Chapter 6: Secret Rite of Wraith Womb Gestation

“I don’t need you meddling in my affairs!”

The piercing, shrill voice spread in all directions.

Li Lin frowned.

He could sense that more “resentment” seemed to be gathering from the distance.

“Xiuniang, if you don’t come back now, it will become very difficult to leave.”

“I don’t want to go back!”

Xiuniang suddenly roared at Li Lin with an even louder voice.

“I don’t want to return to that poor, broken place.”

As she glared at Li Lin angrily, she backed away.

“My real name isn’t Xiuniang. I’m the young lady of the Zhou family. My name is Zhou Xiuqing. I don’t want to be called Xiuniang anymore.”

Li Lin narrowed his eyes.

With her current attitude, it was obvious she had no intention of cooperating.

Moreover, as their voices spread, more and more gui were gathering toward this location.

Under normal circumstances, these tiny and weak wild gui possessed very little threat.

The problem was that there were many of them.

An enormous number.

And they could not be seen.

Because they were too weak, they became invisible instead.

Most Spirit Hunters could not see them either.

Only Spirit Hunters with special abilities could see them, such as those possessing the Heavenly Eye ability.

Furthermore, Li Lin had heard that even people with the Heavenly Eye ability disliked activating it in the wilderness at night.

There were simply too many things to see.

And the sight was reportedly revolting.

Since she refused to cooperate, he would have to be more forceful.

Since he had come out here, he intended to bring her back.

Swinging himself off the donkey, he said, “Going back to Feirong County is useless. Other than you, no one from the Zhou family remains.”

“No, I still have Young Master Qin.”

Crying and shouting, Xiuniang said, “He promised me an eight-bearer bridal sedan. He promised me the status of a principal wife.”

“And you believe the words of a gui?”

“He’s not a gui!”

Li Lin raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

The woman was struck completely dumbfounded.

“And you’re still being stubborn at a time like this?”

Li Lin looked at her coldly.

“Do you know that three men from the Wu family knelt on the ground to beg me to save you?”

Xiuniang froze.

“You have ten breaths to think about it now.”

Li Lin stared at her.

“If you still won’t come with me, I won’t be able to protect you either.”

A trace of hesitation appeared on Xiuniang’s dark complexion.

Subconsciously, she moved farther away.

She was afraid Li Lin would slap her again.

Perhaps recalling the familial affection the Wu family had shown her over the past decade and more, her eyes gradually regained their clarity and normalcy.

But at that very moment, from beyond the reach of the red glow emitted by the white jade token, a vague shadow called out:

“Xiuniang, where are you? Where are you? I’ve already prepared the eight-bearer bridal sedan. I’m only waiting for the bride.”

“Young Master Qin!”

Upon hearing the voice, Xiuniang immediately turned and ran outward.

Li Lin inwardly cursed his luck.

He rushed forward two steps and reached out to grab her.

Unfortunately, Xiuniang had already retreated several paces earlier.

That distance made all the difference.

She had been standing at the edge of the red glow.

The moment she ran outward, she escaped its protection.

Li Lin rushed forward two steps and then stopped.

He watched as Xiuniang once again fell into the illusion created by the gui.

She began acting crazed and unrestrained.

At this point, countless gui had already gathered around them.

Packed densely beyond the boundary of the red glow, they watched him.

Although Li Lin could not see them, he could sense their presence.

Moreover, the noisy mutterings of the gui that had quieted earlier were gradually growing louder again.

Even the red glow of the white jade token began flickering unsteadily.

If this continued any longer, not only would he fail to save her, he himself might die here.

After all, he was only a novice Spirit Hunter.

Immediately, he cast a deep glance toward Xiuniang in the distance.

Then he removed a thin black blanket from the donkey’s back and wrapped it around himself.

The red glow of the white jade token went out.

At once, the surrounding mutterings surged in volume.

Then Li Lin rolled across the ground and off the country road.

There was a patch of grass there.

A small tree pressed against his back.

He squatted there and remained motionless.

[Stealth +1]

[Stealth +1]

[Stealth +1]

[Stealth +1]

As a Spirit Hunter officially recognized by the government, he enjoyed quite a few benefits.

For example, fifty jin of blood rice every month. Approximately 25 kg (~55 lb).

For example, the black blanket he had just used, known as a Gui-Hiding Cloak.

This item was far from ordinary.

Li Lin did not know its exact materials or manufacturing process.

Those were confidential matters.

Its function was to greatly reduce the likelihood of a Spirit Hunter being detected by gui at night.

Of course, against gui with exceptionally strong spirituality, it was nearly useless.

However, when combined with the “stealth technique” Li Lin had been practicing all this time, the effect became extremely obvious.

When Li Lin rolled off the country road, quite a few gui could still “see” him.

But once he settled into a crouching position, not a single gui could detect him anymore.

The gui searched nearby for a while.

Unable to find Li Lin, these evil creatures with little intelligence gradually gathered around Xiuniang instead.

By this point, Xiuniang had already changed.

Her belly swelled as though being inflated.

Her face overflowed with maternal affection as she continuously stroked her stomach.

Soon, she began screaming and crying out in pain.

Not long afterward, a translucent ghost infant was born.

Xiuniang’s stomach immediately deflated.

Before she could catch her breath more than a few times, her belly swelled again.

Amid agonized screams, she gave birth to another ghost infant.

These two ghost infants were obviously stronger than the other gui.

Li Lin could actually see their appearance.

The two ghost infants floated above Xiuniang while holding hands.

Their mouths stretched impossibly wide.

Each could fit an entire melon inside.

Then...

Xiuniang’s belly began swelling once more.

By now, much of Xiuniang’s hair had turned white.

Her skin had lost its luster and become wrinkled.

Xiuniang screamed again.

At this point, she had already awakened from the illusion.

Looking at the two ghost infants floating in the air, Xiuniang cried out:

“Someone save me! Someone save me! Ah... I want to go home... home!”

Then she screamed again.

Her stomach had swollen once more.

At the same time, her appearance began rapidly aging.

Secret Rite of Wraith Womb Gestation.

Li Lin sighed inwardly.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

Ignoring everything happening outside.

Meanwhile, the notification [Stealth +1] continued frantically flooding his vision.

A very long time passed.

Then dawn arrived.

When sunlight shone onto Li Lin’s face, he opened his eyes.

The gui had long since vanished.

Li Lin discovered that his legs had almost completely lost sensation.

Using the small tree beside him for support, he struggled to stand.

Only after standing in place for more than ten breaths did he finally begin feeling numbness in his legs.

After waiting quite a while longer, he was finally able to slowly move his legs and walk forward.

Upon returning to the country road, Xiuniang was already dead.

Not even flesh remained.

Only a stark white skeleton and a set of tattered clothes were left behind.

“Why go this far?”

Li Lin sighed.

“You knew the night was dangerous. Why did you still run out here?”

He picked up a stick nearby and used it to push Xiuniang’s bones into her clothing.

Then he bundled up the clothes into a makeshift sack, wrapping all the bones inside.

A short distance away, he also found the small donkey grazing on grass.

Gui were only interested in people.

Li Lin mounted the donkey and returned to the village.

Uncle Wu, Aunt Wu, and many villagers were anxiously waiting at the village entrance.

When they saw that only Li Lin had returned, Aunt Wu immediately fainted.

The scene became exceptionally quiet.

Only the sound of the nearby river flowing could be heard.

Li Lin handed the bundle to Uncle Wu.

“I was still too late. She’s inside.”

Uncle Wu recognized his daughter’s clothing.

Trembling, he accepted the bundle.

“Thank you, Patrol...”

His eyes closed.

The remaining words would not come out.

Uncle Wu did not cry.

However, several of the village aunties beside him began weeping.

They all lived in the same village.

They saw one another every day.

Yet after only a single night, a living person like Xiuniang had become nothing more than a small bundle.

Many people simply could not bear it.

Li Lin did not return home immediately.

Instead, he went to the altar in the center of the village.

“Tree Immortal Lady, why did Xiuniang run outside?”

Confusion filled Li Lin’s face.

“Don’t tell me... you knew nothing about it.”

The palace-robed gui smiled.

She bent down and wrapped herself around Li Lin’s left arm.

Her forked serpent tongue flicked out with a soft Hiss, hiss.