The baby was about fifty centimeters tall, its translucent body lacking solidity. With sparse downy hair on its head, chubby cheeks, and chubby, segmented limbs like lotus roots, it looked remarkably cute. Clinging to Jiang Yu'er's calf like a koala, it tilted its little head, eyes shut, motionless as if fast asleep.
*Auntie was telling the truth? Her hospital is really haunted, and it's actually an infant spirit?* Staring at the tiny spirit, Zhang Yuanqing slowly let his jaw drop.
This completely shattered his worldview.
"What are you staring at?!"
Noticing her nephew giving her an odd, scrutinizing look, his aunt immediately shot him a glare.
She pulled out a chair, slumping against its back, and whined, "Mom, I'm exhausted. Scoop a bowl of rice for me."
"You've got arms and legs of your own, don't you?" her mother retorted, but she still got up and headed into the kitchen as asked.
"Oh, look who's back. If it isn't the family degenerate."
His aunt grabbed a piece of roast duck with her fingers while greeting her older brother.
"Stay single a few more years and you'll be one too," his uncle said with a sly, cheeky grin. "When the time comes, brother and sister will join forces against the black-hearted witch."
Just then, Grandma emerged carrying a bowl of rice. His aunt instantly switched to a docile persona, hugging her mother's arm and resting her head on her shoulder. "You're the only family degenerate here! I'm the dutiful maiden by Mom's side, here specifically to suppress scum like you."
This was the very trick she used to curry favor with the grandparents, hoarding their pampering all to herself.
"Well, I could always form a duo with Yuanjun. Yuanjun is almost a family degenerate himself. Right, honey?" his uncle said.
His wife rolled her eyes at him.
"Huh?" His aunt chewed on the duck a few times, a look of suspicion surfacing on her face. "Mom, did you forget to add salt? This duck has no flavor at all."
"I bought it from a shop," Grandma said testily.
His aunt's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She took a deep sniff and cried out, "Why can't I smell anything either? The food doesn't smell appetizing at all."
Hearing that, Grandma asked with concern, "Did you catch a cold?"
At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing saw the infant spirit clinging to his aunt's calf twitch its little button nose. Then, it opened eyes that looked like black buttons. Finding itself in unfamiliar surroundings, its chubby little face went blank, seemingly bewildered as to why it was here.
Watching this, Zhang Yuanqing's expression grew solemn.
This was no ordinary spirit body. Ordinary spirit bodies possessed no consciousness and could not think; they acted purely on instinct.
The infant spirit didn't stay confused for long. Guided by some innate urge, it twitched its tiny nose and began scrambling up his aunt's body until it reached her shoulder.
Then, it spotted the table laden with delicious food.
Zhang Yuanqing followed the spirit with his gaze and saw its crawling speed suddenly pick up. It wobbled along his aunt's arm and onto the tabletop.
Sprawled on the table, it reached out a pudgy hand, trying to scoop up a piece of roast duck, but grasped nothing but empty air.
After several failed attempts, it seemed to realize that it couldn't touch the delicacies, and burst into aggrieved, wailing tears.
An ethereal cry instantly echoed in Zhang Yuanqing's ears, loud and clamorous.
*Damn brat, you're noisy as hell...* Zhang Yuanqing mobilized his Lunar force, gathering it in his palm. Reaching out as if to take a piece of roast duck, he actually clamped his hand around the infant spirit.
"You guys go ahead and eat. I'm going to the bathroom."
Grabbing the infant spirit by the scruff of its neck like a little puppy, he carried it into the bathroom.
Behind him came his aunt's voice: "Huh, my nose cleared up all of a sudden. The roast duck smells delicious now too."
Before the bathroom sink, Zhang Yuanqing supported the dead brat in one hand, watching it stick out a pink little tongue and lick the Lunar force pooled in his palm bit by bit.
To a spirit body, a Night Wanderer's Lunar force was an extraordinary tonic.
*It must have followed Auntie home because she carried a trace of my aura, which holds a fatal attraction for spirits...*
Yet what puzzled Zhang Yuanqing was that infants possessed very weak mental strength. When one died prematurely, its spirit body dissipated rapidly, lasting a couple of days at most, and often only a few hours.
Yet the ghost rumors at his aunt's hospital had been circulating for a while now.
This didn't make sense.
*When in doubt, look it up.* Pulling out his phone with his free hand, Zhang Yuanqing logged into the official Five Elements Alliance forum.
**#SHOCKING: Deceitful Eye Judge Suspected Dead; Fallen May Lose Control in the Near Future; Personnel Everywhere on High Alert#**
**#SHOCKING: Sheling Tunnel Conquered; Mystery Surrounds Identity of the Clearer#**
Zhang Yuanqing skimmed over the two pinned posts without giving them much thought. The official organization had to guard against the Fallen losing control, so news about the Deceitful Eye Judge was bound to be made public.
On the other hand, the news of him clearing Sheling Tunnel had already spread across the forum. The unfamiliar ID "Yuanshi Tianzun" was making its debut before the official Spirit Realm walkers.
Zhang Yuanqing typed "special spirit body" into the search bar.
Soon, he found an informative post explaining spirit bodies.
*A spirit body is formed from the residual mental power left behind after the death of an intelligent being. Because it has lost the vast majority of its consciousness, a spirit body remains in a dull, mindless state, acting purely on instinct or obsession.*
*Once any living creature dies, its spirit body continually dissipates. An ordinary person's spirit lasts at most seven days, while a Spirit Realm walker's spirit body lingers longer in the mortal world, depending on their mental strength.*
*However, there are always exceptions. As far as I know, high-level Night Wanderers and Illusionists can rely on special methods to preserve their spirit bodies indefinitely in this world even if their physical forms are destroyed.*
Reading to this point, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help glancing at the infant spirit, thinking that this little fellow clearly didn't possess the capability to linger indefinitely, nor could it be a high-level Spirit Realm walker.
He continued reading:
*The above describes spirit bodies under normal circumstances. Next, let us discuss abnormal spirit bodies. The so-called abnormal spirit bodies...*
The text abruptly cut off. Scrolling to the bottom, Zhang Yuanqing found that the latter half of the post was locked and required payment.
*Is this the legendary paying for knowledge?* With a twitch of his lips, he topped up two hundred yuan into his Yuanshi Tianzun account via his phone and completed the purchase.
It was worth mentioning that over the past few days, the administrative staff had already set up a SIM card and bank account under the name "Yuanshi Tianzun," severing ties with his "Zhang Yuanqing" identity.
*The so-called abnormal spirit bodies refer to spirit bodies refined through artificial means. The most famous example is the ghost-taming art of the Night Wanderer, though other professions also have their respective methods, which will not be detailed here.*
*A refined spirit body has a chance of developing special abilities and can be regarded as a precious item or pet. In Night Wanderer jargon, such a spirit body is known as a spirit servant.*
*Note, however, that spirit bodies vary in aptitude. Not all spirit bodies can be refined into spirit servants; those with the aptitude are one in ten thousand. Next, I will explain the refinement method...*
*Finally, a reminder: refining spirit bodies from evil professions is permitted, but enslaving the spirit bodies of ordinary people is a violation of discipline.*
*Poster: Yuan Ting.*
*Two hundred yuan well spent...* Zhang Yuanqing remarked inwardly with sincere appreciation after finishing the post.
This post revealed a great deal of information to him.
First, as a Night Wanderer advanced in level, they could raise ghosts and refine corpses. In battles against Spirit Realm walkers, their playstyle could switch between a sneaky assassin and a sneaky summoner.
Second, this dead brat was an exceptionally precious spirit servant. He had stumbled upon a real treasure.
Since it had already developed a special ability, it was an authentic spirit servant rather than just a special spirit body.
Third, there was definitely something wrong with the hospital where his aunt worked.
*Auntie suddenly lost her sense of taste and smell earlier—that must have been this little guy's doing. So its ability is stealing people's smell and taste? Hmm, I'll test it again later. If I can nurture this little fellow, it might be as useful as an item.*
While pleased, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help feeling a wave of concern.
There had to be a Spirit Realm walker lurking in his aunt's hospital. Now that the spirit had followed her home, the person behind its refinement would never let such a precious spirit servant slip away.
Trouble would follow, and it might even endanger his aunt.
Whether that person was an official walker or a wild rogue, refining an ordinary person's spirit body into a spirit servant was a clear breach of regulations.
This matter could not end peacefully.
*I'll report this to the Decurion tomorrow. Best to make reasonable use of the resources around me...*
Having sorted out his thoughts, he felt much lighter. He looked down at the infant spirit sprawled across his palm and forearm.
Sensing his scrutiny, the little creature opened its large, button-like eyes and let out a fawning sound: "Ah-bah, ah-bah..."
Seeing that Zhang Yuanqing didn't respond, it went back to licking the Lunar force.
*Smarter than an ordinary baby, but still unable to communicate properly...* Pinching the scruff of the infant spirit's neck, he flipped it around. "Come, let's see if you're a Little Doubi or a little troublemaker.
"From now on, you'll be called Little Doubi."
Carrying the infant spirit, Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the bathroom. The family dinner was already nearing its end.
He returned to his seat and casually ate his meal while secretly hooking the infant spirit around his uncle's neck.
Using the family degenerate to test the infant spirit's ability seemed like a perfect opportunity.
His uncle was biting down on a dental floss pick, carefully cleaning his teeth, completely oblivious to the dead child riding on his neck.
"Uncle, want a bowl of soup?"
Seeing that enough time had passed, Zhang Yuanqing ladled a bowl of soup for him.
He wanted to see if his uncle would lose his sense of taste and smell like his aunt had.
Rubbing his round belly, his uncle shook his head.
"Nope, not drinking it. Unless you've got jianbing guozi."
With that, he struck a rap gesture he had invented. Just as Zhang Yuanqing braced himself for the familiar lyrics, his uncle suddenly sucked on his thumb: "Ah-bah, ah-bah, ah-bah..."
At the same time, the infant spirit perched on his uncle's neck let out a voice that only Zhang Yuanqing could hear:
"Yo, yo, check it out, get me a jianbing guozi right now!"
*Pfft—!*
Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu'er spat out their chicken soup in perfect unison.
Grandpa, Grandma, his aunt-in-law, and his cousin all looked on with expressions of profound pity and exasperation.
Chapter 35