Chapter 366: Our Child?

“But, Master, I’m hungry.” At this moment, Ghost Mother came over, wrapping her arms around Ye Wenxin’s neck with a longing look. It was unclear whether she was truly hungry or just instinctively wanted to be close to Ye Wenxin.

Xiao Li was very curious, seemingly not understanding what Ghost Mother meant by being hungry. Ye Wenxin’s expression turned serious as she instructed, “Xiao Li, close your eyes and cover your ears. I’m about to show my secret technique.”

Seeing Ye Wenxin’s serious expression, Xiao Li thought she was about to perform some forbidden secret technique and obediently closed his eyes. Ye Wenxin, still uneasy, instructed Sword Ghost to keep an eye on him before embracing Ghost Mother, and pressing her lips to Ghost Mother’s again.

Ghost Mother’s eyes sparkled with green light, and she let out a low moan. This time, after taking a full sip, a white sphere emerged from her stomach.

The sphere resembled a furry dumpling, making one want to touch it. Ye Wenxin was surprised by Ghost Mother’s transformation, wondering how her offspring were becoming increasingly bizarre. But before she could dwell on it, Ghost Mother, panting, pressed herself against Ye Wenxin again and said, “Master, this is your child.”

“???”

Ye Wenxin didn’t know how to describe the subtle emotions she felt. She and Ghost Mother had a child, and it turned out to be a sphere.

“Um, is this Nezha¹?” Ye Wenxin awkwardly made a bad Earth joke, which left Ghost Mother looking puzzled. Nevertheless, she continued to explain, “Just now, your fingers helped me expel other Yin energies, and now my body is filled with your Yin energy. This sphere is a creation of your Yin energy.”

Ye Wenxin understood, but found it difficult to accept that her Yin energy had made those terrifying Yin Fetuses into something so cute.

More importantly, when she considered that this sphere was her ‘daughter’, she felt a strong reluctance to send it into danger.

“I see. You scared me; I thought I actually sired something with you.” Ye Wenxin sighed in relief. When she looked back, she noticed that Ghost Mother’s horns seemed to have grown larger and more elegant. Perhaps because of the transformation Ye Wenxin had brought, Ghost Mother now appeared a bit more radiant and lively, in contrast to her previous gloomy appearance.

“If Master wants to have a child, Gui Gui is willing to make the effort for you.” Ghost Mother fluttered her lashes, as if she were looking forward to developing their relationship further. Ye Wenxin remembered the cheesy line she had used before, and wondered if it had really won Ghost Mother’s heart so easily.

As she thought this, Ye Wenxin felt the sphere nuzzle closer, affectionately rubbing against her thigh. Ghost Mother, seeing this, bared her fangs at the sphere in displeasure, trying to intimidate it.

It was like an animal’s instinct; Ghost Mother had developed a strong possessiveness towards Ye Wenxin, one that didn’t even allow her own child.

“Gui Gui, it’s still your child,” Ye Wenxin reminded her. Ghost Mother immediately withdrew her fangs, but still looked quite disdainful.

“Since I can give it life, I can also destroy it. But for now, this Yin Fetus is useful to Master.” Ghost Mother calmed down a bit, but still drew in Ye Wenxin’s Yin energy to alleviate the fatigue from creating the sphere.

“Is it useful? It only seems to be good at looking cute.”

“I don’t know about being cute, but this Yin Fetus can fly and traverse the skies. It’s much more useful for tracking people compared to any divination tool.” Ghost Mother looked down on the Daoist artifacts, especially the celestial mirror. It always made her uncomfortable, and she had an urge to destroy it, but couldn’t express her frustration with Ye Wenxin present.

Members of the ghost race were inherently violent, and Ghost Mother, in particular, was exceptionally murderous and hard to control. Unlike spirit beasts that could be bound by contracts, ghosts like her were only willing to submit through communication.

Simply put, while Sword Ghost and Ghost Mother had submitted to Ye Wenxin, they remained as ticking time bombs, unpredictable in their behavior.

Ye Wenxin didn’t dare let her guard down. Previously, she had been worried about Ghost Mother possibly turning against her in the middle of the night. Then, she was wary of Ghost Mother potentially draining her dry. However, after hearing that the sphere had such marvelous uses, Ye Wenxin found Ghost Mother increasingly endearing.

“Grandmaster, are you done yet?” Xiao Li, unable to endure the silence, prompted Ye Wenxin, who then snapped out of her thoughts and dismissed the barrier. When Xiao Li opened his eyes, he saw the furry sphere.

“What is this creature?”

“It’s our…” Ghost Mother started proudly, about to say it was the sphere she and Ye Wenxin had created together, but Ye Wenxin quickly interrupted: “This is a familiar that can help us locate Cuihua and that lady.”

The white sphere seemed able to understand human speech and looked at Ye Wenxin sulkily. Its human-like reaction made Ye Wenxin think that with a few more spheres, she could use Ghost Mother’s help to establish the world’s largest intelligence agency.

“Truly a remarkable technique. This junior is in complete awe.” Xiao Li, unaware of the sphere’s complicated origin, took Ye Wenxin’s fabrication seriously and showed her even more respect.

Ye Wenxin chuckled and, seeing Ghost Mother still displeased, added: “Do your best, and you’ll get to eat to your heart’s content tonight.” Ghost Mother, catching the key words, quickly directed the sphere to search for Wang Cuihua’s whereabouts.

The sphere bounced a few times and quickly disappeared into the ground. Moments later, it returned with a dagger in its mouth. Ye Wenxin’s face lit up with a smile, but then she thought something was amiss.

“Uh, you’re supposed to be finding people, not bring me gifts.”

“It’s trying to please you, afraid that I’ll eat it,” replied Ghost Mother, clearly exasperated by the furball.

“Hehehe, what a clever little thing, just like me,” said Ye Wenxin, immensely satisfied. Thanks to Celestial Master Zhong’s memories, she had developed a hobby of collecting weapons and was particularly passionate about daggers. Although the furball brought her an ordinary dagger, it was quite pleasing visually. She took the dagger and patted the furball, finding its soft, plush-like texture irresistibly charming.

The furball made a purring sound, which Ye Wenxin found amusing. She picked it up, examined it closely, and couldn’t resist asking, “Can I kick you once?”

The furball, which had been enjoying itself, was now horrified. It widened its cute eyes in disbelief at Ye Wenxin’s sudden idea.

Ye Wenxin gave an awkward smile. “Well, it’s just that you feel so good to touch, I thought kicking you would be satisfying.” The furball, now a bit scared, hopped down to the ground and resumed its search nearby.

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Footnotes:

1. 1. In Chinese mythology, Nezha (哪吒) is a precocious teenage deity who serves as a patron saint of young adults. He is also a prominent character in Journey to the West.
   Story goes that, after gestating in his mother’s womb for three years and six months, Nezha came out as a ball of flesh. Li Jing, his father, thought he was a demon and attacked the ball with his sword. The ball split open, and Nezha came out as a boy instead of an infant. For the more detailed story, check out the wikipedia page on Nezha. ↩︎