Chapter 57: The Curse Remains
The man surnamed Jia explained to Wu Xian in earnest.
"For a certain reason, I had to kill Wei Hao, which is why I attacked the transport vehicle. But after killing him, I felt something was amiss, so I wanted to go to your house and ask you for some information."
"However, you took too long to come home, so I had no choice but to wait for you there."
"Yet who would have thought that your family members were all monsters? To protect my life, I narrowly managed to kill four monsters, only to end up being the one wanted by the law, and finally caught by you..."
"Weren't you the one who took over my position precisely because I became a wanted criminal?"
Wu Xian's breathing turned ragged.
"Surnamed Jia... Wei Hao..."
Every word from the man surnamed Jia exploded in Wu Xian's mind like a thunderbolt.
If what he said was true—that he was the original detective—then since when had Wu Xian confused him with that criminal Wei Hao?
He began to struggle to recall the scene of the initial psychological evaluation.
Only to discover with horror that, no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember the faces of either the man surnamed Jia or Wei Hao!
Wu Xian's memory was exceptionally strong.
Although not as preposterous as the "mind palace" in detective novels, anyone he had crossed paths with and observed carefully would not be forgotten by him for at least a few years.
Yet, merely two days had passed, and he couldn't tell Wei Hao and the man surnamed Jia apart?
How could this be possible?
Two days...
Wu Xian's body trembled once more.
He had only sat in the detective's chair for two days; why, back at Xianwei Psychiatric Hospital, had he thought that he had already sent numerous criminal suspects with suspected mental illnesses to the hospital for appraisal?
No wonder the Investigation Bureau's confidentiality regarding the criminals' information reached an utterly unreasonable level, guarding even against their own people.
No wonder those four foolish, brawny detectives sealed the criminals' mouths the very first moment they made an arrest.
No wonder the old detective sidelined Wu Xian during the interrogation, excluding Wu Xian from the entire process except for the psychological evaluation...
If Wu Xian were the old detective and detective, he would also try to conceal information from Wu Xian.
After all, no matter what, they could not let the victim's family know that the one who murdered their entire family was the former detective of the Investigation Bureau!
Amidst his thoughts.
Another flash of imagery crossed Wu Xian's mind.
It was the very first thing he had laid eyes on when he entered this blessed land.
"That piece of calligraphy!"
"That calligraphy read: *Unceasing mindfulness*!"
Wu Xian licked his lips.
He had originally thought it was merely meant to encourage disheartened patients through the sentiment that "mindfulness brings echoes," but now it seemed that piece of calligraphy was actually a reminder to him!
The greatest challenge of this blessed land was memory!
If there was a problem with his memory...
Then many more doubts could be unraveled. Perhaps he had not merely stayed in this blessed land for three days; in reality, a very, very long time might have already passed.
His former self had also worked in a psychiatric hospital and had left behind numerous hints for him, yet all these hints had been forgotten by Wu Xian. The information carved on desks and chairs, and written on paper, had also been erased by a mysterious presence!
"No wonder there is only a single fragment left of my Ten-Soul Banner."
"No wonder I was so exhausted when I woke up!"
A sudden wave of realization washed over Wu Xian, but the current situation did not allow him to ponder for too long.
Across from him, the man surnamed Jia seemed to have figured out even more, and he gazed intently at Wu Xian with burning eyes.
"I understand everything now, we..."
Before the man surnamed Jia could finish his sentence.
His body suddenly froze. Eight bloody arms protruded from within him, completely restraining his hands, legs, feet, and mouth.
The man surnamed Jia was instantly rendered immobile, able only to blink continuously at Wu Xian.
At the same time.
Wu Xian was also gripped by excruciating pain.
His body began to swell, and the shapes of hands, feet, and faces bulged out from his flesh, stretching his skin until it became semi-transparent. From his ears came the frantic shrieks of a family of four.
Through the sound, Wu Xian could almost picture their ferocious expressions.
"A golden opportunity!"
"Avenge us, avenge us immediately!"
"Go kill him right now, make him die in the most agonizing way!"
"If you don't help us, we'll break out and kill him ourselves!"
He Ya and the other three could no longer wait to slaughter the man surnamed Jia. They crashed frantically inside Wu Xian's body, almost tearing his flesh apart.
This horrifying pain made Wu Xian realize that he could not drag this out any longer.
So he curled his fingers and aimed them at the man surnamed Jia.
Seeing Wu Xian's action, the man surnamed Jia stopped struggling. He looked at Wu Xian with an immensely complex expression, crying out anxiously in his heart.
"Realize the truth quickly!"
"Don't be kept in the dark for too long, we are already close to victory, I—"
Swish!
The Flying Blade Incantation was unleashed!
An invisible surge of vital energy flashed past, and the body of the man surnamed Jia was abruptly split in half, leaving a deep gully on the ground behind him. All the arms gripping his body dissolved into thin air.
At this point.
Wu Xian had essentially completed the revenge for Doctor Xu's family.
He looked at the trace left by the Flying Blade Incantation and felt a slight shock.
Although the reward given by Judge Cui was overly monotonous, the power of this Flying Blade Incantation was truly formidable!
In terms of pure physical destructive power, it probably approached the top-tier True Fire Incantation. None of the mortal-grade incantations he had seen in the previous blessed land matched the power of a single Flying Blade Incantation, and ordinary wandering specters probably couldn't withstand even a single strike.
After the man surnamed Jia died.
Four ghosts crawled out from Wu Xian's body. The moment the family of four appeared, they acted like starved mad dogs that had been hungry for eighty generations, lunging at the corpse of the man surnamed Jia and tearing into his flesh with bloody, gaping mouths.
Watching the family of four devour their meal voraciously, a fierce glint flashed across Wu Xian's eyes.
Should he take this opportunity to wipe out Xu Ming's family of four? They were busy eating and completely off guard, making this an excellent chance to strike.
However, just as Wu Xian curled his fingers again.
A piece of information flashed across his vision.
[The best way to lift a curse is to fulfill the curse's demands. Killing the caster will cause the curse to evolve in unknown directions.]
Wu Xian hesitated for a moment and ultimately lowered his fingers.
With this warning in place, heaven knows what direction the curse would take if these four perished; killing them might completely backfire.
Soon, the corpse of the man surnamed Jia was eaten clean by He Ya and the other three.
Only scattered scraps of flesh and crimson bloodstains remained on the ground. He Ya and the others did not wipe the blood from the corners of their mouths; instead, they stood before Wu Xian and stared unblinkingly at him.
"I have already avenged you, now you can lift the curse."
On the faces of He Ya and the other three, identical eerie smiles bloomed simultaneously.
"Darling, we only said we wouldn't force you to kill his entire family."
"But who ever told you that the curse could be lifted without fulfilling its requirements?"
As soon as they finished speaking, they burrowed back into Wu Xian's body.
Wu Xian wanted to negotiate further, but suddenly, an irresistible wave of exhaustion washed over him. His body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground without warning.
...
On this day.
The criminal Jia Ming escaped from prison.
Detective Xu Ming...
Missing!