Seeing the bloodstains on the ground, Along's face changed dramatically.
"This blood...could it be that what's inside the monkey has come out prematurely?"
"No! When raising evil creatures, you must wait for the right time! Taking it out before the time is ripe is equivalent to giving up all previous efforts!"
Lu Fei carefully examined the bloodstains on the ground, frowning.
"This should not be human blood."
The bloodstains were dripping, and there were a few tufts of gray fur next to them.
The bloodstains should have come from some kind of animal.
"This is not good, could it be that the monkey has started eating raw meat and drinking fresh blood?"
"If that's true, what will be the consequences?" Along asked immediately.
"Once it starts eating raw meat, the monkey will completely become a slave to the ghost fetus, with no chance of salvation."
Seeing Lu Fei's solemn expression, A Long immediately became tense.
The two followed the trail of blood out of the residential area.
The bloodstains on the ground gradually faded, and the two soon lost their way, but fortunately, there was the little black dog.
With its keen sense of smell, the little guy sniffed and searched, leading the two through several streets into a wet market.
"This is troublesome. The wet market is full of raw meat; if he gets a bite..."
Looking around the bustling wet market, Lu Fei also grew anxious.
"Xiao Hei, hurry!"
The little black dog darted around the wet market, heading straight for a meat stall.
There was a commotion there, with people gathered in multiple layers.
Gazing at the rows of bloody raw meat hanging from the iron hooks, Lu Fei's heart sank.
Along was the first to rush over, pushing through the crowd.
"Come and see, in this day and age, there are still people who dare to steal!"
"Caught red-handed and still won't stop!"
"You tell me, should this kind of person be beaten?"
The butcher, wearing a leather apron, held one man with one hand and waved a boning knife with the other, shouting at the crowd.
The person in his grip was Huang Mao, who was visibly pregnant.
"He deserves it!"
"With a belly that big, and still stealing meat!"
"He deserves it!"
Some people were yelling, not minding the commotion and enjoying the spectacle.
"Did you hear that? How dare you steal my meat, you deserve a beating!" The butcher glared at the Yellow-Haired boy and lifted the boning knife in his hand.
"Brother, spare me! I didn't mean to..."
The Yellow-Haired boy cowered like a quail, hugging his stomach with one hand and protecting his head with the other, pitifully pleading for mercy.
Lu Fei noticed that his hands and face were stained with blood.
"Didn't mean to? You grabbed my meat and stuffed it into your mouth. Several pieces of my meat have been dirtied by you, and you say you didn't mean to?"
The butcher snorted in anger and viciously slammed the back of the knife towards the Yellow-Haired boy's back.
"Stop..."
A Long rushed forward in a flash, but before he could act, the boss suddenly let out a scream.
"Ouch!"
The back of the knife, which was clearly aimed at the Yellow-Haired boy, strangely landed on the boss's own arm.
There was a snap.
It was impossible to tell if the bone was broken or not.
The boning knife fell to the ground. The butcher, disregarding the yellow-haired man, bent over and clutched his own arm, his face almost contorted in pain.
The onlookers were stunned.
Everyone had seen the knife aimed at the yellow-haired man, but it ended up hitting the butcher. Could there be something strange about this yellow-haired man?
The yellow-haired man, full of panic, stumbled backward when he realized the butcher wasn't paying attention to him, and bumped into the meat stall.
The raw meat hanging from the hooks swayed back and forth.
Gulp!
He swallowed hard and couldn't help but reach out his hand.
"Monkey!"
A Long shouted loudly and forcefully seized his wrist. He trembled violently, and upon seeing that it was A Long, his eyes immediately turned red.
"Brother Long, I'm hungry!"
"Did you eat raw meat?"
A Long grabbed Huang Mao by the collar of his shirt and asked coldly.
"I, I haven't eaten yet... Brother Long, I didn't do it on purpose! I'm just so hungry, I can't eat..... that dead rat, I won't eat... but this, it smells so good..."
Monkey stared at the raw meat, constantly swallowing saliva.
"You can't eat it! If you do, there's no saving you, come back with me!" A Long pulled Huang Mao to leave.
"I'm hungry!"
Huang Mao struggled, finding a strength he didn't know he had, and pushed A Long away, running wildly outside.
"Monkey, stop!"
A Long was anxious and stepped forward to chase, but was stopped by the butcher.
"You know him, right? He stole my meat, he can't leave!"
Fortunately, at that moment, Lu Fei stepped forward, blocking the monkey's path, and slapped a ghost-repelling talisman on the towering belly.
The belly trembled several times, and the monkey fainted with his eyes rolling back.
A Long pushed the butcher aside and went up to catch the monkey.
The onlookers watched the scene and began to talk among themselves.
"I'm sorry, boss, he has a mental illness, just ran away from the hospital. This money is our compensation."
Lu Fei scanned the QR code of the meat stall and transferred a sum of money over.
"Eight thousand yuan has arrived in your Fortune Pay account."
As the voice prompt sounded, the butcher's face softened, and he did not pursue the matter further.
Under the sympathetic gazes of the onlookers, Lu Fei and A Long left with the monkey.
When they reached a less crowded area, Lu Fei checked on the monkey.
"Fortunately, he didn't get to eat the raw meat."
A Long let out a sigh of relief.
The two of them took the monkey back home, found some rope, and tied him to the bed.
"His belly has grown even more!"
Lu Fei noticed that not only had the monkey's belly grown significantly, but there were also strange, web-like black patterns appearing on its skin, which was quite eerie.
Even that ghost-banishing character was having trouble suppressing it.
Lu Fei hurriedly placed three more ghost-banishing characters on the taut, protruding belly.
"This is not a good sign; we need to solve the ghost fetus issue as soon as possible! A Long, you watch over him and make sure the talisman doesn't fall off. I'll go prepare the things we need for the exorcism."
"Mr. Lu, please accept this."
A Long handed the red envelope to Lu Fei.
"The compensation for the meat stall and the shopping expenses should not come out of your pocket."
This time, Lu Fei did not refuse and hurried downstairs with the money.
A Long pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed, looking at Huang Mao's drowsy appearance with deep concern.
After leaving, Lu Fei first returned to the Sinisterium Pawnshop to retrieve the soul-sealing jar, incense ash, and the Eight Trigram Mirror.
Then, he went to the market and bought two live hens and other sundries.
After making all the preparations,
he rushed to Huang Mao's house as quickly as possible.
"Mr. Lu, you've worked hard." A Long took the items from Lu Fei's hands.
"How is he? Has he been causing trouble?"
"He's been in a deep sleep the whole time, but his belly hasn't been very quiet. A few times, an evil wind blew through the room and almost knocked off the talismans."
Lu Fei took a glance; the three ghost-restraining characters were still intact on Huang Mao's belly. A Long had handled things quite reliably.
"What do you need me to do, Shopkeeper Lu?"
"You just keep an eye on him; I'll handle the arrangements. The thing in his belly definitely won't sit idly by." Lu Fei said as he started to busy himself.
"Got it!"
A Long had seen Lu Fei's capabilities before and knew that following his instructions was the best way to help. He immediately fixed his gaze on Huang Mao.
Lu Fei first sprinkled incense ashes around the room, then tied two hens by their legs with thin strings and hung them upside down above the bed.