Chapter 107: Master Ula

The moment Lu Ming heard this, he was deeply puzzled.

Huo Yutong had been perfectly well only a few days ago, and Ye Qi Meiyu had been with him. How could anything have happened to her—let alone leave her on the brink of death?

“What exactly happened?” Lu Ming asked in a deep voice.

Ye Qi Meiyu replied anxiously, “My lord, it is difficult to explain over the phone. I am at the general store. Can you come back?”

Ye Qi Meiyu knew that Huo Yutong had, in some sense, already become a woman close to her lord. Naturally, she was extremely worried when something happened to her.

“Wait there. I’ll be back immediately.”

With that, Lu Ming hung up. He did not hail a taxi. Instead, he went to a secluded place, then launched himself into a full sprint with great strides.

Each leap carried him dozens of yards. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from sight.

Before long, Lu Ming appeared at the general store.

Inside, Qin Lan, Ye Qi Meiyu, and Futu were waiting with Huang Qi, Huang Jiu, and Huang Twenty-Three. A wooden chest nearly as tall as a man was strapped to Futu’s back. Lu Ming knew at a glance that it contained the Great Tang Slayer.

“Why are you here as well?” Lu Ming asked Futu.

Futu rose and bowed to him.

“Young Master Yun called and asked me to deal with the corpses on Qujiang Road. After I finished, I did not see Mr. Lu return, so I decided to wait here.”

“Good. You handled it well.” Lu Ming nodded, then asked, “Where is Yun Ketian?”

“I sent him back to the provincial committee compound,” Qin Lan replied.

Lu Ming nodded again. As a heavily guarded government compound, it was the safest place imaginable. Anyone who went there looking for trouble would simply be courting death.

Then Lu Ming turned to Ye Qi Meiyu. “What exactly happened?”

Ye Qi Meiyu immediately explained everything.

As it turned out, Huo Yutong had suddenly fallen ill that evening. In the space of only a few hours, her breathing had grown faint and labored, and by the time Ye Qi Meiyu discovered her condition, she was already barely clinging to life. Unable to do anything herself, Ye Qi Meiyu had hurried to find Lu Ming.

The moment he heard this, Lu Ming said, “Futu, go back first. There is nothing else for you to do here. Qin Lan, come with me.”

After speaking, Lu Ming turned and walked outside.

Qin Lan and Ye Qi Meiyu hurried after him. The three of them drove straight to the villa at Returnheart Lake.

After Lu Ming left, Futu said nothing. He silently led the other three away from the general store.

His only duty was to carry out Mr. Lu’s orders. If something was not his place to ask about, he would never ask.

Lu Ming sped all the way to the villa at Returnheart Lake.

He hurried into Huo Yutong’s room and saw her lying on the bed, her face as pale as white gold, her breath faint and threadlike.

When she saw Lu Ming enter, she struggled to turn her head. Two tears slid from the corners of her eyes.

Seeing that Huo Yutong could no longer even speak, Lu Ming frowned. “Do not be afraid. I am here.”

As he spoke, he activated his Eye of Insight and began examining Huo Yutong’s body.

To become so gravely ill in such a short time was clearly not the result of an ordinary disease. Ye Qi Meiyu understood this as well, which was why she had not taken Huo Yutong to a hospital but had instead gone straight to Lu Ming.

A moment later, Lu Ming found the source of the illness.

Through the Eye of Insight, he saw a red worm no longer than the first joint of a little finger clinging to Huo Yutong’s heart, continuously feeding on her blood and vital essence.

That worm was the reason Huo Yutong had deteriorated so rapidly.

“A poisonous curse?”

Lu Ming stared at the creature in astonishment.

This poisonous curse was known as a Heart-Eating Worm. It attached itself to a person’s heart and fed on their blood. Once it had consumed enough, it would explode, causing the heart to burst along with it and transforming everything into blood. No trace of its presence could be detected beforehand. It was an exceptionally vicious form of sorcery.

Qin Lan and Ye Qi Meiyu were equally shocked.

They had heard of this kind of poisonous sorcery. It was a mysterious form of witchcraft said to have been passed down through the Miao borderlands of Huaxia. Supposedly, it had long since been lost. How had it appeared inside Huo Yutong?

Still, now that the root of the illness had been found, the problem was much easier to deal with.

Lu Ming placed one hand against Huo Yutong’s forehead and slowly guided his pure magical power into her body. It flowed all the way to her heart, enveloping it completely.

He then sent in a surge of spiritual force and wrapped the parasitic worm within it as well.

However, he did not rush to kill the creature. Instead, he turned to Ye Qi Meiyu and asked, “Has Huo Yutong come into contact with any strangers over the past two days?”

Ye Qi Meiyu thought for a moment before answering, “Yesterday, Yutong said she had a dinner engagement. I believe someone in the same industry invited her. I thought it was merely an ordinary business gathering, so I did not go with her.”

Lu Ming nodded. “I understand.”

He then concentrated his spiritual force and directed all of it toward the parasitic worm. At once, a thin, dark-red thread appeared in his vision.

The thread passed through the walls, crossed the roads, and extended toward a certain location in the city.

Lu Ming knew that such creatures were raised by curse masters and maintained a spiritual connection with their owners. This red thread was the link between them.

He turned to the two women and said, “You stay here and protect Huo Yutong. She is no longer in danger. I am going to find the curse master. Whoever dares harm someone at my side, I will uproot them completely.”

Ye Qi Meiyu and Qin Lan nodded.

Lu Ming gently stroked Huo Yutong’s forehead.

“Someone has tried to harm you from the shadows, but do not worry. I have your condition under control. You will recover after resting for two days. I am going to find those people now and make them regret everything they have done today.”

Tears still glistening in her eyes, Huo Yutong slowly nodded.

Lu Ming smiled, then turned and left.

…

At that moment, in a villa in the eastern district of Xijing City, Xu Yongchao was drinking and feasting with a gaunt, emaciated old man dressed in the clothing of an ethnic minority.

Five or six gorgeously dressed young women sat beside them, their revealing clothes barely covering their bodies as they leaned against the two men, constantly urging them to drink and placing food in their bowls.

As president of the Dasheng Group, Xu Yongchao possessed considerable wealth and status.

However, the Dasheng Group’s main business was a chain of supermarkets, and it had always been held beneath Meilian’s heel. This had infuriated him for years.

At long last, the Meilian Group had collapsed spectacularly, and Xu Yongchao had glimpsed a ray of hope. He might finally replace Meilian and become the leading supermarket enterprise in Huaxia.

But then the Jiamei Group had risen suddenly and once again forced him beneath its shadow. Xu Yongchao was consumed with resentment.

Who did not want to become the leader of their industry? Who did not want to earn more and more money? Watching his golden opportunity be buried beneath the Jiamei Group had left him choking with frustration.

Worse still, as Jiamei rose, he discovered something even more frightening. Dasheng Supermarkets, which had once held a respectable share of the market, began suffering a steady decline in performance. Under Jiamei’s pressure, it could barely hold on to its former position as the industry’s second-largest chain.

Xu Yongchao panicked.

Failing to become the market leader was one thing, but if business continued to decline at this rate, would he not be driven into bankruptcy? That was something he absolutely could not accept.

Yet Huo Yutong of the Jiamei Group was said to have a massive consortium supporting her. Through conventional business tactics, Xu Yongchao had no chance of competing with Jiamei.

Then fate took pity on him and allowed him to meet the man before him—a master of cursecraft from the Miao borderlands named Wula.

After meeting the master and witnessing his terrifying abilities with his own eyes, Xu Yongchao immediately devised a sinister plan.

The Jiamei Group had only recently been established. Though it possessed abundant financial resources, its foundations were unstable, and the company lacked sufficient cohesion.

As long as something happened to Jiamei’s president, Huo Yutong, the entire company would descend into chaos. At that point, Xu Yongchao could draw upon his accumulated wealth and launch a devastating price war. A disorganized Jiamei would certainly be unable to withstand it.

Then he would not only be able to expand his market share—he might even crush Jiamei in one stroke and become the undisputed leader of the industry. What could be more wonderful?

Thus, he had paid an enormous sum to hire the master’s services. Under the pretext of an industry gathering, he had invited Huo Yutong to dinner, where the master had tampered with her food and planted the curse within her.

Wula had also assured him that Huo Yutong would die of a sudden illness within three days, and that no one would be able to discover what had happened.

For the past two days, Xu Yongchao had been feasting and drinking here with Master Wula, waiting only for Huo Yutong to succumb to the illness before beginning his counterattack.

With every detail of his plan arranged, Xu Yongchao felt completely at ease. He raised his wineglass toward Wula.

“Master, I am fortunate indeed to have met you. Once this matter is accomplished, I will appoint you as my honored retainer and offer you tribute every month.”

Wula, who had an arm around each of the women beside him, threw back his head and laughed.

“Of course, of course.”

Just then, the villa’s main door was suddenly kicked open with a resounding crash.

Lu Ming slowly walked inside.