Chapter 17: Spiritual Rush Curse

Zhu He's consciousness plunged into a state of manic frenzy, yet the Spiritual Qi around his body began to surge violently, gushing out at a rapid pace—an explosive outburst fueled by burning his very life force. Obviously, this was the state of "Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain."

Fortunately, unlike Cares, his Tier wasn't as high. Even in a berserk state, he wasn't that difficult to deal with.

At the exact moment Kaios gave his order to Sharvella, the door was pulled open. Harvey, who had been guarding outside all along, rushed in with three Silver Armor Guards. Although they had anticipated that the person they were meeting might resort to violence once exposed, truthfully, neither Kaios, Sharvella, nor Harvey expected Zhu He to instantly suffer an episode of Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain.

"Quick! Call Physician Grossman over!" Kaios shouted. "Drag him out! Don't let him ruin the bookshelves!"

A chaotic scuffle ensued. Since they wanted to subdue him alive, Harvey and the others refrained from using weapons. However, Zhu He's strength had surged exponentially in his berserk state, making it exceedingly difficult for the group to completely restrain him. The ensuing struggle was incredibly loud.

Before the Guards outside could even fetch him, Grossman had already heard the commotion and rushed over alongside Housekeeper Pete.

From a distance, seeing Zhu He glowing red all over, the Chief Physician of the Li Family shouted loudly, "It's too late! He can't be saved! Decapitate him!"

Kaios raised an eyebrow at this. Grossman's three-part medical verdict was rather fierce.

Hearing this, Sharvella immediately glanced back at him. Seeing her master nod, she instantly drew her blade and slashed downward.

Blood sprayed out, and the red glow dissipated. Kaios averted his gaze and sighed softly.

Grossman quickly rushed over, dropping to one knee. He carefully picked up the severed head and began to examine it. Even without prior briefing, encountering consecutive episodes of Spiritual Energy Warriors suffering from Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain within a few short days told him this was by no means a pure coincidence.

Pete stood on the second-floor corridor, giving brief instructions to the Guards and Servants downstairs who had run out upon hearing the commotion. "A Guard has suffered an episode of Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain. Everyone return to your posts and do not run around."

The commotion and murmurs quickly subsided. The Guards and Servants resumed their previous tasks; no one dared to whisper among themselves or snoop any further. This included Commander Lu Hao, who had just rushed in with Guards from outside. Upon receiving a signal, he quietly led his men back out to continue their night patrol.

Physician Grossman finished examining the head and moved on to the body. After more than ten minutes, he finally had the Servant who had followed him with two cases pack up the corpse, assisted by other Guards and Servants.

Kaios and Pete first went into the study to talk. A while later, having washed his hands and changed his clothes, Grossman came to meet them.

This Chief Physician, who had served the Li Family for over twenty years, was a stern and unsmiling middle-aged man of few words. He had almost zero presence when standing next to anyone. Therefore, even though Kaios had interacted with him many times since his transmigration, they still lacked any deep understanding or meaningful communication. Strictly speaking, Grossman could be considered a Mage, but his Magic Level was only Level 6, making him merely an Initial Tier Mage. However, he specialized in Healing System Magic. Thus, within the realm of Physicians, as long as he was equipped with sufficient potions and various medical supplies, his healing capabilities were no worse than those of a Level 12 Top Tier Mage who didn't specialize in the Healing System. Coupled with the one-third yellow halo behind his head and his over twenty years of experience as a Physician, Kaios placed a fair amount of trust in his professional judgment.

"Grossman, in your opinion, did Zhu He truly suffer from Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain, or was he assassinated using a similar method?" Kaios asked the moment the man entered the study.

"I can confirm it was indeed Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain. However, based on my examination of his head and blood condition just now, the original state of Spiritual Qi corruption in his body was nowhere near the point of a sudden outbreak," Grossman stated.

"Does that mean someone pulled strings in the dark? Was he poisoned?" Pete couldn't help but ask. Before Grossman arrived, he and Kaios had already discussed various speculations and had mapped out future investigation directions.

"It's not poison; there are no signs of poisoning. But it's definitely an unnatural internal explosion of Spiritual Qi, not a typical episode of Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain. It looks like... a Curse."

"A Curse?!"

Kaios and Pete were both greatly surprised. They never expected to hear this word from Physician Grossman.

"Both Zhu He and Cares from the Kendall Family were inflicted with a Curse, which caused the maddening effect of Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain?" Kaios said thoughtfully.

"The condition of Cares' corpse at the time made it impossible to draw many conclusions. Even with Zhu He, I can only confirm that his berserk episode of Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain was not a normal manifestation of the condition. As for whether it is a Curse, I cannot be completely certain right now. It's just a hypothesis. The exact results will require me to spend some time conducting a more detailed autopsy and analysis on the corpse," Grossman replied in his usual meticulous style.

"How long do you need to give a definitive result?" Kaios asked.

Grossman thought for a moment and said, "By noon the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Acceptable. Then go do your work. You've made a great contribution to this matter, and you will be rewarded for it later."

"Thank you, master," Grossman bowed his head and retreated from the study.

"Master, what should we do next? He must have accomplices. Should we notify the Kendall Clan?" Pete asked. Kaios had just told him that before Zhu He went berserk, it had essentially been confirmed that Zhu He was colluding with outsiders that day, and the Mad Knight incident was absolutely connected to him.

"Not for now. Don't spread the word about this yet. If there truly is some kind of Curse involved, I'm afraid this matter implicates more than just two clans," Kaios said. "Tomorrow, distribute Zhu He's pension to his family as usual. Internally, declare that he died from an episode of Spiritual Energy Rushing into the Brain. Externally, claim he died from a flare-up of an old injury."

"Understood."

After leaving the study, Pete nodded to Sharvella and Harvey at the door. He then strode toward the stairs, ready to handle the various follow-up affairs.

Although he had been working continuously for a long time and had handled many complex, mentally draining matters recently, he was currently in excellent spirits, and his physical condition was better than ever. Ever since Master Kaios woke up, these past few short days had been the most exhilarating and satisfying time he had experienced in all his years as a Contracted Servant and Housekeeper for the Li Family.

He could clearly sense that hidden dangers were buried both inside and outside the Li Family. A massive gloom was attempting to swallow up this young master. But being by his master's side—working together to uncover these hidden dangers, unravel the mysteries, trace the clues, and clear the clouds to see the sun—this feeling... was simply far too exhilarating.

In truth, even before the master's bizarre coma, he had already noticed the eerie situations inside and outside the Li Family. But at that time, he felt that if he wanted to get to the bottom of those matters, he would have to spend at least half his energy dealing with the master and figuring out how to extricate himself and his family from the mess. Thus, his ultimate choice was to do nothing and maintain the status quo. He had felt the exact same way even when facing the Old Baron and the Old Baron's father.

He pondered it over and concluded that it must be related to Master Kaios's amnesia upon waking up. Initially, when he first heard the master say he had forgotten many things, he thought it was a political maneuver. However, subsequent events made him realize that his master had genuinely forgotten a great deal. Yet, the loss of past memories seemed to have caused a drastic shift in the young master's personality, suddenly making him sharp-minded and fiercely decisive.

Serving such a master gave Pete the satisfying sensation of finally being able to unleash his talents and abilities. He believed that as long as he worked closely with his master—relying on his own methods and intellect, combined with the master's Soul Subordination Contracts and legitimate status as a Lord—the problems inside and outside the family, no matter how numerous, would be eradicated one by one. Then, together, they would charge forward and scale even greater heights. Assisting his master in becoming powerful meant that he, Pete, would become powerful. If the Li Family grew powerful, the Noke Clan would naturally rise with the tide!

The names of legendary Contracted Servants who had stood beside legendary historical figures flashed through his mind...

Inside the study, Kaios naturally had no idea how his Housekeeper's mental journey had evolved over the past few days, nor how full of drive he had become. At any rate, he knew Pete was highly spirited right now. Furthermore, the yellow hue in the halo behind Pete's head showed a faint increase almost every time they met. There was no issue with his loyalty, nor with his attitude and ability in handling tasks. That was all that mattered.

As Kaios was recalling some details from his recent conversation with Zhu He, Physician Grossman returned. After a knock and an announcement, he walked into the study.

"Master, there's something I need to tell you in advance. Although I've never seen a real case of the Curse I mentioned, and I can't be completely certain whether Zhu He was afflicted with it..."

"Get to the point," Kaios couldn't help but interrupt.

"In short, if it truly is that Curse, according to the records I've read, for it to remain perfectly hidden, take effect, and automatically trigger under certain conditions, there are two prerequisites.

"First, the Curse must be cast before the victim establishes a Soul Subordination Contract. Otherwise, the process of cursing would easily be perceived by the master of the Subordination Contract.

"Second, it is best to cast the Curse before the victim begins Cultivation of Spiritual Qi and acquires a Spiritual Energy Level. This ensures a higher success rate and makes it much harder to detect.

"That's all I wanted to say. I will take my leave now."

"Wait a minute." Kaios frowned, calling out to stop him. "You've been talking all this time, yet you haven't mentioned what this Curse is called."

"The Spiritual Rush Curse. That should be its name."

"From your professional judgment as a Physician, if Zhu He wasn't afflicted with the Spiritual Rush Curse, is there any other possible scenario?"

Grossman thought for two seconds and shook his head. "There might be other possibilities, but I cannot think of any at the moment."

"Then there are no other possibilities."

"You can't really say that..."

"You may go."

"Understood."

After the study door was closed once more, Kaios stood up and paced among the bookshelves, searching for a book while pondering Grossman's words.

In his judgment, Grossman had basically concluded that Zhu He was afflicted with the Spiritual Rush Curse when Pete was present earlier. However, he hadn't mentioned the two prerequisites for the Curse at that time. 'Before establishing a Soul Subordination Contract' and 'before cultivating Spiritual Qi'—these two conditions implied that the Curse had been cast when the victims were very young. It was highly likely that there were traitors among the victims' families, the administrators of their territories, or even high-level management.

He didn't believe Grossman had simply forgotten earlier and only just remembered. His deduction was that this rigid, by-the-book Physician had intentionally waited until Pete left before returning to tell him this.