Chapter 36 : The Curse of Binding Love

A Debt of Passion?

Are you talking about her?

Hearing the woman’s words, Huá Qí’ān was slightly taken aback, her mouth parting in surprise.

She was momentarily at a loss for words.

Liǔ Yǔ, overhearing her master’s comment, was equally surprised.

A debt of passion?

That young-looking girl?

She knew that although her master could be playful at times, dealing with many clients meant she wouldn’t speak without certainty.

Since she mentioned a “debt of passion,” it meant she had already seen something closely tied to that girl’s situation…

Liǔ Yǔ stole another glance at Huá Qí’ān.

Though they had only just met, Liǔ Yǔ’s first impression of Huá Qí’ān’s appearance wasn’t bad.

She didn’t seem like someone frivolous with emotions…

Could it be that her master’s words had a deeper meaning?

“Miss Huá, that’s right, isn’t it?”

Liǔ Rán stepped forward and sat down again on the meditation cushion where Liǔ Yǔ had just been, facing Huá Qí’ān.

Liǔ Yǔ stood to the side, ready to assist with anything Liǔ Rán might need.

At Liǔ Rán’s words, Huá Qí’ān naturally looked toward Liǔ Yǔ, but the latter only shook her head in confusion.

Although she had asked her master for help, she hadn’t told her master Huá Qí’ān’s surname.

Liǔ Rán, however, smiled calmly. “Someone has already told me your information…”

“I just didn’t expect you to come here today…”

There was an implication in her words.

“You’ve been having nightmares recently, haven’t you?”

Huá Qí’ān understood what she meant.

Apart from herself, only the Blank Account knew she’d been having nightmares.

Since this person knew about it, the most likely explanation was that the Blank Account had informed her.

Was this the person who could help her, as said before?

“My surname is Liǔ.”

Liǔ Rán smiled gently at Huá Qí’ān.

Huá Qí’ān nodded, but the questions swirling in her mind were too many.

She decided to ask about the topic just mentioned.

“…What do you mean when you say I have a debt of passion?”

She hadn’t even had a boyfriend before; how could she have a “debt of passion”?

But Huá Qí’ān was somewhat self-aware.

She remembered that during middle school, quite a few people confessed to her, but she recalled turning them all down.

Although there were persistent ones…

Could that count as a “debt of passion”?

Or was there something she didn’t know from back then?

Her mind started racing.

“…”

Liǔ Rán squinted her eyes, smiling silently as she watched Huá Qí’ān’s puzzled expression.

Then she opened her eyes and looked at Huá Qí’ān slowly.

“Even if it wasn’t your conscious will…”

“It’s an objective fact that you owe many debts of passion.”

Although her gaze was fixed on Huá Qí’ān, Huá Qí’ān felt as if Liǔ Rán wasn’t looking at her physical form but through her, seeing something deeper.

“Hm…?”

Less than half a minute later, Huá Qí’ān noticed Liǔ Rán’s smile slowly fade.

She softly hummed, as if puzzled.

Then she raised her hand to cover part of her face, gazing upward, sighing heavily in apparent frustration.

“Really… I knew it wasn’t good news when that woman asked me for help.”

Since Huá Qí’ān was still sitting across from her, Liǔ Rán quickly composed herself, as if the previous moment was nothing more than a trivial interruption.

Liǔ Yǔ watched her master’s expression nervously, her heart fluttering.

She’d been confused since just now.

She had only helped a little girl casually at the temple, but it turned out her own master knew her?

And judging from her master’s headache, this wasn’t a bluff.

Was there something happening to this young girl that even her master found difficult to handle?

Liǔ Rán now abandoned her earlier relaxed demeanor and looked at Huá Qí’ān gravely.

“…Your fate is quite unusual.”

“If someone else had your troubles, they might have already died.”

At that moment, Liǔ Rán glanced toward Liǔ Yǔ and instructed, “…Go to my room and bring my notebook.”

Notebook?

Liǔ Yǔ was startled but said nothing.

She nodded at Huá Qí’ān and left the quiet room.

Listening to Liǔ Rán, Huá Qí’ān’s eyelids twitched slightly.

“The Liǔ lady just told me that there’s something unclean on me…”

After everything that had happened in the past few days, she had suspected she was possessed.

But she always reassured herself that it was just her imagination, forcing a “scientific” explanation on things she didn’t understand.

In fact, the very idea of coming to the temple was proof that her heart was already unsettled.

Now, hearing someone say this to her directly, her shaken heart was about to collapse.

Just one step away.

Liǔ Rán exhaled deeply.

“Not only that.”

Her once gentle voice now held a hint of pity.

She studied Huá Qí’ān’s eyes with keen interest.

“You have also been cursed.”

Even though Liǔ Yǔ had dealt with hundreds or thousands of cases, this was truly the first time she’d seen something like this.

It was almost like raising poisonous insects inside the body.

Originally, she and her disciple had just been resting at this temple these days, when that troublesome woman unusually sent her a message this morning, asking her to pay attention to visitors coming to the temple.

Huá Qí’ān’s information was sent to her then.

She hadn’t expected to meet this girl just a few hours after receiving the message.

“…”

Hearing Liǔ Rán’s words, Huá Qí’ān’s heart skipped a beat.

But Liǔ Rán continued in a confident tone, “…Did your health suddenly worsen rapidly one day back in high school?”

“Do you often suffer from illnesses that even hospital tests can’t explain?”

“Liǔ Yǔ said you were in very poor condition when you entered the temple; it’s probably for this reason.”

Then Liǔ Rán extended one of her hands.

Palm facing up, she placed it in front of Huá Qí’ān.

“If you don’t mind, could you put your right hand on mine?”

Liǔ Rán’s tone remained gentle, coaxing.

Huá Qí’ān hesitated but slowly placed her hand on top.

Everything she had said so far was true.

All things she had never shared with anyone else.

Many people would instinctively think she’d been sickly since childhood by looking at her.

But this woman could so clearly say that her health only declined from high school…

It didn’t feel like a blind guess.

A warm sensation radiated from Liǔ Rán’s palm, making Huá Qí’ān think of a gentle spring breeze.

That heat slowly traveled from Liǔ Rán’s palm up Huá Qí’ān’s arm.

It was a strange feeling.

The quiet room fell silent.

The woman opposite watched their hands carefully, and Huá Qí’ān didn’t disturb the tranquility.

Suddenly, a sharp pain radiated from the palm.

“Hiss…”

Huá Qí’ān cried out and instinctively withdrew her hand.

At that moment, she saw an unbelievable sight.

Between her fingers, faint black mist seeped out.

But it didn’t last long and quickly dissipated.

“I just drew out the curse from your body… that black mist.”

“Now, you should be somewhat convinced by what I’m saying, right?”

Liǔ Rán watched the black mist vanish from her palm, her expression complex.

She slowly withdrew her hand and looked up at Huá Qí’ān.

By now, Liǔ Yǔ had returned to the quiet room with Liǔ Rán’s notebook.

Taking the somewhat yellowed, thick book, Liǔ Rán flipped through it expertly, pausing after several pages to find what she wanted.

“…Remember I said you owe a lot of debts of passion?”

Looking up from the notebook, Liǔ Rán sighed.

But her tone was a little strange.

It sounded like she wanted to laugh but felt it was inappropriate.

“You alone have seven binding love curses on you.”

Liǔ Rán turned her head slightly and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Ah?”

The surprised voice didn’t come from Huá Qí’ān, but from Liǔ Yǔ, who was listening to the conversation nearby.