The King of Curses

Chapter 57: Devil Mother
Of the six team members from the Exorcism Division of the Governing Bureau, one stayed on the roadside to guard the entrance, and the remaining five entered the town.

They maintained a cautious pace, and their expressions became more serious the further they went inside.

The young man wearing glasses held a machine in his hand, and the green waveform on it was jumping. He looked down at the instrument display and then looked up to compare the surrounding environment.

The product created by the combination of ancient Feng Shui and modern detection technology is far more useful than the antiques left by our ancestors. It is not only simple to use, but also has more accurate data and can be uploaded to the ruling bureau's network in real time.

If necessary, the headquarters will send someone to organize and investigate this data and provide real-time feedback to frontline members.

"There are traces of 'evil spirit' left."

"Sha Qi? Is it evil?"

Cen Dongsheng frowned.

"This is not an opponent we can handle. The gap is too big."

The evil spirits can only be dealt with by spell-binding masters who have reached the level of magical sorcerers, and they are already the first sequence in the regular combat team of the ruling bureau.

"...No, it doesn't look like a fierce evil spirit. It's not that exaggerated, and it's also mixed with human true energy."

The other party replied, and although he denied the possibility of a murderous evil, his tone did not show any sign of relaxation.

Being able to use "evil qi" and "true qi" at the same time, two energies that are completely opposite in nature and incompatible like ice and fire, is like a fantasy for ordinary spell-binding masters.

Unfortunately, there are people like "Zu" in this world who transcend common sense.

"It can only be the subordinate of the 'King of the Underworld'."

Cen Dongsheng's tone was heavy.

There really is such a secret inheritance that allows humans to use evil spirits. This way was created by the Nether King, but not everyone can master it.

"Sure enough, the 'Nine-Child Ghost Mother' is connected to the Nether King."

“This is known to everyone.”

Captain Feng scratched his hair, rarely showing his troubled side.

"I didn't expect that their people have been here, and they are core members."

The four ancestors respectively rule the four major regions of Tiannan, Haibei, Moxi and Cangdong, and jointly manage the "absolute neutral zone", which is the association's seat, Dajing City; and the only two ancestors who have no fixed territory and wander around the land of Shenzhou, one of them is the Nether King.

Unlike the lonely King Pingdeng, although the King of the Underworld has never ruled a large region, the forces affiliated with him are still huge, with a mixture of good and bad people and complex roots.

Because of his secretive whereabouts, his core organization has become more secretive. Some underground organizations and civil groups that seem to not belong to any region have his shadow behind the scenes manipulating them.

The "Ghost Mother Society" led by the "Nine-Child Ghost Mother" is one of them. The Ghost Mother Society is a typical group of sorcerers, with cruel methods and brutal style. Perhaps because of this, they did not become the core organization acting in the name of the Nether King, but they are still considered to be the group of people who are most closely connected with the ancestors.

After reaching the middle of Lianhua Town, the team members began searching in all directions with a locust tree planted there as the center.

The young man with glasses was holding an instrument in his hand, his facial muscles trembling abnormally, and sometimes he changed his face to reveal a sneaky mouse-like appearance, with a bulging mouth and a layer of short black hair covering his face and cheeks.

This was his forbidden spell, a type of ghost fairy spell. It could detect various smells that were difficult for humans to capture, including the flow of "Qi" that did not exist in reality. It was responsible for reconnaissance and perception in the team.

"Let's start from here."

His companions formed a formation to protect Cen Dongsheng on both sides. He kicked open the front door of one of the houses without hesitation, and the bright beam of flashlight shone inside.

In the dark room, a foul smell mixed with the smell of blood hit the face, and flies were flying everywhere.

The furniture in the house was scattered all over the place, showing signs of having been damaged, with scratches and dents everywhere.

Black blood was splattered everywhere, and one could imagine how tragic the scene was when the incident happened.

Following the sticky bloodstains all the way inside, Cen Dongsheng arrived at the bathroom door.

The door was pushed open with a creaky sound.

Although he had made sufficient mental preparation, Cen Dongsheng still frowned after seeing the scene inside.

If the inside of the house was a mess, then the inside was even more horrific, with bloodstains sprayed all over the walls, ceiling and floor.

A shriveled female corpse was sitting on the toilet, and it seemed as if all the blood and flesh in her body had been drained away, leaving only skin and bones.

There was a huge wound on her abdomen and her abdominal cavity was empty.

The teammates behind him fell silent, leaving only the sound of their breathing.

Cen Dongsheng pulled down the prepared gas mask.

"Let's go look elsewhere."

Leave the house and walk along the street in the center of the town.

Most of the houses in Lianhua Town are vacant. They were probably affected during the first two waves, and the original residents all fled. The residents who live here are those who moved in later, a total of more than 20 households.

But now, there is no one left alive.

With each house they entered, everyone's expressions grew more gloomy, as every household had suffered a tragic death, their bodies left carelessly on the ground.

When they saw the bodies of a couple lying dead in bed hugging each other, someone finally couldn't hold back his anger and cursed under his breath.

“…this bunch of bastards.”

The sorcerer is a general term for those spell-casters who have fallen into evil ways. They often use human flesh and blood or souls as nourishment for their growth, so they will hunt other spell-casters without any conflict for no reason, and are hated by others.

But they don't even let ordinary people go. This kind of person can be said to be very cruel, or they are killing people with a cruel and playful mentality.

Cen Dongsheng noticed with his sharp eyes that the couple were still holding something tightly in their hands before they died.

After pulling it out with great effort, he found that it was a family photo, which was a picture of a couple and a little girl, and it was stained with blood.

He was silent for a moment and put it in his pocket.

At least the child was not found among the bodies...is that the only good news?

“There are no living people in this place anymore.”

After walking out of the last house at the end of the street, Captain Feng let out a deep breath.

"Hold on."

The team member in charge of reconnaissance lay on the ground, casting a spell with all his strength. Not only did his face bulge, but his entire body looked like a mouse with its tail curled up.

After carefully distinguishing for a while, he stood up.

"follow me."

There is a small forest behind the town. We walked through the ankle-deep grass and arrived under a big tree after twists and turns.

Under the cover of the bushes, the team members found a wooden board with signs of decay on the ground.

Before Cen Dongsheng pulled away, Captain Feng said behind him:
"Don't take action."

Obviously he had noticed that there was someone below.

As the wooden board was pulled open, a skinny arm holding a kitchen knife suddenly stretched out, but was easily pressed to the ground by Cen Dongsheng, and the knife was kicked away.

"You, you guys..."

“We are the ruling bureau.”

Cen Dongsheng answered.

When he looked into the man's eyes, he was suddenly stunned.

What came into view was a face that had become almost withered due to despair, grief and exhaustion. The dirty man was hiding in a dark basement, with only a pair of eyes glowing brightly.

That look… that look that was like a smoldering fire, made him feel familiar.

In the year after the "ghost soldiers passed through the border", Cen Dongsheng also met several temporary companions. They had lost their families and often had similar eyes.

After coming to his senses, he glanced down and realized that there was more than one person in the basement.

……

Captain Feng peeled off a tattered talisman paper from the trap door.

"It was an invisibility charm left by another spell-forbidden master. It was a good thing, no wonder it helped them conceal their aura and escape... But, this was probably the only thing that person could do. As time went by, the effect weakened."

Another team member climbed out of the basement and reported.

"Captain Feng, there are nine people in total, five minors, aged between eleven and fifteen, two elderly people over seventy years old, an adult man in his fifties, and an adult woman in her forties. They all suffered serious injuries, and the latter is still in a coma."

"These... are all the people who survived in Lotus Town."

Cen Dongsheng took a deep breath.

There was a group of old, weak and sick people. The man who had just tried to stab someone with a kitchen knife, although he was injured, was the only one among the group who could be considered capable of fighting.

The young man with glasses who was good at perception whispered in his ear:
"Deputy Captain, look in his jacket pocket. There's something in there."

Cen Dongsheng glanced at it and nodded slightly.

"I know."

Although the man did not resist after they revealed their identities, his eyes were still full of vigilance. He protected the other survivors behind him and placed one hand on his chest in an unnatural manner. It was too obvious.

"Maybe he still has the talisman hidden. Maybe it was left to him by the spell-binding master."

Cen Dongsheng heard Captain Feng questioning the survivors.

"How did you survive?"

After asking around, I found out that these people were not family members, but neighbors.

The residents of Lotus Town came from all over, and most of them were wanderers. They once took care of an injured spell master, and after he recovered, they hired him as the town's guardian. They lived peacefully for a year until the members of the "Ghost Mother Association" came nearby.

When the spell-breaker realized that a group of sorcerers was approaching, it was too late to take everyone away, so he fled first, leaving behind the talisman he had hidden in the bottom of his box.

He also left a message to tell the residents that it was impossible for a group of ordinary people like them to escape together as their whereabouts would easily be noticed and they would be killed collectively. It would be better for them to use the talisman to find a place to hide and bet that the group of guys were just passing by and would not bother to check.

But when the residents gathered together urgently and tried a circle, they found that the number of people who could cover their tracks with the talisman was limited. In the end, each family selected someone to hide with the talisman, and almost all of them were the elderly and children in the family, while the adults almost all chose to stay in the town.

The survivors fled at the last minute and witnessed the Curse Master's attack on the town, so they knew very well that their families had...

"My son lied to me, saying that everything would be fine soon... If I had known, I should have stayed with him. I am already this old, what is the point of living..."

The old man who survived was in tears, while the other one looked mentally ill and muttered to himself against the wall.

The rest of the people, whether children or adults, all had numb expressions. They had been in this basement for three days and two nights without coming out. Their mental state was already on the verge of being fragile, and they could not accept the fact that their family members had died.

If they were to see the tragic situation in the town right now, they would probably collapse completely.

"How to deal with it?"

After returning to the ground, Cen Dongsheng asked.

"Follow the rules. Let the headquarters send someone over. As long as they go through the review procedures, they can live well."

Captain Feng touched his pocket and felt like smoking.

"Although it's inappropriate to say this, if the people here could move into the city earlier, not to mention that this place is not far from Tianhai City, in fact, any city will do, as long as it is within the jurisdiction of the ruling bureau, this kind of thing will not happen."

Cen Dongsheng nodded silently.

In fact, in terms of straight-line distance, it took them less than three hours to get from the suburbs to Lianhua Town, but the influence of the Tiannan region extended far beyond that.

But the problem is that the geographical divisions of this era are different from those in the past. The areas where humans and ghosts live are clearly divided into "cities" and "wilderness."

Even a giant power like the ruling bureau can only protect the cities it governs and the intercity roads that connect the cities. If they want to make those sparsely populated mountain valleys safe, they can only wait until the day when the ghosts are completely expelled from the world.

Within the city's high walls is the human world; beyond that, ghosts are rampant.

Although the scattered villages, towns and other small settlements have not completely disappeared from the map, they may be in danger of collapse at any time, and the risk is dozens of times that of city dwellers.

"The entry standards of our ruling bureau are already very low, right? There is no need for a spell master to lead the way. As long as you don't have a serious criminal record and can work and live in peace, it will be fine..."

Captain Feng was still muttering until the voice from the radio interrupted their communication.

"Someone is approaching! Five minutes left!"

They are the team members guarding the town entrance.

Cen Dongsheng and Captain Feng looked at each other and immediately took action.

"You guys hide here for a while."

There was no way to take the survivors away for the time being, so Cen Dongsheng whispered something to them, closed the door again, and affixed the new talismans they carried with them.

……

"Who are the visitors? How many people are there?"

The team hurried towards the door, Cen Dongsheng asked.

"He came here alone on a motorcycle. Wait, I'm checking the database... It seems to be the 'Demon Child' Le Shaowu."

"Demon boy? I've heard of that nickname. He's one of the 'devils', right?"

"Yes, he is a core member of the Ghost Mother Society."

"Report to headquarters immediately."

"clear."

……

After arriving at the town entrance, the team members gathered together. Cen Dongsheng took the telescope from the team member and looked in the direction of the person coming.

He froze suddenly.

"... Dongsheng?"

Cen Dongsheng took a deep breath and put down the telescope.

"That man...I've seen him before."

"When?"

"When the 'Yin Bing' passes through the border."

"So early? This is new information. 'Ghost Soldiers Passing the Border' is related to one of the 'Devils'. Maybe it's related to the Ghost Mother, or even to the Nether King - uh."

Captain Feng noticed that there was something wrong with the young man's expression.

"By the way, you are the victim of 'The Passing of the Ghostly Soldiers'. Do you have a grudge against him?"

Do I have a grudge against him?
Cen Dongsheng grinned and said:

"Every victim has a grudge against the perpetrator."

(End of this chapter)