That afternoon, Yang Siguang sat in Li Bo’s car under the disapproving yet silently resigned gaze of the attending physician.
Li Bo was taking Yang Siguang to find the person who was “said to be able to take a look,” but, unlike usual, he didn’t let his secretary act as the driver.
The one driving this time was Li Bo himself.
He drove through the large and small streets of City A for a long time, seemingly following some pattern that Yang Siguang couldn’t comprehend.
It wasn’t until evening that the car suddenly stopped with a sharp brake in front of a shabby courtyard on the outskirts of the city, resembling a countryside guesthouse.
Yang Siguang got out of the car, dry-heaved for a while, and only then managed to straighten up with difficulty.
He was somewhat surprised to find that he couldn’t tell where this place was at all… Clearly, as a local of City A, Yang Siguang should have been at least somewhat familiar with the surroundings. Yet, everything before his eyes felt particularly strange.
Of course, the most important thing was…
In his mind, to deal with ghostly disturbances, Li Bo should at least have taken him to a Taoist temple or monastery to find a master of some sort.
But instead, Li Bo had brought him to a countryside guesthouse? At this moment, he could even hear the chaotic sounds of chickens, ducks, and geese squawking in the air, mixed with the faint trickle of water.
Li Bo returned to Yang Siguang’s side and reached out to support him.
Then, in a low voice, he reminded Yang Siguang, “Just listen to what I say later. If I tell you to call someone, you call them…”
As he spoke, Li Bo hesitated for a moment before continuing, “That person is actually quite skilled, but their temper is a bit peculiar.”
Just as he finished speaking, a loud clanging sound of a metal basin hitting the ground suddenly came from behind them.
Yang Siguang jumped in fright, spinning around abruptly, only to see a plump middle-aged woman with a dark reddish complexion standing on the dirt road behind them.
She looked no different from any other rural woman running a countryside guesthouse.
No, there was a difference.
Other women running guesthouses, upon seeing a “fat sheep” like Li Bo, would at least put on a flowery smile to attract business.
But this woman immediately dropped the chicken-feeding basin in her hands and turned to run away.
Before Yang Siguang could react, Li Bo rushed toward the woman.
“Aunt Qiao!”
He shouted loudly.
With a quick sidestep and relying on his height and long legs, he forcibly blocked the middle-aged woman named Aunt Qiao.
Seeing Li Bo blocking her way, the woman’s face turned ashen. She staggered slightly before stopping reluctantly.
“…Don’t call me Aunt Qiao. I’m not your aunt, and I’m not familiar with you.”
Li Bo immediately smiled at Aunt Qiao.
“How can you say we’re not familiar? If it weren’t for you, Aunt Qiao, I wouldn’t have been able to keep this hand of mine. Everyone in City A knows that among the few people with real skills, you’re the most capable. Isn’t that why everyone calls you the ‘Mystic Beauty’?”
At the last remark, Aunt Qiao’s lips involuntarily twitched, as if trying to suppress a smile, but in the end, she couldn’t hold it back.
“Pfft—”
With that laugh, the previously tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.
Aunt Qiao glanced at Li Bo, her tone softening slightly.
“Mystic Beauty, my foot. Don’t try to butter me up. It won’t work. I’ve already taken a big risk helping you treat your hand before. That thing your Li family worships…”
At the mention of the Li family, a shadow crossed Aunt Qiao’s face.
“That thing isn’t something ordinary people can handle. Back then, when you came to me, I told you I was just trying my best with no guarantees. If it didn’t work, I wouldn’t refund you. It was all up to fate, wasn’t it?”
Li Bo’s smile didn’t waver.
He casually yet deliberately blocked Aunt Qiao’s path.
“How can you say that, Aunt Qiao? What you did was clearly miraculous, not just leaving it to fate. It’s precisely because you healed my hand that I came to you again… I have a friend, just like me, who’s run into some trouble and needs your help to resolve it…”
Before Li Bo could finish speaking, the previously relaxed atmosphere instantly became tense again.
Aunt Qiao’s face darkened abruptly.
“Your friend… Li Bo, did you not understand what I said? Helping you last time was already a huge risk. I did it as a favor. But now you’re dragging along some ‘friend’? I can’t help. Really, I can’t. Go find someone else.”
With that, Aunt Qiao ignored Li Bo blocking her way and shoved past him to leave.
At this moment, Li Bo followed closely behind her, raising his voice, “Three times the price!”
Aunt Qiao paused mid-step.
“…This isn’t about the money!”
The woman said coldly.
Li Bo’s expression didn’t change as he continued, “Ten times.”
Aunt Qiao: “…”
“I’ll pay ten times the previous price, Aunt Qiao. Consider it a favor I owe you. Please just take a look at my friend. He’s truly out of options.”
Li Bo said.
Aunt Qiao let out a long sigh, finally turning back with a troubled expression.
“Fine, fine, I’ll take a look,” she muttered, her face full of reluctance. “But I’m telling you now, it’s still just doing my best and leaving the rest to fate. All I can do is…”
Before she could finish, Li Bo had already waved at Yang Siguang by the car, bringing him over to stand in front of the woman.
“Call her Aunt Qiao,” he instructed Yang Siguang.
Then he turned to Aunt Qiao with a smile and said, “Aunt Qiao, this is Yang Siguang, my friend…”
Before he could finish, Aunt Qiao suddenly trembled violently. Her face turned deathly pale, and she staggered back several steps uncontrollably.
“No, no, I can’t… I can’t handle this person. No one can… Even if you offered ten times or twenty times the money, even if you threw a mountain of gold at me, I still couldn’t handle this…”
In just a few moments, large beads of sweat were streaming down the woman’s face.
“Get out! Get out now!”
Aunt Qiao’s bloodshot eyes glared at Yang Siguang as she screamed.
“Aunt Qiao?!”
Seeing that something was wrong, Li Bo’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly pulled Yang Siguang behind him.
But at this, Aunt Qiao’s voice grew even sharper.
“You dare touch him?! I was wondering why you suddenly got involved with something so dangerous—it’s because of him! He’s already been cursed. Whoever gets involved with him will die!”
Yang Siguang was initially confused and at a loss, but now his entire body froze involuntarily.
“What… what do you mean?”
His face turned pale as he slowly peeked out from behind Li Bo.
He looked at Aunt Qiao.
“What do you mean someone placed a curse on me?”
The moment Aunt Qiao met Yang Siguang’s eyes, it was as if she had seen something utterly terrifying. She quickly turned her face away, her whole body trembling.
Li Bo frowned deeply at this point. Unable to care about much else, he pressed on with his questions.
“Aunt Qiao, it’s fine if you don’t want to get involved… But if you know something, please, just tell us.”
With that, he thought for a moment and then simply pulled Yang Siguang closer, rolling up his sleeve right in front of Aunt Qiao.
The horrifying blue-purple claw marks were immediately exposed to her.
Aunt Qiao’s gaze froze, and her body visibly shuddered again.
“Aunt Qiao! Look at him… These marks weren’t there before! But after he had a nightmare, he woke up like this! And I saw with my own eyes how he was entangled by a ghost. I don’t know much about these things, but I can feel it… Siguang is already in great danger.”
*
Aunt Qiao sat on the ground in a daze for a long while. With Li Bo frantically smoothing things over beside her, the woman finally seemed a bit calmer.
She hesitated for a while before lowering her head and speaking in a trembling voice:
“…Of course it’s dangerous. Your little friend’s face is already full of deathly aura.”
After saying this, it was as if she had made up her mind. She mustered her courage and quickly glanced in Yang Siguang’s direction.
It was clear that more sweat was beading on her forehead.
“What’s your name again? Oh, right, Yang Siguang, isn’t it?” Her voice was extremely hoarse. “Do you remember if, during this time, anyone gave you something?”
“What?”
“Anything at all, as long as it’s something new to you, something you didn’t have before, and something you’ve grown particularly fond of recently—something you can’t bear to part with and always want to keep close. That counts.”
“That thing is called a curse root.”
“Once you’ve taken it, you’ve accepted the curse.”
“Someone has placed a death curse on you. Do you have any idea who it might be?”
“That person… really wants you dead…”
