Chapter 127: Struggle (Requesting double monthly votes)

Following the chanting of the three-stage honorific name, faint gray fog floated around Lu Mian, overflowing with an unsettling feeling.

The orange candle flame was dyed with a greenish color, illuminating the entire altar in a gloomy and profound way.

At this moment, Lu Mian's thoughts seemed to become sluggish, only feeling an itch in the flesh under his skin, as if something was about to drill out.

Vaguely, the gaze from the infinite height appeared again.

Lu Mian steadied his mind and continued his prayer.

He combined the knowledge related to sacrifice in Aurora's witchcraft notes with the instructions from "Magician" lady and chanted in Hermes:

"I pray to you;

"Pray to you to remove the curse on me..."

Frankly speaking, Lu Mian really wanted to ask that Great Existence to protect him for a year, so he would be free from any harm, but this was obviously impossible. And to specify the threat brought by the Monsouri ghosts, he hadn't mastered the corresponding Hermes words yet, so he could only vaguely refer to it as the curse on his body.

At the end of the ritual, Lu Mian began to borrow power from the herbs in the altar.

The next second, his vision became blurred, and an angel with twelve pairs of light wings seemed to appear before his eyes.

That angel descended from on high, spread his arms, and embraced Lu Mian.

Those pairs of wings condensed from light closed and wrapped around him layer by layer.

Lu Mian woke up suddenly and saw that the candle flame dyed green had returned to orange-yellow at some point.

Recalling the experience just now, he seemed to have had a dream and couldn't help but mutter silently:

"I saw an angel just now? That Great Existence let the angel beside Him give me protection and help me eliminate the curse?"

Before today, Lu Mian had only heard descriptions of angels in the sermons of the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church. He didn't expect that one day he would be able to obtain an angel's embrace.

According to "Magician" lady, this is at least a high-level existence of sequence 2. Even if He only descended a little power from afar, that is also power at the angel level... Lu Mian became increasingly in awe of the mysterious organization symbolized by Tarot cards and that Great Existence who sealed the corruption in his body.

At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief and let go of half his heart:

If what the Monsouri ghosts brought was really a curse, then there should be no problem now. A ghost that can only wander in the underground of Trier and doesn't even dare to touch the protection of the clergymen of the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church, what can it use to compare with an angel?

Of course, Lu Mian still had half his heart hanging, because what he prayed for was to eliminate the curse. What if the Monsouri ghosts didn't kill by relying on a curse?

He waited until midnight and still didn't receive a reply from "Magician."

He didn't dare to sleep, leaned on the bed, and closed his eyes to rest.

Not sleeping for a night was no problem for him. By six o'clock in the morning, his body and spirit would reset simultaneously.

This is a curse, but also a gift.

It wasn't until the second half of the night that the various noises of the Sijie subsided. Lu Mian heard the faint chirping of insects in the distance and the even more distant sound of steam whistles.

Suddenly, he felt his body become heavy, and breathing became difficult, as if he had been completely wrapped in a quilt and pressed inside.

Not good! Lu Mian struggled to get up, but only his two arms could move.

He couldn't even open his eyes!

Even his arms felt as if they were being pressed down, and it was very difficult to lift them even a few centimeters.

The next second, Lu Mian's body became cold, and there was a wet feeling at the tip of his nose, as if he had been packed in a sack and sunk into the depths of a river.

His breathing stopped, his chest was stuffy and painful, and his thoughts slowed down.

Lu Mian, whose desperate resistance was ineffective, had a thought flash through his mind: enter a meditative state and trigger the black thorn symbol on his chest.

A moment later, he gave up this idea.

This was likely to make him lose control, and the Monsouri ghosts had nothing to do with the Great Existence named Fate, so it might not be deterred by the black thorn symbol.

Unless there was no other choice and he was only one step away from death, Lu Mian wouldn't try this method that seemed useless and required gambling with his life.

His lips and nose became ice-cold, as if being forcibly pressed by invisible hands.

Coupled with the feeling of drowning, Lu Mian couldn't breathe at all, and his lungs were about to explode.

"Hunter," "Provoker," "Dancer," "Corruption," "Seal," "Fallen Mercury," and other words flashed through Lu Mian's mind one after another, constantly combining into ideas and then dispersing.

"Fallen Mercury"... "Fallen Mercury!" Finally, Lu Mian had an inspiration and struggled to let his gloved left palm touch the side.

He had already placed the evil short blade in the most convenient position to grab to deal with possible accidents.

A few seconds later, Lu Mian, who was opening his mouth wide trying to breathe, touched the hilt of the "Fallen Mercury" and lifted the silver-black short blade.

At this time, the "Fallen Mercury" wasn't wrapped in a black cloth, and the patterns on it were layered, making one dizzy.

Lu Mian used all his strength, lifted his shoulder bit by bit, bent his arm, and stabbed the "Fallen Mercury" toward the space above his body.

There was nothing there, let alone blood; he couldn't even make a scratch!

Lu Mian didn't hesitate at all, gritted his teeth, and followed the downward pressure, letting his arm bend toward his own body.

With a puff, he inserted the "Fallen Mercury" into his left waist.

Red blood spilled out, staining the blade of the "Fallen Mercury," and the illusory mercury liquid representing the fate of "suffering fire" entered Lu Mian's body.

The pain stimulated Lu Mian's oxygen-deprived brain to wake up quite a bit. His vision was dark, and a mysterious river composed of countless mercury-colored complex symbols appeared.

This represented his own fate.

Without time to pick and choose, Lu Mian cast his gaze toward the downstream of the illusory river, toward a river channel that was about to swallow other tributaries.

Immediately after, he poured his spirituality into the "Fallen Mercury," letting it pry the corresponding mercury-colored complex symbols formed by the self-entanglement of the small river.

The next second, Lu Mian saw himself lying on the bed, his face purple, in a near-death state.

Those mercury-colored symbols contracted violently, condensed into a drop of water, and seeped into the blade of the "Fallen Mercury."

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mian felt his whole body become relaxed, no longer having the feeling of drowning and suffocation, while also being surrounded by pain, unable to control a low groan.

Clusters of flames erupted from his body, and his skin charred inch by inch.

He had just used the "suffering the pain of being burned by fire" stored in the "Fallen Mercury" to exchange for his fate of "being attacked by the Monsouri ghosts," successfully escaping the state where even struggling was slightly powerless, and was no longer being attacked!

The "Fallen Mercury" could stab others, but could also stab Lu Mian himself, changing the parts of his fate he didn't want!

He was therefore ignited, feeling the pain of fighting the fire monster again.

Lu Mian, who had been prepared, rolled off the bed.

In the sound of the thud, he rolled back and forth, pressing out the flames on his body.

After a while, whether it was Lu Mian's strategy that had an effect, or the flames brought by the fate exchange had burned to the end, or both, he was no longer wrapped in red flames.

But his clothes had been burned to tatters, his body was covered in large patches of charred marks, his nose was dangling and about to fall off, and his hair emitted a burnt smell and was much less.

For a normal person, this was an injury that didn't even need rescue and could wait for death. For most low-sequence Beyonders, it was the same.

Lu Mian struggled to keep his eyes open, concentrating his spirit, not letting himself faint.

As time passed, he felt his vitality flowing away rapidly.

He held on bitterly, relying entirely on the breath in his chest that wouldn't go down.

Don't know how long it had been, the bell that was unusually beautiful to him finally rang in Lu Mian's ears.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

The bell representing six o'clock in the morning in Trier echoed in the Sijie and surrounding areas, and strands of morning light appeared on the horizon.

Lu Mian suddenly became clear-headed, no longer feeling pain.

His body and mental state completed a reset!

Hu... Lu Mian exhaled, rolled over and stood up, looked in front of him, and saw the linen shirt and dark trousers he wore last night burned to only a few rags, while his skin state had completely returned to normal.

He, who was already in a financial crisis, couldn't help but sigh:

Need to buy a set of clothes; another expense!

But no matter what, he had successfully escaped the first attack of the Monsouri ghosts. In the relevant legends, this might be unique.

"Looks like it's not a curse..." Lu Mian changed into a set of clothes, walked out of the room, and went to the washroom to wash his face with tap water.

He then looked in the mirror and found that part of his hair had become shorter, and part had lost the gold dyed on the surface.

These external things couldn't be reset.

After washing up, Lu Mian returned to 207 and was stunned to see a letter in the room.

The paper folded into a square was lying quietly on the wooden table.

Lu Mian couldn't help but mutter silently:

"Isn't it too early to reply at this hour?

"Didn't sleep last night, just got home?"

Shaking his head, Lu Mian walked over and unfolded the reply from "Magician."

The handwriting on the letter was sloppy and messy, only vaguely recognizable as belonging to that lady:

"Well done. Next, contact Mr. K more, show a side that is irrational and easily fanatical, until he preaches to you and invites you to join the organization he belongs to."

"The Monsouri ghosts are not a curse. For you now, there are three ways to solve it:"

"One, die in front of it, rely on the corruption in your body to kill it, and avenge those who died."

"Two, use that short blade of yours to exchange the fate of 'encountering the Monsouri ghosts.' Haven't you thought that that short blade can also be used on yourself?"

"Three, move to a church of some church and don't go out anymore."

PS: Requesting double monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 128 =====