Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

Duanmu Yan and Wutiao Wu followed behind Zhikun, their wooden clogs creaking on the old wooden floor.

Before even reaching the main hall, I heard a child crying.

At the corner of the corridor was a small open-air courtyard, where several servants stood at a distance, heads bowed, none daring to approach.

In the center of the courtyard stood a young man in a dark kimono with wide sleeves, one foot on the back of a little girl lying on the ground.

At his feet stood a girl biting her lip, tears welling in her eyes but refusing to fall. Next to her stood an even smaller girl, her shoulders hunched, with scratches on the back of her hands, trembling all over but too afraid to run.

"You are too weak, that's why you act this way. Isn't it only natural for the weak to be trampled underfoot?"

Zenji Naoya lifted his foot and said, "Those who don't even have the skills are not worthy of staying in the Zenji family. You are no better than that."

Duanmu Yan stopped in his tracks and saw the faces of the two girls clearly.

The younger one huddled by a pillar, his eyes red-rimmed; the one on the ground was wiping the dirt off his face with his sleeve, blood seeping from the scratches on the back of his hand.

He knew their names. Zenin Maki and Zenin Mai.

He walked over and stopped in front of Zenji Naoya. "These two children are mine from now on."

Just as Naoya was about to put his foot down again, he heard this and his heel was suspended in mid-air. He tilted his head to look at the person who had come, and it was an unfamiliar face.

But the aura emanating from this person made him instinctively retract his foot. Very strong.

He scrutinized Duanmu Yan, his pupils contracting slightly.

The oppressive feeling was less like the effect of a spell being activated and more like the man's very existence being a threat.

This aura is probably not much less impressive than that of Shen Er.

Gojo Satoru straightened up from the pillar and walked over with light steps. "Yo, Naoya, you still like bullying the weak, don't you?"

Zenji Naoya withdrew his foot, patted non-existent dust off the hem of his kimono, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Heh, that's because they're not strong enough. Only the strong are not bullied. Some people will actively provoke the strong. Isn't that what you taught me, Gojo Satoru?"

Gojo Satoru nodded, then thought about it seriously. "Oh, I see."

"But I've changed my mind now. Bullying the weak is actually quite pointless."

Zenji Naoya did not refute, but turned and walked into the house.

He still remembered that day. When Gojo Satoru was a child, he had visited the Zenin family once. At that time, the entire Zenin family was in an uproar. Six eyes, no limits, the legendary Gojo family's divine child was standing in their courtyard.

Zenin Naoya, the man hailed as the next head of the Zenin family, was naturally the first to step forward.

Then he lost consciousness without even touching the other person's clothes.

Chapter 107 Entrustment

He was defeated without even touching the hem of his opponent's clothes; his proud spells were like toys in front of his opponent.

He thought he had made great progress over the years, but when Gojo Satoru stood in front of him just now, the sense of oppression was exactly the same as it had been back then.

He walked to the corner of the corridor and stopped. "Today is the day you succeed as the head of the family. Congratulations."

He turned his head, half of his face in shadow. "However, I will reclaim the position and honor of being the head of the three great families in the future."

Gojo Satoru watched his figure disappear into the depths of the corridor, then put his hands back in his pockets. "Boring."

He wouldn't take such losers seriously; he didn't care about anyone except Duanmu and Jie.

Maki got up from the ground, her knees covered in white sand and grass clippings, and blood was still seeping from the abrasions on the back of her hands.

She wiped her face with her sleeve and looked up at the two strangers in front of her.

Zhenyi huddled behind her, clutching her sister's clothes with both hands, peeking out with one eye.

Duanmu Yan bent down and removed the bits of leaves stuck to Maki's hair.

"Let's go, I'll take you to get your wounds treated first."

"Alright, then I'll go with the old man first."

Gojo Satoru waved to Duanmu Yan and turned to walk towards the main hall.

The Zen monk standing next to him was practically covered in a # with a smack on his forehead.

Unfortunately, the two kids next to him were both top-tier.

Duanmu Yan squatted down and took out the healing potion he had obtained from opening the treasure chest earlier from his inventory.

This thing isn't very effective for a top-tier mage like him, but it works quite well for others.

He uncorked the bottle, lifted Maki's hand, and gently applied the medicine to the abrasion on the back of her hand. The medicine gave off a faint glow when it touched her skin, and the wound began to heal at a visible speed.

Maki didn't say anything, but Mayi shrank behind her, staring intently at her sister's wound.

After Duanmu Yan finished applying the ointment to the back of his hand, he pointed to Maki's knee. Maki rolled up her trouser leg herself, revealing her scraped knee.

He changed to a new bottle and continued applying it.

“Your father just lost you to me.” He put the cork back in and put the empty bottle back in his pocket. “From now on, I will be your guardian.”

Maya peeked half her head out from behind her sister's shoulder. "Really? We can leave here? That's great..."

"Why would he gamble?" Maki interrupted her sister, her voice low and wary.

She looked directly into Duanmu Yan's eyes without flinching. From as far back as she could remember, no one in this family had ever truly looked at them.

Because she is a twin, she possesses a cursed constitution, which prevents her from fully utilizing the power of her constitution.

As a result, her younger sister Maki also has very little magical power.

In a Zen monastery, those without magical skills are considered useless, and women are the most useless of all.

The person in front of them is very strong, even stronger than Naoya, strong enough to force their father to admit defeat. Why would someone like that gamble on two useless burdens?

"Maybe they think you're a burden," Duanmu Yan said.

Maki's lips moved slightly; she knew he was telling the truth.

“But I am not a member of the Zen family. In my place, one can live without any magic.”

Duanmu Yan stood up and extended his hand to Zhenyi, "Let's go to the main hall first, Wu is still waiting for us."

On the way to the main hall of the Zen temple, Duanmu Yan led the two sisters through the long and dark corridor.

Zhenyi held her older sister's hand, her steps much lighter than when she came. She would occasionally look up at Duanmu Yan's back. Zhenxi walked on the outside, blocking her younger sister on the side against the wall.

A woman was standing at the corner.

She was wearing a kimono, her hair was tied in a low bun, and her face bore a resemblance to Maki. She watched as her two daughters hid behind this strange man, and without hesitation, she knelt down.

"Thank you for being willing to take my two daughters away from this hell."

Duanmu Yan looked at the woman in front of him.

She was also a woman with a tragic fate. She lived most of her life in a Zen family where men were superior to women. Giving birth to twins was considered a jinx, and her husband regarded them as a disgrace. Even her own children were trampled on.

But she did not spare her remaining maternal love. In the original story, in order to protect her daughter, this woman stopped Maki before Zenin Sen could, trying to force her to back down with her fierce side. Although she did not succeed, she was eventually killed by Maki herself after she awakened.

But on his deathbed, he delivered the final blow to Naoya, admitting that he never regretted giving birth to the two sisters.

Duanmu Yan reached out his hand, wanting to help her up. "If you're worried, you can come with us. I'm usually busy with tasks and don't have much time to take care of the child."

The woman shook her head. "I can't leave here anymore. Just take them with you."

She stood up, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, gave a final bow, and then turned and walked towards the end of the corridor.

"There are really not many normal people in the Zen family." Duanmu Yan withdrew his outstretched hand and sighed.

Zhenyi nodded emphatically beside her, "That's right."

He looked down at the two sisters. Maki was still staring in the direction her mother had left, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Zhenyi tugged at his sleeve and looked up at him: "Will we ever see Mom again?"

"Yes, it will." Duanmu Yan bent down and patted the two girls on the shoulders. "No one will be able to bully you anymore. The college will give you a happy childhood."

He glanced at Maki, then at Mai, and a smile played on his lips.

Zhenyi grinned and gave a loud "Mmm." Zhenxi hesitated for a few seconds, but then looked up at Duanmu Yan and nodded gently.

He asked himself: System, is there any way to break the connection between the two of them?

He wanted to give them a happy childhood, but he also hoped they would have the strength to protect themselves, as he couldn't protect them forever.

The limits of both Heavenly Curse and Construction Techniques are extremely high. The former goes without saying; in the original work, Maki is already the second-generation Heavenly Tyrant. The limit of Construction Techniques is that of the ancient sorcerer Wan. Duanmu Yan doesn't expect Maki to reach Wan's level, but she should at least be at the level of a second-level sorcerer.

There are not many level one or higher cursed spirits; the vast majority are level two or lower.

Apart from a very few exceptionally talented level-two curse spirits, none of the rest pose a threat to their safety.

If the connection between the two is severed, allowing the Heavenly Curse and the Construction Spell to function fully, they will be able to stand upright and live on.

Chapter 108 Jie is very suitable

Duanmu Yan led Zhenxi and Zhenyi toward the reception room, already pondering how to settle the two children.

It was a good thing they had escaped the Zen family, but the twin bondage remained, and the Heavenly Curse and the Construction Technique could only exert a small portion of their power. He mentally summoned the system.

"System, is there any way to completely break the bond between the twins?"

[There are currently no items in my inventory that can directly remove the Twins' bondage. This bondage is a soul-level binding, not within the scope of ordinary spell items. Perhaps in the future, related items can be obtained by opening treasure chests.]

Duanmu Yan frowned. Drawing treasure chests is too much a matter of luck. Today he was able to draw an Everlasting Stone and a Threat Perception Ring, but who knows what he might draw next time.

What if I don't get it?

He paused for a few seconds, then changed his approach: "Can we solve this problem using only the existing spell system and spell tools in this world, without relying on system items?"

The system paused for a moment, then slowly said:

[Theoretically feasible. The essence of the Twin Binding is the forced binding of their soul-level life-giving techniques. The younger sister's magical power invades the older sister's body, which should be devoid of magical power, preventing either from fully unleashing their original strength. The conditions for breaking the binding are as follows.]

[First, at least two powerful individuals skilled in the Reversal Technique must simultaneously use positive energy to cleanse the twins of residual cursed power.]

[Second, the connection between the two people's acquired spells is forcibly severed using the supreme-grade spell artifact, the Heavenly Reversal Blade.]

[Third, sever the link between their souls with the Soul-Releasing Blade, completing the final separation.]

"Hiss." Duanmu Yan gasped. This requirement was exceptionally high.

The Reversal Spell itself is extremely difficult to comprehend. Aside from exceptionally gifted individuals like Shoko, even top-tier sorcerers don't necessarily all possess it, and it must be projected outwards. Moreover, not just one, but two. Two top-tier spell tools are also required for assistance: the Heavenly Reversal Blade and the Soul Release Blade—both are indispensable.