I looked at Zephyr, and everyone followed my gaze. In that moment, understanding seemed to dawn on them all.
"This jade...it couldn't be sucking Zephyr's energy, could it? But I've been the one wearing it!" Nova exclaimed.
Stein didn't have all the answers, but Zephyr's condition clearly showed signs of depleted yang energy and weakened life force - the reason he looked like a walking corpse.
"No! I have to destroy this jade," Nova suddenly declared.
She immediately ordered her subordinates to bring a large stone and smashed it directly onto the BLOOD JADE.
With a dull thud, the stone chipped at the corner, but the BLOOD JADE remained intact. Instead, a pungent blood-like odor began emanating from it.
At that exact moment, Zephyr collapsed without warning. His body convulsed violently, his eyelids fluttered uncontrollably, and foam bubbled from his mouth.
The strangeness didn't end there. Another servant came rushing in, his face pale with terror.
"Miss! Something terrible...the old lady's portrait...it suddenly..." the man stammered, too frightened to speak clearly.
"What about the portrait?" Nova demanded urgently.
The servant clutched his chest, struggling to compose himself. He explained that the old lady's portrait appeared to have come to life - the image had started smiling. The entire room of servants had fled in terror, with several fainting on the spot.
The old lady had only died a few days ago, and now this haunting during the first week after her passing?
"This is serious! The EVIL JADE can't be destroyed - it's retaliating!" Stein shouted.
Nova stood frozen between terror and guilt over her impulsive act. She wavered between kneeling to apologize to the BLOOD JADE and resisting the urge - after all, this was an evil object.
"Don't panic," I advised. "First get Zephyr to the hospital, then wrap the BLOOD JADE in black cloth. As for the portrait, I'll investigate."
My words finally brought Nova back to her senses. She quickly followed my instructions while I asked a servant to lead me to the ancestral portrait.
The servant hesitated, too frightened to return to that room. Only after Nova sharply ordered him did he reluctantly guide me to the ancestral shrine.
When we opened the door, I saw numerous ancestral tablets lining the shrine. The names indicated they belonged to Nova's family ancestors. Beside some tablets rested photographs of the deceased.
The servant pointed to the old lady's portrait with a trembling hand. "We were cleaning here when suddenly the portrait moved slightly. At first we thought it was just the wind and paid no mind. Then one of the servants went to adjust it, and...that's when..." He swallowed hard. "The old lady in the portrait suddenly smiled and told him not to touch her."
The terrified servant had fainted on the spot, while the others fled in panic.
Stein sniffed the air and shook his head. "This isn't a ghost haunting. That blood jade is playing tricks. Look at all these ancestral tablets - if there were real spirits here, we'd feel yin energy or cold gusts. There's nothing. This is all the blood jade's doing."
"That jade is truly evil - it must have become a demon," I agreed. "When Nova tried to destroy it, it retaliated by terrorizing her household. Just think - ordinary blood jade would have shattered from that impact."
"If that's the case, we need to deal with this blood jade first," I said, though something nagged at me. The Nova family's troubles seemed more complicated than just the cursed jade.
Since we confirmed no actual ghost was present, we left the shrine. Stein and I returned to where we'd been, while Daphne remained and Nova went to the hospital.
"Hey...you think that kid's gonna make it?" Stein asked quietly.
I shook my head. "Hard to say. If this EVIL JADE kills, we'll have to destroy it regardless. Keeping this thing is too dangerous."
We both grimaced at the black cloth-wrapped BLOOD JADE on the floor. Its malevolence was undeniable. Would we become its next targets? My grip tightened on the Copper Coin Sword - would it even work against something this powerful?
About twenty minutes later, Nova called Daphne. Zephyr was stable - the doctors couldn't explain his sudden recovery but confirmed he was improving. Nova would return shortly.
"Thank goodness," I muttered. Once Nova returned, we could finally decide how to handle the jade.
"Stein," I asked, "how do we destroy something like this? Normal methods backfire, and the consequences..."
After some thought, Stein suggested, "Black dog blood. If we soak the evil jade in it first, that should neutralize its power temporarily. Then we can smash it safely."
At that exact moment, the BLOOD JADE twitched - as if it had understood.
"Fucking hell! That scared the shit out of me!" Stein yelped, scrambling backward across the floor.
Before Stein could fully move away, a loud thud echoed through the room as the entire sofa collapsed beneath us. Stein landed hard on his backside, crying out in genuine pain, while I reacted quickly to pull Daphne to safety.
"How could this couch possibly collapse under just the three of us? Nova's family only buys top-quality furniture," Daphne said, disbelief coloring her voice.
My eyes drifted to the black cloth-wrapped BLOOD JADE on the table. "I think it's happening again," I muttered.
"Again? This thing is really that malicious?" Daphne exclaimed.
I nodded grimly. "It's retaliating again. Since Stein revealed how to destroy it, we can't wait any longer. We need to get that black dog blood immediately."
Rubbing his sore backside, Stein scrambled to his feet. "I agree completely," he said emphatically. "Better deal with this before things get worse."
We called over one of the servants and instructed him to fetch black dog blood. He nodded obediently and hurried out the door.
Strangely, after thirty minutes the servant hadn't returned. Instead, Nova came back first, with Zephyr being carried upstairs by another servant to rest.
Nova's expression was troubled, prompting us to ask what happened.
She explained there'd been an accident on their way back - their family driver had hit and killed a pedestrian. The victim, coincidentally, was another of their household servants.
"The strangest part," Nova continued, "the servant was waiting at a crosswalk when suddenly - as if pushed by invisible hands - he stumbled into the road right as our car passed."
With the driver assisting police with their investigation, Nova had taken a taxi home to deal with us.
Stein and I exchanged horrified looks as he described the missing servant's appearance. Nova confirmed it matched the accident victim.
"So that's why he never came back with the black dog blood," I muttered. The timing was too perfect.
Was this yet another of the BLOOD JADE's doing?
When I explained our theory to Nova, her terror surpassed even Stein's. She immediately retreated at least two meters from the cursed object.
"Grandfather...why would you give me something so evil? Why?" Nova's confused plea hung in the air unanswered - her grandfather long gone.
We needed to send another servant for the black dog blood, but couldn't guarantee their safety. Sending someone knowingly into danger would make us no better than murderers.
"So what now? Without black dog blood, we can't destroy this damned thing," Stein said helplessly.
Just then, the servant who'd carried Zephyr upstairs came running down in panic, shouting: "Miss! Something terrible - the young master...he's possessed!"
"Possessed? In broad daylight? You must be joking." My eyes darted toward the blood jade. Was this its doing again?
We rushed upstairs to investigate. There, sitting upright in bed, was Zephyr - but his expression looked decades older, completely unlike a child's.
"Zephyr...what's wrong with you?" Nova ventured hesitantly.
"I'm your grandmother!" The voice that came from Zephyr's mouth was pale and ancient, utterly unlike a young boy's.
"Grandma?" Nova froze, caught between shock and terror.
"If you had business with the living, old lady, why didn't you return during the first seven days?" I asked sharply.
The seventh day after death - the soul's return night - gives spirits one final chance to visit loved ones. If she truly had unfinished business, why skip that opportunity?
"I couldn't!" The voice through Zephyr snapped. "She stood watch all seven days, especially at night. Only today did she leave."
"Her? Who's she?" We exchanged confused glances.
"The woman in red?" I suddenly remembered - the spectral figure who'd tried harming Zephyr before. The grandmother had sacrificed herself to save him. If her madness was an act...
"Yes, her." Zephyr's borrowed voice continued. "I've returned to warn you all. If I don't...our Nova family will be destroyed."
"Grandma, please! Tell us everything!" Nova begged desperately.
What followed was like listening to a distorted recording - Zephyr's childish vocal cords straining to produce his grandmother's rasping tones. Yet we leaned closer, hungry for truth.
The spirit claimed it began with a corpse.
The Nova family were netherworld merchants - specialists in acquiring and reselling the possessions of the dead at exorbitant prices.
But one stormy night, four black-clad grave robbers arrived carrying an American-style preserved corpse.
A breathtakingly beautiful corpse. So perfectly preserved it could pass for sleeping, save for the absent breath.
These men were backstabbers - tomb raiders. This "zombie" beauty had been excavated from some ancient royal tomb, supposedly a princess or noblewoman.
Here the spirit paused. Why would grave robbers steal a corpse instead of treasures? Even the Novas had been baffled.