Chapter 364: 364: Charming Cup/Lover’s Spell
Li Qiqi’s transformation was indeed quite significant. Originally a clean, tidy, and elegantly mannered girl, she suddenly seemed like a completely different person—bare-chested, seductive, sashaying as she walked.
Li Wei Qiao saw her at the door of the booth and frowned slightly.
"Brother, what do you want with me?" Li Qiqi giggled as she wrapped her arms around his arm.
"Let’s talk inside."
Once Li Qiqi entered the booth, she noticed there were others inside, one man and one woman, who looked somewhat familiar.
"Brother, who are they?"
Li Wei Qiao’s heart sank. Could it be that his sister doesn’t even recognize the idols she once worshipped?
Li Qiqi completely didn’t understand why their sibling talk necessitated the presence of outsiders. If she hadn’t remembered Hao Ge’s advice to not sour her relationship with her brother, she wouldn’t have even bothered with him.
Really!
She sat down on a chair, ignoring the others completely, just staring at Li Wei Qiao unhappily, "Brother, don’t you know I’m quite busy these days? And I have a boyfriend now, so don’t introduce any more random guys to me. If Hao Ge finds out, he’ll get mad!"
Li Wei Qiao didn’t even want to speak to her and looked directly at Jiang Nuo and Mu Qiuniang. He had initially thought of asking them to help persuade his sister, but given the current situation...
"Wife, do you see anything?" Jiang Nuo asked Mu Qiuniang.
Mu Qiuniang frowned in displeasure. After hundreds of years, is someone still using such disgusting tricks to harm people? Without a word, she took out a silver needle and stuck it into the back of Li Qiqi’s neck.
Just as Li Qiqi was about to speak, unnoticed by her brother, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.
Li Wei Qiao quickly caught her, "Sister-in-law Jiang, what’s wrong with my sister?" He didn’t ask if something was wrong; seeing Sister-in-law Jiang take action, he knew something was definitely wrong with his sister.
"She’s been placed under a love spell."
"Love spell?" Li Wei Qiao was stunned, "Is it like in those novels, the kind that Miao region women use when they can’t win over a man?"
"No, it’s not a ’Charming Cup,’ it’s a ’Lover’s Spell,’" Mu Qiuniang explained.
A Charming Cup is used when someone falls in love with another, but the love is unrequited. They use it to force the other person to fall in love with them. While this coercion is quite distasteful, at least it’s true love and a one-to-one relationship, not the worst case.
The worst is being placed under the "Lover’s Spell." This spell has no love involved. The caster has no compassion for the victim and only wants to use them, creating a false appearance of "love" and under the guise of "love," forcing the victim to do many things they don’t want to do.
Just like Li Qiqi’s current state: if, according to her brother, Li Qiqi doesn’t truly love Yan Hao, then she’s being forcibly controlled by a spell to be with Yan Hao.
And the purpose of casting the spell was definitely for easy "harvest."
Perhaps, to ordinary people, Li Qiqi seemed vibrant, except for becoming a bit more seductive, but to someone like Mu Qiuniang, she was enveloped in a decaying aura—a sign of being "harvested."
Fortunately, the one harvesting Li Qiqi didn’t plan to take everything at once but intended to reuse her. Therefore, the harvesting was relatively moderate, with attention paid to nourishing Li Qiqi’s body to prevent over-exhaustion and early death.
But the fact remains: once harvested, no matter how much one replenishes, as an ordinary person, she cannot withstand a cultivator’s harvest, and her fate is early death, whether in a few years or decades.
Of course, Mu Qiuniang avoided mentioning cultivation matters.
"So what do we do? Sister-in-law Jiang, aren’t you a Divine Doctor? You must have a way, right?"
"There is a way. We just need to remove the inner spell from her body."
"That’s great!" Li Wei Qiao was overjoyed, "Sister-in-law Jiang, please save my sister, no matter the cost, I am willing to pay."
Mu Qiuniang shook her head, "It’s not about the cost; it’s about your sister’s body..."
"Let me explain," Jiang Nuo interjected, "In the world, there are many things that can’t be explained by science, like your sister’s body. To some people, her physique has special functions. That’s why they cast the Lover’s Spell on her, hoping to harvest her through relations. Even if my wife helps you break the spell now, the special aspect of her body is already discovered. They can simply find her again to continue..."
"Those beasts!" Li Wei Qiao clenched his fist in anger, "How can they do this to my sister? My sister is just an ordinary person. Are they crazy to think my sister... This is completely a cult; I want to call the police!"
"Some matters can’t be dealt with by calling the police," Jiang Nuo reminded him.
"Then what should I do? Am I supposed to let my sister live in constant danger forever?" Li Wei Qiao was unwilling to accept this.
"Actually, there is a solution."
"What solution?" Grasping at straws, Li Wei Qiao hastily asked.
"It’s simple: let your sister become like them!" Mu Qiuniang suggested.
Li Wei Qiao was taken aback, "Wait, make my sister like them? You mean let her become one of those menacing culprits? No, I can’t let my sister do such things..."
Jiang Nuo interrupted him: "No, my wife doesn’t mean that. What she means is that since those with special abilities are bullying your sister because she’s an ordinary person, why not let your sister learn some abilities too? Let her become strong and protect herself. That way, even if someone has plans for her, they’ll have to get past her first."
"But... that’s a cult..." It was some unexplainable, sinister cult practice. Does he really want his sister to...?
Yet, if she doesn’t learn, even if the spell is broken this time, who can guarantee she won’t encounter such people again? How can he ensure someone will save his sister every time?
"Even tools can harm people, depending on whose hands they’re in. If they’re in a bad person’s hands, they’re a weapon; if in a good person’s hands, they’re a tool for self-defense."
"But I just want my sister to live a normal life!" Staring at Li Qiqi in his arms, Li Wei Qiao was filled with compassion.
This sister he watched grow up—how could he bear to see her suffer? Living constantly at risk, unable to live like a normal person, and possibly being discovered and treated as an anomaly...
"Mr. Li, from the moment her special physique was discovered, she was destined not to lead a normal life!" Just like he himself, married to an extraordinary wife, he had to lead an extraordinary life.
But really, that kind of life isn’t bad at all, as long as the individual is happy and content.
Aren’t human lives meant for happiness and joy?