The Baby Opens Its Mouth

Chen Mansion.

Late at night, at the Hour of the Rat, the courtyard where Chen Mo lived was still brightly lit.

Chen Mo sat on a bench in the main hall, staring at the woman before him—bound hand and foot, her mouth gagged—and felt a chill run down his spine.

Ma Tie had already drawn his blade, aiming it at the woman.

If she made any move to harm Chen Mo, Ma Tie would swing his sword and cut her down.

Though the woman was vicious and strong, without her limbs she had no leverage and posed no real threat to Chen Mo. Still, her blood-red eyes were fixed on him, wide and glaring, as if she wanted to devour him on the spot—a truly terrifying sight.

Qiulan shrank back, her face pale with fear. Every now and then, she glanced up at Chen Mo on the main seat. She felt that the Second Young Master had become a different person after his illness, carrying a sharpness and boldness he'd never had before.

Each of them held their own thoughts, waiting in silence. The heavy atmosphere was suffocating.

Chen Mo suddenly spoke. "Ma Tie, cut open the clothes on this woman's belly. I want to see."

"Yes!"

Compared to Qiulan, Ma Tie was far braver.

In his early years as a constable, he'd chased bandits and killed men—his bloodlust was no small thing.

Ma Tie stepped forward and sliced open the fabric over the woman's abdomen.

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

Hmm?

This detail caught Chen Mo's attention.

The baby face on his own belly had its mouth closed.

Could it be that once the baby's mouth opened, that was when the illness struck? When it started eating people?

It was just a guess, but Chen Mo had a strong feeling... this was close to the truth.

If the baby face's mouth opening meant the onset of the disease, then how did the baby face first appear on a person's abdomen?

And what symptoms came with its appearance?

Without the original body's memories, Chen Mo had no way of knowing.

He had to suppress his curiosity and stare fixedly at the baby face on the woman's belly, not moving a muscle.

The reason he'd bought this woman was, of course, to boil her skin and obtain the Guard Qi that could Resist Ghost Curse. But Chen Mo wasn't in a hurry.

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

From thirst? Starvation?

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

He needed to observe.

Also, according to the records in the case files, the three constables, including Zhang Da, had all died within one to three days after the illness struck. Though this woman was just a village peasant, far less sturdy than a constable, her body had produced Guard Qi to Resist Ghost Curse.

Chen Mo was very curious about the final outcome.

The vast main hall was dead silent, save for the flickering candlelight and the woman's hoarse, low whimpers—enough to make anyone's skin crawl.

Before long, Qiulan was nodding off.

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

Qiulan shuddered, snapping awake. "I'm not tired. The Master told me to take good care of you, Young Master."

Chen Mo didn't press her.

By the beginning of the Hour of the Tiger, the baby face on the woman's belly still hadn't changed.

Chen Mo couldn't hold out any longer. "Ma Tie, temporarily lock this woman in the rear house of the backyard. Gag her so she can't make noise, and remember to light some incense in the room to cover the smell of blood. Also, cut a piece of skin off her."

Ma Tie worked efficiently, did as he was told, and carried the woman off to the storage room next door.

Watching Ma Tie leave, Chen Mo instructed Qiulan, "Go wash this piece of skin clean..."

He stopped mid-sentence when he got no response. Turning around, he saw Qiulan trembling in fear.

Understandable. A girl of fourteen or fifteen, seeing a woman afflicted like this—how could she not be scared?

Chen Mo thought it over and said, "Forget it, I'll do it myself. Just bring me the tools."

He had no way out.

Besides, the Golden Finger had given clear hints, so he wasn't too afraid.

With the help of Qiulan and Ma Tie, two capable young hands, he spent the whole night refining a small lump of paste-like skin ointment by dawn.

It was bouncy, bouncy.

Having stayed up all night, Chen Mo was completely exhausted.

He smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Hard work paid off.

But Chen Mo didn't take it right away.

He wouldn't forget what the Golden Finger had told him—Guard Qi itself carried strong Yang Qi corrosion and could only be taken by those with powerful Qi and Blood.

Life and death were no small matters.

Chen Mo wasn't about to take risks lightly.

Only those with strong Qi and Blood could take it.

So the question remained.

How strong did Qi and Blood need to be to count as "strong"?

He'd have to find someone to test it out to be safe.

Chen Mo glanced at Qiulan and Ma Tie, saw they were both exhausted, and said, "You've worked hard following me. Go rest and come back to me this afternoon. Also, don't tell anyone outside about tonight's events. I won't treat you poorly in the future."

The two nodded in acknowledgment and headed out.

Chen Mo suddenly called Ma Tie back.

Though Ma Tie had been busy all night with Chen Mo, he had no complaints—in fact, he was happy to get closer to the Second Young Master. "Second Young Master, any other orders?"

Chen Mo said, "I owe you for last night."

Ma Tie replied excitedly, "Second Young Master, don't say that. I'm a guard of the mansion; serving you is my duty."

Chen Mo nodded. "Let me ask you—what's the standard for determining if someone has strong Qi and Blood?"

Ma Tie said, "Well... it probably has to do with a person's physique, and frankly, their martial arts level..."

With Ma Tie's patient explanation, Chen Mo finally got a rough understanding of this world's Martial Dao Realm.

In this world, martial arts had always been described as "External Training: Muscles, Bones, and Skin; Internal Training: A Breath of Qi."

External training meant forging the physical body and filling it with Qi and Blood—the basic foundation of martial arts. It was divided into five passes: Skin Refining, Muscle Refining, Bone Refining, Organ Refining, and Blood Refining.

Only a martial artist who had mastered Blood Refining—the fifth pass—could undergo Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation and cultivate Internal True Qi, stepping into the realm of an Internal Martial Master.

Once one entered the Internal realm, they were reborn, their lifespan extended, and they could be considered a master in the martial world.

Ma Tie himself was a Skin Refining Realm martial artist, stuck there due to a lack of resources, unable to advance to Muscle Refining.

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

A person's Qi and Blood were directly proportional to their martial realm, and to some extent, they could even be equated.

Chen Mo understood. "Can a martial artist with strong Qi and Blood resist the Mad Demon Disease?"

Ma Tie had been a county constable before and had some knowledge of Evil Spirits. He said, "I'm not sure about that. But when I worked at the County Office, I saw plenty of case files on the Mad Demon Disease. Most of the victims were ordinary people or those with low martial skill. So far, I haven't heard of any patient in the county who was above the third pass, the Iron Bone Realm."

Chen Mo's expression grew serious.

Logically, the higher one's martial skill, the stronger their Qi and Blood, and the better their immunity. They'd have greater resistance to all kinds of ailments.

But the Mad Demon Disease was extremely bizarre. Whether martial artists could suppress it... Chen Mo didn't dare jump to conclusions.

For now, the priority was to take the Guard Qi.

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 death-row convicts. Pick one with weaker Qi and Blood than mine, one about the same, and one or two stronger than me. Remember, bring them to me in secret. Don't let the Master see."

"Ma Tie will remember."