The King of Curses

Chapter 10: Haunted House Phenomenon

"Are you willing to believe it?"

"...Yeah. Seeing such a shocking sight with your own eyes, even if you don't want to believe it, you have no choice but to admit it."

An Zhizhen drew the curtains to block out the endless darkness outside the window, then walked back to the coffee table and sat down.

"The whole city disappeared. It was a big scene."

She sighed and drank some coffee to calm herself.

"To be precise, it was us who disappeared, not the city. The power of the haunted house is not yet so huge," said Cen Dongsheng.

The "haunted house phenomenon" that is enough to cover an entire city is a sign of the birth of the Ghost King. At least in this day and age, it is impossible to happen.

"But in this case, Sister Zhizhen should be able to understand that right now, the outside world can't help us. Modern technology can't break through the barriers between the two worlds. In the eyes of the world, we are just a group of unlucky people who have disappeared from the face of the earth."

"Then...what should we do?"

"We can only rely on ourselves to get out from the inside."

If in the future he lives in, in a large city with a stable order, once a haunted house phenomenon occurs, it will be detected immediately and the situation will be under control in a short time. The ruling authorities will assemble a team of professional curse masters and send them into the haunted house to eliminate the core and rescue the survivors...

This is the job of the Exorcism Department where he works.

But in today's world where there is a lack of a sound alarm mechanism and exorcism process, once you are caught up in it, you can only rely on luck.

This is a cruel test with a very low survival rate, but it is also an opportunity for those who are born with talent. An unfortunate encounter with a ghost allows someone to rise from an ordinary person to a curse master... In the first two years before the first wave swept the world, there were countless similar examples.

"Dongsheng, do you have a way to escape?"

An Zhizhen blinked.

"Yes, I do."

For him, the process was all too familiar.

"Then...can I go with you?"

"Of course." A smile finally appeared on his face. "I came here just to rescue you."

……

Before taking action, Cen Dongsheng glanced at the clock on the wall and said to An Zhizhen:
"Take a rest first, don't rush. In order to escape, it is necessary to retain sufficient energy and get a good rest."

"……how about you?"

"I'm used to it, and as a forbidden master, I have my own way of resting." He waved his hand casually, "Don't worry about it."

Seeing that his expression didn't seem like he was lying, An Zhizhen nodded and stood up to go back to the bedroom.

"Then I'm going to bed."

Before closing the door, Sister Zhizhen turned around again, revealing only half of her face at the edge of the door, and spoke softly:

"Thank you so much for today...Good night, Dongsheng."

"OK, good night."

*
There are still four hours until morning.

Since we are in a haunted house, it may not be dawn even on the "next day". However, it is precisely because of this that we need to maintain a relatively stable schedule, as a disrupted biological clock may affect our combat status.

Cen Dongsheng sat cross-legged on the sofa, replenishing his energy through meditation while thinking about his next course of action.

Take An Zhizhen with you and leave this place together.

His strong points haven't been developed yet, so it's impossible for him to pin his hopes on whether the other party will awaken the life ban at the critical moment. He can only rely on himself.

According to his experience, the general process of exorcising a haunted house mainly revolves around how to find the core, and the core often appears together with the most powerful ghost.

Just like playing a game dungeon, after killing the boss and getting the reward (core), the dungeon will automatically disappear. Of course, in reality, a haunted house will remain for a period of time before it disappears naturally, and the specific time depends on its own strength.

The problem was that he wasn't sure of the other person's level.

"If it's a Class A ghost with the ability of 'spatial manipulation', then it might be a bit difficult to deal with. Haunted houses are their natural territory, so they have the nickname of 'house owner'."

Theoretically, a mature, Class A curse master with abilities that gravitate toward frontal combat would have a chance to exorcise Class A ghosts independently, but Cen Dongsheng's problem was that... he had too little time.

Only a week had passed since he obtained the "Tiger Demon Cloak", and even the "first level of supernatural power" had not yet awakened. He could only rely on the powerful physical fitness of the human immortal system and the abundant true energy brought by the high-level spell. It was unknown to what extent he could achieve.

"After all, how did this 'haunted house phenomenon' come about?"

For Cen Dongsheng, this was indeed another unexpected development.

The haunted house phenomenon does not occur for no reason. It is usually caused by the accumulation of natural Yin Qi in a certain place, which leads to the appearance of powerful ghosts; or it is the location of some kind of curse or forbidden object, which creates a magnetic field that can attract a large amount of Yin Qi.

"Quantitative change leads to qualitative change." Where Yin Qi gathers, it will drag reality into another world.

But it has been almost two months since he moved into Xiaokang Building. After all, Cen Dongsheng is not an ordinary person. If the above two situations really existed in these two months, he thinks he would not have been unaware of it.

"The possibility of a natural Yin gathering place can be ruled out. The only thing left is... have any foreign, ownerless forbidden objects entered Xiaokang Building recently?"

Cen Dongsheng thought for a moment, but still couldn't get an answer, so he could only put it aside for the time being.

……

Silent all night.

"Jingle Bell!"

In the morning, the alarm clock rang. Urged by the sharp and piercing sound, a panicked "bang bang" sound came from the direction of the bedroom.

Cen Dongsheng slowly opened his eyes, looked over there, and spoke in a deep voice:
"Sister Zhizhen, what happened?"

"I was picking out clothes and accidentally bumped my foot..."

Well, this isn't a shopping trip, he thought.

"I'm sorry, I was too nervous. This is the first time someone stayed overnight at my house. When I woke up in the morning and was about to leave the room, I realized you were still at home and I hadn't even put on my clothes yet."

There was a hint of shyness in her voice.

"Wait a moment, I will change into suitable clothes and shoes as soon as possible."

……

Cen Dongsheng turned on the light in the living room, and then heard the bedroom door being pushed open again.

He turned his head, and the sight that came into his sight brightened his eyes.

Just as she said herself, today Sister Zhizhen changed into an outfit suitable for sports, a cool sleeveless top and white knitted pants that outlined her straight legs, and her flowing black hair was tied into a long ponytail behind her.

Different from her usual urban beauty temperament, An Zhizhen's outfit today is like that of a lively girl. She is so youthful that you can't tell her age.

"Stupefied?"

Seeing that he didn't say anything, An Zhizhen tilted his head slightly and asked with a smile.

"is a bit."

Cen Dongsheng nodded and admitted it honestly

"Very good, then my efforts in choosing clothes have not been wasted."

"Well, I originally thought there was no sun in the haunted house..." Cen Dongsheng said, "But seeing how Sister Zhizhen is dressed, I feel like she's already dazzling even without the sun." "Hahaha, you're really good at talking. You're really good at pleasing girls. I'm getting goosebumps just by listening to you."

To please girls? To please the boss! He complained in his mind.

"Flattery never wears out, no matter how many holes there are." This is the way of survival for office workers, and it is not an exaggeration at all. After all, in a society where the strong are respected, the boss really has the ability to twist the heads of his subordinates off.

Seeing that she was in a good mood this morning, Cen Dongsheng couldn't help but say:
"You adapt to strange things really quickly, Sister Zhizhen."

From an ordinary person to an insider, being able to readily accept the truth and adapt to survive in the face of a cruel world is also part of one's talent.

"I can't cry while being protected by someone and make a fool of myself. I still want to retain a little dignity that belongs to me as a sister."

Sister Zhizhen replied with a smile.

"Dongsheng, take me away."

*
When I walked out of the room, it was clearly morning, but the corridor outside was still pitch black, and the world was plunged into eternal night.

There was no one in the row of rooms here, a reflection of another world. Only the moonlight in the sky coldly illuminated the Xiaokang Building.

They came to the stairwell and walked down along the fire escape next to it. After going down one floor, Sister Zhizhen seemed to notice something and grabbed the sleeve of Cen Dongsheng who was walking in front of her.

"Wait a moment……"

She pointed to the bottom of the stairs and lowered her voice nervously.

"What is that? Should I avoid it?"

Cen Dongsheng silently gazed at the corridor on this floor. A white shadow floated gently past, emitting a hazy glow under the faint moonlight.

Then another one, and then the next... White shadows floated in the corridor in groups and lines, crowded in the narrow passage, just like an office building at the end of the working day.

The facial features of these white shadows cannot be clearly seen, and one can only barely distinguish the gender, age and status based on their body shape. The outlines of some are so faint that they are almost indistinguishable, as if they have merged with the same kind around them.

"D-level ghosts, the lowest level floating spirits."

Cen Dongsheng replied.

"They tend to appear in groups, attracted by Yin Qi, while releasing their own aura. If you are surrounded by these things, you will quickly feel weak because they will constantly absorb the Yang Qi in living things."

"…The lowest level?"

"Yes, they can't even condense their own image, so they don't have the ability to kill people. As long as you don't stay in their aura for a long time, you won't die. Just flee or avoid them as soon as possible after seeing them. Of course, if the old, weak, sick and disabled with weak blood and qi run into them, there is still a chance of accidents."

“You really understand…”

Sister Zhizhen sighed.

"Well, I've read a little of the books my grandfather left behind. I told you about it last night."

Although he was not stingy when sharing knowledge about ghosts and forbidden masters with Sister Zhizhen, he naturally did not mention anything about the content related to the future.

In this way, Sister Zhizhen might doubt the source of his information in the future... In order to take precautions, Cen Dongsheng made up a false past for himself, saying that when he was in the welfare home, he had a good relationship with an old grandfather nearby. Before the old man died, he got an ancient book from the old man that recorded all kinds of knowledge.

When the "first wave" was in full swing, a group of people who inherited the tradition of ancient curse masters used the skills of dealing with ghosts and monsters passed down by their ancestors to gain a certain early advantage; but this advantage soon disappeared in the curse master society.

In the face of naturally powerful destinies and the constant emergence of new curses, tradition becomes a joke; as for the experience of dealing with ghosts, people will soon sum up a systematic method that is more scientific and effective than the records in ancient books.

Cen Dongsheng fabricated this identity just to make the source of his "knowledge" more reasonable.

He looked at the woman who was clutching his sleeve tightly.

"Sister Zhizhen, why don't you try to contact them?"

Of course, Cen Dongsheng could easily use his true Qi to destroy these ghosts blocking his way, but he thought it would be better to let Sister Zhizhen get used to the existence of ghosts.

"Don't be afraid. Like I said, they don't have the ability to immediately take or attack human life. If something happens, I will help."

I am An Zhizhen's guide - thinking this way, I always feel a little proud. This is not good.

"……I see."

Sister Zhizhen obviously understood his intention and did not refuse.

……

Standing at the junction of the corridor and the stairwell, the woman placed her hands on her chest, the plump outline covered by her palms rising and falling slightly with her breathing.

An Zhizhen stared at the white shadow in front of her, which was only one meter away from her. It almost passed under her eyelids. She overcame the slight discomfort in her heart, opened her eyes, and took a step forward.

"..."

After colliding head-on with the white shadow, An Zhizhen's body passed directly through the floating spirit.

At the moment of contact, she felt as if she was walking into a wet and cold fog, her whole body was wet and her shoulders were heavy.

There is a feeling of being stripped of vitality... but not strongly.

"It seems that Dongsheng's knowledge in this area is quite accurate."

The woman thought to herself, and took a few quick steps forward again, leaving the white shadow behind her, and finally returned to her original position.

An Zhizhen looked back and saw that the floating spirits continued on their own path and ignored her.

"Oh."

Cen Dongsheng clapped his hands and encouraged.

"Well done. You'll start to get used to it."

The woman smiled at his praise. She stroked her ponytail subconsciously.

"...Actually, I still feel unsure. If I could have the power to fight against ghosts like you, Dongsheng, I wouldn't be so nervous."

"You will."

"can you?"

It would be a huge joke if An Zhizhen couldn't become a forbidden master.

"Of course. But not now."

……

Continuing down the stairs, they soon reached the first floor.