Chapter 67: The Distant Cousin

Jingle jingle—

Hearing this sound, the previously chaotic scene instantly quieted down.

The woman standing on the windowsill suddenly calmed down, losing all of her earlier hysteria. Her gaze drifted toward the doorway.

And there I stood, right at the entrance, holding a small bell high in one hand.

Actually, I did have a bronze bell in my bag. But that bronze bell was meant for suppressing evil and carried aggressive properties—it was a true ritual instrument. It would have been deeply hostile to the infant spirit residing in her womb. Hearing that bronze bell would have undoubtedly made it even more agitated.

The woman’s drastic change in temperament was not due to any mental illness or madness; she was simply being influenced by the entity inside her. Once I provoked that infant spirit, it went without saying that the pregnant woman would have jumped without a single moment of hesitation.

Yet the bell in my hand was the kind meant for infants. It had a plastic handle designed for a baby to grip, topped with two ordinary little bells.

No matter what kind of past life this infant spirit had carried into its reincarnation, it was still residing inside a womb right now—it was still a baby. It would naturally be drawn to such an entertaining toy.

Even though it had not yet been born, an infant spirit in the womb has already developed its seven apertures. Therefore, the moment any doctor approached or prepared for surgery, it would start making a fuss. And once it kicked up a fuss, it made the mother appear completely unhinged.

The doctors present were all dumbfounded. They had spent so much time trying to persuade her to no avail, yet a simple rattle had proven more effective than all their words combined. The main thing was that, unaware of the truth, it looked to them as though I were trying to amuse an adult with a baby's toy. It was bizarre enough to defy all logic.

Just then, Erpang and the elderly woman arrived belatedly. Seeing the heavy commotion inside the ward, the old woman immediately grasped the situation and rushed anxiously to her daughter's side.

"Xiaofang, what are you acting up for again? I already told you, we won't force you to have the surgery, please climb down!"

It was clear that the old woman was genuinely panicked as she rushed forward. After all, that was her own flesh and blood; how could she not feel heartbroken?

Yet that very action once again startled the infant spirit.

The woman's belly turned red again, bulging outward until the skin stretched taut and distended.

"Don't come any closer! Take one more step forward and I'll jump right now!"

Hearing this, the old woman burst into tears of pure desperation.

"My daughter, what terrible sin did I commit in my past life? Can someone please save my daughter? My heart is breaking! Daughter, listen to Mom, won't you please climb down?"

Sobbing, the old woman dared not take another step, terrified that her daughter Xiaofang would actually leap.

"I won't listen! Don't you move!"

Xiaofang acted just like a mental patient, completely ignoring anything anyone said.

Seeing this, Erpang was frightened out of his wits as well.

"Tiangang, what... what is going on here? Why is her belly this huge? Isn't this beyond the limits of the human body?"

He spoke in a trembling voice, his eyes fixed in horror on that shockingly bloated abdomen.

The medical staff quickly stepped in to steady the old woman. The lead male doctor said, "Please keep calm. You must not provoke her right now. That young man over there just managed to soothe her using a toy."

The old woman turned her head to look at me, then glanced at the rattle in my hand, and immediately hurried over.

"Young master, please work your magic! I'm begging you!"

Yet that form of address seemed to displease the entity inside. The woman suddenly lifted her foot, stepping further outward. Now both of her feet were dangling over the edge of the windowsill, and pressed against the glass pane by her massive belly, she looked as though she might plummet at any second.

Seeing this, I immediately called out to the old woman, "From this moment on, call me Xiaogang, and nobody is allowed to make a sound!"

The old woman had no idea why, but she nodded anyway. The medical staff had no choice but to pin all their hopes on me. If something went wrong and two lives were lost, their hospital would effectively be finished.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward a few paces.

The woman shouted, "Don't move! Who are you?"

I halted instantly, then gave the rattle in my hand a gentle shake to steady the infant spirit within.

After that, I spoke to Xiaofang, "I'm your distant cousin—the grandson of your great-aunt's cousin's aunt."

Because the infant spirit was temporarily pacified, the woman's rationality flickered back. A look of puzzlement crossed her face as she tried to figure out how such a convoluted relationship worked.

Seizing the moment, I continued, "Never mind trying to figure it out. I'm your cousin. I've been staying in the village, but this time I came to the city to find work. When I heard my cousin was pregnant, such a joyous occasion, naturally I had to come and pay a visit."

Probably nobody else would have considered her current condition a joyous occasion. But the influence of the infant spirit had long since taken deep root, making the mother believe that carrying it was the greatest blessing of her three lifetimes. That was why any perceived threat to the child triggered such extreme emotional volatility—a sort of neurological agitation.

It was somewhat akin to a scientific phenomenon, much like a super-male fetus. Such fetuses secrete hormones that make the mother fiercely resistant to terminating the pregnancy. However, carrying a super-male fetus is generally discouraged because an extra male chromosome often leads the child to develop antisocial personality disorder later in life, driving them to commit irreversible acts.

The infant spirit worked on a similar principle, but its influence was ten or a hundred times more powerful.

That was why I deliberately spoke to her that way. Fearing that the infant spirit's emotions might fluctuate, I stealthily gave the rattle another subtle shake.

Sure enough, a second later, the deep frown on Xiaofang's face slowly smoothed out.

"Cousin, thank you so much for coming to see me! You must be tired from the trip, right?"

As she spoke, the expression on her face gradually grew serene, even hinting at a faint smile. She actually started playing the host.

"Mom, what are you standing there for? Pour a glass of water for my cousin."

Everyone present was utterly dumbfounded, staring blankly back and forth between me and Xiaofang.

The old woman's eyes widened in astonishment before she snapped out of her daze and stammered, "Oh, oh... I—I'll pour a glass for your cousin right now. Daughter, won't you climb down first?"

Everyone else looked back at Xiaofang.

I kept my eyes fixed on her abdomen. It was beginning to turn red once more.

I gave the rattle another subtle shake. True to form, her belly returned to normal.

Xiaofang lifted her legs back inward, planted her bare feet firmly on the windowsill, and said to me, "Cousin, it's a bit inconvenient for your cousin here. Would you mind coming over and giving me a hand?"

As she spoke, she even flashed a smile.

Naturally, none of the bystanders dared to take on that task. If she went mad again the moment someone got close, who could tell what might happen?

Seeing this, I replied with a calm demeanor, "Alright, let me grab a stool and help you down."

With those words, I walked over and picked up a chair. Inside, my heart was hammering wildly—I was nowhere near as calm as I looked on the surface.

One had to remember: if anything went wrong here, two lives would be lost!

Holding the backed chair in my hands, I never let go of the rattle. Under the breathless, terrified gazes of everyone in the room, I set the stool down.

Xiaofang immediately smiled and said, "Cousin, hold onto your cousin tight now, I'm coming down."

With that, she reached out a hand toward me.

I raised my hand and caught hers. The moment our hands touched, her belly stirred violently once more. I instantly twirled the rattle, stabilizing her condition once again.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Xiaofang slowly stepped down from the windowsill onto the stool, and leaning on my support, touched her feet to the floor.

Throughout the entire process, not a single soul dared to draw a full breath.

The very second her feet hit the ground, a collective, audible sound of heavy exhales filled the air...