Chapter 110 - 109: A Curse? Serves You Right! (Part 2)

Chapter 110: Chapter 109: A Curse? Serves You Right! (Part 2)

"In the name of Gluttony, I curse you! I curse you to a horrible death!"

Accompanying the curse was a chilling aura laced with endless resentment.

At the time, it failed to cause He Xiaotian any substantial harm, so he put it out of his mind.

Now, it seemed his recent string of ghostly encounters was very likely the curse’s handiwork.

’So what if I broke your statue and ruined your descent? How can you be so petty? Ptooey! And you call yourself a king? Not magnanimous at all. After breakfast, I should make a trip to the Divine Void Temple. Shouyangzi is a Daoist; he’s bound to know more than I do.’

Having said his piece, He Xiaotian got up and went to the bathroom.

Whether or not Shouyangzi would actually receive him wasn’t important.

At the very least, he would be sensible... for the hammer’s sake.

But just as he undid his belt, right in the middle of taking a piss, He Xiaotian saw a pale arm reach out from the toilet bowl.

It was accompanied by surges of bloody water, and it looked like it was about to splash him right in the face.

"What the fuck!"

He Xiaotian’s eyes instantly went red. ’Can’t you even let me take a piss in peace?’

"BANG!"

Enraged, his right foot, wreathed in blazing flames, stomped down hard.

He nipped the disgusting incident in the bud before it could even happen.

[Ding! Killed White Wraith. Gained 100 Experience Points.]

The resulting splash—a mixture of blood and other unidentifiable fluids—was instantly evaporated by the flames.

Honestly, gaining Experience Points should have been a happy occasion.

But this constant, indiscriminate harassment was starting to get on his nerves.

He Xiaotian could just imagine some bizarre creature popping up while he was taking a dump.

Though these ghouls couldn’t harm a single hair on his head, they were just so damn disgusting.

It was a good thing he didn’t have a girlfriend. What if one of those things appeared while they were doing the deed?

"Hiss!"

Wouldn’t that just scare you limp?

’Wait, that’s not right!’

’It seems not having a girlfriend is the most terrifying thing of all.’

「Early the next morning」

He Xiaotian took a bus and, after a rather troublesome journey, arrived at Snake Mountain.

He headed up the mountain along the familiar path and soon arrived before the gates of the Divine Void Temple.

"Well, well."

He immediately spotted an acquaintance: the young Daoist named Daoxuan.

"?!"

Upon seeing the visitor’s familiar face mask, Daoxuan’s eyes went wide. He tossed the broom in his hands into the air and scrambled to slam the temple gates shut.

"This is bad! Master! The Hammer Man is back!"

He Xiaotian: "..."

For some reason, he felt a pang of bitterness at that moment.

’When did I become a plague of locusts?’

’Do you really have to be this scared of me?’

In a side hall, Shouyangzi jumped in fright upon hearing his disciple’s panicked shout.

’Don’t tell me X is here to make trouble because I reported him to the police!’

’Or... does he know I was ripping him off with the things I sold him?’

’Is he furious now and here for revenge?’

’After appraisal, that pair of daggers was worth over two hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals at a bare minimum.’

’All things considered, that’s more than enough to cover the cost of the Protective Talisman and the statue.’

’Therefore, since that day, he’s the one who’s been in the wrong!’

’Oh, Supreme Celestial Venerable, save me!’

’Sure, Lei Yang had repeatedly assured me that the mysterious X was a good person.’

’But everyone has passions and desires, and moments when they slip up.’

’If I happen to run into him on a bad day, I’m absolutely, undoubtedly dead.’

The Divine Void Temple’s two-ton South African rosewood gate obviously wasn’t enough to stop He Xiaotian’s Unrivaled brute force.

Inside the side hall, the master and disciple trembled in fear.

’Escape?’

’To get down the mountain, we’d have to leave the temple first.’

’Unless I, Shouyangzi, suddenly learned how to fly.’

’Otherwise, jumping off a cliff seemed like a rather appealing alternative.’

"Shouyangzi, I’m here to see you."

He Xiaotian pushed open the doors to the side hall just as the sun was rising in the east.

Bathed in the morning light, his figure seemed to stretch to an imposing height.

Shouyangzi, already convinced that he was here to make trouble, was so terrified that he dropped to his knees with a THUD.

"X, this old Daoist admits I was out of line for reporting you to the police! But I withdrew the report right after, so there’s no need for it to come to murder, is there? My prices were a rip-off, I admit it! Worst case, I’ll give you the daggers back and we can call it even! And if you have to kill someone, kill me! Daoxuan is innocent!"

"No! Master, if we die, we die together! I’m not afraid."

"???"

He Xiaotian wore a look of utter bafflement, completely unable to process what was happening.

’What the hell are you talking about?!’

’I just came here to ask about a curse, so how did we get to killing and quartering?’

A few moments later...

"You mean to tell me you only came here to ask about a curse?" Shouyangzi looked completely dumbfounded. ’So after all that, you weren’t here for revenge at all.’ At the same time, he was secretly gloating. ’Serves you right!!’

’Why doesn’t that curse just flare up and kill you right in front of me? That would be so satisfying.’

"Of course. What else would I be here for? Oh, right. What was that you were saying about reporting someone to the police and rip-off prices?" He Xiaotian asked, his eyes narrowing. ’You’re a piece of work, old Daoist. Take my down payment one second, then report me to the cops the next?’

’And you even admit your own prices are a rip-off?’

’Sigh!’

’If I could have bought this stuff anywhere else, I wouldn’t have had to shamelessly write an IOU and use my daggers as collateral.’

"Nothing, nothing. You must have misheard. I never said anything like that."

Shouyangzi shook his head like a rattle. There was no way he’d admit it now, not even on pain of death.

’Better to save the truth for a nice, sunny day when everyone is calm and peaceful.’

’The man’s already cursed and on edge.’

’If he hears the true price of the Protective Talisman and the statue, I might actually end up meeting my ancestors today!’

"Let’s talk about your curse first," Shouyangzi said. "No need to get bogged down in unimportant details."

He Xiaotian nodded, signaling that he would let the matter drop for now.

’The priority right now is dealing with this curse, not getting hung up on stuff that’s already over and done with.’

’It’s not like I’m actually going to kill him if I keep pressing the issue, right?’

"Before we talk, could you try to wipe that look of pure glee off your face? It’s really starting to piss me off."

"Do I...? Do I really?"

Shouyangzi’s expression froze. ’Was I that obvious?’

Daoxuan, standing to the side, buried his face in his hands.

’Master, I wish I had a mirror to show you your own face right now.’

"Tell this old Daoist, in detail, the entire story behind your curse." Shouyangzi’s expression quickly turned righteous. His demeanor shifted from gloating to selfless detachment, as if he were a transcendent Daoist master on the verge of ascension.

’Ha!’

He Xiaotian thought that with an act like that, he could give any virtuous Buddhist master a run for his money.

So, He Xiaotian laid out the whole sordid affair between himself and the Gluttonous King.

Shouyangzi was left dumbfounded after hearing the story.

’No wonder Lei Yang told me not to mess with you. Your talent for courting death is simply out of this world!’

’He just picked a fight with a major boss from the Netherworld on a whim.’

’When it comes to pure recklessness, I, Shouyangzi, declare you the undisputed champion!!’

"Scholar X, would you mind if this old Daoist examined your body?"

He Xiaotian’s lip twitched. ’This East-meets-West title of yours... I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.’

’X is X, and Scholar is Scholar. Why does it sound so strange when you mash them together?’

"I don’t mind."

Shouyangzi placed his hands on He Xiaotian’s shoulders. A current of energy, completely different from Inner Strength, flowed out from the Daoist’s body and quickly circulated through He Xiaotian’s.

"HSSS!!"

The old Daoist suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, and He Xiaotian watched as the man’s arms were abruptly covered in a layer of frost.

The frost spread with astonishing speed, threatening to encase him completely in ice.

"WHOOSH!"

Azure flames instantly erupted, burning fiercely.

At the same time, He Xiaotian gave his shoulders a shake, throwing Shouyangzi’s hands off.

"Master!"

Daoxuan’s face paled in terror at the sight.

He thought He Xiaotian was about to erupt and commit murder.

"Stay back! Quick, go get the Crimson Dew!"

"Right."

It had to be said, Shouyangzi had trained his young disciple well.

The young Daoist immediately stopped, turned, and ran out of the hall.

"What was that about?"

"My apologies for the embarrassing display, Scholar. I merely triggered that chilling aura inside you. But that wisp of energy... it’s just so incredibly tyrannical. That tiny bit was almost enough to do this old Daoist in, right in my own home."

Shouyangzi explained, forcing a smile while enduring the freezing power coursing through his arms.

At the same time, he was muttering to himself, ’How the fuck did you survive such a tyrannical, frigid energy?’

’You didn’t instantly turn into a human popsicle, and you’ve been alive and kicking for days.’

’In the meantime, you even ran over to my place to write an IOU!’

’Are all the brutes these days like Berserkers from a video game, just immune to debuffs?’