When that cry, sharp enough to tear the eardrums, exploded, the needle of the Grievance Plate inside Wang Quan's embrace spun crazily, almost bursting out of its shell! A cold light flashed in his eyes, and his figure swept down the ridge like a ghost, landing silently into the small courtyard of that household.
The courtyard was dead silent and the moonlight was pale, yet it failed to cast any physical shadow. But an invisible, ink-thick, toxic Qi of Grievance filled every inch of space, bone-chillingly cold. Wang Quan felt his head buzz with a "hum," and countless shattered, piercing infant wails exploded directly in his mind!
"It hurts!"
"Mother! Father! It hurts so much!"
"Why didn't you want me! Why did you make me hurt this much!"
That sound did not come from the outside world, but acted directly upon the divine soul. Wang Quan's vision went dark, and the surrounding scenery instantly distorted and blurred, as if he were being dragged into a completely different perceptual world.
Warm... safe... surrounded by soft and rhythmic pulsations. This was the initial feeling. He curled up in a small yet reassuring space, the sound of the outside world coming through the water ripples, hazy and distant. Most of the time it was dark, but he could feel slow growth, an instinctive, carefree peace. Occasionally, a gentle palm would stroke gently through the belly, bringing a lingering warmth.
Days were supposed to pass peacefully like this, until that day.
An indescribable warmth carrying a strong medicinal scent suddenly poured into this peaceful realm. At first there was nothing unusual, but soon, excruciating pain erupted without warning! That pain did not come from external impact, but originated from deep within the body, as if countless red-hot fine needles were crawling out from the depths of the bone marrow, crazily piercing and burning every inch of fragile tendon and bone! The amniotic fluid that originally nourished him now turned into boiling venom, enveloping him and eroding him.
"So painful... It hurts..." His consciousness screamed and rolled in the ultimate pain, yet unable to break free from this tiny vessel that was being destroyed from within. The outside world seemed completely oblivious; the gentle stroking remained, and he could even vaguely hear his mother's relieved sigh after taking the medicinal decoction. Only he, alone, endured this torture like a thousand cuts. The pain was boundless, and his consciousness gradually blurred and shattered in the tide of extreme agony, leaving only the most primitive resentment and incomprehension: Why? Why does it hurt so much? Why is no one coming to save me? Dad... Mother...
Wang Quan's consciousness almost completely overlapped with this dying fetus's grievance, and he felt all the bones in his body being crushed, his internal organs kneaded and torn apart by an invisible hand—an extreme pain originating from the origin of life that surpassed any of his past injury experiences. His face instantly turned as pale as paper, veins bulged on his forehead, cold sweat soaked his inner shirt, and his body trembled violently out of control, as if being chewed and devoured by thousands of poisonous insects. Just as his consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by this boundless pain and resentment, unable to distinguish whether he himself was Wang Quan or that desperate fetus—
[Warning! Subjected to a strong mental attack, trapped in the grievance illusion!]
[Abnormal mental fluctuation detected, judged to be the core ability of an Echo Realm specter-class evil entity, Grievance Submergence!]
The system's cold prompt tone exploded in his mind like thunder! Wang Quan gave a sudden start, and the scorching Qi and blood brought by the completion of the Myriad Monster Blood Devouring Art surged violently in his body like a volcanic eruption, the supreme-yang and supreme-rigid aura instantly dispelling the bone-chilling coldness and illusory pain! With a low roar, his eyes turned scarlet, and he forcefully broke free from the desperate perspective of the unborn fetus!
His vision returned to clarity, the small courtyard remained dead silent, and the moonlight was pale. He saw that beside the well head ahead, a blurry, constantly twisting and changing infant-shaped dark shadow was emitting a silent shrill scream, and the dense Grievance Qi was spreading in all directions like substantive black tentacles! The heart-burning and bone-igniting pain from just now originated precisely from this thing!
"Courting death!" Wang Quan's killing intent surged, and the Blood Drinking Saber fiercely left its scabbard, dragging a dark red blood glare as it hacked straight at the dark shadow!
Yet the blade swept past, as if chopping into a clump of damp, thick fog; the greater part of its force was unloaded, stirring up only a ripple-like fluctuation upon the Grievance Qi. The dark shadow merely thinned by a fraction, and instead emitted an even more shrill and vicious scream, more solidified Grievance Qi tentacles violently slamming toward Wang Quan!
Physical attacks had minimal effect!
Wang Quan understood in an instant, his mind racing as he drove the Myriad Monster Blood Devouring Art to its extreme! Majestic and scorching Qi and blood power penetrated his body, forming a faint layer of blood-colored halo around him. That supreme-yang and fierce aura was the nemesis of dark and evil Grievance Qi! The Grievance Qi tentacles slammed against the halo, instantly emitting a "chi-chi" burning sound, rapidly dissolving like snow encountering the sun!
At the same time, the Blood Drinking Saber in his hand hummed and trembled, and the tiny blood-colored rune on the blade lit up with an eerie glow, actually taking the initiative to emit a greedy, bloodthirsty fierce baleful intent, beginning to devour and tear at the surrounding Grievance Qi!
The dark shadow emitted a terrified shrill scream, clearly not expecting the target to be so tricky. It shrank abruptly, turning into a condensed stream of black Qi moving at extremely high speed, like a startled loach, and drilled "whoosh" into an inconspicuous rat hole in the corner of the courtyard wall, fleeing into the distance.
Wang Quan did not immediately give chase. Standing on the spot, he breathed slightly, calming the lingering panic left from the illusion and the churning Qi and blood within his body. The extreme pain generated after the fetus took the medicine, as well as the fuzzy impression of the medicine administrator, were clearly branded in his mind.
Early the next morning, before the daylight was fully bright, Wang Quan fetched charcoal and rough straw paper, and based on the residual impression of that fuzzy "doctor" figure holding a medicine bowl from the illusion, he carefully sketched. Although the face was unclear, that person's body contour, the dark cloth gown he often wore, and the characteristics of the square headscarf he wore on his head were vividly and deeply depicted by the grievance memory.
Holding this crude portrait, he revisited those victimized households from earlier. When the portrait was unfolded before those parents who had lost their children, without exception, they revealed looks of shock and confirmation.
"It's him! It's Doctor Liu of Spring Return Hall!"
"That's right! When my wife was pregnant and her condition was unstable, it was he who prescribed the fetus-protecting recipe for us!"
"He... yet he is a famous doctor in the South City! How could..."
The identification of several victims, coupled with the bizarre pain brought by that bowl of medicinal decoction personally experienced in the illusion, pointed the line directly at this doctor who seemingly practiced medicine to save the world. A fetus-protecting medicine... was actually a death warrant? Wang Quan put away the portrait and headed straight for Spring Return Hall.
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