Chapter 324: Curse

"What kind of curse is it, exactly?" Luo Qi asked. "I don't know if I should say this, but can you confirm he died from a curse? If Zheng Hanbin died in a blizzard, it could have been the planet that finished him off; it's not certain it was a curse from a Highland Mage."

He glanced at Du Zhengyi, hoping that speaking this way wasn't challenging the First Mage.

Du Zhengyi, however, basically agreed with his view. "Indeed. In human legends, we are mages, magicians, or wizards who specialize in curses, and then they lump us all into 'superstition.' But it's quite funny to think about it: a mage's curse is, in our world of mages, equivalent to a mage's 'superstition.'"

"Ah, I remember you really don't like being treated as a wizard or a Daoist." Luo Qi laughed, recalling the look of revulsion on Du Zhengyi's face when he heard Liu Li say his Luck was high.

"There are only a few ways a mage kills," Pei Shu said patiently. "Using cold weapons, manipulating the natural environment, manipulating Yajian, or manipulating space. I won't mention the first two; the most direct result of manipulating Yajian is causing brain death. Manipulating space distorts a small segment of space, and if such a distortion occurs on a person, the result is terrifying: an irreversible vanishing into thin air."

Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi with admiration. "Impressive, you've mastered three of the four methods."

"You are also quite impressive; the one part I don't know is exactly what you excel at," Du Zhengyi said with a half-smile.

But how could this sarcasm defeat Luo Qi? "Ahaha, mutual flattery is what makes good buddies! The two of us could form an execution squad."

"Child, killing should not be used as a joke," Pei Shu said.

Luo Qi stuck out his tongue. "I don't even abuse kittens."

Du Zhengyi gave him a helpless look and said to Pei Shu, "Teacher, do you mean that Zheng Hanbin did not die by these methods of killing used by mages?"

Luo Qi couldn't help but say, "But these abilities of mages can derive many ways to kill. Venerable, how exactly did he die that these possibilities of murder could be directly ruled out?"

"For a long time, there has been a saying that Highland Mages curse everyone who steps onto the Sacred Mountain, including humans and mages. Let me think, it seems to be..." Pei Shu paused for a moment, as if searching his memory. "In an ancient Shenmiao of the Highland Mages, there is a passage of text carved in an ancient human language."

Luo Qi was somewhat surprised and asked subconsciously, "Not our ancient language?"

"It is a human language, likely from the era of oracle bone script. The Shenmiao was built in a cave on a mountain, with a hall constructed against the cave; the cave wall became one of the walls of the Shenmiao, and that text was carved onto this rock wall. In fact, looking at the age, it is possible the rock carvings existed first, and the Shenmiao came later," Pei Shu said.

"Wait, I thought Highland Mages didn't have idol worship; why would they have a Shenmiao?" Luo Qi asked.

Du Zhengyi laughed. "Did you forget? They believe they can become gods. A Highland Mage's Shenmiao is generally a place they use for meditation, likely in preparation for their own Ascension."

"Zhengyi," the Old Mage called him with a hint of reproach.

Luo Qi hurriedly interrupted and continued to ask, "Venerable, what is written on that wall?"

Pei Shu continued, "That text used human customs to warn that the Sacred Mountain must not be climbed; the original intention may have been to warn humans. But the legend also circulates in the world of mages, saying that not even mages are spared from the curse of the Sacred Mountain. The Highland Mages themselves forbid anyone from climbing their Sacred Mountain, and ordinary people wouldn't want to offend the Highland Mages, so the legend has always remained a legend. However, this legend describes the punishment very clearly—those who desecrate the Sacred Mountain will be drowned in their own blood, their resilient internal organs will turn into flowing blood, the Sacred Mountain will peel off their skin, turning them into a Blood-Red Ghost, and their soul will wail on the snowy mountain for eternity."

After Pei Shu finished speaking, the room fell into silence.

After a long while, Luo Qi said, "If this way of dying is real, it's a pretty miserable death."

Du Zhengyi nodded. "Better to be swallowed by distorted space; at least you die in an instant."

"The premise is..." Luo Qi said incredulously, "that Zheng Hanbin really died that way."

"Zheng Hanbin came down the mountain without reaching the summit; he told the assistant waiting for him at the foot of the mountain that he wasn't feeling well and had a bad premonition," Pei Shu said. "At that time, he started having a nosebleed, and a few hours later, the skin on his body began to break; not only did he have a nosebleed, but he soon began vomiting blood."

Luo Qi became serious, and Du Zhengyi listened thoughtfully.

"Medical Mages from Qionglin were all called in, but they could do nothing; there was simply nothing to be done. When things reached this point, I was also called in, and I saw his corpse just after he had breathed his last. Blood was flowing from every orifice on his body, his skin seemed to have completely burst open, and red flesh was exposed all over his body; that way of dying had no dignity to speak of. The Medical Mage also told me that all of Zheng Hanbin's internal organs had dissolved; he had turned from the inside out into a pool of blood within two days, and the whole process must have been excruciatingly painful," Pei Shu said in a low voice.

"Blood-Red Ghost," Luo Qi whispered. He really couldn't think of any Magic that could do this. "It's a bit like the human Ebola virus."

"It is not contagious," Pei Shu said, understanding what Luo Qi meant. "His assistant and the Medical Mages from Qionglin were all in close contact with him, and no one developed this condition; they are all alive and healthy now."

"Hmm," Luo Qi agreed. "Actually, I don't think any infectious disease could exist on a snowy mountain either."

Du Zhengyi suddenly said, "His assistant at the time, wouldn't that happen to be Zhao Jun?"

"According to the Medical Mage's recollection, it was him," Pei Shu said, looking at his prize pupil with approval.

Luo Qi said with a bit of disgust, "He really is a sycophant."

"Could there really be something on the Highland Mages' Sacred Mountain?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"The Highland Mages themselves indeed never enter the area of the Sacred Mountain, so even if there is something, no one would know," Pei Shu said. "The only result of this incident was Zheng Hanbin's accidental sudden death. After he died, this assistant of his, Zhao Jun, never went to work at their Planning Committee again. He told the Committee that he was traumatized and needed to rest. Since then, he has never appeared in Qionglin's field of vision."

"Just like that, he boarded the plane," Luo Qi said, while continuing to digest the news he had just received in shock.