Miscarriage, Kuman Thong

Gu Song's expression was somewhat desolate, as if he was hesitating whether to reveal the truth.

A few seconds later, Gu Song gritted his teeth and shook his head: "It's nothing."

Gu Song was certain.

"It should be the child of you and your wife, right?" I asked.

This was what Duan Hongbin had told me—he said he could feel that this child was bound to Gu Song by countless threads of Karma.

Although I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by Karmic ties, I had never once doubted his judgment.

The woman beside Xu Qiuyan glanced at me—or more precisely, the female ghost glanced at me—with a hint of surprise in her eyes. Then she looked toward Duan Hongbin, who met her gaze.

But my attention didn't linger on the two of them for long; I turned to Gu Song.

Gu Song bit his lip, the flesh turning pale from the pressure.

Finally, he nodded: "That's right, he's the child of me and Xiaotang."

It turned out that Gu Song and his wife Xie Xiaotang had been married for nearly ten years without having a child. They had gone to countless doctors and tried all sorts of remedies, but the test results showed both of them were perfectly normal—which was rather strange.

Later, a friend told them that a temple in Thailand had a very efficacious Four-Faced Buddha, so they went there, praying sincerely and making wishes for a child.

Not long after they returned, Xie Xiaotang actually became pregnant, and the couple was overjoyed.

Knowing his wife was pregnant, Gu Song took extra care of her, hardly letting her exert herself or tire, making sure she rested peacefully.

As Xie Xiaotang's belly grew bigger day by day, the two of them were full of anticipation for the little one's arrival. They even picked out a name for the child—Gu Tian, meaning the Gu family was adding a new member.

They also spent a considerable amount of money buying clothes and toys for the baby, and even prepared a crib.

They were just waiting for the child to be born safely.

But fortune is unpredictable.

No matter how carefully Gu Song looked after Xie Xiaotang, an accident still happened.

One day, when the fetus was over eight months along, Xie Xiaotang had a craving for sour dates. Unable to wait for Gu Song to bring some home after work, she decided to go buy some at the supermarket in their complex. But as she was going down the steps outside their building, her foot slipped, and she fell, causing heavy bleeding and a miscarriage.

The child was lost. What made it even harder for them to bear was the doctor's news that Xie Xiaotang could never have children again—meaning the couple would never be able to have another child.

After lying in the hospital for a few days and returning home, seeing everything they had carefully prepared for the child, their hearts were filled with grief—and also, with unwillingness.

The same friend who had suggested they go to Thailand to pray for a child came to visit after hearing what happened. When she learned that Xie Xiaotang could no longer bear children, she hesitated for a long time before asking Gu Song and Xie Xiaotang if they wanted to keep the child.

Her words gave them a glimmer of hope, but Gu Song was a University Professor—he believed in science. How could a child who was already dead be kept?

The friend said there was a master in Thailand named Chacha who could use special methods to keep the child by their side, but the child could only exist in the form of a spirit.

Duan Hongbin whispered in my ear at that moment: "Kuman Thong!"

I was slightly taken aback. I didn't know what Kuman Thong was.

Gu Song continued: "After hearing that, I immediately thought of some reports I'd read before—about wizards in Thailand who raise little ghosts, turning infants into Kuman Thong for sale. Thinking of that, I didn't want to do it. For one thing, I don't believe in so-called ghosts and gods. For another, even if such things were real, I didn't want our child to exist in that form."

I finally understood—Kuman Thong meant raising a little ghost.

"But Xiaotang insisted on doing it. I knew this accident had hit her hard—she even blamed herself. She said if it weren't for her recklessness, none of this would have happened. So after listening to our friend, she found a way to get our child back from the hospital and then had the friend send it to Thailand through special channels."

The "child" he referred to was the stillborn fetus. There was no way to take a dead infant out of the country through normal means, so they used special channels—essentially, it was no different from smuggling.

Gu Song couldn't rest easy, so he went along too.

Gu Song's feelings for his wife were quite touching. Most people in such a situation would be full of blame and complaints, but after the accident, he never said a single word against his wife; instead, he kept comforting her.

Although he opposed turning the child into a Kuman Thong, he agreed for his wife's sake and accompanied her to Thailand.

The trip went smoothly. Although it cost some money, in Xie Xiaotang's eyes, it was worth it.

Because when they took the clay pot handed to them by the master, Gu Song and Xie Xiaotang both felt a strange sensation—very subtle, as if the child really hadn't died, as if it was right there beside them.

That night in the hotel room, the two of them actually saw the child. It looked like a newborn baby, but its skin was pale as paper, utterly bloodless. Its eyes, on the other hand, had a faint blood-red tint. It grinned at them, mouthing, "Mommy, Mommy!"

This startled Gu Song and completely overturned his worldview.

He wondered—was this really their child? It was nothing but a Ghost Infant.

Xie Xiaotang was also scared at first, but thinking it was her own child, she mustered her courage and picked it up. Strangely enough, when she held it, the blood-red faded from the Ghost Infant's eyes, revealing clear black-and-white pupils.

This made Xie Xiaotang's maternal instincts surge. She told Gu Song to go get some milk powder. Gu Song felt something was off and didn't want to leave Xie Xiaotang alone with the Ghost Infant, but he couldn't refuse her, so he went to the supermarket near the hotel.

When he returned to the hotel room, he was stunned. He saw Xie Xiaotang sitting on the bed, her hand raised, the tip of her middle finger pressed against the infant's mouth. Drops of blood were falling one by one into the infant's mouth. The infant had its eyes closed, looking utterly content.

Gu Song panicked. He rushed over and grabbed Xie Xiaotang's hand: "What are you doing?"

"He said he doesn't drink milk—he wants to drink my blood," Xie Xiaotang said, her expression serene and loving.

Gu Song wanted to say something more, but the Ghost Infant suddenly opened its eyes and stared straight at him. He was startled, but worried about his wife, he reached out and grabbed the Ghost Infant. The infant didn't struggle; it just let out a "waa" cry. Xie Xiaotang got angry, snatched the Ghost Infant back, and looked at Gu Song with hostility.

Hearing this, goosebumps rose all over my skin.

Just as Xie Xiaotang was about to lose her temper, the Ghost Infant suddenly smiled at Gu Song and called out, "Daddy, Daddy!"

Gu Song's tense mood instantly relaxed. He remembered all the dreams he and Xie Xiaotang had shared about their child's future, and the baby supplies they had bought at home. Deep down, he too wanted his own child. That "Daddy" completely broke through his defenses.

That same "Daddy" made the hostility fade from Xie Xiaotang's eyes.

"You hurt him," she said, taking the child back from Gu Song's hands. "Oh, baby, don't be scared, don't be scared!"

Xu Qiuyan's eyes went wide as she listened. "What happened next?"

"After that, we came back, and gradually we got used to this kind of life. In this house, he can move around freely. As time passed, he seemed to be slowly growing up. Sometimes I think, actually, this isn't so bad—even though he can't be like other normal children, he can stay by our side forever."

"Didn't anything strange happen after you brought him back?" Xu Qiuyan asked.

"No, he never leaves this house. Occasionally at night he'll act up a little, making some small noises, but he hasn't really affected our lives. It's just that we haven't had any guests over all these years—afraid of scaring them. To outsiders, Xiao Tang and I look no different from before."

Gu Song hesitated here, as if trying to decide whether he should speak.

"Just say whatever it is," I said.

Gu Song gave a bitter smile. "Didn't I tell you that half a month ago Xiao Tang felt someone was following her? Ever since then, this little brat has been restless and irritable. He makes noise at night, and he always climbs over to that window to look outside. The way he stares out the window is terrifying—bloodshot eyes, bared teeth, like he's about to go berserk at any moment."