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墨書 Inktalez
"What kind of effect would such a Scarecrow have?"
"The people of Dashi Village fell ill because of this Scarecrow."
Fang Miao had already guessed the reason, but upon hearing the Ancient Sorcerer's response, she still found it absurd—how could a Scarecrow, one that was loosely made and barely resembled a human form unless looked at closely, cause the entire Dashi Village to fall sick?
Isn't that a bit ridiculous!?
Isn't that killing without a trace?
Even if one were to drop a bomb, it would take quite a few to blow up an entire village. Now, just hanging some straw can achieve that?
Turning to Fang Miao, the Ancient Sorcerer understood her thoughts and smiled, saying, "There's nothing strange about this. This Scarecrow may look simple, and you might even think that if you made it, it would turn out better."
Fang Miao smiled as well; the Ancient Sorcerer had voiced her own thoughts.
"That's right, that's exactly what I was thinking."
"However, this Scarecrow was made by a skilled sorcerer and has been imbued with secret techniques, so its effects are definitely astonishing."
The Ancient Sorcerer's words left Fang Miao silent. She recalled how the Ancient Sorcerer had treated her grandfather using nothing more than the juice of an ordinary Pomegranate Tree—before that, her family had tried every possible method and consulted all the famous doctors in the world, yet none could cure him.
If Pomegranate Juice could bring someone back from the brink of death, who could say that a Scarecrow couldn't kill without a trace?
Looking at the Scarecrow hanging on the tree branch, the Ancient Sorcerer thought of even more possibilities.
In witchcraft, the magic used to attack or curse others is known as Black Magic. Zike Jue is one such method. Generally, it involves using the leg bone of a sick wild beast and a Scarecrow made from straw or grass, combined with the name of the cursed person through a special ritual. The bone and Scarecrow are then placed in locations frequently visited by the cursed individual. Under these circumstances, the cursed person will suffer from strange illnesses; the stronger the curse, the more severe the illness, and it cannot be cured by ordinary medicine.
Of course, this type of Zike Jue can also be performed using a dead dog or hanging a Scarecrow near the cursed person's living area, which is the method used in Dashi Village.
"What should we do now? Take down this Scarecrow?"
Fang Miao looked at the Scarecrow hanging in mid-air. As the night wind blew, the Scarecrow swayed gently and slowly turned around. Perhaps out of concern, she noticed that this Scarecrow seemed to emanate layers of coldness.
"Shivers..."
Fang Miao couldn't help but shudder and drew in a cold breath.
"We can't. This Scarecrow is not an ordinary Scarecrow; it definitely cannot be removed just because we want to."
Zike Jue is generally aimed at a specific person, at most a few people or a family. This is because this type of magic has a somewhat "heaven-defying" nature; even skilled witches cannot easily expand its range. The fact that this Scarecrow can curse an entire village and cause everyone there to suffer from strange illnesses proves that the caster is an exceptionally skilled witch. Recklessly removing the Scarecrow without a solution would not resolve the issue.
Most importantly, this Scarecrow is now connected to the hearts and minds of all Dashi Village residents; taking it down could potentially lead to a great disaster.
"So what should we do?"
"Let's go back for now; I need to think this through carefully."
Given the gravity of the situation, the Ancient Sorcerer had to be cautious.
"Alright. But you have to promise me that once you come up with a solution, you’ll let me know. I want to see how you resolve this issue."
"Alright, no problem, let's head back."
Having found the crux of the issue, and with no good solutions at the moment, it made no sense to stay here any longer. The Ancient Sorcerer simply walked back with Fang Miao.
Upon reaching the village entrance, the Ancient Sorcerer first saw Fang Miao home before heading to his own tent. However, as soon as he opened the curtain and stepped inside, he found Du Quan waiting for him.
"What are you doing here?"
It was already quite late, and logically, Du Quan should have been asleep.
"Oh, Elder Fang asked me to come and ask you something."
Du Quan stood up with a smile. Ever since Fang Daoming recovered from his illness, he had developed a great admiration for the much younger Ancient Sorcerer.
"Is it about the illness in Dashi Village?"
The Ancient Sorcerer easily guessed Du Quan's purpose for coming.
"Yes, Elder Fang is very concerned about this matter. He wants to know about it. You know that ever since SARS, our country has been quite vigilant regarding such issues."
The SARS incident had a tremendous impact on the economy of the entire country and even the world. Everyone who experienced it understood its significance. For this reason, Fang Daoming was so anxious that even after just meeting with the Ancient Sorcerer, he immediately sent Du Quan to check if any solutions had been found.
"I've identified where the problem lies; as for a solution, I still need to think about it."
Du Quan's eyes widened in surprise. When Fang Daoming sent him to ask the Ancient Sorcerer, he thought Fang Daoming was being overly impatient. After all, the Ancient Sorcerer had only just arrived; how could he possibly have clarified everything so quickly?
But now the Ancient Sorcerer actually told himself that he had found the crux of the problem.
"Where is the problem?"
Almost instinctively, Du Quan immediately blurted out the question.
"The curse. Our previous guess was correct; the illness affecting the people of Dashi Village is not a contagious disease caused by some bacteria."
"A curse? Does such a powerful curse still exist in this world?"
Du Quan's eyes widened even more. As a wizard himself, he was very familiar with witchcraft. To his knowledge, he had never heard of any wizard capable of casting such a large-scale curse—after the great turmoil decades ago and the destruction of the Four Olds, many things were lost, including witchcraft. Large-scale and powerful curses had basically not been passed down.
"Yes, it is a witchcraft curse from Zike Jue."
"Ah, isn't that a unique form of witchcraft from the Yi people? How could it appear here?"
Du Quan couldn't help but exclaim softly. He didn't understand this form of witchcraft, but he had heard about it from his master, who said it originated in primitive society.
"It is indeed a form of witchcraft from the Yi people. As for how it appeared here, unless we can find that person, we really won't be able to figure this out."
Using witchcraft against an individual might be a personal grudge, but now it's being used against an entire village. Is there some kind of conspiracy behind this? The Ancient Sorcerer was also very curious about this.
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