Po gave an embarrassed chuckle.
Seeing this, Lu Yang found the dynamic rather amusing. He sent a voice transmission to Zhao Po: *Is Junior Sister Luo interested in you?*
*No way. You only think that because you don't know what she did to me.*
*Once, after I left Seven Emotions Valley, I felt utterly restless. My mind was consumed with thoughts of Luo Yu. I had no appetite for food or tea, couldn't sleep a wink at night, and tossed and turned incessantly. So I went back to find her, described my symptoms in full, and asked if she had cursed me.*
*She said yes!*
*When I was describing my symptoms, she was even blushing! And when she admitted to cursing me, she stamped her foot so hard—probably furious from embarrassment because I saw right through her curse,* Zhao Po insisted with absolute conviction.
*To think I treated her as a friend, yet she did this to me! And when I told her to lift the curse, she wouldn't even undo it!*
"Are you sure she doesn't just like you?"
Zhao Po waved a broad hand, his smile radiating bone-deep confidence. "What kind of talk is that? I've been roaming the jianghu for two or three years now—an old hand. Wouldn't I know whether someone likes me or not?"
In the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy nodded vigorously. "What a spiteful girl! The boy's already an idiot, and she still put a curse on him! You really can't judge a book by its cover!"
Lu Yang: "..."
*The two of you are really making me doubt my own judgment.*
"How did you and Junior Sister Luo meet?"
"That goes back a year ago. I had just reached Foundation Establishment. I heard about a giant serpent causing havoc around a frigid pool and terrorizing the region, so I went to eradicate it. As luck would have it, Luo Yu was hunting that serpent too, though she wanted to kill it for its gall bladder to use as a medium for curses.
"The two of us hit it off immediately and decided to join forces. After a fierce battle, we managed to slay the beast.
"Inside the serpent's belly was a poisonous mist—passion poison. After it died, its carcass swelled and exploded, spraying passion poison that engulfed both of us.
"Fortunately, I had come prepared and had Luo Yu and myself take Detoxification Pills in advance, narrowly averting disaster."
The three people and one corpse walked down a long corridor and arrived outside the Valley Master's seclusion chamber. The stone door of the chamber was tightly shut.
"Based on past experience, Master should be done with seclusion."
"What experience? Does the Valley Master hold seclusion for fixed periods?"
"Not at all. It's just that every time Master claims she's in seclusion, she's actually slacking off in her cave abode because she doesn't want to deal with sect affairs. So whenever something comes up, you can just go straight to her; you don't need to worry about whether she's in seclusion or not."
Luo Yu knocked on the stone door.
"Master, we have guests."
An ethereal voice drifted from behind the stone door. "Your master is currently in seclusion."
"They're from the Dao Seeking Sect."
The moment those words fell, their vision blurred, and a delicate fragrance assailed their noses. A female cultivator wearing a white veil appeared before the three of them.
Although she wore a veil, it provided little concealment. Lu Yang could easily see the Valley Master's true features through the fabric—an exquisite, strikingly beautiful woman.
"Master, you're not in seclusion anymore?" Luo Yu stifled a giggle behind her hand.
"Seclusion is over."
Dressed in white, the Valley Master possessed an elegant temperament that gave off an air of poised composure. She looked over Zhao Po and Lu Yang, swiftly dismissing Zhao Po.
"I can't tell what kind of Golden Core you formed. You're the disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect?"
Lu Yang cupped his fists in a respectful salute. "Greetings, Valley Master. I am Lu Yang, a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, under the tutelage of Daoist Buyu."
"So you're that old scoundrel Buyu's apprentice. You certainly look far more agreeable than he does. You may call me Valley Master Shuang. Did Xie Shanren send you to find me?"
Lu Yang sensed that beneath her placid tone lay a hidden undercurrent of murderous intent. Unable to read the situation, he could only brace himself and say, "I was originally heading to the Corpse Driving Sect. Having long heard the great renown of Seven Emotions Valley, I came to pay my respects to the Valley Master."
"The Corpse Driving Sect? What are you looking for them for? Did that old scoundrel Buyu die, and you want to refine him into a living corpse?"
"A friend of mine has been afflicted with an exceptionally stubborn curse. The Fourth Elder suggested that we go to the Corpse Driving Sect to resolve the matter."
"Hand it over," Valley Master Shuang said, suddenly extending a hand.
"Pardon?" Lu Yang was baffled.
"If Xie Shanren had you visit the Corpse Driving Sect, he would surely have written a letter of recommendation to verify your identities, and the letter must also describe your friend's curse. Let me see the letter."
Lu Yang retrieved the recommendation letter that the Fourth Elder had written before their departure from his identity jade token and presented it with both hands.
With a flick of the Valley Master's thought, the recommendation letter floated into the air and unsealed itself.
She silently read through the letter, looking rather intrigued as she murmured, "A curse born from karmic backlash, and the nature of the curse is entirely unprecedented. How interesting."
Yet as she read on, her brow furrowed tightly and her expression darkened slightly, as if provoked to anger. With a cold snort, she tossed the letter onto the ground.
Lu Yang inwardly groaned that this boded ill, stealing a glance at the letter's contents.
True to his identity as a Confucian cultivator, the Fourth Elder's calligraphy was magnificent—fair, balanced, and upright, pleasing to the eye.
The content of the letter was unremarkable: simply confirming the identities of himself and Meng Jingzhou to the Corpse Driving Sect, and detailing the cause and effects of Meng Jingzhou's curse.
Only the very last sentence presented a catastrophic problem.
The final line read: *Remember, under no circumstances should you suggest that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou seek a solution at Seven Emotions Valley. And if they absolutely must go, whatever you do, do not let them seek out that she-devil, Shuang Feiyan!*
Lu Yang: "..."
*Will I make it out of Seven Emotions Valley alive today?*
Chapter 414