The Li Family's Vicious Karma!

Not only was Xie Lianghong terrified, even Chen Mo was caught off guard.

Li Hongxi had come out!?

Chen Mo immediately grasped the severity of the situation. Without overthinking, he asked, "Third Master Xie, are you saying... Li Hongxi crawled out of the Ancient Well?"

Xie Lianghong seemed not to hear him, sitting dazed on the ground, muttering over and over, "She crawled out. She's come to the Xie family to silence us..."

Seeing Xie Lianghong on the verge of madness, Chen Mo felt a chill run through him.

If it were an ordinary old man, hearing about ghosts and Evil Spirits, being this scared wouldn't be strange. But Xie Lianghong was a renowned coroner in Honghe County. He had dissected countless corpses, especially those with Mad Demon Disease.

In the County Office's archives, Xie Lianghong's name was everywhere.

A hardened man who dealt with the dead daily—and he was this shaken?

Fortunately, Chen Mo had broken through to the inner realm, so he stayed calm. He crouched down and helped Xie Lianghong up. "Third Master Xie!"

Perhaps because Chen Mo's hands were firm and warm, or maybe his voice was steady and deep, Xie Lianghong slowly came back to his senses. He glanced at Chen Mo, then let out a long sigh. "Second Young Master Chen, I thank you for your honesty today. You should head back now."

Chen Mo had only just managed to get a scrap of information about Li Hongxi—there was no way he was leaving now.

"Third Master Xie, our two families have always been on good terms. Now that the Xie Manor is in trouble, how could I stand by and do nothing? If you'd share the full story, I'll help however I can, no hesitation."

Xie Lianghong felt a wave of relief. He thought to himself: The Xie and Chen families aren't that close, yet Second Young Master Chen is so righteous. Now that my family's been targeted, having the Chen Mansion's help would be a good thing.

With that in mind, Xie Lianghong said, "Second Young Master Chen, you're a man of honor. At this point, there's nothing left to hide."

Then he slowly recounted the past.

It turned out Old Master Li had a youngest son who died before reaching a hundred days old. The child's death was strange, and Old Master Li strongly suspected Li Hongxi had glared the baby to death. But Granny Li didn't agree. The two argued fiercely.

Unable to swallow his anger, and driven by his preference for sons over daughters, Old Master Li took advantage of Granny Li's absence and pushed Li Hongxi into the well...

Granny Li blamed Old Master Li for killing Li Hongxi in a fit of rage, and the rift between them only grew.

To find proof, Old Master Li secretly took his youngest son's corpse to Xie Lianghong, hoping he would perform an autopsy.

Xie Lianghong couldn't refuse, so he dissected the child's body. What he found was... a Baby Face inside the infant's body, which had devoured all its internal organs.

It turned out the youngest son had died from Mad Demon Disease. Li Hongxi was innocent.

When Old Master Li learned the truth, he was filled with regret. He wandered around muttering, "Give me back my daughter," and soon went mad. Within two years, he was dead.

Hearing this, Chen Mo understood.

No wonder the earlier letter had such detailed information about the Li family—it made sense that Xie Lianghong had performed the autopsy on the child.

But one key detail caught Chen Mo's attention—a Baby Face could appear inside a belly?

That was terrifying to hear.

Chen Mo felt the story wasn't over. "Third Master Xie did a good deed, helping the Li family. Why would they come to the Xie Manor to kill everyone?"

Xie Lianghong shook his head and sighed. "Granny Li came to me later, saying I shouldn't have dissected the child's body. She swore she'd slaughter my entire household. If Steward Zhou from the Blood Ridge Black Market hadn't stepped in to mediate, I'd probably be dead by now."

Chen Mo pressed on. "Why is that?"

To hide the Mad Demon Disease?

But the child was already dead—what was there to hide?

"I was puzzled too at first. Later, as I kept dissecting the bodies of Mad Demon Disease patients and gained a thorough understanding of the illness, I finally figured it out. Ordinary people Possessed by Evil and infected with Mad Demon Disease grow a Baby Face in their abdomen. But there's a special case—those born with the disease."

Chen Mo immediately caught on. "Old Master Li's youngest son was born with Mad Demon Disease?"

Xie Lianghong said, "Yes. Based on my years of research, this requires one condition—one of the parents must be a Mad Demon Disease patient. And a long-term survivor. Only patients whose bodies produce Guard Qi can live that long."

Hearing this, Chen Mo's eyes widened. He finally understood the truth:

From the moment Xie Lianghong dissected the child's corpse, he knew that either Old Master Li or Granny Li was a long-term carrier of Mad Demon Disease.

The authorities were hunting down and strictly controlling Mad Demon Disease patients. Anyone discovered would be killed or imprisoned.

How could the Li family let that secret get out?

Just like Chen Mo's own situation.

So the question was...

Which one of them—Old Master Li or Granny Li—was the Mad Demon Disease patient?

Chen Mo thought it over, and the answer was clear: Granny Li.

Because she was the one who knew the truth, insisting Li Hongxi hadn't killed the child. And she never told Old Master Li she was a long-term carrier. That's why he killed Li Hongxi and secretly brought the child's body to Xie Lianghong for an autopsy.

The realization sent a chill down Chen Mo's spine.

The Woman locked up in his own home was also a long-term Mad Demon Disease survivor.

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

Granny Li, on the other hand, had lived all those years as if nothing was wrong. That was no small feat.

After sorting through these clues in his mind, Chen Mo spoke. "Did Granny Li ever come after you later?"

Xie Lianghong's face twisted with fear. "With Steward Zhou vouching for me, and Granny Li focused on treating her daughter, she never came for me. But I knew she was vicious. One day, she'd come for the Xie Manor. I urged my elder brother many times to pull out of the Blood Ridge Black Market business. But he looked down on my lowly profession and said I was talking nonsense. He couldn't bear to give up the profits from the black market and wouldn't listen to me... Now Xiao Dong has fallen victim. It must be Granny Li's daughter who came out. She sees hope for the future, so she no longer cares about Steward Zhou's words..."

After hearing all this, Chen Mo's mind was a tangled mess.

Although there was no evidence that what Xie Lianghong said was true, Chen Mo had a strong intuition—it was the truth.

It was just a pity for Xie Lianghong. He had spent his life as a coroner, which in a past life would have been a virtuous and good profession. But in this era, people held different views, all believing that coroners were a lowly and filthy trade. As a result, what Xie Lianghong said was not believed by his own elder brother.

"Third Master Xie, there are still two things I don't understand. You said earlier that Old Master Li died eighteen years ago. But when I went to the Black Market a few months ago, I clearly saw Old Master Li on the street. Why is that?"

Ah.

Xie Lianghong sighed. "I've worked as a coroner for many years and seen countless dead people. Over time, I developed a skill—I can sense whether someone is dead or alive by intuition. But I can't produce evidence, and no one believes me. I know... Old Master Li truly died eighteen years ago. The one you saw now is no longer a living person."

Not a living person?

Chen Mo felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, then said, "Also, Third Master Xie, how did you know that Li Hongxi crawled out of the well? Didn't Old Master Li seal the well with a Red Candle back then? The Li family tried for twenty years to find a way and failed—why did she come out now?"

Xie Lianghong shook his head. "I have no proof, but I've dealt with the dead for years, and I have a strong intuition—Li Hongxi is out. Granny Li dotes on her daughter the most. All these years her daughter was trapped in the well, Granny Li was utterly hopeless and didn't want to live herself. Now that she's made a move against my Xie family, it means her daughter is better, and Granny Li wants to live again..."

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

Xie Lianghong shook his head. "In the county, aside from the Red Lantern Society and Black Mountain Stronghold, only Internal Martial Masters have some methods. Other than that... there's no way to handle an Evil Spirit like the Li family."

Suppressing the relief in his heart, Chen Mo asked, "Can an Internal Martial Master deal with an Evil Spirit like the Li family?"

Xie Lianghong nodded. "An Internal Martial Master's six roots and six senses undergo a transformation. Their six roots become sharp, allowing them to detect the approach and tricks of such Evil Spirits. If one can learn Internal True Skill, dealing with an Evil Spirit like the Li family shouldn't be much of a problem. But I'm not an Internal Martial Master, so I can only make a rough guess."

Chen Mo now had a clearer picture. Feeling he had asked enough, he cupped his hands and said, "If there's anything I, your nephew, can do for Third Master Xie, please give the order."

Though Chen Mo and Xie Dong weren't particularly close, Xie Dong had helped him before. If he could help, he should.

Xie Lianghong said, "Our Xie family has already been targeted. If we want to survive, we have no choice but to move overnight and leave Honghe County... If Second Young Master Chen could lend me some horses and carts, that would be best."

Seeing that Xie Lianghong had made his decision, Chen Mo didn't say much more.

Even Third Master Xie was looked down upon by the Xie family's Master. What weight could the words of an outsider like him carry? Besides, Chen Mo had never truly killed an Evil Spirit like this, so he wasn't confident himself.

Shaking off his stray thoughts, Chen Mo agreed. "I'll go back and have the carts and horses sent over. If Third Master Xie has no other instructions, I'll take my leave."

Just as he was about to leave, Xie Lianghong suddenly called out to Chen Mo, took a booklet from his bosom, and pressed it into Chen Mo's hands. "I can see that Second Young Master Chen has encountered evil before and has a keen sense of smell. And since you believe what I say, I'll give you this booklet I've compiled over the years from dissecting corpses and studying the Mad Demon Disease. In this world, few believe my words, but now I've found someone fated to receive it."

"Thank you, Third Master. I'll go back now and have the horses sent." Chen Mo gave Xie Lianghong a deep bow with his cupped hands before leaving.

In the vast room, only Xie Lianghong remained, alone. He muttered to himself, filled with grief and despair. "A cursed fate. I, Xie Lianghong, have spent my life doing good for the dead, yet I've ended up provoking such a family of Evil Spirits. It's my fault that Xiao Dong is harmed, my fault that the Xie Manor is ruined..."