Ghost Curse

The county jail was tucked away in the southwest corner of the County Office.

Though it was deep in the night, a night-duty jailer still stood outside the thick prison gate. Clerk Li stepped over to greet him, slipped him some loose silver, and led Chen Mo and the others inside.

Entering the prison, a chilling, sinister aura rushed at them.

Walking down the cold, gloomy corridor, they relied solely on wall-mounted lamps for light.

Chen Mo caught the damp, rotting smell in the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a few rats scurrying along the walls of the cells on either side, squeaking as they went.

Chen Mo shrank his neck and kept observing his surroundings.

They moved forward without seeing a single jailer on duty.

Only when they neared Cell No. 1 did they spot a long table set up outside the iron bars. Four jailers in black uniforms sat around it, playing dominoes and cracking sunflower seeds.

Clerk Li went over to greet them and explain their business, then slipped the jailers some more loose silver.

One burly young man in black stood up, glanced at Chen Mo on Ma Tie's back, and grinned. "So it's Second Young Master Chen."

Chen Mo sized him up—roughly twenty-four or twenty-five, built like a brute.

Without the original body's memories, Chen Mo couldn't place him.

Luckily, Qiulan whispered a prompt from beside him. "His name is Li He. He's the head jailer here. He's close with the eldest young master and has visited the Chen Mansion a few times."

Chen Mo immediately put on a familiar smile, playing the old acquaintance. "Brother Li, long time no see. I wanted to take a look at the Mad Demon Disease patient. Sorry for the trouble."

Li He laughed magnanimously. "We're friends—no trouble at all. Go ahead and look. That's her."

Chen Mo followed Li He's pointing finger. Through the iron bars, he saw a disheveled woman huddled in the corner of Cell No. 1. Her clothes were tattered, and she was drenched in blood from head to toe.

She had gnawed her own hands clean off. Blood gushed from the stumps, splattering down with a steady drip-drip-drip. The thick, pungent stench of blood filled the air.

The next moment, as if hearing the noise, the woman lifted her head and looked at Chen Mo. Her mouth was full of blood, and she flashed him a sinister grin.

Hiss!

Chen Mo sucked in a sharp breath.

So this was what a Mad Demon Disease episode looked like?

No wonder... back then, his parents had nailed his hands and feet into a wooden vat, leaving only his head exposed.

Then it hit him—once his own disease flared up, he'd end up like this too...

Terrifying!

Utterly terrifying!

Just then—

"Heh heh~"

The woman let out a cold, eerie laugh at Chen Mo. The next second, she suddenly went berserk, shrieking and charging straight at him!

"What the... hell!"

Chen Mo jolted, instinctively leaning back. He expected her to rush over immediately, but then he noticed—her legs were gone too. She was crawling across the ground like a maggot.

"Raaah! Raaah!"

The woman felt no pain. Her bloodshot eyes locked onto Chen Mo as she inched... inch by inch... closer to him. Then she opened her mouth wide, baring chilling fangs, and tried to bite through the iron bars.

Her mouth stretched all the way to her ears. Her teeth were unlike a human's—long and sharp. Blood dripped from the fangs onto the floor.

For a split second, Chen Mo's heart seemed to stop.

"Get back!" Li He shoved a sheathed knife through the bars and smacked her hard on the forehead.

Blood streamed down her face.

But the woman acted as if she felt nothing, only snarling viciously at Chen Mo.

It took a long while before Chen Mo snapped out of it. "Brother Li. What's the story with this woman?"

Li He said, "What else? She had an episode. The villagers who reported it from Qinghe Town said she was fine yesterday. Then, while eating with her family, she suddenly snapped, bit her husband and two kids to death. Her uncle's family came to check on her and got caught up too. If Coroner Xie hadn't ordered the bodies kept for examination and research, she'd have been torn to pieces by now."

Chen Mo didn't ask any more. He steadied his emotions, then fixed his gaze on the spot on the woman's abdomen where the Infant Smile probably was, and pulled up his panel.

Sure enough, an infant face had appeared on her belly. There was also a rectangular bar—just one black segment—and three lines of text.

[Current Original Understanding Essence: 0]

[Current Recognition Count: 1]

[Detectable object found. Recognize?]

Huh?

This woman's Infant Smile could actually be recognized?

And it only had one black segment?

Why did his own Infant Smile have three black segments, and it couldn't be recognized?

Was it because this woman's Mad Demon Disease wasn't as severe as his?

Or was there another reason?

Chen Mo suppressed his curiosity, then decided it was well worth using his sole identification on a Mad Demon Disease patient. Without hesitation, he willed it:

'Identify!'

The moment the thought arose, a violent tremor slammed through his mind. The world spun, nearly rattling his brain into a concussion.

It took a long while before things gradually steadied.

The barcode-like square on the infant face at the woman's abdomen had vanished, replaced by lines of text.

[Name: Ghost Curse] [Type: Resentful Ghost Qi] [Function: Corrodes flesh and blood, seizes souls and controls minds] [Description: A powerful Ghost Curse that can infect through the Resentment of the human heart, manifesting as corporeal Ghost Qi on the skin's surface, then invading and infecting flesh and blood. Highly contagious.] [Note: This human skin membrane has generated Slight Wei Qi that resists Ghost Curse. Boiling the skin can Extract Wei Qi. Taking it can Delay the onset of Ghost Curse, but Wei Qi itself carries strong Yang Qi corrosion; only Those with strong Qi and Blood can consume it.]

Though it was his first time using the Golden Finger's identification, the information on the screen still left Chen Mo deeply shaken.

Ghost Curse!

Resentful Ghost Qi!

That meant... this Mad Demon Disease wasn't a disease at all. It was a Ghost Curse, evolving into corporeal Ghost Qi that invaded and infected?

That was terrifying.

Chen Mo would rather hear it was a disease.

The only comfort was that the Golden Finger was scientific enough to reveal the Ghost Qi's infection path.

Especially the note section.

It gave the feeling of a God's perspective, seeing through the weakness of the Ghost Resentment Curse.

This woman had generated Slight Wei Qi that resists Ghost Curse.

Chen Mo had studied and knew that Wei Qi was a type of Yang Qi. Born from Water and Grain, sourced from the Spleen and Stomach, emerging from the Upper Jiao, moving Outside the meridians. Its nature was fierce and swift, flowing rapidly and smoothly, with functions like nourishing inside and out, protecting the muscles and skin, resisting external evils, nourishing the interstices, and opening and closing sweat pores.

"This Wei Qi... it's like some kind of antibody."

No wonder the woman's infant face could be identified—the Wei Qi had lessened the symptoms.

Wei Qi... a Lifesaving straw, this was!

Chen Mo suddenly felt an immense relief.

Grateful he had the Golden Finger, grateful he had come to the County Office, grateful he hadn't wasted that single identification too early... If any link had gone wrong, he would have missed his chance to survive.

Hah!

Chen Mo took a deep breath, turned to Li He, and said, "Brother Li, could you hand this woman over to me?"

Li He was taken aback, his face showing reluctance. "This is what Coroner Xie specifically requested. If I give her to you, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to him."

Chen Mo quickly pulled out a hundred-tael silver note and pressed it into Li He's hand. "Elder Brother died a miserable death. I want to find the cause. Please, Brother Li, grant me this."

Li He pocketed the silver and said, "Young master is so loyal and devoted, how could I stand by and do nothing? Take her, then."

Loyalty and devotion weren't the point—the point was that Chen Mo had simply paid too much.