but there was no response... We were worried that something might have happened to both of you, so we came down to take a look. It wasn't intentional disrespect towards Grandmother!"My older brother..."Hey, Mu Xia Qiao, I've gathered everything your father needs. Some things are living creatures that need you to take care of them. When are you coming over to pick them up" Cheng Banshen's slick voice echoed across the face.

I looked around. This place wasn't far from Cheng Banxian's dilapidated courtyard. Just two steps forward and I'd be at the back alley of Widow Lane, less than 500 meters from Cheng Banxian's place.

"Can I come in now I'm right outside your back alley." I saw the two dark figures over there, clearly engaged in a long battle. I decided to check on Cheng Banxian first, after all, my dad's situation was much more important than this female ghost.

“The back alley Sure, come on over. It’s really dark here at night, be careful not to talk to those women! They’re used to the bad energy. If they smell your aura, they'll think you're a ghost here for fun. But their main patron..." Cheng Bansxian knew very well that the back alley was filled with heavy, oppressive energy at night.

It’s no wonder that when I came last time, all the women looked at me with such attention. I was filled with Jiang Qiyun's aura inside and out; they thought I was possessed by a ghost.

I quietly sent a message to my brother, saying that I would wait for him at Cheng Banxian's place. It was only a straight road of 500 meters away. My brother couldn't wait for me to leave the dangerous place and quickly replied with an OK.

I watched from afar as Jiang Qiyun’s silhouette stood by the river. He looked coldly at the tangled shadows in the distance, his gaze devoid of any emotion. Just like Cheng Bansxian said, these people were merely moving lumps of flesh to him, like ants.

Then what about me

I know it's foolish and futile to expect myself to be different in his eyes, to be so anxious about it.

I turned and walked down Widow's Lane into the darkness. Actually, I should have let him know, but he didn't even care about my number or WeChat. Why bother Besides, my brother would tell him anyway.

I quickened my pace, sprinting all the way to Cheng Banxian's courtyard. The door was still ajar. Just as I was about to reach out and push it open, it swung inward from the inside, revealing a face as white as snow—

I jumped in fright, about to scream, when a pair of hands shot out from behind the door. One hand grabbed my neck, the other covered my mouth.

She held a wadded piece of cotton in her hand, its smell so pungent that when she laid it over my nose, the stench made me dizzy.

The creaking of the door echoed in my ears, and I heard Chéng Bànxiān's voice from inside asking, "Mù Xiǎoqiào Hmm... no one That's strange..."

The woman behind me was choking me. She reeked of cheap perfume. When I fell to the ground, I caught a glimpse of her profile—it was that woman Cheng Banshen had been playing with, what was her name again Xiao Lan

》》》

When I came to my senses, the first thing I saw was a narrow window and a lone rope with a red piece of underwear hanging from it—a blue-brick house on Widow's Alley.

The room was plastered with Sanskrit mantras, and my neck, wrists, and ankles were covered in crimson sand paintings of twisting glyphs.

The woman who kidnapped me was kneeling, using a wooden bead dipped in cinnabar to smear something on my body.

"...You, you don't blame me..." She saw that I was awake and her hand trembled in fright.

I didn't have time to analyze the scene before me. I immediately recited the treasured sutra in my heart, knowing I had to seek help urgently.

"...Tear the medal off her chest!" a hoarse voice boomed in the room. The woman jumped, startled, and hurriedly picked up a pair of scissors, cutting the medal hanging from my chest.

"Throw it away! Get rid of the name seal as far away as possible!"

The woman trembled as she picked up the badge and threw it out the narrow window.

I helplessly watched her movements, her limbs and neck seemed to be shackled, unable to move. Underneath me lay a scattered pattern, all in Sanskrit.

"桀桀桀……This time she can't call for help……Mu Xia Qiao……You should be a sacrifice to me, your tender body. How could you be pregnant with someone else's child I will punish you, you wanton little slut……” A hoarse voice came from the corner of the room.

I glanced over, and a phone stood upright on the nightstand. A bloody ghost face was staring back at me from its screen.

I took several deep breaths, looking down at my ragged, torn clothes. My chest and abdomen were open, and my belly was covered in circles and runes.

"Are you only brave enough to hide like a stray dog now You want my body, come and take it!" I tried to keep my voice steady.

"Kekeke… I know you’re fearless. The child in your womb has powerful spiritual energy, invulnerable to all evil. I don't dare approach you now... But even the power of a fetus is useless against a person... When the child dies, will you still be so fearless" The ghost’s raspy voice held an unexplainable excitement.

The woman's hand drawing symbols on my stomach paused. She turned her head and mouthed to me, "I'm sorry... I..."

"Don't try to play tricks! I swear, I'll rip your son's belly open! You'll see him with intestines spilling out!" the ghoul roared.

The woman immediately bit her lip and dared not speak another word.

I am now completely immobilized, like a giant character lying face up on the ground. I have no power to fight back against whatever they want to do to me.

But I couldn't help but think of something inappropriate—no matter what kind of fetus, leaving the womb will die. A dead fetus loses its power to ward off evil spirits.

Then, what use is a powerless stillborn baby for an array eye

"Draw... draw finished..." the woman said into her phone.

The four-eyed creature on the screen circled once, confirming it was done, and said to the woman, "Bring me the doll, prick her hand, and let her blood drip onto the top of the doll's head."

Women, following his instructions, performed each action on me.

I lay on the cold, damp ground, my chest and abdomen exposed to the frigid air, staring wide-eyed at the doll covered in talismans.

The doll's hair on its head was pulled out, and at this moment, my blood dripped onto it. A few drops flowed down, and the doll's face looked sickeningly bloody.

"...This is a secret technique, you don't have to worry about dying, it just hurts a little,桀桀桀... Try breaking the doll's arms, come on!" The ghost face roared, scaring the woman into snapping the wooden doll's arm connection with a "snap".

A sharp pain shot through my left shoulder, I cried out in agony. The pain made my abdomen spasm violently. I wondered if it would affect the baby

I gasped for breath, clamping my lips together tightly and forcing myself to stay silent.

" ...I heard a woman say, pain can cause a miscarriage..." A raspy voice came and went.

My senses were a bit blurry, and my organs felt like they were throbbing.

I could almost hear the woman pleading in my ear: "Please, spare my son. There are so many other ways to get an abortion if that's what you want. Why do this... just go to a hospital..."

>facing those high-ranking elders, I'm afraid I'll stutter!" My head was pounding, this was way beyond my capabilities."What are you afraid of You have your husband here. When it comes to knowledge, wh...