Chapter 28: The Baby Tower
The invisibility potion had worn off. Afraid of being spotted by patrols in the distance, the two girls crouched on the opposite side of the tower.
Li Zhi tapped the tower wall with her hand. “There’s no way we can destroy this tower by force—we don’t even have explosives. The key must be inside.”
Chi Yi knew she was right, but even from outside, they could feel the intense resentment of the infant ghosts. Going inside? There was no guarantee they’d come out alive.
Chi Yi clenched her teeth. “I’ll go with you! We’ll stand a better chance together!”
But Li Zhi shook her head. “Only I can go in. You wait here.”
Chi Yi blinked, confused—but before she could react, Li Zhi had already slipped through the square opening at the base of the tower. Her body was agile and lean, making it easy for her to squeeze through without getting stuck.
Heart pounding, Chi Yi clung to the edge of the hole, peering into the darkness. But nothing was visible—only thick, suffocating stench that made her eyes water.
“Zhi Zhi? Are you okay in there?”
She called twice, but got no response. Not even the sound of Li Zhi landing. It was as if the dark void had swallowed her whole like the mouth of a demon.
Chi Yi covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, yet she refused to look away from the hole, hoping for any sign of movement.
The wind howled through the wilderness.
The moment Li Zhi landed, she sensed she had entered another space entirely.
What had been pitch-black inside was now eerily illuminated—not by light, but by some unnatural glow. She didn’t see the pile of bones she had expected. Instead, what lay before her sent chills down her spine far worse than she could’ve imagined.
It was a massive floating umbilical cord—freshly extracted, slick with blood and viscous fluids. From its main stem stretched countless smaller cords like tentacles. At the ends of these small cords were the baby ghosts, each connected by their own umbilicus.
They floated aimlessly, unable to leave, playing among themselves—until they noticed the intruder. Curious, they swarmed toward her, sniffing up and down her body. Whether due to the scent of the illusion perfume or something else, the baby ghosts mistook her for one of their own.
They nuzzled her joyfully, tugging at her hair and kissing her cheeks.
The dense resentment in the tower was corroding the cords. Some had already snapped, leaving those baby ghosts gone—who knows where they ended up. Perhaps crawling out of players’ stomachs.
Li Zhi gently pulled a ghost off her face and drew the spirit-repelling kitchen knife. Without expression, she began slicing through the web of umbilical cords binding the infants.
Outside, Chi Yi felt a sudden tremor in the tower.
Her heart leapt with hope. She leaned closer to the hole again. “Zhi Zhi? Is that you?”
A freezing gust of yin wind burst from the opening. If not for the protection of the illusion perfume, Chi Yi might have been dragged into death itself.
Inside, the massive umbilical cord swayed like deep-sea kelp. Li Zhi’s knife was beginning to dull. As she severed more small cords, the freed baby ghosts squealed in delight, rubbing against her once more before crawling out through the hole.
Finally, only the large central umbilical remained. Its small branches hung lifelessly like dead tentacles. Li Zhi felt the effects of the illusion perfume fading fast. With the last strength in her nearly shattered blade, she swung it down hard—one final strike.
The knife shattered upon impact.
The tower shuddered violently.
A stone brick fell from above, striking Chi Yi on the head. She cried out softly and stumbled backward just as the once-seamless tower began to crack—clear signs of imminent collapse.
Panicked, Chi Yi rushed forward again—but before she could shout, a pale, slender hand shot suddenly from the hole.
She almost screamed herself to death.
From inside came Li Zhi’s muffled voice: “Yi Yi, pull me out.”
“Zhi Zhi!” Joy and fear mixed in her voice as she grabbed the hand and yanked Li Zhi free.
Seconds after they dove aside, the entire Baby Tower collapsed with a thunderous BOOM. Infant bones scattered across the ground like broken twigs under moonlight—so tiny, so pitiful.
From the moment they were born until the moment they died, the only sky they ever saw was the short path between home and the tower.
Li Zhi tugged Chi Yi lightly. “Let’s go back first. We’ll deal with the remains later.”
Wiping her tears, Chi Yi hesitated. “Zhi Zhi… why did you say only you could go in?”
Li Zhi didn’t answer.
They hurried back toward the blocked entrance, but found the guards gone—only pools of blood remained.
As they neared the town, eerie baby cries and laughter grew clearer in the night breeze, accompanied by distant screams.
From every direction, the sounds echoed—the town had become a playground for vengeful spirits.
Chi Yi muttered prayers all the way: “Revenge your enemies, settle your grudges—but leave me out of it…”
When they reached Jin Manor, the stench of blood pierced the night air.
So much hatred. So many years of killing female infants.
Chi Yi panicked. “Are they all dead? What about our people?”
Just as they stepped onto the porch, the wide-open gate revealed a tall, slim figure turning around.
He wore a Taoist robe, a faded blue cloth bag slung over his shoulder—embroidered with the Eight Trigrams symbol. Lanterns swayed in the wind, casting soft light on his cold, refined features—an otherworldly cultivator untouched by mortal filth.
Chi Yi was so shocked she couldn’t speak properly: “He—he—he!!”
Meeting his calm gaze, Li Zhi smiled warmly, eyes crinkling: “Master.”
Chi Yi: “Master??!!”
Audience Chat:
【Master???】
【I thought ‘master’ was just background lore for this replica—didn’t expect him to actually exist!】
【That face!!! This level of beauty is real?!】
【You guys don’t know him?! He’s Li Jianxi—the legendary handsome NPC! He appeared in Li Zhi’s first replica too!】
【Is he a guest NPC? Does he cameo in every replica?】
【He’s an ally! He helped us in the last replica!】
【Zhi-Xi shippers are losing their minds!!! Thought we shipped a limited-time couple, turns out they’re reunited!!!】
【Never thought I’d ship teacher-disciple vibes—it’s so good!】
...
Li Jianxi looked at them, offering a faint nod: “Yes. I arrived late.”
Chi Yi thought bitterly: Late? More like decades too late! Almost everyone was dead when you showed up—were you doing this on purpose??
But now wasn’t the time to question. Master’s appearance meant their plan must’ve worked.
As the three walked toward the First Lady’s courtyard, Chi Yi whispered: “How did you know he was our master?”
Li Zhi pointed at the cloth bag on Li Jianxi’s shoulder—the same one used to carry their master’s notes.
Chi Yi understood.
What Li Zhi didn’t say was that she’d seen Li Jianxi write before—in the previous replica. When she first saw the notes, she recognized his handwriting immediately.
She hadn’t expected to meet him again.
Was it normal for NPCs to reappear across replicas in different roles—or was it only him?
A scream from the First Lady’s courtyard interrupted her thoughts.
They quickened their pace.
The servants who once surrounded the yard were gone—either fled or devoured. Inside the brightly lit courtyard stood only the terrified Jin family patriarch, the grim-faced Chen管家, and dozens of crawling baby ghosts.
Too many to count. Nearly impossible to walk without stepping on one.
The patriarch and Chen管家 stood within a blood-drawn formation, protected from the ghosts circling them, wailing in frustration.
The patriarch kept muttering: “Almost there… almost there… once the son is born, the Nine-Generation Boy Succession will be complete! We’re finally going to succeed!”
At that moment, a loud baby cry rang from inside the house. A midwife’s shrill voice followed: “It’s a girl!”
Then came Tian Mingjie’s panicked shout: “Zhao Luan! Take the baby now!”
Outside, the words “It’s a girl” struck the patriarch like lightning. He turned to Chen管家 in disbelief.
“How can it be another girl?! You said transferring the ghosts’ resentment would ensure a boy! You lied to me! You LIED TO ME!”
He lunged at Chen管家, but was shoved aside with a single palm strike. Stumbling out of the formation.
The baby ghosts shrieked in delight and descended, tearing him apart.
Nothing remained but a trail of blood.
Chen管家 slowly turned, eyes poisoned with malice. “Disciple… such a fine disciple you’ve raised.”
“Disciple??!”
Both Chi Yi and Li Zhi stared at Li Jianxi in shock.
But he remained composed. “A traitor expelled for practicing forbidden arts has no right to call himself my senior.”
Chen管家 laughed maniacally.
The commotion outside alerted those still alive inside. Tian Mingjie burst from the room, shouting joyfully: “Zhi Jie! Did you do it? We followed your plan—kidnapped the eldest son and retreated here. Then suddenly, all these baby ghosts appeared and ate everyone! But they didn’t come near us. The First Lady gave birth to a daughter safely!”
Zhao Luan stepped out, holding a wrapped infant. A terrifying scar ran from his eye to his ear—how he got it was unknown.
Only three players remained inside the room. During the delivery, two others had triggered their death marks and turned to mummified corpses.
Of twelve, only five survived.
Suddenly, Li Zhi strode toward Chen管家, who was laughing wildly in the blood circle. She kicked him hard in the knee—crack—he screamed and dropped to the ground. She twisted his arms behind his back, dislocating both shoulders.
“What is Nine-Generation Boy Succession?”
Chen管家 laughed through his pain.
Li Jianxi stepped forward. Amidst the baby ghosts’ cries, his voice was quiet, yet clear:
“It’s a distorted cult practice he invented to justify his black magic. If the eldest male line produces sons for nine generations straight, the family remains prosperous. Female infants are killed. That’s the Nine-Generation Boy Succession.”