Chapter Fifty-Seven: Borrowed Womb

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Both Yu Xiaoxue and Zhao Qian were crying, and even my stomach was wailing pitifully. I felt like I was about to collapse. After drinking a bowl of talisman water, I was now uncomfortable from the scraping sensation.

I nearly crawled to open the door and step outside. On the table were dishes and a pot of stewed black-boned chicken soup. Without hesitation, I grabbed an empty bowl and scooped some soup, eating hastily.

When Zhang Xiaofei kicked open the door and barged in, I was squatting on the sofa like a farmer who just returned from work, disheveled and greedily gnawing on a chicken leg.

People need food like iron needs steel; I have to eat my fill before doing anything else. I ignored them, deciding to eat well first.

“Zombie… zombie resurrection…” Yu Xiaoxue fainted outright.

“What zombie resurrection?” Zhao Qian jumped up and, upon seeing me squatting on the sofa, her vision blurred and she collapsed to the floor.

“I ask, why do you guys have to bully me, Zhang Xiaofei? Am I some weakling with less than five combat power? I’m just a normal person eating my meal—what zombie resurrection? Huh? Did your double act not go well? Planning some trickery?” Zhang Xiaofei, furious, flailed his fists, totally oblivious to how dead I looked! Didn’t this clearly fool him? The act seemed quite convincing.

“Listen, Zhang Xiaofei, I think your brainpower is seriously lacking. You’re trespassing—do you know that? If you want to talk, then sit down and finish eating first; if not, I’ll kick you out right now!” I was a bit angry. I had just come back from death, barely steady on my feet, couldn’t even get out the door, and was gnawing on a chicken leg to regain strength, so what kind of trouble are you causing?

But to be honest, I was waiting for him to barge in.

“Damn! My brother is already like that, and you still have time to eat…”

“Hello? Captain Huo? Zhang Xiaofei from the Zhang family just broke into a residence. Look at the scene here—Zhao Qian and my little sister passed out. Yes, it’s him who caused it, at Longyuan Community. Also, please call an ambulance.” I finished and hung up, then continued eating.

Zhang Xiaofei was utterly petrified on the spot.

“I’m eating! What’s wrong with me eating?” Zhang Xiaofei’s face turned green with fright. Why was this guy so unpredictable? Wasn’t it supposed to be that matters of the occult were handled by the occult?

“Well, isn’t that fine?” I picked up the phone again. I hadn’t really dialed earlier; now I pretended to call again. “Hello, Captain Huo? That was a misunderstanding just now, yes, sorry for the trouble.”

Zhang Xiaofei finally relaxed, hanging his head as he shuffled over.

I figured I had eaten enough, so I went to check on Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue.

Yu Xiaoxue had truly fainted, but Zhao Qian was only a bit anemic. I pressed her philtrum, and Zhao Qian woke up.

“Brother Tian! You…” Zhao Qian sobbed, reaching out to touch my face. I had eaten hastily, so my face was smeared with soup oil.

But when Zhao Qian touched my face, she felt warmth. Though oily, it was tender.

“How’s it going? Alive, right?” I smiled at her oil-smudged hand and handed her the chicken leg. “Here, you eat one too.”

“Mm…” Tears streamed down Zhao Qian’s face, and she hugged me tightly, unwilling to let go. She seemed afraid to lose me. A refined lady reduced to such a dirty state wasn’t easy to see.

Zhao Qian had bathed when she came back today, exuding a faint fragrance all over. Her chest pressed against me, making me feel an endless sense of bliss.

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Just as my heart began pounding wildly, a cold wind blew from behind me. Zhao Qian froze, seemingly sensing something, and pushed me away. She touched my face again and then stood stunned.

At that moment, I smiled with a hint of joy. My wife, my elder sister, was still there. I had revived with renewed spirit, and she had returned as well. Although I didn’t know why she hadn’t appeared while I was in the underworld, there must have been a reason. Every time she appeared, my vitality plummeted. If it happened again, I’d probably have to return to the underworld once more.

My mortal lifespan was gone; living now was already a miracle. I thought I should find Hai Lao—maybe he knew something or had a way to help.

“I’ll carry Yu Xiaoxue to the bed first. She just needs to sleep a bit, and she should be fine.” I took Yu Xiaoxue back to the study and then came back out.

Zhang Xiaofei ignored the crowd of relatives outside and began eating himself.

This meal was a joint effort by Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue, and it tasted quite good. I wouldn’t speak for Yu Xiaoxue’s cooking, but Zhao Qian’s skills were definitely decent.

“Quick, tell me what happened to your brother?” I frowned. Earlier, I had thrown a stone and knocked down their Leiwen rods used for tomb guarding, breaking their formation. Ultimately, it was my fault.

“My brother? I’m telling you, you must solve this problem for me. My brother is still outside.” I glanced out the window. A man not much older than Zhang Xiaofei stood outside, surrounded by a group of relatives peering into the villa.

“Your brother has no problem? Fine, let’s keep him here first and ask your relatives to go home. With so many people hovering around, how am I supposed to handle this?” I saw that aunts and uncles had all gathered. This mess was like a public scandal. The Zhang family must be a bit lacking in brains.

“Oh, that’s true.” Zhang Xiaofei realized and rushed out to speak to the relatives. Surprisingly, despite his dim-witted appearance, the relatives listened to him. Soon, they got into cars and vans and left.

“My brother’s name is Zhang Dafei. Can he come in?” Zhang Xiaofei asked, afraid I might call the police again.

“Let him in.” I thought Zhang Xiaofei was quite odd, but anyone daring enough to rob tombs must be brave and crafty, though probably a little foolish.

Zhang Xiaofei happily dragged his brother inside.

I noticed Zhang Dafei seemed fine—his looks, his vigor, all intact, just not talkative. I wondered if his soul had been taken that night.

“What’s going on? Any abnormalities?” I asked.

“My brother… sigh, it’s embarrassing. My brother seems to be pregnant…” Zhang Xiaofei said, looking at his brother’s belly.

“Huh?” I was surprised. Could a man be pregnant? Was this some ghost fetus?

“Yes. There’s a doctor among our relatives. When we were tomb raiding, you broke our Leiwen formation. My brother got scared by something in the grave. Although we had a backup plan and escaped, when we took my uncle for a checkup, the doctor said his pulse was like a string of pearls—signs of pregnancy.”

Zhang Xiaofei’s face turned pale as he added, “My brother was a virgin! Hearing he was pregnant drove him mad! At first, he stuttered, but now he doesn’t speak at all. What do you think we should do?”

Zhao Qian, who was beside us, thought it was a joke at first and nearly burst out laughing. But after hearing everything, her expression turned grim. A man being pregnant wasn’t a joke—it was bad news.

“Maybe it’s a ghost fetus. Did you consult a master? Have you gone to the hospital?” I studied Zhang Dafei carefully, my expression growing serious.

“Big brother, you’re making Zhang family look bad. There are only a few of us here, so I’m not afraid to say it. Our family has been tomb raiding for years. We’ve seen all kinds of ghosts—wandering spirits, fierce revenants. If he’s still alive, he’s definitely not some good spirit. We’ve secretly taken my brother for a CT scan and saw the fetus in his belly. So tell me, what now?” Zhang Xiaofei looked unhappy with me.

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I thought about it. Zhang Dafei sounded vigorous last night, carefree, but now he looked like a delicate woman, not even speaking.

“What can we do? Exorcise demons when there are demons, get rid of ghosts when there are ghosts. Do you expect me to marry your brother and raise the child as my own?” I exclaimed in frustration.

Zhao Qian couldn’t hold back and dashed to the restroom to laugh.

Veins bulged on Zhang Xiaofei’s forehead. I ignored him and touched the soul jar, then called Song Wanyi out. “Wanyi, have a look. What’s going on? Is a cesarean possible?”

As soon as Song Wanyi appeared, Zhang Xiaofei’s veins relaxed, replaced by sweat all over his face. “Oh my god, this is definitely a fierce ghost,” he said.

Zhang Dafei was scared stiff. He couldn’t see ghosts without performing rites, but his brother had the yin-yang eye and was the next family heir. Seeing his brother’s expression and hearing my sudden outburst, he understood the situation.

Song Wanyi examined Zhang Dafei from head to toe, then looked at his belly. She wrote some words on the table with soup: “Ghost baby by borrowing womb, disaster spoken by mouth.”

“Hmm, so it’s indeed a ghost baby, and it crawls out of the mouth when born, right?” I looked at the ancient script and casually explained.

Song Wanyi looked pleased, acting coquettish as if praising my intelligence.

Seeing her excitement, I doubted this explanation was correct. Probably Zhang Dafei had spoken ill words, incurring the wrath of the spirit of Liancheng Mountain, who was now punishing them. The pregnancy and muteness were only the start.

“What? The ghost baby crawls out of the mouth? Oh my god, brother! You can’t handle it like this!” Zhang Xiaofei protested. If it was a ghost baby, it certainly shouldn’t be born alive.

“Do you have any other ideas? This child can’t stay; it must be killed,” I said.

Song Wanyi wrote a few more words: “Big and small connected, movement means death.”

“So it can only be born? Then why did I call you here?” I was a bit annoyed. Was Song Wanyi just toying with me?

Song Wanyi smiled gracefully and wrote: “Remove the big ghost first, then the small ghost.”

“Good. Then the Liancheng Mountain ghost must be dealt with. Your brother robbed a tomb and probably insulted the spirit inside. That spirit must be angry. Let the fetus stay for now. But I’m partly responsible. I have some business at Zhao’s village later. Tonight, bring the master along, and I’ll help you exorcise the demons. Once the big one is gone, the small one won’t be a problem.” I stated directly, then looked at Song Wanyi.

She giggled, acting innocent and cute.

Zhang Xiaofei finally understood I knew everything and lowered his head. “Brother, you’re a great man; nothing escapes your notice.”