The tongue of the creature had fine spines on it, feeling like a man’s stubble grazing against delicate, fair skin.
Chu Huai, who was already alert and sleeping lightly, immediately woke up, thinking it was some kind of monster, only to meet a pair of grey-blue eyes.
Turns out it was just a cat. Chu Huai breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you.” Chu Huai cautiously touched its head and whispered softly.
This little fellow had helped him a lot during the day.
A trace of human-like intelligence flashed in the eyes of the black cat, then it turned its head and looked towards the outside.
It realized something, suddenly biting Chu Huai’s pant leg and tugging towards the door like playing tug-of-war.
“What are you doing…” Chu Huai smiled helplessly, then his expression changed suddenly as he realized something: “You want to take me somewhere?”
Chu Huai immediately stood up.
In martial arts novels, Zhang Wuji was guided by monkeys to find the Nine Yang Divine Art. This black cat was spiritual, and Chu Huai felt that it must know something.
Chu Huai was worried that evil spirits or ghosts would harm Song Qing while he was away, and originally wanted to wake her up and go together. However, the cat seemed to be in a hurry, as if it would be too late if he didn’t go now, so Chu Huai had no choice but to go out cautiously.
The village was very dark, and the cat was leading the way ahead. Chu Huai’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and suddenly several flickering blue flames appeared in his field of vision.
Will-o’-the-wisps? Chu Huai’s eyes narrowed.
Human bones contain phosphorus, and during the process of decomposition, a series of chemical changes occur, producing phosphine. Phosphine has a low ignition point, and it can spontaneously ignite in dry weather in summer.
So, was he near a graveyard now? But why didn’t he see any tall tomb mounds?
Chu Huai followed for a while and felt that the ground under his feet was unusually soft.
After walking for an unknown period of time, he heard several barks from dogs ahead. Several stray dogs were diligently digging something in the ground and then started chewing on it, making a horrifying sound.
Chu Huai approached and disturbed the dogs, but they seemed unwilling to leave the dark object on the ground. In the end, they left reluctantly.
Chu Huai saw clearly that it was the skeletal remains of his sister.
Only the head of the corpse was left uneaten.
So this place was the burial site of the twins who were killed by someone. His father casually buried his sister here during the day, and the dogs came out at night to feast on the remains.
The black cat sensed something and anxiously meowed, leading him away. Chu Huai barely hid behind a tree, when a little girl appeared where he had been standing.
The little girl had two pigtails and was wearing a festive red dress, but her face was deathly pale. She had a red birthmark on her forehead and bright, gaudy lipstick on her mouth.
Was she a human or a ghost?
The black cat jumped onto Chu Huai’s shoulder.
The little girl didn’t notice Chu Huai and crouched down, giggling like silver bells. “Sister, come out and play with big sister!”
Sister?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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A bizarre scene unfolded as the little girl’s mouth suddenly expanded to five or six times its original size, and a snake-like long tongue emerged, wrapping around the small ghost and swallowing it whole.
Then her mouth began to shrink, returning to her previous cute and lovely appearance.
It all happened in an instant.
This thing feeds on newborn weak ghosts, what is it? Chu Huai held his breath, his mind racing.
“Nine hundred and ninety-nine,” the little girl licked her lips and giggled, saying a chilling sentence that made Chu Huai’s hair stand on end. “I’m finally going to be born.”
After saying that, the little girl’s dark and cold gaze seemed to vaguely notice Chu Huai’s hiding place, and then she skipped away.
Did she… notice herself?
But why didn’t she attack Chu Huai? Chu Huai took a deep breath and calmed down.
Could it be that she doesn’t have the ability to attack people?
Chu Huai felt the dilemma of the situation. This thing that devours ghosts must be even more terrifying than ghosts. Once she is born, will they have any way to survive?
But the problem now is that even if a human pregnancy is premature, it still takes at least seven months, but these taskers only have seven days here.
Chu Huai had too many doubts in his mind. While thinking, he walked back, with the cat still perched on his shoulder. Chu Huai looked at it and muttered to himself: “If Jin Tianyi was here, it would be great.”
The cat paused for a moment, then rubbed its cat ears against his neck affectionately, as if very happy.
Back at the lodging, Chu Huai gently pushed the door open, and Song Qing was still asleep, facing outward.
Chu Huai was about to lie down, but the silk scarf that Song Qing had wrapped around her during the day suddenly slipped off, revealing a small section of skin covered in scars.
Chu Huai had wondered during the day why she was wearing a silk scarf on such a hot day, but now he understood. She was trying to cover up the scars.
Chu Huai only glanced briefly. The dark brown skin extended into her body, and the area should not be small. It seems that Song Qing experienced a very serious accident and underwent major surgery.
Chu Huai sighed and thought to himself that he might not be the most miserable one.
He didn’t look again, picked up the scarf for her, pretended to sleep, and waited for dawn. The cat licked its paws clean and crawled into Chu Huai’s bed, sticking close to his slender waist.
Chu Huai kind of liked this little guy, so he let it sleep with him.
Song Qing initially thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but perhaps because Chu Huai was there, she subconsciously felt safe and slept through the night until morning.
In the morning, Chu Huai called Song Qing, and Song Qing seemed a bit embarrassed.
She was a gentle and silent girl, and Chu Huai felt satisfied with having such a newcomer who wouldn’t cause trouble for him, so he didn’t mind helping her out.
Song Qing realized that she had dropped her scarf and her face turned pale for a moment.
Chu Huai’s father had instructed them about the relevant matters, and Chu Huai learned that “Little Guanyin Goddess” was not an individual, but a deity worshipped by the villagers. The two of them were going to the temple of Little Guanyin Goddess at the foot of the mountain to pray for a child.
His father also said: “I named your younger sister Chu Xiao’an. After you go to the Little Guanyin Temple, remember to fill in her name in the register in front of the jade statue of the maiden, as an offering on our behalf.”
Chu Huai agreed, and before leaving, he deliberately went out to find the two newcomers and informed them of what he had learned so far.
At the house of the male newcomer, whose name was Zhou Yuan, and was about forty years old, he played the role of an honest farmer, and his nominal wife was visibly pregnant. Chu Huai paid particular attention to this.
Back at their lodging, Chu Huai was about to leave when the small black cat climbed up his leg, clung to his clothes like a swing, and assumed a posture of not letting him leave without taking it along.
Chu Huai had no choice but to rub its exposed belly, and when his father wasn’t paying attention, he secretly took the little fellow with him.
On the way to the Little Guanyin Temple, Song Qing was afraid of awkward silence and pointed to her neck, asking Chu Huai: “Is it very scary?”
She knew that Chu Huai must have seen it last night.
Chu Huai didn’t know how to respond.
But Song Qing went on to confess her history: “I was born as a conjoined twin.”
Chu Huai was taken aback.
Song Qing continued: “From the neck downwards, our chest and abdomen were all connected, it was especially terrifying. My sister and I lived together like that for eighteen years.”
“Then later…”
“We shared one heart,” Song Qing said with a bitter smile: “but our bodies couldn’t bear the burden anymore. We squeezed each other, and the doctors said that if we didn’t undergo separation surgery, both of us wouldn’t survive. So, my parents chose the relatively healthier me, after all, there was only one heart.”
“My sister died.”
Chu Huai’s mood became heavy.
“I actually don’t want to live,” Song Qing paused, evidently feeling overwhelmed by something that had been weighing on her for a long time. She couldn’t understand why she was confiding in Chu Huai, but she continued: “My sister has a boyfriend, who is her intern doctor taking care of her.”
“Every time they kiss, I close my eyes and feel how happy my sister is, because, before this, everyone treated us like monsters.”
“I told my mom that if my sister could live for me, and be with her beloved, I would be very happy. But… when it came to the operating table, it was so heartless. My sister died, and I survived.”
“Can you imagine how it feels to have pieces of bone and flesh cut off from my body? That doctor’s lover turned into a pile of broken limbs and flesh in an instant.”
Song Qing looked extremely gloomy: “So although I really want to live, because it’s not easy to survive if I die here, I would feel at peace, because… I can go and accompany my sister.”
Chu Huai revealed a cat’s head from behind his waist, sensing Chu Huai’s sadness and melancholy, and silently licked his hand to comfort him.
“You brought it with you, huh?” Song Qing smiled, dispelling the heavy atmosphere.
Chu Huai nodded helplessly: “Mm,” and happily started petting the cat, which made a contented “purr” sound from its throat.
There was a constant stream of pedestrians along the way, all seemingly heading to the Small Guanyin Temple.
Chu Huai approached a passerby, exchanged a few pleasantries, and asked some questions before learning that the village originally had a different name, but the villagers later agreed unanimously to change it to Small Guanyin Village to express their gratitude and remembrance for the grace of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
They arrived at the foot of the mountain, where the crowds were dense, and Song Qing’s complexion improved slightly. It felt safer to be out in the open during broad daylight.
It was the second day, and Chu Huai did not slacken in the slightest. The further the time went on, the more complicated the situation would become, and the greater the danger would be. Obtaining more crucial information in the first two days would be helpful for what comes next.
The Small Guanyin Temple was right in front of them, and compared to the other dilapidated buildings in the village, this temple was like a palace. Chu Huai could smell the strong scent of incense even standing at the entrance.
Finally, it was their turn, and Chu Huai entered. The golden statue of Small Guanyin Bodhisattva, towering at two meters tall, caught his eye.
Although this thing was called Small Guanyin Bodhisattva, it didn’t really resemble Guanyin at all, but rather a beautiful and voluptuous woman.
Chu Huai’s gaze suddenly fell on the golden boy and jade girl standing beside Little Guanyin Goddess. The golden boy on the left and the jade girl on the right.
Chu Huai’s eyes darkened suddenly, and he was greatly shocked.
The appearance of this jade girl was exactly the same as the little girl who swallowed the fierce ghost he saw last night!
Since that little girl was a ghost, then this Little Guanyin Goddess…
Chu Huai sneered.
His father had instructed him in the morning to kneel and knock his head on the cushion before touching the Golden Boy if he wanted a son, or the Jade Girl if he wanted a daughter. According to his father’s instructions, there were no mistakes or omissions, and all requests would be granted.
His father had told him to pray for a son.
“Follow me and don’t wander off,” Chu Huai said to Song Qing.
Song Qing quickly agreed.
Chu Huai followed his father’s instructions and prepared to make an offering. He picked up the book in front of the Jade Girl statue and hastily glanced at it, only to be shocked.
The last line written on it was exactly “998”.
In other words, his sister was the nine hundred and ninety-ninth child.
Chu Huai’s blood froze in an instant. Was the book recording the living child, or the souls of how many deceased children the Jade Girl had devoured?
Nine hundred and ninety-nine, the birth of the Jade Girl…
Chu Huai remained calm and approached the Golden Boy. He opened the book in front of it and saw that it also had “998” written on it. He couldn’t help but swallow hard, his heart pounding fiercely.
Yes, the birth of the Jade Girl, is the Golden Boy far behind?
The moment he entered the world, his father had already killed his sister, and it was inevitable that the Jade Girl would be reborn.
Whether he wrote his name or not now would have no impact on Little Guanyin Goddess and the Golden Boy and Jade Girl, because the Jade Girl had already devoured nine hundred and ninety-nine souls.
So… the Golden Boy was still one short!
He must stop the ignorant father from killing the innocent child!
The little black cat tugged at Chu Huai’s pants anxiously again. Chu Huai turned around abruptly and realized that Song Qing, who had been following him all along, was missing!
On the other side, Song Qing, in a trance, placed his hand… on the head of the Jade Girl.
So, infant sacrifice, huh?
It seems like the condition to enter has to be that the participant has a tein, but Chu Huai didn’t have one right? Or at least it wasn’t mentioned as far as I recall. And I wonder why that Song Qing is in a trance at this moment?
Kitty Tianyi is a cute way to enter this instance.
Thanks for the chapter(s).
His ghost… a second soul? Or a ghost? Or does he have a twin he never found out about due to separation at birth?
He could have “devoured” his twin in-utero, in which he may not know about it. Parents are not always aware in such cases either.
Dead children…. Okay
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Hah! Ofc it’s about sacrificing shit 😒😒
Kitty Tianyi so cute 🥺🥺🥺