"Push! Push harder! The baby is almost out..."
The midwife anxiously urged loudly. The entire room was filled with the painful cries of the woman in labor.
Outside the house, the night was gradually deepening. Suddenly, strong winds and heavy rains lashed down, accompanied by lightning and thunder on this silent night. All this came so quickly that it seemed rather unusual.
By the flickering candlelight blown by the strong wind, sat an old woman leaning on a walking stick.
The flickering candlelight cast an eerie glow on the old woman's gloomy face.
"The baby is out... It's a girl!"
The midwife looked at the trembling baby girl in her hands, feeling a bit delighted yet also worried. She paced over to the old woman's side and said, "Granny Yin! It's a baby girl, but she still hasn't let out her first cry... I'm afraid the situation is not looking good..." As she said this, the midwife frowned tightly.
The woman in labor lying on the bed was the old woman's daughter, and the baby girl in the midwife's arms was her granddaughter.
The old woman took the baby girl from the midwife with both hands. In the dim light, her wrinkled face showed a very complex expression.
As soon as the midwife handed the baby to the old woman, she quickly went to check on the woman in labor.
There was already a pool of blood under the woman's body. The large patch of blood had soaked through her clothes and the bedding, and the woman had already lost her breath...
"Ah! ... This! ... Granny Yin, the woman in labor had a massive hemorrhage. She's dead!" Even though the midwife was experienced, she was still quite shocked by death. She took two steps back, pointing at the woman in labor and looking at the old woman as she spoke.
Granny Yin's heart trembled. She sighed and said, "What's meant to come can never be escaped!"
Although all this was within her expectations, she was still deeply stricken.
Granny Yin was a shaman in the village. All those in the village who suffered from illnesses that couldn't be cured by medicine would come to her for a look.
At first, some came with the attitude of just giving it a try, while others simply didn't believe at all. Having no other choice, they could only treat the dying horse as if it were a living one. Strangely enough, all of them were cured by Granny Yin.
However, once the topics of ghosts and gods were mentioned, the villagers would inevitably find it inauspicious and always kept their distance.
Granny Yin had already known when her daughter was pregnant out of wedlock that her daughter might not survive this calamity. The birth date and time of her newly - born granddaughter were all of the Yin element, which would cause great damage to the mother's body. So, it was highly unlikely that the mother could be saved.
Granny Yin had once advised her daughter that this child was of the pure Yin constitution and was too weak to survive. Even if she sacrificed herself to give birth to the child, the child's chances of survival were slim...
But her daughter was determined to have this child, and Granny Yin could only let out a soft sigh.
Her gaze fell on the child. Sure enough, the baby in her hands didn't cry for a long time. Before long, it stopped moving and lost all signs of life.
At this moment, the strong wind howled outside, and the leaves rustled. The sound was like the wailing of hundreds of ghosts, waiting for something!
Granny Yin looked at the baby in her arms and decided to try her best by any means to save her granddaughter.
She slowly placed the baby girl on the table. Then she went in front of the household deity altar, offered three incense sticks, clasped her hands together, and began to mutter incantations vaguely while shaking her head with a devout heart.
"Spirits of heaven, spirits of earth, household deity, show your might quickly! ... Spirits of heaven, spirits of earth, household deity, appear quickly and save my granddaughter! ... Hum! ..."
As the old woman mumbled, she would occasionally wave her hands back and forth above the baby's body. Immediately, the doors and windows of the entire room were rattled by the strong wind.
This scene scared the midwife senseless.
Just then, the front door seemed to be rammed open. A nine - tailed white fox with blue light on its body ran in. Suddenly, everything around became deathly silent, so quiet that one could even hear the sound of breathing.
Seeing this, the midwife couldn't believe her eyes. She stared with wide - open eyes. The white nine - tailed fox came into the room and looked around. Her heart was in her mouth. "Oh my god! This..."
The nine - tailed fox emitted a gentle wave, and both the midwife and Granny Yin fainted unconsciously.
It instantly transformed into a man. There were two silver - white furry ears in his long silver hair, and there was a blue flame - like mark on his forehead. His charming eyes seemed to have some kind of magic that could capture people's souls.
He was dressed in white, holding a folding fan to cover half of his face. His cold eyes made people shiver.
Suddenly, Granny Yin slowly stood up from behind, writhing her body strangely. Her face was deathly pale, as if possessed by something! Standing behind the man, with a gloomy face, she gave him a fright.
"Old woman, do you really have to possess someone? Making it so mysterious!" the man complained speechlessly.
The old woman slowly walked up to him, raised her walking stick, and smashed it down hard.
"You ignorant boy! You know nothing! I, the Third Grandma Hu, am an immortal enshrined by people. I won't easily make contact with humans. I always convey messages through the shaman! Alright, hurry up! If you keep being so indecisive, the baby's soul will disperse!" Granny Yin's voice suddenly became deep and cold, which was extremely eerie!
The man rubbed his head while looking at the baby on the table. The baby's soul was floating right above it, on the verge of dispersing.
His gloomy eyes suddenly widened. "Such a pure and extremely Yin spirit. Obtaining it can directly increase one's cultivation by at least a hundred years. Even I, with a thousand years of cultivation, am tempted by it. Let alone others. If I leave my inner core with her, isn't it just a feast for other demons? ..."
"So you have to protect her! You idiot! Besides, your inner core with a thousand years of spiritual power is not something that ordinary demons can easily obtain, right? ... Hurry up! You're so wordy!" After saying that, she gave him another whack with the stick!
Helplessly, the mysterious man then spat out a small blue - glowing bead from his mouth, held it in his palm, and gently sent the bead into the baby's body.
The blue mark on his forehead was also transferred to the baby's forehead, and the baby's soul slowly returned to her body.
Granny Yin on the side looked solemn, watching all this.
"Old woman! This is just a temporary loan! I will definitely take it back after eighteen years!" The man turned around and disappeared, leaving only his hollow voice echoing in the air.
Granny Yin lowered her eyes and snorted, "Humph! Bai Chen, you still have to serve me, the Third Grandma Hu, for eighteen years. You brash young lad!"
The Third Grandma Hu? It was the Third Grandma Hu enshrined by Granny Yin who had possessed her.
She casually drew a talisman in the air. The talisman glowed with golden light and was pressed onto the baby girl's chest, turning into a red birthmark like a fox's tail.
This talisman was used to weaken the power of Bai Chen's inner core. Otherwise, how could a tiny human body bear Bai Chen's thousand - year - old inner core!
"Wa! ... Wa..." With the baby's cries, the silent night was broken, and everything returned to normal.