The King of Curses

Chapter 93 Hedgehog
Cen Dongsheng's eyes were closed, his eyeballs were trembling under his eyelids, his body was slightly relaxed, and his expression was solemn.

His breathing was relatively steady; or rather, he was consciously controlling his breathing so that the restless Qi would not damage his meridians.

In contrast, his consciousness was completely immersed in the lake of his heart, concentrating his mind to resist the restlessness that seeped out from the picture deep in his visualization.

The source of his obsession was the ape demon power that had just been absorbed into his body. Cen Dongsheng was very clear about this and he knew his goal.

For this reason, Cen Dongsheng let down his guard and entrusted his safety to his two companions.

From a "physical" level, this might be the most relaxed time for Cen Dongsheng since his rebirth... no, since he became a curse master.

People are born with the basis of spiritual perception, the so-called "sixth sense". Even when sleeping soundly, they still have a mysterious reaction to nearby objects or dangerous situations. It's just that everyone's talents are different, and the degree of sensitivity varies.

After becoming a spell-binding master and having a systematic method to train spiritual perception, this feeling naturally becomes more acute, so that one is in a state of open perception at all times.

In addition, most spell-binding masters would choose to use meditation instead of sleep, just like Cen Dongsheng, in order to ensure that the nerves are at an excited level to take timely action.

This is why long battles can easily wear out one's spirit, because the nerves of a spell-breaker are always tense, and he is always chased by a sense of crisis at all times and places, without a moment of relaxation.

But this time, Cen Dongsheng had a chance to let go of all his external guard. Now he was on the verge of going into a state of demonic possession. Facing the challenge of the external demon, he dared not relax at all. He had to concentrate all his thoughts, so he simply gave up his external spiritual perception and gathered it all into his body;

He was able to do this because he subconsciously trusted An Zhizhen and Yi Qingyan enough.

He once had no friends, no lover, and lived alone in this world; but now, the strongest companion is by his side.

This allowed him to let down his guard and devote himself wholeheartedly to another battle.

……

"What exactly is going on?"

Yi Qingyan looked at the young man lying in An Zhizhen's arms with his eyes closed.

The little girl was feeling a little regretful at first. Just now, she saw Cen Dongsheng sitting on the bed in a single piece of clothing. Because of a moment's thought, she subconsciously felt shy, so she failed to reach out her hand in time. As a result, she could only watch her brother lie in the arms of that woman.

However, she soon stopped caring about these minor issues.

When she heard the noise just now, Yi Qingyan had already realized that something was wrong with the young man, and it was most likely related to his attempt to complete the curse this time, but she didn't expect...

The situation seems a bit serious.

"Brother...are you fainted?"

She looked down at the young man's face with concern.

"No, I think he closed his consciousness himself."

An Zhizhen gently brushed aside the man's hair with her fingers and stroked his slightly hot cheeks. When his forehead began to sweat, she wiped the sweat off for him.

She gradually got used to hugging him and gained some experience: first, she hugged Cen Dongsheng for the first time at the end of the Xiaokang Building haunted house incident, and later, she provided a "lap pillow service" late at night.

The difference from the previous two times was - the first time he was forced into unconsciousness, while the second time she could tell that the man was feeling somewhat embarrassed and uneasy.

And only this time, he clearly let it go.

This is rare, especially for a man like Cen Dongsheng.

Although according to his resume, he is just an ordinary college student who grew up in an orphanage, received nine years of full-time education, and lived a life between school and dormitory all day long;
But he has an extraordinary temperament, like a warrior who has experienced many battles.

In fact, anyone with a little bit of perceptiveness can see that there is something "special" about him; this man is not very good at disguising himself.

An Zhizhen even half-jokingly asked, "Have you been a boy soldier before?" Cen Dongsheng's reaction at the time was a little subtle. Seeing that he felt embarrassed, she did not continue to delve too deeply into the issue.

It was fun to joke around and make him look nervous and stiff, but if she tried to delve into the secrets that others didn't want to reveal, it would only cause disgust and alienation, so she wouldn't do such an unkind thing.

But it was precisely because she knew that the other party was a man who had been carrying a huge secret alone and was unwilling to reveal it to anyone since the beginning, that she felt even happier at this moment when Cen Dongsheng completely let down his guard in front of her.

It's like a hedgehog that obediently retracts its spines and shows its soft belly to the person it trusts. It's quite cute, and makes people unconsciously want to get close to it...

An Zhizhen hugged the man in her arms tighter, as if she was hugging a beloved pet.

"...You don't have to hold me so tightly, right? Won't it be choking you?"

Yi Qingyan noticed her movements and couldn't help but frowning.

"Um... Miss Yi, are you jealous?"

An Zhizhen didn't mind at all and answered with a smile.

"It's okay. You'll have a chance too. Or I'll lend it to you when I've hugged you enough."

Although she didn't mind the little girl's bad attitude, she finally had the opportunity to get closer to the person she cared about, so she wanted to enjoy it for a while and had no intention of handing it over to someone else easily.

"……nausea."

Yi Qingyan's face was a little sour, and she muttered in a low voice.

She was somewhat envious of being able to be close to Brother Dongsheng, but if he got too close and sticky, she would feel obscene.

There is no way, the young girl's immature mind is always so complicated and changeable——

Perhaps, as An Zhizhen said, children of this age are simply difficult to deal with.

"Let's get down to business. What happened to Brother Dongsheng? Why did he close his consciousness?"

"Since he did it himself... well, Miss Yi, have you ever heard of 'being possessed by evil spirits'?"

"Being possessed by a demon? That's not just a fictional plot in martial arts novels..."

"Don't you think we are like people from a martial arts novel? Ah, or more precisely, a fairy tale novel."

An Zhizhen laughed.

"The tradition of spell-forbidden masters has existed since ancient times. Although the ancients did not encounter the background of the revival of spiritual energy after the ancient immortal era, most of them are not as strong as us, but some of the cultivation methods and the problems mentioned in the classics are still of reference value."

Unlike Yi Qingyan, who was still a high school student before awakening her abilities and knew little about the world of curse masters, An Zhizhen had already begun studying the history of this area since she mastered "Tiankui Quanshou", especially when she learned that "curses" also existed in the ancient world.

Of course, this is also related to her personality. An Zhizhen is a very curious person, and she has a natural "research habit".

In her eyes, the records in those books are mostly cryptic, or cannot escape the mysterious beliefs, but valuable things can still be dug out from them.

"Absorbing the 'external demon' into the body to complete the curse... Although I don't know the specific working method of this curse, it sounds very dangerous. Dongsheng underestimated the internal threat this time. I'm afraid something went wrong in the process of absorbing power."

"Oh..." Yi Qingyan nodded, not quite understanding.
She didn't know about other things, but she could relate to the fact that "the curse was a huge and dangerous force."

For example, the "Avici Hell", once it gets out of control, not only will oneself be harmed, but also the lives of the outside world will be destroyed.

The power that resides in Dongsheng brother is also a special forbidden curse. In other words, he is likely to face threats from within the body at all times, just like himself.

"Then... can it be solved?"

Yi Qingyan's eyes never left the man's face. After thinking for a moment, she realized with frustration that she could not help her brother with her own abilities.

There is no compatibility between them at all, and the only thing she is good at is destruction.

The only one left is... the woman in front of me.

"With your ability, you should be able to break the curse called 'Tian Kui Quan Shou'. Can you help Brother Dongsheng wake up quickly?"

"Hey, Miss Yi, are you asking me for a favor?"

An Zhizhen laughed.

"Can you trust my 'evil ability' and let your brother Dongsheng do whatever I want? He is probably the most vulnerable in his life right now. He has no defense against me. If I want, I can easily manipulate and brainwash him."

"...You talk too much." Yi Qingyan said in an unhappy tone, "Do you want to help?"

Deep down in her heart, she was a little worried, which came from her natural aversion to the woman in front of her; but her reason told her that the other party would not do that.

From the moment she took the initiative to attack him and did not mind abusing her abilities on ordinary people, Yi Qingyan was certain that this woman was cold-blooded and ruthless by nature.

But this just shows that Dongsheng is really special to her. If she really wanted to brainwash and control him, she should have done it long ago.

Although the curse on the man, even if it is not complete, can still resist the "Heavenly Power" to a certain extent, Brother Dongsheng himself is not wary of her at all. If she wants to attack by surprise, she has all the means to do it...

It is not easy for Yi Qingyan to admit this.

"Anyway, your curse is specifically for the spiritual realm. It can be used for bad things, but it can also be used for good things, right?"

An Zhizhen gently stroked the man's forehead with her fingers, as if she was expressing her feelings. She did not raise her eyes, but shook her head gently.

"You, you can't?"

Yi Qingyan couldn't help but widen her eyes when she saw her reaction.

Wait, if she can't do it, then who else can help?

"I mean, I won't use my powers on him. I promised him."

"You're still thinking about this at this time? Isn't Dongsheng's condition very critical now? He's already gone crazy, and the only person who can help him is-"

"I've told you, haven't I? My control over my abilities is not perfect right now. It would be bad if I hurt him. Although the probability is small, I don't want to use Dongsheng as an experiment."

Yi Qingyan narrowed her eyes and her look became dangerous.

"…Then, aren't you useless?"

An Zhizhen's smile remained unchanged as she continued:
"But compared to the above, the most important reason is actually..."

She looked at the man in her arms, her tone gentle.

"Some things can only be faced by him himself. Whether he is concerned or anxious, I will not interfere with him. All I can do is to watch over him and never let others disturb him."

The woman looked at Yi Qingyan again. This time, there was no more teasing in her eyes, but a kind of quiet seriousness.

"This is where I am different from you."

Yi Qingyan said nothing more. The two of them had different ideas, and this was not the first time she had heard similar words from the other party.

She just said:
"If this time, Dongsheng cannot wake up on his own, or if your decision delays things and causes him to suffer irreparable harm... I will be very angry and think that all this is your fault."

The girl's tone was filled with depression.

"That is impossible."

An Zhizhen said.

"Dongsheng is the man I like, how could he lose to me?"

I really don't understand, she thought, where does this woman's inexplicable confidence come from? She saw Dongsheng brother being torn to pieces and almost died, no, it should be said that he really died, but he came back to life after death...

...By the way, maybe An Zhizhen has seen it before. She has heard her brother talk about the past.

Maybe the other person really has a heart of stone. At least for Yi Qingyan, it is really hard for her to understand - wouldn't you feel distressed when you see someone you care about being tortured? Wouldn't you want to stop it?
He is indeed an unreasonable guy.

If the brother could hear their conversation outside at this time, whose judgment would he agree with more?

Thinking of this, Yi Qingyan pursed her lips subconsciously.

…She actually already vaguely knew the answer.

Based on her understanding of Dong Shengge, his choice was easy to guess -

*
If Cen Dongsheng could hear their conversation outside at this time, whose judgment would he agree with more?

Although I feel a little embarrassed for my concern for sister Qingyan, the answer can only be one:
In fact, he originally wanted to challenge his inner demons, which was why he immersed his will completely in the lake of his heart.

Cen Dongsheng himself was very clear. Since the power of the curse came from suppressing external demons, if he could not rely on his own will but relied on external forces to barely survive this disaster, he would have to pay the price sooner or later.

By then, weakness of will will become his biggest weakness.

Now, although "going astray" is a serious crisis that caught him off guard, it also gives him the opportunity to resolve his worries.

For the first time, he looked at the imaginary black shadow, the image that symbolized his "self", with a serious and exploratory attitude.

Just now, when he completely immersed his consciousness in this picture, he discovered that the black shadow had been calling him unconsciously and told him the key information at this time.

The power in his body is no longer an "unknown special forbidden curse", but -

"Saṃsamaṅgācāra", that's its name.

(End of this chapter)