I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 44 The Ghost Infant (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

After bidding farewell to Chen Wu and the others, Chen Mo hurriedly followed Haitang to the central courtyard and met his parents.

After a brief bow, Chen Mo asked directly, "Father, has Daoist Li replied?"

Chen Yinfu was in high spirits. "Master Li said that the skills of Black Mountain Village are not something ordinary people can learn. But the gift I sent was too valuable, and Master Li couldn't refuse. He agreed to come to your residence tomorrow to test you. If you pass, Master Li will agree to this matter."

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief, but was still a little uneasy: "Did Master Li say what the test would be?"

Although Chen Mo had entered the inner school of martial arts, the Black Mountain Stronghold's skills were mostly focused on suppressing strange and evil spirits, and the tests they conducted were likely quite different from those for martial arts talent and aptitude. This left Chen Mo somewhat uncertain.

Chen Yinfu shook his head. "Master Li didn't say anything. He only said we'd know by tonight."

"Thank you for your planning, Father." Chen Mo bowed and expressed his gratitude, looking forward to tomorrow.

After having dinner in the central courtyard, it was already 9 PM when I returned to the east courtyard.

Chen Mo first practiced the Black Tiger True Qi, but found that he had not made any progress. So he lay leisurely on the Drunken Old Man's Chair, enjoying the pastries that Qiu Lan fed him while flipping through the booklet given to him by Xie Lianghong.

This thick book meticulously records the symptoms of every madman corpse Xie Lianghong dissected, along with annotations, analyses, and speculations.

After reading the first few pages, Chen Mo felt that Xie Lianghong was a highly skilled coroner. After reading about ten pages, Chen Mo became interested and slowly sat up from the drunken chair.

After extensive autopsies, Xie Lianghong categorized patients with madness into three types:
The first type, which is also the vast majority of patients, will die within a few days after going insane.

The second type involves a protective energy within the patient's body that can resist the toxins of the madness disease. These patients can live for a long time. However, their bodies will also undergo various mutations, such as growing hair, rotting, or turning into other monsters.

The third type involves a more mysterious entity that coexists with the madness within the patient's body; these patients are called symbiotes. Symbiotes appear no different from normal humans. However, they can acquire various unpredictable powers through the madness, and even easily master evil magic.

Upon seeing this, Chen Mo was greatly shocked.

Symbiotes... They look no different from normal people, yet they can gain all sorts of magical powers and easily master evil magic?
Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat, and a person flashed into his mind:
Grandma Li!
No wonder this person is proficient in all sorts of evil arts. It turns out he took advantage of his madness.

In Xie Lianghong's notes, it is clearly stated that the only symbiotic being he had ever seen was Granny Li.

Xie Lianghong also made a speculation: The most terrifying thing about symbiotes is not that they can gain power, but that their offspring are born as mutants!
The information above has already broadened Chen Mo's horizons, however... the important part is yet to come:

[I, Xie Lianghong, have dissected at least two or three hundred corpses afflicted with the Madness Disease. I have a strong premonition: the reason Madness Disease patients go mad and eat people after an attack isn't because they want to eat people or because they're insane, but because of the will of that baby face. Besides the symbiote, there should be something even more terrifying—that is, a patient's body and mind can bear the will and needs of the baby face. Eventually, the baby face will slowly transform and grow, becoming a real baby within the patient's body. Let's call this baby a ghost fetus.]

The way this madness spreads is extremely bizarre. I speculate that somewhere in this world, there's an infant searching for a suitable host. That's why it uses this madness as a screening method. Once a suitable host is found, the madness might disappear, and... the true spirit infant will be born within the host's body—a form of rebirth through surrogacy!

hiss!
When Chen Mo saw this, he couldn't help but gasp.

On the surface, Xie Lianghong's deductions seem far-fetched and fantastical. But Chen Mo, a patient suffering from madness, strongly felt... that it was very likely true.

Because Chen Mo knew that this madness wasn't an illness, but a ghostly curse. And it was the aura of a vengeful ghost.

If it were an infant selecting a host through madness, that would make perfect sense.

That's a little scary!
Chen Mo couldn't help but think to himself: You can choose any of my options, but please don't choose me... My madness is almost cured, I really can't take this kind of torment.

After mentally preparing himself, Chen Mo continued reading.

The following section discusses the transmission routes of madness.

[Having studied madness for many years, Xie Lianghong knows that the transmission route of this disease is very unusual. He has a bold hypothesis—the transmission route of madness is through what one sees and hears. Those patients may have heard a story, a person, or seen something. Through this experience, a triggering image is formed in their minds, leading to transmission.] Chen Mo was completely dumbfounded when he read this.

He's a modern person who's seen plenty of books and movies about demons and monsters. He doesn't find the idea of ​​this kind of transmission through sight and sound particularly outlandish.

But Xie Lianghong was a native of ancient times, with conservative thinking and had never experienced the information explosion era. Yet he was able to deduce such a fantastical path of influence from his observations.

He's absolutely a talent!

A sense of respect welled up in Chen Mo's heart.

But there was also a sense of regret.

Xie Lianghong's inferences were too advanced for his time, and lacking concrete evidence, they were not accepted by his family or the authorities. He was consistently looked down upon by both his family and the officials.

But Chen Mo had a strong intuition that Xie Lianghong was right.

This is a great talent whose talent has been buried by the world.

If I join forces with Xie Lianghong, we might be able to completely uncover the cause of the madness, and it's not impossible that we'll find a way to prevent and resolve it in the future.

He suppressed his distracting thoughts and continued reading the last part.

This part of the research focuses on the origins of madness.

I've worked as a coroner in the yamen for decades, and I've been most concerned with cases of patients suffering from madness. My greatest wish is to find the cause of the illness and then develop a cure, so that I can benefit the people of this area. In this way, I won't have failed my master's entrustment, nor will I have wasted my decades-long career as a coroner. I've been looked down upon by my family and despised by the yamen; coroners have always been seen as lowly and unlucky. I want to spend my whole life proving that coroners can also be of great use.

Upon seeing this, Chen Mo felt a deep sense of respect, and the image of Third Master Xie, old and lonely, instinctively came to mind.

There is one last paragraph at the end.

The locations where patients with madness appear are varied and unpredictable. They appear both inside and outside the city. They're even in the neighboring Qingwu County. I lack concrete evidence to pinpoint the source, but I have a strong feeling—the source is in Qinghe Town, Li Village! Although, according to records, the earliest case of madness in Honghe County wasn't in Li Village, my investigation revealed that person had visited Li Village. I wanted to investigate Qinghe Town, but unfortunately, Qinghe Town is located at the foot of Dayin Mountain and is currently blocked off by the Black Mountain Village. I can't get in.

After reading all the content, Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

"The source is in Li Village, Qinghe Town... and it's been blocked by the Black Mountain Village people!?"

“Xie Lianghong is truly remarkable. The Xie family looks down on him, and the government looks down on him... That's because everyone is bad at judging people. My Chen family can treat him with the highest courtesy.”

Thinking of this, Chen Mo called Qiu Lan over, "Qiu Lan, have you sent the carts and horses to the Xie family?"

Qiulan said, "I've already had Ma San deliver it. I reckon it'll be back soon."

Chen Mo nodded, glancing at the water clock not far away. It was already past midnight, almost dawn.

Chen Mo couldn't wait any longer. "Go to the stables and prepare the carriage. We'll go to the Xie residence late tonight."

Qiulan nodded in agreement.

Just then, Ma San rushed in, breathless and stammering, "Young Master, something terrible has happened at the Xie residence."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I've made it to number 40 on the new book chart! Thank you all for your support. I wonder if I can go even higher? Please give me a few monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)