A Replacement Bride

Chapter 228

"Legend has it, an ancestor of the Scott-Tutton Family once saved a moribund woodcutter in the mountains. When he checked the woodcutter's condition, he found an ulcer in his abdomen." Jennifer's turbid, forlorn-laced eyes stared into space, looking like she had reverted to the days she listened to stories sitting on a bench.

"The ulcer grew weirdly. It wasn't big, but if one looked closely, they'd find a face with a nose, a mouth, and all. The ancestor was shocked when he first saw it, but seeing that the woodcutter was on the verge of death, he decided to do whatever he could to save him. That said, the ancestor had never seen such a peculiar ulcer, so he didn't have the remedy for it. Thus, he made a few attempts but to no avail; the woodcutter still passed. When he died, the blood in his system was nearly gone, but the terrifying thing was that the face-like ulcer was still active. As though it could breathe, the face would pop out every now and then while hiding beneath the skin other times."

At that, a glimmer flashed across Katherine's eyes as she made a bold assumption. "That ulcer feeds on human blood, doesn't it?" All content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Jennifer nodded in affirmation and sighed under her breath. "You're right. The ancestor found it weird, so he didn't bury the woodcutter immediately but instead continued studying the ulcer. In less than two days, all there was left of the woodcutter were his skin and bones, yet the ulcer still lived. The ancestor made the same assumption as you did. In fact, he slit his hand and dripped some blood onto the ulcer. Guess what happened?"

Katherine pondered expressionlessly for a moment before answering, "The ulcer opened its mouth and sucked his blood."

"That's right." Jennifer nodded. "The ulcer was far too peculiar, and the ancestor had his doubts. As such, he removed the ulcer along with the entire piece of skin around it, sealed it up, and brought it back for research. This was how the Scott-Tutton Family discovered the first man-faced ulcer. Of course, the validity of the story remains a question, and it's ultimately a legend. But…"

At that, Jennifer turned grave. "The Scott-Tutton Family have been studying the man-faced ulcer since then, and they even created witchcraft out of it—the man-faced curse!"

Katherine had a good picture at this point, and she had a feeling the man-faced curse she discovered this time had something to do with the Scott-Tuttons.

Sure enough, Jennifer continued, "This witchcraft has always been the Scott-Tutton Family's secret research. Though there are records of it in books, there has never been hearsay of it being passed down. Also, the Scott-Tutton Family is extremely careful with it. They even banned the entire family from letting outsiders in on this. What's more, the man-faced curse is strictly passed down only to male progenies."

"That means you don't know how to perform the man-faced curse, right, Grandma?"

"I'm a woman, and as the ancestors have made such a rule, I haven't been taught. I might not know how to perform this witchcraft, but I know quite a few things about it." Jennifer nodded, then narrowed her aged yet sharp eyes. "The power of the man-faced curse isn't one that a man can bear. This curse is incredibly malicious. Once it's planted on a human body, it will live inside them. At first, the host won't feel a thing, but with time, the man-faced ulcer will form. Sometimes it'll form in the limbs, but most times, it's the abdomen."

At that, she continued, "Once the man-faced ulcer matures, it would begin ingesting human blood, and though the host will discover the ulcer mark, they won't find anything wrong about them. All they can do is bear the pain day after day until the ulcer ingests a majority of their blood, and the host will enter

apparent death. They will be dead for good if they're not treated in time. By then, the man-faced ulcer will speedily ingest the rest of the host, leaving nothing but their skeleton left."

Katherine could imagine just how terrifying the witchcraft was just hearing about it, and she deduced with a frown, "So the only way to save the host is to uproot the entire ulcer from the host's body?"

"That's right. However, because modern medical technology can't detect the illness, there's still no cure. Also, modern surgery can't remove the man-faced curse from the host's body entirely."

That was the one thing Katherine knew all too well.

It was precisely because the possibility came to mind when she was asked to rescue the victims that she dared not delay using witchcraft to nullify the curse. However…

She narrowed her eyes and heard Jennifer's voice just as she was about to ponder. "Though the man- faced curse does exist, I've never heard of anyone suffering from the curse. Sure, the Scott-Tutton Family passes it down from generation to generation, but because of how evil this witchcraft is, they have only grasped its principles and have never put it into practice. Honestly, I'm quite shocked that it has appeared."

"Then, do you have any clue as to who could be behind this, Grandma?"

Jennifer turned grave in response, and silence filled the air for a moment before she answered, "I have a younger brother, and he's the only one they passed the witchcraft to back then."

The fact that her grandmother had a younger brother made Katherine's eyes light up. "So, this man- faced curse…"

"Yes, it might have to do with my brother's descendants, and this is the only possibility thus far."

Katherine stood in the corridor after coming out of Jennifer's room, and deliberation flashed across her eyes as they dimmed.

This man-faced curse popped out of nowhere, and the only clue now leads to the descendants of Grandma's brother. Whatever the reason is, that person is definitely up to no good. Looks like it's time I have a good look into Grandma's maternal bloodline.

At that, she dialed Savannah's number. "Dig into the Scott-Tutton Family. No matter how far back you can dig, find as many details as possible."

"Got it, Boss." Savannah obliged.

Lo and behold, the second after Katherine ended the call, Joaquin ran out of Noah's room and pulled the former into the girl's room the second he saw her.

"What's wrong?" Katherine frowned as trepidation surged within her.

Grave and tense was Joaquin's countenance as he took pains to speak up. "Noah's in danger," was all he said before the two stepped into the girl's room.

The next second, Katherine found her daughter in a seizure.

Redness enveloped her eyes as she froze over. For once, her mind went blank when she saw red trickling down Noah's nose.

Fortunately, she came to herself a second later and ran to pin Noah's spasming body.

"Quick, press her down for me!" she ordered.