Chapter 2: The Cursed Girl

“Uuu… what’s wrong with your head?! I was just joking with you—was that really necessary?”

In a hidden attic of the lower district, the Evil God’s daughter Lingling Lan sat bound hand and foot, rolling her eyes furiously at Xinghui, who was lounging sideways in a computer chair, fingers tapping away at the keyboard.

“Now thanks to you, I’m a wanted criminal. I can’t even enjoy a peaceful life anymore—it’s all your fault! How did you even figure out my true identity?”

“As the future Number One Sword Immortal, of course I’d know.”

“You… you shameless hooligan!”

Xinghui brushed off Lingling Lan’s complaints casually. Her attention was fixed on the RPG game Cry of the Witch in front of her, as though she were the only one in the room. Maybe she had simply grown used to Lingling Lan’s nonstop whining all afternoon.

Damn it. Not even a flicker of reaction. Judging from her outfit, this girl must be one of the Ranger Association’s new cadres, yet she claimed she’d be the future Sword Immortal? And she had the audacity to ignore the law—kidnapping her right out of the courtroom, in full view of everyone?!

If even she, a descendant of an Evil God, had turned over a new leaf to live honestly, then what right did this girl have to flaunt herself so brazenly?! If the Captain were still in charge, this hooligan would be counting days in the confinement room every single week.

Lingling Lan felt a wave of frustration wash over her.

In her previous life, she had been one of the Ranger Association’s elite—the Heroes’ Squad. Granted, she only slipped in under the role of a healer… She was practically useless in most fights, only stepping in when a crucial team battle demanded her healing. The rest of the time she lounged in the resting room, waiting for the captain to assign missions. Honestly, she had been the most invisible “hero” on the team.

But then came the disaster—the failed battle against the galaxy-scale Cataclysm Maelstrom. She was defeated and captured by her current “Mother”—the Outer God known as the Messenger of Chaos—who turned her into her daughter.

The rest… was better left unsaid.

She had thought sneaking away from her terrifying Mother meant she could live out her days in peace. Who could have guessed she’d run into this unreasonable former colleague? A whole year’s worth of painstakingly built-up reputation—selling her so-called “ancestral formulas” in this city—gone in an instant.

“Hey, what do you even want with me, keeping me tied up like this?!”

At those words, Xinghui finally paused her game. A spark of satisfaction flashed across her face.

“Finally. Communication at last.”

“I’m not mute! What do you mean finally?!”

Lingling Lan’s round little cheeks flushed red, puffed up in righteous indignation. If her hands weren’t bound tightly behind her back, she would have rolled up her sleeves and charged straight at this infuriating girl.

“You’ve been yelling insults all night. How was I supposed to get a word in?”

“Hooligan!” Lingling Lan turned her head away.

She didn’t particularly want to look at Xinghui, but the fact was, she was clearly at a disadvantage here. Tied up in a humiliating spread-eagle bind with photon ropes, kneeling awkwardly on the floor, she was powerless. Her magic was sealed, her body sore, and all her struggling was as futile as a caterpillar thrashing helplessly in a spider’s web.

The last time she’d been restrained this shamefully… was when Mother had remodeled her.

Wait. Could it be this girl had kidnapped her because… she was interested in her?!

Lingling Lan shrank back, her earlier bravado vanishing in an instant. Bound, humiliated, two girls alone in a room—how could one not get the wrong idea?!

“Heh. You smell pretty nice, you know. And this little face is so soft and fair—I really want to pinch it~”

Xinghui raised a finger, trailing it playfully along Lingling Lan’s cheek, then down her slender neck, sliding in a smooth line along her body’s natural curve.

Lingling Lan’s thoughts exploded into shameful chaos. Before Xinghui could act, she had already imagined dozens of scandalous “endings” in her mind.

“D-don’t touch me like that!”

Her trembling voice carried a mix of shyness and grievance—enough to test anyone’s self-control.

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you. Let’s just deal with two little matters first.”

“F-fine… but you’ll have to untie me.”

“Untie you? What if you run away? Then I’ll just have to catch you again.”

“I won’t! I promise I’ll stay until I help you. I’m a person of great integrity, unlike you.” Lingling Lan blinked innocently at her.

Tch. Enjoy this one lucky break. There won’t be a second time—I’m not dumb enough to get caught again.

“Compromise then. Solve the first matter, and this Sword Immortal will let you go, Miss Lingling Lan.”

“Then say it already!” Lingling Lan snapped impatiently, wriggling in discomfort.

“First, heal my mouth ulcers. And second, I want a refund. Full refund.”

“Healing, fine. Refund, no.” Lingling Lan shook her head with utmost seriousness.

“My living expenses are almost gone, and tomorrow night is Luna-chan-sama’s concert…”

“That’s your excuse?! Do you know how long I scrimped and saved? That money was for my concert ticket too!” Xinghui’s voice quavered, her eyes widening.

What? She’s a broke girl too?

Lingling Lan nearly laughed but kept her face twisted in resistance.

“I earned that money fair and square. Why would I give it back?”

As she kept up her verbal defiance, Lingling Lan secretly transformed her pinky into a black tentacle, quietly slicing through the photon ropes one by one.

This Xinghui clearly had little experience in handling prisoners. She didn’t understand the art of warfare—meanwhile Lingling Lan had survived countless brushes with death. She knew how to seize fleeting opportunities.

“I should’ve just left you rotting in prison! Give me back my money, you crook!”

“Dream on! What goes in my pouch stays mine! Later!”

Lingling Lan sprang to her feet, kicked open the window, and leapt out.

Of course Xinghui wasn’t about to let her go. She vaulted out right behind her.

And so, under the setting sun, the two girls launched into a chase through the streets.

What a joke! She really wasn’t going to stop until she got her money back?!

They had run so far Lingling Lan felt like she was sprinting straight toward heaven’s gates. Just as she was about to cough blood from exhaustion, a powerful yank dragged on her skirt, halting her dead in her tracks.

“Give it back… my ticket money…”

Xinghui’s grip was relentless.

“No! Let… go…!”

In the tug-of-war, the sleeve of Xinghui’s white blouse ripped open, exposing the skin beneath—darkened, bruised, and covered in clusters of violet crystal-like growths. They shimmered unnaturally, alien to this world, frightening to behold.

“Ah! Ow ow ow! Don’t grab there—that’s my old wound!”

Lingling Lan froze.

Her senses recognized it instantly.

That aura… so familiar, so terrifying.

It was Mother’s curse.

This ranger girl… carried the dreadful curse of her Mother—the kind of curse so perverse it made even demons recoil in shame.