Xishuangbanna Valley of Horrors

Chapter 25

She thought the light was strange, then realized it was the school administrator's flashlight! Oh no… she'd run into a patrolling administrator… Ye Min should have been back in her dorm by now, but the "white shirt" who appeared halfway there delayed her. Not only that, but they were sitting on a bench in the pitch-black playground… At this point, she couldn't explain herself!

The administrator, holding a flashlight, shouted angrily, "Goodness, these students these days are really bold! They actually dare to openly date and have relationships on campus. I've caught you red-handed today, and you're going to have to be punished properly!"

"It's me."

Ye Min was still panicking and unsure of what to do when the "white shirt" stood up and said arrogantly, without a trace of panic or confusion in his tone.

The administrator shone a flashlight around and exclaimed, "Huh?"

"Oh, it's you!" Ye Min exclaimed in surprise as she listened to the administrator. Then, she hesitated and pulled the man in the white shirt over. He probably wanted to whisper something to her, but she still heard it.

Section 202: Unexpected (10)

"Don't try to pick up girls here, kid. The school's been cracking down hard lately, and it's putting me in a difficult position," the "fair-minded" administrator muttered in a low voice.

"I know, I didn't have any money to take people to the movies today, so I just came here to sit. You should understand."

The "white shirt" is actually...

"You're such a chatterbox! Okay, that's enough. What time is it?! Hurry up and take them back to their dorm. If they run into a boss later, I won't be able to protect you!"

Ye Min realized that she had been wronged, but she had no right to say anything, so she could only sit silently and let the boy spout nonsense on the side—which made it seem more real.

After chattering on and on, the administrator finally left, looking rather annoyed. Perhaps they were just friends hanging out together or something… Ye Min was happy to think that way, because that was indeed the case. No sooner had the administrator left than the “white shirt” started laughing and joking around.

"He's my buddy..."

"Yes, I see." Ye Min interrupted him without any mercy.

Wearing a white shirt this time was awkward. "Oh, uh...hehe..."

Ye Min suddenly found the boy next to her quite interesting. She got up to go back to her dorm and said softly as she turned around, "I'm sorry to have disturbed your date with your girlfriend today. I'm really sorry."

Although she has a different attitude towards love, that doesn't mean she's insensitive to romance.

The man in the white shirt laughed and asked, "Will you come again tomorrow?" It seems he had planned this all along.

I think so. Ye Min thought for a moment, but didn't say it aloud. She smiled and started walking. "Hey, my name is She Tong." She heard the "white shirt" calling again from a distance. Oh... his name is She Tong...

Happiness always makes people hesitate. The summer after Ye Min nodded in agreement, She Tong submitted a blank paper.

June 22nd, morning.

"Where are you?" Ye Min had just come out of the library when her phone started buzzing. When she answered, she heard it was She Tong.

She has a habit of never using her contacts, so her phone is full of long strings of phone numbers, but not a single name... She likes to identify people by their voices.

"I just came from the library," Ye Min replied truthfully.

"Hmm, reading those books about Thai sorcery again? Be careful not to get poisoned," her boyfriend teased.

Section 203: Ritual (1)

"Hehe..." Ye Min responded indifferently.

"Do all the people you're close to wear cotton-padded coats?" She Tong's tone was extremely sincere.

Ye Min was taken aback. "Huh? Oh... I've always been like this... I'm sorry."

"Just kidding, silly girl. Smile more, you'll be even prettier."

"you……"

In her battles against She Tong's forceful attempts to change the subject, Ye Min consistently lost. Now, she was speechless again… Should she smile more…? Perhaps…

"By the way, do you have time tomorrow afternoon?" She Tong, having won the round, finally got to the point.

"What's wrong?" Ye Min thought for a moment. She remembered that she had a class tomorrow afternoon about world history—actually, it was just about Thai history.

"Of course I want to invite you to a Michael Jackson concert..."

"What?"

"Oh! No, no, I meant I wanted to ask you to go to that newly opened bookstore together. Hahahaha..."

"You devil, I really can't do anything with you." Ye Min muttered to herself, chuckling silently, but the "devil" on the other end of the conversation saw right through her.

"Really? You have such a cute smile. How about we meet tomorrow at the school restroom?"

"I have to go to class..." Ye Min started to feel a headache. "I'll talk to you again when you're feeling better..."

"Really? You really won't come with me?" The guy on the other end of the phone started to press.

"I really have to go to class, so I'll do it on the weekend."

"If you won't come with me, then I'll find another handsome guy to go with me. Don't be jealous, okay?"

Have fun.

After hanging up the phone, Ye Min finally breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the tediousness, she felt a sense of ease, and unconsciously, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward. What kind of guy would make her happy? She had never really thought about that question before. But that was in the past.

I really did think about spending my whole life with you. But alas…

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Ceremony

Instantly, a piercing pain shot through my eyes, and I rolled around at the bottom of the pit in agony. "Ah—" It felt like something was devouring my head, an unbearable itch and excruciating pain.

1. Soul-Binding Curse

2 Exorcists

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Ceremony

1. Soul-Binding Curse

After Ye Min finished speaking, I was also completely stunned. He had told me about She Tong's love history countless times, but I never expected that the girl She Tong was talking about would actually be...

Section 204: Ritual (2)

"But you, Yang Feng! His so-called best friend! What did you do?!" Ye Min pressed aggressively, her face full of accusation. I was about to explain when she interrupted me through gritted teeth.

You killed him!

"I didn't! It was an accident!" I knew that no matter how I explained, it would be useless at this point, but I still tried my best to clear my name. "It's true that I sent Xiaotong to buy ice cream, but how could I have known that he would be crossing the road..."

Ye Min started laughing again: "Stop talking! It's no use! Even he's gone, he left me because of you and your son... In this world, there's no one who can understand me anymore... There's no one willing to save me anymore... There's no one left..."

I was just about to cry out in anguish, "There are actually many good men in this world! You just haven't discovered them yet," when I saw Ye Min stand up, colorful strips of cloth fluttering and rustling in the wind around her.

"And now, no one will come to save you!"

Before I could even think of anything, Ye Min threw out that sentence, then pulled out a container that sent chills down my spine. She grabbed a handful of powder from it, muttered something strange that I didn't quite catch, then blew on it and flipped the container over, pouring all the powder out into the pit where I was!

Instantly, a piercing pain shot through my eyes, and I rolled around at the bottom of the pit in agony. "Ah—" It felt like something was devouring my head, an unbearable itch and excruciating pain.

Gu—Gu poison?!

As I tossed and turned at the bottom of the pit, in excruciating pain, the only word that came to mind was this one.

The term "Gu" refers to an insect in a dish, which, according to Zheng Xuan of the Han Dynasty, is "an insect that causes disease and harms people." Furthermore, many proverbs and ancient texts provide evidence, such as the *Yu Di Zhi*, the *Biography of Qinghe Xiaowang Qing* in the *Book of the Later Han*, and even the *Compendium of Materia Medica* contains some records of Gu. While I had heard of the legendary three great evil arts of southern Yunnan—Gu poison, Gu poison, and Jiang Tou—and had heard She Tong mention that his girlfriend was very interested in these things, I never imagined that the seemingly frail Ye Min could be so directly connected to these things.

Section 205: Ritual (3)

"Sister, it's almost time!" Su Yan, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly exclaimed, staring at her watch.

"I understand, I'll be right there." Ye Min remained calm and unhurried. She seemed to have been waiting for this moment for far too long, so she didn't want it to end too soon. After tossing the utensils aside, she ignored the tormented Yang Feng and began to mutter to herself again.

To destroy a person, one must first destroy their mind and destroy their will.

"Actually... I've thought about it too, that it was just an accident; I've also thought about not letting my wife and children suffer the consequences; I've also thought about... giving you a chance."

Opportunity...?

Ye Min smiled bitterly: "Forgot? Didn't Su Yan and I advise you not to go into this awful place? And what happened? Men don't listen to advice, huh? They really are fearless... Also, remember that stone door? Actually, if you had listened to me, we wouldn't have come here. If we hadn't come here, our magic wouldn't have been effective at all. Heh... What a pity, it seems like father, like son!"

The heaviness in my heart has finally become unbearable. Have I ever said that making choices is the most agonizing thing? But what good is regret now? Hearing Ye Min say that, all I want to do is cry, I just want to cry, I just want to cry… A mixture of liquids—I don't know if it's saliva or something else—and those inexplicable powders is making the pain worse, worse…

I always thought you were the person who understood me best and was the most suitable for me, but why did you have to hurt me like this?

Even after I've gone this far, Ye Min still doesn't seem to want to stop, continuing her endless chatter: "Don't you really like Little Sister? Then I'll bestow you upon her in a bit, making you her ghost for life, huh? Why do you always do things that I hate? Why do you always act so self-righteous and clever in front of me? You—serve—" After revealing all the truth, the two sisters returned to the filthy altar.

It's time.

"Sister, do we really have to do this? I don't think taking him in will make him any more powerful, maybe even less powerful than Mom... Ah, I'm sorry, sister, I... I... I didn't mean it..." Su Yan asked a stupid question, and she immediately realized that she had said the wrong thing, and began to apologize again tremblingly.

Ye Min's expression was like a deep, unfathomable pool. She said softly, "That doesn't matter. The important thing is—how interesting it would be to have him deal with Yang Guocheng! Just imagine, seeing your precious son being controlled by someone to take your life, how despairing that would be... And the mastermind behind it all is actually your own daughter, ha!"

Section 206: Ritual (4)

An ancient saying goes: "The most poisonous heart is that of a woman."

"Sister, you will be the master of the Soul Binding Curse this time, and I will act as the medium. Creating that hundred-person curse that night has already exhausted me too much energy, and running back and forth between the bedroom and outside to prepare the equipment has also worn me out."

"Of course," Ye Min said tenderly, stroking her sister's cheek.

After drawing powerful Thai runes on all the vital acupoints on Su Yan's body, Ye Min took out an ancient coin, dipped it in the liquid in the small bowl in front of her, then heated it with fire. With a flick of her wrist, the coin flew over Su Yan's head and landed in the pit behind her.

I'm sorry, I lied. I tricked you. Actually, this coin was indeed meant for you...

The dark and gloomy path leads nowhere, so we travel further and further, pressing down the copper and silver envoys, and killing the waterway as we go.

“Namo Pusato, Uli Suopunawa, Akadi Maya, Idi Bakaya, Wangpeng Agulisi…”

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), a strange sound emanated from a grove of trees on a cliff within an ancient architectural complex. No one could understand what it was, and my last vestige of memory was that pungent, coppery smell that I couldn't find or hide from no matter how hard I tried...

Three years ago, somewhere in Thailand, a man and a woman, an old man and a young man, a table and a chair.

"You must remember that the Soul-Binding Curse must never be used casually. Like the Flying Head Curse, it is extremely dangerous for a sorcerer. If you actually use this curse and it fails, you will die on the spot, bleeding from all seven orifices. Moreover, not only will you be cast into the Avici Hell and never be able to rise again, but your medium will also be implicated by you, and its soul will be forever stuck at the boundary between the Yin and Yang realms, wandering there for countless lifetimes."

The lean, elderly man with short, silver hair gave these instructions to the foreign girl in front of him.

“Master, you know I will definitely use it.” The young girl looked up with a resolute expression and sharp eyes that were beyond her years, and said resolutely.

The old man sighed softly.

"Alas, what a tragic fate... Alright, since you've made up your mind, I won't say any more. Now I'll tell you all the relevant conditions and consequences of the Soul-Binding Curse. Listen carefully."

"Like the most vicious flying head curse, the Soul Binding Curse also has its vicious aspects and conditions that need to be met. Let me be frank with you, you are a very talented and gifted child. However, even if you succeed, you will have to pay the corresponding price, because it is even more heinous than the flying head curse."

Section 207: Ritual (5)

"cost?"

"Because of the accumulation of yin energy, you will no longer be able to have children."

The girl's delicate eyebrows twitched, but she remained silent. The old man paused for a moment before continuing.

"If you want to use it on someone, there must be special geographical conditions—the Thirteen Grudge Pit."