Chapter 2533: The Experiment That Has Been Going On for Ten Years

Physician Yu actually showed hesitation even in such a dazed state.

Ling Jinbao pressed him repeatedly, and only then did he reveal the secret buried deep in his heart:

"I have treated hundreds of cases of peach blossom marks, and I think..."

His voice grew softer and softer, even pausing for a moment, clearly reluctant to say it:

"Some peach blossom mark symptoms and pulse patterns, especially when the red rash has been visible for several days, resemble those of a woman's miscarriage."

Ling Jinbao was slightly startled: "'Some,' what does that mean? Aren't the others different?"

"No. The others are just ordinary rashes."

"Have you mentioned this inference to others?"

"No. I know two physicians had mentioned similar diagnoses before; later, one accidentally broke his neck while going out on a rainy day, and the other moved his whole family away from Baishu City. I dared not tell anyone else—Baishu City is so big, it doesn't lack my mouth."

He Lingchuan's mind stirred, and he added another question:

"For patients who have suffered from peach blossom marks several times, is their body getting worse?"

"It varies from person to person. But generally speaking, women who have suffered from peach blossom marks five or six times or more basically all have some deficiency of qi and blood."

After finishing his words, Ling Jinbao rhythmically patted Physician Yu's ear five times with light palms, and whispered softly:

"Alright, you can go to sleep now."

Physician Yu fell backward, was placed back on the bed by Ling Jinbao, and continued to sleep.

When he wakes up tomorrow morning, he will only think he had a dream.

Ling Jinbao continued: "I have a new address here, and I will also stake out one or two people, hoping to increase the chance of encountering a monster."

Zhu Xiuer said without hesitation: "Also give me a few."

Dong Rui was about to speak when the bat demon puppet suddenly sent him a signal:

Something is approaching!

His spirits lifted, he rubbed his hands:

"I've got work to do!"

Not long after, a wisp of green smoke seeped in through the window crack and quickly spread.

The smell was fragrant and sweet; as a master alchemist, Dong Rui knew at once it was a powerful bewildering smoke.

Of course, he was unafraid.

Meanwhile, Gu Niangzi and her husband downstairs soon fell into a deeper sleep, not even snoring.

Afterwards, the small window of the attic was gently pushed open, and a shadow slid in smoothly, making no sound even when stepping on the rotten planks.

By the moonlight outside the window, Dong Rui saw the full appearance of this thing.

When walking on all fours, it resembled a sheep, even bearing short sheep horns, its body covered in thick fur, but when standing up, its hips and legs changed, making its shape similar to that of a human. Its face also resembled a human's, with dark gray skin, a prominent forehead, a large nose taking up half the face, slightly drooping eyelids, and a pair of thin, long hands like tree branches outside the window.

Huh, it's actually this thing?

Dong Rui was a little surprised; the shadow before him was a rare monster, the xaoyao. Usually walking like a sheep, it roams the wilderness and village outskirts; passersby seeing its shadow think it's just another traveler, go up to ask for directions, and then get eaten by it.

But the xaoyao is not small in size, unlike the little dwarf monsters mentioned by Er Pang.

It seems the monsters active at night are far more than just one.

After this xaoyao stood still, it looked left and right, up and down a few times, confirmed there were no other surprises, and then walked straight to the bedside.

Its manner of observing the surroundings was perfunctory, with a numbness from long-term work.

Dong Rui had specially chosen his hiding angle beforehand, so he would not be blocked by the xaoyao's line of sight. He saw this monster lift Gu Niangzi's clothing, exposing her belly, press a few times around it to check her reaction, then take a needle as thick as a tail finger and stab it into her lower abdomen.

This needle is hollow; after stabbing it in, the xaoyao took another soft tube and inserted it into the needle.

Er Pang also witnessed this scene firsthand, but Dong Rui's eyesight far surpassed his, and he immediately saw clearly: this is not some soft tube, but clearly a thin, long hookworm, which can still twist and turn!

The hookworm seemed to be searching for something inside Gu Niangzi's lower abdomen.

After just a few dozen breaths, the xaoyao pulled the soft tube and needle back out, casually smeared some medicine on Gu Niangzi's belly.

The medicine took effect astonishingly fast—within about twenty breaths, the wound had already closed and healed at a visible speed. The xaoyao then took a cloth to wipe away the bloodstains, covered her clothing back up. This way, when Gu Niangzi gets up tomorrow morning, her abdominal wound will have fully recovered.

The xaoyao performed this task with very skilled movements, clearly having done it many times before.

After finishing, it returned the same way, and even casually closed the window.

Dong Rui did not intervene, because He Lingchuan wanted to cast a long line to fish.

The xaoyao had just walked to the bedside, not noticing it had stepped on some round, soft things underfoot—those were the eggs of the snail toad.

The snail toad can track its path based on these mucus secretions.

Dong Rui also hurriedly left the cloth shop, facing the fresh evening wind and took a deep breath:

"Indeed, they specifically target women with peach blossom dye on their faces."

As for the substance sucked out by the xaoyao using the hookworm, "I roughly know what they want."

"So for them, 'peach blossom mark' is equivalent to a mark, letting them know whom to target!"

Ling Jinbao's side was not going well—he had visited three households in a row, finding no signs of monster intrusion.

However, their net-casting strategy succeeded, because Zhu Xiuer was lucky, checked four households, and finally found a monster.

This creature is small in size, similar to what Er Pang described, also a humanoid little demon, but its height only reaches up to a person's waist, named Taoshu.

"Capture it!" He Lingchuan said decisively, "We've already tracked the xaoyao enough; you take back whatever the Taoshu stole! If you encounter other little demons, just ignore them."

"Alright." Zhu Xiuer has a special set of skills for catching demons.

Dong Rui retorted: "Has the lord of Baishu City confessed yet?"

"The spiritual energy of Song State is very weak, unable to withstand my nightmares." He Lingchuan said, "The former city lord died of illness three years ago; the new city lord is a close confidant of the Song State ruler, appointed by him, and took over Baishu City."

This shows that the Song State ruler knows there are many undisclosed secrets here, which is why he sent his confidant to manage Baishu City.

"Actually, the expansion of Baishu City began preparations thirteen years ago. Calculating the time, it was right after the Celestial Palace defeated the Hidden God King."

He Lingchuan also connected these facts: "The Celestial Palace issued an order to Song State, demanding it establish a new city south of the Yunxia Bay, with citizens' age not exceeding thirty-four, and the ratio of adult men to women should be roughly equal. Everyone should gather and live together as much as possible, for easier city management."

Ling Jinbao suddenly understood: "That's why there are so few towns and villages outside the city."

"The farmlands are not in the hands of the farmers, but are managed by Baishou City through specialized manors for large-scale cultivation, so the farmers do not need to be scattered everywhere and can live in the city."

"Song State must guarantee the clothing, food, housing, transportation, and physical health of its citizens." He Lingchuan sighed somewhat, "Looking at the financial records of Baishou City's government, its income is fundamentally insufficient, losing huge amounts year after year, and this deficit has lasted for ten years."

(End of Chapter)