Chapter 28

When the choice surfaced in his consciousness,

he could remove it!

After realizing this, Mo You felt a slight relief in his heart.

The so-called cost had been mentioned only briefly by Qiduo earlier, without any tangible impression.

Now, seeing it with his own eyes, it was simply bizarre and terrifying.

If this kind of "phenomenon power" came from the Dark Continent, Mo You would choose to believe it.

Even the so-called "perception" that had attached itself to his consciousness at some point might have originated from the Dark Continent.

After all, even the "Universal Wishing Machine" exists in the original story…

In any case,

Mo You now felt more confident and was grateful that the "perception" had given him a chance to remove the curse.

However, before removing the cost for Hawk, he wanted to see if Aresel had a way.

If it were the cost sealed in the underground "Scales," Mo You felt that even the "perception" would be powerless, but if it were the cost placed on Hawk…

Since his chance to remove the curse was feasible, perhaps Aresel could also do it.

"It will be alright, Hawk."

Mo You supported Hawk's arm and whispered words of comfort.

Hawk, hearing this, smiled on his wrinkled face.

He was supposed to be the one comforting Mo You, but instead, he was the one being comforted.

He didn't say anything, just lightly patted Mo You's hand.

He would do anything to protect Mo You.

That was the meaning of his existence.

"Let's start now, Mr. Aresel."

Hawk's old eyes held a glimmer of hope.

Aresel nodded silently.

A moment later,

Everyone moved to the main hall.

Aresel began to remove the curse from Hawk.

He opened his mouth, the size of a ping-pong ball, and bit off a small piece of the afterlife's curse from Hawk's body.

"Ugh, ugh…"

As soon as the small piece of the curse entered his mouth, Aresel's face twisted in pain, and he knelt down, retching uncontrollably.

Anorexic—

Resisting any "food" with all his might.

After finally swallowing the first piece of the curse, Aresel's face turned pale.

His arduous and painful efforts made Hawk and Qiduo's hearts race with anxiety.

Aresel's ability to remove the curse was their only hope at the moment. If…

Hawk and Qiduo didn't want to think about the consequences.

After a long while, Aresel managed to bite off a second piece of the curse from Hawk's body.

The process of swallowing was still extremely difficult, and he retched as if he would vomit his internal organs at any moment.

"Removing the afterlife's curse… is it really this difficult and painful?"

Mo You watched Aresel, who was kneeling and retching, with a look of astonishment.

Just the cost imposed by the "Scales" was so hard to remove; he couldn't imagine how to remove the curse from the "Scales" itself.

"Ugh, ugh…"

The main hall echoed with Aresel's agonizing retching.

It was thanks to the exceptional professional ethics of this exorcist that he could still persist despite such pain.

Time slowly passed.

As the sun set, Aresel had lost count of how many pieces of the curse he had swallowed.

Although he could still persist, he knew he had to stop.

After all, he needed to digest the curse he had swallowed. If he couldn't, the cost would transfer to him.

"I need time to digest… Only after digesting can I continue to remove the curse."

Aresel slumped to the ground, looking exhausted.

His efforts were not in vain; the signs of aging on Hawk's body had visibly changed.

"Alright."

Hawk's face lit up with joy.

Qiduo also saw the effect of the exorcism and gradually relaxed her tense body.

"You… don't get too excited yet."

Aresel, with a wooden expression, said hoarsely, "If my 'anorexic appetite' cannot digest these afterlife curses…"

Hawk and Qiduo's eyes narrowed slightly at his words.

The consequences didn't need to be explained.

Aresel struggled to stand up, walked to the red pillar, and leaned against it, closing his eyes to rest.

Seeing this, Hawk suggested that Aresel go to the guest room to rest, but Aresel coldly refused.

Before the "digestion results" were out, Hawk and the others could only wait helplessly.

Time ticked by slowly.

Night fell.

The main hall was filled with soft lighting.

Hawk, Qiduo, and Mo You sat on the ground, watching Aresel, who was resting with his eyes closed.

No one spoke, and the hall was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Qiduo exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

Hawk and Mo You immediately looked at Qiduo, while Aresel, like a meditating monk, showed no reaction.

Qiduo looked out into the night, frowning. "The threads of perception I set up in the forest have been disturbed."

"What's the specific situation?"

After being lectured by Qiduo last time, Hawk wasn't as optimistic now and only asked for details.

If it were the old him, he would have suggested the possibility of an animal disturbance.

"I'm not sure, but… at least 11 threads of perception disappeared at the same time."

Qiduo stood up from the ground.

The threads of perception, which had a weak presence, could only serve as a warning and couldn't provide more information.

"I'll go check it out."

Qiduo prepared to go to the scene.

Hawk, hearing this, instinctively stood up, ready to go with Qiduo.

Qiduo glanced at him and said bluntly, "What can you do now?"

"…"

Hawk was speechless, then smiled bitterly in resignation.

"Qiduo, I'll go with you."

Mo You also stood up, wanting to go with Qiduo to check the situation.

"No."

Qiduo rejected Mo You without hesitation, calmly saying, "You stay here and look after Hawk and Mr. Aresel."

Without waiting for Mo You's response, she strode out of the hall.

Watching Qiduo's figure blend into the night, Mo You and Hawk exchanged a glance, both silent.

A moment later,

Mo You suddenly said, "I'll go to the kitchen and make something to eat."

"Alright."

Hawk nodded.

On the other side,

Qiduo walked out of the temple and headed into the mountain forest.

She looked at the dark forest, her expression serious.

"The situation I least wanted to see… has still occurred."

The information from the threads of perception was limited, but when combined, a conclusion could be drawn.

The creatures that disturbed the threads of perception were at least ten in number, and based on the distribution of the subsequent disturbances, they were likely heading for the temple.

It was almost certain that they were intruders…

And they were very likely the group that had inherited the will of the old Qinglin team, who were after the afterlife entities.

When the situation had already occurred,

Qiduo wouldn't waste time blaming Hawk. Her mind was focused on how to actively solve the problem.

"Medical Record Book"

Qiduo's hands glowed with psychic energy, and a thin book and a steel pen appeared out of nowhere.

The moment she used her ability, her vision was enhanced dramatically.

In the forest,

A group of about twenty armed men marched in an orderly manner through the woods.

And behind the armed group—

were four psychic ability users led by Ken.