Ch105 - Snow Pear Flavored Dead Gong (4)

Translated by Hua Li ^_~

One month ago.

After inspecting the venue at Qizang Pavilion, Quan Zijie and Mei Ling were very satisfied with the location. They made an appointment with Gou Liang to come the next day for a vintage wedding photoshoot.

As they left, Quan Zijie received a call from his mentor.

“Really? It has been delivered already?”

“Alright, I’ll come over right away!”

Apologizing to his newlywed wife, Quan Zijie rushed to the location.

Quan Zijie was a history Ph.D. student at Capital University A. Half a month ago, an earthquake occurred in a certain place in Shuangye City, causing a mountain to collapse and exposing ancient tombs buried within. A thousand-year-old tomb was finally uncovered.

A batch of burial artifacts was delivered today.

Mei Ling waved her hand, saying, “Sometimes I really doubt if you love mummies more than me.”

Quan Zijie apologized with a smile and hurried off.

“These porcelains, bronzes, are all very ancient, both in craftsmanship and inscriptions. We’ve searched through records and could only find some similar symbols, dating back to a civilization over three thousand years ago… Zijie, don’t touch them.”

“Alright, Teacher. It’s just that I feel like I’ve seen the patterns on this wine jar somewhere.”

“Really!”

“I can’t recall it right now. You wait for me to confirm when I get back.”

“Sure, make sure to hurry up and check.”

That night, Quan Zijie worked late, and eventually, unable to resist, he opened the vacuum box and took out the bronze wine jar—

His head and ears suddenly buzzed, and the jade Guanyin on his chest shattered.

*

Mei Ling covered her stomach, her face pale, “I… I’m pregnant?”

Gou Liang nodded, but unfortunately, this child and her were fated to be separated.

Gou Liang looked at Quan Zijie’s father and said, “This time, it’s not an ordinary evil spirit causing trouble. It only harmed the jade Guanyin, and Quan Zijie was injured because of it. In his past life, he had accumulated virtue, and his destiny is not bad; that’s why he didn’t die instantly.”

“But I wonder which expert Mr. Quan consulted, who actually used the fetal breath in Mei Ling’s belly as bait, transferring the ghostly aura from his son to her.”

“In this way, Quan Zijie indeed has a chance of survival, but Mei Ling and the child in her womb are undoubtedly doomed. If it weren’t for the generations of heroic deeds performed by Miss Mei’s ancestors for the country, she would have died when you cast the spell. Mr. Quan is too attached to his son, but treating an innocent woman and even his own grandson in this way is simply insane.”

Mr. Quan protested, “You’re talking nonsense! Master Wu said he absolutely wouldn’t harm Xiao Ling!”

Gou Liang’s eyes flashed a hint of cold light, “Who is Master Wu?”

Mr. Quan stammered, and Gou Liang sternly said, “At this point, you still won’t explain clearly? Do you want your son’s whole family to die because of you?”

Mr. Quan was greatly shocked and finally revealed the truth.

At the beginning, Quan Zijie only had a headache and fever. Everyone thought it was just a minor cold and didn’t pay much attention. Who would have expected him to suddenly go into shock?

Although his life was saved, the doctor issued a critical condition notice, asking them to be mentally prepared. Mr. Quan, in pain, smoked in the safe passage, shedding tears when he suddenly encountered a kind-hearted person. The person bluntly pointed out that Quan Zijie was possessed by a dirty thing, but unfortunately, the person dealing with it required profound skills, and he could do nothing to help.

After several pleas, Mr. Quan was willing to pay a high price to invite his master to perform spells for Quan Zijie.

The so-called Master Wu told Mr. Quan that to save Quan Zijie, he could only go down the path of exchanging one life for another and must use the life of a close blood relative. Mr. Quan, considering his own health, which was not good anyway, and thinking that if he could exchange a few years of his life for his son’s, he agreed without much thought.

Unexpectedly, Master Wu calculated that his daughter-in-law was already pregnant.

A one-month-old embryo and his own life—after a moment of consideration, Mr. Quan’s choice was self-evident.

“Old Quan, you’re confused!”

Father Sun slammed the table after hearing the whole story.

Mrs. Quan, shocked and delighted, urgently asked, “Husband, is what the master said true? Can Zijie really be—”

“Yes, in another month, that child will naturally miscarry, and Zijie will survive!”

Mr. Quan confidently declared, his eyes revealing a hint of craziness that he didn’t realize.

“Naive.”

Gou Liang sneered lightly.

“Mr. Quan, you’ve been deceived.”

Master Zhang didn’t know what he was thinking, his face looked grim. He sighed and said, “I was born in the capital, working in this field for over thirty years, and I have never heard of the so-called Master Wu.”

“Moreover, exchanging one life for another is not something anyone can easily do. Even if there is such a dark art in the world, the practitioner has to pay a great price. That charlatan and your unrelated relationship, he wouldn’t risk his own life for money, right? Didn’t you ever have any doubts later on? Can you still contact him now?”

Mr. Quan opened his mouth but said, “Master Wu said that doing this would damage his Yin virtue, and he couldn’t have too much connection with that child. So…”

Father Sun pressed on with questions, only to find out that he didn’t even have a contact method.

Such a crude deception, yet he still believed in it until now, unwilling to let go of the lie he treated as a lifesaving straw.

Mrs. Mei was at a loss, holding her daughter and crying, “What should we do about my Xiao Ling? Damn it, you actually used my daughter and grandson’s lives to exchange for Zijie’s life. Are you crazy?! I will sue you and make you die a miserable death!”

Mr. Quan hurriedly said, “In-law, Xiao Ling will be fine. If I didn’t confirm this, how could I—”

“Why wouldn’t you dare? Isn’t she supposed to die?”

Mr. Quan angrily stared at Gou Liang, meeting his gaze that seemed to see through his selfishness, and suddenly bowed his head.

Yes, he had already sensed that something was wrong before and questioned himself.

However, regardless of the answer, he had no regrets.

When it came to choosing between his son’s life and his own, he could decisively choose his son without hesitation. But when it came to his daughter-in-law, it was a completely different story. Even if he knew from the beginning that this method would harm Mei Ling, he would still make the same choice.

From being in-laws to turning into enemies happened in the blink of an eye. Mrs. Quan lost control, using her hands to hit Mr. Quan, but no matter how much she questioned and cried, it was already too late.

Mr. Sun blamed himself. He was not only a friend of Mr. Quan but also the matchmaker for Mei Ling and Quan Zijie. He never thought that a marriage arrangement would bring such a calamity to Mei Ling.

Sun Zhouzhou, recovering from shock, urgently asked Gou Liang, “Qining, is there still a way to save my sister?”

Gou Liang thought for a moment, took out a talisman from his shoulder bag, and handed it to Mei Ling. “Take this, it can temporarily suppress it. As for what happens next, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate.”

Mei Ling took it and pasted it on her stomach. “What about my child?”

Gou Liang shook his head, and Mei Ling finally couldn’t hold back her tears.

Mrs. Quan, witnessing this, turned to Gou Liang, saying urgently, “Mr. Meng, you must have a way to save my son, right? Please, please save him.”

She knelt down, but Gou Liang quickly avoided it. He couldn’t accept such a gesture.

“Originally, if he could persist on his own until now without resorting to these unorthodox methods, after removing the evil spirit, he could still survive. But now…” Gou Liang glanced at Mr. Quan mockingly. “After Mei Ling’s child miscarries, he will die. Forgive me for being unable to help. You should go find Master Wu.”

Mr. Quan was stunned.

Mr. Sun took Mei Ling’s mother and daughter back home. Master Zhang and Gou Liang had a private conversation so did not share a car with them.

“Nephew Meng, did you see it?”

Master Zhang asked with a serious expression.

Gou Liang asked, “Uncle Zhang, do you mean that someone deliberately misled Mr. Quan and used Mei Ling’s unborn child as a ghost baby?”

“Yes.” Master Zhang said, “Since Mr. Quan mentioned meeting that fraudster in the hospital, they must have planned for a long time. They had probably been looking for miscarriages or aborted babies in the hospital during that time. However, the situation has become so big now that it may have alarmed the snake and made it difficult to draw it out.”

Gou Liang sneered, “The ghost baby in Mei Ling’s belly is different from others. With such intense ghostly energy immersed in the fetus, once born, it will have powerful demonic energy. The mastermind behind it will not give up.”

Master Zhang thought about it, his face softened a little, and he said, “It is really disturbing to do such vicious things to harm people and not let them obey the law.”

Gou Liang laughed, “That’s not the case. What about police work? Uncle Zhang still works part-time like this?”

Master Zhang touched the jade ring and did not answer. His face eased slightly, saying, “If according to Mr. Quan’s statement, the problem may indeed lie with the batch of newly excavated cultural relics. But I have not heard of anyone from University A’s research team encountering any problems. I wonder why they singled out Quan Zijie.”

Gou Liang said, “I have a guess, but I need to see those artifacts with my own eyes to have a definite answer. Uncle Zhang, do you have a way?”

Hearing this, Master Zhang nodded, “Indeed, Brother Meng’s son, truly extraordinary”

Master Zhang could introduce them to someone who could help.

That night, Gou Liang and Master Zhang went to the museum.

Professor Ye, Quan Zijie’s mentor, handed over the information. “The information is here, and our confirmed information is limited.”

Master Zhang said, “Thank you.”

While they exchanged formalities, Gou Liang, looking around, quietly asked, “Bi Xia, is it these things?”

Bi Xia looked through them one by one and finally stopped at the bronze wine jug, nodding to Gou Liang.

“Professor Ye, can we take this wine jug with us for a closer look?” Gou Liang asked.

Professor Ye hesitated and, without unlocking the password, asked, “Mr. Zhang, Mr. Meng, is Quan Zijie’s illness related to this wine jug?”

Surprised, Master Zhang said, “Why do you say that, Professor Ye?”

Professor Ye sighed, “When these cultural relics were just sent over, I heard Quan Zijie mention that he seemed to have seen the patterns on this wine jug somewhere. Later, I checked the surveillance, and he took out this wine jug twice. After that, he had an accident. I’ve been suspicious, but I didn’t dare let students touch this wine jug again. I didn’t expect my guess to be true.”

Upon hearing this, Gou Liang confirmed that Quan Zijie had indeed tampered with the bronze sword in the third room on the second floor of the Qizang Pavilion—curiosity kills the cat, as expected.

Gou Liang said, “It’s okay; this kind of thing won’t harm us. Thank you.”

Professor Ye, still doubtful, unlocked the password, but he didn’t touch the wine jug himself. Instead, he reminded Gou Liang to wear gloves before inspecting it.

Master Zhang, after looking for a while, couldn’t see any problems. However, Gou Liang’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He asked, “Nephew, have you seen any issues?”

Gou Liang silently sighed, looking at Bi Xia: You’re in big trouble, my dear.

Gou Liang said, “Indeed, there are some problems. Professor Ye, can we borrow this wine jug?”

Professor Ye was hesitant, “These are state-owned properties. Unless you provide an official letter from the relevant department, I can’t make the decision.”

Gou Liang looked at Master Zhang, and the latter wanted to clarify Gou Liang’s intentions. Gou Liang whispered, “To save Mei Ling, we need to use this item to lure out the mastermind behind the ghost baby.”

Master Zhang quickly contacted someone to handle the matter.

On the way back, Master Zhang explained that he had received information. The person who deceived Mr. Quan was indeed a fortune teller, but his abilities were quite ordinary. His wife had been admitted to the hospital a month ago due to an unstable pregnancy. He had been moving around in the hospital since then. Now, both he and his wife had disappeared, and they were currently searching for their identities.

Finally, Master Zhang said, “The Mei family has three generations of military service, and Mei Ling’s father died while rescuing people during a flood. She is the martyr’s orphan. If you have a way to save her life, whatever you need me to do, contact me.”

Gou Liang agreed.

Suppressing his feelings all the way, when he returned home, Gou Liang immediately grabbed Bi Xia and asked, “You said your runaway soul was in that wine jug, and now they’ve run away?”

Bi Xia nodded, feeling troubled,”Presumably, when I broke free from the bronze sword, they also felt the resonance. Afterward, they obtained my aura from Quan Zijie and managed to escape from the bronze jug. The ghost in that soul is heavily resentful. If we don’t find it in time, I’m afraid something bad will happen.”

“Exactly, causing an earthquake the moment they appeared, shaking half the mountain. If left unchecked, who knows how many natural disasters and human calamities would have occurred.”

Gou Liang said.

Bi Xia chuckled, “Aning, you seem to be quite happy.”

Gou Liang said, “Since they haven’t dissipated, they must be found again. Of course, I’m happy for you!”

The ethereal spirit didn’t dissipate, his abstinence didn’t turn into an incurable condition, what could be more worth celebrating than this! He couldn’t wait for that spirit and soul to stir up some trouble so he could capture them soon!

Oh, he absolutely couldn’t wait!

The next afternoon, Master Zhang brought the bronze wine jug to find Gou Liang.

Taking advantage of the ghost fetus not yet fully formed, they didn’t delay and immediately headed to the Mei family.

Mei Ling asked, “I had a miscarriage, and Quan Zijie, is he really… not going to make it?”

Although she hated Quan Zijie’s father, she still had feelings for her husband. Thinking that he might die, she felt deeply saddened.

Mrs. Quan hurriedly said, “Xiao Ling, you must not be foolish. Don’t delay any longer; your life is at stake. You’re all I have left. For the sake of your mother, you must stay safe, understand?”

Mother and daughter were teary-eyed.

Gou Liang said, “Miss Mei, even if it’s not now, once the ghost fetus takes shape and slips out of your body, he will die.”

Mei Ling covered her eyes, suppressing her crying, and agreed to cooperate with Gou Liang.

Using the bronze jug as a magical tool, Gou Liang chanted, “Guardians of the Three Realms, overseers of the Five Emperors. A salute to the myriad gods, command the thunder with respect. Ghosts and demons lose their courage, spirits and monsters lose their forms!”

“Not good, someone is manipulating the ghost fetus!”

In a certain underground room, a shrine was filled with ninety-nine wooden-carved baby figures. One of them suddenly trembled violently, and the facial expression seemed to come to life, filled with fear and discomfort. The person guarding the shrine immediately used a magical tool to inject a burst of malicious energy into the wooden carving.

“It hurts!”

Mei Ling suddenly screamed.

Gou Liang’s brow furrowed; the other party seemed to want to link the pregnant woman’s life with the ghost fetus. At this critical moment, he pricked his own finger, suspended it above Mei Ling’s stomach, used blood as a guide, and chanted, “Respectfully invite the light of heaven, the light of earth, the light of the sun, moon, and stars, the universal light. Manifest the golden light swiftly, protect the true person!”

The golden light-infused talisman entered Mei Ling’s stomach, the blood drained from Gou Liang’s face, and a stream of black blood flowed out of Mei Ling, entering the prepared hot vinegar.

At the same time, the wooden-carved ghost fetus on the shrine cracked open and disintegrated into powder.

“Master, the ghost fetus has been destroyed.”

“But what about the host?”

“It’s… gone.”

“Useless.”

As the voice fell, the practitioner spat out blood and, when found by others, had already turned into a cold corpse. He was the fortune teller who deceived Mr. Quan in the hospital.

Meanwhile, in the high-grade ward of the hospital, the electrocardiogram emitted a sharp alarm, and after intense fluctuations, the electrocardiogram returned to a flatline.

“Quan Zijie!!”

Mr. Quan and his wife cried out in pain.

“Mr. Meng, can I… see her one more time?”

“Are you here to say goodbye?” Gou Liang looked at Quan Zijie, “You must know, the paths of humans and ghosts are different. You’ll only bring her more troubles.”

Quan Zijie squatted down, gently cradling the small infant spirit clung to his ankle, tears of blood in his eyes, “I just… don’t want her to be too sad. I’m afraid she won’t get over this shadow, won’t dare to love someone else. I don’t want her to spend the rest of her life alone.”

Gou Liang sighed and, tapping Mei Ling’s eyebrow, signaled them to say their goodbyes.

“I’m sorry, Ling’er. I’m sorry…”

“Quan Zijie, your appearance is really ugly, really ugly…”

Mei Ling cried out in despair.

Bi Xia said, “In the end, I harmed them.”

Gou Liang said, “No one forced him to touch the bronze sword and bronze jug; being reckless is an illness, and it’s fatal when committed.”

Bi Xia sighed.

Gou Liang smiled at him, “Now you know the urgency of finding back your spirit and soul, right?”

Quan Zijie approached, “Thank you, Mr. Meng, for saving my wife.”

He sincerely expressed his gratitude, and the golden light of merit that hadn’t been consumed flowed to Gou Liang’s hand, leaving him stunned—this golden light had directly transformed into soul coins gifted to him! The ever-relaxed Meng Qining, who lacked ambition and soul power, finally found the correct way to earn soul coins in this world.

Grasping his hand, he laughed, “Let me send you off.”

*

Coming out of the Mei family, Master Zhang took out a green ID card, smilingly saying, “Nephew, interested in joining our special task force?”

Honestly, even I didn’t expect Quan Zijie to die…I actually feel really sad for him and Mei Ling.