Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Souls forcibly extracted from fetuses?!

Xu Cheng's scalp tingled, recalling the appearance of those little ghosts, who, aside from their unnaturally pale skin, indeed resembled small infants in size and form.

"Souls extracted…" Despite the sweltering summer night, Xu Cheng felt as if he had plunged into an icy cavern, "What happens to the babies?"

Shen Wang lowered his eyes.

Xiao Kong cheerfully replied, "What else could happen? They just die."

Xiao Kong, a little ghost without memory or understanding of human affairs, didn't realize the immense impact of his simple statement on ordinary humans, nor the cruel truth it conveyed.

Xu Cheng, with a blank stare, questioned, "Those little ghosts just now, how many were there? Three? Four?"

"That's just the number you saw," Shen Wang responded. "There are even more infant ghosts in that secret chamber."

And thus, Shen Wang understood why, despite being in a peaceful era, Lin Yin-Yang harbored such intense resentment.

In this day and age, an adult's disappearance or sudden death would draw widespread attention. But what about an unborn fetus or a fragile infant, barely having lived?

Nobody wants to believe that someone could be so cruel to defenseless children.

"How could this be, there's never been any talk of such things in the village," Xu Cheng murmured in shock.

Shen Wang asked him, "If someone was pregnant and didn’t want the baby, so they went to the hospital to terminate the pregnancy… would they broadcast it everywhere?"

Xu Cheng was dumbfounded: "No way."

Shen Wang spread his hands: That settles it.

After returning to the hospital, Xu Cheng looked utterly distracted.

The pregnant woman had woken up and was chatting with Mother Xu. Seeing Shen Wang and the others, she smiled sheepishly: "You've really gone out of your way for us today."

"It's nothing, just a small effort," Shen Wang said with a smile.

In the hospital room, only Mother Xu was present, with no sign of Grandma Lin.

Noticing Shen Wang's gaze, the pregnant woman took the initiative to explain: "She came, glanced at me and my daughter, and left."

As she left, she was cursing and complaining, calling her a 'financial burden' and urging her to quickly have another child with her grandson, suggesting to seek help from a feng shui master to ensure it's a boy.

No matter how gentle and forbearing she was, being humiliated like this about herself and her newborn daughter, the pregnant woman couldn't just play deaf and dumb, swallowing her anger.

For the first time, she had a big argument with Grandma Lin.

Although she said she had argued with Grandma Lin, her gentle and shy demeanor made it hard to imagine her in a quarrel: "I said I'm only having one child. My daughter is my only treasure. If she's so keen on having children, she should have her own."

Saying such words to an elderly woman in her eighties or nineties was quite harsh.

Shen Wang laughed: "Good for you. If she wants children, she should have her own. What right does she have to pressure you?"

As the pregnant woman recounted the incident, she was somewhat uneasy. No matter what Grandma Lin had done, she was still an elder. Standing up to an elder like this might not look good to others... Hearing Shen Wang's approval, the pregnant woman didn’t realize the genuine smile in her eyes.

"If my husband and his grandmother pressure me to have a son, I’ll cut ties with him. I'll raise my daughter myself. They don't care for her anyway..."

Shen Wang clapped enthusiastically: "Right! That’s the spirit of decisiveness needed!"

While Shen Wang and the pregnant woman were talking, Xu Cheng pulled his mother aside in a corner and asked quietly: “Mom, didn’t you say feng shui can bless people with children? Do you know anyone who sought such help?"

Mother Xu was stunned: "How would I know that?"

Xu Cheng pleaded: "Mom, please think carefully, it's important. Try to remember."

"Who would want others to know they can’t have children? Those who go to him do so in secret; how would anyone know about it?" Mother Xu affectionately stroked Xu Cheng’s head, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Xu Cheng gave a bleak smile: "It's nothing."

He understood what Shen Wang meant.

No wonder the feng shui master could secretly keep so many infant ghosts. No wonder.

That night, nobody slept well, each lost in their own thoughts.

Before dawn the next day, a man arrived at the hospital ward, looking travel-worn. As he opened the door, he saw the new mother softly humming a song while cradling her child.

The woman’s expression was tender, humming an unknown tune, gently rocking the child in her arms, with a smile on her lips and a serene look in her eyes.

At this sight, the man's nose tingled, and his eyes reddened.

"Dalin, you arrived so early?" Mother Xu, who had just heated some milk, was startled to see the man with red eyes, "Why don’t you come in? See your wife and daughter."

Hearing Mother Xu’s words, the pregnant woman looked towards the door. Their eyes met, and they remained silent for a long time, her tears falling first.

"Meimei, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?" Dalin was immediately anxious, striding to the bedside in a few steps, his large hands hovering in the air, unsure what to do, "Should I call the doctor for you?"

Mother Xu sighed and drew the curtains around the bed, giving the couple some privacy.

The other people in the ward showed kind smiles.

It took more than an hour for the couple to calm their emotions, and by then, it was fully light outside.

With his wife and daughter by his side, the man’s expression wasn't exactly happy. He repeatedly thanked Mother Xu and the others: “I'm so grateful, thank goodness you were here, otherwise…”

As he spoke, the tall and robust man's eyes were all red.

It seemed that Xiao Li had told him about the situation. Mother Xu kept a steady face: “We’re neighbors, helping each other is natural... It’s just that, sigh.”

"Auntie, what’s wrong?" Hearing Mother Xu sigh, the man quickly assured, patting his chest, "Is there any problem you’re facing? I’ll definitely help if I can!"

"I don't have any problems, it's just that I feel sorry for your wife," Mother Xu sighed heavily. "You know how much your grandmother favors boys over girls. Now that Xiao Li has given birth to a girl, and you're working away from home all the time, I worry about how she'll treat your wife..."

The man's eyes shifted, his expression complex.

Mother Xu continued, "At the time when your wife’s water broke, your grandmother adamantly refused to let us take her to the hospital. It was lucky they were at our place for a meal. If it had happened at home..."

Mother Xu didn't finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.

If the childbirth had started at home, with Grandma Lin’s character, she would undoubtedly have kept her locked up at home to give birth alone. What could have happened then was anyone’s guess.

The man gave a bitter smile: "Auntie, I understand what you mean."

He stood there, dejected, for a long while before suddenly saying, "It was the same with my mother back then."

Back in the day, the man's father, Grandma Lin's son, had a similar situation after getting married. The man went to the city to earn money, while his wife lived with his mother in the countryside.

When his mother, Lin's wife, was pregnant, Grandma Lin became obsessed, insisting the child was a girl and wanted to consult a feng shui master to change the baby’s gender to a boy.

Lin's father, working in the city and not much of a believer in superstitions, was furious when he found out Grandma Lin was forcing his wife to drink strange concoctions. He had a huge argument with Grandma Lin.

Eventually, in anger, he took his pregnant wife to live with him in the city.

Since then, apart from visiting during festivals, he seldom returned to his hometown.

After discovering that Lin’s mother had given birth to a boy, Grandma Lin regretted her actions deeply. She doted on her grandson, who was sent back to the village for schooling, treating him like the apple of her eye as he grew up.

The man had deep feelings for Grandma Lin, and he never understood why his parents were so cold towards her... Now, he finally understood what his own mother had gone through, and what his wife was enduring.

The man felt extremely conflicted about Grandma Lin, who had raised him with such care.

"I always said, no matter how busy you are, it's not like you can only come home a few days a year." Mother Xu, unaware of the underlying issues, expressed her sentiments, "I don't understand what goes on in that old lady's mind, driving her son away and still treating her granddaughter-in-law like this..."

Shen Wang, listening to their conversation, suddenly asked, "You just mentioned that your grandmother wanted to consult a feng shui master to change the child's gender?"

"Yes," the man agreed, finding it absurd, "The gender is determined at conception, how can it be changed? She must have gathered some bizarre remedies from somewhere, who knows if they're even safe."

What if those remedies harmed the pregnant woman? That would be two lives at stake.

The man suddenly shuddered and turned to look at his wife; "Meimei, she didn't make you eat anything strange, did she?"

The new mother shook her head: "No..."

After hesitating for a few seconds, she added, "But she did bring the feng shui master to see me, and he said I was carrying a boy."

The man's expression turned even grimmer.

As they were talking, Grandma Lin entered with a thermos, beaming upon seeing her grandson: "Sun Sun, why are you back? You didn’t even tell Grandma."

Usually, the man would be moved by such words, but this time, he just looked at Grandma Lin coldly, without responding.

Oblivious, Grandma Lin set down the thermos and went to check on her beloved grandson, pinching his shoulders and arms: "How come you’ve lost so much weight, haven’t you been eating well? Grandma will go home and cook some old hen soup to nourish you."

The man's eyes softened slightly.

Just then, Grandma Lin added, "Since you're back, and your wife just gave birth, you should try harder to conceive again. This time, we'll definitely have a boy."

"Grandma!" The man's pupils dilated in shock, "Meimei just gave birth yesterday, she's still in her confinement period! She just gave birth to a daughter for me!"

Grandma Lin didn't understand his agitation and said with confusion, "I know that, but a daughter is like water splashed out. While you're young, you must have a son to continue our Lin family's lineage..."

At that moment, the man deeply understood his father's choices.

"Grandma, times have changed, boys and girls are the same now. Besides, the policy encourages having fewer but healthier children, there’s no need to..."

Before the man could finish explaining, Grandma Lin interrupted him: "All that is nonsense, just lies. How can boys and girls be the same?"

"Grandma, no more talk. I'm only having one child," the man said firmly, wiping his eyes, "Since you don’t like girls, I’ll take Meimei and our daughter back to the city. I’ll work hard to support them."

As for Grandma Lin...

The man let out a long sigh: "I will do as my dad did, sending you living expenses every month."

Hearing this, Grandma Lin panicked: "Sun Sun, what do you mean? Are you going to be like your unfilial father, abandoning your grandmother too?!"

Updating one chapter first, the rest will be updated tonight.