Chapter 212: Lan Cangming Smells a Curse
Inside the warship’s conference room, the incandescent lights stretched and shrank the four figures’ shadows.
Ying Jiuyao paced back and forth anxiously, his claws making a piercing sound as they scraped across the metal tabletop.
"That sharp-tongued swan’s voice is clearly fine, his wings have fully grown back, and his Level has even increased."
He stopped abruptly, his tiger tail cracking against the bulkhead with a WHIP, shaking the overhead light.
"So who’s he putting on that long face for all day? Anan doesn’t owe him anything."
"Something’s wrong."
Lan Cangming’s transparent ear fins suddenly fluttered violently, his ice-blue eyes widening in the dim light.
"Seville’s aura is tainted with the scent of an evil curse. It’s just like the stench of corruption when the Mermaid Clan was defiled years ago."
Night Abyss’s brow instantly furrowed, his dragon horns glinting coldly in the shadows.
"Are you sure it’s a curse? That’s a hundred times more trouble than a poisoned throat or genetic chain degradation."
"There’s no mistaking it."
Lan Cangming condensed a small ball of icy mist at his fingertip. As it touched the air, it turned a grayish-black.
"This aura is far more insidious than what the Mermaid Clan encountered back then. I suspect it’s connected to the Mutant Beasts."
"Ha! So he’s cursed and he’s just keeping it to himself?"
Ying Jiuyao’s tiger ears shot up, and he slammed his tail heavily against the floor.
"Keeps everything bottled up all day. Serves him right if he chokes on it!"
"I’ll go talk to him." As Night Abyss turned, his Dragon Scales scraped against the metal back of a chair, striking tiny sparks.
"Ying Jiuyao, keep your claws to yourself. Fei Zhao, don’t let me see any of your Fox Fire."
"Fine!"
Ying Jiuyao bared his stark white fangs, the White Tiger markings on his fur glowing with a blood-red light under the emergency lamps.
"You go tell that damn bird that if he dares to make Anan shed a single tear..."
He paused, his tiger claws making a CRACKING sound as he clenched his fist. "I’ll pluck every last one of his feathers and pickle them!"
"Count me in."
Fei Zhao gritted his teeth as inch-long, crimson flames flared up at the tips of his nine fiery-red fox tails.
Ying Jiuyao shot him a sidelong glance and sneered.
"So impressive. Who was it last time that got pinned to the floor by his 4S pressure, with his tail fur all frazzled?"
"I slipped!"
Fei Zhao’s fur stood on end in fury.
"Stop arguing!"
Night Abyss’s dragon tail swept between Ying Jiuyao and Fei Zhao, its black scales glinting coldly under the light.
"What if he really is afflicted with a fatal curse?"
The air in the conference room instantly froze.
Patches of light from the incandescent lamps wavered on the metal walls, scattering the four beast-men’s shadows into disarray.
Ying Jiuyao’s tiger ears slowly drooped. The tip of his tail traced small circles on the floor as his voice grew mumbled.
"Then we’ll find a way to break the curse! It’s just that Anan..."
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the rest of his sentence: ’has him in her heart.’
He just added sullenly, "We can’t just watch him die."
For once, Fei Zhao’s nine fox tails hung down calmly. "That guy may be sharp-tongued and pretentious, but at least he’s a Beast Husband Anan approved of."
He lifted a paw to rub the tip of his nose, his tone growing heavy.
"If he hadn’t charged into the Otherworldly Space to protect Anan this time."
"Anan might have already been captured by the Rebel Army."
"We need to hurry!"
Lan Cangming tapped his finger on the tabletop, and frost began to crystallize across the surface.
"His Holy Power is depleting too quickly. The longer the curse drags on, the more trouble it will be."
"I’m going to find him now." Night Abyss turned and walked toward the door.
"Wait!" Ying Jiuyao scratched his head, his tiger ears twitching. "You tell him, if he dares to die..."
He paused, his voice suddenly rising. "I’ll burn his entire collection of sheet music!"
SMACK!
One of Fei Zhao’s fox tails slapped him hard on the back of the head, all nine of his tails shaking with anger.
"Stupid cat! How can you say something so ridiculous at a time like this?"
Lan Cangming shook his head helplessly and nodded his chin toward Night Abyss.
"Go, and come back quickly."
"Right."
Night Abyss’s figure vanished in an instant.
In the warship’s lounge, the night sky outside the observation window was an impenetrable darkness.
Seville’s Golden Wings rested on the windowsill, slowly turning transparent, wisp by wisp.
Like the last flickering wisp of light from a candle about to be extinguished.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded from behind, accompanied by the sharp scrape of a dragon tail against metal.
Seville didn’t turn around. His amber pupils reflected the darkness outside, and his voice was as hoarse as if it had been ground with sand.
"Get out."
"You’re not in a good state."
Night Abyss stopped three steps away. His Dragon Scales gently opened and closed with each breath, a dark light flowing between them.
"As a Beast Husband, you have a duty to protect Su An’an."
"Duty?"
Seville whirled around, an ominous black mist churning in his amber pupils.
"Isn’t having you four lapdogs around her enough? Does she really need me, another bird?"
Noticing the black mist flash in his eyes, Night Abyss shot out a dragon claw, the gust of wind it created rustling Seville’s Wings.
Seville sidestepped to dodge but was half a beat too slow.
With a RIP, his collar was torn open.
A hideous black curse mark was revealed over his heart, writhing slowly like a venomous snake.
Night Abyss’s vertical scarlet pupils contracted. "So it really is a curse from a Mutant Beast?"
"What do you mean, ’so it really is’?"
Seville looked up sharply.
"Lan Cangming was once afflicted by the Mermaid Curse, so he smelled the evil aura on you."
Night Abyss stared at the Curse Pattern on his chest and said in a low voice,
"There’s no point hiding it now. Spit it out!"
"That’s right. This is a curse from a King Blood Beast."
Seville’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his fingertips traced the black markings on his chest.
"Lan Cangming’s little curse? Compared to this, it’s not even an appetizer."
Night Abyss hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Anan was able to break the Mermaid Clan’s curse. Maybe she can help you too."
"Even my Holy Power can’t sate this thing! You want her to come here and die?"
Seville pulled his collar closed. His Golden Wings trembled violently, and his voice was barely audible.
"I don’t want to see her get hurt!"
Night Abyss’s Adam’s apple bobbed. In the end, he remained silent.
"The Rebel Army now calls itself the Divine Army. The Mutant Beasts they’re raising are becoming more and more terrifying."
Seville gazed at the ink-splattered universe outside the window, his Golden Wings shedding shimmering dust.
"You all need to be careful."
"You don’t need to remind us of that."
Night Abyss took two steps forward, staring intently into Seville’s eyes.
"Tell me, what exactly does this curse do?"
A flash of pain crossed Seville’s pupils, and his Wings went rigid.
"To never obtain true love, for all of eternity."
He twisted the corner of his mouth, his laughter sounding worse than a cry.
"The kind that never ends, not even in death."
Night Abyss’s dragon tail tightened abruptly, dark light darting between its scales.
"So that’s why you were acting like a madman just now?"
"Yes." Seville’s voice was laced with ice, his expression instantly twisting in agony.
"Watching all of you crowd around her... every second, I want to tear you to shreds."
His fingertips dug deep into his palm, drawing beads of crimson blood.
"If this goes on, I’ll turn into a monster sooner or later. I’ll even drag Anan down with me."
Night Abyss was silent for a moment, his dragon tail carving a shallow groove into the floor.
"Is there a way to break it?"
"Return to the Swan Clan and find the High Priest."
Seville looked out at the swirling nebula, his voice as light as a feather.
"For now, that’s the only lead."