Chapter 16: The Gathering of Malignance

The word “strange” made Mu Yunzhe uneasy. “What’s wrong?”

“Today is sunny, yet no sunlight enters this house. Lack of light breeds dark energy. The feng shui is terrible,” Yan Qiao explained, her tone clinical.

“Why did you choose this place?” Li Xun asked, glancing around the dim, oppressive space.

Mu Yunzhe’s face darkened. “A friend recommended it.”

“The same ‘friend’ who introduced you to that fake Taoist?”

“…Yes.”

“Seems you’ve been marked as prey from the start.”

“That bastard!” Mu Yunzhe’s rage flared.

“Upstairs,” Yan Qiao ordered.

As they ascended, Li Xun asked quietly, “You read feng shui too?”

“Yes.”

“Then inspect my residence later.”

“Agreed.”

Yan Qiao turned to Mu Yunzhe. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No. Focused on work.”

“Any persistent admirers?”

“Several. None interested me.”

“Any who’ve visited your home?”

Mu Yunzhe froze. “One. Sun Meiyi. Introduced by that bastard.”

“Did she gift you anything kept in your room?”

After a strained pause, Mu Yunzhe led them to his bedroom.

The spacious room felt suffocating—floor-to-ceiling windows facing the bed, multiple mirrors reflecting shadowed corners.

Yan Qiao frowned. “Living here and surviving proves your strong fate. Mirrors, bed alignment, no sunlight… This is a Gathering of Malignance Formation.”

Mu Yunzhe retrieved a pair of resin dolls from his cluttered shelves—grotesque humanoid figures gifted by Sun Meiyi.

Yan Qiao smashed one. Inside lay bloodstained yellow paper, hair, and a foul stench.

“Your blood and hers. A Peach Blossom Curse,” she stated. “Forty-nine days to completion. Three days left.”

Mu Yunzhe paled. “What now?!”

Yan Qiao burned the remnants, collecting the ashes. “Find the counterpart curse she holds.”

They rushed to Sun Meiyi’s apartment.

The security guard recognized Mu Yunzhe. They entered using his code—only to find Sun Meiyi’s corpse rotting in the living room.

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