The witch doctor’s sharp scream of “demon!” struck like a bolt of thunder, leaving Su Wan’s head buzzing.
She instinctively took a step back, both hands protecting her lower abdomen.
Her heart slammed violently in her chest, as if it might burst out at any moment.
Had she been seen through?
Was this witch doctor really that powerful—able to tell she was carrying an unborn child?
Su Wan’s face turned deathly pale, cold sweat instantly breaking out on her forehead and sliding down her cheeks.
When Zhang Guihua heard this, she was even more alarmed.
She was already superstitious, and after a series of misfortunes in the family, she had long been suspicious and uneasy.
Now hearing the witch doctor’s words, her triangular eyes widened, her gaze as fierce as a starving wolf.
“Master! You mean there’s something dirty in this jinx’s belly?”
She rushed up to the witch doctor, anxious and panicked.
“No wonder! No wonder our family has been losing pigs and getting sick—it’s this demon causing trouble!”
Seeing Zhang Guihua take the bait, the witch doctor played her role even harder.
She rolled her eyes, trembled all over, and swung her peach-wood sword through the air with whistling sounds.
“Exactly! This demon is full of resentment! It’s sucking the vitality out of your Wang family right from her belly! If you don’t remove it quickly, your family will face disaster within three days!”
“Then… then what do we do, Master? Please save our family!” Wang Dajun also panicked, his legs shaking as he hid behind Zhang Guihua, staring at Su Wan as if she had become a man-eating monster.
The witch doctor suddenly stopped, pulling out a dirty black porcelain bowl from her chest.
From her cloth bag, she grabbed a handful of incense ash, then pulled out a talisman paper covered in scribbled symbols and lit it in the bowl.
Whoosh—
The flame shot up, quickly turning into black ash that fell into the bowl.
She then spat into it, poured in half a bowl of murky well water, and stirred it with her fingers.
A bowl of dark, foul-smelling “spirit water” was ready.
“Feed her this! Force the demon out of her body!” the witch doctor ordered sharply, handing the bowl to Zhang Guihua.
Zhang Guihua took it. The stench made her frown, but thinking of the family fortune, she gritted her teeth and walked toward Su Wan.
“Drink it! Drink it!”
Her face twisted like a ghost.
“Spit out the filth in your belly! Let’s see how you keep harming our family!”
Su Wan looked at the black liquid, feeling her stomach churn violently.
This wasn’t spirit water—it was swill!
If she drank this, not only the child in her belly, even an adult might lose half their life!
“I won’t drink it! You’re all crazy!”
Su Wan desperately shook her head and tried to run toward the house.
“Grab her! Dajun, grab her now!” Zhang Guihua shouted.
Although Wang Dajun was cowardly, he could no longer hesitate. He rushed forward and grabbed Su Wan’s arm.
“Su Wan, just listen to Mother! You’ll be fine after drinking it!”
He dragged her forcefully toward Zhang Guihua.
“Let go of me! I won’t drink it! This is superstition! It will kill me!”
Su Wan screamed in despair, kicking wildly, her shoes scraping deep marks into the muddy ground.
But as a weak woman, how could she resist Wang Dajun’s strength?
In the blink of an eye, she was pinned against the wall.
Wang Dajun twisted her arms behind her back. Zhang Guihua grabbed her chin with one hand and raised the foul bowl with the other, about to force it into her mouth.
“Mmm—! Mmm—!”
Su Wan clenched her teeth tightly, shaking her head desperately.
The black liquid splashed onto her face and neck—cold, sticky, and nauseatingly burnt-smelling.
Fear surged over her like a tidal wave.
The child…
If this was forced down her throat, could the child still survive?
Just as the bowl was about to crash against her teeth—
Bang!
A loud explosion.
The Wang family gate was kicked open.
Immediately, a lazy voice rang out.
“Well, well—what’s this? Putting on a show in broad daylight?”
Everyone froze and turned toward the entrance.
There stood Gousheng in his signature floral shirt, a blade of grass in his mouth, hands in his pockets, swaggering in.
Behind him were two similarly rough-looking young men.
Gousheng was one of Lei Deshui’s underlings—a notorious troublemaker in the village who answered only to Lei Deshui.
He had been ordered to watch the Wang family closely.
Hearing the shouting about demons and forced drinking, he immediately knew something was wrong and rushed over.
“Gou… Gousheng? What are you doing here?” Wang Dajun loosened his grip slightly.
Gousheng ignored him, strolling forward and glancing at the witch doctor, then at the black bowl in Zhang Guihua’s hands.
“Tsk tsk tsk, Accountant Wang, what are you all doing? It’s already this day and age, and you’re still doing this kind of feudal superstition?”
Though he was a hooligan, he knew exactly how to drop a heavy label when needed.
“This… this is to ask a master to drive away evil spirits from our home…”
Zhang Guihua felt a bit guilty. After all, if the brigade secretary found out they were engaging in superstition, they could be publicly criticized.
“Drive away evil spirits? I think you’re trying to kill someone!” Gousheng sneered.
Suddenly, he raised his foot and kicked the bowl in Zhang Guihua’s hand.
Crash!
With a sharp crack, the black “spirit water” bowl was sent flying through the air, drawing a dark arc before smashing onto the ground and shattering into pieces.
Black liquid splashed everywhere—even onto the witch doctor’s red and green robe.
“Ah!” Zhang Guihua jumped back in shock, almost falling to the ground.
“You… what are you doing?!”
“What am I doing? I’m helping you break superstition!”
Gousheng pointed at the witch doctor, glaring fiercely as he put on an aggressive act.
“Where did this old fraud come from? Daring to scam people in Lei Family Village? Believe it or not, I’ll go call the brigade secretary and have you paraded through the streets!”
The witch doctor was nothing more than a scammer who usually tricked ignorant women.
Hearing about being reported to the secretary and paraded, she immediately panicked—the powder on her face practically falling off.
If she got caught, she would end up in jail!
“It’s a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding!”
She no longer bothered pretending to be mystical. Stuffing the peach-wood sword into her robe, she turned and ran.
“I… I’ve got meat stewing at home, I’m leaving! Leaving!”
In an instant, she ran faster than a rabbit, disappearing from the courtyard without even asking for her payment back.
“Hey! Master! Don’t go!”
Zhang Guihua stomped her foot in frustration, but she couldn’t catch up.
The courtyard fell silent.
Su Wan slumped against the wall, gasping for air, trembling all over.
Just moments ago, she truly thought she was done for.
Gousheng glanced at Su Wan. Seeing she was fine, he whistled at Wang Dajun.
“Accountant Wang, you should be more careful. If someone really got hurt, you wouldn’t be able to keep your job.”
With that, Gousheng and his two followers swaggered away like victorious roosters.
Wang Dajun stood there, his face alternating between red and pale, staring at the broken bowl on the ground with lingering fear.
If they had really forced the medicine down Su Wan’s throat and something happened, things would’ve blown up—and he would definitely be finished in the village.
“Mother, we’d better not invite people like that again. They’re all scammers.”
He muttered, finally releasing Su Wan’s arm.
But Zhang Guihua didn’t even look at him.
She stared directly at Su Wan’s lower abdomen, her triangular eyes full of suspicion.
Although the witch doctor was a fraud, the words “something in her belly” had still planted a thorn in her mind.
She was experienced—during the struggle earlier, she clearly felt Su Wan’s body seemed heavier.
And that stomach…
Su Wan was wearing an old thin shirt. When she had been pinned down, the fabric clung to her body.
Her lower abdomen—though not obvious—did seem slightly more swollen than usual.
“Su Wan.”
Zhang Guihua suddenly spoke, her voice cold and eerie.
“Has your stomach… gotten bigger lately?”
Su Wan’s heart dropped.
She quickly got up from the ground and pulled her clothes to cover her belly.
“Mother, I was just frightened earlier—it’s bloating.”
She forced herself to stay calm, lowering her head.
“I’ve also been eating a bit more lately… maybe I’ve just gained weight.”
“Gained weight?”
Zhang Guihua let out a cold snort, her eyes scraping over Su Wan’s stomach like hooks.
“It had better just be weight. If I find out you’re hiding something dirty in there…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but the cruelty in her eyes made Su Wan break out in goosebumps.
Not daring to stay any longer, Su Wan quickly found an excuse and slipped into the woodshed.
As soon as she entered, she leaned against the door, completely drained.
That was close.
This time Gousheng saved her—but what about next time?
She lowered her head and touched her belly.
Although it was only two months, it was growing unusually fast.
Her previously flat stomach now had a slight bulge.
Normally, pregnancy only starts showing after three months, but she already looked like she was four months along.
If another month passed, even winter clothes wouldn’t hide it.
She had to think of a solution.
Su Wan bit her lip, a look of determination flashing in her eyes.
This child was her life—and Lei Deshui’s life.
No one was allowed to touch it.