"That must be the harmful thing."

Without further ado, I drew out the Seven-Star Longquan sword with one hand and slashed towards that location. Strangely enough, it was my first time using the Seven-Star Longquan, yet I felt oddly familiar with it, as if I had done it countless times before.

Is this what they call a feeling of instant kinship?

A sharp sound of wind swept by, and I caught a whiff of a very greasy smell. Moreover, I had a slight feeling as if I had hit something.

Cheng Xinghe immediately said, "It ran away! Through the window!"

Since it was summer, every household had their windows open. I looked again with my spirit vision, but the colors before my eyes were becoming inaccurate. With my naked eye, I could only see a fresh, dirty footprint on the window, as if something had jumped out of it.

At this moment, I heard a "click" sound, and the chair made of Xiangfei bamboo beneath the window snapped in half, collapsing like a cut watermelon.

I was taken aback. No one had even touched the chair. What was the situation? Could it be...

Sure enough, Cheng Xinghe came over to take a closer look and smiled mischievously. "Little brother, you owe me money."

Although I had slashed in this direction, I was clearly quite far away. Besides, the quality of Xiangfei bamboo was very sturdy. Even if I really hit it with my strength, it couldn't have broken so easily!

I also took a look at the broken end of the Xiangfei bamboo and felt a chill run down my back. The broken end was neatly cut, without even a single burr!

Was it the sword qi of the Seven-Star Longquan?

Yes, it could be inferred that it was no ordinary thing to have been able to seal the general's tomb for such a long time. However, its sharpness exceeded one's imagination!

Cheng Xinghe clicked his tongue and said, "It's a pity, a pity. Your skills aren't up to par. You only injured the little kid's foot just now. If you could fully unlock the power of the Seven-Star Longquan, I estimate that kind of lonely ghost would be obliterated upon contact."

He then turned to me with a mischievous smile. "I think it's a waste for someone at the Yellow Rank like you to use something so good. How about transferring it to me?"

I said, did he not feel the pain of being cut last time?

Cheng Xinghe thought about his wound that hadn't healed yet and immediately took a few steps back with a frightened look. "Tell it not to go berserk. I was just joking."

However, what Cheng Xinghe said made sense. If I, at the Yellow Rank, could wield the Seven-Star Longquan to this extent, how powerful would it be after I leveled up?

Professor Luo had devoted his entire life to science. This was the first time he had seen something like "striking from afar." He stared for a long time, but since he had already seen ghosts, this was not surprising to him. He quickly recovered and said, "Master, please don't take it to heart. I know the difference between right and wrong. You're helping me, so how could I possibly ask you to pay for it? By the way, where did that thing go?"

The vibration of the Seven-Star Longquan had already subsided, indicating that the creature had escaped far away.

Professor Luo seemed quite relieved. "So... am I in the clear now?"

I shook my head. "That thing is very malevolent. Since it's targeting you, it won't stop until it takes your life. Besides, it was injured by me this time and will definitely hold a grudge. It will come back again."

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Professor Luo's face turned pale instantly.

There was a wrinkle on his Life Palace, precisely the "Fatality Line." Its position was very straight, indicating that this disaster would either be overcome today or result in his death. The "preview" voice had been absolutely correct.

Therefore, that greasy child would definitely return today, and since it held grudges, we could only wait for it here.

Cheng Xinghe immediately interrupted, "Do you already know what that thing is?"

I stared at the greasy spot and said, "I'm eighty to ninety percent sure. Professor Luo, do you have rice vinegar at home?"

Professor Luo nodded and handed me a bottle. "Is Master originally from Shanxi?"

Ah? It's not that I want to drink vinegar for fun. I need rice vinegar to verify whether my guess is correct or not.

I opened the bottle of rice vinegar and dripped some onto the footprint. As expected, the greasy, translucent footprint turned dark red!

Professor Luo, who had dedicated his entire life to medicine, immediately recognized it and exclaimed, "Is that... blood?"

It seemed I was right. That child was a小鬼, nurtured through shadowy techniques from the Yin side.

Professor Luo looked puzzled and asked what I meant by Yin side techniques.

I explained that while those who earn their living through Yin and Yang may appear similar, they are divided into the Yang side and the Yin side. The Yang side, like us, accumulates merit and strength, acting on behalf of heaven's will. The Yin side, however, utilizes secretive techniques to harm the natural order and seek personal gain. In simple terms, Yang side practitioners are the good guys, while Yin side practitioners are the bad guys.

Professor Luo nodded as if he understood, then asked, "Master, can these things really be nurtured?"

Yes, they can be nurtured, but the method is extremely cruel.

It requires a healthy fetus, grown in the mother's womb for seven months and seven days, to be extracted alive. Nine golden needles are then inserted into the nine major acupoints on the fetus's head, and it is hung upside down in a graveyard to die slowly. Afterward, a corpse that died a violent death is chosen, its abdomen is cut open, and the fetus is soaked in corpse oil inside for forty-nine days. This creates the小鬼.

Our industry avoids dealing with the young and the old because they hold the greatest怨气. Children, especially healthy ones who die before experiencing the joys of life, naturally have strong怨气.

However, the小鬼cannot retaliate against its creator and instead must serve them. Its soul is trapped in the corpse by the golden needles, and even though it can move freely, it is ultimately controlled by its master. It must obey its master's commands.

Since the child hasn't been born yet, it doesn't know the difference between good and evil, making it highly manipulable and vengeful.

The corpse oil used on these小鬼comes from different people, giving rise to various types, such as the seven-person oil, fourteen-person oil, and so on. The most powerful is the forty-nine-person oil, created by soaking the fetus in oil from forty-nine violent corpses.

That's why the小鬼appeared so greasy. Rice vinegar, made from rice—a grain used in ancient times for sacrificing to the heavens—has the ability to ward off evil and reacts with corpse oil, turning it into blood. This has long been used as a test for the presence of corpse oil.

The more human oil used, the more powerful the resulting小鬼becomes, but the harder it is to create. Forty-nine-person oil is extremely rare and can only be dealt with by those at the Tian level.

Based on the amount of corpse oil and malevolent energy I sensed earlier, I estimated that the小鬼was probably made with fourteen-person oil, which is already quite impressive. This type of小鬼is very powerful and can even possess people. The female college student who fell from the building was likely killed by it.

Given my current abilities, the Seven-Star Longquan Sword only managed to injure it because this thing is not easy to deal with.

Upon hearing about this cruel method of creation, Professor Luo's hands trembled. "How could someone be so cruel as to do this to an unborn child?"

In this world, there are too many people who are willing to take desperate measures, so it's not surprising. My third uncle had even told me about even more cruel things.

Professor Luo then asked, "But why would it want to harm me?"

It's obvious that Professor Luo had offended someone, but he couldn't figure out who it was despite racking his brains.

There was nothing else to do but wait. Meanwhile, I remembered something—wasn't there a long-tailed creature here? I asked Cheng Xinghe to look for it. Finding it might lead to some clues.

Moreover, this creature seemed to know me, which piqued my curiosity about its identity.

There's no such thing as gratuitous hatred or love in this world. The fact that the long-tailed creature repeatedly warned Professor Luo to avoid disaster indicated that it wanted to help him.

I suspected that its voice had become weaker each time because it had sustained heavy damage while helping Professor Luo resist the小鬼.

With its long tail and bluish aura, I suspected that this creature was some kind of spirit, similar to Hui Baicang and Xiao Jinhua.

Cheng Xinghe looked around and seemed to find it, pointing toward the corner. "It's here! But... it looks like it's dying!"