The young man revealed a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth,

"You're truly filthy in a pure sense."

Though Zhao Xilu felt displeasure in his heart, he did not show it on his face. Instead, he saluted the old man, "Greetings, Uncle Tian."

Master Yi surely bore the surname Zhao, and this uncle must have been born into the main branch of the family.

The old man waved his hand with a smile, saying, "Alright, the intrusion is over, I should also leave."

"How could it be an intrusion when we're family? We should see each other more often. Let me walk you out."

"No, stay. Since we ought to meet more, let's not be bound by formalities."

The old man walked to the young man's side, first using a cloth band to wrap the young man's forehead, then bent down to carry him out of the main house.

After they left, Zhao Xilu couldn't help but curiously ask, "Great-grandmother, why has someone from the main family come so suddenly?"

"That Master Yi was sick. His third eye opened on his forehead, like the Gate of Life and Death was ajar, neither yin nor yang, indistinguishable between man and ghost. He was supposed to be a stillborn anomaly, unable even to leave the womb, yet he was forcefully brought into this world and lived until today.

The main family wants to find a way for him to hold down the Gate of Life and Death, to let him fully come alive. Over the years, they've used many methods, but none have worked well. That's why they thought of our down-and-out branch family, hoping to find a way to break the situation using spellcraft."

"Do you have a way, great-grandmother?"

"Of course, there's a way. Just hold the gate shut, does it matter whether it's done with living energy or dead? Just cast a Substitute Death Curse, use someone else's life as a wager, and won't the Gate of Life and Death be closed?"

"That indeed is a good method."

"But they don't agree."

"Why not?"

"They say they don't want to use such a harmful method, afraid they can't escape responsibility later."

"What's there to not escape from? Our family has ways to distance itself, doesn't it?"

"I reckon the main family plans to have Master Yi, light the lamp and cross the river."

"River crossing?"

"Since it's river crossing, he can't get involved with these things, afraid there will be an issue during the crossing. Oh, right, what did you come to me for?"

"Mengyao is back. Seems she's under a curse, I just helped her break it."

"Why didn't your grandfather help her?"

"That's the strange part. Grandpa didn't come back with her."

"What?" Great-grandmother's eyes showed confusion, "Bring Mengyao in, I need to ask in detail."

"I'll go right away."

Not long after, Zhao Mengyao was brought in by Zhao Xilu.

"Great-grandmother..."

Zhao Mengyao cried as she entered the house, kneeling at great-grandmother's feet, hugging her legs.

She didn't like the great-grandmother's scent, she didn't appear very old, but there was a smell of rotting flesh on her, especially up close, breaching through the layers of powder, making it even more nauseating.

But she knew very well, her happy life in this family, the freedom to take a human-skin cursed object to college, all relied on great-grandmother's support.

"Rise, speak to me properly about what happened."

"Yes, great-grandmother."

Zhao Mengyao recounted the events.

She spent a great deal of time describing how Zhou Yunyun bullied and harassed classmates, portraying her cursing Zhou Yunyun as an act of unavoidable retaliation.

Great-grandmother listened patiently to the earlier nonsense, showing fierce eyes as she reached the end.

*"Slap!"*

A slap landed heavily on Zhao Mengyao's face.

"Great-grandmother!"

Zhao Mengyao looked at the old woman in disbelief, her voice rising.

*"Slap!"*

A second, even harsher slap sent Zhao Mengyao sprawling on the ground.

"Fool, fool, fool!"

Great-grandmother cursed 'fool' three times, "Given that your grandfather didn't come back, he must have received the blood boat you burnt, and knowing our family's disposition, he must have gone to make arrangements.

But seeing as you visited the hospital during the day and Zhou Yunyun wasn't dead—she was well-rested and recovering in the hospital—you should know your grandfather ran into trouble!

If even your grandfather couldn't stop their moves, what right do you have to survive?

What kind of curse is this?

They're merely playing with you, waiting for you, this fool, to lead them home!"

Great-grandmother immediately looked at Zhao Xilu, "Quick, go fetch Uncle Tian and Master Yi back!"

"Yes, great-grandmother."

Zhao Xilu ran out promptly, returning shortly after, looking flustered, "Great-grandmother, Master Yi and Uncle Tian are nowhere to be seen, they must have left the village and gone far."

Great-grandmother, Zhao Juanhua, leaned slantingly in the Taishi Chair upon hearing this.

Zhao Mengyao still sat on the ground covering her face. This was the first time in her memory that great-grandmother had hit her; no matter how naughty or troublesome she was in her childhood, great-grandmother rarely spoke harshly to her, showing a preference that surpassed even that for her brother.

Zhao Xilu consoled, "Great-grandmother, Grandpa may not have really run into trouble, maybe he was delayed by something else. You see, Grandpa hasn't been far out in a long time, and everyone says the outside world has changed a lot, maybe Grandpa was bewildered.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if someone truly came to the door, this is Shizhuo Village, our family is Shizhuo Zhao, it wouldn't be possible for outsiders to run rampant here."

Zhao Juanhua covered her forehead with her left hand, motioning with her left hand:

"The Zhou Yunyun this fool cursed is from Nantong, and since they've sent word to this fool via Nantong Corpse Recovery Li, indicating they've already figured out it was her doing.

They scheduled a meeting with her to get an explanation, and this fool didn't go, but do you really think they intended to meet?"

"They must've seen through early on that she is a fool and planned to use her as bait.

And it happened her grandfather set out due to this fool's unauthorized use of human-skin cursed objects, and people were there, they really got caught."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.