During the era of disaster, people had nothing to eat. To survive, they resorted to eating children.
But they couldn't bear to eat their own children, so they would exchange with others to eat theirs. After eating, they would throw the bones in the barren mountains, which were basically covered with corpses - all children's bones.
When humans had nothing to eat, neither did the dogs. Some dogs would go to the barren mountains to eat those children's bones. Over time, these dogs began shedding hair and growing children's faces. At night, childlike cries could be heard. People called these dogs "reared children."
A Daoist priest said these dogs weren't just eating bones - they were consuming the ghostly resentment of those dead children. The more they ate, the shorter their lifespan became. Those that could survive normally were called "reared children" - they could freely devour ghostly resentment without suffering any ill effects.
Therefore, a reared child tattoo can swallow ghostly resentment. The Grudge of the Fetus shouldn't be a problem. It's just that with Violet's situation, I can't sense it yet. Moreover, the reared child is a Yin-inspired tattoo, so we must be very careful about it.
Stein said, "At night, whether it's ghostly resentment or evil spirits, they're all more likely to appear. Why don't we come back tonight to check the situation before getting the tattoo?"
Stein's suggestion made sense. We all looked at Violet, who hesitated for a while before finally smiling and saying it would be no problem. However, she added that when the fetus appears, we might not be able to see it.
I said, "That's fine. As long as you can see it, you can tell us about it then. I've seen this ghost twice before - whether it's ghostly resentment or a ghost, I should still be able to tell the difference."
Violet gave each of us a pass card for entering and exiting the neighborhood, making it convenient for us to come back at night.
After saying goodbye to Violet and stepping outside, Stein looked at the sun overhead with a puzzled expression. He kept muttering, "Is there something wrong with the people, or with the villa?"
Seeing him in a daze, I quickly asked what was wrong.
Stein pointed at the bright noon sun and said, "It's twelve noon now - when the sun is at its strongest, directly overhead. But look at this villa!"
Hearing this, I immediately examined the villa.
Given its location, the overhead sunlight should be bathing the entire villa. Yet strangely, the villa remained eerily dark, with no light at all.
"How strange! This makes no sense!" I scratched my head. Had I studied physics for nothing?
No matter how you measure it, the sunlight should be shining on the villa, but...
Strange. There's something wrong with this villa! Is it some kind of haunted dwelling? Maybe what happened to Violet has nothing to do with her abortion—maybe the house was already cursed.
No, Violet has been insisting all along that the strange occurrences only started after she aborted the baby.
Could Violet be lying? Holy shit, is the problem with the person, the house, or… both?
No wonder Stein was so agitated earlier. Now I'm getting confused, let alone him.
Stein said this isn't simple—we have to investigate. Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts can't be done carelessly, especially Yin-inspired tattoos. We'll come back tonight to see what's really going on.
Although I'd taken on another job, the grief of losing my twin wife still weighed on me, leaving me in low spirits. That afternoon, no more customers came, so I started thinking about how to find this Jennings. But after racking my brain all afternoon, I still had no leads. If I had to rely on sheer luck, I might be searching for the rest of my life.
As evening approached, I was about to head to Violet's with Stein when Chloe suddenly called.
Chloe said she'd taken time off work after getting pregnant with the Corpse-Fetus and was waiting to resolve this before returning.
But over the past few days, a strange man had started showing up at her door—dressed in a suit and carrying a knife. He kept knocking repeatedly.
Chloe was terrified when she looked through the peephole and immediately called the police. Strangely, when officers arrived, they found only a paper person outside her door.
This had happened for three nights in a row. Now, the police didn't believe her anymore and even suggested she see a doctor, saying, "How could a paper person knock on doors and hold a knife? Isn't that ridiculous?"
Chloe insisted they investigate who was playing the prank, but they wouldn't take her seriously.
Yet Chloe swore it was the paper person knocking—she wasn't lying. In the end, they couldn't agree, and Chloe stopped pressing the issue, afraid they'd detain her for a psychiatric evaluation.
Still, she was afraid the suited man would return tonight, so she called me for help.
Then I remembered Nuwa's Forsaken Shade. Stein had said that Nuwa's Forsaken Shade's paper people could transform into ghost soldiers to kill. If Chloe was fighting off the Corpse-Fetus, could Nuwa's Forsaken Shade be targeting her?
No, I had to go and take a look. If something went wrong, it would be over. That Nuwa's Forsaken Shade was too strange—who knew what kind of method it would use to kill? If Chloe died, no one would even know.
As for Violet's matter, I could only leave it to Stein to handle alone while I went to Chloe's house by myself.
Chloe sent me her address, and before long, I arrived. Going up the stairs, I didn't see any paper person in front of the door, nor the suited man Chloe had described.
I knocked, and from inside came Chloe's slightly trembling voice—clearly still frightened. When I announced myself, she finally opened the door in relief.
The moment I stepped inside, she hugged me tightly. I could feel her whole body shaking.
"You scared me to death, you know? That man in the suit comes every night at twelve, knocking with a long watermelon knife in his hand. But when I call the police, he turns into a paper person. It's terrifying."
Chloe clung to me even harder as she spoke, her fear so palpable she was practically strangling me.
Her body was soft and smelled nice, which also left me breathless. At twenty years old, I'd never even held a woman's hand before.
"So… did he say anything?" I didn't push her away. I couldn't—not when she was this emotionally unstable and scared.
"He told me to open the door. He said if I dared to get rid of the Corpse-Fetus, he'd stab me and throw my body down the stairs. Roger, I'm so scared!" Her voice trembled with tears.
I reassured her not to worry—I was here tonight. It seemed we'd have to deal with this paper person before Chloe could feel safe again.
And so, Chloe stayed close to me until midnight, too afraid to leave my side even for a moment.
During that time, I tried calling Stein to ask what was happening, but his phone was turned off.
Damn it, what the hell is he doing? Why would he turn off his phone? It can't just be out of battery.
Right at that moment, a sudden knock echoed at the door—and both Chloe and I froze.
It's here!