Those few coffin nails were merely auxiliary tools — the real core of the Annihilation Curse was this Flesh-and-Blood Urn.
My master once told me that the more wicked and sinister the anchor object of an Annihilation Curse, the stronger its effect. He had seen infants' corpses used, and even the skulls of executed criminals. But this — an urn made from the minced flesh of several people who died violently — even my well-traveled master might never have encountered.
The crafting process for this urn was extremely complicated. The flesh inside couldn't just be cut from any corpse — it had to come from people who had died tragic, unnatural deaths. That was the basic requirement.
And the refinement process was equally elaborate.
The urn's power came from fusing the resentment of those violently dead with the hatred of Li Na's spirit. Together, they formed the Annihilation Curse.
Li Na had only taken her own life a few days ago. That meant this urn must have been prepared long beforehand.
Could this all have been premeditated?
I stared at the urn, lost in thought.
After retching for a while, Uncle Huzi covered his nose and came closer, his voice muffled, "Young Master, what the hell is this thing? Smells worse than a dead rat!"
"Enough talk — take it away," I said gravely.
As I spoke, I pulled out a talisman and slapped it onto the urn.
Uncle Huzi wrinkled his nose. "What're we keeping this for? Better toss it somewhere before it breaks. If it does, we're all dead — if the stench doesn't kill us first!"
"I have my reasons," I replied.
Reluctantly, he stripped off his jacket, wrapped the urn several times, and hugged it to his chest.
Removing the urn had broken the curse, but this matter was far from over.
I was going to find whoever had set this curse, recover Li Na's captured soul, and uncover the truth behind her suicide.
I walked over to Li's father and Liu Peng.
Earlier, Liu Peng had been hit by the curse's backlash. Fortunately, I'd acted quickly — after resting a while, the dark, bluish hue on his face had completely faded.
"Little brother, is it over now?" Li's father asked.
"Yes. Go home and check on Li Juan — she should be back to normal now."
He looked at me in disbelief. He couldn't understand how a bit of work at Li Na's grave could fix his younger daughter. But his impatience to see her outweighed his doubt.
I followed him home.
Before we even reached the door, Liu Peng — still slung over Li's father's back — woke up.
Other than a small cut between his brows, he seemed fine.
Sliding down from Li's father's back, he blinked at me in confusion. "Wu Jie, what happened? I was digging out that coffin nail, then my scalp tingled — and I remember nothing after that."
"You were hit by evil energy. It's gone now," I said casually.
He had no idea he'd just taken a stroll to death's door.
Back at the house, I was surprised to see Li Juan sitting in the living room, chatting with her mother.
Just as I'd said, once the curse was broken, she quickly returned to normal.
"Dad… you're back." She smiled and called out to her father.
That single word, "Dad," nearly brought Li's father to tears.
Not long ago, she'd been feral, attacking everyone — she'd even clawed Old Master Cui's face to ribbons. Now, she was her gentle self again.
Her parents thanked me profusely.
"Uncle, Auntie, Li Juan is fine now. For the next three days, don't let her go out — and if she must, avoid places heavy with yin energy, like cemeteries, hospitals, or funeral homes. If there's nothing else, I'll be going," I said, motioning to Uncle Huzi with the urn.
"Wait, little brother!" Li's father hurried into the bedroom and returned with a thick envelope. "I know your profession's rules. You've worked hard — here's fifty thousand yuan, our family's life savings. Please don't think it's too little."
"Uncle, no need. Li Na was my classmate. Helping you is my duty," I said.
"You must take it, or I'll feel guilty. You've done so much for us." He shoved the envelope into my hand.
I opened it, took about ten thousand, and handed the rest back. "I'll accept this much. Keep the rest — it's enough for me."
Without looking back, I walked out with Uncle Huzi.
At the gate, I handed the ten thousand yuan to Liu Peng. "This is yours."
He blinked. "Why?"
"If you hadn't told me about Li Na's family, I wouldn't have come. And you helped earlier. This belongs to you."
He had, in fact, saved me — when we dug up the second coffin nail, he'd taken the hit in my place.
"Come on, I passed out! I can't take it—"
"A grown man shouldn't fuss like a woman. The Young Master says take it, you take it." Uncle Huzi stuffed the money into his hands.
Then we left the village, walked to the main road, and hailed a car.
I hadn't made a cent on this job, but I didn't feel cheated.
Now, my next step was finding the one who had set the Annihilation Curse.
On the way, Uncle Huzi frowned. "Young Master, what if that person comes back for the Li family?"
"They won't get the chance. With the urn in your arms, they'll come to us instead," I said.
"Urn? What's in it?"
"Pieces of flesh from several people who died violently," I answered.
He nearly hurled the urn out the window.
Despite his usual bravery, he was deeply uneasy about the thing.
After that, no matter what I said, he refused to hold it — so I carried it all the way home myself.