Ghost Infant

Before night fell, Zhou Yi hurried to the yamen. After arriving, he did not go to the morgue to watch over Liu Xue's corpse.

Instead, after greeting Li Yuanfang, he went alone to the prison. Seeing Shopkeeper Liu, who had already been tortured beyond recognition, Zhou Yi walked over.

"Your daughter will probably come for you very soon," Zhou Yi said calmly to Shopkeeper Liu.

Shopkeeper Liu braced himself against the ground and sat up, then answered Zhou Yi in a low voice, "I was the one who killed her. She should come for me."

"I learned roughly the whole story from Li Ji, but there are still two things I don't understand."

Shopkeeper Liu sat there silently, his lips tightly sealed, as though he had no intention of speaking again.

Seeing that Shopkeeper Liu did not intend to speak, Zhou Yi continued as if talking to himself.

"The cause of everything seemed to be that you forcibly took Jiang Yu'er, driving her to hang herself. You thought you had covered it up well, but you forgot one thing—your nature. Would someone like you act on a mere whim?"

"Jiang Yu'er was simply too beautiful." Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu immediately replied to Zhou Yi.

"Oh? You were so eager to answer. It seems you really are trying to hide something." Zhou Yi looked at Shopkeeper Liu with interest.

"Let me guess. There are many things that can make someone conceal the truth: money, power, family, people."

"You have money. With money comes power. As for family, you could even abandon your own daughter. That leaves only people."

Just as Zhou Yi analyzed the matter of people, Shopkeeper Liu's pupils suddenly widened, though he still did not speak.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi continued, "A person's actions can lie, but their eyes cannot. It seems I guessed right. It was because of a person, wasn't it?"

"You were willing to throw away both your own life and your daughter's just to protect that person."

Shopkeeper Liu, sitting on the ground, suddenly raised his head and said to Zhou Yi, "You're smarter than those constables. If I tell you, can you spare him?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

"He is my son, my only son. After I discovered what had happened, I forged Jiang Yu'er's suicide note and made Scholar Xu believe that I was the murderer who killed her. But I never expected Scholar Xu to go after my daughter." Anger suddenly appeared on Shopkeeper Liu's face.

"Then why did you have your daughter killed?"

"I promised her to an important figure in Luoshi City, but I never expected them to learn that she was pregnant. They gave me two choices: either abandon my daughter, or have my entire family buried with her—including that worthless son of mine."

"In the end, it was all for your son." Zhou Yi suddenly sighed.

Shopkeeper Liu nodded.

Neither of them spoke. Zhou Yi quietly waited for "Obsession" to arrive, while Shopkeeper Liu sat on the ground with his head lowered, resigned to his fate.

Two hours later, Zhou Yi suddenly felt the lamplight in the room begin to sway. A puddle appeared on the floor.

"I knew it. She would come for you first." Zhou Yi gripped Han Guang in his hand.

"Obsession" appeared, just as she had in Zhou Yi's dream. But unlike in the dream, her entire body was now wreathed in resentment, and her belly was swollen high, like a woman nine months pregnant.

After glancing at Zhou Yi, "Obsession" walked toward Shopkeeper Liu. Zhou Yi did not stop her and instead slowly retreated to the side.

Shopkeeper Liu, sitting on the floor, also saw "Obsession." Zhou Yi saw a look of relief spread across Shopkeeper Liu's face.

Shopkeeper Liu was gradually devoured. Just as he was about to be completely consumed, Zhou Yi said to him, "I'll send your son down to reunite with you as soon as possible!"

Shopkeeper Liu's face, which had just worn a relieved smile, instantly turned terrified. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but "Obsession" gave him no chance.

Zhou Yi watched as "Obsession," having devoured Shopkeeper Liu, stood quietly in place. The resentment around her body seemed to condense to its limit before surging toward the woman's belly.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi hesitated no longer. He drove his blood and qi through his entire body, raised Han Guang, and slashed at the woman.

A flash of blade light passed by. One of the woman's arms fell away, turning into specks of red light that scattered and vanished.

"Obsession"—no, she had now become "Resentment."

"Resentment" let out a mournful howl. After casting Zhou Yi a deep glance, she turned and floated out of the room.

Zhou Yi activated Star Picking Steps, his entire body bolstered by blood and qi, and charged out like a cheetah.

Outside, Zhou Yi saw only a puddle left on the ground. At once, he understood that this "Resentment" had gone toward her own corpse.

Zhou Yi drove his blood and qi to the utmost limit and ran toward the morgue. He blasted through the walls blocking his way with a single punch, crashing straight through until he reached the morgue.

The woman's corpse was still there, but her belly had been cut open, and a ghost infant stood beside it.

The ghost infant's face was bluish-white, its pupils pale. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth like those of a wild beast. It opened its jaws wide and hissed at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi rested Han Guang on his shoulder and said to the ghost infant, "Yo, your mother's gone?"

As though it understood Zhou Yi's mockery, the ghost infant furiously pounced at him.

Zhou Yi neither dodged nor retreated. He covered Han Guang in blood and qi and aimed it at the charging ghost infant.

The ghost infant swiped with one claw, stirring gusts of wind. Zhou Yi met it with Han Guang.

The ghost claw collided with Han Guang, producing the ring of metal striking stone.

After one exchange, Zhou Yi and the ghost infant each retreated.

It's much stronger than the scarecrow. If I hadn't cultivated the Vajra Skill, I might have needed to use some tricks against it. But I'm far stronger now than I was before. Zhou Yi thought silently.

With that thought, Zhou Yi no longer held back. He drove the blood and qi throughout his body to the extreme, and streams of white vapor rose from his body due to the intense heat.

Zhou Yi kicked off the ground, charging out like a leopard. He swung Han Guang as though it were a club.

Seeing Zhou Yi attack with such fierce momentum, the ghost infant had wanted to dodge, but Zhou Yi was simply too fast. It could only grit its teeth and take the attack head-on.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi brought his blade down upon the arm the ghost infant had raised to block him. Yet the ghost infant seemed to have underestimated his strength and was cleaved straight into the wall by a single slash.

Bricks and stones fell. As the dust cleared, the ghost infant swayed as it rose from the rubble.

At that moment, the constables, having heard such a huge commotion, rushed over one after another. But upon seeing the ghost infant in the middle of the scene, their legs trembled in fear, and they could barely hold their sabers.

"Don't come over!" Zhou Yi shouted at the constables on the other side.

Seeing Zhou Yi distracted, the ghost infant beside him immediately swiped a claw at him.

The ghost infant felt a faint pain in its claw. Its tiny mind could not understand why this man's flesh was harder than a blade.

A savage grin appeared on Zhou Yi's face as he said to the ghost infant, "Got you!"

Relying on the strength of his body, Zhou Yi pinned the ghost infant to the ground. He did not even use his blade, instead raining punch after punch onto its body.

The ghost infant struggled and attacked Zhou Yi's body, but even with all its strength, it only tore his clothes, leaving pale scratches across his skin.

As Zhou Yi continued punching, he discovered that the ghost infant gradually stopped struggling. He rose to his feet, picked up Han Guang from the side, and beheaded the ghost infant with one slash.

Yin Energy +150, Qi +3

"Qi appeared again. What exactly is this Qi used for?"

Zhou Yi stood where he was, lost in thought.

Only after seeing that Zhou Yi had destroyed the ghost infant did the constables at the side dare approach and inspect the situation.

Seeing the devastation Zhou Yi's battle had caused, all the constables present stood with their mouths agape, thinking, Is this something a human can do?

Zhou Yi also turned to look at the wreckage he had caused.

Tonight was also the first time Zhou Yi had fought with his full strength. Even he was startled by the destruction he had wrought.

An ordinary Strength Channeling Realm martial artist definitely couldn't create a scene like this, Zhou Yi thought.

Li Yuanfang stood stunned for quite some time before walking up to Zhou Yi and asking, "Sir, has Shopkeeper Liu's matter been resolved?"

Zhou Yi shook his head at Li Yuanfang, then said, "Shopkeeper Liu has another son. Go find him."

After saying that, Zhou Yi patted Li Yuanfang on the shoulder and left.

With the matter settled, Zhou Yi looked at the sky. It was nearly midnight. He could finally get a good night's sleep tonight, though he first needed to find his master.