Curse and antidote can never intertwine

Naimishi couldn't believe she was finally free from the Ghoul King's trap. Yet as the wind brushed against her exposed breasts, teasing the sensitive peaks of her buds, her mind succumbed to a paralyzing shock. Her eyes locked with his dark orbs. Stark naked, she stood before him, her every curve exposed to his unyielding stare. "Ah!! D..Don't look at me!" She stuttered, and out of nervousness, she hastily covered her eyes with her hands.

"Which fool gave you the idea that closing your eyes would keep your naked body hidden from my eyes?" Arazhan's voice dripped with a scoff, his eyes shifted away from her bare body to the torn gown that was discarded on the ground.

"Then close your eyes, pervert!" Naimishi covered her bare breasts, only to realize he could still feast his eyes down below her, and she had no extra hands to cover it.

"Me closing my eyes make any difference now? You have already given me a grand tour of your goods." Arazhan taunted, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

This was the second time he was caught in an awkward moment today, and it involved the same girl. His eyes darted to the naked Ghoul he held upside down as the creature strained its neck to glimpse Naimishi's exposed body. Arazhan's eyes darkened.

He flipped his sword, thrusting it deep into the ground. The soil quivered beneath the force, causing the surrounding stones to bounce off into the air. Betaal squirmed in terror as his gaze locked onto the blade, its lethal edge hairsbreadth away from his eyes. "I dare you to look away from this sword even for a breath, and I will rip those eyes out." Arazhan's voice reverberated, each word resonating with a bone-chilling intensity.

His attention zeroed in on Naimishi's feet. "Are you going to stand there and put on a grand spectacle for me, or do you have any intention of putting on your clothes? If you are not going to wear it, might as well hand your dress back on this Ghoul." He replied in a severe tone.

Betaal's beady eyes instantly sparkled at Arazhan's words. The Raven meat stall owner had promised him high-quality bones of the dead soldiers who died in the recent battle if he visited him tomorrow. Betaal's bones itched to confirm if Arazhan truly meant what he said. However, Betaal couldn't muster the courage to divert his gaze from the glinting sword.

"Don't give it to him!" Naimishi shouted, her hands instinctively leaving her breasts as she bolted towards Arazhan. She didnot dare to meet his eyes, afraid and embarrassed to see if he was still ogling. Bending her body with lightning speed, she snatched up her dress from the ground and bolted behind a nearby tree, seeking cover like a scared rabbit.

Leaning her back against the rough bark of the tree, Naimishi drew in slow, shallow breaths, her fingers tightly clutching her gown. "He has seen me naked!" She whispered to herself. "Mother always tells me only my husband should see me naked. What do I do now? Should I ask him to marry me?"

Naimishi shook her head, dismissing her nonsense thoughts. "I can't handle this egoistic peacock for a lifetime. Only Betaal, him, and I know the truth of what happened here. Betaal won't leave the forest hideout unless some unlucky fools stumble upon him. So, there is less chance for him to spread the rumours. As for this peacock, I will bribe him with an extra copper coin to keep his mouth shut." She whispered, nodding to herself. "Such a great idea."

"What are you murmuring to yourself there?" Came his deep voice, snapping Naimishi out of her reverie.

Naimishi's brows knitted. "What's his problem? Should I ask his permission to talk to myself?" She muttered as she brought the dress close to her. The pungent stench of decaying flesh assaulted her nostrils.

"Did that pervert roam in graveyards wearing my dress?" She popped open her dress, and her jaw dropped as she saw the long tear that would expose her breasts once she put it on. "How do I wear this?"

Naimishi peeped out from behind the tree and watched as Arazhan tied Betaal to the tree. "Did you intentionally tear my gown right in the middle so you could ogle at my body when I put on the dress?"

"You seem to have so much confidence in that body of yours." Arazhan let out a mocking laugh, his gaze shifting to the girl's partially revealed face peering from behind the tree. "Let me set the records straight. My standards when it comes to women are sky high that you fall far short of reaching even the fringes of my expectations. Even if there was a_"

His voice was abruptly silenced as a stone found its mark, striking his forehead. Two more stones hurled his way, but this time Arazhan caught them in mid-air. "Truth is always hard to digest!"

"You self-absorbed peacock! Get that swollen head of yours examined by a physician. Even if I had been given a choice between you and a cockroach, I would gladly choose the latter."

"So I am about to witness the grandest wedding of a human and a six-legged insect in the future? Congratulations in advance."

Naimishi: " "

Naimishi released a long, weary sigh, sensing that her sanity was hanging by a thread as she continued to argue with this pompous peacock. The biting cold pricked at her naked body, causing her to shiver uncontrollably. She has to get dressed first. "You tore my gown. I can't wear this anymore. Give me yours."

"No."

"Then I will come out naked."

"Absolutely no!"

"Then what am I supposed to_" Before Naimishi could finish her sentence, a clock came hurtling towards her, landing at her feet. Though she was not on good terms with him, she was glad he offered her his clothes. She quickly wrapped the cloak around herself and came out.

Betaal's giggled as he caught sight of Naimishi struggling in the oversized cloak. "What a transformation! That cloak looks like a monster trying to swallow you whole!"

"You looked like an ant before an elephant when you wore my gown." Naimishi shot at him before turning to Arazhan. "How did you find that removing my gown from his body would free me from the pond?"

Arazhan sized the girl drowning in his cloak for a good minute. Does she even eat?

"When your clothes appeared on his body, the cursed pond trapped you inside. I applied the same logic to bring you out. To free you, he has to discard your clothes from his body. He deceived you by claiming that eating another mulberry fruit would break the curse. Like the venom of a serpent that cannot cure its own bite, a curse and an antidote can never be the same."

Betaal and Naimishi stared at each other, silently acknowledging him.

Just as the wind whispered through the trees, their ears caught the faint sound of footsteps crunching on dried leaves. Betaal's eyes sparked, assuming it was yet another visitor caught in his trap. However, when his eyes fell on a woman garbed in red garments, holding a talisman in her hand, and accompanied by two cloaked men, Betaal swallowed hard. What is this old Shaman doing here?

"Naimishi!" Dusen whispered, stopping in his tracks as he spotted.

"Dusen! Brother!" Naimishi exclaimed, waving her hand. "I am here." She ran towards Reezhel.

"Mishi!" Reezhel embraced his sister in a hug. "Thank God, you are safe! I was so scared thinking I lost you." Finally, he can breathe in relief. He was afraid thinking the Ghoul King might have harmed his sister. When he failed to capture the Ghoul, he contemplated stepping into the forest to find his sister, even if it was risky. Thankfully, Dusen intervened and sought help from a Shaman.

Dusen watched Naimishi and Reezhel embracing each other, a bittersweet sight that stirred conflicting emotions in him. He wanted to pull her into his embrace to let her know he was equally scared of her like her brother. But he knew it was not the time. His gaze turned towards the skeletal figure suspended upside down the tree.

Betaal gulped, seeing his murderous intent.

"How dare you imprison her! I will cut you limb to limb and toss you into the fire today." Dusen drawled his sword from the scabbard. But just as his blade arced through the air, a sharp metallic clang clashed with his.