Boss Sun was clearly joking, but to his surprise, Zhou Huan snatched the mirror back in an instant. Then, he leaned close to Shi Bingyuan’s ear and whispered, “Return the mirror to the Fushou Hall, and make sure to place it in the room shared by Xiaoh and me, nailed securely to the table.”

Shi Bingyuan hurried off. Zhou Huan stood up, raised his wine cup in a toast, and drained it along with everyone else.

Not long after, the banquet concluded. Old Mr. Wang escorted everyone out. Zhou Huan and his own people returned to Fushou Hall. As soon as he entered his room, Zhou Huan prepared to take a bath. Yet, strangely, before Zhou Huan could even step inside, Xiaoh had already stripped off her clothes and, wrapped only in a towel, proceeded in. Not only did she go in to bathe, but she turned back and beckoned to Zhou Huan, “Huan Ge, come on in, let’s go together. I’ve missed you.”

Zhou Huan grew increasingly uneasy. What was wrong with Wang Xiaoh? To proactively suggest bathing together—she had never acted this way before. Zhou Huan felt strongly that something was amiss; he was convinced Wang Xiaoh was possessed by something.

“Xiaoh, you bathe first. The washroom is too small; two people bathing would be uncomfortable,” Zhou Huan explained.

But Wang Xiaoh paid him no mind, pulling him forcefully toward the bath. This sudden act of 'mandarin ducks playing in the water' left Zhou Huan completely dizzy. When he looked at her intently, he kept sensing a fleeting shadow hovering near Xiaoh, occasionally drifting out, then sinking back down.

“Strange. What exactly is this thing that can evade my sight? Is it fixated only on Xiaoh? Or is its real target me?” Zhou Huan couldn't figure it out, but he couldn't confront Wang Xiaoh directly either. After all, her current condition was highly unstable, and she was pregnant. At such a delicate time, he dared not introduce any further distress.

“Master, Master!” Shi Bingyuan called from outside. Zhou Huan looked into Wang Xiaoh’s hazy, passionate eyes, and his body began to heat up—a purely masculine reaction. But hearing his apprentice call, he quickly dressed and left the bathing area. Stepping out of his room, he headed straight for Shi Bingyuan’s quarters.

Although Wang Xiaoh had shed her clothes and was already wet, seeing Zhou Huan leave, she wrapped herself in a towel and followed him out of the washroom. She went directly toward the bronze mirror. At this moment, an intensely angry shadow manifested around her body. The shadow clawed and writhed, seemingly driven mad, lunging forward to furiously attack the mirror, desperate to rip it down and fling it aside.

But no matter how Xiaoh tugged or moved, the mirror remained unresponsive. When her face was finally aligned with the glass, Xiaoh did something terrifying: she instantly covered her face and tried to dart behind the mirror. Yet even that afforded no escape, as the space behind the mirror was also reflective. This bizarre alignment caused smoke—black smoke and white vapor—to begin rising from Xiaoh’s entire body.

In Shi Bingyuan’s room, Shi Bingyuan was primarily seeking Zhou Huan to discuss Xiaoh’s pregnancy. His suggestion was that since Xiaoh was expecting, perhaps the oddities happening to her were merely eccentricities common to pregnant women, or manifestations of some deep, unexpressed emotional discontent.

Zhou Huan pondered. Xiaoh was never like this; usually, she was decisive and executed tasks with sharp efficiency. This...?

As Zhou Huan was contemplating, he heard Xiaoh’s piercing scream. Zhou Huan immediately spun around and sprinted back. Upon entering the room, he found it empty. He slowly opened the bathroom door and peered inside. Nothing had changed in the bath area; only the water from the showerhead continued to pour out relentlessly. Looking toward the window, he saw it was open, the curtain billowing wildly outside in the wind.

“Bad!” Zhou Huan involuntarily uttered. Instinctively, he rushed to the window and looked down, but saw no one below. Panic seized him, and he turned to rush out. Just as he turned, Wang Xiaoh stood before him, her hair disheveled. This startled Zhou Huan greatly. Just as he was about to speak, Xiaoh suddenly lunged into his embrace.

“Huan Ge, I was terrified just now!” Xiaoh, wearing a bathrobe, was shivering violently, her complexion mottled purple and blue.

Zhou Huan asked naturally, “Darling, what happened?”

“A huge black cat appeared in our room just now. I opened the window and threw it outside.” Xiaoh spoke haltingly, her words unclear, her demeanor that of a soulless husk. Her hands gripped Zhou Huan’s waist tightly, afraid to loosen their hold even for a second.

“It’s alright, let’s go back to bed. Don't think about the black cat for now, just sleep well!” Saying this, Zhou Huan gently lifted Xiaoh and placed her slowly onto the bed, coaxing her into sleep with their most intimate words.

Then, Zhou Huan noticed a wisp of black energy suddenly emanate from Xiaoh’s body, slowly drifting out through the half-open window. Zhou Huan immediately bolted out the door in pursuit.

“Bingyuan, come out with me.” Reaching Shi Bingyuan’s doorway, Zhou Huan threw the door open and shouted inside.

Hearing Zhou Huan call, Shi Bingyuan immediately followed. Downstairs, Zhou Huan saw the black energy swirling slowly outside Xiaoh’s window, accompanied by intermittent, faint coughing sounds reminiscent of an old woman.

Zhou Huan immediately invoked a Clarity Talisman: “Whomever you are in the heavens, show yourself if you have the nerve!”

“Hahaha, Zhou Huan, you’ll never guess who I am in this lifetime, but I’ll tell you this: I came here specifically for the cultivation you brought back from the Great Qing Dynasty. Even now that you’ve made your Xiaoh pregnant, your child is sure to be formidable! Hmph, don't even think about saving your child. If you ensure your child’s safety, your Xiaoh must die. See if my old lady’s offer is good enough?” As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Huan watched the smoke transform into a beam of black light, circling the entire Fushou Hall building once before drilling back into the second floor.

Immediately, Zhou Huan heard Xiaoh’s groans—sounds of such intense discomfort that they tore at his heart. These few sentences left Zhou Huan in agonizing torment, like being cut open.

“Bingyuan, take Hongkun and set up a Ten-Image Bagua Array here. If you don’t know how, check my study; all the divine formations in my book combine into this one. Remember, you absolutely cannot let this malevolent spirit detect it. I’m going upstairs immediately to calm Xiaoh and trap this thing inside. Also, have Hongkun make a trip to Baoguang Temple when you have time, and ask him to check the Buddhist scriptures in the Sutra Repository for information on spirits that possess hosts to devour their offspring, and how to subdue them.” After issuing his orders, Zhou Huan flew upstairs, entered his room, and found Wang Xiaoh furiously striking her own abdomen.

But the strangest thing was that the more Xiaoh beat her belly, the larger it grew. In just a few days, Wang Xiaoh’s stomach seemed to have reached the size of a full ten-month pregnancy.

Zhou Huan was stunned. What on earth was happening? Was this entirely the doing of that wicked spirit?

“Ah!” Xiaoh’s screams intensified, their agony becoming unbearable for Zhou Huan to endure. Zhou Huan immediately pulled out his tool kit, mixed a batch of Evil-Repelling Water, burned a talisman, stirred it into the water until dissolved, and made Xiaoh drink it.

“Xiaoh, drink this. It should temporarily ease your pain!” While speaking, Zhou Huan rapidly wrote out a multitude of talismans and flung them about, plastering Xiaoh’s entire room with Ghost-Averting Charms. He added Demon-Expelling Spells, using gold powder, cinnabar, yellow wine, and glutinous rice—everything he had—because he felt a pressure from this spectral confrontation unlike any he had experienced before.

Zhou Huan instantly channeled his inner strength, sending bursts of Qi toward Xiaoh’s abdomen with his palm. As he did so, he felt Xiaoh’s stomach gradually shrink.

But at that moment, he heard Xiaoh utter a sound that even Zhou Huan couldn't clearly identify: “Huan Gege, this feels so good, so comfortable.”

Zhou Huan listened closely. Wasn't that the voice of the entity speaking from the air earlier? Could it be...? Zhou Huan instantly realized the danger and retracted his true Qi.

“Wicked spirit, what are you doing? Get out!” Zhou Huan prepared to strike to shock the ghost out, but upon seeing Xiaoh’s state, he couldn’t bring himself to act.

“Haha, Zhou Huan, thank you for the true Qi. Remember, you must send me some Qi every day from now on, and I guarantee your Xiaoh and your child will be fine. Otherwise, you just saw what happens, hmph. And that mirror—hurry up and move it away for me, or I’ll show you what a femme fatale truly means, and make you carry that guilt for the rest of your life.” Zhou Huan heard that voice clearly, confirming the spirit was directly challenging him. Did that mirror truly have an effect on this evil entity?

Zhou Huan pondered for a long time before replying, “Fine, I agree to channel Qi to you, provided you stop troubling Xiaoh. But I will absolutely not move the mirror. You decide what you want to do!”

“Hmph, then I’ll let you see what happens to your beloved again!” As soon as the voice finished, Xiaoh let out a terrible scream. A faint trace of blood began to seep from her lower body, followed by a substance like amniotic fluid, soaking the bedsheets completely.

“When a woman leaks amniotic fluid, she’s about to give birth. So I’ll make your Xiaoh feel the urge to give birth every day. I’ll keep her trapped between life and death!” the voice declared, highlighting its malice at that moment. Zhou Huan conceded. He moved the mirror along with the table, but Zhou Huan was cunning; he placed the mirror right outside his own door. At that very instant, a new idea sparked in Zhou Huan’s mind.

He was, after all, a Grandmaster-level figure; he couldn't simply yield because of this minor pressure. Therefore, Zhou Huan resolved that he absolutely must drive this evil soul away. His gaze fixed upon the inscription written on the mirror.