Chapter Seventy-One: The Ghost Within the Blade

Zhao Shuihe did not answer me immediately. Instead, she offered a shy, bashful smile, transforming instantly from a fiery little pepper into a demure young lady.

With alluring, bashful eyes and peach-pink cheeks, she radiated a subtle, coquettish charm with every little gesture. It gave me a sudden start, forcing me to take a cautious step backward.

What was she up to? Surely she wasn't going to ask me to help... continue the Zhao family lineage?

And of course, right on cue, fearing whatever one dreads the most, Zhao Shuihe took a few quick, mincing steps forward and extended a finger to point right at my chest.

She was practically pressing against me!

"What is the meaning of this?" I asked, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Your knife..." Zhao Shuihe blinked her large, watery eyes and pointed at the blade tucked against my chest. "...can you give it to me?!"

Her words instantly dispelled my doubts and cleared the fog in my mind.

So Zhao Shuihe was also after the kitchen knife. She hid her intentions deep, and to top it off, she was utterly shameless, daring to ask me for it outright.

It was the first time in my life I had ever witnessed a defeated opponent act with such brazen audacity—truly a rare specimen.

I genuinely couldn't understand why all the young girls in the Two Ancestors Temple were mentally unbalanced... First Xiaojiu, and now Zhao Shuihe. I would seriously have to study this phenomenon later.

Faced with Zhao Shuihe's deliberate demand, I let out a cold, mocking chuckle and said, "The knife isn't mine; Xian Hongye lent it to me. If I lose it, I'll owe her two hundred thousand yuan."

"Oh! Is that all!" Zhao Shuihe persisted relentlessly. "Once you marry her, Sister Hongye will be my great-great-granddaughter-in-law, and her whole person will be yours. Do you really care about a mere kitchen knife? Besides, you're a grown man, what are you even 'opening'?"

"What opening and closing? Stop talking nonsense!" Caught off guard by Zhao Shuihe's verbal trap, I instantly grew frantic.

I immediately wanted to clear things up with this muddled-headed young girl, but she didn't give me the chance.

Seeing my face turn ashen, Zhao Shuihe suddenly stopped pressing me.

Her expression turned bitter and hesitant. With a slight sting in her nose, she leaned against the wall, looked over at the sleeping Wang How, and sighed mournfully, "How wonderful it would be if I could sleep soundly just like him, without having to worry every single day. You try to do good by others, and they treat it like a donkey's lung..."

Although Zhao Shuihe was speaking standard Mandarin, her speech retained the soft, melodic cadence of the Wu dialects. It sounded exceptionally tender—so tender that it made my bones tingle, and since her words were clearly aimed at me, I felt thoroughly out of place.

So, I snapped at her, "Stop speaking in riddles and casting blame! What do you mean by treating kindness like a donkey's lung? You clearly just want the kitchen knife."

"You have no idea!" Zhao Shuihe's eyes suddenly lit up with a golden sheen. "The kitchen knife in your arms is terribly ominous! It is bound by the millennial 'curse' of the Zhao family. Whoever holds it is bound to meet a violent end!"

Zhao Shuihe's ghostly, eerie words made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I involuntarily touched the imperial blade in my bosom, feeling a sudden shiver of fear.

As I hesitated and fumbled for words, Zhao Shuihe continued, "Don't forget, this knife hasn't just prepared food; it has also taken lives..."

It seemed... she knew some obscure history that others were unaware of.

Perhaps Zhao Shuihe was merely trying to frighten me, but... I had a feeling her words carried a grain of truth.

Ever since modern times, every single member of the Zhao family who had laid hands on this kitchen knife had met a wretched end. My old squad leader committed suicide; his father was imprisoned and died of depression; and my grandfather, Zhao Qingshan, possessed of vast supernatural powers, was tied up in the snow to be publicly denounced for three days and three nights, ultimately dying of a sudden illness.

Wherever this kitchen knife went, bad luck and misfortune seemed to follow. Even Zhao Haijun, who had only temporarily taken custody of the blade, found no peace during the Zhao family funeral, plagued by bizarre occurrences at every turn.

And all these catastrophes indeed originated from this very kitchen knife.

Was this... really just a coincidence?

Just as my heart was pounding with unease, Zhao Shuihe told me, "That 'shark knife' in your arms used to be a weapon. It has killed people, and with killed lives comes deep resentment. What's more, it is said that Zhao Qingshan even used it to hack ghosts, which made the resentment even deeper. Understand?"

I didn't understand, so I could only shake my head.

Half-truthfully and half-playfully, Zhao Shuihe continued to scare me. "For hundreds of years, the number of people it has killed is countless, so its malevolent aura is extremely concentrated. It is said that sometimes, this knife will even kill its own master..."

Before Zhao Shuihe could finish her sentence... I didn't want to hear another damn word.

This was pure nonsense! If that were truly the case, this thing should be a disaster that everyone avoided like the plague; how could people possibly be fighting over it until their heads were split open? Besides, she wanted it herself.

Wasn't she afraid the knife would slit her throat?!

Ultimately, her final sentence betrayed her true motives.

So, refusing to listen to her nonsense any longer, I pointed a finger at Wang How and demanded, "Can you cure this food curse or not? If you can't, just say so! Stop beating around the bush and wasting my time and emotions. I have more important matters to attend to."

My words seemed to strike Zhao Shuihe's sore spot. The little brat instantly threw a fit, scolding me for bullying a child, lacking respect for the elderly and care for the young, lacking basic manners, being unfilial, and failing in every other way imaginable...

No matter how much fuss she kicked up, I simply offered a cold, mocking smile and pressed her, "Can you lift this white-food Gu or not? If you can't, stop spouting nonsense. I am not giving you the knife."

Finally, driven to the edge of exasperation by my questioning, the little girl stood up, cursed me for being utterly shameless, and pointed straight at my nose, shouting, "If you don't give me the kitchen knife, I will never lift the Gu for you! You and this comrade of yours can just wait to die!!"

Zhao Shuihe's words filled me with boiling rage.

She was indirectly admitting that she had been toying with me and was now blatantly reneging on her debt.

I could tolerate her deliberate mischief, but I could not tolerate her going back on her word.

To lose a game of "Heart Spectrum" and then resort to trickery was an absolute desecration of my Five Organs Temple!

In the realm of the Five Organs Temple, playing the "Heart Spectrum" was a matter of utmost solemnity, no different from a duel between ancient warriors.

Whoever lost was bound by honor to fulfill their promise to the other party, and if they failed to do so, they deserved to die!

So, I snapped. Not only was I furious, but I was going to bully her right back!

While Zhao Shuihe was still shrieking at the top of her lungs, I lunged forward, grabbed both her wrists, and shoved her fiercely against the wall!

In an instant, the room fell silent.

Zhao Shuihe was startled by my sudden display of violence. She stared at me in shock, her voice beginning to choke up with tears.

I pressed my face close to her chest and snarled viciously, "Today, you are going to lift this food curse whether you want to or not! If you don't, I'll lift *you*!"

Large, bean-sized tears rolled down Zhao Shuihe's cheeks. The expression in her eyes as she looked at me... was something I had never seen in my entire life.

Whose fault was it, really? She had only herself to blame.

Under my intimidation, I thought the young girl finally understood my intent and would immediately soften and submit.

But I was wrong. I had severely underestimated this "Grandma Zhao."

Faced with my fury, she actually dared to talk back to me, sobbing, "You... you're bullying me. I'm going to tell my brother and have him deal with you! He is someone in Suzizuo..."

"Your brother?" I sneered, interrupting her threats, and pressed my face even closer. "Reason prevails across the world! Never mind your brother; even if Zhao Qingshan himself came back, I still wouldn't give you the knife! Lift the curse right now! Move it!"

The final words were practically roared from the depths of my throat. Perhaps it was a bit too terrifying... because Zhao Shuihe burst into absolute tears right then and there.

Her crying was practically an atomic bomb explosion!

This time, the tables were turned, and I had no idea what to do. Frozen in place, the hands pinning her arms began to sweat profusely.

Had I gone a bit too far...?

Just as I felt remorse creeping in and wanted to offer her a few words of comfort, the bedroom door was pushed open abruptly...
Xian Hongye walked in at the most inopportune moment.

Seeing my "atrocity," she froze in utter shock. As for me, I desperately wished I could find a crack in the ground to crawl into...