Chapter 743 743 Charm
Downstairs, Meng Ke was leaning against a car, waiting for me to embark on a journey across this country. I didn't have good cars. Only livestock trucks with plates were familiar to me. I didn't know how much money he had.
When Meng Qi saw it, she cried, saying it was too late to get into the car, and left me standing alone in the wind.
I rushed out of the driver's cabin, perched on top, grabbed a rope, and began tying knots—something I had taught during the war. It might as well have been a dagger stabbing into me.
I often used the dagger on my arm, so it felt strangely comfortable.
Surrounded by monkeys, they chattered mockingly with knowing smirks.
I looked at them expressionlessly. "Say whatever you want to say."
The vehicle had been in motion for a very long time. It lingered in people's lives, weaving in and out. Yesterday, Captain Tujin stood at the gate, and Meng Ke parked the car at the garrison.
Over the years, the paths had been laid for the two of us, and we followed him to that house. As soon as the door opened, a foul stench hit my nose.
A sharp pain shot through my hand. I desperately wanted to pull away, but I avoided touching the monkey. Using my own blood, I yanked the slip of paper from its hand, then unfolded it.
Looking at the long cut on my palm, I said, "What on earth are you doing? Why didn't you use your own blood?"
Meng Ke replied coldly, "This man has a Ghost Baby in his belly. My blood might suppress it, but it has to fight back. While he constantly battles the Ghost Baby, does that make you his master?"
I hid my hand away and said, "Don't ever use my hand again!"
"You harness Yin energy, and your blood belongs to Yin. Using the charm of your blood to seal the child into his body makes it a bit safer." With that, Meng Ke pressed our Blood Demon directly onto the belly of the man with the swollen stomach.
As the paper stuck to his abdomen, the man and the entity within actually settled for a brief moment. The man, who had been trying to bite at his own stomach, temporarily regained his senses. He looked up weakly, glancing at his belly.
He muttered, "Brother, brother, brother, where are you? Come on, look—why is my stomach like this, brother, brother."
In his middle age, he grabbed his own large and filthy hands, saying, "Brother, come, don't be afraid. I'm here."
The man with the swollen stomach stared down at himself, tears flowing down his face. The big man said, "Brother, tell me why this happened. Brother, I was wrong! Save me, save me, let me never hear your voice again."
Faced with this emotional scene, I felt compelled to say something.
But the monkey beside me interrupted in a cold voice, "Keep quiet. I'm going to peel it apart using this scrap of paper."
The two of us promptly shut our mouths. The monkey, all the while, murmured something about midterm burial, saying, "I've buried another. Give me the child back."
The middle-aged man trembled but stayed silent. At last, Meng Qi spoke up: "This Ghost Baby has already formed. If nothing is done, it will erupt. For now, I can suppress it temporarily with this paper! However, know this—the charm will last only three days. After that, the Ghost Baby will still be there. You can either let it emerge or choose to lead it to its grave. Bring it back from the grave. That Ghost Baby comes in waves, and it sends its disciples to their deaths each time. I hold no options for you beyond this path."
The middle-aged man mulled this over for a long moment before he nodded heavily in agreement.
He said to Meng Liqi, "If this is all you can do, then so be it."
Meng Qi stopped and declared icily, "Don't worry. I will prepare some other things. The Ghost Baby's speed in any form is unpredictable, so be ready. As you saw earlier, more blood offers some delay—use that blood well to keep him going."
With that, Meng Qi got up and left the scene.
When the Mongolians emerged, the two brothers finally sat down, looking back at each other. Catching me glancing at them, they seemed a bit bashful.
It was as if they had always told themselves, "This isn't our fault. For this service, I will charge extra. What I can tell you is: this costs more than panda blood." I didn't say much to them. The brothers barely managed to spit out whatever meaning they clung to. But who would've expected them to fish out, from under their bed, a vintage thermos as a gift to offer me instead?
The middle-aged man handed it to me with care, saying, "Brother, please take it. I found it in the cemetery—a real treasure."
I accepted the jade stopper, my instincts wanting to refuse, but my poverty and relentless journey wore me down. For now, with food in shortage and the borders closing in, I slid it reluctantly into my pocket.
Seeing their hopeful eyes, I gripped a knife still marred with dried blood and drew another one. Looking at the blood, I turned to the middle-aged man next to me and said, "Bring me a bowl! What are you stunned for?"
Hearing us, the man jumped up, fumbling for a small metal basin, which he finally handed to me, saying, "Brother, it doesn't have to be much. Just fill this basin."
Furious, I stared up and said, "This—is this still MY blood?"
The man, realizing he had overstepped, quickly replied, "Shaohao, the younger, the better!"
I bled up to half a bowl before stopping myself. The middle-aged man poured the collected blood into a small bowl alongside some meager offerings for his younger brother.
Before long, Meng Ke returned! He approached me, carrying two bundles, and stopped short before reaching me. Passing something to me from behind, he said, "Prepare me a new map."
The middle-aged man handed the map directly to Li Qi. "I know the road. You fly there—don't worry, I'll reimburse you!"
Upon hearing I was to fly for the first time in my life, I felt a small surge of joy. Gazing at Mang Qi, I silently willed him to accomplish this errand.
Meng Ke hesitated briefly, then nodded and said, "Fine. This is the arrangement for now. You should leave first—hurry to Shan Dong."
From that moment on, the Mongolian seized my dagger and charged directly into the middle-aged man. His sword wasn't surrendered.
The younger brother sat in the car, joined only by a driver wearing a black mirror mask. Sun Wukong perched in the copilot seat, turning to stare, pointing with her finger, and saying, "You sit in the back."
I climbed into the backseat. On the bench, a few middle-aged disciples were hunched over, mouths slack. Grabbing tissues from my backpack, I rubbed vigorously at the upholstery. Were these truly unwilling riders?
As soon as the vehicle was fitted, the middle-aged man handed me yet another knife, knowing there was already a dagger waiting up ahead in the hills. I took his offered knife, thanked him, and lashed it securely to my arm for emergencies.
I didn't know what to expect. Though I always wanted to sleep, when I opened my mind and Dantian late that night, staring into the lifeless expanse of mountains, I succumbed to fatigue and drifted off again.
In my dream, he appeared before me once more, gazing at me with that mischievous glint in his eyes. My heart burned with anger. Slowly, I advanced toward him. With a fisted blow to his face, I felt my knuckles striking something soft and cottony, as if sinking into wool.
A bullet grazed my forehead, leaving my face pale and clammy. I felt a second bullet zipping toward me, sending me flying backward through the air.
Clutching my head, I stumbled to my feet. A flash of white hair flickered before my eyes. The figure said calmly, "I advise you not to resist. This is our time. I am intent on cultivating it."
Still clutching my forehead, I sneered, "This is my body. As long as you lack your own soul, it's useless! Why would a dove occupy a magpie's nest?"
The old figure chuckled, "You're right. It is your body. It is the magpie's nest. But remember, I can keep you alive for some time. Today, I shall teach you how to inhale power quickly and strengthen yourself. Then, paired with your aunt's thirty years of nurturing me, she'll have to double her effort to offer her son his ghost."