Chapter 40: The curse

"What the hell is this?" I was baffled when I saw the latest wanted poster of the Cat Burglar. They just did some wonky shite with that. I mean, when I woke up, I heard my parents talking crazy things about the cat burglar, but I never thought that it would escalate this far ahead. How did this even happen?

"The Cat Burglar. Terrifying personality. He didn't have to even utter a word to conquer the entire Mediocre sect, which is unlike him considering that last time, he destroyed the entire Raging thunder sect before… Maybe, Raging thunder just got the short end of the stick... Like, how can you set my preferences from the one raid that I did previously? That's stupid. What else? Oh, my goodness. What is this supposed to be? When did I do this? The victims said that the cat burglar muttered something along the lines of 'You are useless scum. Die. Death. Trash' among several other things… How did I end up looking like an edge lord before the entire community? Oi, Goldy. You know about this, don't you?" I turned towards Goldy and asked. Like, the rumors last time were much better. But, when I read the latest scoop, it's like I'm a joke, rather than something terrifying. I mean, which terrifying person says stuff like kill and trash the entire time he walked past people, huh? Even if they did, readers like me would be the first to laugh at that behavior. To think that I would end up like that as well…

"Well, remember how I told you that the aura will manage it when you asked about the conversation we were having being audible to people? Apparently, it managed things by changing the dialogues into the stuff you just read. Hmm, you can't blame the Dragon's rage though. Rather than changing the output that people listen to, it changes the way that people receive. That's why there's a solitary 'I love you, woman! I'm gonna kidnap you' out there. I believe the said woman is terrified, but she has something similar to Stockholm syndrome or a kink towards that sort of thing, at least." Goldy explained.

"Oh, man. It does stick out like a sore thumb, doesn't it? Don't put my kink on me, woman!" I could do nothing but scream at the poster, which made people take notice of me. Since that happened, I just slowly made my way back to home, slightly perplexed by all the things that occurred. Who thought that being terrified of a certain person will make your mind think that they spoke some cringy words?

"Well, back in my time when I used to terrify people like this, there weren't many posters of me like this, so I never knew that the people were thinking lame lines to substitute mine. I somehow came to know that they hear something else. Everything else was basically a mystery until now. I guess I should thank you for that." Goldy spoke with a genuine smile on his face, which slightly pissed me off.

"Hmm, if you got time to thank me, I'd like it if you could teach me how to sense the presence of people." I replied.

"You're right. That would be the right thing to do. Let me see, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm not gonna teach you my skill. That's kinda garbage that my sect came up with, a variation from the original. The original skill is much better. We'd learn that when we get our hands on it someday. Anyway, until then, I'm gonna teach you a technique based on using your Qi. The way I phrased it is weird, since every skill uses Qi. You'll get it once I show it to you. So you're gonna use that basic stuff until the better one comes along." Goldy explained to which I nodded my head vigorously as I followed him.

Back at my room. I had closed the door because Ao does this thing where he crashes into my room without any previous notice, asking me to play hide-and-seek. The kid wants to win so badly against me that I think that it was a mistake showing him my powers. Anyway, I think I've spoiled him a little, which I don't even regret. Ah, how I'd like to pinch the cute little cheeks of his and hug him tightly…. I have an angel for my little brother.

"Stop dreaming about you little brother, you bro-con and focus on the task on your hand!" Goldy ordered as he smacked me with the stick that I bought for him, asking him to beat me whenever I made a mistake. I still don't know why I did something idiotic like that. Anyway, we're currently in the midst of the training for the presence finding technique and thankfully, the basic requirement for learning it is Qi circulation, so I had to make my Qi flow throughout my entire body in a way I couldn't do previously. It was all going pretty fine until I hit a big obstacle, which blocked my path towards full body Qi circulation.

"Hey, Goldy! What do you think is blocking my path?" I asked him, since I couldn't see it for myself for some reason. All I could envision is a giant black blob.

"Hmm." He placed his hands on my back and closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them and sighed. "Remember how I told you about the curse that you had ever since God knows when that slowly destroyed your body? That WAS a curse, right? I don't remember stuff, so…"

"Ah, shoot, I was about to ask my parents about that, wasn't I? Meh, I don't think it's the right time anyway. How can I even explain to them about how I found out about it? Is there even a right time for it, though? Anyway, how come you remember everything else, but forget the most important thing?" I asked, shaking my head in visible disappointment.

"Look, it happens! Anyway, that curse thingy. I thought I dispelled it off you entirely. However, it seems like there's still a little residue left. Let me check once again…. Hmm, surprising only that small part is left for some reason. It's a really persistent poison… curse… poisonous curse! I'm just gonna call it a poisonous curse for now. Anyway, as I said, too much fight in it. It doesn't want to leave your body. Apparently, the malice is too high. Like, a really evil person wanted you dead for some unknown reason." Goldy explained.

"Wait. Think about it this way. What if it isn't a really evil person, but a person who holds an immense grudge against me? Which also doesn't make sense because who holds a grudge against a toddler? So, can't that sort of grudge hold that amount of malice as well?" I asked. I didn't want it to be a really evil person, because that would mean that they are someone who is directly involved in the main storyline or worse, an ultra powerful hidden character like Goldy. Although this could be considered as running away from reality, I really wanted to believe that some weak person held a grudge against a literal toddler and wanted me dead.

"Well, it certainly is possible. However, it is highly unlikely as you said before." Goldy replied. Since I found that the second option is possible as well, I completely wiped out the first option from my brain. Yes, I'm running away from danger. I'm not forfeiting my life, people!

"I see. The question is what made that WEAK person hate me so much?" I thought out loud.

"You do know that the said person holding a grudge against you could also be a strong person, right?" He asked.

"Ah, who could that WEAK person be?" I straight up denied that to be a possible reality at that point. This way, reality can be whatever I want! Hehe…

Seeing me like this, Goldy had no choice but to agree with the TRUTH as well. "Fine. Anyway, shall I dispel the small amount of curse from your body as well?" He asked. I mean, why ask? Just do it, bruv! Hehe… Ha… What's up with me today?

"Close your eyes… I don't know how it'll feel for you, So, if it is painful, bear with it, I guess…" He spoke as he once again placed his hands on my back. He really likes doing it this way, huh? Eww, why did I put it that way?

Anyway, I don't know how I went through the Qi center fixing event… Was I knocked out? Did I feel a pain similar to this? It was as if that lump penetrated through my body parts and finally penetrated my skin to exit my body. It was an unimaginable pain. Tears were flowing from my eyes as this happened. Finally, the curse is finally out of the system. It's a bit warm and cozy somehow. Maybe it's because the curse got out of my body? It's comfortable though.

"What the hell?" I heard Goldy shout from my back. I didn't open my eyes yet because he didn't ask me to, so I was curious what happened.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Your hair… It just turned white!"