Chapter 17: The Evil Arts

"Shall we go to my village house now?" Tang Mizi asked.

Lu Li snapped back to attention and nodded stiffly. He needed to get to know Tang Mizi better; perhaps he could learn more about his master from him.

Maliu Village was Wang Huzi's village; the two-story building at the village entrance was his home. Tang Mizi led Lu Li through a series of twists and turns, up a slope, and after about ten minutes of climbing, they arrived at his "village house," which consisted of two thatched huts. It was so remote from the village that it was surprising that it could be rented.

It was indeed very isolated, no wonder Wang Huzi didn't recognize him; it had an air of being cut off from the world. Seeing Tang Mizi, dressed in such fine clothes, Lu Li was surprised that he could endure such hardship.

Tang Mizi smiled awkwardly and said, "I had no choice. To avoid contact with the villagers, I had to choose this place. My condition flares up on the first and fifteenth of every month; I'm afraid it might scare people."

Lu Li expressed his understanding.

Without needing Lu Li to prompt him, Tang Mizi began to recount the story:

The curse was from Mangshan Island in Donghai Province. He had no enmity with the other party. His practice was to "rob the rich to help the poor." When he encountered wealthy individuals, he would exploit them to satisfy his needs while helping the suffering. On one occasion, he was treating the grandson of a wealthy merchant on Mangshan Island. Many people were invited, including a curse master, but no one knew he would use a curse.

None of the various "gods" he invited could cure the child. The child's condition was peculiar: at only five years old, he had a normal body and brain but did not recognize his family. He only knew his own parents, their whereabouts, and his younger brother.

They tried all conceivable methods without success. It was neither possession by a spirit nor loss of soul; the child was simply a normal person.

Lu Li couldn't help but ask, "So how did you cure him?"

Tang Mizi smiled, "I didn't use any Taoist arts at all. The child's condition was truly beyond natural science. His body had actually died, but his brainwaves, under special circumstances, were coincidentally received by the merchant's original grandson. It was likely linked from the fetal stage. The memory was completely overlaid on the brain of the developing fetus, and the original brain cells were not yet formed, so he was not considered a person. Hence, there was only one soul in the body, resulting in a situation that was neither possession nor loss of soul."

Tang Mizi was different from other practitioners; he was highly educated, having dropped out of college, loved reading, and had an extraordinary memory. He had also studied physics and chemistry very well and was quite versatile. Being a practitioner was truly beneath his talents.

When everyone was at a loss and the merchant was about to give up, he stepped forward. He asked the merchant to fulfill one condition: he needed to take the child away for at least ten days. The merchant, though hesitant, agreed, hoping for any chance of success.

He then took the child and found the parents described by the child. When the child called out for his parents, they did not recognize him. The child was very upset, so Tang Mizi talked to him, explaining that those were just dreams and not reality, even though the dreams felt very real.

The child's real parents were those who loved and cared for him. Only Tang Mizi believed in what he said, earning the child's trust. The child's dreams were shattered, he trusted Tang Mizi, and Tang Mizi then instilled the impression of this lifetime's parents, guiding him back to the "reality."

As a result, Tang Mizi gained both fame and wealth.

However, along with the envy and jealousy of others, he also received curses.