My lord, spare his life!

Zhang Yang deliberately ignored the system log notifications.

What do you mean by "careful recruitment"?

There's absolutely no need to be cautious!

We're recruiting without hesitation!

For Zhang Yang, even if the mysterious blood-man scored full marks in loyalty, morality, and ambition, it wouldn't be as alluring as someone who scored zero in all three. In other words, getting zero on every exam is just as difficult and rare as getting full marks. And since it's so rare, she'd definitely want to experience it for herself!

Although Zhang Yang showed no expression, Xie Shu did not miss the subtle change in her pupils: "Young friend, are you interested in him?"

Zhang Yang suppressed his excitement: "He's so interesting."

Xie Shu calmly lowered his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over the unconscious, blood-soaked man, before letting out a sigh that was difficult to decipher: "If my young friend likes it, then perhaps it is his good fortune."

Zhang Yang poked the blood-soaked man's cheek.

Staring at the seemingly precarious health bar above the other person's head: "Where's the hospital? I'll take him there to get the bleeding stopped."

"The person is already waiting outside the hospital."

Xie Shu sent someone to invite the best doctor to come over early on.

After the doctor removed the mysterious blood-soaked man's clothes, Shen Zhi gasped: "...These wounds look strange. The healed, scabbed old wounds are obviously whip marks left by torture, but these new wounds look...I can't tell for the moment."

Some wounds look like they were torn open with fingers, while others look like they were repeatedly cut open with a sharp, blunt instrument.

Not just the chest, but also the arms and legs.

The body wrapped in prison clothes had hardly any good flesh left.

Shen Zhi quickly noticed that Xie Shu seemed subtly moved as he looked at the unconscious, bloodied man, while Zhang Yang remained surprisingly calm. He showed neither fear from the carnage nor sympathy for the horrific scene, as if the man lying there was merely an instrument.

Shen Zhi cupped his hands in greeting: "If I may ask, who inflicted these wounds? Killing someone is merely a matter of a head falling to the ground; why resort to torture?"

How much hatred must one have for the other person to come up with such a despicable trick?

"Apart from the whip marks, the rest were inflicted by himself."

Zhang Yang's attention was immediately drawn to Xie Shu.

"He did it himself? Why would he harm himself?"

No wonder he can get zero in three categories; he even has self-destructive tendencies. His mental state must be quite interesting.

"What the Queen means is that he is..." Shen Zhi didn't react immediately until a thought flashed through his mind and a guess quietly emerged, and his emotions switched to sympathy and sighs.

Zhang Yang: "Do you know what happened to him?"

"...I have a vague idea, but I don't know if it's right." Shen Zhi didn't know where to begin explaining, after all, Zhang Yang didn't even have some basic common sense. "I told you before that it's not impossible for stars that have lost their respective star officials to defy fate and change their destiny, but the price is very high... He became like this, probably because of the so-called 'price'."

"This 'cost' cannot be settled all at once."

"It's a lifelong, ever-present curse. If you're unlucky, you might have to bear more than one in your lifetime."

Zhang Yang was completely confused.

I don't really understand, but she knows how to grasp the key points.

What does it mean to "carry more than one burden"?

Shen Zhi sighed: "The power dynamics of the world are unpredictable. No one knows whether the regime that was still in power yesterday will be overthrown tomorrow. The struggle between dynasties in the human world is a struggle between star lords, and the loser will be doomed forever. If I insist on defying fate today and pay the price to join the camp of this star lord, what if this star lord falls tomorrow? Will I still have to defy fate? Then I can only pay the price again and join the next one. Changing allegiance every time means bearing a 'curse,' so there will be more than one."

A stroke of luck amidst misfortune—

Most "curses" are built upon and deepened from the original "curse," rather than appearing out of nowhere.

"So his 'curse' is self-harm?"

"no."

"no?"

Zhang Yang looked at Xie Shu, waiting for an answer.

Xie Shu: "It is the desire for sexual relations."

Shen Zhi gasped again: "Really?"

He thought of something and quickly gave Zhang Yang a meaningful look.

Zhang Yang looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Is your eye twitching?"

Shen Zhi: "..."

Xie Shu naturally knew what Shen Zhi meant: "Don't be nervous. As you've seen, he didn't choose to fall into depravity and submission."

Shen Zhi retorted, "What's the use of that?"

The so-called price, the so-called curse, are all sorts of things.

Depriving someone of one of the five senses, causing them to suffer from five deficiencies and three lacks, is relatively normal. There are also things that specifically torment people, causing them to lose what they desire the most. For example, turning someone who cares about their appearance into an old person in an instant, forcing someone who loves cleanliness to endure filth and stench, or making an upright and resolute person commit petty acts... There are also things that make abstinent people sink into the quagmire of desire until they are completely ruined.

Some people with great willpower can suppress their desires with their willpower, but once something triggers them, it's like a dam breaking; the harder they suppress them, the faster and more completely they collapse in the end. Shen Zhi had heard of someone like that, who became completely addicted to pleasure and lived a muddled life.

"In the end, they all won't be able to hold on."

He briefly explained what had happened to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang rubbed his chin, staring at the area three inches below the blood-soaked man's navel: "Since it's like this, let's just eradicate it from the source."

If the blood-covered person can't bring themselves to do it, she can do it for them.

Guaranteed to be swift, ruthless, and accurate, hitting the mark in that instant.

After a long pause, Shen Zhi finally managed to utter, "It's useless."

"This won't work either?"

"If it were that easy to suppress, people wouldn't be so terrified of it." If Zhang Yang could think of a solution, wouldn't those ruthless people who knew the heavy price but still chose to take that step have thought of it? Not only did they think of it, but they thought of it thoroughly.

But it was no use.

This desire is a malignant tumor that entangles the soul and the body.

The body may find purification by severing the source, but the soul remains bound, and may even become more tormented and agonizing due to the lack of relief from the body's mutilation. Destroying the body is merely a minor step; destroying and tormenting the soul is the true end of the curse.

Furthermore—

Shen Zhifei quickly scanned the blood-soaked figure.

The doctor had wiped the filth off the bloodied man's face, revealing a handsome young man with delicate features. The only two discordant features were his pained furrowed brow and his excessively pale and frightening complexion.

"...People under this curse break their bottom line step by step. Until the curse intensifies, men can turn into women, and women can transform into men. As long as they can obtain pleasure, even if their bodies are in pain but their souls can be temporarily paralyzed, they will do it out of instinct... This person is already ruined. Keeping him by your side will only drag you down."

Zhang Yang is too straightforward and naive.

A blank sheet of paper is the easiest to paint on.

the most important is--

"Such disloyal people are despised by the world. The curse upon them is only one reason. Another reason is that their lord may have to share their burdens... Even a stoic lord can become lustful, muddle-headed, and tyrannical..."