Chapter 5: The Ghost Fetus Baby

Even though I was already eighty to ninety percent sure of what caused my transformation, I still shouted into the air:

“It was you who did this to me, wasn’t it?”

Silence.

The air around me was unnervingly still.

The only sound left was my own quiet breathing.

My heart sank.

Don’t tell me… she’s completely abandoned me?

A wave of bleakness washed over me.

Is it better to suffer for a year with cancer, or just live ten more months and die faster?

That much, at least, I could distinguish.

But what if—what if a medical breakthrough happened next year?

People live for hope, don’t they?

The closer you are to death, the more terrified you become of dying.

Since the little monster in my belly clearly had no intention of responding, I had no choice but to push down my swirling thoughts and drag myself back to my room, dejected.

That’s human nature, really.

When you can’t fight back, you do everything you can to put on a smiling face.

That doesn’t mean you’ve stopped fantasizing about skinning your enemy alive, though.

Live and learn.

At my young age, I’d just picked up another important life lesson:

Never assume your enemy is an idiot—or you’re just begging to get wrecked.

While I sat in my room, deep in thought about how to “win over” the ghost fetus, a shadow slipped silently into the living room.

I remained unaware.

“That’s the aura of the Ghost King. No mistake about it.”

A husky voice came from a young girl in a red Taoist robe, a peachwood sword nearly as tall as she was strapped to her back.

“Eliminating evil and upholding justice—this is my duty.”

BOOM!

The front door slammed open with a single kick.

As the dust settled, I found myself struggling to breathe.

The girl’s face was utterly expressionless—cold as frost.

As if all of humanity meant nothing in her eyes.

“So you’re the Ghost King’s accomplice?”

She grabbed my neck, lifting me inch by inch off the ground.

In her eyes, I was already deeply entangled with the Ghost King by countless threads of karmic cause and effect.

In other words, I must have willingly submitted to its will, signed some sort of contract, and become the vessel for it to nurture a physical form.

The Ghost King was already notoriously difficult to kill.

If it gained a body—it would become something even heaven and earth could not tolerate.

And when that happened, there might not be anyone left who could stop her.

Her gaze was like ice that had been frozen for a thousand years.

She scanned my body from head to toe with disgust, a sneer slowly tugging at the corner of her lips.

“So eager to degrade yourself. What a filthy wretch.”

“Despicable!”

“You deserve death!”

Pain flared through my throat as she choked me.

I could only sputter and wheeze.

Wait a second—who degraded themselves?

Who the hell chose this?!

I didn’t sign any damn contract of my own free will!

Somehow, she seemed to read my thoughts just by looking into my eyes.

Her expression twisted into even greater disdain.

“A person should have dignity.There are things more important than life.”

“If she threatened you, why didn’t you just die?”

“In the end, you chose to live. Filthy trash.”

Those words ignited a spark of rebellion in me, buried deep in my bones.

Even as she had me by the throat, I glared back at her, eyes blazing with fury.

She let out a cold snort.

“What? Still not convinced, are you?”

“Fine. I’ll give you a chance to choose again.”

With that, she flung me hard onto the ground.

Clang—

A knife clattered down beside me, the blade gleaming coldly as it nearly struck my hand.

I clutched my throat and gasped for air, looking a complete mess.

“Pick up the blade and cut open your stomach.”

“If you can do that, it means you still have a shred of conscience. I’ll spare your life.”

The air grew deathly silent, broken only by the sound of my ragged breathing.

My mind spun with countless thoughts.

This woman had tracked me down from god-knows-where.

She must be just like the old Taoist from yesterday—a figure of immense power, one rarely found in this world.

Someone like her wouldn’t bother lying to a mere mortal like me.

Judging from her bearing and confidence, she clearly believed the Ghost King was already in the palm of her hand.

She truly believed she could deal with her.

Then I thought of the Ghost Fetus.

Ever since this red-robed Taoist woman arrived, she hadn’t made a single move.

Not a sound.

Was it fear?

Or… did she simply not care about me at all?

Either answer made my heart sink.

It was a choice between two outcomes.

If I sided with the Taoist woman, and she managed to defeat the Ghost Fetus, then I’d be free again.

But if she lost?

Then I’d lose the Ghost Fetus’s trust completely.

I’d be nothing but a disposable vessel, used for one purpose—to give birth.

And when that moment came, it would be the end for me.

So how was I supposed to choose?

The silence around me grew heavier, as if the whole world was waiting for my answer.

My gaze dropped to my belly.

It was as if something barely formed inside—a fetus—was already staring back at me coldly from within.

She…

Was she also waiting for me to decide?

I thought back to the old Taoist’s earlier confidence—only to remember how he left in defeat and disgrace.

And then, his warning before leaving echoed in my mind.

Damn it all.

Screw this!

Even if I chose the Taoist woman, at best I’d only buy myself a few more hours.

Once my belly was cut open layer by layer—without any medical care—how long could I possibly survive?

Might as well bet on the Ghost Fetus and gamble on the future.

If I could stay firm even in the face of death, maybe—just maybe—I’d win back some of her trust.

In my heart, I silently prayed:

Ghost Baby, you better not let me down.

Then, I slowly lifted my head—my delicate, innocent-looking face tinged with a hint of charm—and sneered at the red-robed girl before me, using a voice that didn’t match my appearance at all.

“Degenerate? Me?”

“I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t helped evil thrive.”

“Where exactly is the degeneration in that?”

“All I see is a clash of beliefs—nothing more.”

I picked up the knife from the floor.

My expression hardened into grim resolve as I lunged at her with everything I had—like a moth diving headfirst into fire, reckless and unafraid.

“This is my choice.”

“Screw you high-and-mighty types—look down on me again and I’ll send you to hell!”

“If you want to kill the Ghost Fetus, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!”

A flicker of surprise crossed the Taoist girl’s eyes—clearly, she hadn’t expected me to be so stubborn.

But then, her expression twisted into deep, mocking contempt.

“A firefly trying to rival the moon’s brilliance?”

“You’re just an ant. How dare you overestimate yourself?”

“Die!”

She raised her hand high, poised to crush my skull like a watermelon—casually, dismissively, like I was nothing but dust.

Faced with her disdain, I found myself powerless to resist.

My body trembled uncontrollably—this was suppression on a level beyond physical.

The knife slipped from my fingers, falling with a clatter.

And in my eyes—staring up at her descending palm—a sliver of despair crept in.

But then—just at that critical moment—a sound echoed through the room.

A baby’s laughter, cold and piercing as if from the very depths of a ghost realm, filled the air.

It was sharp enough to tear at one’s eardrums, chilling enough to freeze one’s blood.

“Heehee—”

That laugh.

That terrifying, emotionless giggle that had haunted me ever since I angered her.

And yet—this time—it was somehow… different.

If one listened closely, buried deep beneath that still-emotionless tone—there was a flicker of something else.

A trace of smug delight.

The kind that came from being praised, from being chosen—like a tsundere who refused to say it aloud,but was secretly, ever so slightly… pleased.