Chapter 53: Fate in the Shadows

Granny Wan's face changed dramatically the moment she heard my words—she, who was always so composed, now seemed genuinely shocked. Fortunately, she recovered quickly; with a swift motion, she pulled a yellow talisman from her pocket and slapped it onto the forehead of the shadow fetus.

As soon as the talisman touched its skin, the shadow fetus seemed to shrink, becoming visibly smaller in an instant. What surprised me even more was when Granny Wan, with a forceful twist of her hand, stuffed the shadow fetus back into Xu Yingying’s belly, then gave her a strong push, sending both mother and child tumbling back into the water.

“Run!”

With a splash, as Xu Yingying hit the water, Granny Wan shouted at me. I didn’t stop to ask why—I just seized the oar and steered our fishing boat quickly toward the nearest shore. Having grown up on the river, I handled the boat with speed and skill, and in no time, we reached the bank.

Helping Granny Wan ashore, I realized she was drenched in sweat. She turned back toward where Xu Yingying had disappeared and shouted, “Girl, if you want your child to be reborn into a wealthy family in the next life, listen to this old woman—control your child, and don’t let it come out and taste human blood!”

It was as if Xu Yingying heard her. The river’s surface began to ripple, waves spreading from that spot, only calming down after more than ten minutes.

Granny Wan let out a long sigh of relief. I turned to her and asked, “Granny, didn’t you say that once the shadow fetus was born, it would go into the cat-bone urn on its own? Why didn’t it?”

She spat and cursed, “What a sin, what a sin. That child is no longer a shadow fetus—it’s become a wandering infant spirit.”

I asked her about the difference between a shadow fetus and a wandering spirit. Granny Wan explained that a wandering spirit is a shadow fetus that has already turned into a corpse—essentially, an evil ghost. A living infant drinks milk after birth, but a wandering spirit craves human blood.

Once a wandering spirit has tasted blood, it will abandon all hope of reincarnation.

Back when I first arrived in Duhe City, I had encountered a wandering infant spirit. It hadn’t seemed as terrifying as the stories claimed, so I couldn’t understand why Granny Wan had reacted with such fear just now.

She went on to explain that the spirit itself wasn’t the most frightening part—it was the mother’s corpse. If you try to deal with the wandering spirit and it drinks your blood, the mother’s corpse will turn into a vengeful fiend and fight you to the death. But if you leave the wandering spirit alone, it will drain you dry.

A chill ran down my spine. Xu Yingying was already formidable—if we did anything to her child and enraged her, Granny Wan and I would not leave here alive.

I asked, “Granny Wan, what should we do now?”

She fell silent for a long time before finally replying, “We failed to guide the spirit this time. No matter how powerful Xu Yingying may be, she can only restrain the wandering spirit for a day or two. On your wedding day, Xu Yingying will definitely bring it to find you...”

I was dumbfounded. Dealing with Xu Yingying alone was terrifying enough; now, with a wandering spirit in the mix, things had gotten much worse.

“Is there any other way?” I really didn’t want to die at Xu Yingying’s hands, so I turned to Granny Wan for hope.

She looked at me and said, “To deliver a wandering infant spirit, you need someone with a fate born under the sign of pure Yin. But such people are rare. Those with a pure Yin fate attract all kinds of unclean things, and few live past the age of eighteen.”

A pure Yin fate required birth in a year, month, day, and hour all governed by Yin. I’d hardly ever met anyone like that in my life. How could I possibly find such a person in the next two days?

Granny Wan said, “I know of one person with a pure Yin fate here in Duhe City. The only problem is, I don’t know how to bring myself to ask them.” She stared at me intently.

Feeling a little uneasy under her gaze, I said, “Who is it? Don’t tell me it’s me?”

She spat, “If it were you, why would I have run so fast just now? I’d have just sent you in to pull the fetus out myself.”

“Then who is it?” I asked.