Myriad Heavens: Who Let Him Into the Horror Movie?

Chapter 3: Plan

The small boat moved along the surging river.

Li Zhen, who felt a slight discomfort in his abdomen, curled up at the rear of the boat to rest.

Wong Kam-Sun and Songchai stood at the bow, watching the rushing water.

Songchai glanced back and said in a low voice, “What he said wasn’t entirely true; there were too many coincidences.”

Wong Kam-Sun did not seem surprised. “The clothes he wore were made of very fine material — a month’s wages of mine might not buy that suit. For a man to appear alone in Nanyang like that, it looked strange no matter how you viewed it.”

“Then you—”

“No matter what his purpose was, it was better to keep him under our watchful eye than to let him work tricks behind our backs.”

“You still have to be cautious. Nanyang is not the same as your port island; danger was everywhere here. If one carelessly let down their guard, they might die without even knowing how.”

“I know.”

Wong Kam-Sun turned back and exchanged nods with Li Zhen.

Li Zhen also knew his words would not withstand close scrutiny, but he did not care.

It was not important.

He only had to push things forward at a crucial moment and complete his task; he did not need Wong Kam-Sun’s full trust.

The coat he had been wearing earlier lay beside Li Zhen; inside it was the palm-leaf woven whip, and the back of the coat had a dark wet stain.

In Nanyang, danger could appear anywhere; one never knew when someone else’s trick might land.

Li Zhen did not dare touch the palm whip, so he simply kept it at his side.

The bloating pain from his abdomen made Li Zhen’s face even paler.

After more than ten minutes, the few of them disembarked from the boat and changed to an automobile.

They drove along a bumpy, damp lane and the experience was extremely unpleasant.

Wong Kam-Sun cautiously chatted a few sentences with Li Zhen and found that Li Zhen knew the port island’s geography and customs very well. Aside from a few details that should not have been mistaken but were said incorrectly — which made him feel a bit odd — nothing else seemed problematic.

Li Zhen had claimed to be a coastal native who had only lived on the port island for a year or two.

That matched Li Zhen’s displayed knowledge.

Wong Kam-Sun did not think Li Zhen’s background was false.

But from his manner of speaking, Li Zhen was certainly not an ordinary person.

So why had a lone man suddenly approached him? Was it really only because of the Head-Descending Curse matter?

Two hours later, they finally found the temple where Wan Madama resided.

They knocked and told the truth; the tall, severe-looking Wan Madama immediately received them.

Wan Madama said he was from Chaozhou and could speak directly with them.

After Wong Kam-Sun finished explaining the incident and without asking for any payment, Wan Madama said, “I can help you remove the Head-Descending Curse, but as the old saying goes, ‘the Dao advances one foot, the demon advances ten’ — the outcome was unpredictable. Do you still want to try?”

Wong Kam-Sun said, “I want to try.”

Wan Madama nodded. “Okay, I will do my best. Give me the cursed person’s name and their birthdate and hour.”

“Thank you, Master.” Wong Kam-Sun handed Wan Madama the paper with the birth date and hour written on it.

Wan Madama glanced at the sky. “I will need some time to attempt to break your friend’s curse. Whether it succeeds or not, we’ll have to wait a day or two.”

A day or two and the chance would be gone...

Li Zhen suddenly interrupted from further back, “If you could kill the curse-master directly, would the curse then be lifted immediately?”

The words carried killing intent.

Wong Kam-Sun was taken aback and, together with Wan Madama, looked toward Li Zhen.

Wan Madama clasped his hands and nodded slightly to Li Zhen. “If you killed the curse-master, the curse would naturally be broken.”

Li Zhen asked again, “If Master could see that curse-master, could he kill him outright?”

He remembered that in the original plot it was this master who had the ability to deal with the curse-master.

After observing Li Zhen for a moment, Wan Madama explained, “I have an altar here and the Buddha’s protection; my power while within the temple is far stronger than when I left it. Even if that curse-master were fierce, I could fight a few rounds.”

“If I fought that curse-master without these aids, and instead in the curse-master’s lair…that curse-master was not an ordinary one. With his altar’s assistance, even if I were to become a golden body, I might still not be his match.”

“I see.” Li Zhen continued, “If the other party detected that Master was performing the rite to dispel the curse and a life-or-death struggle broke out between Master and the curse-master, the other party would have no leisure for other things. If we found them then, could we kill them?”

Upon hearing this, Wan Madama had not yet responded and Wong Kam-Sun was startled.

Did this man truly have an implacable hatred against that curse-master?

Wan Madama nodded, “If the other’s power was not far superior to mine, then the other would indeed have no leisure for other matters; that would be the best chance to kill him.”

“Of course, even so, it would be dangerous for ordinary people.”

Li Zhen looked up. “When would be the best time to open the altar and dispel the curse?”

“At noon, when the demon subsides and the Dao rises, is the best time.”

“Then Master could postpone the dispelling until tomorrow at noon. By then we should have found traces of the curse-master. If both sides strike together, that curse-master would surely die!”

The plan was crude but very feasible; its only flaw was...

Wan Madama could not help but remind them, “Curse-masters were very dangerous. Any Head-Descending Curse was an evil few ordinary people could resist, and as I said earlier, the outcome was unpredictable. If I lost, one could imagine the consequences.”

Li Zhen lowered his head in pain. “The curse-master harmed my best friend; I did not want to see such things happen again.”

“If we did not eliminate that curse-master, he would very likely continue to harm people immediately.”

Wan Madama clasped his hands and wore an apologetic expression.

He assumed Wong Kam-Sun and Li Zhen were on the same side, so he did not find Li Zhen’s words strange.

But Wong Kam-Sun, being directly involved, felt very odd.

He had only suspected that the curse-master who killed Li Zhen’s friend might be the same curse-master who had caused that tragedy.

Now, with no investigation completed, how could Li Zhen already want to kill someone?

Wong Kam-Sun was about to correct Li Zhen when he saw Li Zhen usher Wan Madama further into the temple.

“Master, is there any relic in the temple that can guard against the curse-master’s Head-Descending Curse? We are ordinary people; if we met him and were casually struck down, we could hardly say we had removed the curse-master.”

Wong Kam-Sun and Songchai exchanged glances as they watched Li Zhen and the honest-looking Master Wan walk into the temple.

Songchai said, “He didn’t speak the truth. Perhaps he had already discovered that the curse-master who killed his friend is the very one you’re searching for.”

Wong Kam-Sun frowned. “What’s the point of telling that lie?”

“For whatever reason, it is dangerous to go hunt a curse-master.”

“Wait until he comes out; I’ll persuade him again.”

“He said ‘we’ just now? Does he expect us to go with him?”

“That is his decision; it has nothing to do with us.”

A few minutes later, Li Zhen emerged from the temple in high spirits and casually handed two golden, oval leaves about the size of three fingers to Wong Kam-Sun and Songchai.

“These are golden lotus leaves from before the Buddha, just taken from the golden lotus under the statue. The Master said these might save our lives at a crucial moment.”

Wong Kam-Sun looked at the golden leaf in his hand and was about to speak when Li Zhen said, “Inspector Wong, did you think this matter had nothing to do with you and that, whether the Master succeeded in dispelling the curse or not, you could simply return to the port island and escape these troubles?”

Wong Kam-Sun looked to Li Zhen, waiting for him to explain.

Li Zhen sighed and continued, “Inspector Wong, you came to Nanyang and were now entangled in this matter; you could not easily leave it behind.”

“You must know, once a Head-Descending Curse on someone was broken, it was a serious blow to the curse-master, possibly even fatal.”

“After Wan Madama performs the rite, he and that curse-master would have formed a mortal enmity. Did Inspector Wong think he could escape?”

“Moreover, Inspector Wong, you may have already searched for the person who had hired the curse-master to cast the curse, right?”

“That person originally sought to use the curse to kill someone he hated, and you came to Nanyang to help that person dispel the curse. Do you think others would not hate you for that?”

“Leaving Nanyang and going thousands of miles away would make you safe and sound? Think of that poor little girl nailed to death, and you have family too. If you were targeted...”

Wong Kam-Sun shivered in alarm.

He had seemed to have thought the matter too simply.

If events unfolded as Li Zhen had described, then...

His Adam’s apple bobbed and he said in a low voice, “This could implicate my family? When you said the curse-master might immediately harm others, did you mean that?”

Li Zhen said, “Inspector Wong might think I was alarmist. Why not we try to find the person who ordered the curse-master to cast the curse and see what they intended? To find the curse-master, one must find that person.”

After a moment of silence, Wong Kam-Sun suddenly asked, “Why are you so determined to kill that curse-master? You said earlier you did not know which curse-master killed your friend.”

Li Zhen answered, “I wasn’t certain, but as I said, I did not want to see curse-masters harm people anymore. The best method, of course, was to eliminate that curse-master.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that on the way here?”

“I only just realized the seriousness of the matter. You hadn’t realized it earlier either, Inspector Wong.”

“When do we leave?”

“No rush; wait a few more minutes.”

About ten or so minutes later, Wan Madama walked out of the temple holding a palm-leaf woven whip and said to Li Zhen, “I examined this thing; its yin energy was strong. I placed it on the altar and cleansed it, but much of the yin remained. It should be a special ritual implement; it was harmless to ordinary people, but prolonged contact could have some effect.”

Seeing Wan Madama hold the whip without ill effect, Li Zhen reached out and took it. A chilly sensation immediately crept through him.

The whip felt slimy and slightly slippery in his hand.

The moisture on it never seemed to dry; it was always wet and still dripped.

“What effect does this have on ordinary people?”

“It might cause unease in daytime and nightmares at night.”

“What is this thing used for?” Li Zhen breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the vegetable-basket god had not set a trap for him.

“It can inflict some harm on yin-ghost-type existences. I am not sure of the specifics; more testing was needed.”

Wong Kam-Sun watched the palm whip silently, feeling a bit familiar...

He suddenly asked, “Master, if you met a curse-master, could you immediately identify them as such?”

Wan Madama answered, “Of course. Curse-masters were full of yin energy and easy to distinguish.”

Wong Kam-Sun nodded thoughtfully.

At that moment Wan Madama produced another ritual implement from his wide sleeve and said to Li Zhen, “If you plan to kill that curse-master, I cannot stop you.”

“A curse-master is only a mortal body; if killed, they die and are not difficult to deal with. Harder to kill are the evil spirits backing the curse-master. If you meet something you cannot handle, this should help you.”

The implement was entirely black, like a small trident, only twenty or thirty centimeters long, with three triangular barbs at the end. It seemed ordinary at first glance.

“Thank you, Master!” Li Zhen took the implement solemnly.

Wan Madama truly was a kind man.

He not only lent them the golden lotus leaves but also gave them such a useful object.

Wan Madama clasped his hands and said sincerely, “Curse-masters were vicious and ruthless. Any curse-master who cultivated to success had likely stained his hands with the blood of countless innocents. If you could eliminate one curse-master, I would be glad to see it.”

“I will try to hold the curse-master off. You all must be careful for your own safety; if you find there is no chance, never force it.”