The Baby Opens Its Mouth

Chen Mansion.

It was the midnight hour, yet the courtyard where Chen Mo lived was still brightly lit.

Chen Mo sat on a long bench in the sitting room, staring at the woman before him, bound hand and foot and gagged. He was secretly alarmed.

Ma Tie stood beside him with his sword drawn, pointing it at the woman.

If the woman so much as made a move to hurt Chen Mo, Ma Tie would slash her dead.

The woman was vicious and strong, but without her hands and feet, she had no leverage and posed no threat to Chen Mo. Still, she glared at him with a pair of blood-red eyes, as if she couldn't wait to eat him alive. The sight was truly horrifying.

Qiulan huddled nearby, her face pale with fear. Every so often, she looked up at Chen Mo, seated in the place of honor. She couldn't help feeling that the Second Young Master had become a different person after his serious illness, with a sharpness and boldness he'd never shown before.

Everyone had their own thoughts as they waited in silence. The heavy atmosphere was almost suffocating.

Chen Mo suddenly spoke. "Ma Tie, pull open the woman's clothes over her abdomen. I want to take a look."

"Yes!"

Ma Tie was far braver than Qiulan.

He'd worked as a constable in his younger days, tracking down bandits and killing men. He was no stranger to bloodshed.

Ma Tie stepped forward and cut open the woman's clothes over her abdomen.

Chen Mo saw that her belly was already round and swollen. The baby face on it looked especially grotesque, and the baby's mouth was slightly open, just a crack.

Hm?

This detail put Chen Mo on alert.

The baby face on his own abdomen had its mouth shut.

Could it be that once the baby's mouth opened, that meant the disease was about to flare up? That it would start eating people?

It was only a guess, but Chen Mo had a strong feeling that it was close to the truth.

If the baby face's mouth opening meant the disease was flaring up, then how had the baby face first appeared on a person's abdomen?

What symptoms appeared when it first emerged?

With no memories from the original owner to draw on, Chen Mo had no way of knowing.

He could only suppress his curiosity and stare fixedly at the baby face on the woman's abdomen, without moving.

He'd bought the woman so he could boil her skin down and obtain Guard Qi to Resist Ghost Curse. But Chen Mo wasn't in a hurry.

After all, he wanted to see how the woman would eventually die.

Would she die of thirst or starvation?

Chen Mo didn't think it would be that simple.

He needed to observe her.

Besides, the records in the case files said that the three constables, including Zhang Da, had all died within one to three days of the disease flaring up. The woman was only a peasant, with a far less robust build than a constable, but her body had produced Guard Qi to Resist Ghost Curse.

Chen Mo was very curious to see how it would all end.

The vast sitting room was utterly quiet. Only the candles flickered, while the woman let out a hoarse, low moan that made one's hair stand on end.

Before long, Qiulan began to nod off.

Chen Mo naturally couldn't sleep, so he said, "Qiulan, if you're tired, go sleep in the side room. I'll call you if I need anything."

Qiulan shuddered, rousing herself a little. "I'm not tired. Master told me to take good care of Young Master."

Chen Mo didn't press her.

By the beginning of the yin hour, the baby face on the woman's abdomen still hadn't changed.

Chen Mo couldn't keep going any longer. "Ma Tie, secretly lock this woman up for now in the rear rooms behind the back courtyard. Keep her mouth stuffed so she can't make a sound. Remember to burn some incense in the room to cover the smell of blood. Also, cut a piece of skin from her."

Ma Tie was efficient. He did as instructed, then carried the woman to the storeroom next door.

As Ma Tie left, Chen Mo told Qiulan, "Go wash this skin clean..."

He stopped halfway through. When she didn't respond, he turned around and saw that Qiulan was already trembling with fear.

Of course. Any girl of fourteen or fifteen would be frightened after seeing a woman suffering through such an outbreak.

After a moment's thought, Chen Mo said, "Never mind, I'll do it myself. Just go fetch the tools."

He had no way out.

And since his Golden Finger had given him a clear warning, there was no need to be too afraid.

With the help of Qiulan and Ma Tie, two capable assistants, he spent the whole night working. At last, by dawn, he had extracted a small lump of gelatinous skin paste.

It was bouncy and springy.

After a sleepless night, Chen Mo was completely worn out.

A smile spread across his face, genuine and unrestrained.

Hard work paid off.

But Chen Mo didn't take it right away.

He couldn't forget the information his Golden Finger had given him: Guard Qi carried a powerful Yang Qi corrosion and could only be consumed by someone with abundant qi and blood.

There was no small matter when it came to life and death.

Chen Mo wouldn't take a reckless risk.

It could only be consumed by someone with abundant qi and blood.

That raised the question.

Just how much qi and blood did someone need to count as having an abundance?

The only way to be sure was to find someone to test it on.

Chen Mo glanced at Qiulan and Ma Tie. Both of them looked utterly exhausted. He said, "You've both worked hard following me. Go get some rest. Come back here this afternoon. Also, don't tell anyone about what happened tonight. I won't forget your kindness."

The two nodded in agreement and started to leave.

Chen Mo suddenly called Ma Tie back.

Though Ma Tie had worked alongside Chen Mo all night, he hadn't complained. If anything, he was happy to have gotten closer to the Second Young Master. "Does the Second Young Master have any other orders?"

Chen Mo said, "I couldn't have done it without you last night."

Ma Tie replied excitedly, "What are you saying, Second Young Master? I'm a guard in this household. Serving you is my duty."

Chen Mo nodded. "Let me ask you: is there a standard for determining whether someone has strong qi and blood?"

"Well... I'd say it depends on a person's build. Put simply, it depends on how good their martial arts are..."

Thanks to Ma Tie's patient explanation, Chen Mo finally gained a rough understanding of the Martial Dao Realm in this world.

The saying went: "External Training: Muscles, Bones, and Skin; Internal Training: A Breath of Qi."

External training involved tempering the body and bolstering qi and blood. It was the foundation of martial arts, divided into Five Passes: Skin Refining, Muscle Refining, Bone Refining, Organ Refining, and Blood Refining.

Only a martial artist who had perfected Blood Refining at the Five Passes could transform blood into qi and cultivate Internal True Qi. From then on, they would enter the realm of an Internal Martial Master.

Once they entered the inner ranks, they would undergo a complete transformation and live longer. Even across the martial world, they would be considered an expert.

Ma Tie was a martial artist in the Skin Refining Realm. Because he lacked resources, he had been unable to advance to the Muscle Refining Realm.

The strongest guard in Chen Mansion was Zhou Liang, a martial artist in the Five Passes: Blood Infusion Realm.

A person's qi and blood were directly proportional to their level of martial arts. To a certain extent, the two could even be treated as one and the same.

Chen Mo understood. "Can martial artists with strong qi and blood resist Mad Demon Disease?"

Ma Tie had once served as a constable at the yamen, so he knew a thing or two about Evil Spirits. He said, "I'm not sure. But when I worked at the yamen, I read plenty of case files about Mad Demon Disease. Most of the victims were ordinary people or people with poor martial arts. As far as I know, no one in the county with the Three Gates Iron Bone Realm or higher has ever contracted Mad Demon Disease."

Chen Mo's expression turned grave.

By common sense, the higher a person's level of martial arts, the stronger their qi and blood and the better their immunity. They should be more resistant to all kinds of illnesses.

But Mad Demon Disease was extremely strange. Chen Mo didn't dare make any rash claims about whether martial artists could counter it.

For now, taking the Guard Qi remained the top priority.

With that in mind, Chen Mo said, "Tomorrow, get some silver notes from Qiulan and go to the County Office prison to buy a few condemned prisoners. Pick one with weaker qi and blood than mine, one with about the same, and one or two with stronger qi and blood. Remember to bring them here in secret. Don't let Master see."

"I'll remember, Second Young Master."