Chapter 72: Differential Treatment

This woman had a huge belly and was screaming miserably while rolling around on the ground.

Aside from the two children, who ran over crying while hugging and comforting their mother, everyone else stayed far away and did not dare look too closely.

Including the husband who had been crying so miserably just moments ago.

The five Spirit Hunters surrounded the woman, their expressions grave.

“The Secret Rite of Wraith Womb Gestation!”

Disbelief filled Su Huafang’s eyes.

“Isn’t this an evil art that only Spirit Hunters can master? Was she dragged away by a person, or seized by a gui?”

“A gui.”

Bai Liwei said in a low voice,

“Not a baby gui. That gui barely had a visible form. It looked like a man.”

Su Huafang’s eyes widened.

“But even so, it shouldn’t produce a baby gui. Unless she had already been afflicted by the evil art beforehand.”

A flash of inspiration crossed Li Lin’s mind.

He said,

“Get someone over here to search her body. I suspect she’s carrying something.”

Su Huafang asked the people nearby,

“Whose wife is this woman? Come here.”

Very soon, the man who had been wailing earlier came over.

He glanced at his screaming wife on the ground, then immediately looked away in terror.

“Search her body and see if she has anything unusual on her.”

The man looked pleadingly at Su Huafang.

At this point, he did not even dare look directly at his wife.

Her suddenly enlarged belly was telling him one thing.

His wife had already been harmed by a gui.

If he touched her recklessly, would something happen to him as well?

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

Su Huafang spoke gently.

The man still did not move.

At that moment, He Yumao walked over from the side and kicked the man without hesitation.

“You still won’t move? If you don’t start right now, I’ll throw you outside as food for the gui. Think you’re someone important?”

The man immediately scrambled over to his wife and began searching her body.

It had to be said that these men of the jianghu were much better at dealing with ordinary commoners.

Not long afterward, the man found a yellowish-brown, wrinkled object on the woman.

It looked very much like a piece of skin.

After pulling it out, the man looked at it and immediately screamed before throwing it aside.

At the same time, the screaming woman’s belly rapidly shrank.

A baby gui crawled out from beneath her.

But the instant it appeared, Bai Liwei reached out and dispersed it with a single grab.

Baby gui could not be seen.

However, Spirit Hunters could sense them.

A mass of yin energy floating right in front of them was as obvious to Spirit Hunters as ants on a bald man’s head.

The woman finally stopped screaming and began gasping for breath.

Her complexion became much worse.

Her skin had turned dark and yellowish, making her appear ten years older.

Su Huafang crouched down, took out two medicinal pills, and fed them to the woman.

Then the Spirit Hunters looked at the skin-like foreign object on the ground.

“It contains very faint yin energy. If we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, we’d never have noticed.”

Bai Liwei frowned.

Zhao Hao crouched down, used a small stick picked up from the ground to flip the thing over, then studied it for a while.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s a placenta.”

Li Lin spoke.

Everyone looked at him curiously.

“How do you know?”

Su Huafang asked.

Li Lin then recounted the matter involving Xiuniang.

After listening, everyone looked toward the woman nearby.

Thanks to Su Huafang’s medicinal pills, she no longer looked as miserable as before, though she was still panting.

Su Huafang asked,

“Where did you get this thing?”

“In Jin City... a Daoist gave it to me.”

The woman spoke softly.

“He said that if I boiled it in water and drank it, I wouldn’t grow old...”

“If it were truly that precious, would someone just give it to you?”

Zhao Hao sneered.

“Tell the truth. Why did that Daoist give it to you?”

The woman remained silent.

The man became anxious and cursed,

“You stupid woman. The honored gentlemen are questioning you. Answer them. Do you want to die?”

The woman gritted her teeth, turned her head aside, and quietly said,

“I slept with him.”

The man froze.

Then he sat down to one side without another word.

The vitality in his spirit visibly vanished.

Zhao Hao chuckled.

“What a terrible bargain.”

Bai Bufan picked up the placenta with a stick, carried it to one side, covered it with leaves, and then ignited the leaves with a fire starter.

Very quickly, a nauseating stench of burnt flesh spread through the air.

Su Huafang looked puzzled.

“According to what Patrol Hunter Li told us, the Qin Family of Feirong County has already been destroyed. Could that Daoist not have come from the Qin Family?”

“According to Young Master Wang and the County Magistrate, the Qin Family of Feirong County secretly pledged allegiance to the Qin Family of Yue City long ago.”

Li Lin said helplessly,

“It’s hard to say whether Jin City might not also have some Zhao Family, Li Family, Zhang Family, or other clans secretly aligned with the Qin Family of Yue City. What I can’t understand is why they’re creating so many baby gui.”

Su Huafang said,

“The art of raising ghosts can make use of these baby gui. Moreover, newborn baby gui possess less resentment and hostility. They’re excellent raw material for cultivation.”

Li Lin looked at the woman on the ground, who was too ashamed to show her face.

“So she was also born in a yin year and yin month?”

Bai Bufan’s eyes lit up.

“Uncle, Cousin Sister was also born in a yin year and yin month.”

Bai Liwei’s face became frosty.

He snorted.

“The affairs of Jin City are none of our concern. But we cannot allow these people to do as they please in Yulin County. Once we return, we’ll report this matter to the County Magistrate. He certainly won’t ignore it.”

After that, the five Spirit Hunters spoke no more and began resting.

Although an accident had occurred, the fact that nobody died was already a good thing.

As for matters involving cuckoldry...

Such things were endlessly common in the world.

After one night passed, the group set out again.

They returned to Yulin County in the afternoon.

He Yumao repeatedly expressed his gratitude and bid farewell to Su Huafang and the others.

He knew very well that if the Spirit Hunters had not been present, last night’s matter would not have ended with merely giving birth to a baby gui.

Many people would certainly have died.

Li Lin did not hurry back to Shangtikou Village.

Instead, he returned to his new home, took a hot bath, and enjoyed a good meal.

Just as he was about to sleep and rest, Zhang A’fu came to report:

“Master, a constable has arrived outside. He says the County Magistrate requests your presence at the county yamen”

It was exactly as expected.

Li Lin simply had not anticipated that Huang Yan would take the matter of the Secret Rite of Wraith Womb Gestation so seriously.

Inside the main hall of the county yamen, all eight Spirit Hunters had arrived.

Huang Yan appeared energetic and in high spirits.

His complexion was clearly much better than before.

It seemed the Body-Strengthening Pills had worked quite well.

He looked warmly at Li Lin before saying,

“Regarding this evil art, I will issue public notices warning the people. Tomorrow, I shall also submit a report. Presumably the imperial court will respond soon. Furthermore, the Spirit Hunters of this county have suffered grievous casualties. Only nine remain, far too few to meet normal requirements. Therefore, six Spirit Hunters will be transferred here from Xiang City. I am informing everyone in advance so there will be no misunderstandings or conflicts when they arrive.”

Joy appeared on Su Huafang’s and the others’ faces.

The more local Spirit Hunters there were, the safer things would be.

That was common knowledge.

Huang Yan paused for a moment before continuing in a somewhat peculiar tone,

“I have heard that seven days from now, a great battle will take place at Dragon-Gazing Slope in the western outskirts of Jin City. If nothing unexpected occurs, Lord Taowu will likely fall there. Those interested may go collect some yin stones from the surrounding area for cultivation. If officials of the imperial court attempt to stop you, simply report my name.”

Su Huafang and the others were overjoyed.

“Many thanks for your care, County Magistrate!”

Huang Yan looked toward Li Lin.

“Patrol Hunter Li need not go!”

Su Huafang and the others looked at Li Lin with envy.

They could already sense that the County Magistrate seemed to be giving Li Lin special treatment.