Chapter 276 The Twenty-First Day of Entering a Xuanhuan Novel

Chapter 276: Day 21 in a Fantasy Novel

Zhou Yuan's heart was pounding with anxiety as he hurriedly led the three into the private quarters.

A haggard-looking woman was holding an unconscious young boy in her arms, weeping silently. The boy was about five or six years old, his complexion pale and sallow, his lips tinged purple, his breathing weak, and an unnatural chill emanating from his entire body.

An Yi's gaze swept over the child, then settled on Zhou Yuan, and he already understood.

Gan Feng examined the boy carefully, stepping forward to check the child's eyelids and pulse before rising to face Zhou Yuan, his tone carrying a note of reproach:

"As I thought. Your son's illness is not the work of any 'ghost infant,' but rather the tainted aura you yourself have carried, Zhou County Magistrate, which has affected your frail young son!"

Zhou Yuan's face went deathly pale: "I... tainted aura on me?"

Gan Feng nodded, pointing at the faint gray-black aura imperceptible to the naked eye that clung to Zhou Yuan: "A curse is clinging to you. This curse was not deliberately cast by anyone, but originates from this very county office."

He listened to the faint murmurs within the curse: "It comes from those... prisoners who suffered injustice here, whose hearts harbor resentment that won't go away!"

He paused, looking at Zhou Yuan's horrified expression, and continued to explain: "As for why your son fell ill first instead of you, it is because a child's vital energy is not yet fully formed, and their spirit is still tender—most susceptible to such dark, filthy resentment."

"Your son is the youngest and cannot resist it, so he was the first to fall. If this continues and the resentment keeps building up, within a year or two, your entire household will likely all fall ill!"

Zhou Yuan broke out in a cold sweat, his legs so weak he could barely stand.

He suddenly recalled that since he took office, he had indeed handled some dubious cases—sometimes rushing to close them quickly or accepting "tokens of appreciation" before brushing them aside... Was this really karma?

He immediately dropped to his knees, throwing all official dignity to the wind, tears and snot streaming down his face as he pleaded: "Immortal Masters, please see the truth! This humble official may have been negligent in some matters, but surely it was the low-level clerks deceiving their superiors and blinding me!"

"This humble official will investigate very carefully from now on, and never wrong the innocent! I beg the Immortal Masters to show mercy and remove this curse for me!"

An Yi, upon hearing this, said flatly and refused without hesitation: "No."

Xie Xuandu stood off to the side, that gentle smile still on his face. He let out a light laugh at that, the laughter filled with open mockery: "County Magistrate Zhou, this curse originates from injustice—it's the result of seeds you planted yourself. Now that it has borne fruit, you wish for us to just wipe it away for you? How could things be that easy?"

Zhou Yuan's face flushed red and then white, cycling through shame and anger, yet he dared not take out his anger at these two clearly formidable "Immortal Masters." He could only turn his pleading gaze toward Gan Feng, who seemed the easiest to talk to.

Gan Feng looked at him like this and sighed inwardly.

He walked over to the unconscious child, channeled a sliver of his limited spiritual power, and combined it with a calming talisman, pressing it to the child's brow.

A faint wisp of black qi seeped out from the child's mouth and nose. The boy's pale complexion seemed to improve slightly, and his breathing steadied a little, but he remained unconscious.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuan felt a surge of hope and quickly asked: "Immortal Master, has the curse been lifted?"

Gan Feng shook his head and said honestly: "No. I merely dispersed the outermost layer of resentment clinging to your son to ease his suffering. The root cause is you. If you do not change your ways, even if your son wakes this time, he'll suffer again in the future."

Zhou Yuan's joyful expression froze instantly, his facial muscles twitching beyond his control, his eyes filled with terror.

An Yi looked at him, his voice calm yet with an icy edge: "The current curse won't kill you for now. However, if you continue to be this clueless, the next time your son—or anyone else in your family—collapses, I can't guarantee anything."

He paused, then gave him the answer: "Dispelling the curse is simple enough. Go and retry those cases during your time in office that are questionable or may have wronged someone, and judge them fairly. In the future, when you hear cases, you must also be meticulous and never act carelessly again. As long as you truly change your ways, this curse born of injustice will gradually dissipate as the resentment is pacified."

Zhou Yuan's expression shifted uncertainly, clearly struggling internally.

At that moment, An Yi turned his head and leaned close to Xie Xuandu's ear, whispering a few words.

His warm breath brushed softly against Xie Xuandu's ear and the side of his neck.

Xie Xuandu's body stiffened barely noticeably, his breath catching for a moment. Then he turned his head to look at An Yi's perfect profile so close to his own, the corners of his lips curving into a brilliant smile as he nodded without a moment's hesitation: "Alright."

Then, Zhou Yuan and Gan Feng watched as Xie Xuandu stood up gracefully and withdrew a talisman inscribed with cinnabar runes from the sleeve of his flowing moon-white Daoist robe.

The talisman moved by itself, as if alive.

A delighted smile on his face, Xie Xuandu gave a light flick of his finger.

The talisman suddenly transformed into a beam of light and, as if alive, shot swiftly toward Zhou Yuan!

Zhou Yuan let out a startled yelp and instinctively tried to dodge, but he was too slow.

The talisman circled around his flailing right hand, its sharp paper edge slicing across his middle fingertip as sharp as a blade. A single drop of bright red blood beaded up and stained the talisman.

The next moment, the blood-soaked talisman, now moving even faster, landed with a soft "smack" precisely on the center of Zhou Yuan's forehead!

A flash of red light, and the talisman—like a drop of water sinking into a sponge—instantly sank into his skin, disappearing without a trace, leaving only an extremely faint red dot on his brow like a cinnabar mark, which then faded away as well.

Zhou Yuan slumped to the ground, frantically rubbing his forehead with both hands. It was smooth and normal, nothing there, yet he could feel a tight, binding feeling lingering at his brow.

He demanded shrilly, trying to sound fierce but clearly scared: "What... what is this?! What have you done to me?!"

Xie Xuandu looked down at him, still wearing that perfect, gentle smile, his tone almost soothing: "No need to panic, County Magistrate Zhou. This is a 'Heart-Warning Curse,' nothing lethal."

"If your conscience is clear and you act with integrity, it will have no effect on you whatsoever. If you're unhappy about it, you are welcome to seek out other experts and see if they can remove it for you."

His smile deepened, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes: "When you discover that no one can, and you have suffered enough, you will naturally... know what to do."