I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 99 The Evil Infant Appears, and It Smiles Slightly!
After listening to Chen Mo's questioning, the managers around him finally realized what was going on.

They hadn't thought much of it before because they hadn't grasped the key point, but now that they had, they all felt a chill run down their spines and their faces turned deathly pale.

As someone deeply involved in the matter, Chen Mo naturally gleaned more information and sensed the perilous and terrifying nature of the situation.

First of all, how Juan'er managed to run out of the room in full view of everyone is very strange.

I reckon they've also grasped something similar to a ghost.

Or was she a ghost or something?

If Juan'er wasn't lying, then her brother... should be Shen Yujun's first child: the evil infant?

But how was Shen Yujun able to continue her pregnancy?
After the evil infant was born, it immediately found the shrine, and even pulled out the little brother Xiaoti, and once tried to dig out the ghost bone.

It is evident that Shen Yujun ceased offering sacrifices to the ancestral hall after that. This aligns with the dilapidated state of the ancestral hall.

So... how did Juan'er come to be?

Who is her younger brother?

Chen Mo had too little information to refer to and couldn't come to a conclusion. But without a doubt... Juan'er was very abnormal.

With this in mind, Chen Mo immediately opened the cheat code panel to check on Juan'er.

really……

A transparent frame with eighteen transparent rods, densely packed together.

[Readable item detected]

[Read?]

Ok?
A ghost that can read eighteen bars?

Without a second thought, Chen Mo immediately decided to read it.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and lines of subtitles quickly appeared before my eyes.

【Name: White-Robed Demon】

[Level: Transparent Life Aura]

[Type: Yin-type ghost]

[Characteristics: Born from a worshipper of an evil god, she appears indistinguishable from a real person in daily life, living year-round in a secluded house with very little contact with the outside world. She herself is unaware that she is a ghost, believing herself to be human. Once provoked, her demonic nature will erupt. She can devour human essence, blood, and soul, and can transform into a ghostly shadow.]

[Note: The Daoist practice of the Jiazi year has brought forth vengeful ghosts seeking revenge.]

After reading this information, Chen Mo's attention immediately focused on five words: Born to worship evil gods.

In other words, after Shen Yujun initially worshipped the Yellow-Robed Infant and gave birth to the evil infant, she wanted to have more children, so she worshipped other evil gods to achieve a similar effect to a spirit child who grants children.

This Shen Yujun... is truly... not simple.

Most of the ghosts in Qinghe Town are related to her.

Just then, Juan'er took a couple of steps and realized that the others hadn't followed, so she turned back and urged them, "Hurry up! Mother has set out pastries for you at the seats in front of the stage."

Upon hearing the word "hospitality," the managers all shrank back, gritted their teeth, and felt a chill run down their spines. How could they dare to make a decision? They all turned to look at Chen Mo, waiting for him to speak.

Chen Mo remained calm and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Juan'er. Please tell Madam Shen that we will be there shortly."

Juan'er tilted her head, put her hands on her hips, and looked puzzled. "I spent a lot of time making this set of shadow puppets. Why are you making me wait? Don't you like watching plays?"

Chen Mo said, "No, it's not that. Since we're going to see a play, we should at least tidy ourselves up. That's how we show respect to our hosts. Look at us, we're all filthy..."

Juan'er mumbled her little head, clearly agreeing with Chen Mo's idea, and smiled: "Then hurry up, I'll wait for you on the stage. By the way, once you leave the door, just keep walking east, and you'll get there."

Chen Mo waved his hand, "Understood."

Juan'er smiled and said "Mmm," then skipped away.

Only when the footsteps faded into the distance and could no longer be heard did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Hu Hu Hu.

Wang Hansheng gasped for breath, his legs trembling. "Something's wrong with Juan'er. I definitely didn't see her leave last night..."

Li Qiuhan ignored Wang Hansheng and turned to Chen Mo, "Young Master Mo, are you really going to see the opera? That Shen Yujun is a performer of ghost plays. This opera isn't for the living, can we really go see it?"

After Li Qiuhan spoke up, all the managers followed suit.

"This place is too eerie. Let's not even talk about how Juan'er left... Who invites someone to watch a ghost play so early in the morning?"

"I can't go to the theater, I'd rather die than go."

"That's right, I'd rather die than go."

"..."

Chen Mo asked Guo Ziyu, "Miss Ziyu, are there any operas performed during the day?"

Guo Ziyu said, "Ghost plays are performed for the dead and are mostly at night. But Qinghe Town is eerily ghostly, making it difficult to distinguish between day and night. Even if it were daytime right now, it would be reasonable for the Li family to put on a ghost play."

Chen Mo glanced at the managers and incense masters around him, then said, "The Black and White Impermanence outside should be gone. This place is very eerie. Let's leave now. Head west towards the gate of the Li residence."

After saying that, Chen Mo led the way out of the courtyard and headed west.

As for promising Juan'er to tidy up her appearance... Chen Mo didn't take it to heart at all.

Furthermore, Chen Mo now possesses the Ghost Bone, although the fusion process is only one percent complete. However, compared to previously activating five drops of Ghost Curse Blood, this represents an unimaginable transformation. Coupled with his spiritual compatibility with the Red Lantern Lady, if he were to truly unleash his power, he might very well defeat the evil infant, Madam Shen, and her family.

However, Chen Mo didn't want to take unnecessary risks to eliminate any evil spirits. It would be better to leave for now and deal with the evil spirits at the Li residence later when he had developed further. Finding Jiang Hongyue's body and burying it properly was the safest course of action.

In terms of resources and foundation, Chen Mo might not be able to compete with the Evil Infant. After all, the Evil Infant has been around for forty years.

It has been less than half a year since I transmigrated.

But when it comes to physical development, Chen Mo felt he was second to none.

Although we can now barely manage to clash with the Li family, there's no need...

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, a gust of cold wind blew in, making everyone shiver.

The sky above was a hazy gray, and the surrounding air was cold, damp, and gloomy.

The group followed closely behind Chen Mo, each drawing their broadswords and vigilantly protecting their surroundings. They moved very quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible to avoid being discovered.

The further we went, the colder the air became.

A manager walking behind Wang Hansheng suddenly spoke up, "I feel a dampness on my neck. Why is the air so humid around here?"

Wang Hansheng glared at the steward, "Liu Min, you're scared like this by something wet. Can't you be a man? Don't make a fuss over nothing. If you attract evil spirits, everyone will suffer because of you."

Liu Min, who was in his forties and rather thin, was a manager but not the head of the incense shop. After being reprimanded by Wang Hansheng, Liu Min lowered his head in shame and said no more.

But Liu Min clearly felt that the moisture on her neck was getting heavier and heavier, which was very wrong.

He figured that since everyone was walking together, they must all be facing the same situation, so he held back and didn't say much, only saying, "Master Wang, can I put my arm around your shoulder? I'm scared..."

Wang Hansheng was speechless. "Then hurry up and set it up."

Liu Min thanked him and quickly put her arm around Wang Hansheng's shoulder, following him forward.

Chen Mo ignored their comments and continued forward, carrying his broadsword.

By this point, Chen Mo clearly felt that these managers had become a burden. If it weren't for Guo Songyang and Guo Ziyu... Chen Mo was already planning to abandon these burdens and escape using his ghost blood.

Now that we're in a ghostly place, we can't activate our ghostly blood, and we have to live in fear with those managers. I'm not happy about it at all.

He suppressed the thought and walked quickly.

As Chen Mo passed through a separate courtyard, he could clearly feel the heavy humidity and mist in the air around him.

"Everyone be careful of the water mist. Do not inhale it into your nose or mouth."

Chen Mo gave a reminder, then led the way through an archway, down a corridor, and into another courtyard.

The yard is very large, with a dense bamboo grove and a designated area for potted plants. At the end of the potted plants is a storage room for tools.

But this storage room was very small and low, with a doorway only four feet high. Ordinary people couldn't get in.

But then a series of clanging sounds came from the storage room.

Chen Mo stopped and stared at the small storage room from which the noise was coming from. Those behind him, seeing Chen Mo stop, also stopped.

Just then, Wang Hansheng, who was walking behind, came over and stared at the storage room.

Li Qiuhan counted the number of people and frowned: "Where's Liu Min? Why didn't she come along?"

Wang Hansheng, still glancing at the storage room in the distance, casually remarked, "Liu Min is right behind me. That kid's a coward. He insists on putting his hand on my shoulder. Look, his hand is still on my shoulder. Don't worry, Deputy Hall Master, he won't get lost."

Li Qiuhan stared intently at Wang Hansheng: "Where is he?"

Noticing the seriousness in Li Qiuhan's eyes, Wang Hansheng looked away from the storage room and, while reaching for Liu Min's hand on his shoulder, said, "His hand is on my shoulder..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Hansheng suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold.

What he touched was not a human hand.

Instead, it consists of bamboo segments, five bamboo segments, and bamboo hands.

hiss!
Wang Hansheng turned around abruptly and was shocked to see a lush, green bamboo stalk growing beside him. This bamboo had sprouted a branch shaped like a human hand, which was resting on his shoulder.

He remembered that throughout the journey, Liu Min's hand had always been on his shoulder and had never left.

So... Liu Min turned into bamboo?

"what!!"

Wang Hansheng screamed in terror, shoving the bamboo hand away. He collapsed to the ground in fright, quickly retreating. "How can a person turn into bamboo? A perfectly healthy person! And a manager who has mastered the art of preserving spirits..."

Just then, another fat steward suddenly reached up and touched his neck. It was wet and very itchy. He scratched his neck vigorously, saying, "Deputy Hall Master, my neck is so itchy. It's so itchy."

He scratched harder and harder.

It quickly started to bleed from scratching.

He didn't notice it himself, but everyone else saw it...

Wang Hansheng cried out, "Ah Liu, your hand..."

Fatty Ah Liu looked at his hands and found they had turned into bamboo.

"How could this happen... how could this happen?!"

"No, no. Help me!!" The moment the voice fell, Ah Liu turned into a bamboo stalk, lush and green, its leaves rustling in the wind.

The group felt a chill run down their spines and huddled together, back to back, warily glancing around.

Chen Mo saw it all from beginning to end...

He couldn't understand why an internal martial arts master, who was also knowledgeable in the art of preserving the spirit... would turn into bamboo right under his nose.

Before, it turned into a paper doll; now it turns into bamboo.

This place is getting weirder and weirder.

At this moment, the only remaining steward, named Lu Wei, was terrified and somewhat insane, shouting, "I want to leave here! I want to leave here!"

As he spoke, Lu Wei grabbed his knife and started slashing wildly as he ran away into the distance.

Chen Mo shouted, "Drag him back!"

Li Qiuhan took a step forward, forcefully suppressing all of Lu Wei's strength and pulling him back. She then channeled her true energy into him, allowing Lu Wei to regain some composure. "Knowing this place is eerie, don't run around recklessly. Otherwise, you'll die even faster."

Lu Wei, panting heavily, turned to stare at Chen Mo, "Master Chen, what should we do now?"

Chen Mo said in a low voice, "It seems there's something that doesn't want us to leave the Li residence. Look at these bamboos, have you noticed anything unusual?"

Everyone looked around at the bamboo grove, and apart from being messy, nothing else seemed amiss.

Li Qiuhan spoke up, “Logically speaking, bamboo grows its roots and sprouts along its rhizomes, which is inherently messy. But some bamboo grows in rocks, under eaves, and even horizontally from walls. Rhizomes usually don’t extend to such places. Young Master Mo, is there something special about this bamboo?”

Chen Mo said, "What you see are just bamboo. Is it possible... that these aren't bamboo at all, but rather people?"

hiss!
Everyone gasped, suddenly recalling how Ah Liu had just been turned into bamboo. Looking at the dense bamboo around them, they seemed to see countless people who had also come here and were eventually turned into bamboo.

So many bamboo stalks... that's like hundreds of grown people.

Guo Ziyu, who had been silent all along, spoke up at this moment, "The bamboo here is lush, and the bamboo leaves are very moist. I reckon that as long as your skin is soaked by the moisture, it will slowly turn into bamboo. Everyone, circulate your inner energy and don't let the moisture corrode your skin."

Everyone agreed, nodding in agreement. They each circulated their internal energy through their meridians to avoid being dampened by the moisture.

A person's vital energy is finite; once depleted, it needs to be replenished through grains or medicine, and requires a long period of recuperation to recover. It's generally only used in combat situations. No one had considered this before.

Chen Mo also circulated his true energy and looked back at the small storage room.

Ping Pong Pong!

The sounds continued to come from inside, and soon—

Squeak.

The four-foot-high door to the storeroom was pushed open, and a very short old man walked out.

He was less than three feet tall, wearing a black cotton-padded jacket and cloth shoes. Eight or nine tenths of his hair had fallen out, leaving only a few white strands. His face was covered in deep wrinkles. He came out carrying a pair of large scissors taller than himself and began pruning the potted plants.

Despite clearly seeing Chen Mo and his group, the old man ignored them and focused on trimming the flowers and plants.

Everyone found the old man strange, so they shrank back and no one dared to ask him a question.

Chen Mo quietly looked at the old man. Judging from his clothes and appearance, he was not a servant.

The servants couldn't afford such expensive cotton-padded jackets.

housekeeper?

Also unlikely.

Chen Mo had stayed at the Chen residence for a long time and had seen many stewards. Although the Li residence was strange, Chen Mo intuitively felt that this old man didn't have the air of a steward. Moreover, the cotton-padded jacket he was wearing was too well-made, unlike what a steward would wear.

If he's not the butler, then he must be the owner of the Li residence.

Li Qing, the master of the Li family?

Surely not... Back then, Li Qing was a successful candidate in the provincial examinations and even took the imperial examinations multiple times. Given his appearance, would the court really allow him to take the examinations?
Moreover, Shen Yujun is very beautiful, so she wouldn't be interested in such an old man with such an appearance.

Chen Mo had very little information to refer to, making it impossible for him to make rigorous deductions. He could only rely on the information in his mind and engage in wild speculation. Anyway, it wouldn't matter if his speculations were wrong.

If it's not Li Qing... then it can only be the older brother or younger brother that Juan'er mentioned.

Juan'er's brother is that evil infant.

Is this what an evil infant looks like?
Not quite right.

Chen Mo had seen the ghost baby before.

Could it be the younger brother Juan'er mentioned?

But this is way too old.

Juan'er looks only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Chen Mo gripped the knife tightly and tentatively asked, "Is he Juan'er's younger brother?"

The old man paused for a moment, then stopped trimming the flowers and plants, turned around and glared at Chen Mo, saying in a sinister tone, "Juan'er told you that? What a big mouth you are."

really……

He is Juan'er's younger brother.

How can you be so old?
There wasn't a single normal person in the Li family.

Just then, a series of "clattering" footsteps came from the gate of the opposite courtyard.

Soon, Juan'er walked over, hands on her hips, glaring angrily at the old man. "You little brat, are you deaf? I told you to come to the opera earlier, but you wouldn't come, did you?"

The old man snorted, "They always sing the same few tricks. What's so great about this lousy opera? I'd rather tidy up my own yard."

Hearing this, Juan'er became even angrier: "This time it wasn't me who asked you to go. Your brother came back and asked you to go. Mother has also made all the preparations."

Upon hearing the word "brother," the old man trembled, then picked up the large scissors and said, "Alright. Since it's my brother calling, I'll go."

"Hehe, that's more like a little brother now. But it's a deal, you're not allowed to break my shadow puppet, or I'm done playing with you."

The old man nodded in agreement.

Juan'er then noticed Chen Mo and his group not far away. Her face showed surprise, and then she said with a hint of anger, "Weren't you all tidying up your appearance? Why are you in my brother's garden? My brother doesn't like strangers. If you make him angry, I can't stop him. Come with me to the theater."

No one dared to make a move, and they all looked at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nodded: "Okay."

"Hurry up, the play on that broken stage is really good. There's a hanged ghost, and a divine general wielding a Guan Dao to slay the hanged ghost!" Juan'er, wearing a red jacket, happily led the way.

Just as Chen Mo was about to follow, Li Qiuhan suddenly grabbed Chen Mo's sleeve and whispered, "Young Master Mo, are you really going to see a play?"

Chen Mo lowered his voice and said, "I've already tried it along the way. It's the same here as Qinghe Town. We couldn't get out of Qinghe Town before, and we can't get out of this Li residence now. Since Madam Shen doesn't want us to leave, let's go listen to the opera."

Chen Mo was telling the truth.

While traveling, Chen Mo released ghost shadows to scout the surroundings.

The ghost's shadow has a detection range of 300 meters.

It turned out that... the ghosts were all lost and couldn't find their way out.

Li Qiuhan looked uneasy. "But what if..."

Chen Mo said, "There's no other way. We can only leave the Li residence if we kill all these bastards. Don't stray too far from me, and follow my lead."

Although Li Qiuhan was somewhat afraid, she was also experienced in the ways of the world and immediately agreed to Chen Mo's plan: "Okay."

And so, Chen Mo led the way, following Juan'er towards the theater to the east.

Taking advantage of a break in their journey, Chen Mo leaned closer to Guo Ziyu and whispered, "Miss Ziyu, have you noticed anything amiss?"

Guo Ziyu shook her head: "This is my first time here too, and I don't see anything. Perhaps Young Master Mo is right, we have to kill the ghosts here before we can get out."

Seeing that Guo Ziyu had said so, Chen Mo said no more.

Juan'er, who was leading the way, was afraid that Chen Mo and his group would try something again, so she kept turning back to urge them: "Hurry up and keep up. Don't keep your brother and mother waiting."

Chen Mo nodded: "Here I am."

Before long, Chen Mo and his group arrived at a large theater.

It's clear that the Li family enjoys listening to opera.

Li Qing's mother was an opera singer, and so was his wife. They built a very grand opera house. Directly in front was a stage, supported by four pillars. The stage was very large, and the ground was covered with red cloth.

In front of the stage was a large courtyard, neatly arranged with nine large round tables, each with ten stools. The tables were laden with delicious food, but no one was sitting on them.

Based on Chen Mo's experience of entering the Li residence, if all the remaining people in the Li residence were gathered together, they probably wouldn't be able to fill all these round tables.

Juan'er led everyone to a round table closest to the stage and poured tea for them. "Everyone's here, we've been waiting for you. Enjoy your tea and snacks. Mother is changing her clothes, she'll be here soon."

Wang Hansheng turned around and looked at the empty round tables and chairs around him, and asked curiously, "There's no one here, so how come everyone's here?"

Juan'er looked around and asked in confusion, "Everyone's here. Are you seeing things?"

Wang Hansheng glanced at it again, and it was indeed empty.

The other managers also looked over and all thought it was empty.

But seeing Juan'er's earnest expression, which didn't seem fake, the managers all felt a chill run down their spines.

Chen Mo patted his spine on the back, and a surge of energy flowed into his brain and into his eyes. He closed his eyes and looked around again.

Suddenly... I saw...

Sure enough, all the seats around were occupied by "people".

They're all ghost babies!
One by one, the ghost babies stood on the stools, staring longingly at the stage.

There were over a hundred ghost babies!

At the very back, on a round table, sat only a ghost baby dressed in white.

It is sitting.

His appearance is similar to that of a filial son, but even more similar to the face of a baby suffering from madness.

Chen Mo was startled: This white-robed infant was the evil infant!
The white-robed infant seemed to have noticed Chen Mo's gaze, so it looked up and their eyes met.

The baby in the white robe grinned and smiled slightly...

(End of this chapter)