Chapter 66: The Infant Spirit in the Womb

Holding the tattered cloth bag I had brought with me, I stormed furiously into the lobby.
Behind me came Fatty's voice, "Tiangang, wait for me! I'm coming too; staying in the shop is far too boring... Morning, sister-in-law! Morning!"
"Then I'm heading off first!"
I didn't pause for a breath, walking straight out of the shop doors and into the street.
The old woman was waiting respectfully by the entrance.
"Little Master, can we set off now?"
I snapped irritably, "Just waiting for an idiot!"
"An idiot?"
The old woman looked at me in confusion.
The next second, Fatty came running out of the shop.
"Tiangang, slow down! Is a dog chasing you?"
Seeing him emerge, I immediately set off.
There were two directions to the street, and I instinctively headed toward the usual entrance.
The old woman quickly called out, "Little Master, my car is parked this way..."
Hearing this, I halted with a sigh of resignation.
"Fine, fine! Splendid!"
I pivoted in the opposite direction and walked outward, my stomach full of stifled frustration.
Nowadays, I couldn't even take on a job on my own terms. Did I have any personal freedom left at all?
Arriving at the street corner, a large black Volkswagen was parked there. After the old woman ambled over leisurely, she motioned for me to get in.
I took the front passenger seat, while Fatty and the old woman sat in the back.
Driving was a man in his thirties who looked exceptionally steady. He had short hair and a genial, pleasant countenance.
This man was presumably the old woman's son.
Judging by the physiognomy of his career palace, his prospects were mediocre—the rigid, conventional type who would never amount to anything extraordinary.
The old woman introduced us, "Xiaojun, this is the little master from the shop. He's extraordinarily capable; with a single glance, he deduced that I have a son and a daughter, and even figured out that you work a government job."
Hearing this, the driver immediately smiled and said, "To be so skilled at such a young age, the little master is truly promising."
Still nursing my annoyance, I said nothing. Besides, I hadn't wanted to come in the first place and had no inclination to exchange polite pleasantries.
The man smiled awkwardly and said, "Illegal parking isn't allowed here, so I had to park on another street. My mother only just called me over when she knew you were coming out. In my line of work, I have to lead by example and obey the law, right?"
I nodded. "Let's go."
The old woman's son offered another awkward smile before starting the engine. For the rest of the journey, he lost all desire to make conversation.
The car soon arrived at a maternity hospital.
This hospital was quite famous, and nearly everyone in the city came here to give birth.
Once the car stopped, the man said, "Mom, you and the little master go ahead. I can't be involved in this kind of scene. Since you insist on believing in these things, go ahead and try. I still have matters at the office, so I won't go up."
The old woman shot her son a glance, clearly displaying some dissatisfaction.
As for his skepticism, I found it entirely normal and said nothing more, stepping straight out of the vehicle.
Fatty immediately trailed behind me.
The three of us walked into the hospital. Just as we reached the entrance, I came to a halt.
My gaze drifted toward a window on the fifth floor, where a shroud of dark qi had manifested.
"Surrounded by yin energy... Oh no!"
I yelled out and dashed inside, barrelling past numerous staff members and obstructed pathways.
"Make way! Please make way!"
Charging forward recklessly, I reached the stairwell and sprinted up toward the fifth floor. Emerging from the stairwell and turning right brought me into the corridor.
I rushed down it, flanked on both sides by maternity wards. My eyes narrowed.
The second to last room!
I hurried over, but before I even reached the doorway, a hysterical voice echoed from within: "Don't touch me! I'm warning you, don't touch my baby, or I'll jump right now! I'm not joking with you all!"
A woman shrieked at the top of her lungs, followed by a commotion inside.
Seeing this, I shoved the ward door wide open.
Inside the private room, a woman in a hospital gown with disheveled hair was standing precariously on the windowsill.
With one hand, she clutched a grotesquely swollen belly; with the other, she gripped the window handle.
Not only was her stomach massive, but the blood vessels crisscrossing her abdomen were chillingly distinct. The entire belly bore a dark, purplish hue with a semi-translucent quality.
Because the blood vessels and capillaries were so sharply outlined, the sight was utterly hair-raising.
Facing the pregnant woman stood five or six medical workers—doctors and nurses alike—each wearing an expression of intense anxiety as they tried to soothe her.
"Miss, please don't do anything foolish. We aren't going to perform surgery on you; we just want to check if the baby inside is healthy!"
"That's right, miss. Once we know your baby is healthy, won't you feel more at ease?"
"Please, don't get agitated. Step down first. This is the fifth floor; it's very dangerous!"
Paralyzed by fear, none of them dared to step closer, standing helplessly in place and resorting solely to verbal persuasion.
The pregnant woman on the windowsill was weeping profusely. Her hair, unwashed for days, was matted into stubborn knots.
"Don't force me! Don't force me!"
She screamed, bending over and straining with all her might as she roared.
The harder she strained, the darker the color of her belly became, creating the terrifying impression that it might rupture at any second.
Yet I stood frozen in place, because what I saw differed vastly from what they perceived.
That belly was not merely horrifying; a dense vortex of dark qi was tightly coiled around its rounded shape.
As a Village Guardian, I possessed the ability to perceive things hidden from ordinary mortals, along with a precognitive sense of danger. That was precisely why the village idiot—the Village Guardian—always seemed to know beforehand whose family was holding a celebration or a funeral.
I suddenly recalled an account I had read in an ancient text.
What resided in this woman's womb was no ordinary vengeful spirit.
It was a fetal ghost!
Such an entity could not simply be called a ghost, for a spirit attached to an unborn child far exceeded ordinary spectres in power and rank.
This was going to be troublesome.
Currently, the mother's physical body could not withstand the energy of the fetal ghost, which inevitably disrupted her personal magnetic field.
This magnetic field disturbance would, in turn, warp her emotions, making drastic, violent actions entirely possible—such as actually leaping to her death!
Instead of rushing forward immediately, I turned around and left the ward, stepping into a neighboring one at random.
Inside were a man, a woman, and an infant—clearly a family of three.
The two adults stared at me in bewilderment.
I swept my gaze across the room until it landed on a bronze bell toy.
I asked them, "May I borrow this toy? The child next room is crying far too incessantly."
Both were momentarily stunned before the man recovered first, smiling as he said, "Oh, sure, take it. A friend bought it for the baby, but a newborn has no use for this kind of thing. If you need it, just take it."
Without hesitation, I grabbed the bronze bell toy and told the man, "Your esteemed daughter's destiny aligns with the Wenqu Star; in the future, you should encourage her to pursue the arts!"
With those words, I turned and left.
Carrying the bell, I hurried back to the woman's ward.
In that brief span of time, the woman had already thrust one leg outward, planting her foot on the outer window ledge.
"I'm so tired! I want to die! Don't come near me! Stay back..." the woman cried out in a state of utter collapse.
Just then, a crisp, silvery chime rang out: *Jingle-ling—*