WBICDPH Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Drawing Reeds and Forming Pills

“So… what exactly is going on here?”

Hua Nanzhi was clearly struggling to process the situation. She was so shocked she even forgot to hold her breath, accidentally inhaling a mouthful of the foul stench. Coupled with the grotesque, oversized head of the monster before her, she couldn’t help letting out an exaggerated retch.

“This monster is the top scholar—ugh—how did he turn into this—ugh—”

Lin Jin sighed helplessly and patted Hua Nanzhi on the back to help her catch her breath.

“It seems my earlier speculation about the Seven Emotions Flower was too simplistic. Zhou Wencai turning into this… likely has everything to do with that flower.”

“You’re saying he became this half-human, half-ghost freak because he ate the flowers?”

Hua Nanzhi forced herself not to breathe, making her voice sound comically strained.

“Other villagers ate the flowers too. Why didn’t they turn into this?”

“Because the other villagers can no longer be considered whole ‘people,’ remember?”

Lin Jin tapped the area behind his ear.

“The puppet threads. One foot of theirs has already stepped into the puppet master’s ‘neither alive nor dead’ state. Judging from the way Zhou’s mother snuck out earlier, Zhou Wencai’s existence may have been kept secret all along. No one knew there was still a living person hidden in this cellar—not even the puppet master. So Zhou Wencai, as an ordinary human, consumed the Seven Emotions Flower for years and became what he is now.”

“That’s still too strange. I’ve never heard of any flower that can turn a person into a monster. This is just…”

Hua Nanzhi glanced at Zhou Wencai again. His appearance was too horrifying. She shuddered and couldn’t finish her sentence.

“…Yes,” Lin Jin murmured.

In the cultivation world, there were many miraculous and bizarre spiritual herbs. But he had never heard of anything capable of directly turning a living person into such an ugly, mindless creature.

Something wasn’t right. He felt as though he had misunderstood a crucial piece of the puzzle, leaving his reasoning incomplete.

He studied Zhou Wencai more closely.

His body was emaciated, like dry firewood, yet his head had swollen to two or three times the size of an ordinary person’s. At first glance, it looked almost—

“Who are you?!”

A sharp female voice shattered his thoughts.

In the dim cave, Zhou’s mother had just finished collecting the empty bowls and was preparing to leave when she noticed them standing at the cave entrance. She shrieked and fell to the ground, but quickly scrambled up, spreading her arms like a hen shielding her chick as she stood in front of Zhou Wencai.

Under the weak lamplight, she scrutinized them, then suddenly let out a strange laugh.

“So it’s you—those ghost-catching Daoists! Why are you following me instead of catching evil spirits? I’m just a helpless woman visiting my son. What do you want?! Get out! If you scare my son, I won’t let you off!”

Lin Jin watched her frenzied state thoughtfully. Good. He had questions he needed her to answer.

He stepped forward, raising the oil lamp so its light fell on her and Zhou Wencai.

“Are you certain he’s truly your son?”

“Of course I’m certain! I gave birth to him myself! What kind of question is that?!”

Zhou Wencai shrank back from the sudden light. Zhou’s mother tenderly stroked his swollen head and wrapped her arms around his withered body.

“Oh? Wasn’t your son once a brilliant young top scholar? A handsome imperial son-in-law? Why has he become such an… ugly, grotesque monster?”

Lin Jin narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Would you like to take a closer look at him?”

Zhou’s mother trembled.

After a brief silence, she sprang up as if provoked.

“What monster? My Wencai isn’t a monster! He’s just sick! He’ll get better! Who are you to judge my son? He ranked first in the provincial exam at twelve! Even the Eldest Princess fell in love with him at first sight and insisted on marrying him! Who are you to speak about him? Be careful, or Her Highness will have your head!”

“Princess? Auntie, the dynasty has already changed.”

Lin Jin glanced back at Hua Nanzhi.

“Miss Hua, do you know what became of the former emperor’s Eldest Princess?”

Hua Nanzhi crossed her arms and snorted.

“The former emperor was cruel, and his favorite princess was decadent and reckless. When the capital fell, she died under the rebel army’s blades alongside him. Their bodies were separated and displayed on the city walls for days.”

“And the imperial son-in-law?”

“No idea. Who cares about him?”

Lin Jin nodded slowly.

“I imagine he fled the war-torn capital back to his hometown, intending to reunite with his childhood sweetheart—only to find she had already died tragically. His mother, fearing both soldiers and vengeful spirits, hid him in the cellar. She meant only for him to lie low, but the village became sealed in ghostly mist, and he ended up trapped there for seven years.

“So he wasn’t merely a man who broke promises—he was also a coward who abandoned his wife to survive.”

“Lies! Nonsense! My son is the finest man in the world! Circumstances forced him!”

Her voice grew hysterical, but Lin Jin continued calmly.

“What truly turned him into this? Not the times… but—”

He clapped his hands softly.

“—the mother who loved him most. You.”

She froze.

“It’s karma,” Lin Jin said with sudden laughter. “You were weak and faithless. You were greedy and cruel. Karma!”

Hua Nanzhi looked alarmed. “Senior Brother, what’s wrong with Lin Jin?”

“Nothing,” Xiao Yunkong replied calmly. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Lin Jin’s voice shifted.

“Auntie, is Brother Wencai really just sick? Does he still look human to you?”

Zhou’s mother suddenly glared.

“So it’s you, Zhu Eryao! You possessed him! I knew no ordinary person would dare speak like this!”

In the corner, the real Zhu Eryao blinked in confusion.

Lin Jin’s voice rang out sharply, recounting the injustices she had suffered—the betrayal, the false accusations, her parents’ suspicious deaths.

Zhou’s mother trembled under his words. Finally, she broke.

“Yes! So what if we killed them? They refused to lend us money! It was an accident! And his wife wouldn’t keep quiet! It was all for my son’s future!”

Her words echoed horribly in the cave.

Lin Jin stood silent for a long moment.

Then—

Zhou’s mother stumbled backward, still ranting.

Behind her, Zhou Wencai’s cloudy eyes stared. As she drew near, he sniffed the air like a beast.

Lin Jin’s heart lurched.

“Stop—”

Too late.

A sickening, tearing sound split the air.

Zhou Wencai lunged and bit deeply into her side.

Blood filled the cave.

He tore away a chunk of flesh. Chewing sounds echoed.

Zhou’s mother collapsed.

Zhou Wencai continued chewing blankly, murmuring something indistinct.

Lin Jin heard it clearly.

Softly, he whispered:

“Ah Yao… Ah Yao…”