You're Strong But Now You're Mine-Chapter 535 - 533: Curse (Part 1)
The tides had turned, and the grand structure was about to collapse. There was no safe place in Yanjing, and the Qin Family was no exception.
After slaughtering two household servants who had turned into beasts, Qin Yueyang ordered all the servants to lock themselves in their rooms and not come out. Anyone who did would be treated as newly caught wild prey. For a moment, the Qin household was silent, not a single shadow in sight.
"Second brother, you gave them too much salary!"
In the main hall of the Qin Family, Qin Yueshi sat down and complained, "Several relatives of the Shi Family next door also turned into beasts… This beastly transformation must be related to the National Relief Association, and when you talk about the National Relief Association, you can't avoid mentioning Sea Wave Powder… Those two servants must have taken Sea Wave Powder, which is why they suddenly turned into beasts!"
"It turns out they even had spare money to buy Sea Wave Powder. Second brother, how are you managing the household? With our older brother not at home, are you going to waste money like this? According to me, you should take this opportunity to punish the servants collectively, halve their wages, and seize their savings… If the servants have extra money, how can they be wholeheartedly devoted? Don't you even understand this principle? It's because you gave them too much salary that our family lost two servants!"
Dongyang people would cry upon hearing this, and the Silver Blood Association would be silent.
While talking with her brother, Qin Yueshi no longer concealed her nature, critically listing Qin Leyin's failures with her calculative nature. She was born with a knack for business, otherwise, she wouldn't have found a confidant in Jing Zhengwu. Although the atmosphere of the Imperial Academy somewhat suppressed her nature, once the topic of money was broached, she exuded the essence of an old capitalist.
"It was our older brother's special instruction to pay more," Qin Yueyang said calmly. "He said we must completely rid ourselves of the influence of the Silver Blood Qin Family. He would rather spend more to maintain a good reputation than become blackhearted capitalists again. We came to Yanjing to cleanse our name, not to be stained again."
Qin Yueshi muttered, "How can saving money be called black…"
But ultimately, this was a small matter. Qin Yueshi quickly glossed over it and looked out, worrying at the loud roars and bright fires all over Yanjing, "What's going to happen tonight? It seems like a lot of people died outside... Is older brother going to be alright?"
Without a response from her second brother, Qin Yueshi consoled herself, "He hasn't consumed Sea Wave Powder, nor has he absorbed Immortal Blood. At most, he's offered up Primordial Spirit; he should be fine… Fortunately, he was foresighted and repeatedly warned us against exchanging for Immortal Blood, otherwise, even I might have turned into a beast… Lin Xue and the others, who knows what's happened to them; Li Ying is surely transformed by now…"
Qin Yueyang: "There's only two good things in this world that are free: kinship and bait. If you ever find someone being unconditionally kind to you, you might consider whether they're a long-lost brother of ours."
"That's what they say, but I did feel tempted; I don't believe older brother wasn't moved at all," Qin Yueshi said, "By recruiting just ten people to join the program, you can exchange for Immortal Blood, which transforms Spiritual Power into the Immortal's magic power to control objects from afar… So, I can fully understand Li Ying's relentless pursuit."
"What's actually surprising to me is that older brother wasn't particularly focused on the power Immortal Blood brings, yet he expressed dissatisfaction with Li Ying. If Li Ying hadn't been injured because of him, he definitely would've rebuked her…"
Qin Yueyang: "The greatest intolerance for those in power is the challenge to their authority."
"No, absolutely not," Qin Yueshi shook her head, "If it was just dissatisfaction with Li Ying's assertiveness, why didn't he send someone else to exchange for Immortal Blood? Instead, he was extremely cautious about it, completely forbidding any private contact with it, showing no intent to intervene—"
Qin Yueyang: "He stands amidst a struggle for supreme power; he doesn't need this extra subplot."
"True enough…"
Silence returned to the main hall. Qin Yueshi realized she had nothing more to say. She rarely spent time alone with her second brother, and since he was a reserved type, she wouldn't have dragged him into a conversation in the main hall late at night if not for the beastly transformation incident and the apocalyptic scene outside.
Yet as time went by, the commotion outside didn't subside; on the contrary, it became more terrifying and rampant: the roars of beasts merged into continuous cries, the sound of collapsing buildings echoed, fierce fires ravaged, and distress fireworks lit up the night sky…
At this point, Qin Yueshi dared not return to her room alone; fortunately, her second brother had no intention of leaving either, staying quietly in the main hall to accompany his sister through this crazed night.
But when the hour of intrusion arrived, Qin Yueshi naturally started to feel sleepy, nodding off. Half asleep, she remembered the Imperial Academy, Shuiyun Palace, her classmates, and her older brother Qin Leyin…
If tonight's chaos was initiated by the National Relief Association, then their target must be the Holy Sword, and speaking of the brilliance of the Holy Sword, it inevitably involves Qin Leyin and the seven scabbards… So, is he in danger now? In the fireworks that burst in the night sky earlier, was there perhaps one from him?
The thought of Qin Leyin's possible death suddenly cleared Qin Yueshi's mind. The past deeds of Qin Leyin suddenly floated in her mind, leading her to an odd conclusion:
"Older brother… is he trying to be a good person?"
Qin Yueyang, who had been resting his eyes, opened them.
"Does he not want us to come into contact with Immortal Blood, not just to protect us? Is his willingness to pay more wages purely out of care for the servants?"
"Thinking back, since coming to Yanjing, he hasn't harmed anyone nor plotted against any forces. Back in Xuanzhu County, he was known to overthrow a rich family each month, a chamber of commerce every six months. The Qin Family was able to closely trail behind the top five Silver Blood trading houses in construction, thanks to older brother's wolf-like ferocity and tiger-like fierceness."
"He's like… a changed person."
Qin Yueyang remained silent for a moment, "Having a near-death experience changes one, that's only natural."
"But the change is too drastic." Qin Yueshi couldn't help standing up and pacing the hall, "Speaking of which, he completely handed over the Steam Chamber of Commerce to you, second brother, without any oversight. Though he trusted you before as well, he always arranged for a couple of relatives to monitor and restrain you, making it a proper setup… Morality may change, but how can business principles change? He was famous in Xuanzhu for being crafty and cautious!"
"Now that I think of it, his changes are indeed immense. He didn't like drinking iced honey Five-Flower Tea before, nor was he fond of the spotlight of teaching and educating… Why didn't I notice his huge transformation?"
"Oh right, it's because he often ridiculed and bantered with me, so in anger, I intentionally distanced myself from him, ignoring many of his strange transformations. As months passed, I got completely used to his new temperament, so it didn't seem remarkable anymore…"
Qin Yueshi looked at Qin Yueyang: "But you're the closest to older brother; it's always been you two discussing and resolving the affairs of the Qin Family. If anyone knows older brother best in this world, it would be you, second brother…"
The sound of thunder outside was relentless, but Qin Yueshi no longer paid attention to the noise beyond the walls. All she felt was the biting cold of the winter night as she looked blankly at Qin Yueyang, "Second Brother, you really..."
With a face devoid of emotion, Qin Yueyang leapt up from his seat and lunged at his sister!
Boom!
The wall of the Qin family's main hall was immediately smashed through as a figure flew in, causing the entire building to collapse with a crash!
Qin Yueyang held Qin Yueshi as they jumped out the window, escaping from the hall and hiding in the bushes outside, his hand tightly covering his sister's mouth to muffle the scream that had yet to escape her lips.
"Where else can you hide? Where else can you run?"
A soul-stealing voice resonated softly by their ears, as tender as if a tongue were licking their ear canals. Qin Yueshi could hardly restrain herself from crying out—just like the servants screaming in other houses!
A figure dashed out from the rubble and debris, swiftly vanishing into the night, moving so fast it was beyond the eye's ability to track. Even Qin Yueshi, not adept at Combat Technique, could discern this was the Lingxu Step of the Peak of Perfection realm!
How could such a person be chased all the way here?
Soon, the pursuers appeared in the dark, and Qin Yueshi's gaze shifted from amazement to blankness.
A dragon beast reduced to pure white bones was flying in the sky, its eyes glimmering with dark green flames. Atop its head stood a golden-haired man cloaked in a black cloud cape, holding a book;
Behind the dragon beast were hundreds of strange warlocks wielding scepters, their bodies wrapped in green clouds representing pestilence, following closely;
On either side of the dragon beast were endless layers of ghostly white Ghost Spirits, invisible yet tangible, and a glance at them could instill profound fear of peril between life and death;
In front of the dragon beast were hundreds of withered Corpse Ghosts entwined with chains, as if dragging the dragon beast forward, yet seemingly being driven to face their final death once again.
As if a vast army were passing through, like a Ghostly Land shifting, the ghostly legion blotted out the sky, traversing the Qin family mansion, continuing the pursuit of that unfortunate fleeing soul!
Only when the eerie scene had fully departed did Qin Yueyang release Qin Yueshi. Qin Yueshi, however, had forgotten the previous topic, staring blankly in the direction the ghostly army had gone, muttering, "Dragon Witch as seat, Corpse Witch as attendant, Vengeful Spirits assist dance..." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Qin Yueyang seemed a bit surprised, "Third Sister, do you recognize them?"
"No, I don't recognize them, but I've read a description like that in a book," Qin Yueshi, her legs weak, could only stand with the support of her second brother, her face a mixture of curiosity and fear, "It's a religious text from a distant land, titled The Scripture of the Dead... there's a passage describing: 'Dragon Witch as seat, Corpse Witch as attendant, Vengeful Spirits assist dance, Walking Corpses drag chains, clad in Ghost King's robe, wielding Book of the Dead, the Yin Son of Heaven's imperial carriage'."
"Yin Son of Heaven?"
"Yin Son of Heaven." Qin Yueshi nodded affirmatively, "That's also why I looked at that book... it's clearly a religious text from a faraway land, yet it contains records about our Radiant Imperial Family. In that book, the Radiant Emperor is called the Yang Son of Heaven, while the undead religious leader is the Yin Son of Heaven."
"So," Qin Yueyang looked in the direction of the ghostly army, "what kind of person is the Yin Son of Heaven, coming from thousands of miles away, pursuing?"
…
…
Boom!
Once again, Chaoshi Yin smashed through a wall, rolling several times on the ground. Though he promptly stood up with the aid of the Holy Sword Radiance, he was still left in a sorry state—in fact, there were hardly any intact pieces of cloth left on his body, and at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he'd be disgraced in the streets.
"The Yin Emperor wants you dead by midnight, who dares let you live until morning."
The instant Ming Jiejin appeared atop the Dragon Witch, his ghostly army filled the entire street. The monstrously transformed beasts gnawing on corpses at the roadside were startled, but upon realizing these ghostly armies were all illusions, they instead grew angry and roared incessantly, until Ming Jiejin glanced at it, whereupon the surrounding ghost spirits went from intangible to tangible, instantly draining its life.
"If I keep running, there's still a great chance of surviving till morning," Chaoshi Yin chuckled.
"But what is the point?" Ming Jiejin leaped down from the Dragon Witch, and in a flash, thousands of Shadow Soldiers surrounded Chaoshi Yin, "Without the Holy Sword, no one in Radiance is a match for the Book of the Dead. Being able to cut down five of my dead warriors is your limit. Ten, a hundred, a thousand martial pillars, how could they withstand the thousand-year accumulation of my undead sect?"
Chaoshi Yin looked at the overwhelming Dragon Witch, Corpse Witch, Vengeful Spirits, and Walking Corpses, knowing Ming Jiejin spoke not falsely.
"Absolute Divine Weapon: Book of the Dead"
"Effect ①: Death to Life Spirits: Revive a corpse. The shorter the corpse's death time, the better the revival effect, ranging from strongest to weakest as 'Corpse Witches', 'Vengeful Spirits', 'Walking Corpses'. 'Corpse Witches' can retain pre-death intelligence and thinking abilities, 'Vengeful Spirits' less so, 'Walking Corpses' almost have no independent action ability and only retain basic instincts."
"Effect ②: Death to Light Lamps: Each dominated undead extinguished will return to this book, lighting a lamp and permanently increasing the holder's spiritual power and domination ability. The holder can summon all undead illusions from the Book of the Dead, consuming light lamps to temporarily bring illusions into the world, fighting for a quarter of an hour on behalf of the holder."
"Effect ③: Death without Rigor: Omitted."
