Chapter 2531: Baseless Rumors

"His parents were sleeping in the next room, and the wooden planks separating the two rooms had a slightly wide gap. He peered through the crack for a moment and was instantly stunned!"

"Standing before his parents' bed was a dwarf about half a person's height, who at first glance looked like a child, but had a very strange and fierce face, with two extra eyes on his forehead. This dwarf lifted the clothing of Er Pang's mother, exposing her belly. When Er Pang saw it, it seemed to be holding a thin, long tube, which it was inserting into his mother's belly."

"But his parents were already dead to the world, unmoving. Er Pang also found himself unable to move; he wanted to wake his parents, but his voice was stuck in his throat and he could only stare helplessly." Xiao Long narrated vividly, "After about a quarter of an hour or so, the dwarf withdrew the long tube, smoothed Er Pang's mother's clothes and blanket, jumped off the bed, and slipped away."

During this time, Er Pang grew increasingly drowsy, and seeing this, he fell asleep again. The next morning, he woke up having wet the bed, and was severely beaten by his father. He told his parents what he had seen, and even lifted his mother's clothing to check, only to find her belly intact and unharmed, with no trace of any hole. His parents thought he was making up an excuse for wetting the bed, and beat him again.

Dong Rui listened, his heart stirred, but he deliberately said: "Maybe he was just dreaming?"

"He initially thought so too, until he saw the mud on the windowsill." Xiao Long said, "That dwarf escaped through the window, and the mud on the sill was from his shoe soles. They grow rapeseed in their courtyard, and the mud on the windowsill also contained rapeseed seeds. But no matter how he explained it, his parents didn't believe him, saying it was just mud brought in by sparrows."

"Er Pang firmly believed what he had seen, and told everyone he met. Within a few days, the entire lane's neighbors had heard the rumor: Er Pang's mother had her belly exposed in the middle of the night! His parents were furious and beat him again and again, forbidding him from spreading such rumors outside."

"And then?"

"A few days later, he was playing by the river with a few friends and accidentally slipped." Xiao Long said gloomily, "When they fished him out, he had swollen to twice his normal size, and everyone said he should change his name to 'Si Pang'; his parents were nearly driven to tears."

"How do you know he certainly wasn't dreaming or lying?"

"Er Pang is very honest and has never lied. Moreover, I have also seen the crack in the board before his bed, and it really does allow a view of his parents' figures." Xiao Long pursed his lips, "In fact, there have long been rumors of monsters roaming the city, but everyone has only heard them—no one claims to have seen one with their own eyes. I wondered whether those who did see them ended up like Xiao Pang—gone."

"Any other rumors?"

"It is said that two or three years ago, a woman named Lu Xiaogu lived in Hudie Lane in the eastern part of the city. She felt unwell for a few days, took some medicine, and then one night suddenly woke up to find a monster with sharp teeth and fangs lying on her body, about to cut her belly with a knife! She screamed loudly, and neighbors from next door rushed over, whereupon the monster fled."

Dong Rui's eyes flickered slightly: "Where did it run to?"

"No one knows; it's said it ran to the back of the house and then vanished."

"Did Lu Xiaogu's neighbors see the monster?"

"They saw a blurry shadow, but when they rushed to the back of the house, they saw nothing—uncertain whether it was just a tree shadow or the real monster." Xiao Long said seriously, "Lu Xiaogu also insisted firmly that she had not dreamed and was not lying; a monster truly intended to harm her."

Ling Jinbao pondered: "Did she also get the Peach Blossom Mark?"

"I don't know about that." Xiao Long added, "In just a few days, Lu Xiaogu moved away; neighbors said she was frightened out of her wits and directly left Baishan City."

"The two witnesses who saw the monster—one died, one left." Dong Rui rubbed his chin, "I just love these baseless rumors; best if we can verify them."

He Lingchuan's voice suddenly came through the eyeball spider:

"We can verify."

Ling Jinbao also said: "Shall we go find a patient with the Peach Blossom Mark?"

Dong Rui shook his head: "In the middle of the night like this, where would we go to look?"

We've only been in the city for less than five shichen, and we're short on supplies!

"The night isn't over yet; listening to this kid's description, the monster likes to come out and commit its crimes in the dead of night." Ling Jinbao lightly clapped his hands, "Isn't there a ready-made candidate? Gu Niangzi of the Su family cloth shop!"

"Gu……oh!" Dong Rui also recalled, as they passed the market in the evening, there was a woman in the meat-buying queue who had just newly acquired the Peach Blossom Mark, planning to go pick up medicine first thing in the morning.

If Xiao Long's words are true, or if there is a connection between the Peach Blossom Mark and the monster, then Gu Niangzi might very well welcome the monster's visit tonight.

"Baishan City is too close to Yanxia Bay; all the abnormalities occurring here are likely inseparable from the Heavenly Demon's methods." He Lingchuan's voice continued to echo in both their ears, "I am interrogating the Lord of Baishan City; Dong Rui, go to the Su family cloth shop; Ling Jinbao, casually find a pharmacy and retrieve the prescription for the Peach Blossom Mark."

The two responded in affirmation; Dong Rui slapped his backpack, and the ghost ape's apparition appeared before Xiao Long's astonished gaze.

"Watch him; don't let him shout, don't let him run."

The ghost ape nodded repeatedly, understanding. It's really nice to come out and get some fresh air.

Then, Dong Rui and Ling Jinbao silently slipped out of the inn and went their separate ways.

As a normal human city, Baishan City's guards and surveillance could not possibly be as strict as those under Guan Biao's control in Yujing City, making it impossible to conduct round-the-clock, blind-spot-free checks on every person. With their skills, it would not be easy for ordinary people to detect them.

Soon, Dong Rui found the Su family cloth shop at the street corner opposite the market.

The shops here are no different from elsewhere—front for business, back for residence, one shop serving dual purposes, especially husband-and-wife shops, eight out of ten being like this.

Dong Rui gripped the sea horn, vaulted over the wall into the Su family cloth shop, then sneaked into the small attic at the rear, where Gu Niangzi and her husband resided.

The surroundings were quiet, which made the couple's snoring sound especially loud. Their sleeping posture was also unrestrained, lying flat with arms and legs spread wide.

Gu Niangzi's face was covered in patches of red rash, which seemed even worse than in the evening.

Dong Rui muttered: "So, 'face like peach blossoms' isn't exactly pretty after all."

He boldly stepped forward, extending his finger to rest on Gu Niangzi's wrist to take her pulse.

Gu Niangzi smacked her lips once, but did not wake.

"Her pulse is very steady. Gu Niangzi is as strong as an ox." Dong Rui confirmed, "This full face of red marks very much resembles an invasion of wind-heat, but I just can't pin it down through pulse diagnosis."

The room is too small; aside from a bed and a cabinet, the remaining space is filled with miscellaneous items. He had no choice but to climb onto the beams and sit there, while quietly asking:

"Hey, how do I know whether the monster has already come?"

The eyeball spider conveyed He Lingchuan's words: "On the night the monster arrived, although Er Pang had awakened, he could neither turn over nor speak, indicating the monster had beforehand employed some means to plunge the target into a deep slumber, thus facilitating its unrestricted actions. However, since Er Pang's bedroom was only one wall away from his parents', through the gap in the wooden planks, he too was affected."

(End of Chapter)