Chapter 215

【I am Fang Yue, and I have entered Mo Cun.】

【I'm safe!】

Although the parchment said it was safe.

But Fang Yue still felt a faint unease.

Because the parchment had failed for the first time.

【As long as you offer more black stones to the great and noble Parchment Lord, helping Parchment Lord regain strength, the Wu Yu tribe is nothing to fear! It won't fail again!】

Fang Yue's face darkened.

You've got to be kidding—used up two of my black stones just to fix it, and now you want to scam more food and drink.

Fang Yue was counting on trading black stones for the Messenger Group's Heart Method scrolls; he couldn't spare them to feed the parchment.

He turned to look outside the village.

The escort team's formation was wildly scattered; its vanguard squad was drifting slowly toward him.

At their head was none other than the Blood Hunter, eyes blazing red.

As if spotting Fang Yue, the Blood Hunter and his group accelerated toward him.

In no time, the Blood Hunter crossed the Life and Death Line and arrived before Fang Yue.

"Ye Ge, your head… how did it…?"

The Blood Hunter stared in shock at Fang Yue's two identical heads—this inhuman form evoked a strange, chilling discomfort.

"Affected by the Curse. Not a problem."

Had Fang Yue not retained his sanity, the Blood Hunter would have thought him fully controlled by the sinister entity.

"How's the team?"

"Apart from… 【Blood-Headed Giant Dog】 dying, no other dangers occurred."

At the mention of 【Blood-Headed Giant Dog】, his expression dimmed; Fang Yue offered a few words of comfort, then waited as the scattered figures approached.

……

Time, returning to over ten minutes earlier.

Mo Cun, the Messenger Group.

Five figures in black robes, about to enter the Messenger Group's large tent, suddenly all snapped their heads up toward the village entrance.

Their black robes were strange.

From the front, the inside of the robes was pure darkness—nothing visible.

Though this method of concealing identity was eerie, as long as one passed the Life and Death Line at the village entrance and moved freely within, it was not considered sinister—no one would suspect.

Within Mo Cun, the sinister entities have nowhere to hide!

"Aren't you going in? This is the last night session today—miss it, and you wait till tomorrow."

The gatekeeper at the Messenger Group's entrance yawned and urged them.

"…"

The five black-robed figures exchanged glances, then suddenly retreated together.

The gatekeeper blinked, muttering, "What the hell?"

Leaving the Messenger Group, the five black-robed figures halted at a hidden corner.

"Wu… Ji…"

Wu Ji!

An extremely complex, terrifying curse!

It could only be cast at the cost of a life.

And… only a sinister entity inheriting the Wu Yu tribe's royal bloodline could cast it!

But how could a member of the royal line appear here?

The five black-robed figures fell silent.

They were the Messenger Group, dispatched here on a mission.

The appearance of the royal line was entirely outside the plan.

"…Save."

One of the black-robed figures, seemingly the leader, looked at the one beside him.

The other three immediately linked hands, forming a triangle around him.

Their hands, under the robe's influence, had become wisps of black mist—no trace of their original forms remained.

The black-robed figure in the center did not hesitate—he extended a hand of black smoke and plunged it into his own chest.

"Ahh!!!"

The black-robed figure knelt on the ground, mouth open as if roaring in agony—but no sound escaped.

As he did this, thick black smoke erupted from his mouth and rose into the air!

When the smoke took shape midair as a kite, it shot forward as if propelled by a gale.

Meanwhile, the kneeling figure ceased emitting smoke, lay still, sizzling, and vanished—leaving only the black robe behind.

The other four black-robed figures glanced once, then closed their eyes silently.

They were now linked to the black kite.

What they saw was what the black kite saw.

The black kite flew straight toward the village's outskirts.

Just before reaching the village's boundary in midair, it suddenly struck a translucent barrier—within an instant, countless intricate Ancient Scripts appeared densely, arranged like an ancient array, then vanished back into the air.

The black kite, however, emitted a faint black glow and pierced through.

Like a hawk diving for prey, it plunged toward the village entrance.

Mo Cun is a very special existence.

To breach Mo Cun's defenses, they paid a great price.

But any price is negligible before the life of a royal.

The royal is greater than all!

"…"

As the black kite drew near, the scene below became clearly visible.

It was a human escort team.

They seemed utterly unaware that something had appeared above them.

Or rather, they simply could not detect it!

At the front of the escort team, the man's neck bore a bone kite.

The face on the bone kite was nearly transformed into that of the human.

Wu Ji is nearly complete!

All feedback synchronized to the four black-robed ones of Mo Cun.

Their pupils shrank in unison, deeply shocked.

"…It's a royal!"

"Something… is off."

"It's a royal!"

They seemed to disagree, exchanging information rapidly.

But in the end, they reached a consensus.

The black kite high above burst with a bang.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

One of the large-headed dogs in the escort team seemed to sense something.

But only seemed to.

Its bewildered expression revealed no understanding of what had happened.

The bursting black kite dissolved into countless black particles, drawn like a magnet into the bone kite.

In a place no one could hear.

The rope tied around Fang Yue's neck snapped with a tap.

"System Prompt: 【Unknown Ghost Curse】 status removed."

The man whose neck was bound by the bone kite suddenly froze, as if sensing something, then immediately spurred his horse into a desperate flight.

This reaction left the four black-robed ones of Mo Cun momentarily stunned.

"…Coincidence?"

No one pursued the thought further.

For the black particles had fully merged with the bone kite, forming a balloon-like human head.

The head bore carved facial features.

If Fang Yue were to see it again, he would surely recognize it as Ma Ling'er'er's face.

"My lord… awaken."

Ma Ling'er'er heard the voice in her mind and slowly opened her eyes.

"Who… am I?"

Ma Ling'er'er's confusion synchronized to the black-robed ones of Mo Cun.

"My lord, you are of the Wu Yu clan's royal bloodline!"

"I am a royal?"

Ma Ling'er'er remained confused; at this moment, the black-robed one understood.

Ma Ling'er'er had lost her memories—or rather, her memories before death.

But… that made no sense!

Before 【Wu Ji】, this terrible curse, fully takes effect, the Wu Yu royal bloodline always has a chance of recovery, and never loses memory.

Unless… the bloodline is impure!

The leader of Mo Cun's black-robed ones suddenly frowned.

But at that moment, Ma Ling'er'er suddenly sensed something.

"I must do something—I feel I absolutely must do something!"

Her balloon head suddenly turned toward the direction of the young man who had just fled in desperate haste.

That… man whose neck she had once bound with the bone kite!

"Wait…"

Before the black-robed ones could stop her, Ma Ling'er'er's balloon head let out a giggling laugh and surged wildly after Fang Yue's fleeing form.

She moved swiftly, her grotesquely widening mouth—stretching until it nearly covered the entire balloon—gushing black blood in a steady stream, accompanied by a shrill giggle audible only to the black-robed ones.

【Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Keep running, fast-running big brother!】

(End of Chapter)