Becoming Nezha's Midwife

Li Feng, before Wu Hong could recover, anxiously asked, "Quick, tell me, what exactly did you see at Qing Lake?!"

He couldn't believe Madam Yin would appear in Cailian Town.

"I..."

Wu Hong gasped for air, muttering with lingering fear, "Lord Li, Qing Lake was full of long hair. We didn't dare to get close, we could barely even look directly at it."

He couldn't help but gag again, but only sour water came out.

"The soldiers with us just took one more look at Qing Lake, and their eyes were instantly filled with countless black hairs. In just a moment, they died."

Wu Hong knew that malevolent spirits were not something he could handle. He had kept his eyes closed the entire time, but he could hear chilling screams throughout.

Li Feng fell silent, unsure of what to do for a moment.

Song Kuo patted Wu Hong's back, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.

Wu Hong covered his face and broke down, "We found a lotus root harvester's corpse covered in black hair halfway up the mountain. I suggested bringing the corpse back to the yamen, but they insisted on going to Qing Lake!"

"They're all dead!"

"They're all dead!!"

Li Feng's mind was in turmoil; the situation had spiraled out of control.

He suddenly remembered something and quickly fumbled around on Wu Hong, then, with a grim expression, pulled out a letter.

"Lord Li, I... I didn't know about this letter."

"It has nothing to do with you."

Li Feng picked up the letter. The paper was slightly yellowed, and dried bloodstains were visible. The cover read: Sent from the Li Residence in Chentang Pass, by Madam Yin.

"It really is Madam Yin."

He opened the letter, revealing a blank page inside.

And a strand of black hair.

Li Feng felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation. Before escorting the coffin, the General's Mansion had sealed off all couriers, so how could there have been an oversight?

Everyone was bewildered, but they soon realized the eerie strangeness of the situation.

The black hair writhed as if alive. Before long, over a hundred strands had grown, and the ends of the black hair were still attached to scalps.

Li Feng knew that as the black hair continued to grow, it would eventually transform into Madam Yin's clone, and no one would be spared.

"Immortal Venerable Taiyi, only Immortal Venerable Taiyi can save us!"

He hurried to the backyard, attempting to contact the missing Grandmaster Taiyi through Yang He. However, as he approached the door, he smelled a stench of decay.

Li Feng froze. Yang He showed no signs of life.

The corpse was hanging in mid-air, large patches of flesh showing signs of rot. The faint yang energy it emitted was almost indistinguishable from that of a dead person.

"Daoist Yang, you..."

Yang He's eyes snapped open, and a ghost eye appeared on his forehead, causing a yin wind to sweep through the backyard. The fourth blood vessel in his sclera finally formed.

His injuries were severe, but fortunately, his half-human, half-ghost physique did not impede his movements.

"Please forgive my appearance, Lord Li. I almost died just now."

Yang He spat out blood and did not immediately take the Great Replenishing Pill. Instead, he tried to break free from the red silk ribbon while the yang fire was dim.

The yang fire grew weaker, and Nezha gradually stopped paying attention to Yang He.

In the corner of the backyard, a dozen withered corpses were already piled up.

Crack.

A ghost hand grabbed the red silk ribbon binding Yang He and pulled with force.

"Lord Li, does the black hair in the letter mean the malevolent spirit is about to descend?"

"Yes."

Yang He landed lightly, leaving the backyard, and swallowed a handful of Great Replenishing Pills. "My master and I encountered a black-haired malevolent spirit on our journey. It seemed to originate from a deceased old postman."

The yang fire reignited, the corpse transformation vanished, and the ghost hand retreated beneath his skin.

Hearing that Grandmaster Taiyi knew of Madam Yin's existence, Li Feng's mind steadied. "The malevolent spirit is named Madam Yin, not her true form, but her clones are already comparable to the Dantian Sitting stage."

Yang He understood that the Dantian Sitting stage corresponded to the Fierce Ghost stage.

"If I'm not mistaken, the black-haired malevolent spirit is Senior Brother's birth mother, right?"

"Yes."

Li Feng explained, "Madam Yin can descend through clones via mailed letters. Her true form should still be in the... ancestral hall in Chentang Pass."

Yang He inwardly lamented the tragedy, thinking how an ordinary woman in the original story could become such a malevolent spirit.

"Daoist Yang, do you have a way to contact Immortal Venerable Taiyi?"

When everyone saw Yang He shake his head, despair washed over their faces.

Yang He frowned, "My master has fought with Madam Yin. He is also a clone, so he asked me to wait in Cailian Town ahead of time."

Li Feng murmured to himself, "So, Immortal Venerable Taiyi likely went to Qing Lake?"

"Yes, he probably sealed Madam Yin in the water temporarily."

As everyone processed Yang He's words, Li Feng had already made up his mind. "Daoist Yang, you decide how we proceed from here."

Yang He didn't speak immediately, carefully reviewing the entire origin story of the Ghost Lotus.

He wasn't sure of Grandmaster Taiyi's intentions, but based on the original text, he could see clues. Qing Lake was clearly meant to be the place where Nezha would be resurrected.

In the original story, Nezha was resurrected in the Five Lotus Pond on Qianyuan Mountain, but in this lore world, it was the Ghost Lotus Root in Qing Lake.

"If Nezha becomes a ghost through ghostification, his resentment qi could reach the heavens."

Yang He couldn't help but feel a prickle of fear. He then realized that to complete the lore of the Ghost Lotus, he had to take the initiative.

"Lord Li, I believe waiting here at the yamen is a dead end."

"Why don't we escort the coffin to Qing Lake!"

Grandmaster Taiyi was clearly unreliable. After all, as long as Nezha didn't encounter any accidents, the overall situation wouldn't be affected even if all the people in Cailian Town perished.

Yang He also had an advantage: Madam Yin happened not to kill children.

Li Feng didn't hesitate much. "Daoist Yang, in that case, we will escort the Third Young Master on his final journey. It will make this trip worthwhile."

Yang He pointed to the tangled black hair. "Yes, find a way to send the family letter far away from Qing Lake. Delay it for as long as possible."

Li Feng's gaze swept over the remaining soldiers. "I will personally carry the coffin up the mountain. As for the family letter, we need someone to ride fast."

"Who will do it?"

"General, I'll do it."

"General, among your soldiers, I'm the fastest rider!"

Li Feng selected a soldier. The soldier carefully secured the family letter and rode off in the opposite direction, quickly disappearing into the dust.

Yang He secretly marveled, thinking that Li Jing truly lived up to his reputation as a formidable figure who would later be deified.

The soldiers and generals of Chentang Pass were all extraordinary.

"Lord Li, my senior brother has absorbed enough yang energy and won't wake up anytime soon."

Nezha's current state was very peculiar. Although he still couldn't be born, Yang He felt as if he were on the verge of delivery.

Li Feng took a deep breath and slowly approached the coffin.

"We must not delay. We have to reach Qing Lake before nightfall."

"Hmph!"

Li Feng lifted the coffin and placed it on his shoulder. The people who had been dangling fell to the ground. Their yang energy was depleted, but at least their lives were out of danger.

"Daoist Yang, please take care of the matters at the General's Mansion."

"No problem."

Yang He drew the copper coin sword from his waist and, along with the other soldiers, followed Li Feng, watching the coffin sway as it left the yamen.

"Senior brother, I've already played the midwife for you. Please behave yourself."