Qian Chen was feeling pretty gloomy lately, and was constantly feeling paranoid. No matter what he did, he was careful…
He was never muscular to begin with, and now, he looked even thinner. His facial color was also becoming increasingly paler. Most of the time, there was a dazed expression on his face. Even those beside him would immediately find their expressions changing when they saw him, and they would react as if they had seen a murderous ghost and avoid him like the plague. Some of those who did not manage to avoid him would be filled with anxiety. They would watch their surroundings constantly, though no one had any idea what they were looking out for.
Right at that moment, three of the laboring disciples at the foot of Evil Spirit Mountain became nervous since they saw Qian Chen staggering towards them while holding onto his head. They were just about to search for a place to hide when he caught sight of them.
"Stay there!"
The three people shuddered. One of them still did not stop and continued running away with gritted teeth. However, the remaining two already had their faces seen by Qian Chen due to their hesitation, and they could naturally no longer continue fleeing.
"Senior brother Qian…" The two people who did not manage to run immediately put on anguished faces once they saw him, and there was even a light tremor in their voices.
"Senior brother Qian, please be kind and let us go. We are very loyal to you, senior brother Qian, please don"t bring trouble to us…"
"Nonsense!" Qian Chen glared at them and rubbed his forehead before he put his hand down. There was blood trickling down from his forehead at the moment, and some flecks of dirt could also be seen there. Clearly, he had just tripped recently and injured his head.
As if he was feeling indignant towards his luck during these past few days, Qian Chen kicked the tree beside him. He did not use much strength in that kick, but for some unknown reason, that tree suddenly started swaying and crashed down on him and the other two with a loud bang.
Qian Chen was caught off guard for a moment before he nimbly moved back and swiftly dodged that tree, but a branch had still cut his s.h.i.+rt, causing him to look incredibly disheveled and pathetic.
The other two people were already running away at maximum speed, and no matter how Qian Chen called out to them, they would not turn their heads back.
"Don"t turn back! That Qian Chen has gotten himself wrapped in rotten luck nowadays, and not only is he unlucky, all those around him will also be unlucky!"
"I know right?! Sixth was with him yesterday, and the both of them fell through a hole in the ice, but since when have holes ever appeared in an ice mountain?!"
"I heard about this as well. Apparently when Qian Chen went to the servant girls" quarters a few days ago, he tripped nineteen times. He got so scared he refused to move later on, because he was afraid he would fall to his death…"
"This is nothing. Let me tell you, I saw Qian Chen nearly choking when he was drinking! Misfortune is on him, I"m telling you…"
These sort of words gradually started spreading through the entire area at the foot of Evil Spirit Mountain, and more people learned of it. In their eyes, Qian Chen was the Star of Disaster [1] and wherever he went… all the disciples would run away. They did not dare get close to him.
Qian Chen"s face was incredibly pale. He hid himself in a small pot and watched the sky with a blank expression. He had a feeling that he might have offended Tai Sui [2], because there was simply no reason why he would be so unlucky for the majority of the past month.
All of this started when he was heading to the servant girls" quarters that day. He had not just tripped nineteen times on the way there, but had actually tripped thirty seven times… and had fallen until his body started s.h.i.+vering and fear filled his face. He had a feeling that if he continued walking towards the quarters, he would become the first ever disciple to slip and fall to his death on snow in Evil Spirit Sect.
From then on, he had to be careful not to fall when he walked and also had to be careful of holes in ice… When he remembered the holes in the ice, Qian Chen started laughing wryly…
He still remembered almost choking when he was drinking water just a few days ago, causing him to feel even his heart trembling in fear when he drank water now. When he ate, he would also observe his food carefully before he even had the courage to eat it, because for some unknown reason, he had nearly been poisoned to death once he finished eating...
"d.a.m.n it, just what is going on?!"
He looked at the small pot where he sat and felt extremely anxious, but could not express it. He had fallen into this small pot after he fell through another hole in the ice, and worse still, this was an Enchanted Treasure. He was trapped inside and could not get out.
He only saw a person pa.s.sing through the place after a long time had gone by. After a series of shrill screams for help and some thrown threats, he was dragged out by that pa.s.ser-by. After Qian Chen managed to get out, he almost went mad from all the grievances he had suffered. Just as he lifted his foot and was about to stomp on the ground to vent his anger, he immediately placed it down lightly, but when he turned around to leave…
Suddenly, a glint from a sword charged towards him with a loud whistle from a random spot in the Outer Sect, causing him to be completely stunned, unable to move from fear. At moment of crisis, that sword glare brushed past his waist and landed on another mountain rock.
Soon after, a long arc flew towards him, and within it was a boy. He was mumbling slightly under his breath while looking very embarra.s.sed. Once he flew over, he grabbed the sword and cast a glance at Qian Chen, who was still trembling with that blank expression on his face. The boy wanted to leave, but felt that he should say something.
"Just go…" Qian Chen wept.
"I…"
"I know it"s not your fault. Your Flying Sword went out of control all of a sudden and flew here on its own…" Despair appeared on Qian Chen"s face.
"Er… Then… I"ll be taking my leave, senior brother." The boy was momentarily stunned, because that was indeed the truth. After a moment of hesitation, he immediately flew off.
"I knew it…"
Qian Chen"s body swayed and fell to the side. There was a blank expression on his face, and he felt that he was on the verge of going crazy. He just did not know what was going on with him.
"Today is almost over, right?"
Qian Chen cast a glance at the sky and with a bitter smile made a move to get up. The person who had dragged him out of the pot in the hole just now had already disappeared without a trace, and was perhaps was.h.i.+ng his hands somewhere to get rid of the bad luck that might or might not have infected him when he pulled Qian Chen out. He was most likely also praying to his ancestors that Qian Chen"s bad luck would not affect him.
But before he managed to stand up, a cold voice traveled towards him from the sky.
"Qian Chen, what are you doing there?!"
The person who spoke was an old woman. She was not the one from the double-story building, but was a Sect Elder from the Outer Sect. She had some connection to Qian Chen.
When he heard that voice, he immediately stood up and instinctively put on a respectful face, but the instant he stood up, his pants… fell down, along with everything covering the lower half of his body. When Qian Chen felt the chill between his legs, he was stunned.
The old woman was also stunned, before her expression changed. With a dark look on her face, she cast him a cold glare, then left with a swing of her arm, not saying a single word.
Qian Chen fell to the ground once again with a thump. He looked at the sky blankly, his mind empty.
"Something"s not right, something"s definitely not right! I"ve definitely offended someone…"
After a long while, Qian Chen picked up his pants while s.h.i.+vering. At that moment, he looked incredibly haggard, as if he had become much older in just an instant, and he started thinking back carefully on whom he might have offended before his first misfortune.
If it had been any other time, trying to recall who he had offended would have been a difficult task, because he had simply offended too many people. However, due to his burning rage towards the matter concerning Su Ming, he had not bothered placing any form of attention on anyone else before his first misfortune. If he had indeed offended someone, then it could only be Su Ming.
"Chen Su…"
The more Qian Chen thought about it, the more he believed in this train of thought. Once he remembered how calm that person had been, he became even more certain of his guess, and he immediately stood up, with one hand holding onto his pants, and hastily ran towards Su Ming"s house.
Su Ming sat outside his place with a strand of hair in his hand. That strand already had ten knots on it, and it was plaited in such a manner that the contour of a small humanoid could be seen. There were also some weeds before Su Ming, which he was weaving into the plait. Gradually, a doll made of weeds appeared in his hand.
"There are ten knots here, and each of them contains a faint power of a Curse. This Curse won"t kill, but it"ll cause that person to be filled with misfortune…"
Su Ming looked at the doll in his hand, and a smile appeared on his lips. After several failures in this experiment, he had finally succeeded in delivering the full force of this Curse. It brought him confidence that he"ll be able to control the old woman from the double story building.
"We don"t have much enmity between us, so I won"t tie the eleventh knot in your hair. Misfortune might also kill a person, after all."
Su Ming lifted his head and cast a glance into the distance with an indifferent look on his face. Before long, Qian Chen appeared on the plain of snow far in the distance, but as soon as he took a few steps forward, he immediately fell. However, he continued running towards Su Ming while bruises and sc.r.a.pes collected on his body. On his way to Su Ming… he tripped another eight times before he finally managed to reach a spot several dozens of feet away. He then knelt down with a loud thump on the snow.
"Sir, please spare me. I understand my wrongdoings now. Please give me a chance and spare me."
Qian Chen looked incredibly disheveled. On his way to Su Ming"s place, he had tripped several dozens of times, and had almost fallen to his death several more. How could he not be afraid, especially since he immediately noticed the weed doll in Su Ming"s hand at the moment he saw him? His heart instantly let out a loud thump against his chest.
He started crying. Tears fell from his eyes, and he started kowtowing nonstop before Su Ming while pleading for mercy. He was certain that everything that had happened to him was related to this youth. When he thought about how he might have to live this nightmare, in which he might suffocate during sleep just because he was snoring, for the rest of his life, a fear towards Su Ming, one that had never appeared even when Qian Chen faced Sect Elders rose within his heart.
"From now on, unless I summon you, none of you are allowed to come to this place," said Su Ming languidly.
At the instant his words were spoken, Qian Chen immediately nodded, and a pitiful look appeared on his face, but his heart was filled with shock. Su Ming"s admittance to his deeds had caused the final shred of doubt to disappear from his heart. At that moment, there was a voice screaming in Qian Chen"s heart.
"He"s here! I"ve finally met the person who ranks first tier in the Absolutely-Do-Not-Provoke chart I made twenty years ago!" When Qian Chen made this Absolutely-Do-Not-Provoke chart, he had wondered whether a senior veteran would take the form of a normal disciple and enter the sect before Qian Chen coincidentally ran into him.
He just did not expect that the day would truly come...
Su Ming lifted his right hand and slapped the weed doll. Immediately, it turned into a puff of black smoke before Qian Chen and disappeared with a bang. The moment it dissipated, Qian Chen instantly felt his body becoming warmer, though he did not know whether it was just a figment of his imagination.
His gaze when he looked towards Su Ming was filled with little amazement, because respect was the emotion that dominated his expression.
"You can go now. Without my word, don"t come here," Su Ming said calmly.
Qian Chen quickly obeyed and left hastily.
Translator"s Note:
1. Star of Disaster: 煞星 (sha4 xing1), Star of Disaster written in Book of Sui, volume 20, Astronomy. It is written under the Peculiar Star (妖星, yao1 xing1) section, and it is said that "Those born under the Peculiar Star have five elemental Qi (fire, water, metal, wood, wind), which is the other name for the five stars. Those who see him believe that disaster will happen. The five colors of the Peculiar Star will determine the country"s fortune." If the country has gone against their rules and etiquettes towards people, then disaster will fall on the country in the form of famine, floods, or deaths.
2. Tai Sui: Mentioned earlier during the introduction to the Execution of Three Evils. It"s the star directly opposite Jupiter. Offend/clash Tai Sui is a term among the people, and it refers to Feng Shui. You have to pay attention to the location of Tai Sui and make sure not to disturb this star/deity, or else it/he will bring misfortune to you.
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