Chapter Forty-One: The Account of the Heir to the Curse

When the hat was fully removed, I saw a strange head, the entire scalp looking as if it had been scorched by fire, the nose reduced to just a hollow cavity. Now, he seemed almost inhuman, yet there was still a lingering aura of humanity about him.

When my gaze met his eyes, I found them to be sapphire blue, but devoid of any trace of the aura peculiar to our clan of demon corpses.

As I stood there, puzzled, he spoke in that raspy voice: "You know Zhou Runfa, don't you? I am his elder brother!"

I was stunned. How could that be? Zhou Runfa was so handsome, and yet this man, claiming to be his brother, was so hideous.

I could not believe his nonsense, shook my head and said, "Impossible. How could Zhou Runfa's brother be someone as ugly as you?"

He showed no sorrow, only gave a bitter laugh. "Heh, you won't believe any of this, but I am the mastermind who controlled the Nine Heavens Profound Yin Fiend that day. My name is Zhou Luotong. The reason I want to kill Zhou Runfa is because, three hundred years ago, a storm brought me a certain book."

He paused at this point, and I was bewildered. He had lived over three hundred years—what kind of being was he?

I could see how agitated he was as he spoke, but I did not interrupt him. He continued, as if all these words had been pent up inside, tormenting him. As he spoke, vivid images formed in my mind, scenes from three centuries ago unfurling before my eyes.

Three hundred years ago, on a beach in the South Sea, the Zhou Luotong family lived a poor life, relying on fishing to survive. It was the waning days of the Qing Dynasty, a time of chaos and unrest, and they were among the millions who suffered.

Faced with the Qing government's heavy taxes, the family had no choice but to go out to sea every day to fish. Until, one day, the father and his two sons encountered a violent storm.

That storm seemed almost divinely ordained—on any other day, the sea would be calm, but this sudden tempest caught the three fishermen completely unprepared.

The storm destroyed their boat, and the trio drifted across the vast ocean, clinging to the wreckage. After the storm abated, they floated for three days on the tranquil waters, finally reaching a nameless island.

At that time, the Qing Empire was closed off and corrupt, with foreign armies stationed on any island near the government. Yet this particular island was strangely peaceful, as though no human had ever set foot there.

Zhou Luotong was the first to wake, rousing his father Zhou Bozhong and younger brother Zhou Runfa, and together they ventured into the depths of the unknown island, until they came upon an orchard.

Everything on this island was eerily tranquil. The sudden appearance of the orchard seemed uncanny, but the three were famished, caring little for the strangeness of the place. With wild cries, they rushed into the grove, clambered up the trees, and feasted.

As they ate ravenously, Zhou Luotong pointed and shouted, "Father, there's a house over there!" At that time, Zhou Luotong was only sixteen, and Zhou Runfa fourteen.

Following his son's gesture, Zhou Bozhong saw a resplendent house. These three, simple souls from the Qing era, had no notion of what it was, and rushed inside. Strangely, no one was within.

The house and its furnishings resembled a miniature palace—how could it be uninhabited? It was Zhou Runfa, quick-witted, who pondered this mystery.

As they searched the place, Zhou Bozhong discovered, atop a table in the main hall, three stacks of books. Above them was an inscription: "Within books lie houses of gold; those destined may read here. Choose one of three books, no more; departing this place, they will serve you!" (In Shandong dialect, meaning three volumes.)

Fortunately, Zhou Bozhong's father had been a tutor in a private school, so they understood some characters.

Zhou Bozhong instructed his sons to each choose a book, taking the one at the center for himself: 'Curse of All Living Beings.' Zhou Luotong chose 'Curse of the Warrior God,' while Zhou Runfa's was reputedly the best of the three, titled 'Curse of the Three Pure Tongues.'

Opening the first page, all three books bore the same line: "Proudly the curse fights all life, encountering the ancient, never-ending. Bestow five hundred years of longevity, proclaim the curse to annihilate the heavens!" The words made me shudder—what manner of immortal was the founder of these curses, to be so arrogant!

From the second page onward, the contents diverged. Each word seemed to be engraved directly into their minds, and it took them ages to finish reading. Only the final page truly activated the power within the books, with four characters: "Command all life!"

Such audacious language! One could hardly imagine if this curse's patriarch was truly the Lord of Destruction. If so, I'd have Wang Sheng lead a bunch of young brats to his statue and see who could pee on his head first!

After the three finished reading, their father vanished without a trace on the island.

Zhou Luotong and Zhou Runfa searched for three days, but could not find him. Eventually, they discovered a wooden boat and left the lonely island.

As soon as they boarded, the entire island sank beneath the sea. The brothers wept, knelt three times toward the island, and reluctantly sailed away from the ocean that had claimed their father, returning home to the Qing coast.

Upon arrival, they learned that three years had passed. Their aged mother was now but a skeleton. Bereft of parents, the Zhou brothers began a life of begging, which lasted a century, until they followed the warlords of the Republic into the chaos of civil conflict.

But fate is ever capricious. In the midst of battle, the brothers parted ways, each taking a different path.

By then, Zhou Luotong had begun to comprehend the 'Curse of the Warrior God,' recognizing its power, and embarked on the path of cultivating curses.

As his power grew, he noticed his own body changing—his skin darkened, withered like tree bark. Unable to reverse the transformation, he left the warlords and became a fortune-teller and corpse-handler in the south, where such practices flourished.

He worked for another century, until corpse-handling fell out of favor and fortune-telling was no longer sought.

Driven to extremes, he resolved to use the living sacrifices prescribed in the curse to change himself. Only when his entire body had transformed did he find a solution in the book: he needed to kill his father and brother, and use their blood in a ritual.

But his father was missing, so he turned his murderous intent toward his brother Zhou Runfa, who had not yet activated the 'Curse of the Three Pure Tongues.'

After so many years apart, Zhou Runfa had forgotten his elder brother was even alive.

Zhou Luotong calculated that Zhou Runfa would soon visit Liu Jing, and sent the Nine Heavens Profound Yin Fiend, consecrated with his own life force, to invade Liu Jing's ghostly body and kill Zhou Runfa.

However, he failed to foresee who would accompany Zhou Runfa, resulting in his current predicament and the loss of fifty years of vitality.

Listening to him, I understood his aim. Judging by his appearance, he wanted me to steal back his lost vitality in exchange for Uncle Ma.

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