Curse of the Soul Summoner
I opened my eyes to a flurry of urgent knocking at the door.
Outside the window, the sky was just starting to lighten. The wooden door was being struck with a dong dong sound, blended with Zane Hough's hoarse cries, who is the old master of Hough family.
Shirley! Please, save Thomas! He fell into the river!
Thomas?
I suddenly sat up, my heart pounding wildly.
Isn't this the scene from my past life?
It was on this exact day in my past life that Thomas drowned, and Zane came to my door begging me to use soul summoning to save him.
I saved him, but the family forced me to marry him. On our wedding day, he abandoned me. In the end, because of him and Susan's schemes, I died in the freezing river.
"Shirley! Hurry and open the door! If you're any later, it'll be too late!" Zane's voice trembled with desperation.
I touched my cheek; the warm feeling reminded me—I was truly reborn.
This time, I would never make the same mistakes again.
Just as I was about to get up, the door to the next room suddenly swung open.
My cousin, Susan Frank, dressed in pink pajamas with messy hair, rushed out and grabbed Zane's hand.
"Mr. Hough, don't panic! I know Soul Summoning—I'll go save Thomas!"
I stood by the door, watching Susan's anxious expression, my brow furrowed.
Susan is my cousin, and in her past life, she never knew Soul Summoning.
Could it be... she's been reborn too?
Zane paused for a moment, then burst with joy: "Really? Susan, you actually know? That's fantastic! Come with me quickly!"
Susan glanced back at me, a hint of challenge in her eyes, then ran off with Zane.
I stood rooted to the spot, full of confusion.
In her past life, Susan only secretly learned Soul Summoning after I married Thomas—so why does she suddenly know it this time?
And her reaction just now was way too calculated, like she already knew this was going to happen.
No, I have to go see what's going on.
I quickly changed clothes and followed after them.
I really want to see how this reborn cousin of mine is going to?figure it out all by herself and perform the soul summoning.
The living room of the Hough family was a complete mess.
Thomas Hough lay on the sofa, his face deathly pale, lips turning purple, his chest barely rising and falling.
Mrs. Hough sat crying nearby, while Zane paced around anxiously.
As soon as Susan walked in, she went straight to the storage room and quickly came out holding a wooden box.
"The Soul Summoning ritual needs three things: a century-old Peachwood Sword, a willow branch touched by morning dew, and the Soul Summoning Token." She opened the wooden box, and all the required items were there.
I stood at the doorway, my doubts growing stronger.
These are all essential for Soul Summoning—especially the century-old Peachwood Sword. How could the Hough family just happen to have one?
And how did Susan know these details?
"Susan, hurry and start!" Zane urged.
Suddenly, Susan looked at me, her eyes red. "Shirley, can you please give me back my Soul Summoning Token?"
I was momentarily stunned. "Your Token?"
"Yes," Susan lowered her head, her voice choked with emotion. "Before our grandma passed, she said the Soul Summoning Token should be passed to the one with talent. You've been hoarding it all this time, so I've had to learn in secret... Now Thomas is on the brink of death. Please, just give it back to me."
Mrs. Hough immediately looked at me, her tone reproachful. "Shirley Frank, how can you do this? Susan has the talent. The Token rightfully belongs to her!"
Other members of the Hough family quickly joined in, saying, "Exactly—it's about time! Why are you still trying to snatch the Token?"
"Hurry and give it back to Susan; saving Thomas is the priority!"
I watched Susan's pitiful, wronged look, then glanced at the Houghs with their blind, black-and-white judgment, and sneered coldly.
So she had been planning to slander me from the start.
"You can have the Token," I said, pulling it from my pocket and tossing it to her. "But I warn you, Soul Summoning is no joke—one wrong step and everything falls apart. You alone will bear the consequences."
Susan caught the Token, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. "Thank you, Shirley. I'll be careful."
She walked over to Thomas, picked up the Peachwood Sword, and started chanting the spell.
I stood to the side, listening carefully.
By the third line, my expression shifted — she was chanting it wrong!
That line was supposed to be, "Summon the soul back to its place, stray not from the path," but she said, "Summon the soul into the body, blurring you and me!"
"Stop! You're chanting it wrong!" I rushed over, trying to stop her.
Zane suddenly blocked me. "Shirley, don't cause trouble! Susan's trying to save Thomas!"
"I'm not causing trouble. Her spell is wrong—it'll hurt Thomas!" I said anxiously.
Mrs. Hough shoved me. "You're just jealous that Susan's more talented than you! Get lost!"
I stumbled back from the shove, watching Susan keep reciting the wrong spell as the patterns on the Peachwood Sword began to blacken.
But no one was willing to believe me.
Soon, Susan finished the spell and placed the willow branch on Thomas's forehead.
A few seconds later, Thomas suddenly coughed and slowly opened his eyes.
"Thomas! You're awake!" Mrs. Hough rushed forward, tears of joy streaming down her face.
The Hough family gathered around Thomas, all praising Susan: "Susan, you're incredible!"
"It's thanks to you that Thomas was able to wake up!"
Susan stood in the middle, soaking up the praise, her gaze full of pride as she looked at me.
I watched it all in silence and quietly turned away.
Forget it, then I'll just sit back and watch the show.
When I returned to the Frank family, the courtyard was a complete mess.
My clothes, books, and even the jewelry box my mother left behind were all thrown on the ground, some trampled and misshapen.
An aunt, Noora stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips; when she saw me, a cruel smile spread across her face.
"Shirley, why are you still coming back? There's no place for you in the Frank family anymore."
I picked up the jewelry box from the ground; a part of its floral pattern was scratched off, and my heart ached.
"This is my home. Why can't I come back?"
"Your home?" Noora sneered, "The head of the Frank family is Susan Frank now! She can save Thomas—can you? What else besides hoarding the Token do you even know?"
At that moment, several Clan Elders stepped forward. Leading them was my eldest uncle, Isaac. He said, "Shirley, we've already decided to remove you as family head and let Susan take over. Your talent isn't enough; holding onto the position is just a waste."
"Not enough talent?" I stared at them and said, "On what grounds do you say that? Just because Susan saved Thomas?"
"What else?" Noora shot back, "Susan's more capable than you. From now on, the Frank family will rely on her to form alliances with the Hough family. You're only a burden to us!"
I looked at those sycophants, feeling a chill run through me.
In my past life, they were exactly like this—pushing me into Thomas Hough's arms for their own benefit.
"I'm not leaving." I said.
"You don't get to decide!" Noora waved her hand, and several family servants rushed forward, trying to drag me out.
Just then, Thomas Hough and Susan Frank walked in.
Susan linked her arm with Thomas's, smiling sweetly. "Shirley, just stop being stubborn. The Frank family doesn't need you anymore."
Thomas looked at me, his eyes cold as ice. "Shirley, Susan saved me, and yet you're causing trouble. We need to settle this score."
He stepped forward, grabbed my arm, and twisted it hard.
"Ah!" I cried out in pain.
"Kneel down and apologize to Susan!" Thomas growled.
"I won't kneel!" I struggled.
"Whether you want to or not, you will kneel!" Thomas forced my shoulders down, pressing me to my knees.
Then, he grabbed Susan's hand and slapped it across my face.
A crisp, sharp "smack" echoed clearly.
My cheek instantly burned with pain, tears nearly spilling down.
"That slap was for Susan." Thomas's voice was icy and emotionless. "Stay away from Susan and me from now on, or I won't hold back."
I raised my head, watching Thomas and Susan so close and intimate, the hatred inside me growing like creeping vines.
Thomas Hough, Susan Frank, just wait and see.
The humiliation I suffered today—I will repay it a hundredfold.
The room was small, only about ten square meters, with mold stains on the walls and leaks whenever it rained.
I found a job selling vegetables at the market, waking up before dawn every day to push a small cart and restock.
Before long, news spread that Susan and Thomas were getting married.
Susan loudly prepared for the wedding and even deliberately came to the vegetable market to flaunt it in front of me.
"Shirley, look, this is the diamond ring Thomas bought me. Pretty, right?" She held out her hand, the diamond ring on her ring finger flashing with a dazzling light.
"And the dowry your parents left behind? I've already moved it to the Hough family. Those things are unworthy of you."
I clenched my fists, holding back the urge to act. "I wish you a happy wedding."
Susan, thinking I was scared, gave a smug smile and turned to leave.
On the wedding day, the Hough family was decked out in lights and decorations, with guests filling every corner.
I stood outside the Hough family home, watching the lively scene inside, a cold smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
I knew there was going to be quite a show today.
Sure enough, not long after, a sharp scream cut through the air from inside.
"Ah! Thomas, what are you doing!" Susan's voice cried out.
I pushed the door open and walked in, seeing Thomas pinning Susan down, tearing at her wedding dress wildly, growling like a wild beast.
"Thomas! Wake up! It's me, Susan!" she shouted tearfully.
But Thomas seemed deaf to her pleas, sinking his teeth hard into Susan's arm.
"She's bleeding! Pull him off, quick!" Zane yelled.
Several family servants rushed forward and struggled fiercely to pull Thomas away.
Thomas was pinned to the ground, still struggling relentlessly, his eyes bloodshot, like a man gone mad.
The guests, terrified, all took a step back, and the wedding scene erupted into chaos.
Susan sat on the floor, blood dripping from the wounds on her arms, her wedding dress torn to shreds, her face full of fear and sorrow.
I stood outside the crowd, watching it all unfold, feeling not a trace of sympathy.
This is exactly what happens when Susan secretly learns the forbidden Soul Summoning.
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