chapter five
783 Words
After that, the villagers summoned one Taoist priest after another to perform rites of prayer, but nothing improved.
The disturbance grew worse by the day, until at last it began even to disrupt yue's sleep at night.
So in the end, she lifted the curse herself, with her own hands.
Pick a fight with yue, and it's always the other side who ends up cursed.
A man stood holding a large bowl brimming with blood, an ominous smile on his face.
He meant to take revenge.
Blood for warding off ill fortune was meant to be scattered at a house's threshold.
But the man had aimed not at the door — but at yue.
In that instant, yue hooked her toe lightly against the iron chain coiled at his feet.
The chain rolled out with sudden force, and the ground gave way beneath him.
He toppled backward, and the bowl went flying into the air.
The impact of his back slamming into the ground sent the bowlful of dog's blood pouring down over him, drenching his face without mercy.
yue made no effort to hide her amusement, her mouth curving with delight.
"Seems like you're the one with more bad luck clinging to you. At least the blood didn't go to waste."
"Y-you...!"
The man wiped roughly at the blood coating his face, his cheeks burning red with rage.
Ayue said nothing, brows lifted slightly, tilting her head as she looked down at him.
In her gaze lived open, deliberate provocation.
"Y-y-you...!"
The man could only point at her with a trembling finger, unable to string together a single proper word.
yue smiled gently, and murmured softly:
"Just between us — that thing that happened to you as a child, when you were possessed? That was me too."
For all the gentleness in her voice, the words were cold enough to freeze the spine.
After that incident, all the children who'd been possessed insisted the culprit was yue, and said so to their families.
But no girl not yet ten years old could possibly have had such power.
No one believed them, and in time the story simply died out.
Except for this man.
That incident had left a permanent scar on his face, costing him the good looks he'd once been so proud of.
Since then, he had never once tried to approach yue again — afraid of drawing more misfortune down on himself.
And now, hearing the truth confessed from her own mouth, the childhood terror swelled many times over.
His whole body began to shake violently.
"I—I knew it... you're a monster..."
Even his voice trembled.
(If only everyone feared me the way this man does — how much easier things would be.)
yue thought to herself.
Gooong—
The bell rang out from the mountaintop.
yue turned her gaze quietly toward the sound.
The sacrificial rite was about to begin.
Well then. Time for an interesting show.
The smile at her lips slowly deepened.
Seeing that expression, the man felt a chill crawl over his scalp.
(She's insane... this woman is a genuine madwoman.)
Just then, a young girl entered the room, carrying a garment in both hands.
"Th-this is... the bridal gown. Please... change into it."
Having stammered out the words, the girl set the garment down before Ayue and stepped back as if fleeing.
She's afraid.
yue knew almost none of the faces among the villagers of the stockade.
But there was something familiar about the set of this girl's eyes.
"What's your relationship to Elder An?"
Elder An — the elder of the stockade.
Ever since learning his true nature, Ayue had secretly taken to calling him, in her mind, "the old fox."
"...He's my grandfather," the girl answered quietly.
The moment the words left her mouth, the man who had been silent until now cried out in alarm.
"Ain! Don't talk to that woman! Th-that woman is a monster!"
Ain glanced toward yue only once.
Perhaps the words around her had crossed her mind.
She drew a small, sharp breath, then said only:
"...Please don't forget to change," and turned on her heel, leaving the room.
The man scrambled up in a hurry and ran after her.
"Ain — what a beautiful name."
yue's gaze shifted to the garment that had been left for her. A vivid crimson. The bridal gown itself.
Now, the only restraint left on her body was the shackle on one ankle — no longer enough to hinder her movement. She picked up the garment and made her way toward the small room next door.
She had just slipped off her outer robe and was reaching to put her
- Writer
