Ye Wushuang lunged at Li Chengfeng, her manicured nails aimed at his face. He dodged, nearly tripping over the threshold.
"You shrew!" he snapped. "Try that again, and I'll—"
"*Shrew?*" Her face flushed crimson. At thirty-five, unmarried and fiercely proud, the insult struck like a slap. "I'll claw your lying tongue out!"
Ye Mengyao clung to her aunt's arm. "Stop! Father's *dying* because of this!"
Li Chengfeng scoffed, unlocking the shop. "Your father's fate isn't my doing. Leave."
---
**The Accusation**
Inside, Ye Mengyao's voice trembled through the door: "Please… revoke the curse. I'll pay *any* amount!"
Li Chengfeng froze. *Curse?*
Only then did he learn:
- Three days prior, **Ye Gucheng**'s right leg had withered overnight.
- His lungs now rasped with tuberculosis's rattle.
- His throat had sealed shut – mute as stone.
The family's hired "master," Hu Yansong, had declared it a **vengeful hex** – and pointed them to Li Chengfeng's "prophecy."
---
**Confrontation**
Ye Wushuang kicked the door. "You *predicted* this! 'Three days for his leg, lungs, throat' – your words!"
Li Chengfeng flung the door open. "I *warned* him, you fools! His body's rotting from **shadow qi** – look!"
He seized Ye Wushuang's wrist, forcing her to face a cracked mirror. "See the black veins in your eyes? The sludge around your neck? You're next."
Horrified, she recoiled. Her reflection showed faint tendrils of darkness creeping beneath her skin.
"Your house is poisoned," Li Chengfeng hissed. "Not by me – by something festering in your walls."
---