Lynn’s mind suddenly rang with a system prompt.
He quickly regained his composure.
Looking at the Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit, who was clearly starting to lose focus, Lynn could feel that his words had hit a nerve. He realized that if he could find the right breakthrough, he could completely dispel her hostility towards him.
His mind raced.
Finally, Lynn’s gaze locked onto her face, which was cracked and constantly spitting out tendrils and barbed spines.
An idea flickered in his mind.
Yes!
This was definitely a breakthrough point!
For an evil spirit that had always pursued beauty deep down, the best way to break through her defenses was to help her rid herself of this twisted form!
No matter what!
This was too good of an opportunity to pass up!
Lynn quickly refocused, adjusted his single-lens glasses, and said gently:
“Lady, I’m sure you don’t like the way you look right now, do you? If you’re willing, I might be able to turn you back into a human.”
Buzz—
The moment these words left his mouth, it was like a thunderclap in the Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit’s mind.
She instinctively looked up at him, eyes wide with shock.
For a moment, it felt like time had frozen.
But soon, she regained her composure, and with a mocking sneer, she said coldly:
“Just you?! Don’t joke with me. Just because you’ve fixed my daughter’s form, don’t think that means you’re some kind of expert!”
“That’s only because my daughter is still in her juvenile stage, and the evil spirit curse inside her hasn’t fully formed. You probably haven’t seen the true form of an evil spirit!”
In that instant,
Crack—crack—
Her body began to crack open with the sound of bones and flesh twisting.
Her graceful form expanded grotesquely, and decayed hands sprouted from her body, squeezing out foul, sticky rotten flesh.
Right before Lynn, the Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit gradually transformed into a monstrous form, impossible to describe.
Countless faces emerged from her body.
Each one was filled with malice.
It looked like the bodies of countless people had been put into a meat grinder and forcefully reassembled into a horrifying conglomerate.
Lynn’s ears were filled with the cacophony of raspy, venomous whispers.
“This is my true form!”
“You still think you’ve got everything under control?!”
Drip—drip—
Foul, sticky liquid dripped to the ground,
The woman’s head, perched on a long, snake-like neck, floated before Lynn with a venomous, cold grin.
“Wah—wah—” The little child in Lynn’s arms immediately burst into tears from the shock.
[Sanity -10]
[Sanity -10]
Lynn stared blankly at the unspeakable monstrosity before him, speechless for a moment.
The Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit sneered wickedly:
“Curses, pain, resentment—these are what turned me into this! Do you really think you can undo it with your little scalpel?!”
Her mocking, icy voice rumbled in Lynn’s ears.
[Danger Level 80]
[Danger Level 99]
[Warning! Warning! The danger level for this target is approaching 100!]
But at that moment,
Lynn quickly calmed himself, showing no signs of panic.
He quickly latched onto the key word from her earlier words.
[Cursed]!
If that was the cause of her current form...
“I have a way.”
Lynn said calmly.
The Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit froze for a moment.
Lynn’s eyes locked onto hers as he reached out to touch her snake-like neck.
In that instant, he activated his curse diagnosis ability.
[Beep! Diagnosing target’s curse...]
[Beep! Curse diagnosis complete!]
[Evil Spirit Curse: Formed from the accumulated resentment of countless beings after death. The more resentment and life force the target consumes, the stronger the curse becomes, warping the target’s form further. This is a high-level curse.]
Almost as soon as he heard the diagnosis,
Lynn suddenly looked up and said,
“I’ll use my time-limited curse removal ability!”
[Beep! Time-limited curse removal ability activated on the [Demon Hunter Revolver]. Do you wish to switch targets?]
“Yes!”
Buzz—
Almost instantly,
The Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit’s eyes widened in shock.
She immediately saw Lynn’s hand, still touching her neck, begin to glow with an endless light.
The light immediately surged into her body, and she could feel the curse inside her gradually peeling away under the influence of the glow.
“This... this…”
She gasped in disbelief, her face a mask of astonishment.
Under her watch, countless twisted black lines shrieked as they were slowly extracted from her body by the light.
Her pupils dilated.
It felt like her essence was being drained from her.
She could feel the curse being removed, the pain and distortion slowly leaving her.
“Ah—”
She let out a long, painful scream toward the sky.
And just at that moment, her broken and distorted body began to dissolve in the light, revealing a pale, slender, and perfect form amidst the blood and mutilated flesh.
[Beep! Curse extraction complete. Time-limited curse removal ability on cooldown for 12 hours.]
[Beep! Curse removal experience +1]
[Beep! Curse removal experience +1]
The light gradually faded, and Lynn’s palm revealed a dark, sinister rune.
It was the evil spirit curse he had just removed and collected.
As the light disappeared and vision returned,
Lynn’s gaze fell upon the pale, perfect form lying on the bloodstained floor, her long, cascading hair like a waterfall, stunningly beautiful.
“The curse has been temporarily removed.” Lynn smiled, his expression unchanged.
On the floor,
The Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit lay there stunned.
She slowly crawled up, her eyes reflecting her long, slender hands. She turned her head, dazedly staring at her reflection in the mirror.
For a moment,
Her mind went blank.
“This... This is impossible…”
She mumbled, trembling, reaching out to touch her face.
Because she could feel it.
This was her real body, no longer the fake form pieced together from blood and flesh. This was her true form.
And the curse, that constant tormenting presence that had plagued her for over a century, was gone as if it had never existed.
Gone…
“What did you just… do to me?” she whispered, as if trapped in a dream.
Lynn, still holding the little child, smiled gently and said,
“I told you already, I helped you remove the evil spirit curse inside you. Do you still think I’m deceiving you, lady?”
Lynn acted nonchalantly, as if it was nothing.
The Bloody Garbed Evil Spirit stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
Her perfect, flawless body made her feel as though she had just awoken from a terrible nightmare.
“You... you really…”
She finally stammered in disbelief, slowly rising to her feet.
A hundred years of evil spirit curses...
Had truly been lifted so easily by this human boy...
"Ah—ah—"
She clutched her hair tightly, eyes squeezed shut, letting out one uncontrollable, excited scream after another.
She was babbling incoherently!
She didn’t even know what words to use to describe the mixed emotions she was feeling at that moment—excitement, confusion, and everything in between.
Lynn stared, wide-eyed, at the woman in front of her, who seemed to have suddenly lost her mind, her body jerking like someone in the midst of a seizure.
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"System, is the curse really gone?"
"Yes, it’s been removed."
"But why does she seem even crazier than before?"
"...."
After a few more minutes of almost nonstop yelling, the blood-drenched spirit seemed to snap out of it, collapsing onto the floor, hands over her face, muttering, "Sorry, could you leave for now? I need to calm down... my emotions are all over the place..."
Lynn blinked, nodding to show he understood.
He quickly grabbed the cute little one and rushed out the door.
Once Lynn left, the blood-drenched spirit sat dazed on the floor, staring at her reflection in the mirror—her beautiful, untainted self.
...
[System prompt! You’ve completed Stage 1: The Grudge of the Blood-drenched Spirit. You’ve earned 500 Skull Coins, 500 basic experience points, and a special reward: Evil Spirit Soul Lamp x1.]
[System prompt! The Blood-drenched Spirit’s favorability toward you +10.]
[System prompt! The Blood-drenched Spirit’s favorability toward you +10.]
Downstairs, by the table.
Lynn sat restlessly, clutching the little one, feeling the constant tension on his scalp.
He had been waiting here for nearly half an hour.
Ever since the task completion notification, every minute or so, his ears would ring with another "Favorability +10" prompt.
A few minutes ago, his favorability had already broken through the 300-point mark!
But he still had no idea what kind of mental shift the blood-drenched spirit was going through upstairs. Either way, with all this favorability stacking up, he was pretty sure he’d make it through the night without trouble.
"She probably won’t try to kill me now, right?"
Lynn thought to himself.
Though the process had been complicated, the final result seemed to be heading in a positive direction. As long as he made it through tonight, once his teacher came back tomorrow, he wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
After all, his teacher’s abilities were top-notch!
Just then, a pale hand slowly pushed open the door.
A sweet, sultry voice floated through from inside.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Lynn immediately looked up toward the door.
In the dim candlelight, the woman in the red dress stepped out. Her wavy, voluminous hair framed her face, and a warm, mature blush colored her cheeks. She walked toward him with a graceful air.
Lynn couldn't help but admire her. After the curse was lifted, she seemed even more stunning and real than before.
As Lynn watched, the blood-drenched spirit, her cheeks tinged pink, sat down across from him.
Gone was the harsh, mocking demeanor. Now, she looked more like a gentle, alluring neighbor than the twisted creature from before.
"Sorry."
She bowed her head, covering her flushed face, and apologized, "I’m so sorry for the way I treated you before... for all the terrible things I said, and for the hatred I harbored against you..."
"I feel so ashamed!"
She seemed like a completely different person!!
Lynn almost snorted in disbelief but kept his composure. "It’s fine, it’s fine," he said, clearing his throat. "We’re neighbors, right? Neighbors should get along and understand each other, don’t you think?"
[System prompt! The Blood-drenched Spirit’s favorability toward you +20.]
[System prompt! The Blood-drenched Spirit’s favorability toward you +20.]
This doesn’t feel right...
Her cheeks flushed even more as she looked down, clearly guilty. "Even if you say that... I still feel terrible. And... I didn’t expect you really could lift the curse from my body..."
Upon hearing that, Lynn raised a finger, suddenly serious. "Listen, I’ve only temporarily lifted the curse. You need to understand that it’s not permanent. The curse removal will last for about 24 hours. If we don’t remove it again after that time, you’ll go back to the way you were."
Lynn had to make sure she understood this.
As a doctor, honesty was key!
And honestly, he also needed to clarify this so that, if she returned to her original state after a day, she wouldn’t think he was lying and take revenge on him.
The blood-drenched spirit looked stunned. "Only 24 hours?"
In truth, after losing the torment of the curse, she felt an unprecedented sense of relief over the past half hour.
But when she thought about the hundreds of years she had spent suffering, a shiver ran down her spine.
She definitely didn’t want to go back to the way she was before.
Lynn nodded seriously.
However, just as she was about to show a look of deep disappointment, Lynn quickly changed his tone. "But, I can help you remove it again every 12 hours, so it’s not impossible to make it permanent."
"Really?!" Her eyes lit up in surprise.
[System prompt! The Blood-drenched Spirit’s favorability toward you +20.]
[System prompt! The Blood-drenched Spirit’s favorability toward you +20.]
"Yep." Lynn smiled, giving a thumbs up. "And since we’re neighbors, you can come to me every day for treatment to keep your current look. I’ll even give you a 20% discount!"
This was the perfect solution!
Lynn could use his temporary curse-removal ability to make sure he stayed safe, and in the process, he’d have a stable customer and a source of income!
This was a win-win situation!
"Twenty percent off?" The blood-drenched spirit tilted her head, smiling playfully. "So, you’re saying I have to pay?"
Lynn rubbed his shoulder, pretending to be exhausted. He forced a weak smile and said, "To be honest with you, lifting the curse is quite draining. As neighbors, I can waive a few charges, but in the long run, there will have to be a fee. After all, we’re a small operation..."
Trying to get a freebie? Not happening!
The blood-drenched spirit grinned and asked, "What’s the price? Or should I say, what kind of compensation do you want?"
Lynn thought for a moment, then raised a finger and smiled. "One thousand Skull Coins per session. I’ll give you the discount, so it’ll be 800 Skull Coins. Sounds like a good deal, right?"
He didn’t believe she was broke. After all, beings like her probably didn’t deal in human currency. If she was that powerful, she’d definitely have money.
But he didn’t want to price her too high. This was a long-term business venture. It was all about building a steady relationship, not rushing it.
But to his surprise, the blood-drenched spirit smiled, her fingers gently twirling a strand of hair. "I don’t have money."
Lynn blinked in disbelief. "You’re kidding, right?" he asked, unable to believe his ears. "A being like you has no money?"
She chuckled and rested her chin in her hand. "I really don’t. In the past, if I wanted something, I’d just eat the person who had it. It saved me the trouble of trading. So, no money."
Lynn’s hair stood on end. No way!
His favorability was maxed out, and she wasn’t going to attack him now, right?
Sweating, he asked, "No money? Well, maybe other things can work as payment. As long as the price is right, I’m open to trade..."
"Really?" The blood-drenched spirit raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Lynn crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Really. Whether it’s body parts, herbs, cursed items, or even corpses—I’m willing to negotiate. As long as the price is right..."
But just as he finished speaking, a sweet fragrance suddenly filled the air.
Lynn’s eyes snapped open.
To his shock, the blood-drenched spirit had somehow leaned across the table, her nose barely an inch from his. Her lips parted slightly, and a teasing, seductive breath washed over him.
She looked at him with half-lidded eyes and whispered, "So, how much do you think I’m worth?"