A Wandering Youth

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"Do you remember the information you looked at, some of the people who saw Cursed City didn't disappear, and even left the desert, but they died soon after, right?" Shi Kong asked Shui Ying.

"Yes," Shui Ying replied after a moment's thought.

"This is the continuation of that curse. Anyone who has seen the Cursed City, even if they escaped the disaster at the time, will eventually die a violent death upon returning. So, although you who have entered the Cursed City have returned alive, the curse has not disappeared for you. It is still there, but we don't know when it will take effect and your lives will be in danger. But I think it won't be long."

"What should we do then?" Shuiying looked at Shikong with an admiring expression.

"From what you've said and my own feelings, this Cursed City must have a close and difficult-to-explain relationship with Zi Yue. The one who tied the knot must untie it. If we want to completely lift the curse, Zi Yue must unravel the mystery of the curse in the Cursed City."

“This is utter nonsense! You actually believe this? Curses, spells, my God, are you even from civilized society?” Kurada exclaimed, somewhat agitated.

“Benefactor, you have witnessed some things with your own eyes. What better explanation do you have?” Shikong looked at Kurada.

"This..." Kurada was speechless.

“If you’re worried about what might happen to Ziyue if she goes to the Cursed City again, let me tell you, I can’t guarantee she’ll be 100% safe. But she broke the curse and escaped from the Cursed City the first time, so I believe the curse isn’t as effective against her anymore. Also, if Ziyue goes again, I will definitely go with her. I have a feeling that what Master said about me and Miss Ziyue being old acquaintances might also be related to this Cursed City.”

“But the Cursed City has been buried under the sand, how can we find it again?” Shuiying asked Shikong, puzzled.

"If I'm not mistaken, as long as Ziyue goes there, the Cursed City will naturally appear."

When Shi Kong said that, a spark flickered in my heart, but when I tried to grasp it, it vanished without a trace. What exactly is the relationship between me and Zhoucheng, and with each of Zhoucheng's appearances?

"Okay, let's set off for Cursed City tomorrow!" I stood up abruptly. "Ouch!" The movement of my injured leg caused excruciating pain again.

"There's no rush. Ziyue, you should recover from your injuries first. I'll take this opportunity to go back to the town. I have some important things left at the inn that I'll need when I go to Curse City." Shi Kong went to the town. Before leaving, he used a talisman to boil water and sprinkled it around the camp. He repeatedly told everyone who returned from Curse City not to leave the camp, saying that he felt the resentment from the West was still very strong.

The wound on my leg actually scabbed over overnight after being cleansed by the World Void Talisman Water.

These past few days, when we had nothing to do, a few of us sat in the camp discussing the Cursed City.

Sometimes Shuiying and I would help the women in the camp with their daily tasks. These women weren't kidnapped by bandits; like the bandits, they were orphans left behind in a town swallowed up by the desert.

We've become quite familiar with the bandits in the camp. They have a certain respect for me and Shuiying. In their words, we are women who are reincarnations of men, very brave, and daring to take risks.

Shuiying likes to tease me and Kurada when she has nothing to do. She said that when Kurada was being pulled from the city to the desert, he kept calling out "Ziyue". Because of this, I didn't dare to say that during that experience, I also kept hearing Kurada's voice calling my name, otherwise Shuiying would have laughed me to death.

Kurada didn't dare to talk to me much anymore. Shuiying teased him, and sometimes he would secretly look at me. But he didn't know that Shuiying would also secretly say to me, "Kurada is staring at you in a daze again."

I don't mind Shuiying's teasing. Sometimes I'll retort, "Haven't had a handsome guy to keep you company in a while, are you getting impatient?"

Whenever this happens, Shuiying would deliberately put on a miserable look: "It's been so long since I've been this extravagant. When I get back, I'll definitely make up for it."

"Ugh!" I pretended to vomit.

Kurada never understood the jokes between me and Shuiying. Whenever he saw me pretending to vomit, he would ask me, "Are you feeling unwell?"

“She’s not physically uncomfortable, she’s emotionally uncomfortable. She’s jealous of me!” Shuiying replied to Kurada with a smile.

"Tch, I despise you!" I said dismissively, curling my lip.

That night, Shuiying was still drinking with the bandits outside. I felt an itch on my leg, so I went into the tent to take a look. To my surprise, I found that the scab on my leg had fallen off. The wound wasn't a big scar, but it was very dark in color and had patterns. It was really strange.

So I traced the patterns on my leg injury onto a piece of paper and examined them under the light.

"What are you looking at?" Kurada walked in without anyone noticing.

“I’m studying the patterns on my wound. Look, my wound has healed, and I have these patterns now. What do they look like?” I showed the paper to Kurada.

“Hmm, like the words on your runes,” Kurada said after examining them.

"Huh? How come I didn't remember? Right, keep this paper and ask Shikong when he comes back." I said, putting away the note. "Hey, why aren't you drinking?" I asked Kurada curiously.

“That’s how it is.” Kurada scratched his head. “I’ll give you back your necklace.”

As Kurada spoke, he took out the heart-shaped crystal necklace. I took it, opened the crystal box, and the beetle inside had regained its crystalline appearance. I could even feel its little claws trembling slightly.

“You can wear it for now.” I handed it back to Kurada. “Shikong said my curse has been lifted, but the curse on you hasn’t. This beetle is very supernatural. It will move when you are in danger, so you should wear it for now. Be careful when the beetle moves.”

“You Chinese say, ‘A gentleman does not take what others love.’ Since this has the function of bringing good fortune and avoiding misfortune, you should keep it for yourself. I cannot take it away.”

I tilted my head and looked at Kurada. "You can give it back to me when I go back to China. You can wear it for now."

"Okay, if I forget, please remind me."

After I finished speaking, Kurada and I went outside and found that all those guys were drunk. Shuiying was also drunk and was fast asleep on the sofa. She was completely unlike her usual ladylike self. I was really defeated by her.

Kurada, the women of the camp, and I dragged the drunken bunch into the tent.

I tossed Shuiying onto the bed, and she slept like a little pig. Well, even if she's beautiful, she's still a beautiful pig!

After doing all this, I'm not sleepy yet; I've had quite a bit of rest lately.

I ran outside the tent and sat down. Kurada was also outside, gently playing his harmonica. The moonlight outside was so bright. I leaned against Kurada and, surprisingly, fell asleep to his harmonica music. "Someone's here," Kurada gently shook me, waking me from my slumber. We were still sitting outside.

"Where?" I looked around.

Kurada pointed, and I saw several black dots on the desert.

"Wait a minute." Kurada went into the tent and came out with binoculars and a gun, handing one to me. "Do you know how to use it?" he said, teaching me how to use it. The bullet was loaded, and all I had to do was aim and pull the trigger. However, I still doubted whether I could hit the target. I probably thought to myself, "Miss the target."

Through the binoculars, I saw the black-robed men who had put me on a horse in the desert that day, ready to take me away. Their faces wore masks that looked like mummies, which disgusted me.

There were seven people in total. They rode their horses toward the camp. The horses' hooves were covered with cloth so that the sound of their hooves could not be heard.

"Fire!" Kurada shouted as the seven men drew closer to the camp.

A crisp gunshot pierced the desert night sky. I saw one of the seven men fall off his horse. I also fired a shot, but I believe it was a miss.

The men paused for a moment, and the horse stopped.

Kurada rushed out: "Go, go and grab that guy who shot him down." As he spoke, he fired another shot, which hit another person in the shoulder. I saw that person clutch his shoulder.

The men in black robes turned their horses around and ran away. The empty horse followed, and its rider fell to the ground.

Kurada fired again at the fleeing men in black robes, but they were too far away for the bullets to reach. I was amazed at how fast their horses were; in the blink of an eye, they disappeared over the horizon.

Kurada and I cautiously ran to the injured man in black robes and dragged him back. As we walked, I kept looking around, afraid that someone might be lurking nearby.

They dragged the man in black robes to the edge of the camp and threw him down.

Kurada crouched down and removed the man's mask. It was a young man, pale-faced, staring wide-eyed at Kurada. I saw the corner of his mouth twitch, revealing a sinister smile.

"Watch out!" I shouted. The man in black robes had somehow gotten a small knife in his hand and was about to stab Kurada.

Kurada grabbed the black-robed man's hand and took his knife from him, handing it to me.

The black-robed man's already pale face turned even paler. He glared at us with venomous eyes, and then his face suddenly turned green.

"He's dead." Kurada looked at me in surprise.

“Look!” I almost screamed.

The black-robed man's face gradually distorted and twisted, then slowly melted like wax. The melting sensation started from his face and spread across his body.

Watching someone melt away like wax is an extremely disgusting feeling.

The clothes were corroded by something and quickly turned to ash, which was then blown away by the wind. The body beneath the clothes began to melt from the outer layer of skin, turning into a black, somewhat viscous liquid that emitted a foul, putrid odor.

The skin melted, revealing the fat beneath, though it was a very thin layer. Then came the bright red muscle. After the muscle melted, the bones of the limbs became visible, and the internal organs of the chest and abdomen were exposed.

Whether it's skin, muscles, bones, or internal organs, they all melt away layer by layer like wax.

In the end, a person turned into a pool of thick, black, viscous, and putrid liquid, which was then absorbed by the thirsty sand. In the stillness of the night, I could even hear the impatient "hissing" sound of the sand as it absorbed the liquid.

"Ugh!" I opened my mouth as if to vomit, but nothing came out.

"What exactly are these men in black doing? Why did they commit suicide after we captured them? And why did they have to use such drastic methods, leaving not even the slightest trace?" Kurada murmured in bewilderment.

“No, look, he at least left behind a pool of disgusting, putrid bodily fluids, and,” I said, handing over the knife I had just snatched from the man in black, “this knife.”

Kurada took the knife and glanced at it: "This knife is the same as the one used by Luffy, who was killed in Cursed City." As he spoke, Kurada pulled a knife from his boot, and the two knives were placed together; they were indeed identical.

The knife was black, made of some unknown metal, with a yellow handle inlaid with several gemstones.

"Could they have killed Luffy? How did they get into Cursed City? Could they have some connection to Cursed City?" Kurada was practically a detective; he was asking me the very questions I wanted answered.

“It’s certain that they have a connection to Cursed City, but what kind of connection is it?” I asked back, mimicking Kurada’s tone, which made Kurada laugh.

"Here, take this knife. We'll each have one. It's quite sharp and beautiful." Kurada handed me a knife.

I took the knife and tucked it into the belt of my jeans.

12. Sleeping smoke

Shikong returned to the camp two days later.

He brought back a huge monk's staff. As soon as I saw the staff, I thought of Tang Sanzang's journey to the West, and I couldn't help but laugh. I can't help it, I have a rich imagination.

Over the past few days, we have frequently spotted traces of those men in black robes, but they no longer approach.

Shi Kong prepared many talismans and gave me a few to carry with me. Then he gave talismans to everyone. I suddenly remembered the pattern on my leg injury, so I showed Shi Kong the paper with the pattern traced on it.

"Hey, when did you learn to draw talismans?" Shi Kong took the paper and asked before I could explain what it was. "It's the same talisman I gave you last time."

I felt extremely dizzy, and I saw stars before my eyes.

“This is the scar on my leg from the burn caused by your talisman,” I explained.

"Is that so? Let me see." Shi Kong realized he had misspoke after saying that. "Never mind, I won't look at your injury. Let's look at this piece of paper instead."

“Just look at the paper; I traced it by following the pattern on the scar.” I said, pursing my lips.

“Strange, strange, doesn’t this mean your leg injury is a talisman?” Shi Kong muttered to himself. “You all go out, I’ll take a look.” Shi Kong said, urging Shui Ying and Kurada to leave.

"You lecherous monk, what are you looking at? That injury is on Ziyue's leg!" Shuiying exclaimed.

"Oh, no, no, I don't want to look at her legs." Shi Kong shook his head anxiously. "I want to look at the talisman on her legs."

"Looking at the talisman on her leg and not looking at her leg? Are you out of your mind, monk?" Shuiying continued to yell.

"Sigh, I can't explain it to you. You guys step out so I can cast a spell to see if her talisman is effective. Sigh, this is so troublesome, how should I put it?" Shi Kong scratched his head anxiously.

"Okay, let's go out. You don't need to explain anymore." Kurada said, pulling Shuiying out of the room. Shuiying pouted, not understanding.

After they came out of the clouds, I saw Shikong sitting cross-legged in the room, chanting something. Then he made a gesture. I felt a burning sensation on my thigh wound, but it wasn't the burning sensation. Then I saw golden light flash out from the wound.

"My God!" Shi Kong withdrew his hand and looked at me with a puzzled expression. "That wound is exactly the same as the talisman I gave you last time. It really works!"

"Isn't this even better? I don't need to carry so many talismans anymore; I already have them on me." I laughed smugly.

"Sigh, I really don't understand." I almost laughed when I saw Shi Kong scratching his bald head.

Then Shikong called Kurada and Shuiying in to discuss their plan to go to the Cursed City again.

We described everything we saw in the Cursed City and then drew it into a flat map for everyone's reference.

The final plan was decided: for safety, not everyone would go this time. Kurada selected seven men from his subordinates to accompany him. Once they reached the Cursed City, the remaining men would stay outside the city, firstly for defense and rescue purposes, and secondly to avoid unnecessary sacrifices by entering the city. Based on their previous experience, the city was fraught with traps, and a large number of people would only lead to unnecessary casualties.