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"Mother Wang..."
The village chief first let out a sharp cry, and then as if remembering something, quickly suppressed his voice. In the stillness of the night, both Chang Tai and Yin Yuan heard the suppressed, fearful sound coming from the village chief's throat.
"Yin Yuan, help keep an eye on the village chief."
Chang Tai gave Yin Yuan a glance, surveyed the surroundings of the courtyard, and cautiously listened for any unusual sounds. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he then walked over to Mother Wang with the lantern in hand.
Mother Wang sat on the threshold, leaning against the doorpost. If it weren't for her horrifying expression and the bloodied hole in her chest that was hard to look at, her posture might have seemed like she was enjoying a view. Mother Wang's expression was frozen at the moment her heart was violently ripped out; her eyes were wide open, filled with fear, reflecting half of a face in her dark pupils.
Chang Tai vaguely recalled Xing Ruyi mentioning that a person's pupils could record images at certain moments, and that just before death, the shadow reflected in one's pupils could very well be that of the murderer.
Chang Tai raised the torch to closely examine that half of a face. Unfortunately, due to Mother Wang's fear before dying, that half of her face appeared distorted, making it difficult to determine if this Killer was indeed Aunt Li as mentioned by the villagers. Looking again at the bloodied hole in Mother Wang's chest, the signs of a torn wound were quite evident; it was clear that a sharp object had first pierced through her skin and then had been forcefully extracted. Judging by how the wound was distributed, this so-called sharp object was likely a human fingernail.
A chill crept up from Chang Tai's core. He took a step back, then raised his hand to close Mother Wang's eyes. He went into the house to retrieve one of Mother Wang's outer garments to cover her body and turned back to the village chief saying, "Tomorrow morning, we should send someone to report this to the authorities."
The village chief trembled as he responded; his legs were clearly weak. If it weren't for Yin Yuan supporting him, he might have collapsed onto the ground. Once they exited Mother Wang's home, the village chief finally mustered enough courage to glance back, wiping away the cold sweat from his forehead as he quietly asked, "Was... was Mother Wang killed by Aunt Li?"
"Until we uncover the truth, everything is uncertain. All I can say is that Mother Wang had her heart violently ripped out while she was still alive and died from excessive blood loss. If we find Mother Wang's missing heart, we will find the murderer."
Upon hearing this, the village chief covered his chest with his hand as if feeling pain there too.
Because of what happened to Mother Wang, it was evident that they returned at a slower pace. Halfway through their journey, both Yin Yuan and the village chief felt a chilling breeze sweep past them from behind. Yin Yuan noticed it while the village chief sensed it due to his fear.
"Uncle Chang."
Yin Yuan stopped and called out to Chang Tai, who immediately became alert.
"The thing has come! I can smell her scent, a mix of decay and fresh blood."
Yin Yuan pulled the Village Chief to Chang Tai's side.
Just as Chang Tai grasped the hilt of his sword, a figure staggered out from the dark alley. Before he could clearly see the person's face, a strong stench of blood hit his nose, followed by a pair of long, dark nails slicing through the air in front of him. His body instinctively reacted to dodge, and from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the figure. It was an old woman with a face that was pale with a hint of green; if he wasn't mistaken, this was the Aunt Li that the villagers had spoken of.
Yin Yuan kept his eyes fixed on Aunt Li, but due to the presence of Chang Tai and the Village Chief, he hesitated to act. He could only watch over the Village Chief while observing Chang Tai's confrontation with Aunt Li.
"Aunt Li! It's Aunt Li!" The Village Chief exclaimed in terror as Yin Yuan dragged him away. "Is she human or ghost, demon or monster?"
"Neither human nor demon, neither ghost nor monster," Yin Yuan replied, rubbing his nose. "It seems like her soul has been forcibly trapped within her body and gone mad."
Taking advantage of the conversation, Yin Yuan slipped past Aunt Li and lightly tapped her spine. Aunt Li immediately let out a pained groan, and her movement toward Chang Tai slowed down. Seizing the opportunity, Chang Tai swung his sword and severed one of Aunt Li's arms.
Though Aunt Li was in a half-zombie state, she still seemed to have some awareness. Realizing something was wrong, she clutched her severed arm and fled.
Chang Tai intended to pursue her but then noticed the Village Chief, who was paralyzed with fear on the ground, and Yin Yuan beside him looking excited as if watching a spectacle. Remembering the pregnant woman from Wang San's family about to give birth, he turned back to help the Village Chief up.
"Village Chief, can you still walk?"
"I can! I can! Let's go! If we don't hurry, Aunt Li might come back!"
The Village Chief swayed as he got up and led Chang Tai toward Wang San's family.
As they reached the door, they heard Wang San Niang's voice: "Push harder! The baby won't come out!"
Chang Tai was momentarily stunned and looked at Yin Yuan.
Yin Yuan shrugged and said, "I vaguely heard Consort Ruyi mention this when we were at Xing. If a woman in labor is frightened, it can easily lead to premature birth. At this time, the baby's position is often incorrect, which makes the labor difficult. Unfortunately, we are still far from the Yun Family Gathering. If Consort Ruyi were here, both mother and child would be fine. Right now, it seems we have to leave it to fate, especially since the only midwife in this village is not here."
Inside the bedroom, Wang San Niang was temporarily acting as the midwife, forcing herself to assist her daughter-in-law in giving birth despite her illness. She was sweating profusely and kept looking under the blankets. When she peeked under the blankets again, she was suddenly stunned: "No... this is bad! Xiuyun... Xiuyun is hemorrhaging."
"What does hemorrhaging mean?"
Chang Tai did not understand medicine, nor had he ever married or given birth, so he was naturally unfamiliar with the term "hemorrhaging." Just hearing it made him realize that the situation in the room was not good.
"It means excessive bleeding; both the mother and child are likely in trouble," Yin Yuan said with a furrowed brow. "Is there a doctor in the village?"
"What doctor could we possibly have in this poor remote place? If someone has a headache or fever, we usually go to Mother Wang for help. Mother Wang's father-in-law is a folk healer, and Mother Wang has learned quite a bit over the years. But for serious illnesses, we have to go to town. Right now, there's no time to call anyone; even if we did manage to get someone here, it might not help."
Outside the door, Chang Tai frowned while the Village Chief was anxious. Inside, due to exhaustion, the woman in labor had already fainted. As Wang San paced around anxiously, Wang San Niang made a terrifying decision: to pull the grandson directly out of her daughter-in-law's belly.
"Mother, you can't do that! If you forcibly pull the child out of Xiuyun's belly like that, will Xiuyun even survive?"
Wang San was so frightened by his mother's decision that his legs went weak and he knelt down.
Wang San Niang looked at Wang San angrily: "Do you think I want to? But look at our current situation. Mother Wang probably won't make it here; even if she does arrive in time, she won't be able to save her from hemorrhaging. Xiuyun is out of luck; she probably won’t see this child. Rather than let both mother and child die, it's better to take a chance—if we can save one, that's something."
"Mother... but Mother, Xiuyun... Xiuyun is still awake..."
Wang San was momentarily at a loss for what to do. He first looked at his mother and then at his wife lying on the bed, breathing out but not taking in any air. Although Xiuyun was half-conscious, it seemed she heard her mother-in-law's words and slowly regained consciousness. At this moment, she had no strength left to speak and could only look at her husband with pleading eyes.
Wang San could no longer bear to look into Xiuyun's eyes. He lowered his head as Mother pushed him aside. He watched helplessly as Mother picked up the scissors used for household chores and delivered the child.
A faint cry of an infant signified the arrival of a new life. Xiuyun furrowed her brows in pain and reached out toward her mother-in-law. However, her mother-in-law turned away, hurriedly going to clean the newborn.
"Child... child..."
Xiuyun whispered softly, her arms that had just been raised slowly falling back down. A tear gently slid from the corner of her eye, and her gaze remained fixed on her mother-in-law's back.
Wang San finally snapped back to reality. He rushed to the bedside, calling out Xiuyun's name several times before dashing over to Mother and taking the child into his arms.
"Xiuyun, Xiuyun, wake up! Open your eyes and look at our child! Just look at our child before you go! Xiuyun..."
"Why cry? This person cannot be brought back to life; it's just that Xiuyun has no fortune." Wang San Niang stepped forward and took the child away. "Quickly wrap Xiuyun in that blanket and take her outside. The child has just arrived; we can't let its mother's bloodiness ruin things."
Wang San was at a loss again. He glanced at Xiuyun, who still had her eyes open, then at the wailing child nestled in Mother's arms. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped Xiuyun's still warm body in a blanket, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and flung open the door.
Outside, Chang Tai and the Village Chief were watching Wang San, while only Yin Yuan was looking at the woman standing behind Wang San.
That woman was none other than Xiuyun, who had just passed away. She stood there in confusion, seemingly unable to comprehend what had happened. It wasn't until the infant's cries grew louder that her gaze shifted from Wang San's back to the child in her mother-in-law's hands. A smile appeared on her face as she quickly walked toward her mother-in-law and the baby. But after taking two steps, she stopped when she saw the blood on the ground, which spread from in front of the bed to beneath her feet. She looked down at her skirt and saw it stained with blood as well. In panic, she raised her hands and let out a piercing scream, causing the lights in the room to extinguish instantly.
A chilling wind swirled out from within the house. Yin Yuan silently cursed under his breath and darted inside just in time to catch the infant that had been blown down by the wind.
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