The Li Family's Ill-Fated Bond!

It wasn't just Xie Lianghong who was frightened. Even Chen Mo was badly startled.

Li Hongxi had come out!?

Chen Mo immediately realized how serious the situation was. Without stopping to think, he asked, "Third Master Xie, are you saying... Li Hongxi climbed out of the ancient well?"

Xie Lianghong seemed not to hear him. He sat on the ground in a daze, muttering over and over, "She climbed out. She's come to silence the Xie family..."

Seeing Xie Lianghong looking nearly mad, Chen Mo couldn't help feeling a chill.

If an ordinary old man heard tales of ghosts and evil spirits and was scared like this, it wouldn't be surprising. But Xie Lianghong was a famous coroner in Hong County. He had performed autopsies on countless corpses, especially those of people who had died of the madness plague.

Xie Lianghong's name could be found everywhere in the county yamen's archives.

How could a tough old man who had spent so much time dealing with the dead be this terrified?

Fortunately, Chen Mo had broken through to the inner-family realm, so he wasn't panicking. He crouched down and helped Xie Lianghong up. "Third Master Xie!"

Perhaps it was the breadth and strength of Chen Mo's hand, or perhaps it was the deep, steady sound of his voice. At last, Xie Lianghong slowly came back to his senses. He glanced sidelong at Chen Mo, then let out a long sigh. "Second Young Master Chen, thank you for telling me the truth about what happened today. You should head back."

Chen Mo had gone to such trouble to learn a little about Li Hongxi. How could he bear to leave now?

"Third Master Xie, our families have always been on good terms. Now that the Xie family has run into trouble, how could I sit by and do nothing? Why don't you tell me what happened? If there's anything I can do to help, I won't hold back."

Xie Lianghong felt deeply comforted. He thought to himself, The Xie and Chen families aren't actually that close. I never expected Second Young Master Chen to be so loyal. Now that someone has set their sights on my family, it would certainly be good to have the Chen family's help.

With that in mind, Xie Lianghong said, "Second Young Master Chen, you have a righteous heart. At this point, there's nothing I can't tell you."

Then he slowly recounted what had happened.

As it turned out, Old Master Li had had a young son, but the boy had died before he was a hundred days old. His death was mysterious, and Old Master Li strongly suspected that Li Hongxi had stared him to death. Old Madam Li didn't believe that, however, and the two of them argued.

Old Master Li was furious, and his preference for sons over daughters only made matters worse. While Old Madam Li was away, he pushed Li Hongxi down a well...

Old Madam Li blamed Old Master Li for killing Li Hongxi in a fit of anger, and the conflict between them grew worse and worse.

Hoping to find evidence, Old Master Li secretly took his young son's corpse to Xie Lianghong and asked him to perform an autopsy.

Unable to refuse, Xie Lianghong dissected the boy's corpse. To his horror, he found a baby's face inside it. It had eaten the boy's internal organs.

That showed the boy had died of the madness plague. Li Hongxi had nothing to do with it.

When Old Master Li learned the truth, he was filled with regret. He went around muttering, "Give me back my daughter," and from then on he was mad as a hatter. He died less than two years later.

Hearing this, Chen Mo understood.

No wonder the information about the Li family in that letter had been so detailed. Xie Lianghong had performed an autopsy on their young son. It all made sense now.

But one crucial detail put Chen Mo on his guard: a baby's face could appear inside someone's belly?

It sounded terrifying.

Chen Mo felt there was more to the story. "Third Master Xie did a good deed and helped the Li family. Why would they come to the Xie family to silence you?"

Third Master Xie shook his head with a sigh. "Old Madam Li came to see me afterward. She said I shouldn't have dissected the boy's corpse, and threatened to kill my entire family. If Manager Zhou of the Blood Ridge Black Market hadn't stepped in to mediate, I'd probably have been dead long ago."

Chen Mo continued, "Why was that?"

Was it because they wanted to conceal the madness plague?

But the boy was dead. What was there left to conceal?

"I was puzzled at the time too. Later, after performing autopsies on more people who'd died of the madness plague and learning all about it, I finally understood. Ordinary people who caught the madness plague after being possessed by an evil spirit would grow a baby's face on their abdomen. But there was another special case: people born with the madness plague."

Chen Mo immediately realized what he meant. "Old Master Li's young son was born with the madness plague?"

Xie Lianghong said, "Yes. Based on my years of research, one condition had to be met for this to happen: one of the parents had to be a madness-plague sufferer. And they had to be a long-lived sufferer. Only those who had developed defensive qi within their bodies could live for a long time."

Hearing this broadened Chen Mo's horizons, and at last he understood the reason:

From the moment Xie Lianghong dissected the boy's corpse, he knew that either Old Master Li or Old Madam Li was a long-lived madness-plague sufferer.

The authorities were everywhere, hunting down and guarding against people with the madness plague. Anyone discovered was either killed or imprisoned.

How could the Li family let outsiders learn about such a danger?

Just like Chen Mo now.

That raised the question...

Which of them was the madness-plague sufferer, Old Master Li or Old Madam Li?

It didn't take Chen Mo long to reach an answer: Old Madam Li.

She knew the truth, which was why she insisted Li Hongxi hadn't killed the boy. What's more, Old Madam Li hadn't told Old Master Li that she was a long-lived madness-plague sufferer. That was why he had killed Li Hongxi, then secretly taken the boy's corpse to Xie Lianghong for an autopsy.

The more Chen Mo thought about it, the more his blood ran cold.

The woman imprisoned in his home was also a long-lived madness-plague sufferer.

But she had changed beyond recognition... She wasn't human anymore.

For Old Madam Li to have lived for so many years as if nothing were wrong was no simple feat.

After sorting through the clues in his mind, Chen Mo asked, "Did Old Madam Li ever come after you again?"

Xie Lianghong looked terrified. "Manager Zhou vouched for me, and Old Madam Li was thinking of treating her daughter, so she never came after me again. But I knew she was a vicious woman. One day, she'd come for the Xie family. I repeatedly urged my elder brother to give up our business with the Blood Ridge Black Market. But he looked down on my lowly trade and said I was always spouting madman's nonsense. In the end, he couldn't bear to give up that little bit of business at the black market and refused to believe me... Now that Xiao Dong has met with disaster, Old Madam Li's daughter must have come out. She must feel there's hope for her future, so she no longer cares what Manager Zhou said..."

After hearing all this, Chen Mo was torn.

There was no evidence that what Xie Lianghong had told him was true, but Chen Mo had a powerful intuition that it was.

He couldn't help feeling sorry for Xie Lianghong. In his previous life, being a coroner would have been a virtuous profession, one that accumulated good karma. But in this world, people thought differently. They considered coroners' work degrading and filthy, so Xie Lianghong's own elder brother didn't believe him.

"Third Master Xie, there are two things I still don't understand. You said Old Master Li died eighteen years ago. But when I went to the black market a few months ago, I clearly saw him on the street. What was that about?"

"Ah."

Xie Lianghong sighed. "After working as a coroner for many years and seeing so many dead people, I gradually developed a knack for sensing whether someone was dead. But I could never produce evidence, so no one would believe me. I know the truth... Old Master Li really did die eighteen years ago. The one you saw wasn't alive."

Wasn't alive?

Chen Mo sighed inwardly for a moment before asking, "And how did you know Li Hongxi had climbed out of the well? Didn't Old Master Li seal the mouth of the well with red candles back then? The Li family had spent twenty years trying to find a way to get her out, but nothing worked. Why did she come out now?"

Xie Lianghong shook his head. "I have no proof. But I've dealt with the dead for many years, and I have a powerful intuition: Li Hongxi has come out. Old Madam Li loves her daughter more than anything. With her daughter trapped in that well all these years, Old Madam Li had lost all hope and didn't want to live herself. Now she's attacked my Xie family, which means her daughter must be well again. Old Madam Li wants to live..."

Chen Mo felt more and more uneasy. Seizing the chance, he asked, "Is there any way to deal with the Li family?"

Xie Lianghong shook his head. "Apart from the Red Lantern Society and Black Mountain Stronghold, the only people in the county who might have a way are inner-family martial artists. The rest... are helpless against evil spirits like the Li family."

Chen Mo suppressed his sense of relief and asked, "Inner-family martial artists can deal with evil spirits like the Li family?"

Xie Lianghong nodded. "An inner-family martial artist's six roots and six senses undergo a transformation. Their six roots become sharper, allowing them to sense the approach and movements of evil spirits like these. If you learn true inner-family techniques, you should have no great difficulty dealing with evil spirits like the Li family. But I'm no inner-family martial artist, so that's only my rough guess."

Chen Mo felt he had a handle on things. He figured he'd asked just about everything he needed to, so he cupped his hands and said, "If there's anything I can do for you, Third Master Xie, just say the word."

Although Chen Mo hadn't formed a particularly deep bond with Xie Dong, Xie Dong had helped him before. If he could help in return, he should.

Xie Lianghong said, "The Xie family has already been targeted. If we want to survive, our only option is to move out tonight and leave Hong County... It would be best if Second Young Master Chen could lend me some horses and carts."

Seeing that Xie Lianghong had made his choice, Chen Mo knew better than to say anything more.

Even Third Master Xie was looked down on by the head of the Xie family. What weight would the words of an outsider like him carry? Besides, Chen Mo had never truly killed an evil spirit like this. He wasn't confident in himself either.

Brushing aside his doubts, Chen Mo agreed. "I'll have someone send the carts and horses over as soon as I get back. If there's nothing else, Third Master Xie, I won't keep you any longer."

Just as he was about to leave, Xie Lianghong suddenly called him back. He took a booklet from his robes and pressed it into Chen Mo's hand. "I could tell Second Young Master Chen has been touched by an evil spirit, and that your sense of smell is keen. You also believe what I say, so I'm giving you my notes from years of studying the madness plague through dissections. In this world, there are few who'll believe me. I suppose I've finally found someone who shares my fate."

"Thank you, Third Master Xie. I'll go back and have someone send the horses over." Chen Mo bowed deeply to Third Master Xie, then left.

In the enormous room, Xie Lianghong was left all alone. He murmured to himself, filled with sorrow and despair. "What a cursed fate. I, Xie Lianghong, spent my whole life doing good for the dead, yet I never imagined I'd provoke a family of evil spirits like this. I brought this disaster on Xiao Dong and the Xie family..."