Chapter 17: The Dead Infant

Nie Yuxuan, a disciple of the Douzong Sect in this era, was known for his explosive temper. However, he never imagined that someone else would have an even worse temper than his own.

Lin Feng's fist came out of nowhere, but Nie Yuxuan's drunken haze dissipated as he casually dodged, swept Lin Feng's lower legs, and, with a slight push of his hand, Lin Feng found himself knocked to the ground without even knowing what hit him.

The drunken man across from him swirled the remaining liquor in his glass, downed it, and sneered, "Just as I thought—a black dog, and a rough one at that."

I'm rough? And you're not just a foul mouth?

Lin Feng scrambled up in frustration. "Beardface! Do you dare to come outside and fight me one-on-one?"

One-on-one?!

Nie Yuxuan stroked his scruffy beard in surprise. Seeing Lin Feng glaring at him, he took a badge out of his pocket and pinned it on his chest. "Look closely. I'm official too, and beating you up means I'd end up in the lockup. I won't knowingly break the law!"

Damn! This guy's the very definition of a rogue cop!

"Beardface, I'll remember you! One day, if you're hit on a dark street, it's my doing!"

Nie Yuxuan grinned widely. "Kid, you want to hit a cop? Come back when you reach the level of the Black Dog, and I'll give you a few rounds. But for now… Since you're being too rough and obstructing my work, I don't feel like dealing with you."

He lifted Lin Feng by the collar as if he were a little chick, carried him to the door, and threw him far out.

"Ow… my backside…"

Lin Feng, weighing 70 kilograms, was thrown out of the Spiritual Investigation Department like a toy. Jiang Wan, who had witnessed the whole thing, could only shrug helplessly. Lin Feng slumped his head, feeling like he'd lost face entirely.

After kicking Lin Feng out, the department closed the gate, and the whole team set out, leaving in several police cars. Cursing under his breath, Lin Feng got on his bike and headed home.

On the way, he alternated between cursing the head of the department, cursing Beardface, and cursing himself. How miserable! That old Wang isn't reliable at all! And I actually thought he had pull!

Most annoying of all, that drunk guy had called him the "Black Dog of this era"? Wasn't that an insult? Or was it actually a backhanded compliment?

Black Dog? Black Dog? Your whole family are black dogs! Lin Feng muttered to himself.

"Huh?"

After a bit of cycling, Lin Feng blinked as a thought crossed his mind. "Did he just say I'm… the Black Dog of this era?"

As the cold wind blew, Lin Feng calmed down and started to think carefully.

He remembered the head of the department once saying something about his fate: "The hardest fate, with the Black Dog guarding the heavens!" Nie Chuxia had also said that he was born on "May 9, with a reverse dragon head, hardest fate, and hands that mourn."

Though Lin Feng hadn't studied much, he wasn't stupid. Both of these phrases seemed to describe his unique birth and fate.

In truth, he'd never understood his own fate and didn't really believe in it. The old department head had once mentioned something about the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and Five Elements, but Lin Feng had forgotten all of it. He always thought the old man had made it up to trick him into working at the funeral parlor.

Could it be that when Beardface mentioned the Black Dog, he wasn't insulting me, but referring to my fate?

Lin Feng pondered. If that were the case, it would make more sense.

Did I just misjudge him?

…

When he got home, Lin Feng found the room pitch black and decided to look up his birth chart online. Usually, by this time, Niu Meng would be at the computer watching some cheesy love story about humans and ghosts. But he was nowhere to be found tonight.

Hearing a noise from the bathroom, Lin Feng peeked over. The bathroom door was frosted glass, and he could see a silhouette showering inside. Judging by the figure, it wasn't Niu Meng.

With flowing hair and a shapely figure barely visible through the glass, Lin Feng suddenly noticed that his phone signal was fluctuating, and his heart skipped a beat.

Damn… a female ghost!

Just then, Niu Meng stepped out of his bedroom, scratching his head. "Feng, what're you doing by the bathroom door?"

Lin Feng smirked mischievously. "Little Niu, who's in there?"

Niu Meng's face turned red as he stammered, "N-no one…"

"No one?" Lin Feng looked serious. "Then I'll go in and use the bathroom."

Niu Meng quickly stopped him. "Wait! Feng! There's someone—no, no… there's a ghost! I saw she was injured, and I felt sorry for her. I couldn't send her away, so I brought her back."

Ha…

"Oh, so you're quite the good Samaritan now, rescuing a damsel in distress?"

Seeing Lin Feng's teasing gaze, Niu Meng hastily explained, "Feng, she has no malevolent energy! But her memory's damaged, so I brought her here to rest. She'll be gone by morning. She won't bother you!"

Standing almost 1.9 meters tall, Niu Meng clumsily tried to explain with hand gestures. Lin Feng decided to let it go. The kid's growing up, bringing a few ghost girls home for company isn't the worst thing—as long as he can handle it.

Since it wasn't some ferocious ghost, Lin Feng didn't feel the need to nitpick.

It was Monday night, and in a few minutes, it would be 3 a.m., time to refresh his tasks.

Lin Feng went to the kitchen, served two bowls of sacrificial rice, lit an incense stick, and told Niu Meng to make sure the ghost girl ate. He settled onto the couch, waiting for his tasks to refresh.

The clock struck three, and a sudden gust of wind howled outside. A ghostly green vortex appeared before Lin Feng, seemingly connecting him with the underworld.

Ding!

A system notification sounded. His tasks refreshed, revealing one blue task and two white ones. He quickly tried to refresh the tasks, but the option vanished before his eyes.

"What's going on?!"

Notification: Hosts above level 10 can no longer refresh vengeful ghost tasks.

Damn!

Generally, in games, leveling up should remove restrictions, but this system seems to be working in reverse. The higher the level, the more restrictions there are. Lin Feng was frustrated.

Blue Task: Recently, the Longhuai Green District has been unsettled. Rumor has it that ghostly wardens are lingering in the area. Please capture these wandering spirits.

Reward: Level +1, 200 merit points, City God Token.

White Task 1: A few stray spirits are haunting the General's Tomb, disturbing the people. Please capture them.

Reward: 100 experience points, 100 merit points.

White Task 2: Recently, something strange has been happening at Nanyang Maternity and Child Hospital. The director is seeking a ghost catcher. Please go and investigate.

Reward: 500 experience points, 100 merit points.

Lin Feng looked depressed. Another blue task?! He really didn't want to take it on; these high-level tasks were always beyond his ability. While he did have a sense of justice, he knew his limits. He could handle minor spirits, but warden spirits? They were no joke.

For Lin Feng, the Ghost Confinement System was just a safeguard for his job at the mortuary, which, frankly, wasn't bad. The salary was decent, but few people dared to work there, facing corpses every day and dealing with the psychological stress.

But after meeting Nie Chuxia and Jiang Wan, Lin Feng started thinking that being a ghost catcher could actually be a profession. Since he had this skill, why not use it to make money?

He had saved a decent amount over the years, but with plans to buy a house and support his sister through college, money was always a bit tight. Rubbing his hands together, Lin Feng dialed the number for Nanyang Maternity and Child Hospital.

...

Meanwhile, in an old office in Nanyang City, an elderly man with thinning, graying hair sat with a sorrowful expression. This was Xu Jianguo, the director of the hospital. Having been a doctor all his life, he had never encountered anything this difficult.

Recently, the obstetrics ward had been particularly unsettling. Five or six people, including the head nurse and several patients, had seen an infant crawling around the ward at night. At first, a new intern thought it was a patient's child who had somehow escaped, only to find that it was actually a dead infant with sharp teeth and claws.

The intern had fainted from fright and was now hospitalized in the psychiatric department of Nanyang's Second Military Hospital. Since then, sightings of the dead infant in the ward's hallway had increased. Xu Jianguo had personally investigated a few times but hadn't seen anything. Still, with all the testimonies, he couldn't ignore it.

Just now, Xu Jianguo had returned from inspecting the ward and was sitting in his office, deeply troubled.

Suddenly, he heard a soft shuffling sound. Perplexed, he looked down to see an infant crawling onto his desk, grinning eerily. Xu Jianguo's eyes widened, his heart momentarily freezing in terror.

The infant didn't attack him; it just gleefully played with some files on his desk. Xu Jianguo sat rigidly in his chair, his body trembling involuntarily.

Then, the office phone suddenly rang, intensifying Xu Jianguo's dread. Although he was a seasoned army doctor and had retained his soldier's bravery even in old age, he tried not to look at the infant as he picked up the phone.

"Hello? Yes, this is Nanyang Maternity and Child Hospital."

On the other end of the line, a surprised voice asked, "Whoa, someone actually picked up this late? Hello, is this Nanyang Maternity and Child Hospital?"

"Yes," Xu Jianguo replied.

"Well, I heard... uh, I heard you guys are dealing with some ghost trouble over there. Heh, don't think I'm crazy…"

Xu Jianguo felt like he'd found a lifeline. Since the dead infant incident, he'd contacted a Daoist priest from Tianhu Mountain who had come to take a look but claimed nothing was amiss, so he hadn't thought much of it afterward.

Now, to hear someone else was aware of his situation, Xu Jianguo felt as if he'd found a savior. "No, no! Sir, I'm the director, Xu Jianguo. There really is… a ghost!"

Lin Feng's voice on the other end sounded excited. "What? Seriously? I'm a ghost catcher. Director Xu, my appearance fee…"

Xu Jianguo looked down, seeing the dead infant crawling up his leg, and stammered, "Sir, please come quickly! Your appearance fee is guaranteed! The ghost… it's climbing on me right now!"