NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Chapter 6: The Petrification Curse
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Hey old man, your left eye isn’t yours!?”
Shu Ke looked at the old man suspiciously, this made the old man feel uncomfortable.
“How did you know?!”
The old man could not help but take a step back as he felt Shu Ke’s burning gaze, he immediately steadied himself.
He looked at Shu Ke. His face was pale. “Young man, you really are a freak!”
“Well, maybe not a freak, it’s just that I’m slightly more observant than ordinary people.”
Shu Ke smiled and shook his head. He let out a long sigh, “You actually dared to transplant Medusa’s demon eye in yourselve. What’s more, you’ve been faking it for seven years. Old man, you’re really ruthless!”
Medusa was a terrifying human-shaped magical beast.
She had the head of a human and the body of a snake, she even had snakes as hair. Moreover, her eyes had the ability to petrify anyone who met her eyes.
She was an extremely terrifying creature, an ordinary Grand Master would not stand a chance when faced with Medusa.
However, this old man in front of him actually transplanted Medusa’s demon eye onto his own body. This was simply terrifying!
One wrong step in this process would have caused the petrification curse to befall him, turning him into a stone statue eternally.
This was also the reason why Shu Ke was so surprised because this was not something a human would do!
Well, normal people would never think of such a thing.
“How do you know everything!?”
The old man had only thought of Shu Ke as a genius before, now he regarded Shu Ke as a monster!
‘A monster through and through!’
‘One look! He only took one look!’
‘This kid actually managed to see that I have transplanted Medusa’s demon eye in myself. Moreover, judging from his age and status, he couldn’t have come into contact with a powerful magical beast like Medusa.
‘Then how did he know that I transplanted Medusa’s demon eye in myself?’
The old man had so many questions in his mind, but he did not say a word because he knew that it was pointless.
Right now, he should be most concerned about solving his problem, not asking Shu Ke questions.
“Old man, I still don’t know your name.”
Shu Ke did not directly tell the old man the solution, he asked for the old man’s name instead.
This would also be considered as a trade between the two of them—Shu Ke would tell the old man the solution, and the old man would tell Shu Ke his name.
This way, Shu Ke could use his name when faced with difficulties, which meant that the two of them would have a cooperative relationship.
“It is unbelievable that the Vincent family has tried to exile a talent like you.”
The old man snorted in amusement, “I’m Toulon, Toulon Dordak.”
“Nice to meet you, Toulon. I’m Shu Ke.”
Shu Ke was acting like he was meeting Toulon for the first time. He extended his hand to him.
Toulon did not shake his hand, he sized Shu Ke up instead.
Shaking hands would mean that they were of equal status.
In other words, Shu Ke wanted to have an equal dialogue with him, perhaps even cooperate with him.
‘A mid-tier Dou practitioner wants to have an equal relationship with me, a high-tier Dou Spirit1? Only the Elder Council and the head of the Vincent Clan would dare to do so. Who is he to demand such a thing?’
4
Toulon quickly regained his composure.
It seemed that the only person who could solve his problem now was this seemingly arrogant kid in front of him.
This was why he dared to talk to him informally and request to cooperate.
“You’re very smart, but this cleverness might come back to bite you.”
Toulon did not refuse his request, he smiled and grabbed Shu Ke’s hand instead.
The two of them held each other’s hands tightly. From now on, the two of them—despite great disparity in strength between them—would be in a cooperative relationship.
“I will only show my cleverness to the right people.”
Shu Ke tactfully brought up the topic again. Toulon did not say a word, the two of them understood that his silence indicated the end of that conversation topic.
“Could you tell me the solution now?”
Toulon smiled and did not further explain the matter of Medusa’s demon eye. Shu Ke did not pry.
The two were unanimous that the matter would resurface at the right time.
“All of this is happening because I made a mistake during the eye transplant.”
“The eye was dug out forcefully while the Petrification Curse was still activated, and you didn’t go to the church for a purification ritual during the transplant. Hence, the Petrification Curse has continued eroding your body since the transplant.”
Toulon was mentally prepared, but Shu Ke’s guess still made him furrow his brows even more.
Shu Ke spoke as if he was there when it happened. If Toulon wasn’t certain that Shu Ke wasn’t around during the incident, he would have suspected that Shu Ke was watching from the side.
“Don’t you think that you know too much?”
Toulon looked at Shu Ke carefully, he knew that Shu Ke was not an ordinary person better than anyone else!
This had nothing to do with whether Shu Ke was a genius or not. Shu Ke should not have known the details unless he had witnessed the incident by Toulon’s side back then.
“…”
Shu Ke did not speak. Instead, he looked at Toulon quietly.
Shu Ke’s gaze made Toulon feel very uncomfortable, but it also made him realize that he did not have the right to question Shu Ke.
“You may continue.” Toulon thought for a really long time and only managed to muster these words.
“It’s too late to do the purification ritual now. The curse has already taken root in your body. If you forcefully remove the curse, it’s no different from cutting your stomach open!”
Toulon nodded his head in agreement; this was also the reason why he had not been able to remove the curse for this many years. He and the curse had become one.
“So, is there any way for me to solve this problem?”
Toulon looked at Shu Ke with anticipation. Since Shu Ke was able to talk so much about the details of his condition, Shu Ke must have a plan already.
‘This kid may be the answer to my prayers!’
The thought of this made Toulon’s attitude towards Shu Ke shift to one that was even more respectful.
“Since it is not removable, have you ever thought of accepting it?”
“Accept it?!”
Toulon was stunned at first, but then he got very embarrassed and angry, “Are you toying with me?!”
“This is the petrification curse. Accepting it means becoming a stone sculpture!” As Toulon—a high-tier Dou Spirit—spoke, his terrifying aura transformed into a gust of violent wind and pounced towards Shu Ke.
Shu Ke ignored it. Instead, he smiled and said slowly, “I remember that the Earth element is not afraid of petrification, right?”
The violent winds and torrential rain disappeared in an instant. Toulon’s face was filled with confusion and doubt but he looked at Shu Ke with hopeful eyes, “What do you mean by this?!”