Chapter 6: The Secret Rite of the Wraith's Womb

"I don't need you to meddle!"

A piercing and shrill voice spread in all directions.

Li Lin frowned; he could feel that more 'resentful qi' seemed to be gathering from afar.

"Sister Xiu Niang, if you don't return now, it will be hard to leave."

"I don't want to go back!"

Sister Xiu Niang suddenly roared at Li Lin with an even louder voice.

"I don't want to return to that place, which is both poor and broken." She glared at Li Lin with angry eyes while backing away: "My real name is not Sister Xiu Niang; I am the young lady of the Zhou family. My name is Zhou Xiuqing. I will no longer be called Sister Xiu Niang."

Li Lin narrowed his eyes slightly.

The other party's current attitude made it clear they had no intention of cooperating.

Moreover, as the voices of the two spread, more and more 'apparitions' were gathering toward this place.

Under normal circumstances, such small and weak wild apparitions possessed little deterrent power.

But the problem was... there were many, very many.

And they were invisible; because they were too weak, they could not be seen.

Most Spirit Hunters could not see them either; only those Spirit Hunters with special abilities could see them, such as those with the Divine Eye.

Additionally, Li Lin had heard that even those with the Divine Eye did not like to activate such supernatural powers in the wild at night; he had heard too many stories, and it was very disgusting to look at.

Since the other party would not cooperate, then only a harsher approach would work.

Since he had come out, he intended to bring the person back.

He flipped off the donkey and said, "Returning to Feirong County is useless for you; besides you, no one remains in the Zhou family."

"No, I still have Qin Lang." Sister Xiu Niang cried and said, "He promised to give me a sedan chair carried by eight bearers and to give me the status of a principal wife."

"Do you believe the words of an apparition?"

"He is not an apparition!"

Li Lin raised his hand and slapped the other party across the face.

He knocked the woman completely dazed.

"At this point, you are still being stubborn?" Li Lin looked at her coldly: "Do you know that to beg me to come save you, three men from the Wu family all knelt on the ground?"

Sister Xiu Niang was stunned.

"Now you have ten breaths to consider." Li Lin looked at her: "If you do not leave with me, I cannot protect you either."

On Sister Xiu Niang's dark-skinned face, there was some hesitation; she subconsciously moved farther away, fearing Li Lin would slap her face again.

It seemed she thought of the family affection the Wu family had shown her over the past decade or so, and her eyes became normal and clear again.

But at this very moment, outside the red light emitted by the Bai Yu Token, a vague shadow shouted, "Sister Xiu Niang, where are you, where are you? I have already had an eight-bearer sedan chair prepared; we are just waiting for the bride."

"Qin Lang!"

Hearing this voice, Sister Xiu Niang turned and rushed outward.

Li Lin thought "this is bad," took two steps forward, and reached out to grab the other party.

Unfortunately, Sister Xiu Niang had backed away a few steps earlier, creating distance; she was already at the edge of the red light's range, and as she ran outward, she broke free from the red light's coverage.

Li Lin took two steps and stopped.

He watched as Sister Xiu Niang fell back into the apparition's illusion.

She began to act madly and wildly, abandoning all restraint.

At this time, many, many apparitions had gathered around, densely packed at the outer edge of the red light, watching him; although Li Lin could not see them, he could sense them.

Moreover, the noisy apparition murmurs that had previously 'quieted' down were gradually becoming loud again.

The red light of the Bai Yu Token also began to flicker unsteadily.

If he dragged it out any longer, not only would he be unable to save the person, but he himself would perish here.

After all, he was only a novice Spirit Hunter.

Immediately, he cast a deep glance at Sister Xiu Niang not far away, took a black thin blanket from the donkey's back, wrapped it around himself, extinguished the red light on the Bai Yu Token, and the surrounding murmurs suddenly grew loud.

Then Li Lin simply rolled, flipping outside the country road; here was a patch of grass, and there was also a small tree propping up Li Lin's back.

He squatted and sat right there.

【Stealth +1】

【Stealth +1】

【Stealth +1】

【Stealth +1】

As a Spirit Hunter, and one officially recognized by the government, he could enjoy many benefits.

For example, fifty jin of blood rice per month.

For example, this black thin blanket just now was called the Apparition-Hiding Robe.

This thing was not an ordinary item; Li Lin did not know the specific production principles and materials, as they were also a secret; its effect was that when a Spirit Hunter wore it at night, it could greatly reduce the probability of being discovered by apparitions.

Of course... for those apparitions with particularly strong spiritual nature, it was almost useless.

However, combined with the 'Stealth Technique' that Li Lin had been practicing, the two added together produced a very obvious effect.

When Li Lin rolled out of the country road, quite a few apparitions could still 'see' him.

But when he squatted, not a single apparition could discover him.

These apparitions searched nearby for a while; unable to find Li Lin, the evil things with little spiritual nature gathered around Sister Xiu Niang.

At this time, Sister Xiu Niang had changed appearance; her belly had swelled up as if inflated, and her face was filled with motherly love as she constantly stroked her belly.

Soon, she began to scream and cry out in pain... not long after, a transparent apparition baby was born.

Sister Xiu Niang's belly withered and shrank.

Before Sister Xiu Niang could catch her breath, her belly swelled again, and amidst screams, she gave birth to another ghost child.

The two ghost children were clearly stronger than the other ghosts, for Li Lin could see their forms.

The two ghost children floated hand in hand above Sister Xiu Niang, their mouths stretched so wide they could swallow a melon!

Then... Sister Xiu Niang's belly swelled again.

By now, Sister Xiu Niang's hair had turned quite white, and her skin had lost its luster, becoming wrinkled.

Sister Xiu Niang screamed again... at this moment, she had already awakened from the illusion.

Looking at the two ghost children floating in the air, Sister Xiu Niang cried out, "Someone save me, whoever will save me, ah... I want to go home... home!"

Then she screamed in agony, because her belly swelled again.

At the same time, her appearance began to age.

The Secret Rite of the Wraith Fetus.

Li Lin sighed softly in his heart and slowly closed his eyes.

He heard nothing of external affairs.

Meanwhile, the notification 【Stealth +1】 kept spamming the screen frantically.

After a long time, dawn broke.

When the sunlight struck Li Lin's face, he opened his eyes.

The gowned apparitions had long vanished, and Li Lin felt that sensation in his feet had almost completely disappeared.

He propped himself against a small tree nearby and struggled to stand; after standing in place for over ten breaths, he finally felt numbness return to his feet.

After waiting quite a while longer, Li Lin was able to gently move his legs forward.

Reaching the country road, Sister Xiu Niang was already dead; not even flesh and blood remained, only a stark skeleton and a set of tattered clothes left in place.

"Why bother? Knowing the night is dangerous, why did you still run out?"

Li Lin sighed, picked up a wooden stick nearby, and pushed Sister Xiu Niang's precious bones into her clothes, then bundled the clothes into a package, scooping up those bones.

Shortly after, Li Lin found the small donkey grazing not far away.

Ghostly objects are only interested in humans.

Li Lin rode the small donkey back to the village.

Wu Shu and Wu Shen, along with many villagers, were already waiting anxiously at the village entrance; seeing that only Li Lin had returned, Wu Shen immediately fainted.

The scene was particularly quiet, with only the sound of the nearby stream flowing.

Li Lin handed the package to Wu Shu: "It was still too late; she is inside."

Wu Shu recognized his daughter's clothes; he took the package with trembling hands: "Thank you, Inspector Li..."

He closed his eyes, unable to finish the rest of his words.

Wu Shu did not cry, but several aunts nearby began to weep.

They were all people from the village, seeing each other daily; in just one night, Sister Xiu Niang, a living person, had become a small package.

Many could not bear it.

Li Lin did not go directly home; instead, he went to the altar in the center of the village.

"Lady Tree Immortal, why did Sister Xiu Niang run outside?" Li Lin's expression was somewhat puzzled: "Don't tell me... you know nothing!"

The Gowned Apparition smiled; she bent down, embraced Li Lin's left hand, and her forked snake tongue hissed.

(End of Chapter)