089. Save People
On a country road in the pouring rain, Zeng Zhu staggered in the opposite direction of his home. His umbrella was taken away by Grandma Sun. He was holding only a pair of old scissors in his hands, and his face, which had turned pale with fear, was full of panic.
Not far behind him, there was a blood-red figure following slowly and steadily. Even in the dark night, one could clearly see the ominous and eerie red.
"Is the woman in your family going to give birth?"
The voice was shrill and soft, yet also stiff and eerie. She followed Zeng Zhu lightly, asking a question from time to time.
"Are you going home?"
"Are you looking for a midwife?"
"Take me to your house."
It's simply a death sentence.
When people are extremely frightened and panicked, they will subconsciously run towards a place they feel is safe. Zeng Zhu really wanted to turn around and go home at this moment. He was familiar with his home, and it included his family. It seemed that as long as he went back, he would be safe.
——But he suppressed the thought.
He ran to the other end desperately, his hand holding the scissors was pale, and he kept thinking over and over what Grandma Sun said when they parted ways.
"Ghost woman! This is to kill your wife! This is an evil spirit that is not easy to deal with. If you let it go home with you, it will use all means to kill the unborn child in the womb and then take away the child's soul. Women will not be able to give birth to children. All women who have been harmed by this thing will die! Don't let it find your home!"
"As long as Hui Niang gives birth, this thing will go away on its own!"
Zeng Zhu didn't dare to stop. Granny Sun said that this evil spirit would only harm women who were about to give birth. But seeing how Granny Sun was afraid and in a hurry to leave, Zeng Zhu also knew that such a ferocious thing might... might kill anyone who tried to stop it.
He didn't dare to stop and could only keep running forward.
I don’t know how long I ran, or maybe not long at all, the village is just that big, Zeng Zhu heard the cold and strange voice of the woman behind him.
"Is this... your way home?"
Zeng Zhu's mind went blank for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a scarlet color, like a strange-shaped weapon with bared fangs and claws gradually approaching in the middle of the night.
The woman's face was unclear, as if it was all pale, but her voice was clear to the ears -
“Is this your way home?”
Thunder roared suddenly and lightning flashed across the sky. Qing Ling walked hurriedly on the muddy path. He followed the direction pointed by Granny Sun. His delicate eyebrows and eyes were exactly the same cold and solemn as Shang Changheng's, and even carried a hint of resentment and anger.
He once again clearly understood why Miao Yuan was so obsessed with destroying the evil spirits and sending the wandering souls to the underworld. They were not supposed to stay in the mortal world in the first place.
A ghost woman is an evil spirit wandering in the world, similar to a ghost but not a ghost. Most of them are the resentment of women who have difficulty giving birth. In fact, they are very rare. Granny Sun is so old, but she has only seen one with her own eyes once, and heard of it two or three times, but without exception, there were two deaths in each case, and even those who tried to stop it would die together. Granny Sun's grandmother died at the hands of a ghost woman.
Zhu Lezhi also knew about this thing and became anxious at the time. This evil spirit was really rare. It took the resentment of countless women with difficult childbirth to condense into one. It would be pure bad luck to encounter one. How could a woman in labor who was targeted have time to ask capable people for help?
They could only rely on the midwives who knew a little about the business. Fortunately, Grandma Sun had seen the power of this thing, so she immediately asked Zeng Zhu to take the scissors that had cut the umbilical cords of countless babies to lead the ghost away. As long as Hui Niang gave birth safely, the ghost would naturally leave.
But Zeng Zhu is just an ordinary person.
If that ghost woman discovered the flaw, Grandma Sun’s fate would be the same as Zeng Zhu’s!
A fisherman who has only one son for three generations, if Zeng Zhu is gone, and only his old couple, mother, wife and children are left, how will this family survive in the future?
Qing Ling was shocked and frightened, and was tangled with feelings of shame and regret. He should have gone with Zeng Zhu. Perhaps... perhaps this family would not have met with such a disaster. He was the one who came to stay for the night, and happened to arrive when the woman named Hui Niang was about to give birth. Perhaps... perhaps he was the one who attracted the evil spirit.
With Shang Changheng around, they walked very quickly.
"Qingling, it's not your fault." Shang Changheng held his hand, "Don't be like this."
"It's not my fault, I know." Qing Ling's voice was cold, as if it was icy. "On the boat in Xi Lake, you could say that it was because of that old guy's deliberate trap, but what about today? It's as if they were smelling my scent and chasing me!"
Qing Ling has always known that his physical condition makes him prone to attracting evil spirits, but most of the time he would not implicate others. He did not expect... that he was only resting here for a few hours, and in just a few hours, the Zeng family would suffer such a thing.
He clearly sensed something was wrong, so why didn't he follow? !
Shang Changheng sighed: "This is really unlike you."
Qing Ling said nothing and pursed his lips tightly.
If an evil spirit were to chase him and others at the same time, Qing Ling would naturally rather kill his friend than himself. Whoever ran faster and had greater abilities would survive. However, he would not actively harm others, and he certainly did not want to implicate others because of himself!
Thunder exploded muffledly in the clouds, lightning flashed, and the sky and the earth brightened for a moment. Qingling saw a smear of scarlet on the path, and next to her... Zeng Zhu was lying on the ground, his life or death unknown.
Qing Ling could feel that Zeng Zhu on the ground was still alive. He didn't know whether he was too late or not, but he didn't have time to think about it. As soon as he raised his hand, Shang Changheng leaped out.
"Leave this to me, and go save the people."
Shang Changheng was extraordinarily effective in dealing with evil spirits of the same kind. He was like the sharp blade tightly grasped in the hand of the frail Qingling. As long as Qingling pointed the tip of the blade at a place, the blade would chop over without hesitation. Qingling was stunned for a moment, and without time to hesitate, he rushed hastily towards Zeng Zhu who was lying on the ground. His face was ashen, his eyes were closed, his teeth were clenched tightly, and his whole body was tense.
Qingling reached out his hand to touch his neck and found that his whole body was as cold as a corpse. This situation was easy to judge. Qingling confirmed almost instantly that he had lost his soul.
He was already very skilled at summoning spirits, and he immediately whispered a spell, pointed his fingertips at Zeng Zhu's forehead, and shouted in a deep voice: "Zeng Zhu, return quickly!"
After calling him three times, Zeng Zhu did not respond, and Qingling could not sense his soul either.
In a flash, Qingling realized that his soul was trapped because of the witch's trick.
He immediately looked back and saw that Shang Changheng had already grabbed the faceless evil spirit's neck. The ghost woman's pale hand was still clutching a bamboo basket covered with floral cloth. Qing Ling shouted: "Changheng! That bamboo basket! There's something strange about that bamboo basket!"
Shang Changheng waved his hand. The ghost woman was not human after all. She could still scream shrilly even when her neck was strangled. The pale hand broke and turned into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated. The bamboo basket fell to the ground. Qingling immediately ran in and untied the rag, his eyes suddenly straight.
——I saw that there was a transparent baby in the bamboo basket, but the baby’s eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Zeng Zhu.
Qingling had no time to take care of too many things. There were so many strange things, how could he explain everything clearly? No matter how the witch made Zeng Zhu's soul like this, he grabbed one of the baby's arms and pulled it out. The bamboo basket seemed to want to compete with Qingling and would not let him take the baby away. Qingling's resentment and anger rushed out like a flood. He pinched his fingers and slammed the bamboo basket hard. The evil spirit being pinched by Shang Changheng immediately let out another heart-wrenching scream.
Qing Ling successfully pulled the transparent baby out. He did not dare to stay, turned around and ran back, grabbed the baby and stuffed it into Zeng Zhu's forehead. Then he pressed his forehead with one hand and chanted a soothing spell.
"The Supreme Star is always ready to respond to changes."
"The three souls are eternal, and the spirit is never lost."
It was not until Zeng Zhu's body temperature gradually warmed up that Qing Ling suddenly relaxed in the mist floating around him. He looked very cold, like the frost on the dead branches in the early winter morning. Not a drop of rain fell on him, but Qing Ling's temples were wet and there was a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. Even at this moment, his hands were trembling slightly because of fear. He just squatted beside Zeng Zhu, gasping for breath.
Not bad, not bad.
Not a step too late.
The situation just now was too urgent, and Qingling didn't have time to think too much. Now that the dust has almost settled, Qingling is almost overwhelmed by the fear that followed.
He didn't dare to think about what he would do if he saw Zeng Zhu's body when he arrived. Once a person is dead, there is no way to save him. No matter what he did, he could not make up for a living, innocent life, and a family that should have been home to three generations living happily together.
At some point, Shang Changheng came to his side. He gently helped Qingling up and took him a little further away. He gently stroked his back and whispered, "It's okay, Qingling, it's okay."
Qing Ling still looked as if he was still in a daze, but his breathing gradually calmed down. He leaned against Shang Changheng, closed his eyes, and said nothing.
He shouldn't have contact with anyone.
Zeng Zhu, who was lying on the ground, took a deep breath and sat up suddenly. His vision was still a little blurry and his brain seemed to be rusty and dull.
He only remembered that blood-red color... but before he could scream in surprise, he vaguely saw two figures leaning against each other in front of him. However, when he was distracted, the scene in front of him became clearer. There was white mist floating around, and in the mist there was only a tall and thin shadow - it was the young man who was staying in his house.
In the blink of an eye, the gray fog around seemed to disappear, and only the young man was standing in the rain.
It was clear that no rain fell on him, but Zeng Zhu did not find it strange at all. Instead, he stared at him blankly and said, "You..."
"You're awake." Qing Ling had returned to his usual cold and gentle appearance, standing as if relaxed, and said politely to Zeng Zhu at a distance that was neither too far nor too close, "It was your father who asked me to come out and look for you. Now everything is fine, go back, your wife is still waiting for you."
Zeng Zhu: "But...just now...?"
Qingling didn't answer him, just turned around and left.
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